OF 


IGREENPJERSEY 


-*>^*i  H  m  Ik I  1 1  ^i*^<^ 


IkMNOIS 


LIBRARY  OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS 

AT  URBANA-CHAMPAIGN 


977.384 
H62 


111. Hist. Survey 


HISTORY 


ME  MB  JeRIE¥  6©IM¥IBI, 


ILLINOIS, 


TOGETHER  WITH    SKETCHES    OF  THE    TOWNS,  VILLAGES  AND    TOWNSHIPS,  EDUCATIONAL 

CIVIL,    MILITARY,    AND    POLITICAL    HISTORY;   PORTRAITS    OF    PROMINENT 

INDIVIDUALS,   AND    BIOGRAPHIES  OF  REPRESENTATIVE  MEN. 


HISTORY   OF    ILLINOIS, 


EMBRACING  ACCOUNTS  OF  THE  PRE-HISTORIC  AND  HISTORIC  RACES,  AND  A 
BRIEF  REVIEW  OF  ITS    CIVIL  AND  MILITARY  HISTORY. 


ILLUSTRATED, 


SPRINGFIELD,  ILL.: 
CONTINENTAL  HISTORICAL   CO. 


THIS  VOLUME  IS 
RESPECTFULLY  DEDICATED 

TO    THE 

§ xmtm  of  6vccnc  and  Jersey 

COUNTIES. 

With  the  Hope  that  theik  Virtues  may 

be  Emulated,  and  theib  Toils  and 

Sacrifices  Appreciated  by 

coming  Generations. 


PRINTED  BY 

THE    DAILY    EYE 

BOOH  PRINTING  HOUSE, 

POODHOUSE.  ILL. 


PREFACE, 


The  importance  of  preserving  in  concise  form  the  traditions  of  the  past  has 
never  been  questioned,  nor  the  usefulness  of  local  history  been  disputed.  Be- 
lieving that  the  counties  of  Jersey  and  Greene  afforded  most  excellent  mater- 
ial for  a  »ood  county  history,  the  Continental  Historical  Company  placed  in  the 
field  a  full  corps  of  experienced  historians,  prepared  to  spare  no  time  or  money 
in  compiling  a  complete  and  reliable  work.  The  manuscript  of  this  history  has 
been  submitted  to  the  committees  chosen  by  your  citizens  for  the  purpose,  who, 
after  a  critital  examination  oi  them,  have  approved  of  our  work.  We  feel  con- 
fident that  we  here  present  our  patrons  with  a  work  that  is  as  correct  as  it  is  possi- 
ble for  humanity  to  make.  That  errors  have  crept  in,  and  may  be  found,  we  do 
not  doubt.  Man  is,  at  the  best,  but  a  fallible  creature,  but  every  statement  herein 
published,  is  honestly  believed  in  by  the  parties  furnishing  the  information,  by 
the  historians,  and  by  the  committees  of  revision.  All  desire  the  truth,  and  noth- 
ing but  the  truth.  They  gave  much  time  and  labor  to  the  work,  and  deserve  tbe 
thanks  of  the  citizens  of  tu  county  for  the  faithful  discharge  of  the  trust  reposed 
in  them.  Our  thanks  are  due  to  tbe  numerous  friends  wbo  have  so  kindly  assisted 
us  in  gathering  up  items  and  assisting  in  the  compilation  of  this  volume.  We 
cannot  name  them  all,  for  their  name  is  legion,  but  we  must  not  forget  to  mention 
Hon.  George  E.Warren,  Hon.  YV.  II.  Allen,  Hon.  J.  N.  English,  Morris  R.Locke 
J.  E.  Cooper,  J.  I.  McGready  and  James  and  Will  Eads,  A.  W.  Cross.  John  A. 
Shephard,  J.  E.  Starr,  of  Jersey  county,  and  Hon.  R.  H.  Davis,  H.  C.  Withers, 
C.  Armstrong,  M.  D.,  J.  R.  Keach,  B.  Gillingham,  E.  Woolley,  John  Jones,  Geo. 
Coonrod,  Ed.  Miner  and  Anthony  Connole,  of  Greene  county,  and  the  other  county 
officials,  members  of  the  press,  and  others. 

Nor  must  we  forget  to  remember  and  thank  the  historians  of  the  company  who 
have  labored  so  hard  and  faithfully  for  the  good  of  all — James  S.  Walters,  general 
historian;  Maurice  E.  Power  and  Charles  W.  Moseley,  assistant  historians;  YV.  M. 
Shumaker,  T.  B.  Poole,  G.  W.  Poole,  J.  W.Bailey,  Charles  H.  Shaler,  George  A. 
Franklin,  Karr  McClintock,  and  Joseph  II.  Power,  local  historians;  H.  T.  Loper, 
of  the  portrait  department;  Mrs.  W.  B.  Wetherbee  and  .Miss  Mary  Power,  editors 
of  the  biographical  department.  All  have  tried  to  do  their  duty  well,  and  please 
the  company  and  our  patrons. 

In  conclusion,  we  would  say  that  our  work  is  done;  the  History  of  Greene  and 
Jersey  Counties  is  before  you.     We  cheerfully  hope  it  will  please  you. 
Yours  Very  Truly, 

THE  CONTINENTAL   HISTORICAL  COMPANY. 

Springfield,  Illinois,   December,  1885. 


->>5*Tb 


Certificate  of  Committees, 

WE,  the  undersigned  Committees  appointed  for  the  purpose  of  revising  the  History  of 

Greene  and  Jersey  Counties,  now  being  compiled  by  the  Continental  Historical  Company,  of 

Springfield,  III.,  do  hereby  certify  that  the  manuscript  was  submitted  to  us,  and  that  we  have 

made  all  the  corrections  and  additions,  which  we,  in  our  judgment  deemed  necessary,  and  as 

thus  corrected.,  we  approve  of  the  same. 

GENERAL  COMMITTEE  OP  JERSEY  COUNTY. 

J.  T.  Grimes,                            J.  E.  Cooper,                               Charles  W.  Carroll, 

William  Mellow.                          Moses  Ward.                                     William  II.  Allen, 

(i.  W.  Burke,                             John  II.  Belt,                                George  E.  Warren. 

N.  M.  Lurton. 

TOWNSHIP  COMMITTEES. 

William  Falkner.                      Henry  Ryan.                                 J.  T.  Hauskins, 

Juhn  11.  Belt,                                                   — Ruvle.                      Samuel  Simmons, 

—English.                                                                           Jeremiah  Bell, 

J.  ST.  English,                                                   —Fidelity. 

Moses  Ward.                               Geo.  W.  Burke, 

Henry  Wieghardt,                                      —Jersey.                   .lames  E.  Starr, 

William  T.  West,                                                                                 W  G.  Onetto. 

— Richwoods.               W.  II. Allen,                                    J.  B. Reintges. 

George  W.  Slaten,                                          — Elsah. 

X.  M.  Lurton,                                                —Quarry. 

Jacob  Lurton,                                                                                       William  McDow, 

Ephraim Chappell,                  Phineas  Eldredge                      C.W.Carroll. 

— Mississippi.            H.  I).  Edwards.                            Aaron  Dodson. 

.lames  Pennifield,                                          —titter  Creek. 

Thomas  Wedding — Rosedale.                      — Piasa. 

GENERAL  COMMITTEE  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 

E.  Woolley.                              G.  W.  Coonrod,                           L.  S.  Eldred, 

C.  Armstrong,                                                                      Ed.  Miner. 

TOWNSHIP   COMMITTEES. 

Edwin  Woolley,                       S.  M.  Henderson,                        A.Barrow, 

(i.  W.  Coonrod,                          B.  B.  Hamilton.                            J.  Hanks, 

L.  F.  Williams.                             .1.  C.  Winters.                                   E.  M.  Husted. 

—Rockbridge.            Isaac  11.  Vedder,                                              — Roodhouse 

—White  Hall. 

II.  C.  Withers.                                                                                      James  Barnard, 

John  I.Thomas,                          B.  Gillingham,                                M.  P.  Grider, 

C.  Armstrong,                             Jesse  Ballard,                                 David  Jackson, 

— Carrollton.             John  Painter,                                                   — Athensville 

—  Walkerville. 

S.G.Russell,                                 John   Rhodes.                                   P.  Fenitv. 

Yillroy  Robley.                        E.  J. Secor,                                  S.E.Greene, 

F.  M.  Fishback,                                            — Linder.                  A.  T.  Perry, 

— Bluffdale.                                                                                           '  —Kane. 

L.  E.  Carter,                               „.  ,^  -,r  i  •      ™  ,  • 
A.  J.  Wright,                            G.  W.  Collister,                           J-  E-  Melvin-Rubicon. 

Parham  Thaxton— Wrights.                        —Patterson.              Elisha  Yarble— AVoodville. 

TABLE  OF  CONTENTS, 


HISTORY  OF  ILLINOIS. 


CHAPTER  I. 


THE  MOUND  BUILDERS 

Other  Races 

Indians 

Illinois  Confederacy 

Early  Discoveries 

First  Settlements 

English  Utile 


CHAPTER  II. 

COUNTY  AND  TERRITORY  OF  ILLINOIS. 

County  of  Illinois 

North  wen  tern  Territory 

Ordinance  of  1787 

Illinois  Territory 

CHAPTER  III. 

STATE  ORGANIZATION 

First  Constitution 

The  Winnebago  War 

Black  Hawk  War 


TAGE 

Internal  Improvements :iu 

Improvements  Inaugurated 30 

Illinois  and  Michigan  Canal 31 


CHAPTER  IV. 

MORMON,  MEXICAN   AND  CIVIL   WARS 32 

The  Buttle  of  Nauvoo, 35 

Mexican  War 38 

The  War  for  the  Union 35 

CHAPTEB  V. 

GOVERNMENT 40 

Lieutenant-Governors 42 

superintendent  of  Public  Instruction 43 

Attorney-Generals 43 

'I  reasurers 43 

Secretaries  of  State 43 

Auditors ,.. 44 

United  states  Senators 44 

Representatives  in  Congress 46 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


CHAPTER  I. 

INTRODUCTORY 

CHAPTEB  II. 

GEOGRAPHY,  TOPOGRAPHY  AND  RESOURCES. 

CHAPTER  III. 

GEOLOGY 

CHAPTEB  IV. 

EARLY  SETTLEMENT 

Early  Settlement  of  Jersey  County 

CHAPTER    V. 

COUNTY  GOVERNMENT 

The  County  Court   .' 

The  County  Commissioners 


CHAPTER  VI. 


POLITICAL... 

CHAPTEB 

VII. 

JUDICIAL 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

CHAPTER  IX. 

JOURNALISM  IN   JERSEY  COUNTY 117 

Backwoodsman 120 

Newspaper 121 

The  Democratic  Union 121 

The  Jersey  County  Democrat. 122 

Prairie  State   127 

The  Jerseyville  Examiner 128 

The  Jerseyville  Register. 129 

Jerseyville  Republican 1211 

The  Republican  Examiner 130 

Grafton  Independent  135 

The  Jersey  Independent 136 

The  Free  Press 137 

The  (iraftou  News 138 

Jersey  County  Prohibitionist 139 

Jerseyville  Evening  Times 139 

The  Daily  Times  139 

CHAPTER   X. 

THE  BAR 140 

CHAPTEB  XI. 

THE  MEDICAL  PROFESSION 148 

CHAPTEB  XII. 

COUNTY  SOCIETIES  162 

Agricultural  Society IBS 

Old  Settlers  Society 165 

Jersey  County  Farmers'  Mutual  Ins.  Co ltiti 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS.. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

PAGE 

ECCLESIASTICAL 167 

First  Presbyterian  Church,  Jerseyville 108 

Otterville  Presbyterian  Chnrch 173 

Episcopal  Church  of  Jerseyville ..  178 

Delaware  Congregational  Church,  Kemper 171 

Bethel  Baptist  Church,  Ruyle  township 175 

Lebanon  Baptist  Church 17."> 

First  Missionary  Baj-tist,  Mississippi  township..  170 

Otter  Creek  Baptist  Churcb 170 

Autioel,  Baptist  Church.  Otter  Creek  township..  17fi 

Colored  Baptist  Chnrch  of  Jerseyville 176 


Ke 


Fidelity Bantiat  Church    Fidelity  township 177 

Newhern  Cumberland  Presbyterian  Church 178 

Fieldon  Cumberland  Presb\  icrian  178 

TheM.  E.  Church,  Jerseyville 181 

The  M.  E.  Church,  Fidelity  township 18:1 

Shiloh  M.  E.  Chnrch,  Otter  Creek  township...,  183 

Meadow  Branch  M,  E.  Church,  Kosedale  Tp 184 

Fieldon  M.  E.  Church 1S4 

TheM.  E.  Church,  of  Kiehwoods  township 184 

Hopewell  Methodist  Church,  Fidelity  township..  184 

The  M.  E.  Church,  Elsah 185 

Bethel  M.  E.  Church.  Mississippi  township 185 

i  Evangelical  Lutheran,  Jerseyville  186 


German  Luther  in  church.  Fieldon. 

Catholic  Church  of  Jersey  ville 

St.  Michael  Catholic  church,  Elsah  township... 

Catholic  Church  at  Grafton  

German  Catholic  Church,  Jerseyville 

St.  Mary's  Catholic  Church,  English  t  .wnship. 

CHAPTER  XIV. 

NATL,  STATE,  COUNTY  REPRESENTATION... 

CHAPTER  XV. 

EDUCATIONAL 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

THE  WARFORTHE  UNION 232 

Roster 237 

7th,  9th,  12th  and  14th  Infantry 237 

14th  Illinois  Infantry '. 238 

18th.  22d  and  27th  Infantry 241 

27th  Illinois  Infantry 242 

31st,  32d,  33d.  47th  aiid  53d  Infantry 244 

49th.  59th  and  61st  Infantry 215 

62d,  66th,  72d  and  97th  Infantry 246 

97th  Illinois   Infantry 249 

99th  Infantry " 250 

122d  Infantry 251 

124th  Infantry 852 

133d  and  144th  Infantry 253 

Roll  of  Honor '. 254 

CHAPTER  XVII. 

ELSAH  TOWNSHIP 275 

Early  Settlement 275 

Elsah 276 

Business  Interests 276 

Hotels 216 

Still  House  and  Grist  Mill 236 

Fishery ',!,*, 

Postoflice—  Municipal—  Public  School 272 

Cornet  Baud— Town  Hall— Roller  Mills 272 

CHAPTER  XVIII. 

OTTER  CREEK  TOWNSHIP 274 

Early  Settlement 274 

Cemetery—  Religious— Educational— First  Items.  292 

Otterville 293 

Present  Business  Interests 294 

Mills 295 

CHAPTER  XIX. 


QUARRY  TOWNSHIP. 
Early  Settlement.... 


PAGE 

Grafton 308 

Business  Interests. . 309 

Bank  of  Grafton 311 

Hotels  312 

Mills — Stone  Quarries  322 

Ferry  Boats— First  Items 324 

Camden 321 

CHAPTER  XX. 

PIASA  TOWNSHIP 325 

Early  Settlement 325 

Delhi 334 

Postoffice 335 

Hotels— Educational— Societies 836 

CHAPTEE  XXI. 

ENGLISH  TOWNSHIP 337 

Early  Settlement 338 

Educatioual 343 

Cemeteries— Historic  Items — Religious 344 

CHAPTER  XXII. 

RICHWOODS   TOWNSHIP 366 

Early  Settlement 866 

Fieldon 387 

Present  Business  Interests 388 

Bank— Hotel -Municipal— Mills 391 

Clendennen 395 

CHAPTER  XXIII. 

ROSED  ALE  TOWNSHIP 396 

Early  Settlers  397 

Educational— Mills :  398 

Cemeteries 399 

Teneriffe 399 

CHAPTER  XXIV. 

FIDELITY  TOWNSHIP 411 

Early  Settlement 411 

Educational— The  Grange 427 

Cemetery — Religious— Historic  Items 428 

Fidelity.. ' 429 

Present  Business  Interests 429 

Educational— Hotels— Mills— Postoffice 430 

CHAPTER  XXV. 

MISSISSIPPI  TOWNSHIP 433 

Early  Settlement 433 

First    Items— Educational 451 

Neweern 453 

Cemetery 453 

Newberu  Horse-thief  Detective  Society 453 

McCluskey 453 

East  Newbern 455 

Dow 456 

CHAPTER  XXVI. 

RUYLE  TOWNSHIP 457 

Early  Settlement 453 

Kemper  459 

Business  Interests 459 

Religious— Postoffice 461 

CHAPTER  XXVII. 

JERSEY  TOWNSHIP 470 

Early  Settlement -   171 

First  Items 491 

JER6EYV1LLE 492 

Early  History 493 

Present  Business  Interests 495 

Banking 507 

Hotels 513 

Jerseyville  Agricultural  Works 515 

Elevators 516 

Mills 519 

Brick  Yard— Nurseries 522 

Young  Ladles  Seminary 522 

Municipal— Newspapers— Cemetery  533 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


CHATTER  I. 

PAGE 

INTRODUCTION 553 

(HATTER   II. 

GEOGRAPHY,  TOPOGRAPHY  AND  GEOLOGY.  555 

CHATTER  III. 

EARLY  SETTLEMENT 567 

Pioneers  of  Greene  C  innty 557 

CHAPTEB  IV. 

GC  VERNMENT  AND  OFFICIAL  MATTER 578 

An  Act  establishing  Greene  County 578 

The  County  Court " 5  w 

County  Commissioners 532 

Board  of  County  Supervisors 593 

CHAPTER   V. 

COURTS  OF  GREENE  COUNT  V 597 

CHATTER  VI. 

EDUCATIONAL 602 

CHATTER  VII. 

COUNTY  SOCIETIES 605 

Old  Settlers  Association 607 

Constitution 608 

CHATTER  VIII. 

THE  WAR  OF  THE  REBELLION 611 

7th.  9th.r_'th  and  14th  111.  Inf 616 

Veteran    Battalion  14th,  15th  and  16th  Inf 617 

18th.  19th.  2Jd,  27th.  28th.  29th.  30th  and  32d  Inf.  61-* 

33d.  31th.  38th,  49th  and  5l>th  Inf 6-'l 

53d.  55th,  5- III  and  59th  Inf 621 

Teteran  Organization  626 

6lst  Infantry 620 

62d.  64th.  Gbtb.  70th  and  Slst  Inf 633 

97th,  101st,  106th,  113th  and  114th  Inf 63.1 

119th,  122.1.  124th,  126th,  127th,  128lu.  129th  Iul  .  B 17 

133d,  Iulautrv 6ii 

114IU.  145th.  146th  and  I49th   Inf 039 

l'i.l,  154th  Int.  and  3d  Cav 639 

6tb.  7th,  9th,  nth.  nth  and  12th   Cav 610 

let,  2d,  and  29th  TJ    S.  Colored  Inf 611 

2d  and  4th  Reg.  U.  S.  Vet.  Vol 642 

•   HATTER   IX. 

POLITICAL 647 

CHATTER  X. 

NATL,  STATE,  COUNTY  REPRESENTATION. .  663 

C HATTER  XL 

THE  BAR  OF  GREENE  COUNTY 708 

CHAPTER  xn. 

MEDICAL  PROFESSION  OF  GREENE  COUNTY .  720 

CHAPTER  XIII. 

TflEPRE^S  OF  THE  COUNTY 733 

Carrol  I  ton  Advocate 73> 

Carrollton  Gazette 739 

Greene  Cnuuty  Banner 74  1 

Carrollton  Democrat ..  14! 

Carrollton  Press   74i 

Carrollton  Patriot 741 

White  Hall  Register 7J5 

Greeufield  Independent 749 

The  Comet 749 


PAGE 

The  Locomotive 741 

Greenfield  News 7419 

Greenfield  Dispatch 750 

Greene  Connty  Republican 750 

Greenfield  Weekly  Argus. 7so 

White  Ball  Republican 753 

Evening  Republican 753 

White  Bali  Tribune 754 

Roodhonse  Signal 757 

Roodhoase  Headlight.   757 

1.  1  lent...   757 

Greene  County  Democrat 757 

Harpers  Herald  757 

Greene  County  Advocate   75. 

Daily  M.rning  Journal 757 

Roodhonse  Review      757 

Roodhonse  Eagle 758 

Roodhonse  Journal 758 

Greene  County  Union 759 

Roodhonse  Dailv  Union 759 

Roodhouse  Daily  Eve 760 

Weekly  Eye '61 

CHATTER  XIV. 

BCC1  BSJASTIOAX  761 

Christian  Church.  White  Hall 762 

Hickory  Grove  United  Baptist  Church 702 

Providence  Baptist  Church 763 

All  Souls  Roman  Catholic-Church,  White  Hall. .  763 

Christian  Church.   Carrollton 7<3 

Baptist  Church,  Kane 764 

Bt-ptist  Church,  White.  Hall 765 

St    Michaels  Roman  Catholic, Greenfield 766 

First  Presbyterian  Church  or  White  Hall 706 

Baptist  Church.  Rockbridge 767 

Baplisl  Church.  Plea-ant  Point 768 

Baptist  Church.  Wrightsrille 768 

Presbyterian  Church,  Walnut  Grove 768 

Methodist  Cbnrch,  Walnut  Grove 769 

Baptist  Church,  Bluff/dale 769 

Christian   Church,  Athensville 770 

Richwoods  United  Baptist  Church. 770 

Baptist  Churches  of  Greene  County 770 

Cumberland  Presbyterian  Church,  Greenfield.. .  771 

M    E.  Church,  Greenfield 771 

M.  E.  Church,  Carrollton  772 

Akers  M    E.  Chapel,  Linder  township  773 

Baptist  Church,  Carrollton 774 

Presbyterian  Church.  Carrollton 7,0 

Mt.    Zion  P.  M.  Church 778 

Oakland  Baptist  Church  778 

First  Universalis!  Church  778 

United  Baptist  Church,  Athensville 778 

Baptist!  hnrch,  Middle  Fork,  of  Apple  Croek...  779 

Trinitv  Episcopal  Church.  Carrollton 780 

Ebene'zer  M    E   Church,  Roodhouse  township..  781 

Martin's  Prairie  Bethel  Baptist,  Roodhouse  Tp.  781 

Methodist  Church,  White  Hall 78] 

St.  John's  Roman  Catholic,  Carrollton 7-j 

St.  Aloysius  Catholic  Church,  Roodhouse  782 

M.  E.  Church.  Roodhouse  783 

Cumberland  Presbyterian  Church.  Roodhouse..  783 

Washington  Baptist  Church,  Roodhouse 784 

The  Congregational  Church.  Roodhouse 7t4 

CHAPTER  XV. 

KANE  TOWNSHIP 78uT 

Early  Settlement   7o8 

Educational — Cemeteries 805 

(  oNUAYVILLh 805 

Kane 804 

Banks— Hotels— Kane  Nursery 814 

Lime   Kiln— Ra.l  road 815 

Religions  813 

Municipal— Educational— Postoflice 814 

Societies 816 

Yaeger  Mills,  and  their  burning  627 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

ritiE 

BLDFFDALE  TOWNSHIP 885 

Early  Settlement 826 

Organic— Seely's  Mill 839 

Postottices— Blnfl'dale— Eldred— Educational 840 

CHAPTER  XVII. 

WOODVILLE  TOWNSHIP 849 

Early  Settlement. 850 

Organic— Cemetery 865 

WOODVILLK 865 

CHAPTER  XVIII. 

RUBICON  TOWNSHIP 87rt 

Early  Settlement 879 

Cemetery— Organic 88T 

CHAPTER  XIX. 

ROCKBRIDGE  TOWNSHIP HI 

Early  Seltlemtut t-91 

Rockbkidoe    9U2 

Greenfield 905 

Early  Days 906 

Postoflice— Hotels 912 

Mills 913 

Educational 914 

City  Government— Police  Court  -Railroads 918 

Depot— Express  Agencies 919 

Fayette 925 

CHAPTER  XX. 

LINDER  TOWNSHIP  »j6 

Early  Settlement 9.16 

Educational...    941 

Cemetery — Daum  Postoflice— Poor  Farni 942 

CHAPTER  XXI. 

WRIGHTS  TOWNSHIP 943 

Early  Settlement  944 

Educational 955 

Cemetery— First  Items 956 

Wkisutsville 956 

Poetoffico— Railroad 958 

CHAPTER  XXII. 

PATTERSON  TOWNSHIP 959 

Early  Settlement 959 

Schutz's  Mill 962 

Patterson 970 

Postoflice — Society 972 

CHAPTER  XXIII. 

ATHENSViLLE  TOWNSHIP 974 

Early  Settlement 975 

First  Items— Felter  Postoflice 986 

Richwoods  Cemetery 986 


PAOE 

Saw  Mill 987 

ATHEN8VTLLB    986 

Postoflice— Flouring  Mill 989 

CHAPTER  XXIV. 

WALKERYILLE  TOWNSHIP 994 

Early  Settlement 995 

First  Items  -Educational— Organic 1000 

Walkervillk 1000 

CHAPTER  XXV. 

C ARriOLLTON  TOWNSHIP 1002 

Early   Settlement 1002 

First  Items— Organic— Educational  —Cemeteries  1023 

Berdan 1023 

Carr*  >lltox 1025 

Present  Business  Interests 1029 

Banking 1038 

Carrol  I  ton  Roller  Mill 1043 

Elevators— Greene  County  Creamery 1044 

Fire  Department— Government  1050 

Postoflice 1051 

CHAPTER  XXVI. 

WnlTE  HALL  TOWNSHIP 1060 

Early  Settlement  1060 

Recollections  01  S.  M.  neuderson 1075 

Other  Prominent  Citizens  10T6 

Cemeteries 1081 

N  f.w  Providence 1082 

Representative  Citizens 1083 

White  Hall 1084 

Present  Aspect  of  the  City 10S6 

Potteries  and  Tile  Works 1086 

White  Hall  .Machine  Works 1091 

White  Hall  Chair  Factory— Flouring  Mill 1093 

Banks— Opera  House— Library 1100 

Postofflce 1101 

Educational 1102 

White  Hall  Nursery 1103 

Hotels 1107 

Nurserv— Depots 110S 

Cornet  Band 1109 

Societies 1110 

Municipal — Prominent  Citizens 1111 

CHAPTER  XXVII. 

ROODHOUSE  TOWNSHIP 1117 

Earlv  Settlement  1117 

Lending  Citizens 1118 

Hotels 1139 

Roo  :house  Bank 1141 

Insurance 1142 

Postoflice 1144 

Roundhouse 1141 

Religious 1146 

Societies .''. 1146 

Municipal 1149 

Representative  Citizens 1149 


PORTRAITS. 


Baldwin,  Benjamin 68' 

Gillingham,  B 858  j  Keach,  Mrs.  Hiram 823 

Gilliugham,  Juliet  A.  E 859    King,  Rev.  George 


Lurton,  Nelson  M 349 

Spencer,  Henry  R 585 

Wilkinson,  Henley 1105 


BIOGRAPHICAL, 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


Pas 


Adams.  N.  L.. 
Albrecht,  l.ou 
Albert.Carl... 
Allen,   James 

Allen,  Edward 358 

Allen,  William  II 

Anderson,  Tnomas  W 

Arboga6t,  John 

Aydelott.  Thomas  B 432 


o,  Thomas  C 441 

carrico.  Leandcr  C 271 

;  Carlin,  Major  Waller  E.  206 

Carter,  Joseph  B 469 

Carroll,   John  I! 897 

rroll,  Edward -J58 

!  Carroll,  William  J 407 

oil,  John 259 

Bagley,  Marcus   E 220  Carroll,  Charles  W 259 

Baliard,  John  J 479  Case,  Thomas  A 3u0 

Ballard.  John 493lcasey,  Dr    Edwin  A 151 

Barber,  Horace  K 299|casey.  John 421 

Bartlett,  William  H .CI1  Catt,  Charles 490 

Bartletl,  Charles  B ^chance,  Kzikiel 342 


PAGE 

Cannon,  James 374 

Carr,  Joseph  S 


Bales,  Sil 

Bates,  William  

Bauer,  John  C 

Baum,  William 

Beach.C.  D 

Becker.  Frederick. . 

Bell  Jeremiah 

Belt,  Horatio  N 

Belt,  L.  T 

Belt,  James  H 

Belt,  John  H 

Hertman,  Frederick     ...  54.'i 

Bettis,  Daniel 442 

Blaestr,  Peter 357 

Black,  John   R 221 

Block,    Philip 506 

Bowker,  William 423 

Bowman,  Charles  II 226 

Boynton,  John  E 504 

Brainerd.  Charles 323 

Bray,  William  I 319 

Bridges,  John  C 363 

Brigham,  Edward   R 394 

Briggs,  William  371 

Brinton,  William    S 319 

Briughurst.  Dr.  James..  151 

Brock,  Tarlton  F 276 

Brock,  Robert  T 536 

Brockmeyer,  Henry 352 

Brooks,  Charles 477 

Brown,  Spaulding  E....  303 

Brown,  William  S 409 

Brown,  Jehu 839 

Brown,  John 339 

Brown,  JohuG 265 

Bucklee.John 439 

Buffinglon,  C.    G 390 

Buftington,  Dr.  C.  G 161 

Bull,  Charles  F  297 

Burgess,   William 302 

Burke,  George  W 543 

Burris.  Seth 301 

Burritt.  Dr.  A.  II 150 

Burns,  Patrick  B 488 

Butt,  William 

Cadwalader,  Jesse  K 

Cairns,  George 328 

Calame.L.  W 379 

Calhoun,  James  W 5)9 

Calhoun,  Solomon 221 

Calhoun,  Adrastus 290 

Campbell,  Benjamin  F 
Campbell,  Thomas  J.. 
Campbell,  Jerome 370 


hapman,  Thomas   II 

H>'i  chapman,  Theodore  IS  . 

326lchappell,  W.  H 

173  Chappell,    Ephraim... 
159  nhappell,  Willi 


happell,  Bartholomew.  437 

■in  uluise,  Charles   M   306 

345  I  ihenay,  Prentiss  D 54u 

39-  Cheney,  Captain  Murray  224 

22i.  Chidis'ier.   R.  C 269 

bristopher,  Mary  B 426 

ockrell,  Moses 505 

ole,  Rev.  Luther  E 218 

olean,    Nelson 340 


Cole 


339 


onn,  felihu '.'. '.'..'.'.'.  44 

olean.  James  R... 

Cope.    Edman 

'ooper,  Jonathan  E 


Ho 


Joel. 


ulthard,  William  H  . .  516 

Crain.  Siias.Sr 339 

Craln  John 338 

Crawford,  Joha  B 261 

Cthv  John  466 

'ross,  Hugh  N.... 508 

Cross,  AudrewW 509 

Ings,  Thomas 434 

Cummiug8,  Josiah 434 

Dabbs,   W.  W 275 

Dabbs,  James  275 

Dannels  John  C 467 

Danuels,  John  F 467 

Dannels.  C.  A 467 

Darby,  William 500 

Darby,  J.  C 499 

D'Arcy,  Dr.  Edward  A...  150 

Dare,  Oliver 307 

Darlington,  Samuel 444 

Darlington,  John  H 444 

Darueille,  Isaac 197 

Darr,  Matnew 340 

Dashwood,  Edward  O...  422 

Davenport,  Fredericks.  549 

Davis, Daniel SO' 

Davis,  John  W 486 

Davis,  William  404 

Davison.  William 445 

Day,   Samuel 474 

Decker,  Cornelius  362 

DcFo86a,  Antoiue 306 

Dempsey,  William  S 312 

279 
304 


Dodge,  Vilas  L 468 

Dodson.  Theodore 521 

Dodson,  FrancisM, 521 

Dodson.  Rev.   Aaron... 

Dolau,   Peter 

Iionnallv,  Thomas  K... 

Doron,   Enos  T.     

Dougherty,  John  G 

Dougherty,  Samuel  J.  M  283 
Douglas,  Stephen   A. 

Downey,  S.  G 

Drainer,  Peter 346 

Dunbar,  .Tn 

Dunham,  Benjamin 370 

Dunphy,  Patrick 549 

Dymond,  Robert 455 

Euds,  James  . 
Bads,  William 
Eaton,  C.  B... 

Edgar,  William  S 536 

Edear.  Col.  W 
Edsall,  C.  P... 

Edsall,  Thomas  265 

Edwards,  Henry  D 327 

Edwards,  Andrew 327 

Edwards,  George  W 382 

Edwards,  William  B....  385 

Egolhoff,  George 514 

Eldredge,  Phineas 215 

Ellis,  Samuel  C 28b 

Elliott,  Jr.,  Lewis 464 

Elliott,  Sr.,  Lewis 463 

Elliott,  Thomas  B 464 

Ely,  Richard  R 424 

Emnley,  George  W 48(1 

Embley,  William 540 

Engel,  Leon 498 

English,  Lindsev  H 494 

Eujjlisb,  Hon.  John  N..  199 

English,  Lloyd  T 345 

English.  Jr.,' John  N....  348 

Enos.Dr.C.W 155 

Enos,  Dr.  Charles  R 155 

Erwin,  Samuel 340 

Erwin,  John  G 361 

Erwin,  J.  D 341 

Erwin,  Dr.  A.  D 159 

Everts,  Andrew  J 445 

360 

493 


Falkner,  William 
Falkner,  James.. 

Farriugtou,  Silas. 31 

Farley, Dr.  R.  D 15 

Ferns,  Thomas  F 14 

Fisher.  Cornelius  B. . . .     47 
Fitzgerald,  Joeeph  W 


Marli 


Flautf,  Dr.  James  A.... 

Fleming.  James 355 

Fondel,  Mathias  D 378 

Ford,  Horatio  N 448 

Fox,  J*hn  542 

Francis,  Dr.   E    F 161 

Frcdenburg,  Ephraim.. .  284 

Fulks,  John 365 

Fulkerson,  W.  II 475 


Carrels,  John 

Gerson,  William  F. 
Gary,  Dr.  James  F. . 


354 


TACK 

Giberson,  JameB  M 264 

Gi.T8.  H    I, 294 

Gill,  Dr.  Henry  Z If3 

Gillham,  John  D 433 

Gilworth,  Harvey 468 

Gleasou,  David  D 403 

Gleason,  William  C 400 

Gledhill,  Robert  C 512 

.John  H 354 

Gcetten,  Charles 353 

dtnau,  James  G 332 

Goodman  John  A 331 

Gocdrich,  Adams  A 143 

Goodrich,  H     0 547 

lirandstaff.  William 407 

Greathouse,  Joseph  F...  144 

Green, Elisha 371 

Green,  Addison 449 

Green,  Nathaniel  449 

Grether,  William  M 454 

Grimes,  Philip 338 

Grimes,  Jarrett  T  482 

Gioppel,   Herman 380 

Grosjcan,  Nicholas 488 

Gunterman,  Sr.  John...  366 

Haag,  Frederick 331 

Hagen,  Joseph 355 

"       iltou,  Dr.  Joseph  O.   157 

ilton.  Dr.  Silas 278 

ilton,  Clarence  M..  501 

Hamilton,  William 279 

Hamilton, Martin  V  ....  335 
Hamilton,  Dr.  John  B...  153 

Harmon,  Henrv  C 364 

Harris.  James  M 450 

Hart,  John 3o7 

Hartman,  Frederick 446 

Harty,  Rev.  James 188 

Hauskins,  James  T  431 

Hayes,  llarley  E 545 

llediey,  Will'H 134 

Heiderscheid,  Nicholas.  374 
Henderson,  Richmond..  473 

Henderson,  Frank  P 548 

dman,  George  W...     117 

zel,  John...   351 

litt.  William  R 310 

Highflll.  D.  M         405 

Highfill.T.  S 404 

Hill,  Robert  L 220 

Hill,  Oscar 503 

,  William 378 

Hoelker,  Anton 353 

Holten,  John 356 

Hooper.  Gates 354 

Horn,  John 390 

IUward,  Edward  D 269 

Howell,  JamcB 327 

Howell.  John 361 

Huffman,  Rev.  JohnT..  317 

Huitt.  John  W 458 

Humiston.  Arthur  H 295 

Humislon.  Linus  299 

Hunter,  William  II 491 

Kurd.  J.  M 216 

Hutchinson,  William  H..  426 

Jackson,  George  II 543 

Jackson,  George  H 223 

Jewsbury,  Ebeaezer  C.  359 


BIOGRAPHICAL. 


PAGE 

Johnson,   Charles  W. ...  422 

Johnson,  William 10,< 

Johnson,  ThomaH 38a 

Jones.  RiceT 440 


Kallal,  Frank 370 

Keller,  Cosmos 207 

Kelly,  Charles  H 137 

Kennedy,  Isaac  N 299 

Kennedy,  Isaac 287 

Kesler,  Jacob  260 

Keveer,  Hiram  T 271 

King,  Robert  A 201 

King,  Rev.  Geo.   Ives...  542 

Kirchner,  Charles  R 285 

Kirchner,  Otha 363 

Kirchner  George  C Siiti 

Knapp,  Dr.  A.  ll 80S 

Knapp,  Hon.  Robt.  A 
Knapp,  Anthony  L. . . 

Knapp,  Dr.  A.  R 

Knapp,  Dr.  Charles  A...  ,. 

Koinaiek,  Frank 4,;,  Nelson,  bud        . 

Kronsbin,  August  J 389  >:'""'">>'':•.  ,uallc* 

hru.g.r.    V  .1  ..in  ...  A-vhib,  vVi|.«m  E 

Krn.  gVr,  George 371.  ^v'»e'    }}??&"  '  ' 

44s  Newberrv.  Daniel. 
'  147  Newton.  Robert... 

357  Noble,    Caleb      .... 

405  JJoDle,  William 


Martin,  Moses 341 

Mason,  James  318 

Massev,  Henry  C 207 

Matthews.    Isoni 410 

Medford,  -lohu 3(17 

r.  Anthony 355 

Metzdorf.  Malhias 37ti 

MvBenbnrg  Ernst 311 

Middendorf.  Francis —  35" 

Milem,  Allen  \V 375 

Miles, D.  D.  S.Geo.  S...  506 

Miller,  Henry  T 289 

Milton.  Charles 478 

Miner,  Nathaniel 490 

Moore,  James  422 

Moore.  Isiac  M 379 

Moss,  James  P  288 

MosB.James  C  288 

Moweu,  Peter 352 

194  Murphy.  William 319  ', 

156  Mvers,  Jr.,E.  A.  R  ....  505  I 


Riggs,  B.  A 

Rippley,  Frank 

Rister,  Jacob, 

Ritehey,  Mordecai  J. 

Roach,  David  J 

Roady  John 

R rts,  Frank  M 


Rogers,  Silas  W  . . . . 
Rogers,  Noah  T.... 
Rogers,  Henry  S. . . 
Ruebel,  Michael  ... 

RuBk,  Hugh 

Ruyle,  William  L, . . 
Ruyle,  Mrs.  Mary.. 

Ryan.  Henry 

Ryan,  John 

Ryan,  Richardson. 


..  39.i 
..  550 


Lamb,  John  J 

Lane,  George  F. . 

Landon,  Milo 

Larabee,  William 
Larue,  William   ., 

Legate,  E.   B 4U» 

Legate.  Marshall  B 409 

Legate,  Henry  L 40b 

Lehmkuhl  W.  U 291 

Leuz.  Joseph  364 

Lesem,  M.   K  429 

Lindley,  Horace 331 

Lcehr,  Christian  A 266 

Lofton,  Judge  John  G...  433 

Lofton,  John  L 377 

Long,  Charles  P 3:50 

Lott,  Dr.  John  W 15" 

Loux.  Jacob  S 494 

Love,  John  E   44C 

Lowe,  Frank  I 

L»we,  Richard  I 

Lund,  Charles  W  

Lurton .  -Jacob 

Lurton,  Nelson  M 

Linton.  Nelson  R.... 
Lvnu,  Rev.  Samuel.. 
Lynn,  William  11.  ... 


;.r    Noble,  Henry 

'     Noble,  Ziba ooo 

Noble,  J.  N 300 

Nugent,  R.    R 314 

N  agent,  Mary  A 332 

Oehler,  Herman  331 

O'Maley,  Anthony 364 

Onetto,  William  G 271 

Olney.C.  s 388 

Ottennsuseu,  George 377 

,  Joseph  M.  W 12.", 

Palmer,  Oriu 460 

Palmer,  William 169 

Park,  Dr.    Wesley 160 

Parsell,  Peter  R 41fi 

Patterson,  Mai  Gershom  338 

Patlon,  Isaac  T  290 

Pennington.  Lott 230 

Perrine,  Charles 

Perry,  Dr.  James  C... 

Phipps,  Thomas  K 

PIggott,  George 

Piggoit.  Isaac  N 


McAdams,  Wm.    Sr 551 

McAdams,  Jr., Hon.  Wm  20: 

McCann,  George  W 44i 

McClintoek,  John  A  ...  31: 

McCollister,  Isaac 421 

McDauel,  Gregg.. 
McDanel.  Charles 
McDow,  Thomas 
McDow,  Charles  ( 
McDow,  Marion.. 

McDow,  James 435 

McDow,  .lohu  N 

McDow,  William  . . . 

McDow,  John  H 

McGready,  Jesse  I.. 
McKinney,  James... 
McKinuey,  Abiram.. 

McNeil,  Levi 

McReyuolds,  Alex.  L 
MeRc'vnulds,  Thoma 

Madden,  John 365 

Mains.  Freetran  J. . 
Malotte.  Joseph  S  . 
Marshall,  John  C. .. 
Marshaw,  Joseph  . 
Marstou.Cap-ain  01 
Mars  ton.  Joseph  G 
Ma-tin.  George 


..   212 


Pinckard.  James  B 

Hon.  Wm.  H 

Post,  Caleb  A  

Potter,  Rev.  ThomaB 

Powel,  James  P :15s 

Powel,  o  P  202 

Power,  Peter 481 

Power,  John 363 

Preble,  H.D 398 

Price,  Thomas  A 43" 

Prill,  Carl 381 

quirk,  William 423 

Rainey,  William, 356 

Randolph,  i  ewis  ,  440 

Randolph,  Oliver  S 476 

Ratcliff,  George  W  410 

Recker,  Augustus 480 

Reddish,  Zeddock 387 

Reed,  John  L 401 

Rcinhart,  Rev.  Frank  J.  344 

Reintges,  John  B 266 

Renter,  Theo.   F 502 

Renter,  Abraham 548 

Roades,  William     260 

Rhoads,  John  V 465 

Rice,  Andrew  J 360 


Richards,  i;.;  c 


Sapp,  John  H 381 

Saner,  Hubert 34e 

Sayer,  James 423 

Schaaf.  Sigel 356 

Scheffer,  H 498 

Scribner,  George  F 450 

Schmieder,  Charles. 
Schceberle,  Frank... 

Schreiber,  lohn 

Schroeder,  Joseph  B. 

Seolt.  Charles  W 

Seott,  Joseph  G 

Seago,  James  L 

SeagO,  ltouglas 

Seago,  William  R. . . 

seibold,  Philip 

Selbv,  Thomas  J  218 

Semple,  Gen.  James 19" 

Shephard,  Uenrv  A 512 

Shephard.Hon. William.  r-.ii 

Shephard.  John  A 511 

Shobe,  Dr.   A.  A   15-1 

Short,  Glover  484 

Short.  Edmund  H... 

snortal,  James 

Simmons,  Richard  J 
Simmons,  John  11  . . 
Simmons,  Samuel  C. 

Simmons,  C.  W 413 

Simmons,  Edward  B 
Sinclair,  James  I). . . 

Si-son.  John  W 

Slaten,  Henry  L 

-lalen.  William  D.  I 
Slaten.  George  N  ... 
Slaten,  Rev.  George. 
Slaten,  James  1,   .... 

Slaten,  Allen  M 

Slot  er,  Dr.  Austin  F 

Smith,  Greg   R 

Smilh,  John  F 

Snei'.eker,  Samuel  J. 
Snedeker.Hon.  Orville  A  635 

Snedeker.  Isaac  634 

Spangle.  George  W 148 

Spangle,    Andrew 2S" 

Spaufding,  William  II..  39! 

Spencer,  James  A 37: 

Stafford,  John  P 40 

Stafford,  Christopher  P.  30 

Stafford,  Brook  31 

Stall,  John 36 

stanhope.  Abel  II  262 

Stanley,  Matthew  C 480 

Starr,  James  E -     268 

Stelle,  Deacon  Jacob  K    44 

Stelle,  Moore  C 

Stephauy  A.  H 

Stieren,  Charles 

Stillwell,  Jeremiah  O 

Stillwell,  Leauder 

Stotler,  James  II 
uddeth,  Jam.  sE  .., 


AGE  PA«K 

481  Sumrall,  Dr.  George  —  154 

:'.V  Sunderland,  I.lovd  W...    176 
261   Swan,   John  T... 2S6 

.!,'  j  Taegi  r,  Rev.  Herman...  394 

',',:■  Tai 'lor.  John  Henry 469 

,S  retry,  Jasper  M 212 

,  '     ,-.  ,,\.  llcnn  C    277 

,.',    I  hompson,  WilliamG...  410 
.„'.  Thompson,  Andrew  J —  407 

:,'-  Tli,, re, nan  A    N 30:1 

.%,'  Thornton.  John 338 

:',.,  Ti.ll.all,  Dr.  J 159 

uf  Tiff,  Oliver  A 514 

',',,  i  I  impe,  William 360 

,    ,  i.  [man,  Silas  W 487 

,       i,     i, ,  David  F....     456 

'  .,,:,  iral.ue,  Murray  B 420 

,  Edward 420 

Trible,  John 414 

Trotter,  D.  Q 419 

Trotter,  John  W 419 

Tnnnard,  George 330 

Twitchel,  John 466 

Tyson,  Rev.  Ira  C 171 


46s 


Vahle,  Louis 361 

Vahle,  Anthony 361 

Vahle.  John 478 

Vanausdall,  Allen  M....  297 
VanDervoort,  B.  C 495 

denburs,  Peter  E  ...  522 
VauHorne,  Dr.  A.  K....  154 
VauHorne.  George  H  —  439 
Vaughn,  John 340 

Th,  Nathan T 320 

Vorhees,  C.  II 418 

Waggoner,  JohnT 291 

Walker,  John  A 140 

Wallace.  Enoch  W 305 

Walsh,  James   , 42,2 

Walsh,  James  M 372 

Ward,  .les 


Ward.  Mos 


368 


:.'  .5 


Warren,  Hon.  George  E.  203 

Warren,  Mark  A 496 

Watson,  Jesse 368 

Watson,  Dr    S.  M 162 

Wedding,  James  II "41 

Wedding,  Benjamin.     ..  225 

maun,  John  F 352 

Welt,  Ira   M 447 

West,  William  L 394 

West,  W.  H.  H 392 

Wharton,  Charles 485 

White, Lewis...  ■ 276 

White.  Jesse  27H 

While,  John  I. 275 

White,  Dan-el  P 275 

White,  Dr.  John  L  152 

White,  Hiram 287 

Whiteneck,  Jacob  E 526 

Whitfield.  W.  T 467 

Whitfield,  James  A 461 

Whitlow,  Willis 358 

Wieehard,  Henry 3S2 

Wiist,  Bernhardt 386 

Wilkerson,   Lucius  G...  421 

Wilkens,  John 325 

Willis,  William   II 406 

Williams,  Dr,  John  S...  15S 

Williams.  William 306 

Wood.  John 481 

Woodson.  Judge  D,  M.   .  116 

Woolsey,  Joseph  B 479 

Worthe'v,  Reuben  T..    .,  284 

Worthev,  Absalom 269 

u  m  koff.  John 543 

Wyckoff,  Ambrose  s  ...  541 

Wyckoff.  Horatio  N 497 

Wyckoff,  David  G 497 

roung,  .lames  M. 222 

Young,   Andrew  U  I 


/(  6. 


>;tlo^    2-6* 


fe  -**e-t-*V  - 


/-y. 


BIOGRAPHICAL. 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


Adams,  L.  C 

Adcock.  John 

Allen,  James  M 

Allen,  William 

Allen,  G.  W 

Allen,  Jolin  W 

Andrews,  N.  J 

Ardinger,  John  W  

Armstrong,  Dr.  Clinton 

Armstrong:,  Geo.  W 1143 

Ashlock,  George  K 

Ashlock,  Win.  A 

Ashlock,  Win.  M 

Ashloek,  Harvey  H 

Aehloek,  James 

Ashlock,  W.  M 

Alcilinson,  Will.  B 


1034 
8bU 
10=6 


Bain 

Bald 
Bald 
Ba  d 
Bald 


Charle6 

i,  Elias  V 

i.  Judge  Benj 

j,  Benj.  F 

F.  M . 


It'..  - 


Ballard.  LouU  J.... 

Ballard,  Henry 

Ballard.  James  .... 

Barnard,  James 

Barrow,  Allred 

Bassbam,  Benj.  V . . 

Bateman,  F.  M  

Bechdoldt.  Henry  F 
~     hdoldt.  George 


PAGE 

Carter,  Davis 964 

Cair,  Joseph   S 682 

Carriger,  Leonard  .....      96  . 

Caverly,  A.  W 670 

Olark,  William  E  .. 

CI  ark,  John 

Clapp,  clement  L. .. 
Clcmmons,  Dr.  0.  C 735 

L'lenUeuen  ,  George  W  . .      855 

Cleudenen,  11    P  650 

Clifford,  Uosanna 1081) 

Clifford,  John  11   1083 

Clifford,    Ahirah 1084 

Coatee,  Milton 963 

I  loates,  John  961 

Coatee,  George 881 

krell,  Jesse 813 

Cole,  George 790 

Collister,  A    B  977 

Conuole,  Anthony 694 

Conrad, Jacob 847 

Converae,  Uriah 887 

Coonrod,  Jefferson 927 

Coourod,  George  W  . ..  705 
Coonrod,  Eld    Stephen.     884 

ooper,  Dr.  Martin  A..  721 
Cooper,  Edmund  L 704 

ooper.  AYil  " 


Becker,  Lev 


U 


1011 


Bell,  Fran. 
Bermes.  Philip 
Black,  Thomas 

Black.  William  

Blodgett,  Milo  R 

Boiruu.  Bent  Joseph 
Booker.  Kiehard  M. . . 

Boring.  Ilezckiah 

Borlin,  Henry 

Bowman,  Dr.  Alex... 

Boyd.  Thomas  II 

Brace,  Leonard 

Bradley.  Robert  C... 

Bradshaw.  Perry 

Bradshaw,  William  M 
Braunan,  Thomas.  .. 

Bray,  John  L  

Bridges,  Archibald. . . 
Bridges,  Frank  M... 

Bridges.  Oman 

Bnggs,  Ellis 

Bro.lniarkle,  John  B. . 

Brooks,  James  E  

Brown,  Jr.,  James 1108 

Brunei-,  Dr.  A.  J 

Burns,  Dr.  George  W 
Burnett,  Dr.  W.  L.... 
Burr,  Hon.  Albert  G.. 
Burrill,  Edward  .... 

Burruss,  Harry  D 945 

Bushnell.  Lynian  S 1041 


IT.:! 


1011 


Cook,  Fre 


If.-. 


ngton,  Stephen  F. 

cornugtou.  Nelson  W..  ot» 

Corv.  Dr.  Luther 7* 

Costh  v.lli.j.  William..  786 

Criet,  David 1072 

Crow,  Dr    James  T 729 

Culver,  Dr.  S.  H 727 

Cnlver,  Edward  A 808 

Culver,  Dr.    Buel 724 

Cunningham,  Samuel..  950 

Cunningham,  Anthony.  853 

Cm  ningham,  i'ob't  L.  954 

Cunningham,  Wilson..  966 

Cunningham,  Geo.  W.  966 

Curnutt,  Janice  897 

Curtius,  Henry  799 


Eherlein,  Herman  T 

Edna rils,  Gilbert  H.... 

Edwards,  Joel 

Edwards,  En  

Edwards,  Fri  I 

Edwards.  Oshea  L 

Edwards.  Hale  S 

Edwards,  George. . 
Eldred,  Leouaid  E 
Eldred,  William... 
Eldred,  Eton  A.... 

Eldred,  Elou 

English,  Sr.I.indseyH.    5'2 

English,  James  W 

EiiL-lish,  10     Lind-cyll 
Euslow,  Ahraham 


Damm.  Dieter 937 

Dannu.  Jr.  Dieter 938 

Damm,   Christian 938 

Dan,  George... 812 

Davis,   Dr.  Cyrus  A 668 

Davis,  James'. 1072 

1040  Davis,  Francis  A 1030 

1149 


87'. 


115! 

mil 
1009 

ion 

1011 


Cameron.  Joseph  T 1035 

Campbell.  Rev.  Win.  M.  1055 

Campbell  Amburgh 112 

Canuedv,  James 895 

C'annedV,  George  W....    896 
Cannedr,  William  H...    896 

Cannedy,  James  F 983 

Carliu,  Thomas  J 

carlin,  William 

Carlin,  Thomas  

Carmody,  Cornelius. . 
Carmody,  Michael  L. 
Carmody,  John  O.... 
Carter,  Lorenzo  E . . . . 


lues  M 
Davis.  Hon     Robert  H..     681 

Davis,  William  A 69.i 

Davis.  George  W 693 

Dawson,  Henry  C 903 

Dayton,  Matthew 852 

Dayton,  Thomas  11  ....    852 

060,  Dayton,   Lewis     852 

983  Deeds.  Lafuyette 968 

De  Witt.  Dr"  M.   F 726 

Dixon.  Henry  J 905 

Dixon,  Hiram 904 

Dixon,  Solomon 897 

Dodgson,  David 1007 

Dodgson,  Oman  11X18 

Dodgson,  Peter 10O7 

Dodgson.  James 951 

Doseel,  Charles    1095 

Downs.  Thomas  B 977 

696  Downs.  Andrew  976 

en-'  Doyle,   Samuel 950 

661  Doyle,  Thomas  951 

1031  Drennan.  Sr.  J    P 1150 

1018  Drennan,  Jr.  J.  P 1152 

9.Y;  Dressel,  Joseph 798 

964  Duncan.  Thomas 1107 


1054 


Fanning,  George  W 

Farrellv.  Hugh  P... 

Felter,  Peter  

Fcnity,  Dr.  Peter  .. 

Fenity,  Dr.  E  

Furgeson,  .lane's  E. 

Field.  A.  J.  1!  

Finch,  Dr.  Thomas. 
Fischer,  Charles. . . 
Fiahback,  F.  M  ... 
Fitzeimons,  John  J 

Piatt,  Edward 

Flatt,  Jesse 

Fiatt,  Daniel 

Flatt,   Wesley 829 

Flatt,  W.  M 

Flatt,  James  B  829 


Haven,  W.  W 

Hays,  Dr.  J,  B 

Henderson,  James 

Henderson,  Joseph 

Henderson,  John  G 

Henley,  James  T 

leron.  James  G 

lerrlcfe    Geo.M 

lesket,  Caseiun 

Heuborger.  Joseph 

William 

Hill,  George  D 

George 

■n,  Hon.  Alfred... 

Ilobsou.  Peter 

Ilolison,  Thomas 

Mot.  ...n    Peter    J . ....    . 

Hodges,  Ilou.Chas.  D.. 

Moots.  .1  oil  11 

Hopper,  Stephen  D 

lloseltoii.    George 

Hough,  Thomas 

Adam 


1013 
1013 
1014 


se,  John. 


.James 1021 

Vhn  T 889 


;n.' 


1079 


Fry.  Gen.  Jacob... 

Gano,  Charles  F  ... 
Gardiner,  Rev.  C   J 

Gardiner.  Samuel  G 
Ciller,  Edward  A  .. 

Gillingham,  Baiubridge  99 

Gilinore,  Win    P  1138 

Gilsou.  Edward  P 712 

I  ioacher,  Albert. 984 

Goeddy.  Herman 875 

i  ioode,  John  L   947 

Goode,  William  B 947 

Graham,  George 938 

Brat  t.  Oscar  F 1093 

Greene.  S.  F... 

Greene,  John 670 

Greene,  William 
Greene,  Nelson.. 

Greene,  Elias  802 

Gregory.  Cliarb 

Grider,  Marshall  F 910 

Griswold,  Adouijah  ...  1069 

Griswold,  Loyal  P 1066 

Griswold,  Cyrus  1064 

Griswold,  Henry. 1064 

Griswold,  Edgar. 

Grocc,  Thomas sou 

Groves,  William  A 87o 


rd,  Jordan 

Howard,  John 

Hubbell.  James  G 

Huddle,  F.E  

Hudson,  Peter  B 

Hudson    William  H.... 

Hughes,  Dr    I.  S 

Hughes,  Albert  G 

limn.  Rowland  I)  

Hnitt.John  W 

it.  John  P 

Hunter,  John  W  

utt.  llartwell.. . 

Husted.  O.J     

Hasted,  Edward  H 

lint,  hens,  Elkanah... 
Hutchens,  Elkanah  D. 
David  ... 
Hyudmau,  William... 

Irwin,  James  M 


In.  kson.  t  iswald. 

James,  Charles  F 

Johnson,  John  D  

Johnson,  J.nnes  I 

Johnson. Gouverueur  E. 

Johnson,  John 

Johnson.  EdwardD  ... 

Jones,  David  B 

Jones,  Josiah 

rones,  John    

Jones,  John  II 


llahn,  David     960 

Hall,  Dr.  Benj.  J 732 

Hall,  Thomas 826 

Hall,  Julia  E  1036 

Hamilton.  B.  B 1101 

Hanev,  Albert  1127 

Hauk'ins,   Alexander...     93:' 

Hanson,   Henry  1156 

Hardcastle,  John   930 

Hardwiek.  (Ira    W 

Harper,  Ephraim  1072 


Kahrn,  Coourod 

Keach,  Hiram 

Keach,  Capt.  John  R.. 

Kelly,  Dr.  M     F 

Kendall,  Nathaniel... 

Kenuett,  Luther  M 

1016  Kennett.  William  C... 

Kincaid,  James  

Klncaid.  William  T  .. 
King,  Capt.  Luciau. . . 

King.  Alexander  

Kins,  Robert 

King.  Charle 


1071 
1055 
1058 


.  Thomas 
.  D.  F. 


Kii  bach,  Jonas 

Kolkhoff,  Otto 

Knox,  Thomas 

l.akin.  Judge  Leander. 
I  mil... I...,    Dr.  Wm.  O.. 


XVI 

BIOGRAPHICAL. 

Link,  Dr.  Eliza 

Little,  T.  A  

PAOB 
644 
Ml 

926 

'.»;;, 
11  w 
S76 
915 
1151 

833 
699 

ose 
1154 

727 
1090 

716 
1152 

803 

906 
1031 

939 
1121 

931 

930 
1057 

847 
11173 

854 

87'.' 

or, 

717 

731 
737 

888 
862 
899 
1054 
897 
897 
978 
1113 
710 
897 
954 
IOCS 
1099 
1123 
695 
888 
707 
790 

SMS 
099 
877 
934 
999 

981 
981 
1097 
832 
83:: 
68" 
873 

1151 
998 
90S 
967 

1112 
794 
793 

TAGE 

907 

907 
.  704 
.     718 

815 
.    801 

883 
1115 
1155 

844 

1037 

.     984 

940 
.  795 
.     735 

683 

1039 

.     723 

.  1017 

.  1024 

1006 

.  1006 

698 

901 

791 

1063 

1056 

.   1017 

848 

.     975 

.     985 

.   1059 

1089 

.   1099 

.  1022 

1109 

889 

.     846 

IliO 

.   1120 

845 

.     730 

.     809 

855 

.     734 

.   1024 

.     855 

.     932 

.     701 

.     990 

1041 
1062 
.  1114 
829 
830 
830 
831 
833 
997 
.     7:54 
997 
1069 
729 
833 
834 
690 
953 

f  11)53 
1134 
1134 

Schnelt,   John  B 

Schnelt,   Henry 

Schier.  Nicholas  

Schutz,  George 

Schild,  Frank  

Schmidt,  Christian 

Scrnggins,  Robert 

PAGE 

MIS 

mi; 
n  2" 

909 
963 
962 
91V.' 
963 
868 
871 
883 
854 
932 
931 
959 

sos 

93S 
731 
885 
885 

1129 
836 

1033 
730 

1135 

1131 
942 

H2i 

1632 
1033 

965 
1120 
1081 
882 
881 
899 
843 
569 
838 
838 
979 
978 
837 
1116 
988 
946 
789 
890 
1096 
853 
900 
900 
1145 
918 
735 
812 

1119 
94.5 
945 

VanArsdale,  James  H... 

PAGE 

1144 
1122 
898 
875 
870 
870 
1029 
1114 
1094 
1112 
1113 

798 
8^2 
944 
944 
719 
713 
1053 
737 
1098 
1036 
103S 
895 
940 
800 
1052 
954 
796 
975 
988 
795 
1068 
811 
884 
1104 
1104 
980 
811 
969 
897 
737 
673 
849 
936 
1091 
1091 
1092 
678 
869 
917 
101G 
707 
790 
934 
791 
672 
866 
836 
702 
ST6 
836 
837 
601 
892 
923 
1081 
674 
1137 
1096 
957 
950 
948 
1056 

Paiterson,  Lemuel  .1. . 
Patterson,  James  L. . . 

Parker,  Henry  L 

Pinker,  Thomas  S 

Parke,  Jesse  C.  C 
Pcarce,  E .  J 

Pegram,  Nathaniel 

Pcnucll,  J.  Garland.. 

Perry,  Augustine  T.. 
Peter,  Dr.  Edward  E 

Pigaott,  Dr.  Joseph.. 
Ph.kertou,   Wil  is  K.. 
PiHkerton,  Revel  E.. 

Piukerton,  J.  K 

Pinkertou,  Andrew  . . 

Varlile,  Elisha 

Wilder,   Orange  T 

Vedder,  Judge  Isaac  D. 

Vedder,  Aaron  F 

Vinyard,  John  W 

Vinyard,  'William  M 

Waddle,  Richard  C 

Walter.  Henrv 

Waltrip,  William 

Waltrip,  William  G 
Ward,  W.  M 

McAdams,  William  .. 

McConathy,  Perry 

McCauley,W.  W 

McCrucUen,  Elbert  M. 

Mclver,  W.  T  

McLane,  J.  1)  

McMahou.  Patrick  W. 

McNail,  Jobn  A 

McPheron,  Charles  W 

Seely,  Anthony  S 

Shallue.  Michael 

Shirley,  Dr.   E.  K 

Short,  Williams 

Short.  James  J 

Short,  John 

Sieverliug,  H.  C 

Simpson,  Dr.  James  F 
Slaten,  John  P.  Sr 
Slaten,  John  P.  Jr 
Sloue,  Asa 

Waters,  Dr.  J.  E 

Weimer,   Charles  A 
Weimer,  Adam  A 

Wellhauseu,  Frederick 

Weller,  John  G 

Whitmarsh,  Rev.  W  .  1 

White,  Joseph 

While.  Ira 

Whitlock,  William 

N  hitloek,  Capt.  James 
Whiteside,  James  H 

Williams,  J.  T 

Williams.  William  W.. 
Wilkinson,  Richard  II. 
Wilkinson,  Henley 
Wilson,   Thomas' 
Williams,  Jehu  T 
Wilkinson,  George 

Wilder,  Moses  J 

V»  ilson,   Dr.  Eberle 
W  inlers.  Col.  J.  C 

Win,  h, '11,  Mlas  H 

VI  inters.  William 

Winn,  Geo,  W 

Potts.  William 

Powell,  John  G.  V 
Powell,  Benjamin  B.. 
P'angcr.  John  B 

In:          1  h:  III  l«  D 

Prindle,  Lyman  T 

Prichctt.Dr  T.  W.  . 
Purl,  Gilbert  L 

Raferty,  Thomas  P 

Range,  Alfred  C 

Rathgeber,  John. ..   . 

Rawlins,  Janirs 

Rawlins,  Pleasant  A. 

Redwine,  Dr.  J.  W.    . 
Reinecke, William  C  . 
Reynolds,  John  11 
Reynolds,  Dr.O.  K... 
Reynolds,  George  W. 
Reynolds,  Joseph  C, 

MiS    Je-epli 
Rigg,   William  P 

Smcad,  Charles  K 
Smith,  Dr.  Alex.  H 

Smith,  Edward 

Smith,  William  S 

Smith,  Benjamin 

Smith,  HenryS 

smith.  William  W 

Smith. Samuel  T 

Snvder.  John 

Speaks,  William 

Mason,  William 

Mayer,  Peter 

Meldrum,  George  W. 

Mcidrum,  Wiil 

Melvin.  John 

Meverstein,  Mark 

Miller,  Dr.  Adam  E  .t 
Miller,  Dr.  JameeN... 
Million,  Kev.  Marcus  \\ 
Mills,  Robert  

Miner,  Edward 

Mitchell.   Robert 

Miichell,  Andrew  K... 
Mitchell,  Jackson  G.. 
Mitchell,  Absalom     . 
Montgomery,  H.  H 

Morrow,  Oliver  A 

Morrow,  John  A. 

Morrow,  Zacbariah  A. 
Morrow,  Alexander  R. 
Morrow,  William  M... 

Spencer,  Henry  R 

Spencer,  William  B 

S)ieiicer,  James  It 

Spencer.  Elisha 

Spencer,  Henry  M 

Stevens,   Clark 

Winn,   Richard  B 

U  itlicis.  Hon.  Henrv  C 

Witaschek.  Andrew 

Witmer,  D.  O 

Witt,  Eli 

Wnt,  Geo.  W 

Stone,    James 

Stringer,  William  M... 

Stringer.  Lerov 

Stl'link.  William  1> 

Stubblefield,  James  11.. 
Stubblefleld,  Dr.  F.  A.. 
Sunderland,  William  S 

Taylor,  Alfred  W 

Robards,  W.  L 

Roberts,    Lewis 

Roberts,  Wm.  J 

Robley,  Richard 

Robley,  Charles 

Robley,  George  B 

Rollins,  Harry 

Rollins,  Dr.  J.  L 

Ross,  Dr.  Geo.  W 
Russell,  Spencer  G. , 

Wilt,  Geo.  M 

Witt,  William  T 

Witt,  Franklin 

Mulberry,  J.  C 

Neighbours,  Thomas. . 

Nolan,  William  H        . 

Nolan,  John 

Nultou,  Col.  J.  B 

Thaxton,  H.  Clay 

Thomas,  John  I 

1005 
1004 
1002 
924 

863 

Wood,  John  L 

Wood,  Alien  B 

Woodson.  Hon.  D.  M.. 
Woolley,  Norman  C 

Thomasson,  William... 
Thomassou,  John  N  ... 
Tompkins.  Benj.  G 
Tompkins.  Dr.  Abram 

788 
735 
1063 
1066 
1061 
686 
733 
663 

Woollev,  DaWd 

Worcester,  Linus  E 
Worcester,  Hal.  C 
Worcester,  Fulton  F 

Wright.  Andrew  J 

Wright.  Thomas,  Jr 

Samuel.  Dr  James  B.. 
Sauer,  Rev.  Augustine 

Sawyer,  George  N 

Tunison,  Jacob  D 

Tuuuell.  Calvin 

Turner,  Dr.  W.  D 

Owdom,  W.  W 

Owingfl,  Albert  H 

Ozbun.  Benjamin  F... 

HISTORY  OF  ILLINOIS. 


GHAPTRR    I. 


ILLINOIS,  the  fourth  state  in  the 
Union  in  wealth,  population  and  po- 
litical power,  lies  in  the  very  heart 
Of  the  upper  valley  of  the  Mississippi. 
Stretching  ever  rive  degrees  of  latitude, 
from  parallel  37J  to  42'.  it  hasconsider- 
able  diversity,  both  of  soil  and  climate. 
The  boundary  line  of  the  state  is  about 
twelve  hundred  miles  in  length.  From 
the  poinl  where  it  joins  the  Wisconsin 
line  on  the  northeast.  Lake  Michigan 
hounds  it  on  the  east  for  fifty  miles  to 
the  northwest  corner  of  Indiana:  thence 
a  line  is  drawn  due  south  one  hundred 
and  sixty-eight  miles  to  the  Wabash 
river.  The  Wabash  and  Ohio  rivers 
constitute  the  remainder  of  the  eastern 
and  southern  boundaries,  while  the 
lordly  Mississippi  washes  its  entire 
western  border.  The  extreme  length  of 
the  state  is  three  hundred  and  seventy- 
eight  miles;  the  extreme  breadth,  in  the 
latitude  of  Danville  and  Rushville,  is 
two  hundred  and  ten  miles,  and  the  av- 
erage breadth  is  about  one  hundred 
and  fifty  miles. 

Illinois  contains  55,405  square  miles, 
or  more  than   35,000,000  acres  of  land. 


Fully  two-thirds  of  this  is  prairie,  and 
nearly  all  of  it  is  susceptible  to  proper 
cultivation.  The  state  has  10,000  more 
square  miles  than  New  York  or  Ohio, 
and  is  larger  than  Pennsylvania  and 
New  Jersey  combined,  and  is  almost  as 
large  as  all  the  New  England  states 
taken  together. 

THE    MOUND*  BUILDERS. 

That  Illinois  was  inhabited  by  a  race 
of  men  prior  to  the  present  Indian  race 
that  yet  inhabit  a  portion  of  the  Union, 
hardly  admits  of  a  doubt.  It  is  clearly 
demonstrated  by  the  well  authenticated 
accounts  of  discoveries  made  that  a  civ- 
ilized people,  and  one  highly  cultivated, 
once  occupied  tin?  great  "Prairie"  state, 
and  various  parts  of  the  country  now- 
constituting  the  American  union,  but 
the  date  of  their  rule  in  the  western 
world  is  so  remote  that  all  traces  of  this 
history,  progress  and  decay,  lie  buried 
in  the  deepest  obscurity.  This  pre- 
historic race  is  known  as  the  Mound 
Builders,  from  the  numerous  large 
mounds  of  earthworks  left  by  them. 
Their  character  can  be  but  partially 
gleaned  from  the  internal  evidences  ami 


peculiarities  of  all  that  remains  of  them 
— till'  mounds.  Remains  of  what  were 
apparently  villages,  altars,  temples, 
idols,  cemeteries,  monuments,  camps, 
fortifications,  and  pleasure  grounds 
have  been  found,  hut  nothing  showing 
of  what  material  were  their  habitations. 
The  question  as  to  the  origin  of  the 
Mound  Builders  is  an  interesting  one. 
If  they  were  not  the  ancestors  of  the 
Indians,  who  were  they?  Those  who  do 
not  believe  in  the  common  parentage  of 
mankind,  contend  that  they  were  an  in- 
digenous race  of  the  western  hemis- 
phere; others  think  they  came  from  the 
east,  ami  imagine  the  religion  of  the 
Hindoos  and  southern  Tartars,  and  the 

Supposed  theology  of  the  Mound  Build- 
er- to  he  coincident  and  identical.  They 
were,  no  doubt,  idolators,  and  it  has 
been  conjectured  that  the  sun  was  the 
object  of  their  adoration.  The  mounds 
were  generally  built  in  a  situation  af- 
fording a  view  of  tli*  rising  sun;  when 
enclosed  in  walls,  their  gateways  were 
toward  the  east;  the  caves  in  which 
their  dead  were  occasionally  buried  al- 
ways opened  in  the  same  direction; 
whenever  a  mound  was  partially  enclos- 
ed by  a  semi-circular  pavement,  it  was 
on  the  east  side;  when  bodies  were  bur- 
ied in  graves,  as  was  frequently  the 
ease,  they  were  laid  in  a  direction  east 
and  west;  and,  finally,  medals  have 
been  found  representing  the  sun  and 
his  rays  of  light. 

At  what  period  they  came  to  this 
country,  or  how,  is  likewise  a  matter  of 
speculation.  From  the  comparatively 
rude  state  of  tin'  arts  among  them,  it 
has  been  inferred  that  the  time  was 
very  remote.  Their  axes  were  of  stone, 
lie  lr  raiment,  judging  from   fragments 


which  have  been  discovered,  consisted 

of  the  hark  of  trees,  interwoven  with 
feaHiers;  and  their  military  works  were 
such  as  a  people  would  erect  who  had 
just  passed  to  the  pastoral  state  of  soci- 
ety from  thai  dependent  alone  upon 
bunting  and  fishing. 

The  mounds  and  other  ancient  earth- 
works constructed  by  this  people  are  far 
more  abundant  than  generally  suppos- 
ed, from  the  fact  that  while  some  are 
quite  large,  the  greater  part  of  them  are 
small  and  inconspicuous.  Alongneafly 
all  our  water-courses  that  are  large 
enough  to  he  navigated  with  a  canoe, 
the  mounds  are  almost  invarably  found, 
covering  the  base  points  and  headlands 
of  the  hluffs  which  border  the  narrower 
valleys:  so  that,  when  one  finds  himself 
in  such  positions  as  to  command  the 
grandest  views  for  river  scenery,  he  may 
almost  always  discover  that  he  is  stand- 
ing upon,  or  in  close  proximity  to.  some 
one  or  more  of  these  traces  of  the  labors 
of  an  ancient  people. 

One  of  the  most  singular  earthworks 
in  the  state,  was  found  on  the  top  of  a 
ridge  near  the  east  hank  of  the  Sinsin- 
awa  creek,  in  the  lead  region.  It  re- 
sembled  some  huge  animal,  the  head, 
ears,  nose,  legs,  and  tail,  and  general 
outline  of  which,  being  as  perfect  as  if 
made  by  men  versed  in  modern  art. 
The  ridge  on  which  it  was  situated 
stands  on  the  prairie,  300  yards  wide, 
100  feet  in  height  and  rounded  on  the  top 
by  a  deep  deposit  of  clay.  Centrally, 
along  the  line  of  its  summit,  ami  thrown 
up  in  the  form  of  an  embankment  three 
fret  high,  extended  the  outline  of  a 
quadruped,  measuring  250  feet  from  the 
tip  of  the  nose  to  tin-  end  of  tin1  tail, 
and   having  a    width    of  18   feet  at  the 


HISTORY  OF   ILLINOIS. 


19 


centre  of  the  body.  The  head  was  :;.">  feel 
in  length,  the  ears  in  feet,  legs  60,  and 
tail  75.  The  curvature  on  both  the  fore 
and  hind  legs,  was  natural  to  an  animal 
lying  on  its  side.  The  general  outline 
of  the  figure  must  nearly  resemble. 1  the 
extinct  animal  known  to  geologists  as 
the  Megatherium.  The  question  nat- 
urally arises,  by  whom  and  for  what 
purpose  was  this  earth  figure  raised  '.' 
Some  have  conjectured  that  numbers  of 
this  now  extinet  animal  lived  ami 
roamed  over  the  prairies  of  Illinois 
when  the  Mound-Builders  first  made 
their  appearance  on  the  upper  part  of 
,  the  Mississippi  Valley,  and  that  the 
wonder  and  admiration,  excited  by  the 
colossal  dimensions  of  these  huge  creat- 
ures, found  some  expression  in  the  er- 
ection of  this  figure.  The  bone-  of 
some  similar  gigantic  animals  were 
exhume. 1  on  this  stream  about  three 
mil'--  from  the  Same  place. 

Mr.  Breckenridge,  who  examined  the 
antiquities  of  the  western  country  in 
1817,  speaking  of  the  mounds  in  the 
American  Bottom,  says:  •'The  great 
number  and  extremely  large  size  of 
some  of  them  may  he  regarded  as  fur- 
nishing, with  other  circumstances,  evi- 
dences of  their  antiquity.  I  have  some 
times  been  induced  to  think  that  at 
the  perio  1  when  they  were  constructed 
there  was  a  population  here  as  numer- 
ous as  that  which  once  animated  the 
borders  of  the  Nile  or  Euphrates,  or  of 
.Mexico.  The  most  numerous,  as  well 
a-  considerable  of  these  remains,  are 
found  in  precisely  those  parts  of  the 
country  where  the  traces  of  a  numerous 
population  might  be  looked  for.  namely, 
from  the  mouth  of  the  <  >hio.  on  tl 
side  of  the   Mississippi,    to  the    Illinois 


river,  ami  on  the  west  from  the  St. 
Francis  to  the  Missouri .  I  am  perfectly 
satisfied  that  cities  similar  to  those  of 
ancient  .Mexico,  of  several  hundred 
thousand  souls,  have  existed  in  this 
country." 

OTHER    HACKS. 

Following  the  Mound-Builders  as  in- 
habitants of  North  America,  were,  as  it 
is  supposed,  the  people  who  reared  the 
magnificent  cities  the  ruins  of  which  are 
found  in  Central  America.  This  people 
was  far  more  civilized  and  advanced  in 
the  arts  than  were  the  Mound-Builders. 
The  cities  built  by  them,  judging  from 
the  ruins  of  broken  columns,  fallen 
arches  and  crumbling  walls  of  temples, 
palaces  and  pyramids,  which  in  some 
places  tor  miles  bestrew  the  ground, 
must  have  been  of  great  extent,  mag- 
nificent and  very  populous.  When  we 
consider  the  vast  period  of  time  acces- 
sary to  erect  such  colossal  -tinctures, 
and.  again,  the  time  required  to  reduce 
them  to  their  present  ruined  state,  we 
can  conceive  something  of  their  antiqu- 
ity. These  cities  must  have  been  old 
when  many  of  the  ancient  cities  of  the 
Orient  were  being  built. 

The  third  race  inhabiting  North  Amer- 
ica distinct  from  the  former  two  in  every 
particular,  is  the  present  Indians.  They 
were,  when  visited  by  the  early  discov- 
erers, without  cultivation,  refinement 
or  literature,  and  far  behind  the  Mound 
Builders  in  the  knowledge  of  the  arts. 
The  question  of  their  origin  has  long 
interested  archaeologists,  and  is  the  most 
difficult  they  have  been  called  upon  to 
answer.  Of  their  predecessor,  the  In- 
dian tribes  knew  nothing;  they  even  had 
no   traditions    respecting   them.       It    is 


120 


HISTORY  OF  ILLINOIS. 


quite  certain  that  they  were  the  succes- 
sors of  a  race  that  had  entirely  passed 
away  ages  before  the  discovery  of  the 

new  world.  One  hypothesis  is  that  the 
American  Indians  are  an  original  race 
indigenous  to  the  western  hemisphere. 
Those  who  entertain  this  view  think 
their  peculiarities  of  physical  structure 
preclude  the  possibility  of  a  common 
parentage  with  the  rest  of  mankind. 
Prominent  among  those  distinctive  traits 
is  the  hair,  which  in  the  red  man  is 
round,  in  the  white  man  oval,  and  in 
the  black  man  flat.  A  more  common 
supposition,  however,  is  that  they  are  a 
derivative  race,  and  sprang  from  one  or 
more  of  the  ancient  peoples  of  Asia. 
This  last  is  doubtless  the  true  theory. 


When  Christopher  Columbus  had 
finally  succeeded  in  demonstrating  the 
truth  of  his  theory,  that  by  sailing  west 
from  Europe  land  would  be  discovered, 
landing  on  the  island  of  San  Salvador 
he  supposed  that  he  had  reached  the 
East  Indies.  This  was  an  error,  but  it 
led  to  the  adoption  of  the  name  of  "In- 
dians" for  the  inhabitants  of  the  newly 
discovered  country,  by  which  name  the 
red  men  of  America  have  ever  since 
been  known.  At  the  time  of  the  discov- 
ery of  America,  the  Algonquins,  one  of 
the  most  powerful  tribes  of  Indians,  oc- 
cupied the  seaboard,  while  the  Iroquois, 
another  great  tribe,  inhabited  the  coun- 
try almost  surrounded  by  them.  The 
Algonquins  spread  over  vast  territory, 
and  various  tribes  of  Algonquin  lineage 
sprang  up  over  the  country,  in  time 
adopting  distinct  tribal  customs  and 
laws.  An  almost  continuous  warfare 
was  carried  on  between  tribes,  but  when 


the  white  linn  came,  a  confederacy  of 
Indian  tribes  was  formed,  and  every  foot 
of  territory  was  fiercely  disputed.  The 
Algonquins  formed  the  most  extensive 
alliance  to  resist  the  encroachments  of 
the  whites,  especially  the  English.  Such 
was  the  nature  of  King  Philip's  war. 
This  king,  with  his  Algonquin  braves, 
spread  terror  and  desolation  throughout 
New  England.  With  the  Algonquins  as 
the  controlling  spirit,  a  confederacy  of 
continental  proportions  was  the  result, 
embracing  in  its  alliance  the  tribes  of 
every  name  and  lineage  from  the  north- 
ern lakes  to  the  gulf.  Pontiac  having 
breathed  into  them  his  implacable  hate 
of  the  English  intruders,  ordered  the 
conflict  to  commence,  and  all  the  British 
colonies  trembled  before  the  desolating 
fury  of  Indian  vengeance. 

ILLINOIS    CONFEDERACY. 

The  Illinois  confederacy,  the  various 
tribes  of  which  comprised  most  of  the 
Indians  of  Illinois  at  one  time,  was  com- 
posed of  five  tribes;  theTamaroas,  Mich- 
igans,  Kaskaskias,  Cahokias  and  Peo- 
rias.  The  Illinois,  Miamis  and  Dela- 
wares  were  of  the  same  stock.  As  early 
as  1670,  the  priest,  Father  Marquette, 
mentions  frequent  visits  made  by  indi- 
viduals of  this  confederacy  to  the  mis- 
sionary station  at  St.  Esprit,  near  the 
western  extremity  of  Lake  Superior. 
At  that  time  they  lived  west  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi, in  eight  villages,  whither  they 
had  been  driven  from  the  shores  of  Lake 
Michigan  by  the  Iroquois.  Shortly  af- 
terward, they  began  to  return  to  their 
old  hunting  grounds,  and  most  of  them 
finally  settled  in  Illinois.  .loliet  and 
Marquette;  in  1673,  met  with  a  hand  of 
them  on  their  famous  voyage  of  discov- 


HISTORY  OF  ILLINOIS. 


21 


cry  down  the  Mississippi.  They  were 
treated  with  the  greatest  hospitality  by 
the  principal  chief.  <  m  their  return  voy- 
age up  the  Illinois  river,  they  stopped  at 
the  principal  town  of  the  confederacy, 
situated  on  the  banks  of  the  river,  seven 
miles  below  the  present  town  of  Ottawa. 
It  was  then  called  Kaskaskia.  Mar- 
quette returned  t<>  the  village  in  1675, 
and  established  the  mission  of  the  Im- 
maculate Conception,  the  oldest  in  Ill- 
inois. When,  in  1679,  LaSalle  visited 
the  town,  it  had  greatly  increased,  num- 
bering 4t;t)  lodges,  and  at  the  annual  as- 
sembly of  the  different  tribes,  from  6,000 
to  8, OIK)  souls.  In  common  with  other 
western  tribes,  they  became  involved 
in  the  conspiracy  of  Pontiac,  although 
displaying  no  very  great  warlike  spirit. 
Pontiac  lost  his  life  by  the  hands  of  one 
of  the  braves  of  the  Illinois  tribe,  which 
so  enraged  the  nations  that  had  followed 
him  as  their  leader,  that  they  fell  upon 
the  Illinois  to  avenge  his  death,  and  al- 
most annihilated  them.  Tradition  states 
that  a  hand  of  this  tribe,  in  order  to  es- 
cape the  general  slaughter,  took  refuge 
upon  the  high  rock  on  the  Illinois  river 
known  as  "Starved  Lock."  Nature  has 
made  this  one  of  the  most  formidable 
military  fortresses  in  the  world.  From 
the  waters  which  wash  its  base,  it  rises 
to  an  altitude  of  125  feet.  Three  of  its 
sides  it  is  impossible  to  scale,  while  the 
other  may  he  climbed  with  difficult}  . 
From  its  summit,  almost  as  inaccessible 
as  an  eagle's  nest,  the  valley  of  the  Illi- 
nois is  seen  as  a  landscape  of  exquisite 
beauty.  The  river  near  by  struggles 
between  a  number  of  wooded  islands, 
while  further  below  it  quietly  meanders 
through  vast  meadows  until  it  disap- 
pears like  a  thread  of  light   in  the  dim 


distance.  On  the  summit  ol  this  rock, 
the  Illinois  were  besieged  by  a  superior 
force  of  the  Pottawattamies,  whom  the 
great  strength  of  their  natural  fortress 
enabled  them  to  keep  at  hay.  Hunger 
ami  thirst,  however,  soon  accomplished 
what  the  army  was  unable  to  effect. 
Surrounded  by  a  relentless  foe,  without 
food  or  water,  they  took  a  last  look  at 
their  beautiful  hunting  grounds,  and 
with  true  Indian  fortitude,  laid  down 
and  died  from  starvation.  Years  after- 
ward, their  hones  were  seen  whitening 
in  that  place. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  present  cen- 
tury, the  remnants  of  this  once  powerful 
confederacy  were  forced  into  a  smaller 
compass  around  Kaskaskia.  A  few 
years  later  they  emigrated  to  the  south- 
west, and  in  1850  they  were  in  the  In- 
dian Territory,  and  numbered  but  84 
persons. 

EARLY  DISCOVERIES. 

Nicholas  Perrot,  a  Frenchman,  was 
the  first  white  man  to  visit  the  present 
great  state  of  Illinois.  In  the  year  1671, 
he  was  sent  to  Chicago  by  M.  Talon,  in- 
tendant  of  Canada,  for  the  purpose  of 
inviting  the  Indians  to  a  peace  conven- 
tion, to  be  held  at  Green  Hay.  The  ob- 
ject of  this  convention  was  the  forma- 
tion of  a  plan  for  the  exploration  of  the 
Mississippi  river.  De  Soto,  the  Spanish 
explorer,  had  discovered  the  river 
nearly  one  hundred  and  fifty  years  pre- 
viously, but  did  not  effect  a  settlement 
or  explore  the  country  any  farther.  It 
remained  as  it  was  until  the  French  de- 
termined to  visit  it,  for  which  purpose 
it  was  deemed  a  wise  policy,  as  far  as 
possible,  to  secure  the  friendship  and 
co-operation  of  the  Indians,  before  ven- 
turing  upon  an  enterprise  which  their 


HISTORY  OF  ILLINOIS. 


hostility  might  render  disastrous.  A 
plan  was  accordingly  arranged,  and 
Louis  Joliet  joined  Father  Jacques  Mar- 
quette at  the  Jesuit  Mission,  on  the 
strait  of  Mackinaw,  and  with  five  other 
Frenchmen,  and  a  simple  outfit,  the 
daring  explorers,  on  the  17th  of  May, 
1673,  set  out  on  their  perilous  voyage  to 
discover  the  Mississippi.  Coasting 
along  the  northern  shore  of  Lake  Mich- 
igan,  they  entered  Green  Bay,  and 
passed  thence  up  Fox  river  and  Lake 
Winnebago,  to  a  village  of  the  Musca- 
tines  and  Miamis,  where  great  interest 
was  taken  in  the  expedition  by  the  na- 
tives. With  guides  they  proceeded 
down  the  river.  Arriving  at  the  port- 
age, they  soon  carried  their  eight  canoes 
and  scanty  baggage  to  the  Wisconsin, 
about  three  miles  distant.  Their  guides 
now  refused  to  accompany  them  further, 
and  endeavored  by  reciting  the  dangers 
incident  to  the  voyage,  to  induce  them 
to  return.  They  stated  that  huge  de- 
mons dwelt  in  the  great  river,  whose 
voices  could  be  heard  a  long  distance, 
and  who  engulfed  in  the  raging  waters 
all  who  came  within  their  reach.  They 
also  stated  that  if  any  of  them  should 
escape  the  dangers  of  the  river,  tierce 
tribes  of  Indians  dwelt  upon  its  hanks,1 
ready  to  complete  the  work  of  destruc- 
tion. They  proceeded  upon  their  jour- 
ney, however,  and  on  the  17th  of  June, 
pushed  their  frail  harks  upon  the  bosom 
of  the  stately  Mississippi,  down  which 
they  smoothly  glided  for  nearly  a  hun- 
dred miles.  Here  Joliet  and  Marquette, 
having  their  canoes  in  charge  of  their 
men  went  upon  the  western  shore,  where 
they  discovered  an  Indian  village,  and 
were  kindly  treated.  They  journeyed 
on  down  the  unknown  river,  passing  the 


mouth  of  the  Illinois,  then  running  into 
the  current  of  the  muddy  Missouri,  and 
afterwards  the  waters  of  the  ( >hio  joined 
with  them  on  their  journey  southward. 
Near  the  mouth  of  the  Arkansas  they 
discovered  Indians  who  showed  signs  of 
hostility;  but  when  Marquette's  mission 
of  peace  was  made  known  to  them,  they 
were  kindly  received.  After  proceeding 
up  the  Arkansas  a  short  distance,  at  the 
advice  of  the  natives,  they  turned  their 
faces  northward  to  retrace  their  steps. 
After  several  weeks  of  hard  toil,  they 
reached  the  Illinois,  up  which  they  pro- 
ceeded to  Lake  Michigan.  Following 
the  western  shore  of  the  lake,  they  en- 
tered Green  Bay  the  latter  part  of  Sep- 
tember, having  traveled  a  distance  of 
■1, 500  miles. 

FIRST    SETTLEMENTS. 

On  his  way  up  the  Illinois,  Marquette 
visited  the  Kaskaskias,  near  what  is  now 
Utica,  in  LaSalle  county.  The  follow- 
ing year  he  returned,  and  established 
among  them  the  mission  of  the  Immac- 
ulate Conception.  This  was  the  last  act 
of  his  life.  He  died  in  Michigan,  May 
18,  1675.  The  town  was  named  Kas- 
kaskia  by  Marquette. 

The  first  military  occupation  of  the 
country  was  at  Fort  Crevecoeur,  erected 
in  1H80;  but  there  is  no  evidence  that 
a  settlement  was  commenced  there,  or 
at  Peoria,  on  the  lake  above,  at  that  early 
date.  The  tirst  settlement  of  which 
there  is  any  authentic  account  was  com- 
menced with  the  building  of  Fort  St. 
Louis,  on  the  Illinois  river,  in  1682;  but 
this  was  soon  abandoned.  The  oldest 
permanent  settlement,  not  only  in  Illi- 
nois, but  in  the  valley  of  the  Mississippi, 
was  at  Kaskaskia,   six  miles  above  its 


HISTORY  OF  ILLINOIS. 


23 


confluence  with  the  Mississippi  and  the 
Prairie  du  Rocher,  near  Fort  Chartres. 

Fort  Chartres  was  built  under  the  direc- 
tion of  the  Mississippi  company  in  1718, 
and  was  for  a  time  the  headquarters  of 
the  military  commandants  of  the  dis- 
trict of  Illinois,  and  the  most  impreg- 
nable fortress  in  North  America.  It  was 
also  the  center  of  wealth  and  fashion  in 
west.  Forabput  eighty  years,  the  French 
retained  peaceable  possession  of  Illi- 
nois. Their  amiable  disposition  ami 
tact  of  ingratiating  themselves  with  the 
Indians,  enabled  them  to  escape  almost 
entirely  the  broils  which  weakened  and 
destroyed  other  colonies.  Whether  ex- 
ploring remote  rivers  or  traversing 
hunting  grounds  in  pursuit  of  game,  in 
tin'  social  circle  or  as  participants  in  the 
religious  exercises  of  the  church,  the  red 
men  became  their  associates,  and  were 
treated  with  the  kindness  and  consid- 
eration of  brothers.  For  more  than  a 
hundred  years,  peace  between  tin' white 
man  and  the  red  was  unbroken,  and 
when  at  last  this  reign  of  harmony  ter- 
minated, it  was  not  caused  by  the  con- 
ciiatory  Frenchman,  hut  by  the  blunt 
and  sturdy  Anglo  -  Saxon.  During  this 
century,  or  until  the  country  was  occu- 
pied by  the  English,  no  regular  court 
was  ever  held.  When,  in  17(>5,  the 
country  passed  into  the  hands  of  the 
English,  many  of  the  French,  rather  than 
submit  to  a  change  in  their  institutions. 
preferred  to  leave  their  homes  and  seek 
a  new  abode.  There  are.  however,  at 
the  present  time,  a  few  remnants  of  the 
old  French  stock  in  the  state,  who  still 
retain  to  a  great  extent,  the  ancient 
habits  and  customs  of  their  fathers. 
ENGLISH  KILE. 
In    1750    France     claimed    the    whole 


valley  of  the  Mississippi,  and  England 
the  right  to  extend  her  possessions  west- 
ward as  far  as  she  might  desire. 
Through  colonial  controversies,  the  two 
mother  countries  were  precipitated  into 

a   hi ly  war  within  the  Northwestern 

Territory,  George  Washington  firing 
the  First  gun  of  the  military  struggle 
which  resulted  in  the  overthrow  id'  the 
French,  not  only  in  I  Hindis,  hut  in  North 
America.  The  French  evinced  a  deter- 
mination to  retain  control  of  the  terri- 
tory borderingthe  Ohio  ami  Mississippi, 
from  Camilla  to  the  Gulf,  and  so  long 
as  the  English  colonies  were  confined 
to  the  sea-coast,  there  was  little  reason 
fin-  controversy.  As  the  English,  how- 
ever, became  acquainted  with  this  beau- 
tiful and  fertile  portion  of  our  country, 
they  not  only  learned  the  value  of  the 
vast  territory,  hut  also  resolved  to  set 
up  a  counter-claim  to  the  soil.  The 
French  established  numerous  military 
and  trading  posts  from  the  frontiers  of 
Canada  to  New  Orleans,  and  in  order  to 
establish  also  their  claims  to  jurisdic- 
tion over  the  country,  they  carved  the 
lilies  of  France  on  the  forest  tree-,  or 
sank  plates  of  metal  in  the  ground. 
These  measures  did  not,  however,  deter 
the  English  from  going  on  with  their  ex- 
plorations; and  though  neither  party 
resorted  to  arms,  yet  the  conflict  was 
gathering,  and  it  was  only  a  question  of 
time  when  the  storm  should  hurst  upon 
the  frontier  settlement.  The  French 
based  their  claims  upon  discoveries, 
the  English  on  giants  of  territory  ex- 
tern ling  from  ocean  to  ocean,  hut  neither 
party  paid  the  slightest  attention  to  the 
prior  claims  of  the  Indians.  From  this 
position  of  affairs,  it  was  evident  that 
the   actual    collision    between   the   con- 


24 


HISTORY  OF  ILLINOIS. 


tending  parties  would  not  much  longer 
be  deferred.  The  English  government, 
in  anticipation  of  a  war,  urged  the  gov- 
ernor of  Virginia  to  lose  no  time  in 
building  two  forts,  which  were  equipped 
by  arms  from  England.  The  French 
anticipated  the  English,  and  gathered  a 
considerable  force  to  defend  their  pos- 
sessions. The  governor  determined  to 
send  a  messenger  to  the  nearest  French 
post,  and  demand  an  explanation.  This 
resolution  of  the  governor  brought  into 
the  history  of  our  country  for  the  first 
time  the  man  of  all  others  whom  Amer- 
ica most  loves  to  honor,  namely, 
George  Washington.  He  was  chosen, 
although  not  twenty-one  years  of  age, 
as  the  one  to  perform  this  delicate  and 
difficult  mission.  With  five  compan- 
ions he  set  out,  on  November  10,  1753, 
and  after  a  perilous  journey,  returned 
January  6,  17o4.  The  struggle  com- 
menced, and  continued  long,  and  was 
bloody  and  fierce;  but  on  the  10th  of 
October,  1765,  theensign  of  France  was 


replaced  on  the  ramparts  of  Fort 
Ohartres,  by  the  flag  of  Great  Britain. 
This  fort  was  the  depot  of  supplies,  and 
the  place  of  rendezvous  for  the  united 
forces  of  the  French.  At  this  time  the 
colonies  of  the  Atlantic  sea-board  were 
assembled  in  preliminary  congress  at 
New  York,  dreaming  of  Liberty  and  in- 
dependence for  the  continent;  and 
Washington,  who  led  the  expedition 
against  the  French  for  the  English 
King,  in  less  than  ten  years. was  com- 
manding the  forces  opposed  to  the  Eng- 
lish tyrant.  Illinois,  besides  being 
constructively  a  part  of  Florida  for 
over  one  hundred  years,  during  which 
time  no  Spaniard  set  foot  upon  her  soil 
or  rested  his  eyes  upon  her  beautiful 
plains,  for  nearly  ninety  years  had  been 
in  the  actual  occupation  of  the  French, 
their  puny  settlements  slumbering 
quietly  in  colonial  dependence  on  the 
distant  waters  of  the  Kaskaskia,  Illinois 
and  Wabash. 


CHAPTER    II. 


COUNTY   AND   TERR 

The  Northwest  Territory  was  now  en- 
tirely under  English  rule,  and  on  the 
breaking  out  of  the  Revolutionary  war, 
the  British  held  every  post  of  impor- 
tance in  the  west.  While  the  colonists 
of  the  East  were  maintaining  a  fierce 
struggle  with  the  armies  of  England, 
their  western  frontiers  were   ravaged  by 


ITORY  -OF    ILLINOIS. 

the  merciless  butcheries  of  Indian  war- 
fare. The  jealousy  of  the  savage  was 
aroused  to  action  by  the  rapid  extension 
of  American  settlement  westward,  and 
the  improper  influence  exerted  by  a 
number  of  military  posts,  garrisoned  by 
British  troops.  To  prevent  indiscrimi- 
nate slaughter,  arising  from  these  causes, 


HISTORY  OF  ILLINOIS. 


2.') 


Illinois  became  the  theatre  of  some  of 
the  most  daring  exploits  connected  with 

American  history.  The  hero  of  the 
achievements  by  which  this  beautiful 
land  was  snatched  as  a  gem  from  the 
British  crown,  was  George  Rogers  Clark. 
of  Virginia.  Be  had  closely  watched 
the  movements  of  the  British  through- 
out the  northwest,  and  understood  their 
whole  plan;  he  also  knew  the  Indians 
were  not  unanimously  in  accord  with 
the  English,  and  therefore  was  con- 
vinced that  if  the  British  could  he  de- 
feated and  expelled  from  the  northwest, 
the  natives  could  he  easily  awed  into 
neutrality.  Having  convinced  himself 
that  the  enterprise  against  the  Illinois 
settlement  might  easily  succeed,  he  re- 
paired to  the  capital  of  Virginia,  arriv- 
ing November  5,  1777.  While  he  was 
on  his  way.  fortunately,  Burgoyne  was 
defeated  (October  17).  and  the  spirits  of 
the  colonists  were  thereby  greatly  en- 
couraged. Patrick  Henry  was  governor 
of  Virginia,  and  at  once  entered  heart- 
ily into  Clark's  plans.  After  satisfying 
the  \  lrgini  i  leaders  ci  the  t:  asibihty  of 
his  project,  hi'  received  two  sets  of  in- 
structions—one secret,  the  other  open. 
The  latter  authorized  him  to  enlist  seven 
companies  to  goto  Kentucky,  and  serve 
three  months  after  their  arrival  in  the 
west.  The  secret  order  authorized  him 
to  arm  these  troops,  to  procure  his  pow- 
der and  lead  of  General  Hand,  af  Pitts- 
burg, and  to  proceed  at  once  to  subju- 
gate the  country. 

With  these  instructions  Colonel  Clark 
repaired  to  Pittsburg,  choosing  ratherto 
raise  his  men  west  of  the  mountains,  as 
he  well  knew  all  were  needed  in  the  col- 
onies for  the  conflict  there.  Enlisting 
his  men,  he  at  once  proceeded  to  carry 


out  his  instructions.  His  plan  was  to 
go  by  water  as  far  as  Fort  Massac,  and 
thence  march  direct  to  Kaskaskia. 
Here  he  intended  to  surprise  the  garri- 
son, and  after  its  capture  go  to  ( 'ahokia, 
then  to  Vincennes,  and  lastly  to  Detroit. 
Each  of  these  posts  were,  in  turn  cap- 
tured. 

The  services  of  Clark  proved  of  es- 
sential advantage  to  his  countrymen. 
They  disconcerted  the  plans  of  Hamil- 
ton, the  governor  of  Detroit,  who  was 
intending  to  make  a  vigorous  and  con- 
certed attack  upon  the  frontier,  and  not 
only  saved  the  western  frontier  from 
depredations  by  the  savages,  hut  also 
greatly  cooled  the  ardor  of  the  Indians, 
for  carrying  on  a  contest  in  winch  they 
were  not  likely  to  he  the  gainers.  Had 
it  not  been  for  this  small  army,  a  union 
of  all  the  tribes  from  Maine  to  Georgia 
against  the  colonies  might  have  been  ef- 
fected, and  the  whole  current  of  our 
history  changed. 

COUNTY    OF    ILLINOIS. 

Iii  October,  177s,  after  the  successful 
campaign  of  Colonel  Clark,  the  assem- 
bly of  Virginia  erected  the  conquered 
country,  embracing  all  the  territory 
northwest  of  the  Ohio  river,  into  the 
county  of  Illinois,  which  was  doubtless 
the  largest  county  in  the  world,  exceed- 
ing in  dimensions  the  whole  of  Great 
Britain  and  Ireland.  To  speak  more 
definitely,  it  contained  the  territory  now 
embraced  in  the  great  states  of  Ohio, 
Indiana,  Illinois,  Wisconsin  and  Mich- 
igan. On  the  12th  of  December,  177s, 
John  Todd  was  appointed  lieutenant 
commandant  of  this  county  by  Patrick 
Henry,  then  governor  of  Virginia,  and 


26 


HISTORY  OF  ILLINOIS. 


accordingly,   also,    the  first   of  Illinois 
county. 

NORTHWESTERN    TERRITORY. 

Illinois  continued  to  form  a  part  of 
Virginia  until  March  1,  1784,  when  that 
state  ceded  all  the  territory  north  of  the 
Ohio  to  the  United  States.  Immedi- 
ately the  general  government  proceeded 
to  establish  a  form  of  government  for 
the  settlers  in  the  territories  thus  ceded. 
This  form  continued  until  the  passage 
of  the  ordinance  of  17S7,  for  the  gov- 
ernment of  the  Northwestern  Territory. 
No  man  can  study  the  secret  history  of 
this  ordinance  and  not  feel  that  Provi- 
dence was  guiding  with  sleepless  eye 
the  destinies  of  these  unborn  states. 
American  legislation  has  never  achieved 
anything  more  admirable,  for  its  inter- 
nal government  than  this  comprehen- 
sive ordinance.  Its  provisions  concern- 
ing the  distribution  of  property,  the 
principles  of  civil  and  religious  liberty 
which  it  laid  at  the  foundation  of  the 
communities  since  established,  and  the 
efficient  and  simple  organization  by 
which  it  created  the  first  machinery  of 
civil  society,  are  worthy  of  all  the 
praise  that  has  ever  been  given  them. 

ORDINANCE    OF    17S7. 

For  some  years  Thomas  Jefferson  had 
vainly  tried  to  secure  a  system  of  gov- 
ernment for  the  Northwestern  Territory. 
He  was  an  emancipationist,  and  favored 
the  exclusion  of  slavery  from  the  terri- 
tory, and  in  this  hi'  was  opposed  by 
almost  the  entire  south.  In  July,  17S7, 
Manasseh  Cutler  appeared  in  New  York 
to  lobby  on  the  question  of  organization 
of  the  Northwestern  Territory,  lie  was 
a  country  gentleman  of  the  old  style,   a 


man  of  commanding  presence  and  of  in- 
viting face.  He  came  representing  a 
Massachusetts  company  that  desired  to 
purchase  a  tract  of  land,  now  included 
in  Ohio,  for  the  purpose  of  planting  a 
colony.  This  company,  together  with 
certain  speculators  in  New  York.enahled 
him  to  represent  a  demand  for  5,500,000 
acres.  The  amount  thus  received  from 
the  sale  of  this  land  would  apply  towards 
reducing  the  national  debt,  which  Jeffer- 
son was  anxious  should  lie  paid  as  soon 
as  possible. 

Massachusetts  then  owned  the  terri- 
tory of  Maine,  which  she  was  crowding 
on  the  market.  She  was  opposed  to 
opening  the  northwestern  region.  This 
tired  the  zeal  of  Virginia.  The  south 
caught  the  inspiration,  and  all  exalted 
Dr.  Cutler.  The  entire  south  rallied 
around  him.  Massachusetts  could  not 
vote  against  him,  because  many  of  the 
constituents  of  her  members  were  inter- 
ested personally  in  the  western  specu- 
lation. Thus  Cutler,  making  friends  in 
the  south,  and  doubtless  using  all  the 
arts  of  the  lobby,  was  enabled  to  com- 
mand the  situation.  True  to  deeper  con- 
victions, he  dictated  one  of  the  most  com- 
pact and  finished  documents  of  wise 
statesmanship  that  has  ever  adorned  any 
human  law  hook.  He  borrowed  from  Jef- 
ferson the  term  "Articles  of  Compact," 
which,  preceding  the  federal  constitu- 
tion,'rose  into  most  sacred  character. 
He  then  followed  very  closely  the  con- 
stitution of  Massachusetts,  adopted 
three  years  before.  Its  prominent  points 
were  : 

1.  The  exclusion  of  slavery  from  the 
territory  forever. 

2.  Provision  for  public  schools,  giv- 
ing one   township    for   a    seminary,  and 


HISTORY  OF  ILLINOIS. 


every  section  numbered  16 in  each  town- 
ship ;  that  is,  one-thirty-sixth  of  all  the 
land  for  public  schools. 

3.  A  provision  prohibiting  the  adop- 
tion o'f  any  constitution  or  the  enactment 
of  any  law  that  should  nullity  pre-ex- 
isting contracts. 

Be  it  forever  remembered  that  this 
compact  declared  that  "  religion,  moral- 
ity and  knowledge  being  necessary  to 
good  government  and  the  happiness  of 
mankind,  schools  and  the  means  of  edu- 
cation shall  always  be  encouraged.'5  Dr. 
Cutler  planted  himself  on  this  platform, 
and  would  not  yield,  (living  his  un- 
qualified declaration  that  it  was  that  or 
nothing, — that  unless  they  could  make 
the  land  desirable  they  did  not  want  it, 
— he  took  his  horse  and  buggy  and  started 
for  the  constitutional  convention  at  Phil- 
adelphia. On  July  13,  1787,  the  bill  was 
put  upon  its  passage,  and  was  unani- 
mously adopted.  Thus  the  great  states 
of  Ohio,  Indiana,  Illinois,  Michigan  and 
Wisconsin,  a  vast  empire,  were  conse- 
crated to  freedom,  intelligence  and  mor- 
ality. Thus  the  great  heart  of  the  na- 
tion was  prepared  to  save  the  union  of 
states,  for  it  was  this  act  that  was  the 
salvation  of  the  republic  and  the  destruc- 
tion of  slavery.  Soon  the  south  saw  their 
great  blunder,  and  tried  to  have  the  com- 
pact repealed.  In  1803  congress  referred 
it  to  a  committee,  of  which  John  Ran- 
dolph was  chairman.  He  reported  that 
this  ordinance  was  a  compact,  and  op- 
posed repeal.  There  it  stood,  a  rock  in 
the  way  of  the  on-rushing  sea  of  slavery. 


General  Arthur  St.  Clair  was.  by  con- 
gress, elected  governor  of  this  vast  ter- 
ritory. 

ILLINOIS    TERRITORY. 

After  the  division  of  the  Northwest- 
ern Territory,  Illinois  became  one  of  the 
counties  of  the  territory  of  Indiana, 
from  which  it  was  separated  by  an  act 
of  congress,  February  •">.  1809,  forming 
the  territory  of  Illinois,  with  a  popula- 
tion estimated  at  9,000,  ami  then  includ- 
ing the  present  state  of  Wisconsin.  It 
was  divided,  at  the  time,  into  two  coun- 
ties— St.  Clair  and  Randolph.  John 
Boyle,  of  Kentucky,  was  appointed  gov- 
ernor by  the  president,  .lames  Madison, 
hut  declining,  Ninian  Edwards,  of  the 
same  state,  was  then  appointed,  and 
served  with  distinction  ;  and  after  the 
organization  of  Illinois  as  a  state,  lie 
served  in  that  capacity,  being  its  third 
governor. 

During  Governor  Edwards'  adminis- 
tration, the  war  of  1812 commenced,  and 
the  few  whites  in  the  state  had  to  eon- 
tend  against  a  savage  foe  incited  on  to 
deeds  of  violence  by  the  British  officers 
sent  out  for  that  purpose.  The  massa- 
cre at  Fort  Dearborn,  of  helpless  pris- 
oners, by  the  infuriated  Indians,  forms 
a  black  page  in  Illinois  history.  Several 
expeditions  were  put  on  foot  by  Gover- 
nor Edwards  against  the  Indians,  and 
in  the  various  campaigns  the  governor 
bore  an  honorable  and  heroic  part. 
Peace  came  at  last,  the  Indian  depreda- 
tions ceased,  ami  the  territory  of  Illinois 
was  again  on  the  road  to  prosperity. 


28 


HISTORY   OF   ILLINOIS. 


CHAPTER    III. 


STATE  ORGANIZATION, 


In  January  of  1818  the  territorial  leg- 
islature  forwarded  to  Nathaniel   Pope, 

delegate  in  congress  from  Illinois,  a 
petition  praying  for  admission  into  the 

national  union  as  a  state.  On  April  18 
of  the  same  year,  congress  passed  the 
enabling  act,  and  December  •'!,  after  the 
state  government  had  been  organized, 
and  Governor  Bond  had  signed  the  con- 
stitution, congress,  by  a  resolution,  de- 
clared Illinois  to  he  one  of  the  "  United 
States  of  America,  and  admitted  into 
the  union  on  an  equal  footing  with  the 
original  states  in  every  respect." 

FIRST    CONSTITUTION. 

In  July  and  August  id'  1818,  a  con- 
vention was  held  at  Kaskaskia  for  the 
purpose  of  drafting  a  constitution.  This 
constitution  was  not  submitted  to  a  vote 
of  the  people  for  their  approval  or  rejec- 
tion, it  being  well  known  that  they  would 
approve  it.  It  was  about  the  first  or- 
ganic law  id'  any  state  in  the  union  to 
abolish  imprisonment  for  debt.  The 
first  election  under  the  constitution  was 
held  on  the  first  Thursday  and  the  two 
succeeding  days  in  September,  1818. 
Shadrach  Bond  was  elected  governor, 
and  Pierre  Menard  lieutenant-governor. 
Their  term  of  office  extended  four  years. 
At  this  time  the  state  was  divided  into 
lo  counties,  the  population  being  about 
40,000.  of  this  number,  by  far  the 
Larger  portion  were  from  the  Bouthern 
states.  The  salary  of  the  governor  was 
SI ,000,  while  that   of  the  treasurer   was 


$500.  The  legislature  re-enacted,  ver- 
batim, the  territorial  code,  the  penalties 
of  which  were  unnecessarily  severe. 
Whipping,  stocks  and  pillory  were  used 
for  minor  offenses,  and  for  arson,  rape, 
horse-stealing,  etc.,  death  by  hanging 
was  the  penalty.  These  laws,  however, 
were  modified  in  1821. 

The  legislature  first  convened  at  Kas- 
kaskia, the  ancient  scat  of  empire  for 
more  than  one  hundred  and  fifty  years, 
both  for  the  French  and  Americans. 
Provisions  were  made,  however,  for  the 
removal  of  the  seat  of  government  by 
this  legislature.  A  place  in  the  wilder- 
ness mi  the  Kaskaskia  river  was  selected, 
and  named  Vandalia.  From  Yandalia 
it  was  removed  to  Springfield  in  the 
year  1839. 

THE    WIXXEBAOO    WAR. 

The  Indians,  who  for  some  years  were 
on  peaceful  terms  with  the  whites. 
became  troublesome  in  1827.  The  Win- 
nebagoes,  Sacs  and  Foxes  and  other 
tribes  had  been  at  war  for  more  than  a 
hundred  years.  In  the  summer  of  1827  a 
war  party  of  the  Winnebagoes  surprised 
a  party  of  Chippewas,  and  killed  eight 
of  them.  Four  of  the  murderers  were 
arrested,  and  delivered  to  the  Chippe- 
was, by  whom  they  were  immediately 
shot.  This  was  the  first  irritation  of 
the  Winnebagoes.  lied  Bird,  a  chief  of 
this  tribe,  in  order  to  avenge  the  execu- 
tion of  the  four  warriors  of  his  own 
people,    attacked   the    Chippewas,  hut 


was  defeated  :  and  beitfg  determined  to 
satisfy  hi*  thirst  for  revenge  by  some 
means,  surprised  and  killed  several 
white  men.  Upon  receiving  intelli- 
gence of  these  murders,  the  whites 
who  were  working  the  lead  mines  in 
tin-  vicinity  of  Galena  formed  a  body 
of  volunteers,  and,  reinforced  by  a 
company  of  United  States  troops. 
marched  into  the  country  of  the  Win- 
nebagoes.  To  save  their  nation  from 
the  miseries  of  war.  Red  Bird  and  six 
other  men  nf  his  nation  voluntarily 
surrendered  themselves.  Some  of  the 
number  were  executed,  some  of  them 
imprisoned,  and  destined,  like  Red 
Bird,  ingloriously  to  pine  away  within 
the  narrow  limits  of  a  jail,  where  for- 
merly the  vasl  forests  had  proven  too 
confining  for  them. 

BLACK    HAWK    WAR. 

In  the  year  1804,  a  treaty  was  con- 
cluded between  the  United  States  and 
the  chiefs  of  the  Sac  ami  Fox  nations, 
who  had  fought  with  great  bravery  in 
the  service  of  Great  Britain  during  the 
war  of  1812.  Black  Hawk  had  always 
taken  exceptions  to  this  treaty,  pro- 
nouncing it  void.  In  1831  he  estab- 
lished himself,  with  a  chosen  hand  of 
warriors,  upon  the  disputed  territory. 
ordering  the  whites  to  leave  the  coun- 
try at  once.  The  settlers  complaining, 
Governor  Reynolds  dispatched  General 
Gaines,  with  a  company  of  regulars  and 
1,500  volunteers,  to  the  scene  of  action. 
Taking  the  Indians  by  surprise,  the 
troops  burnt  their  villages  and  forced 
them  to  conclude  a  treaty,  by  which 
they  ceded  all  lands  east  of  the  Missis- 
sippi, and  agreed  to  remain  on  the 
western   side   of  the  river.      Necessity 


forced  the  proud  spirit  of  Black  Hawk 
into  submission,  which  made  him  more 
than  ever  determined  to  he  avenged  upon 
his  enemies.  Having  rallied  around 
him  the  war-like  braves  of  the  Sac  and 
Fox  nations,  he  crossed  the  Mississippi 
in  the  spring  of  1832.  Upon  learning 
of  this  invasion,  Governor  Reynolds 
hastily  collected  a  body  of  1,800  volun- 
teers, placing  them  under  command  of 
Brigadier-General  Whiteside.  The  army 
marched  to  the  Mississippi,  and  having 
reduced  to  ashes  the  Indian  village 
known  as  "Prophet's  Town."  proceed*  d 
several  mihs  up  the  river  to  Dixon,  to 
join  the  regular  forces  under  General 
Atkinson.  They  found  at  Dixon  two 
companies  of  volunteers,  who.  sighing 
for  glory,  were  dispatched  to  reconnoi- 
tre the  enemy.  They  advanced,  under 
command  of  Major  Stillman,  to  a  small 
creek,  afterward  known  as  "Stillman's 
Run."  and  while  there  encamped,  saw  a 
party  of  mounted  Indians  at  a  distance 
of  a  mile.  Several  of  Stillman's  party 
mounted  their  horses  and  charged  the 
Indians,  killing  three  of  them,  hut  being 
attacked  by  the  main  body  under  Black 
Hawk,  they  were  routed,  and  by  their 
precipitated  flight,  spread  such  a  panic 
through  the  camp  that  the  whole  com- 
pany ran  off  to  Dixon  as  fast  as  possible. 
On  their  arrival,  it  was  found  that 
eleven  of  their  number  were  missing, 
having  been  killed  by  the  Indians. 

In  June,  1832,  Black  Hawk,  with  a 
hand  of  150  warriors,  attacked  Apple 
River  Fort,  near  Galena,  defended  by 
25  men.  This  fort,  a  mere  palisade  of 
logs,  was  erected  to  afford  protection  to 
the  miners.  Fm-  fifteen  consecutive 
hours  the  garrison  had  to  sustain  tin- 
assault  of  the  savage  enemy;  hut  knowing 


30 


HISTORY  OF   ILLINOIS. 


very  well  thai  no  quarter  would  be 
given  them,  they  fought  with  such  fury 
and  desperation  that  the  Indians,  after 
Losing  many  of  their  host  warriors, 
were  compelled  to  retreat. ' 

New  forces  having  been  sworn  into 
the  service,  Generals  Atkinson  and 
Henry  determined  to  pursue  the  retreat- 
ing foe.  They  followed  them  into  Wis- 
consin, and  heaving-  that  Black  Hawk 
was  encamped  on  Hock  river,  at  the 
Manitou  village,  issued  orders  to  con- 
tinue the  pursuit.  The  officers  of 
Genera]  Henry  handed  to  him  a  written 
protest  ;  hut  he,  a  man  equal  to  any 
emergency,  ordered  the  officers  to  he 
arrested,  ami  escorted  to  General  Atkin- 
son. Within  a  few  minutes  after  the 
order  was  given,  the  officers  all  collected 
around  the  general's  quarters,  and 
pledged  their  word  that  if  forgiven, 
they  would  return  to  duty,  and  never 
do  the  like  again. 

The  battle  of  Bad  Axe  immediately 
followed,  resulting  in  a  loss  to  the  In- 
dians of  three  hundred,  besides  fifty 
prisoners.  The  whites  had  hut  seven- 
teen killed  and  twelve  wounded.  Black 
Hawk,  with  twenty  of  his  braves, 
escaped,  retreating  up  the  Wisconsin 
river.  The  Winnebagoes  desiring  to 
secure  the  friendship  of  the  whites, 
went  in  pursuit,  and  captured  and  de- 
livered them  to  General  Street,  the 
United  States  Indian  agent.  Among 
the  prisoners  were  the  son  of  Black 
Hawk  and  the  prophet  of  the  tribe. 
These,  with  Blaek  Hawk,  were  taken 
to  Washington,  l>.  ('.,  anil  were  soon 
confined  as  prisoners  at  Fortress  Mon- 
roe.    Thus  ended  the  Black  Hawk  war. 

INTERNAL    IMPROVEMENTS. 
At  the  general  election  in  1834,  Joseph 


Duncan  was  chosen  governor  by  a  hand- 
some majority.  A  reckless  and  Uncon- 
trollable desire  for  internal  public 
improvements  seized  the  minds  of  the 
people.  In  his  message  to  the  legisla- 
ture, in  lsilo,  Governor  Duncan  said: 
When  we  look  abroad  ami  sec  tin' 
extensive  lines  of  inter-communication 
penetrating  almost  every  section  of  our 
sister  states;  when  we  see  the  canal 
boat  and  the  locomotive  hearing  with 
seeming  triumph  the  rich  productions 
of  the  interior  to  the  rivers,  hikes  and 
oceans,  almost  annihilating  time,  bur- 
then and  space,  what  patriotic  bosom 
does  not  heat  high  with  a  laudable  am- 
bition to  give  Illinois  her  full  share  of 
those  advantages  which  are  adorning  her 
sister  states,  and  which  a  magnificent 
Providence  seems  to  invite  by  a  wonder- 
ful adaptation  of  our  whole  country  to 
such  improvements. " 

STUPENDOUS     SYSTEM     OF     IMPROVEMENTS 
INAUGURATED. 

The  legislature  responded  to  the 
ardent  words  of  the  governor,  and 
enacted  a  system  of  internal  improve- 
ments without  a  parallel  in  the  gran- 
deur of  its  conception.  They  ordered 
the  construction  of  1,300  miles  of  rail- 
road, crossing  the  state  in  all  directions. 
This  was  surpassed  by  the  river  and 
canal  improvements.  There  were  a 
few  counties  not  touched  by  the  rail- 
road, river  or  canal,  and  they  were  to 
be  compensated  by  the  free  distribution 
of  $20,000  among  them.  To  inflate  this 
balloon  beyond  credence,  it  was  ordered 
that  work  should  commence  on  both 
ends  of  each  of  these  railroads  and 
rivers,  and  at  each  river  crossing,  all  at 
the  same  time.      This  provision,  which 


HISTORY  OF  ILLINOIS. 


31 


h.is  been   called  the  crowning  folly  of 

the  entire  system,  was  the  result  of 
those  jealous  combinations  emanating 
from  the  fear  that  advantages  might 
accrue  to  one  section  over  another  in 
the  commencement  am]  completion  of 
the  works.  We  can  appreciate  better, 
perhaps,  the  magnitude  of  this  grand 
>\  stiiii  by  reviewing  a  few  figures.  The 
debt  authorized  for  these  improvements 
in  the  first  instance  was  $10,230,000. 
But  this,  as  it  was  soon  found,  was 
based  on  estimates  at  least  too  low  by 
half.  This,  as  we  readily  see.  commit- 
ted the  state  to  a  liability  of  over  $20,- 
000,000,  equivalent  to  $200,000,1300  at  the 
present  time,  with  over  ten  times  the 
population,  and  more  than  ten  times 
the  wealth. 

Such  stupendous  undertakings  by  the 
state  naturally  engendered  the  fever  of 
speculation  among  individuals.  That 
particular  form  known  as  the  town  lot 
fever,  assumed  the  malignant  type  at 
first  in  Chicago,  from  whence  it  spread 
over  the  entire  state  and  adjoining 
states.  It  was  an  epidemic.  It  cut  up 
men's  farms  without  regard  to  locality, 
and  cut  up  the  purses  of  the  purchasers 
without  regard  to  consequences.  It 
was  estimated  that  building  hits  enough 
were  sold  in  Indiana  alone  to  accommo- 
date every  citizen  then  in  the  United 
States. 

Chicago,  which  in  1830,  was  a  small 
trading  post,  had  within  a  few  years 
grown  into  a  city.  This  was  the  start- 
ing point  of  the  wonderful  growth  and 
marvelous  career  of  that  city.  Im- 
provements unsurpassed  in  the  annals 
of  the  world  by  individual  effort,  were 
then  beguri,  and  have  been  maintained 
to   this    day.       Though    visited    by    the 


terrible  tire  fiend,  ami  the  accumula- 
tions of  years  swept  away  in  a  single 
night,  yet  she  has  arisen  ami  to-day  is 
the  best  buill  city  in  the  world.  Reports 
of  the  rapid  advance  in  property  in 
Chicago  spread  to  the  east,  and  thous- 
ands poured  into  her  borders,  bringing 
money,  enter]  disc  and  industry.  Every 
ship  that  left  her  port  carried  with 
it  maps  ot  splendidly  situated  towns 
and  additions,  and  every  vessel  that  re- 
turned was  laden  with  immigrants.  Tt 
was  said  at  the  time  that  the  staple 
article  of  Illinois  exports  was  town 
j.l;its,  and  that  there  was  danger  of 
crowding  the  state  with  towns  to  the 
exclusion  ot'  land  for  agriculture. 

ILLINOIS    AM)    MICHIGAN    (ANAL. 

The  Illinois  and  Michigan  canal  again 
received  attention.     This  enterprise  is 

one  of  the  most  important  in  the  early 
history  of  Illinois,  onaccountof  its  mag- 
nitude and  cost,  and  forming  as  it  does, 
the  connecting  link,  between  the  great 
chain  of  lakes  and  the  Illinois  and 
Mississippi  rivers.  Governor  Bond, 
the  first  governor,  recommended  in  his 
first  message  the  building  of  the  canal. 
In  1821,  the  legislature  appropriated 
Sin. (Kill  for  surveying  the  route.  This 
work  was  performed  by  two  young  men 
who  estimated  the  cost  at  St;(K),(KKI  or 
$700,000.  It  cost,  however,  when  com- 
pleted $8,000,000.  In  1825,  a  law  was 
passed  to  incorporate  the  canal  com- 
pany, hut  no  stock  was  sold.  In  1826, 
upon  the  solicitation  of  Daniel  I'.  Cook, 
congressman  from  this  state,  congress 
gave  800,000  acres  of  land  on  the  line 
of  the  work.  In  1828,  commissioners 
were  appointed  and  work  commenced, 
with  a  new    survey   and   new   estimates. 


32 


HISTORY  OF  ILLINOIS. 


In  1834-5  the  work  was  again  pushed 
forward,  and  continued  until  1848,  when 
it  was  completed. 

PANIC— REPUDIATION    ADVOCATED. 

Bonds  of  the  state  were  recklessly 
disposed  of,  both  in  the  cast  and  in  Eu- 
rope. Work  was  commenced  on 
various  lines  of  railroads,  but  none 
were  ever  completed.  <  )n  the  Great 
Western  Railroad,  from  Meredosia  east 
eight  miles,  the  first  locomotive  that 
ever  turned  a  wheel  in  the  great  valley 
of  the  Mississippi  was  run.  The  date 
of  this  remarkable  event  was  November 
8,  L838.  Larue  sums  of  money  were 
being  expended  with  no  assurance  of  a 
revenue,  and  consequently,  in  1840,  the 
legislature  repealed  the  improvement 
laws  passed  three  years  previously, 
not,  however,  until  the  state  had  accu- 
mulated  a    debt    of    nearly  $15,000,000. 


Thus  fell  the  most  stupendous,  extrava- 
gant and  almost  ruinous  folly  lit'  a  grand 
system  of  internal  improvements  that 
any  civil  community,  perhaps,  ever  en- 
gaged  in.  The  state  hanks  failed, 
specie  was  scarce,  an  enormous  debt 
was  accumulated,  the  interest  of  which 
could  not  he  paid,  people  were  disap- 
pointed in  the  accumulation  of  wealth, 
and  real  estate  was  worthless.  All 
this  had  a  tendency  to  create  a  desire  to 
throw  oft'  the  heavy  burden  of  state 
debt  by  repudiation.  Men,  true,  hon- 
est and  aide,  were  placed  at  the  head  of 
affairs.;  and  although  the  hours  were 
dark  and  gloomy,  and  the  times  most 
trying,  yet  our  grand  state  was  brought 
through  and  prospered,  until  to-day, 
after  the  expenditure  of  millions  for 
public  improvements,  ami  for  carrying 
on  the  civil  war,  it  has.  at  present,  no 
public  debt  whatever. 


CHAPTER    IV. 


MORMON,    MEXICAN   AND    CIVIL    WARS. 


In     April,     1840,    the     "Latter-Day 
Saints,"    or    Mormons,    came    in   large 

numbers  to  Illinois,  and  purchased  a 
tract  of  land  on  the  east  side  of  the 
Mississippi  river,  about  ten  miles  above 
Keokuk.  Here  they  commenced  build- 
ing the  city  of  Nauvoo.  A  more  pictur- 
esque or  eligible  site  for  a  city  could 
not  have  been  selected. 

The  origin,   rapid   development    and 
prosperity  of  this  religious  sect  are  the 


most  remarkable  and  instructive  histori- 
cal events  of  the  present  century.  That 
an  obscure  individual,  without  money, 
education  or  respectability,  should  per- 
suade hundreds  of  thousands  of  people 
to  believe  him  inspired  id'  God,  and 
cause  a  hook,  contemptible  as  a  literary 
production,  to  he  received  as  a.  continua- 
tion id'  the  sacred  revelation,  appears 
almost  incredible  ;  yet,  in  less  than  half 
a  century,  the  disciples  of  this  obscure 


individual  have  increased  to  hundreds 
of  thousands  :  have  founded  a  state  in 
the  distant  wilderness,  and  compelled 
the  government  of  the  United  States  to 
practically  recognize  them  as  an  inde- 
pendent people. 

The  founder  of  Mormonism  was  Joseph 
Smith,  a  native  of  Vermont,  who  emi- 
grated while  quite  young  with  his 
fathear's  family  to  western  New  York. 
Here  his  youth  was  spent  in  idle,  vaga- 
bond life,  roaming  the  woods,  dreaming 
of  buried  treasures,  and  in  endeavoring 
to  learn  the  art  of  finding  them  by  the 
twisting  of  a  forked  stick  in  his  hands, 
or  by  looking  through  enchanted  stones. 
Both  he  and  his  father  became  famous 
a-  "water- wizards,"  always  ready  to 
point  out  the  snot  where  wells  might  he 
due  ;md  water  found.  Such  was  the 
character  of  tie'  young  profligate  when 
he  made  the  acquaintance  of  Sidney 
Rigdon,  a  person  of  considerable  talent 
and  information,  who  had  conceived  the 
design  of  founding  a  new  religion.  A 
religious  romance,  written  by  Mr. 
Spaulding,  a  Presbyterian  preacher  of 
( »hio.  then  dead,  suggested  the  idea,  and 
finding  in  Smith  the  requisite  duplicity 
and  cunning  to  reduce  it  to  practice,  it 
was  agreed  that  he  should  act  a-  a 
prophet;  and  the  two  devised  a  story  that 
gold  plates  had  been  found  buriedinthe 
earth  containing  a  record  inscribed  on 
them  in  unknown  characters,  which. 
when  inspired  by  the  power  of  inspira- 
tion, gave  the  history  of  the  ten  Lost 
tribes  of  Israel. 

After  their  settlement  in  and  about 
Nauvoo,  in  Hancock  county,  greal  dep- 
redations were  committed  by  them  on 
the  "Gentiles."  The  Mormons  had 
been  received  from    Missouri  with  great 


kindness  by  the  people  of  this  state, 
and  every  possible  aid  granted  them. 
The  depredations  committed,  however, 
soon  made  them  odious,  when  the  cpics- 
tion  of  gettingrid  of  them  was  agitated. 
In  the  fall  of  1841 .  the  governor  of  Mis- 
souri made  a  demand  on  Governor 
Carlin  for  the  arrest  and  delivery  of  Joe 
Smith  as  a  fugitive  from  justice.  Smith 
was  subsequently  arrested,  hut  was  re- 
Leased  by  Judge  Douglas  upon  the 
ground  that  the  writ  had  once  Keen  re- 
turned before  it  had  been  executed.  In 
1842,  he  was  again  arrested,  and  again 
escaped.  Emboldened  by  success,  the 
Mormons  became  more  arrogant  and 
overhearing.  Many  people  began  to  be- 
lieve they  were  about  to  sel  up  a  gov- 
ernment for  themselves  in  defiance  of 
the  laws  of  the  state.  ( >«  aers  of  prop- 
erty stolen  in  other  counties  made  pur- 
suit into  Nauvoo;  and  were  fined  by  the 
Mormon  courts  for  daring  to  seek  their 
property  in  the  holy  city.  About  this 
time  they  petitioned  congress  to  estab- 
lish a  territorial  government  for  them 
in  Nauvoo. 

Smith  soon  began  "to  play  the  tyrant 
over  his  people.  Among  the  first  acts  of 
this  sort  was  an  attempt  to  take  the  wife 
of  William  Law.  one  of  his  most  talented 
disciph-.  and  make  her  his  spiritual 
wife.  He  established,  without  author- 
itv.  a  recorder's  office,  and  an  office  to 
is>ue  marriage  licenses.  He  proclaimed 
that  none  could  deal  in  real  estate  or 
sell  liquor  hut  himself.  He  ordered  a 
printing  office  demolished,  and  in  many 
ways  controlled  the  freedom  and  busi- 
ness of  the  Mormons.  Not  only  did  he 
stir  up  some  of  the  Mormons,  hut  by  his 
reckless  disregard  of  the  laws  of  the 
land,    raised    up    opposition    on    every 


34 


HISTORY  OF  ILLINOIS. 


hand.  It  was  believed  he  introduced 
the  Danite  band,  which  be  had  chosen 
as  the  ministers  of  his  vengeance,  that 
no  blood,  except  that  of  the  church,  was 
to  be  regarded  as  sacred,  if  it  contra- 
vened the  accomplishment  of  his  object. 
It  was  asserted  that  he  inculcated  the 
legality  of  perjury  and  other  crimes,  if 
committed  to  advance  the  cause  of  true 
believers  ;  that  God  had  given  the  world 
and  all  it  contained  to  his  saints,  and 
since  they  were  kept  out  of  their  right- 
ful inheritance  by  force,  it  was  no  moral 
offense  to  get  possession  of  it  by  steal- 
ing. 

ft  was  currently  reported  that  an  es- 
tablishment existed  in  Nauvoo  for  the 
manufacture  of  counterfeit  money,  and 
that  a  set  of  outlaws  were  maintained 
for  the  purpose  of  putting  it  in  circula- 
tion. Statements  were  circulated  to  the 
effect  that  a  reward  was  offered  for  the 
destruction  of  the  Warsaw  Signal,  an 
anti-Mormon  paper,  and  that  Mormons 
dispersed  over  the  country  threatened 
all  persons  who  offered  to  assist  the  con- 
stable in  the  execution  of  the  law,  with 
the  destruction  of  their  property  and 
the  murder  of  their  families.  There 
were  rumors  also  that  an  alliance  had 
been  formed  with  the  western  Indians, 
and  in  case  of  war  they  would  be  used 
in  murdering  their  enemies.  In  short, 
if  only  one-half  of  these  reports  were 
true,  the  Mormons  must  have  been  the 
most  infamous  people  that  ever  existed. 

William  Law,  one  of  the  proprietors 
of  the  printing  office  destroyed  by 
Smith,  went  to  Carthage  and  procured  a 
warrant  for  the  arrest  of  Smith  and 
others  in  the  deed.  The  prophet,  his 
brother  Hiram  and  others,  surrendered 
themselves  at  Carthage,  June  24,  1S44, 


on  a  charge  of  riot,  and  all  entered  into 
a  recognizance  before  a  justice  of  the 
peace  for  their  appearance  at  court. 
They  were  again  arrested,  and  thrown 
into  prison  at  Carthage.  The  people 
of  Hancock,  McDonough  and  Schuyler 
counties  had  assembled,  armed  and 
ready  to  avenge  the  outrages  that  had 
been  committed  by  the  Mormons.  Great 
excitement  prevailed.  All  were  anxious 
to  march  into  Nauvoo.  The  27th  of  .June 
was  appointed  for  the  march,  but  Gov- 
ernor Ford,  who  at  the  time  was  in  Car- 
thage, apprehended  trouble  if  the  militia 
should  attempt  to  invade  Nauvoo,  dis- 
banded the  troops,  retaining  only  a 
guard  for  the  jail. 

Governor  Ford  went  to  Nauvoo  on  the 
27th .  The  same  morning  about  two  hun- 
dred men  from  Warsaw,  many  of  them 
disguised,  hastened  to  Carthage.  On 
learning  that  one  of  the  companies  left 
as  a  guard  had  disbanded,  and  the  other 
stationed  150  yards  from  th  jail,  while 
eight  men  were  left  to  guard  the  prison- 
ers, a  communication  was  soon  estab- 
lished between  the  Warsaw  troops  and 
the  guard  ;  and  it  was  arranged  that  the 
guard  should  have  their  guns  charged 
with  blank  cartridges  and  tire  at  the  as- 
sailants when  they  attempted  to  enter  the 
jail.  The  conspirators  came  up,  jumped 
the  fence  around  the  jail,  were  fired 
upon  by  the  guard,  which,  according  to 
arrangement,  was  overpowered,  and  the 
assailants  entered  the  prison  to  the  door 
of  the  room  where  the  two  prisoners 
were  confined.  An  attempt  was  made  to 
break  open  the  door;  but  Joe  Smith,  be- 
ing armed  with  a  pistol,  fired  several 
times  as  the  door  was  broken  open,  and 
three  of  the  assailants  were  wounded. 
At  the  same  time  several  shots  were  fired 


HISTORY  OF  ILLINOIS. 


into  the  room,  by  some  of  which  John 
Taylor,  a  friend  of  the  Smith's,  re- 
ceived four  wounds,  and  Hiram  Smith 
was  instantly  killed.  Joe  Smith,  se- 
verely wounded,  attempted  to  escape 
by  jumping  but  of  a  second-story  win- 
dow, but  was  so  stunned  by  the  fall  that 
he  was  unable  to  rise.  In  this  position 
he  was  dispatched  by  balls  fired  through 
his  body.  Thus  fell  Joe  Smith,  the 
most  successful  imposter  of  modern 
times.  Totally  ignorant  of  almost 
every  fact  in  science,  as  well  as  in  law, 
he  made  up  in  constructiveness  and  nat- 
ural cunning  what  he  lacked  in  educa- 
tion. 

Many  feared  the  Mormons  would  as- 
semble in  force  and  attack  Carthage  for 
the  purpose  of  avenging  the  death  of 
the  prophet.  But  this  was  never  done. 
In  the  fall  of  1845,  a  convention,  con- 
sisting of  delegates  from  eight  of  the 
adjoining  counties,  assembled  to  con- 
cert mensures  for  the  expulsion  of  the 
Mormons  from  the  state.  The  Mormons 
seriously  contemplated  emigration  west- 
ward, believing  the  times  forbode  evil 
for  them.  Accordingly  during  the  win- 
ter of  1845-46,  the  most  stupendous 
preparations  were  made  by  the  Mor- 
mons for  removal.  All  the  principal 
dwellings,  and  even  the  temple,  were 
converted  into  workshops,  and  before 
spring,  12,000  wagons  were  in  readi- 
ness; and  by  the  middle  of  February, 
the  leaders,  with  2,000  of  their  follow- 
ers, had  crossed  the  Mississippi  on  the 
ice. 

Before  the  spring  of  1846,  the  major- 
ity of  Mormons   had   left    Nauvoo,    but 
still  a.  large  number  remained. 
THE  BATTLE  OK  NAUVOO. 

In    September    a     writ    was     issued 


against  several  prominent  Mormons, 
and  placed  in  the  hands  of  John  Carlin, 
of  Carthage,  for  execution.  Carlin 
called  out  a  posse  to  help  make  the  ar- 
rest, which  brought  together  quite  a 
large  force,  in  the  vicinity  of  Nauvoo. 
Carlin,  not  being  a  military  man,  placed 
in  command  of  the  force,  first,  General 
Singleton,  and  afterward  Colonel  Brock- 
man,  who  proceeded  to  invest  the  city, 
erecting  breastworks,  and  taking  other 
means  for  defensive  as  well  as  offensive 
operations.  What  was  then  termed  a 
battle  next  took  place,  resulting  in  the 
death  of  one  Mormon  and  the  wounding 
of  several  others,  and  loss  to  the  anti- 
Mormons  of  three  killed  and  four 
wounded.  At  last,  through  the  inter- 
vention of  an  anti-Mormon  committee 
of  one  hundred  from  Quincy,  the  Mor- 
mons and  their  allies  were  induced  to 
Submit  to  such  terms  as  the  posse  choose 

to  dictate,  which  were  that  the  Mor- 
mons should  immediately  give  up  their 
arms  to  the  Quincy  committee  and  re- 
move from  the  state.  The  trustees  of 
the  church  and  five  of  their  (Jerks  were 
permitted  to  remain  for  the  sale  of  Mor- 
mon property,  and  the  posse  were  to 
march  in  unmolested  ami  leave  a  sulli- 
cient  force  to  guarantee  the  performance 
of  their  stipulations.  Accordingly  the 
constable's  posse  marched  in,  with 
Brockman  at  their  head.  It  consisted 
of  800  armed  men,  and  600  or  700  un- 
armed, who  had  assembled  from  all  the 
country  around,  through  motives  of 
curiosity  to  see  the  once  proud  city  of 
Nauvoo  humbled  and  delivered  up  to  its 
enemies.  They  proceeded  into  the  city 
slowly  and  carefully,  examining  tin; 
way  for  fear  of  the  explosion  of  a  mine, 
many  of  which  had  been  made  by  the 


36 


HISTORY  OF  ILLINOIS. 


Mormons,  by  burying  kegs  of  powder 
in  the  ground,  with  a  man  stationed  at 
a  distance  to  pull  a  string  communicat- 
ing with  the  trigger  of  a  percussion  lock 
affixed  to  the  keg.  This  kind  of  a  con- 
trivance was  called  by  the  Mormons 
"hell's  half  acre."  When  the  posse 
arrived  in  the  city,  the  leaders  of  it 
elected  themselves  into  a  tribunal  to  de- 
cide who  should  be  forced  away  and 
who  remain.  Parties  were  dispatched 
to  hunt  for  fire-arms  and  for  Mormons, 
and  to  bring  them  to  judgment.  When 
lii-ought.  they  received  their  doom  from 
the  mouth  of  Brockman,  who  remained 
a  grim  and  unawed  tyrant  for  the  time. 
As  a  general  rule,  the  Mormons  were 
ordered  to  leave  within  an  hour  or  two, 
and  by  rare  grace  some  of  them  were 
allowed  until  next  day,  and  in  a  few 
cases  longer  time  was  granted. 

MEXICAN    WAR. 

In  1846,  when  the  war  with  Mexico 
commenced,  Illinois  sent  her  quota  of 
.-ix  regiments  to  the  tented  field.  More 
men  were  offered,  but  only  the  six  regi- 
ments could  be  accepted.  These  six 
shed  imperishable  honors,  not  only 
upon  the  state,  but  upon  the  American 
Union.  Veterans  never  fought  more 
nobly  and  effectively  than  did  the  vol- 
unteers from  Illinois.  At  the  battle  of 
Buena  Vista,  by  the  coolness  and 
bravery  of  the  second  regiment,  under 
Colonel  Bissell,  the  day  was  saved.  The 
conflict  began  early  on  the  morning  of 
February  22d,  1S47,  and  was  continued 
until  nightfall  of  the  next  day.  The 
solid  columns  of  the  enemy  were  hurled 
against  our  advancing  forces  all  day 
long,  but  were  met  and  held  in  check 
by  the  unerring   fire   of  our   musketry 


and  artillery.  A  portion  of  General 
Lane's  division  was  driven  back  by  the 
enemy,  who  appeared  in  such  formid- 
able numbers  as  to  he  almost  irresistible. 

At  this  time  the  Second  Illinois  under 
Colonel  Bissell,  with  a  squadron  of 
cavalry  and  a  few  pieces  of  artillery, 
came  handsomely  into  action,  and  gal- 
lantly received  the  concentrated  lire  of 
the  enemy,  which  they  returned  with 
deliberate  aim  and  terrible  effect.  Every 
discharge  of  the  artillery  seemed  to 
tear  a  bloody  path  through  the  columns 
of  the  enemy.  Says  a  writer:  "The 
rapid  musketry  of  the  gallant  troops 
from  Illinois  poured  a  storm  of  had 
into  their  serried  ranks,  which  literally 
strewed  the  ground  with  the  dead  and 
dying."  But,  notwithstanding  his 
losses,  the  enemy  still  advanced  until 
our  gallant  regiment  received  fire  from 
three  sides.  Btill  they  maintained  their 
position  for  a  time  with  unflinching 
firmness  against  that  immense  host. 
At  length,  perceiving  the  danger  of  be- 
ing entirely  surrounded,  it  was  deter- 
mined to  fall  hack  to  a  ravine.  Colonel 
Bissell,  with  the  coolness  of  ordinary 
drill,  ordered  the  signal  "cease  firing" 
to  be  made;  he  then,  witli  the  same  de- 
liberation, gave  the  command,  "face  Pi 
the  rear,  battalion  about  face;  forward 
march!"  which  was  executed  with  the 
regularity  of  veterans  toapoint  beyond 
the  peril  of  being  outflanked.  Again, 
in  obedience  to  command,  these  brave 
men  halted,  faced  about,  and  under  a 
murderous  tempest  of  bullets  from  the 
foe,  resumed  their  well  directed  fire. 
The  conduct  of  no  troops  could  have 
been  more  admirable,  and,  too,  until 
that  day  they  had  never  been  under 
fire,   when    within    less    than   half    an 


HISTORY  OF  ILLINOIS. 


37 


hour,  eight}'  of  their  comrades  dropped 
by  their  sides. 

From  Colton's  "History  of  the  Battle 
of  Buena  Vista,"  the  following  extract 
is  taken:  "As  the  enemy  on  our  left  was 
moving  in  retreat  along  the  head  of  the 
plateau,  our  artillery  was  advanced  un- 
til within  range,  and  opened  a  heavy 
tire  upon  him,  while  Colonels  Hardin, 
Bissell  and  McKee,  with  their  Illinois 
and  Kentucky  troops,  dashed  gallantly 
forward  in  hot  pursuit.  A  powerful 
reserve  of  the  Mexican  army  was  just 
then  emerging  from  the  ravine,  where 
it  had  been  organized,  and  advanced  on 
the  plateau,  opposite  the  head  of  the 
southernmost  gorge.  Those  who  were 
giving  way  rallied  quickly  upon  it, 
when  the  whole  force,  thus  increased  to 
over  Ti.lKH)  men,  came  forward  in  a  per- 
fect blaze  of  tire.  It  was  a  single  col- 
umn, composed  of  the  best  soldiers  of 
the  republic,  having  for  its  advanced 
battalions  the  veteran  regiments.  The 
Kentucky  and  Illinois  troops  were  soon 
obliged  to  give  ground  before  it,  and 
seek  the  shelter  of  the  second  gorge. 
Over  half  the  column  was  suddenly 
enveloped  in  it,  while  the  other  half 
pressed  on  across  the  plateau,  having 
for  the  moment  nothing  to  resist  them 
except  the  three  guns  in  their  front. 
The  portion  that  was  immediately  op- 
posed to  the  Kentucky  and  Illinois 
troops,  ran  down  along  each  side  of  the 
gorge,  in  whiah  they  had  sought  shel- 
ter, and  also  circled  around  its  head, 
leaving  no  possible  way  of  escape  for 
them  except  by  its  mouth,  which 
opened  upon  the  road.  Its  sides, 
which  were  steep, — at  least  an  angle  of 
forty -five  degrees, — were  covered  with 
loose  pebbles  and  stones,  and  converged 


to  a  point  at  the  bottom.  Down  there 
were  our  poor  fellows,  nearly  three 
regiments  of  them  (First  and  Second 
Illinois,  and  Second  Kentucky),  with 
but  little  opportunity  to  load  or  fire  a 
gun,  being  hardly  able  to  keep  their 
feet.  Above,  the  whole  edge  of  the 
gorge,  all  the  way  around,  was  darkened 
by  the  serried  masses  of  the  enemy, 
and  was  bristling  with  muskets  directed 
on  the  crowd  beneath.  It  was  no  time 
to  pause.  Those  who  were  not  imme- 
diately shot  down  rushed  on  toward 
the  road,  their  number  growing  less 
and  less  as  they  went,  Kentuckians  ami 
lllinoisans,  officers  and  men,  nil  mixed 
up  in  confusion,  and  all  pressing  on 
over  the  loose  pebbles  and  rolling 
stones  of  those  shelving,  precipitous 
banks,  and  having  lines  and  lines  of 
the  enemy  firing  down  from  each  side 
and  rear  as   they  went. 

Just  then  the  enemy's  cavalry,  which 
had  gone  to  the  left  of  the  reserve,  had 
come  over  the  spur  that  divides  the 
mouth  of  the  second  gorge  from  thai  of 
the  third,  and  were  now  closing  up  the 
only  door  through  which  there  was  the 
least  shadow  of  a  chance  for  their  lives. 
Many  of  those  ahead  endeavored  to 
force  their  way  out,  hut  few  succeeded. 
The  lancers  were  fully  six  to  one,  and 
their  long  weapons  were  already  reek- 
ing with  blood.  It  was  at  this  time 
that  those  who  were  still  back  in  that 
dreadful  gorge  heard  the  roar  of  "Wash- 
ington's battery.  No  music  could  have 
been  more  grateful  to  their  ears.  A 
moment  only,  and  the  whole  opening, 
where  the  lancers  were  busy,  rang  with 
the  repeated  explosions  of  spherical 
case  shot.  They  gave  way.  The  gate, 
as  it  were,  was  clear,  and  out  upon  the 


38 


HISTORY  OF  ILLINOIS. 


road  a  stream  of  our  poor  fellows  is- 
sued. They  ran  panting  down  toward 
tli<'  battery,  and  directly  under  the  flight 
of  iron  then  passing  over  their  heads, 
into  the  retreating  cavalry.  Hardin, 
Clay,  McKee, Willis, Zabriskie,  Hough- 
ton, but  why  go  on?  It  would  be  a  sad 
task  indeed  to  name  over  all  who  fell 
during  this  twenty  minutes  slaughter. 
The  whole  gorge,  from  the  plateau  to 
its  mouth,  was  strewn  with  our  dead. 
All  dead!  No  wounded  there — not  a. 
man;  for  the  infantry  had  rushed  down 
the  sides,  and  completed  the  work  with 
the  bayonet. 

After  a  hard  fight,  at  night  both  ar- 
mies laid  down  upon  their  arms,  in 
much  the  same  position  as  in  the  morn- 
ing. However,  early  the  following 
morning,  the  glad  tidings  were  heard 
amidst  our  army  that  the  enemy  had 
retreated,  thus  again  crowning  the 
American  banners  with  victory. 

In  addition  to  Colonel  Bissell,  other 
names  that  shine  as  stars  in  this  war 
are  Shields,  Laker,  Harris,  Hardin, 
Coffee — all  from  Illinois.  Such,  indeed, 
were  the  intrepid  valor  and  daring 
courage  exhibited  by  Illinois  volun- 
teers during  the  Mexican  war,  that 
their  deeds  should  live  in  the  memory 
id'  their  countrymen  while  time  shall 
last. 

THE    WAR    FOR    THE    UNION. 

In  the  war  for  the  Union,  no  state 
can  show  a  more  glorious  record  than 
that  of  Illinois.  Sumter  was  tired 
upon  April  12,  1861.  Two  days  after- 
ward, President  Lincoln  issued  his 
first  call  for  volunteers — 75,000  in  num- 
ber. On  the  loth,  Governor  Yates 
issued  his  proclamation,  convening  the 
legislature  and  ordering  the  enlistment 


of  six  regiments,  the  quota  assigned 
the  state.  The  call  was  no  sooner  made 
than  tilled.  Patriotism  filled  every 
heart.  The  farmr  the  workshop,  the 
office,  the  pulpit,  the  bar,  the  bench, 
every  vocation  in  life  offered  its  best 
men.  On  assembling,  the  legislature 
authorized  the  raising  of  ten  additional 
regiments,  anticipating  another  call. 
At  the  close  of  1861,  Illinois  had  sent 
to  the  field  nearly  50,000  men,  and  had 
17,000  in  camp  awaiting  marching  or- 
ders, thus  exceeding  its  full  quota  by 
15,000. 

In  July  and  August  of  1862,  the 
President,  called  for  600,000  men— the 
quota  of  Illinois  being  52, 2Ul> — and  gave 
until  August  18  as  the  limits  in  which 
lhe  number  might  be  raised  by  volun- 
teering, after  which  a  draft  would  be 
ordered.  The  state  had  already  fur- 
nished 17,000  in  excess  of  her  quota, 
and  it  was  first  thought  this  number 
would  be  deducted  from  the  present 
requisition,  but  this  could  not  be 
done.  But  thirteeen  days  were  granted 
to  enlist  this  vast  army,  which  had 
to  come  from  the  farmers  and  me- 
chanics. The  farmers  were  in  the 
midst  of  harvest,  but,  inspired  by 
love  of  country,  over  50,01)0  of  them 
left  their  harvest  ungathered,  their  tools 
and  their  benches,  the  plows  in  their 
furrows,  turning  their  backs  on  their 
homes,  and  before  eleven  days  hail  ex- 
pired, the  demands  of  the  government 
were  nut,  and  both  quotas  filled. 

The  war  went  on,  and  call  followed 
call,  until  it  began  to  look  as  if  there 
would  not  he  men  enough  in  all  the  free 
states  to  crush  out  and  destroy  the  mon- 
strous war,  traitors  had  inaugurated.  But 
to  every  call  for  either  men  or  money, 


HISTORY  OF  ILLINOIS. 


39 


there  was  a  willing  and  ready  response. 
and  it  is  a  boast  of  the  people  that,  had 
the  supply  of  money  fallen  short,  there 
were  women  brave  enough,  daring 
enough,  patriotic  enough,  to  have  offered 
themselves  as  sacrifices  on  their  coun- 
try's altar.  On  the  21st  of  December, 
1864,  the  last  call  for  troops  was  made. 
It  was  for  300,000  men.  In  consequence 
of  an  imperfect  enrollment  of  the  men 
subject  to  military  duty,  it  became  evi- 
dent, ere  this  call  was  made,  that  Illinois 
was  furnishing  thousands  of  men  more 
than  what  her  quota  would  have  been, 
had  it  been  correct.  So  glaring  had  this 
disproportion  become,  that  under  this 
call  the  quota  of  some  districts  exceeded 
the  number  of  able-bodied  men  in  them. 

No  troops  ever  fought  more  heroically, 
stubbornly,  and  with  better  effect,  than 
did  the  hoys  from  the  "  Prairie  state." 
At  Pea  Ridge,  Donelson,  Pittsburg  Land- 
ing, Iuka,  Corinth,  Stone  River,  Holly 
Springs,  Jackson,  Yicksburg,  Chicka- 
mauga,  Lookout  mountain,  Murfrees- 
boro, Atlanta,  Franklin,  Nashville, Chat- 
tanooga, and  on  every  other  field  where 
the  crash  of  arms  was  heard,  her  sons 
were  foremost. 

The  people  were  liberal  as  well  as 
patriotic  ;  and  while  the  men  were  busy 
enlisting,  organizing  and  equipping  com- 
panies, the  ladies  were  no  less  active, 
and  the  noble,  generous  work  performed 
by  their  tender  loving  hands,  deserves 
mention  along  with  the  bravery, devotion 
and  patriotism  of  their  brothers,  upon 
the  southern  field  of  carnage. 

The  continued  need  of  money  to  ob- 
tain the  comforts  and  necessities  for  the 


sick  and  wounded  of  our  army,  suggested 
to  the  loyal  women  of  the  north  many 
and  various  devices  for  the  raising  of 
funds.  Every  city,  town  and  village  had 
its  fair,  festival,  picnic,  excursion,  or 
concert,  which  netted  more  or  less  to  the 
cause  of  hospital  relief,  according  to  the 
population  of  the  place,  and  the  amount 
of  energy  and  patriotism  displayed  on 
such  occasions.  Especially  was  this 
characteristic  of  our  own  fair  state,  and 
scarcely  a  hamlet  within  its  borders 
which  did  not  send  something  from  its 
stores  to  hospital  or  battlefield,  and  in 
the  larger  towns  and  cities  were  well 
organized  soldiers'  aid  societies,  working 
systematically  from  the  beginning  of  the 
war  until  its  end.  The  great  state  fail- 
held  in  Chicago  in  May,  1865,  netted 
$250,000.  Homes  for  traveling  soldiers 
were  established  all  over  the  state,  in 
which  were  furnished  lodging  for  600,000 
men,  and  meals  valued  at  $2,500,000, 
Food,  clothing,  medicine,  hospital  deli- 
cacies, reading  matter,  and  thousands  of 
other  articles  were  sent  to  the  boys  at 
the  front. 

The  rebellion  ended  with  the  surrender 
of  Lee  and  Johnson,  in  April,  1865,  and 
as  soon  as  possible  the  troops  were  dis- 
banded. The  following  is  a  summary  of 
troops  furnished  by  the  state  :  infantry, 
L85,941;  cavalry,  32,082;  artillery,  7,277; 
making  a  grand  aggregate  of225,3l  H I  men 
of  all  arms. 

Thus  it  will  be  seen  that  Illinois  did 
her  full  share  toward  putting  down  the 
Rebellion,  as  regards  the  number  of 
men  and  amount  of  materials  supplied. 


-II) 


HISTORY  OF  ILLINOIS. 


CHAPTER    V. 


GOVERNMENT. 


Shadrach  Bond  was  the  first  governor 

of  Illinois.  He  was  a  native  of  Mary- 
land, and  was  born  in  1773;  was  reared 
on  a  farm,  received  a  common  school 
education,  and  came  to  Illinois  in  17'.>4. 
He  served  as  a  delegate  in  congress 
from  1811  to  1815,  where  he  procured 
the  right  of  pre-emption  of  public  land. 
He  was  elected  governor  in  1818  ;  was 
beaten  for  congress  in  1824,  by  Daniel  P. 
Took.  He  died  at  Kaskaskia,  April  11, 
1830. 

Edward  Coles,  the  second  governor, 
was  born  December  15,  1786,  in  Virginia. 
His  father  was  a  slave-holder,  gave  his 
son  a  collegiate  education,  and  left  to 
him  a  large  number  of  slaves.  These  he 
liberated,  giving  each  head  of  a  family 
160  acres  of  landand  a  considerable  sum 
of  money.  He  was  President  Madison's 
private  secretary.  He  came  to  Illinois 
in  1819,  was  elected  governor  in  L822, 
on  the  anti-slavery  ticket;  moved  to 
Philadelphia  in  is:':;',,  and  died  in   1868. 

Ninian  Edwards,  the  successor  of  Mr. 

Coles,  was  not  new  to  the  duties  of  the 
office,  having  been  appointed  in  1809, 
when  the  territory  of  Illinois  was  formed, 
as  its  territorial  governor, which  position 
he  held  until  its  organization  as  a  state, 
when  he  was  sent  to  the  United  States 
senate.  He  was  elected  governor  in 
1826.    He  was  a  native  of  Maryland,  and 


born  in  177-3;  received  a  collegiate  edu- 
cation ;   was  chief  justice  of  Kentucky. 

John  Reynolds,  the  fourth  governor  of 
the  state,  was  born  in  Pennsylvania  in 
1788,  and  came  with  his  parents  to  Illi- 
nois in  1800.  In  1830  he  was  elected 
governor  on  the  democratic  ticket,  and 
afterwards  served  three  years  in  con- 
gress. He  also  received  a  classical  edu- 
cation, yet  was  not  polished.  He  was 
an  ultra-democrat;  attended  the  Charles- 
ton convention  in  1860,  and  urged  the 
seizure  of  United  States  arsenals  by  the 
South.  He  died  in  1865,  at  Belleville, 
childless. 

In  1834  Joseph  Duncan  was  elected 
governor  by  the  whigs,  although  form- 
erly a  democrat.  He  had  previously 
served  foul'  terms  in  congress.  He  was 
born  in  Kentucky,  in  1794;  had  but  a 
limited  education;  served  with  distinc- 
tion in  the  war  of  1812;  conducted  the 
campaign  of  1832,  against  Black  Hawk. 
He  came  to  Illinois  when  quite  young. 

Thomas  Carlin  succeeded  Duncan, 
having  been  elected  on  the  democratic 
ticket  in  1838.  He  had  but  a  meagre 
education;  held  many  minor  offices, 
and  was  active,  both  in  the  war  of  1812 
and  the  Black  Hawk  war.  lie  was 
born  in  Kentucky,  in  1789;  came  to  Il- 
linois in  1812,  and  died  at  Carrollton, 
February  1-4,  L852. 


HISTORY  OF  ILLINOIS. 


41 


Thomas  Ford,  the  next  governor, 
was  fleeted  as  a  democrat,  in  1842.  He 
was  born  in  Pennsylvania,  in  the  year 
1800;  was  brought  by  his  widowed 
mother  to  Missouri,  in  1804,  and  shortly 
afterwards  to  Illinois.  He  received 
a  good  education,  and  studied  law;  was 
elected  judge  four  times — twice  as  cir- 
cuit judge,  judge  of  Chicago,  and  judge 
of  the  supreme  court.  He  wrote  his 
history  of  Illinois  in  1847,  and  died  in 
1850.  ' 

Augustus  C.  French  was  born  in  New 
Hampshire,  in  1808;  was  admitted  to 
the  bar  in  1831,  and  shortly  afterwards 
moved  to  Illinois.  He  was  elected 
governor  in  1846.  <>n  the  adoption  of 
the  constitution  of  1848,  he  was  again 
chosen,  serving  until  1853.  lie  was  a 
democrat   in  politics. 

.loci  A.  Matteson,  who  succeeded 
French  in  the  gubernatorial  office,  was 
horn  in  Jefferson  county.  New  York,  in 
1808.  His  father  was  a  farmer,  and 
gave  his  son  only  a  common  school  ed- 
ucation. He  first  entered  upon  active 
life  as  a  small  tradesman,  hut  subse- 
quently  became  a  large  contractor  and 
manufacture]'.  lie  was  a  heavy  con- 
tractor in  building  the  canal.  He  was 
elected  governor  in  1852  upon  the  dem- 
ocratic ticket  . 

William  II.  l'.issell  was  elected  by  the 
republican  party  in  1856.  IF-  had  pre- 
viously served  two  terms  in  congress; 
he  was  a  colonel  in  the  Mexican  war, 
and  had  held  many  minor  offices  pre- 
vious to  being  chosen  governor.  He 
was  horn  in  New  York  state  in  1811; 
received  a  common  school  education; 
came  to  Illinois  early  in  life  and  en- 
gaged in  lhe  medical  profession.  This 
he    changed  for   the   law,  and   became    a 


noted  orator,  and  tin1  standard-hearer 
of  the  republican  party  in  Illinois.  He 
died  in  1860,  while  governor. 

Richard  Yates,  the  "war  governor'' 
of  Illinois,  was  horn  in  Warsaw,  Ken- 
tucky, in  1818;  came  to  Illinois  in  1831; 
served  two  terms  in  congress;  in  1860 
was  elected  governor,  and  in  1865, 
United  States  senator.  He  was  a  col- 
lege graduate,  and  read  law  under  J.  J. 
Hardin.  He  rapidly  rose  in  his  chosen 
profession  and  charmed  the  people 
with  his  oratory,  lie  filled  the  guber- 
natorial chair  during  the  trying  days  of 
the  rebellion,  and  by  his  energy  and 
devotion  won  the  undying  affection  of 
the  loyal  people.  IF-  died  in  St.  Louis 
at  the  expiration  of  his  term  as  senator. 

Richard  -I.  Oglesby,  who  was  elected 
governor  in  1864,  was  horn  in  Kentucky 
in  1824;  at  the  age  of  eight  years  he 
found  himself  an  orphan,  and  four 
year-  later  he  came  to  Illinois.  He 
was  apprenticed  to  learn  the  carpen- 
ter's trade,  worked  some  at  farming, 
and  read  law  occasionally.  He  enlisted 
in  the  .Mexican  war.  and  was  chosen 
tii>t  lieutenant.  After  his  return,  he 
again  took  up  the  law,  hut  during  the 
gold  fever  of  1849,  went  to  California; 
he  soon  returned,  and  in  1852,  he  en- 
tered upon  his  illustrious  political 
career.  He  raised  the  second  regiment 
organized  in  the  state  to  suppress  the 
rebellion,  and  for  gallantry  was  pro- 
moted to  he  major-general.  His  elec- 
tion as  governor  in  1864  was  due.  in  a 
great  degree,  to  his  patriotic  war  record. 
He  was  again  elected  to  the  same  posi- 
tion in  1*7:!,  hut  resigned  to  go  to  the 
United  States  senate.  He  was  again 
elected  in  1884.  He  is  a  staunch  re- 
publican in  politics. 


42 


HISTORY  OF  ILLINOIS. 


John  M.  Palmer  succeeded  General 
Oglesby.  He  was  born  in  Kentucky 
in  1817,  and  came  to  Illinois  in  1831. 
He  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1839. 
He  was  elected  to  the  office  of  probate 
judge  of  Macoupin  county  in  1843;  was 
a  member  of  the  constitutional  conven- 
tion in  1847;  county  judge  in  1849; 
elected  to  the  state  senate  in  1851; 
member  of  the  peace  conference  in 
1861.  He  was  colonel  of  the  14th  Illi- 
nois infantry,  and  rose  by  successive 
promotions  to  major'-general,  comman- 
der of  the  14tb  army  corps,  and  after- 
wards of  tbe  department  of  Kentucky. 
Was  governor  from  1869  to  1872,  both 
inclusive. 

Richard  J.  Oglesby  was  again  elected 
to  the  office  of  governor  in  1872;  in 
1873  he  was  sent  to  the  United  States 
senate  and  Lieutenant-Governor  John 
L.  Beveridge  succeeded  to  the  gover- 
norship, which  he  held  until  1877. 

Shelby  M.  Cullom  succeeded  Gover- 
nor Beveridge.  He  was  born  in  Ken- 
tucky in  1828;  studied  law,  was  admitted 
to  the  bar,  and  commenced  the  practice 
of  his  profession  in  1848;  was  elected  to 
the  state  legislature  in  1856,  and  again  in 
1860.  Served  on  the  war  commission 
at  Cairo,  in  1862,  and  was  a  member  of 
the  39th,  40th,  and  41st  congresses,  in 
all  of  which  he  served  with  credit  to 
his  state.  He  was  again  elected  to  the 
state  legislature  in  1872,  and  re-elected 
in  1874.  He  was  elected  governor  in 
1876,  and  again  in  1880.  During  the 
last  term  he  was  sent  to  the  United 
States  senate,  and  Lieutenant-Governor 
John  M.  Hamilton  succeeded  to  the 
office  of  governor,  which  he  held  with 
credit  and  ability  lor  tbe  remainder  of 
the  term. 


John  M.  Hamilton  was  succeeded  as 
governor  by  Richard  J.  Oglesby,  elected 
in  1884.  A  sketch  of  Gov.  Oglesby  is 
given  in  connection  with  the  mention 
of  his  first  election. 

LIEUTENANT-GOVERNORS. 

Pierre  Menard  was  the  first  lieuten- 
ant-governor of  Illinois.  He  was  born 
in  Quebec,  Canada,  in  1767.  He  came 
to  Illinois  in  1790,  where  he  engaged  in 
the  Indian  trade,  and  became  wealthy. 
He  died  in  1844.  Menard  county  was 
named  in  his  honor. 

Adolphus  F.  Hubbdxd  was  elected 
lieutenant-governor  in  1822.  Four 
years  later,  he  ran  for  governor  against 
Edwards,  but  was  beaten. 

William  Kinney  was  elected  in  1826. 
He  was  a  Baptist  clergymen;  was  born 
in  Kentucky  in  1781,  and  came  to  Illi- 
nois in  179:!. 

Zadock  Casey  was  elected  lieutenant- 
governor  in  1830,  although  on  the  oppo- 
sition ticket  to  Governor  Reynolds,  the 
successful  gubernatorial  candidate.  He 
subsequently  served  several  terms  in 
congress. 

Alexander  M  Jenkins  was  elected  on 
the  ticket  with  Governor  Duncan,  in 
1834,  by  a  handsome  majority. 

S.  H.  Anderson,  lieutenant-governor 
under  Governor  Carlin,  was  chosen  in 
1838.     He  was  a  native  of  Tennessee. 

John  Moore  was  elected  lieutenant- 
governor  in  1842.  He  was  born  in  Eng- 
land in  1793,  and  came  to  Illinois  in 
1830.  He  won  the  name  of  "Honest 
John  Moore." 

Joseph  B.  Wells  was  chosen  with  Gov. 
French,  at  his  first  election,  in  1846. 

In  1848,  when  French  was  again 
chosen  governor,  William  McMurtry 
was  elected  lieutenant-governor. 


HISTORY  OF  ILLINOIS. 


43 


Gustavus  P.  Koemer  was  the  next  ti> 

hold  the  office,  having  Keen  elected  in 
1852.  He  was  born  in  Germany  in  1809. 
At  the  age  of  22  he  came  to  Illinois.  In 
1872  he  was  the  candidate  of  the  liberal 
party  for  governor,  but  was  defeated. 

John   Wood  was  elected  in  1856,   and 

cm  the  death  of  Gover ■  Bissell,  became 

governor. 

Francis  A.  Hoffman  was  chosen  with 
Governor  Yates  in  1860.  He  was  born 
in  Prussia  in  1822,  and  came  to  Illinois 
in  1840. 

William  Brosa  was  the  next,  elected  in 
1864.  He  was  born  in  New  Jersey,  and 
came  to  Illinois  in  1848.  John  Dough- 
erty was  elected  in  1868. 

John  L.  Beveridge  was  chosen  lieuten- 
ant-governor in  1872,  and  when  Gov- 
ernor Oglesby  was  sent  to  the  senate  in 
1873,  lie  became  governor,  and  held  the 
position  the  remainder  of  the  term. 

Andrew  Sherman  was  elected  lieuten- 
ant-governor in  1876. 

John  M.  Hamilton,  elected  in  1880, 
became  governor  when  Fhelby  M.  Cul- 
lom  was  elected  to  the  office  of  United 
States  senator. 

Win.  J.  Campbell  was  elected  presi- 
dent of  the  senate  and  ex-officio  lieuten- 
ant-governor when  Hamilton  succeeded 
to  the  gubernatorial  chair. 

John  C.  Smith  is  the  present  incum- 
bent. 

SUPERINTENDENT  OF  PUBLIC  [NSTRUCTION. 

The  following  have  served  in  this  ac- 
pacity:  Ninian  W.  Edwards,  1854-56; 
W.  H.  Powell.  1857-58;  Newton  Bate- 
man,  1859-75;  Samuel  M.  Etter,  1876-80; 
James  P.  Slade,  1880-81;  Henry  Raab 
succeeded  Slade.  His  last  term  will  ex- 
pire in  1887. 


ATTORNEY-GENERAL. 

The  attorney-generals  of  Illinois  have 
been  as  follows:  Daniel  P.  Cook.  1819; 
William  Mears,  1S-_>U;  Samuel  I).  Lock- 
wood.  1821-22;  .lames  Turney,  1823-28; 
George  Forquer,  1829-32;  .lames  Sem- 
ple,  1833-34;  Ninian  W.  Edwards.  1834- 
35;  Jesse  B.  Thomas,  Jr..  1835;  Walter 
B.  Seates,  1836;  Asher  F.  Linder,  ls:;7; 
George  W.  Olney,  1838;  Wickliffe 
Kitchell,  ISM'.);  Josiah  Lamhorn,  1841- 
42;  James  A.  McDougall,  lS4.">-4r,; 
David  13.  Campbell,  1846;  [office  abol- 
ished and  recreated  in  1867];  Robert  (i. 
[ngersoll,  1867-68;  Washington  Bush- 
nell,  1869-72;  James  K.  Edsall,  1872-80; 
James  McCartney,  is.sn.s4;  George 
Hunt,  present  incumbent. 

TREASURER. 

The  state  treasurers  of  Illinois  have 
been  as  follows;  John  Thomas,  1818-19; 
R.  K.  McLaughlin,  1819-22;  Ebner 
Field.  1823-26;  James  Hall.  1827-30; 
John  Dement,  1831-36;  Charles  Greg- 
ory, 1836;  John  1).  Whiteside.  1837-40; 
M.  Carpenter,  1S41-4S;  John  Moore, 
1848-56;  James  Miller,  1857-60;  Wil- 
liam Butler,  1861-62;  Alexander  Starne, 
1863-64;  James  H.  Beveridge.  1865-66; 
George  W.  Smith.  1867-68;  Erastus  N. 
Late-.  1869-72;  Edward  Rutz,  1878-79; 
John  C.  Smith,  1879-81;  Edward  Rutz, 
1881-83;  John  C.  Smith,  1883-84;  Jacob 
Gross,  1885-89. 

SECRETARIES  OF  STATE. 

Elias  K.  Kane,  1818-22;  Samuel  D. 
Lockwood,  1822-23;  David  Blackwell, 
ls^;;-'_'|;  .Morris  Birkbeck,  1824;  George 
Farquer,  1825-28;  Alexander  P.  Field. 
1829-40;  Stephen  A.  Douglas,  1840;  Ly- 
man    Trumbull,     1S41-42;     Thompson 


II 


HISTORY  OF  ILLINOIS. 


Campbell,  1843-46;  Horace  S,  Cooley, 
1846-49;  David  L.  Gregg,  1850-52:  Alex- 
ander Starne,  1853-56;  Azias  M.  Batch, 
1857-60;  Sharon  Tyndale,  1865-68;  Ed- 
ward Hummel,  1869-72;  George  H.  Har- 
low, 1873-79,  Henry  D.  Dement,  1881. 
He  is  the  present  incumbent. 

AUDITORS. 

Elijah  C.  Berry,  1818-31;  I.  T.  B. 
Stapp,  1831-35;  Levi  Davis,  1835-40; 
.lames  Shields,  1841-42;  W.  L.  D.  Ew- 
ing,  1843-45;  Thompson  Campbell,  1846; 
Jesse  K.  Dubois.  1857-64;  Orlin  H. 
Miner.  1865-68;  Charles  E.  Lippincott, 
1869-76;  Thomas  15.  Nee. lies,  1877-79; 
Charles  P.  Swigert,  elected  in  1880,  and 
again  in  1884,  is  the  present  incumbent. 

UNITED  STATES  SENATORS. 

Ninian  Edwards — On  the  organization 
of  the  state,  in  1848,  Ninian  Edwards, 
the  popular  territorial  governor,  was 
chosen  senator  for  the  short  term,  and 
in  181!)  re-elected  for  full  term. 

Jesse  B.  Thomas — One  of  the  federal 
judges  during  the  entire  territorial  exis- 
tence, was  chosen  senator  on  organiza- 
tion of  the  state,  and  re-elected  in  1823, 
ami  served  till  1829. 

John  McLean — In  1824  Edwards  re- 
signed,  and  John  McLean  was  elected 
to  fill  his  unexpired  term.  He  was  born 
in  North  Carolina  in  1791,  and  came  to 
Illinois  in  181.");  served  one  term  in  con- 
gress, and  in  1829  was  elected  to  the 
United  States  senate,  hut  the  following 
year  died.  He  is  said  to  have  been  the 
most  gifted  man  of  his  period  in  Illi- 
nois. 

Elias  Kent  Kane — Was  elected  No- 
vember 30,  1824,  for  the  term  beginning 
March  4,  ls-_>.",.     In  1830  he  was  re-elec- 


ted, but  died  before  the  expiration  of  his 
term.  He  was  a  native  of  New  York, 
and  in  1814  came  to  Illinois.  He  was 
first  secretary  of  state,  and  afterwards 
state  senator. 

David  Jewett  Parker — Was  appointed 
to  till  the  unexpired  term  of  Judge 
McLean  in  1830,  November  12,  but  the 
legislature  refused  to  endorse  the  choice. 
1'arker  was  a  native  of  Connecticut, 
bom  in  17H2,   and  died  in  Alton  in  1869. 

John  M.  Robinson — Instead  of  Baker, 
the  governor's  appointee,  the  legislature 
chose  Robinson,  and  in  1834  he  was  re- 
elected. In  1843  he  was  elected  supreme 
judge  of  the  state;  but  died  within,  two 
months  of  his  election.  H."-  was  a  native 
of  Kentucky,  and  came  to  Illinois  when 
quite  young. 

William  L.  I).  Ewing — Was  elected 
in  is:!."),  to  fill  the  vacancy  occasioned  by 
the  death  of  Senator  Kane.  He  was  a 
Kentuckian. 

Richard  M.   Young — Was    elected   in 

1836,  and  held   his  seat  from  March  4, 

1837,  to  March  4,  1843,  a  full  term.  He 
was  a  native  of  Kentucky;  was  a  circuit 
judge  before  his  election  to  the  senate, 
and  3upreme  judge  in  LS42.  He  died 
in  an  insane  asylum  at  Washington. 

Samuel  McRoberts — The  first  native 
Illinoisan  ever  elevated  to  the  high 
office  of  United  States  senator  from  this 
state,  was  born  in  1799,  and  died  in  1843, 
on  his  return  home  from  Washington. 
He  was  elected  circuit  judge  in  1824, 
and  March  4,  1841,  took  his  seat  in  the 
United  States  senate. 

Sidney  Breese — Was  elected  to  the 
United  States  senate,  December  17,  1842, 
and  served  a  full  term.  He  was  born  in 
Oneida  county,  New  York.  He  was  a 
major  in  the  Black  Hawk  war;  was  cir- 


HISTORY  OF  ILLINOIS. 


45 


emit  judge,  and  in  1841  was  elected  su- 
preme judge.  He  served  a  full  term  in 
the  United  States  senate,  beginning 
March  4,  1843,  after  which  he  was 
elected  to  the  legislature,  again  circuit 
judge,  and,  in  1857,  to  the  supreme 
court,  which  position  he  held  until  his 
death,  in  1878. 

.James  Semple — Was  the  successor  of 
Samuel  McRoberts,  and  was  appointed 
by  Governor  Ford  in  1843.  lie  was 
afterwards  elected  judge  of  the  supreme 
court. 

Stephen  A.  Douglas — Was  elected  De- 
cember 14,  1846.  He  had  previously 
served  three  terms  as  congressman.  He 
became  his  own  successor  in  1853,  and 
again  in  1859.  From  his  first  entrance 
in  tin'  senate,  he  was  acknowledged  the 
peer  of  Clay,  Webster  and  Calhoun, 
with  whom  he  served  his  first  term.  His 
famous  contest  with  Abraham  Lincoln 
for  the  senate  in  1858,  is  the  most  mem- 
orable in  the  annals  of  our  country.  -It 
was  called  the  "battle  of  the  giants," 
and  resulted  in  Douglas'  election  to  the 
senate,  anil  that  of  Lincoln  to  the  pres- 
idency, lie  was  horn  in  Brandon,  Ver- 
mont, April  li.'i,  1813,  and  came  to 
Illinois,  in  1833.  He  died  inl861.  He 
was  appointed  secretary  of  state  by 
Governor  Carlin,  in  1840,  and  shortly 
afterward  to  the  supreme  bench. 

James  Shields — Was  elected  and  as- 
sumed his  seat  in  the  United  States 
senate  in  1849,  March  4.  He  was  born 
in  Ireland,  in  1810,  and  came  to  the 
United  States  in  1827.  He  served  in  the 
Mexican  war,  was  elected  senator  from 
Wisconsin,  and  in  1879  from  Missouri 
for  a  short  term. 

Lyman  Trumbull — Took  his  seal  in 
the  United  States  senate  March  4,  1855, 


and  became  his  own  successor  in  1861. 
He  had  previously   served  one   term  in 

the  lower  house  of  COngreSS,   and   served 

on  the  supreme  bench.  He  was  born  in 
Connecticut;  studied  law  and  came  to 
Illinois  in  early  life,  when'  for  years  lie 
was  actively  engaged  in  politics.  He 
resides  in  Chicago. 

Orville  H.  Browning  was  appointed 
United  States  senator  in  1861,  to  fill  the 
seat  made  vacant  by  the  death  of 
Stephen  A.  Douglas,  until  a  senator 
could  be  regularly  elected.  Mr.  Brown- 
ing was  horn  in  Harrison  county,  Ken- 
tucky: was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1831, 
and  settled  in  Quincy,  Illinois,  where  he 
engaged  in  tin  practice  of  law,  and  was 
instrumental,  with  his  friend,  Abraham 
Lincoln,  in  forming  the  republican  party 
of  Illinois,  at  the  Bloomington  conven- 
tion. He  entered  Johnson's  cabinet  as 
secretary  of  the  interior,  and  in  March, 
1868,  was  designated  by  the  president 
to  perform  the  duties  of  attorney  gen- 
eral, in  addition  to  his  own  as  secretary 
of  the  interior  department. 

William  A.  Richardson — Was  elected 
to  the  United  States  senate  in  1863,  to 
fill  the  unexpired  term  of  his  friend. 
Stephen  A.  Douglas.  He  was  born  in 
Fayette  county,  Kentucky,  about  1810, 
studied  law,  ami  settled  in  Illinois; 
served  as  captain  in  the  .Mexican  war, 
and  was  promoted  for  bravery  on  the 
battle-field  of  Buena  Vista,  by  a  unani- 
mous vote  of  his  regiment.  He  served 
in  the  lower  house  of  congress  from 
184'3  to   1857,  continuously. 

Iiiehard  Yates — Was  elected  in  1865, 
and  served  a  full  term  of  six  years.  A 
sketch  of  him  is  given  in  connection 
with  tin1  office  ot  governor. 

John  A.    Logan — Was  elected   to  the 


16 


HISTORY  OF  ILLINOIS. 


United  States  senate  in  1871.  He  was 
horn  in  Jackson  county,  Illinois,  Feb- 
ruary 9,  1826,  received  a  common  school 
education;  enlisted  as  a  private  in  the 
Mexican  war,  where  he  rose  to  the  rank 
of  regimental  quarter-master.  On  re- 
turning home  he  studied  law,  and  came 
to  the  bar  in  1852;  was  elected  in  1858  a 
representative  to  the  36th  congress 
and  re-elected  to  the  37th  congress, 
resigning  in  1861  to  take  part  in  the  sup- 
pression of  the  rebellion,  served  as 
colonel,  and  subsequently  as  a.  major- 
general,  and  commanded  with  distinc- 
tion, the  armies  of  the  Tennessee. 
He  was  again  elected  to  the  senate  in 
1879,  and  served  the  full  term.  He  was 
the  candidate  of  the  republican  party  in 
1884  I'm-  vice-president  of  the  United 
States,  with  Blaine,  but  was  defeated. 

David  Davis — Was  elected  to  the 
United  States  senate  in  1877,  for  a  term 
of  six  years.  He  was  born  in  Cecil 
county,  Maryland,  March  9,  1815;  grad- 
uated at  Kenyon  college,  Ohio,  studied 
law.  and  removed  to  Illinois  in  1835;  was 
admitted  to  the  bar,  and  settled  in 
Bloomington,  where  he  has  since  resid- 
ed, and  amassed  a  large  fortune.  He 
was  for  many  years  the  intimate  friend 
and  associate  of  Abraham  Lincoln,  rode 
the  circuit  with  him  each  year,  and  after 
Lincoln's  election  to  the  presidency,  was 
appointed  by  him  to  rill  the  position  (  f 
judge  of  the  supreme  court  of  the 
United  States,  which  position  he  re- 
signed to  accept  the  senatorship.  When 
Arthur  ascended  to  the  presidency,  at 
the  death  of  Garfield.  Davis  was  elected 
president  of  the  senate  and  acting  vice- 
president  of  the  United  States. 

Shelby  M.  C'ullom — Was  elected  to  the 
United  States  senate  in  1883,  to  succeed 


David  Davis  for  a  term  of  six  years,  ami 
is  serving  in  that  capacity  at  present. 
At  the  time  of  his  election  to  this  office 
he  was  filling  the  gubernatorial  chair, 
and  resigned,  and  John  M.  Hamilton 
succeeded  him.  Senator  Cullom  is  a 
resident  of  Springfield. 

In  1885,  John  A.  Logan,  after  a  pro- 
tracted contest  in  the  legislature,  was 
elected  as  successor  to  himself  in  the 
senate,  and  is  the  present  colleague  of 
Senator  Cullom. 

REPRESENTATIVES  IN  CONGRESS. 

Fifteenth  congress,  1818 — John  Mc- 
Lean . 

Sixteenth,  1819-20— Daniel   P.  Cook. 

Seventeenth,  1821-22-Daniel  P.  Cook. 

Eighteenth,  1823-24— Daniel  P.Cook. 

Nineteenth,  1825-26— Daniel  P.  Cook. 

Twentieth,   1827-28— Joseph   Duncan. 

Twenty-first,  1829-30— Joseph  Dun- 
can . 

Twenty-second,  1831-32 — Joseph  Dun- 
can . 

Twenty-third,  1833-34 — Joseph  Dun- 
can, Zadock  Casey. 

Twenty-fourth,  1835-36— Zadock  Ca- 
sey. John  Reynolds,  William  L.  May. 

Twenty-fifth,  1837-38— Zadock  Casey, 
John  Reynolds,  William  L.  May. 

Twenty-sixth,  1839-40— Zadock  Ca- 
sey, John  Reynolds,  JohnT.  Stuart.. 

Twenty-seventh,  1841-42— Zadock  Ca- 
sey, John  Reynolds,  John  T.  Stuart. 

Twenty-eighth,  1843-44— Robt.  Smith, 
Orlando  B.  Ficklin,  Stephen  A.  Douglas, 
John  A.  McClernand,  Joseph  P.  Hoge, 
John  J.  Hardin,  John  Wentworth. 

Twenty-ninth,  1845-46— Robt,  Smith, 
Stephen  A.  Douglas,  Orlando  B.  Fick- 
lin, John  J.  Hardin  (1845),  Joseph  P. 
Hoge,  John  A.  McClernand,  John  Went- 
worth. 


HISTORY  OF  ILLINOIS. 


Thirtieth,  1847-8— John  Wentworth, 
Thomas  J.  Turner  (1847),  Abraham 
Lincoln,  John  A.  McClernand,  Orlando 
B.  Ficklin,  Robert  Smith,  William  A. 
Richardson. 

Thirty-first,  1849-50— John  A.  Mc- 
Clernand, John  Wentworth,  Timothy  P. 
Young,  William  A.  Richardson,  Edward 
1).  Baker,  W.  II.  Bissell,  T.  L.  Harris. 

Thirty-second,  1851-52 — William  A. 
Richardson,  Thompson  Campbell,  Or- 
lando B.  Ficklin,  John  Wentworth, 
Richard  Yates,  Richard  S.  Maloney, 
Willis  Allen,  William  H.  Bissell. 

Thirty-third,  1853-54 — William  H. 
Bissell,  John  ('.  Allen,  Willis  Allen, 
Elihu  B.  Washburne,  Richard  Yates, 
Thompson  Campbell,  James  Knox. Jesse 
(>.  Norton,  William  A.  Richardson. 

Thirty-fourth,  1855-6— Elihu  B. 
Washburne,  Lyman  Trumbull,  James 
H.  Woodworth,  James  Knox,  Thomp- 
son Campbell,  Samuel  S.  Marshall,  J. 
L.  D.  Morrison,  C.  Allen,  Jesse  O.  Nor- 
ton. William  A.  Richardson. 

Thirty-fifth,  1857-58— Elihu  B.  Wash- 
burne, Charles  D.  Hodges,  William 
Kellogg,  Thompson  Campbell,  John  F. 
Farnsworth,  Owen  Lovejoy,  Samuel  S. 
Marshall,  Isaac  N.  Morris,  Aaron  Shaw, 
Robert  Smith,  Thomas  L.  Harris. 

Thirty-sixth,  1859-60— Elihu  B.Wash- 
burne,  John  A.  Logan,  Owen  Lovejoy, 
John  A.  McClernand,  Isaac  N.  Morris, 
John  F.  Farnsworth.  Philip  B.  Fouke, 
Thomas  L.  Harris,  William  Kellojrg, 
James  <'.  Robertson. 

Thirty-seventh,  1861-62— Elihu  B. 
Washburne,  James  C.  Robertson,  John 
A.  Logan.  Owen  Lovejoy,  John  A.  Mc- 
Clernand. Isaac  N.  Arnold,  Philip  I!. 
Fouke,  William  Kellogg,  Anthony  L. 
Knapp,  William  A.  Richardson. 


Thirty-eighth,  1863-64— Elihu  P. 
Washburne,  Jesse  O.  Norton,  James  C. 
Robinson,  William  J.  Allen.  Isaac  N. 
Arnold,  John  R.  Eden,  Lewis  W.  Ross, 
John  T.  Stuart.  Owen  Lovejoy .  William 
I!.  Morrison,  John  C.  Allen.  John  F. 
Farnsworth.  Charles  W.  Morris,  Eben 
Ingorsoll,  A.  L.  Knapp. 

Thirty-ninth,  1865-66— E.  P.  Wash- 
burne, Anthony  P.  Thornton, Jno. Went- 
worth, Aimer  C.  Hardin,  Eben  C,  Inger- 
soll,  Barton  C.  Cook.  Shelby  M.  Cullom, 
John  F.  Farnsworth.  John  Baker,  Henry 
P.  H.  Brom  well,  An  drew  X.  Kuykendall, 
Samuel  S.  Marshall,  Samuel  W.  Moul- 
ton,  Lewis  W.  Ross. 

Fortieth.  1867-68— Elihu  P.  Wash- 
burne,  Aimer  ('.  Hardin,  Eben  C.  Inger- 
Boll,  Norman  P.  Judd.  Albert  G.  Purr, 
Barton  C.  Cook.  Shelby  M.  Cullom, 
John  F.  Farnsworth.  John  Baker, 
Henry  P.  H.  Bremwell,  John  A.  Logan, 
Samuel  S.  Marshall,  Green  P.  Raum, 
Lewis  W.  Ross. 

Forty-first,  1869-70—  N\  P.  Judd, 
John  F.  Farnsworth,  H.  C.  Burchard, 
John  P.  Hawley,  Eben  C.  [ngersoll, 
Barton  C.Cook,  Jesse H.  Moore,  Shelby 
M.  Cullom,  Thomas  W.  McNeeley,  Al- 
bert O.  Purr,  Samuel  S.  Marshall,  John 
P.  Hay,  John  M.  Crebs,  John  A.  Logan. 

Forty-second,  1S71-72 — Charles  P. 
Farwi  11,  John  Farnsworth,  Horatio  C. 
Burchard,  John  B.  Hawley.  Bradford  X. 
Stevens.  Henry  Snapp,  Jesse  II.  Moore, 
James  C.  Robinson,  Thos.  W.  McNally, 
Edward  Y.  Pice,  Samuel  S.  Marshall, 
John  P.  Hay,  John  M.  Crebs,  John  S. 
Beveridge. 

Forty-third.  ls7:!-74— John  P.  Rice, 
Jasper  I).  Ward,  Charles  P.  Farwell, 
Stephen  A.  Hurlburt,  Horatio  C.  Pur- 
chard,  J.  P.  Hawley,  Franklin  Corwin, 


48 


HISTORY  OF  ILLINOIS. 


win,  Robert  M.  Knapp,  James  ('.  Rob- 
inson, John  1!.  McNulta,  Joseph  G. 
Cannon,  John  It.  Eden,  James  S.  Mar- 
tin. William  It.  Morrison,  Greenbury 
I..  Fort,  Granville  Barriere,  William  H. 
Ray,  Isaac  Clements,  Samuel  S.  Mar- 
shall. 

Forty-fourth,  1875-76 — Bernard  G. 
Caulfield,  Carter  H.  Harrison.  Charles 
B.  Farwell,  StephenA.  Hurlburt, Hora- 
tio C.  Burchard,  Thomas  J.  Henderson, 
Alexander  Campbell,  Greenbury  I,. 
Fort,  Richard  II.  Whiting,  John  ('. 
Bagby, Scott  Wike, William  M.  Springer, 
Adlai  E.  Stevenson,  Joseph  G.  Cannon, 
John  It.  Eden,  W.  A.  .1.  Sparks,  Wil- 
liam It.  Morrison,  William  Hartzell, 
William  I!.  Anderson, 

Forty-fifth, 1877-78— William  Aldrich, 
Carter  II.  Harrison,  Lorenzo  Brentano, 
William  Lathrop,  Horatio  C.  Burchard, 
Thomas  .1.  Henderson,  Philip  C.  Hayes, 
Greenbury  L.  Fort.  Thomas  A.  Boyd, 
Benjamin  F.  Marsh,  Robert  M.  Knapp, 
William  M.  Springer,  Thomas  F.  Tip- 
ton, Joseph  G.  Cannon,  John  R.  Eden, 
W.  A.  J.  Sparks,  William  R.  Morrison, 
William  Hartzell,  Richard  W.  Town- 
shend. 

Forty-sixth,  1879-80—  William  Aid- 
rich,  George  R.  Davis,  Hiram  Barber, 
John  C  Sherwin,  R.  M.  A.  Hawk. 
Thomas  .1 .  Henderson,  Philip  C.  Haves. 
Greenbury  L.  Fort,  Thomas  A.  Boyd, 
Benjamin  F.  Marsh,  .lames  W.  Single- 
ton, William  M.  Springer.  A.  E.  Steven- 
son, Joseph  G.  Cannon,  Albert  P. 
Forsythe,  W.  A.  .1.  Sparks.  William  It. 
Morrison,  John  It.  Thomas.  It.  W. 
Townshend. 

Forty-seventh, 1881-S2— William  Aid- 
rich,  George  R.  Davis,  Charles  R.  Far- 
well,  John  C.  Sherwin,  Robert  M.   A. 


Hawk,  Thomas  .1.  Henderson,  William 
Cullen,  Lewis  E.  Payson,  John  H. 
Lewis,  Benjamin  F.  Marsh,  James  W. 
Singleton,  William  M.  Springer,  Diet- 
rich C.  Smith,  Joseph  0.  Cannon,  Sam- 
uel W.  Moulton,  W.  A.  J.  Sparks, 
William  R.  Morrison,  John  It.  Thomas, 
It.  W.  Townshend. 

Fortyreighth — Ransom  W.  Dunham, 
John  F.  Finerty,  George  R.  Davis, 
George  E.  Adams,  Reuben  Ellwood, 
Robert  It.  Hilt,  Thomas  J.  Henderson, 
William  Cullen,  Lewis  F.  Payson, 
Nicholas  E.  Worthington,  William  II. 
Neece,  James  M.  Riggs,  William  M. 
Springer,  Jonathan  II.  Rowell,  Joseph 
G.  Cannon,  Aaron  Shaw,  Samuel  W. 
Moulton,  William  R.  Morrison,  R.  W. 
Townshend,  John  R.  Thomas. 

Forty-ninth — Ransom  W.  Dunham, 
Francis  Lawler,  James H.  Ward,  George 
E.  Adams.  Reuben  Ellwood,  Robert  R. 
Hilt,  Thomas  J.  Henderson,  Ralph 
Plumb,  Lewis  E.  Payson,  Nicholas  E. 
Worthington,  William  H.  Neece,  James 
M.  Riggs,  William  M.  Springer,  Jona- 
than II.  Rowell,  Joseph  G.  Cannon, 
Silas  Z.  Landes,  John  R.  Eden,  William 
It.  Morrison.  Richard  W.  Townshend, 
John  R.  Thomas. 

Only  three-fourths  of  a  century  ago, 
the  territory  of  Illinois  was  organized, 
with  a  population  estimated  at  9,000; 
to-day  it  numbers  more  than  three  and 
one-half  millions — a  greater  number 
than  in  all  the  colonies  during  the  rev- 
olution. When  organizea,  steamboats 
had  never  traversed  its  waters;  rail- 
roads, telegraphs  and  telephones  were 
unknown:  to-day,  every  navigable 
stream  is  alive  with  vessels,  carrying 
her  products  to  other  lands;  while  rail- 
roads traverse  every   county  and  almost 


HISTORY  OF  ILLINOIS. 


49 


every  township  in  the  state;  while  the 
number  of  miles  of  telegraph  wire 
would  probably  encircle  the  globe,  and 
the  telephone  is  placed  in  many  thous- 
ands of  homes,  enabling  their  inmates 
to  converse  intelligibly  with  parties  at 
a  distance  of  many  miles.  Then  the 
light  that  shone  out  of  darkness  was 
only  the  tallow  dip,  or  that  furnished 
from  blazing  logs  in  the  old-fashioned 
fire-places;  to-day,  after  having  dis- 
placed the  tallow  dip,  the  candle  and 
the  common  house-lamp,  the  darkness 
of  night  is  penetrated  by  the  glare  of 
gas,  and  the  bright  rays  of  the  electric 
light,  rivalling  the  light  of  day.  Then 
agriculture  was  in  its  infancy,  it  being 
possible  with  the  machinery  then  used, 
only  to  raise  sufficient  crops  to  supply 


the  wants  of  those  lying  within  its 
boundary;  to-day,  with  the  improved 
plows,  the  self-binding  reaper,  the 
steam  thresher,  and  other  improved 
machinery,  Illinois  can  feed  a  nation  of 
50,000,000  of  people.  Then  the  news- 
paper was  a  rare  visitor  in  the  house- 
hold; to-day,  the  humblest  citizen  can 
scarcely  exist  without  his  daily  and 
weekly  paper.  Then  knowledge  was 
possessed  by  few;  to-day,  by  means  of 
free  schools,  well  endowed  colleges  and 
other  influences,  there  is  no  excuse  for 
living  ignorant.  But  time  would  fail 
to  compare  the  advantages  of  t  j-day 
over  the  first  decade  of  the  present 
century,  and  the  student  of  history,  as 
he  reads  of  the  progress  made,  can  only 
wonder  what  the  future  will  reveal. 


50 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


HISTORY 


OF 


JERSEY  COUNTY, 


ILLINOIS. 


CHAPTER    I. 


To  nearly  every  thinking  mind  the 
study  of  history  is  one  of  peculiar  pleas- 
ure and  enjoyment.  The  sage  and 
scholar  poring  over  a  dusty  tome,  draws 
from  the  details  of  a  vanished  past  the 
lessons  of  to-day.  The  fiery  mind  of 
youth  receives  from  its  pure  well  the  in- 
spiration for  bright  and  noble  deeds 
that  <>t't  bear  the  fruit  of  name  and  fame. 
The  pelitician,  too,  can  therein  see  the 
rocks  and  shoals  that  have  wrecked  so 
many  a  noble  craft,  and  can  steer  his 
hark  into  safety's  haven  by  its  glow. 

All  history,  if  properly  written,  is  in- 
teresting; and  there  is  not  a  country,  or 
a  city,  or  a  hamlet — nay,  it  might  he 
said,  not  a  family  or  an  individual  on 
the  globe — whose  history  might  not  be 
more  or  less  valuable  to  posterity. 


INTRODUCTORY. 

From  those  days  called  ancient,  away 
back  in  the  dim  and  misty  past,  when 
the  human  race  first  arrived  at  a  state 
of  intelligence  sufficient  to  enable  them 
to  transmit  a  traditionary  account  of 
themselves,  all  along  down  "the  dim 
corridors  of  recorded  time"  our  ances- 
tors have  left  in  various  ways,  and  by 
different  means,  information,  more  or 
less  mythical  and  fabulous,  of  the  age 
and  generation  in  which  they  played 
their  ephemeral  part  on  the  world's  ever 
changing  theater  of  action.  It  is  graven 
in  bronze  on  the  wonderful  works  of  the 
central  nations  of  Africa,  around  those 
"dim  fountains  of  the  Nile;"  the  grey 
old  pyramids  in  the  valley  of  that  clas- 
sic river  are  covered  with  the  demotic 
and  hieoglyphical  language  of  the  past. 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


51 


The  vast  and  mighty  "palaces  and  piles 
stupendous,"  heavy  with  the  dust  of 
unknown   centuries,  that  bewilder  the 

traveler  amid  Egypt's  drifting  sands, 
upon  the  plains  of  the  Tigris  and 
Euphrates,  and  hidden  away  in  the 
jungles  <>(  the  Indies;  the  gigantic  ruins 
of  Central  and  Southern  America,  under 
the  snow-capped  Cordilleras,  ami  among 
the  prolific  t'm-ests  of  Yucatan;  the 
seamed  and  wrinkled  pyramids  of  the 
Aztecs,  in  Mexico  and  California,  and 
the  ten  thousand  crumbling  evidences 
of  a  powerful  and  advanced  civilization 
scattered  throughout  the  great  valley  of 
the  Mississippi,  all  bear  testimony  to 
the  countless  attempts  to  transmit 
knowledge  to  posterity. 

The  written  history  of  the  American 
Continent  dates  back  scarcely  four  cen- 
turies, yet  within  that  comparatively 
short  period  its  pages  have  garnered 
from  her  hills  and  mountains,  from  her 
grand  rivers  and  mighty  inland  seas, 
valuable  additions  to  the  world's  stock 
of  knowledge. 

Like  the  Eastern  Continent,  our  own 
has  its  historic  points,  its  nuclei  around 
which  cluster  the  memories  of  heroic 
deeds,  the  story  of  martyrs,  and  the  le- 
gends of  a.  barbarous  past.  St.  Augus- 
tine, Jamestown,  Plymouth  Rock,  Que- 
bec, Montreal,  Boston,  New  York, 
Philadelphia  and  Detroit,  are  localities 
about  which  gather  volumes  of  history. 

A  recital  of  these  chain  the  attention 
and  inflame  the  imagination  of  the  care- 
ful student,  as  he  slowly  peruses  its 
pages,  and  lives  over  again  the  deeds  of 
those  that  have  left  such  "footprints  in 
the  sands  of  time"  as  excite  the  emula- 
tion of  all  good  people. 

If  this  is  true  of  general   history,  the 


annals,  of  the  long  ago,  in  distant 
edimes,  among  a  strange  people,  how 
much  more  interesting  it.  must  he  to 
peruse  the  pages  of  local  history — the 
chronicle  of  the  birth  and  develop- 
ment of  our  homes,  the  history  of  the 
people  with  whom  we  have  an  ac- 
quaintance, the  record  of  the  develop- 
ment of  towns,  the  buildings,  the 
institutions  that  surround  us  and  that 
we  have  known  for  years — when  on 
each  page  we  can  scan  the  rise  and 
growth  of  some  familiar  landmark  in  our 
own  lives,  or  watch  with  pride  the  ca- 
reer of  some  one  loved  and  dear. 

11  is  the  aim  of  this  work  to  collect 
and  preserve  in  enduring  and  popular 
form  some  of  the  facts  of  the  early  set- 
tlement and  subsequent  growth  of  a  great, 
county  of  a  grand  state.  The  families 
win  ise  ancestors  were  early  on  the 
ground,  and  whose  members  have  made 
the  county  what  it  is  are  worthy  of  re- 
membrance, and  it  is  the  intention  to 
rescue  them  from  the  dust  of  oblivion. 

The  hands  upon  the  dial  of  time  had 
scarcely  pointed  to  the  last  hour  of  the 
second  decade  of  the  present  century 
when  first  the  foot  of  civilized  man 
pressed  the  virgin  soil  of  Jersey  county. 
Before  that  era  this  bright  land  was  a 
vast,  unbroken  wilderness,  whose  only 
inhabitants  were  the  birds  and  beasts, 
and  their  scarcely  less  wild  congener, 
the  nomad  Indians  of  the  plains,  who 
here  found  a  hunting  ground,  oftimes  a 
place  of  battle  and  a  red  grave.  To 
the  untutored  savage,  who  lived  but 
in  the  present,  the  thought  that  the 
"palefaces"  would  penetrate  this  beau- 
tiful country  occurred  not  to  disturb 
his  dreams,  and  he  continued  on 
with  his  daily  life  of  hunting  and  fish- 


LIDRARY 


UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS 
AT  URBANA- CHAMPAIGN 


52 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


ing,  and  only  varied  the  monotony  of  his 
lazy  existence  by  a  short,  but  bloody, 
passage-at-arms  with  some  rival  tribe. 
I'.nt  the  time  must  come  when  he  must 
Burrender  this  lovely  heritage  of  bis 
fathers  and  move  onward  to  the  sunset 
land,  to  give  place  to  the  hated  white 
man.  The  time  was  soon  to  come  when 
all  nature  must  be  changed;  when  the 
fair  prairies  with  their  gorgeous  flowers 
and  emerald  sod  must  be  broken  up  by 
the  husbandman,  and  grain  fit  for  the 
uses  of  civilized  man  sown  therein. 

Seventy  years  ago  the  soil  was  as  yet 
unvexed  by  the  plow,  and  the  woodman's 
ax  had  never  been  heard  ;  the  rude  cabin 
of  the  settler  with  its  smoke  curling 
heavenward,  with  an  air  inviting  the 
weary  traveler  to  come  and  , rest,  was 
totally  wanting  in  the  broad  landscape, 
and  there  was  not  even  the  slightest 
trace  of  the  coming  civilization — noth- 
ing but  emerald  seas  and  luxuriant 
grasses. 

"These,  the  gardensof  the  desert    these 
The  unshorn  fields,  boundless  and  beautiful, 
As  the  young  earth  ere  man  had  sinned. 

Lo!  they  stretch 
In  airy  undulations  far  away. 
As  though  the  ocean,  in  the  gentlest  swell, 
Stood  still,  with  all  its  rounded  billows  fixed. 
And  motionless  forever." 

But  these  beautiful  prairies  that  but  a 
few  short  years  ago  lay  basking  'noath  a 
summer  sun,  without  a  trace  of  human 
habitation  upon  their  broad  bosoms,  are 
now  covered  with  fertile  farms,  thriving 
villages,  commodious  mansions  and  busy 
towns.  The  wilderness  has  been  changed 
into  the  abode  of  man  and  the  home  of 
civilization.  And  the  annals  of  the  men 
and  the  times  that  w  rought  this  wonder- 
ful transformation,  it  is  the  duty  as  well 
a-  the  pleasure  of  tin.'  historian  to  collect 


and  jot  down  upon  these  pages,  so  that 
when  these  heroes  of  the  frontier  shall 
have  passed  onward  to  their  "great  re- 
ward" they  shall  have  left  these  lines 
behind  them  as  monuments  to  mark 
their  memories — monuments  more  en- 
during than  stone  or  brass,  even  were 
their  epitaphs  written  in  letters  of  gold. 
Even  while  they  live,  the  recital  of 
those  early  days  when  first  they  "  stuck 
their  stakes"  in  this  their  land  of  prom- 
ise, the  changes  from  the  then  to  now 
will  come  uppermost  in  their  minds,  and 
the  contrast  will  afford  some  food  for 
thought.  In  those  by-gone  days  the 
road  hither  was  long  and  tedious,  no 
roads,  no  bridges;  the  only  mode  of  cross- 
ing the  numerous  streams  that  mean- 
dered across  the  path  of  the  pilgrim  was 
by  fording  or  swimming.  The  only  mode 
of  transportation  was  the  covered  wagon, 
within  whose  protecting  hood  was  pa  eked 
the  courageous  wife  and  mother  with  her 
little  ones,  together  with  the  few  articles 
of  furniture  thought  necessary  to  begin 
life  in  the  "far  west."  Letters  from  the 
dear  ones,  left  in  the  home-nest,  were 
like  the  proverbial  angels'  visits,  "  Few 
ami  far  between."  Entering  upon  pos- 
session of  their  new-found  home,  after 
the  labor,  keen  and  arduous,  of  the 
father  and  husband  had  been  rewarded 
by  the  completion  of  the  humble  cot, 
built  of  the  primeval  logs,  the  family 
settled  down  to  the  hardships  and  scant 
fare  of  pioneer  life.  No  labor-saving 
machinery  was  there  in  those  days  to 
lighten  the  work  in  husbandry  or  domes- 
tic economy,  only  heavy  manual  labor, 
with  the  crudest  of  tools.  No  conven- 
ient mill  or  store  at  which  to  purchase 
the  necessities  of  life  when  "  reluctant 
nature  withheld  her  smile  "  and  crops 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


:,;; 


failed  to  meet  the  emergency.  These 
were  but  a  tithe  of  the  trials  and  incon- 
veniences of  a  new  settlement,  but  how 
changed  to-day.  In  place  of  the  weary 
journey  through  mud,  or  dust,  or  drifted 
snow,  thirty  or  forty  miles  to  mill,  or  dis- 
tant village  for  provision,  the  only 
means  of  transport,  the  slow-paced  oxen 
or  scarcely  faster  plodding  farm-horse, 
now  the  iron  stood  of  commerce,  with 
rush  and  roar,  dashes  tip  almost  to  the 
door-step  of  the  farmer,  and  towns  and 
villages  with  stores  and  mills  dot  these 
verdant  hills  and  plains.  Conveniences 
are  brought  to  their  very  homes,  and  the 
mails,  that  were  many  weeks  on  their 
way  in  the  past,  now  are  hardly  cold 
from  the  hands  of  the  loved  ones  in  the 
''old  home"  ere  they  are  in  the  hands  of 
the  receiver.  Ye  newer-comers,  com- 
pare, in  your  minds,  the  rude  appliances 
of  early  days,  both  in  the  farm  imple- 
ments, and  the  domestic  helps  to  the 
labors  of  both  man  and  wife;  contrast 
the  horse-power  thresher  with  the  Hail; 
the  scythe  and  cradle  with  the  self-bind- 
ing  harvester;  the  sewing  machine  with 
its  humble  sister,  the  needle,  and  thous- 
ands of  other  innovations  and  improve- 
ments with  the  makeshifts  and  ruder 
implements  of  former  times. 

The  heroes  and  heroines  of  the  early 
days,  for  women  met  the  same  fate  with 
as  hold  a  front  as  the  sterner  sex,  havo 
earned  their  place  in  history,  and  it  is 
but  meet  that  they  should  occupy  it. 

A  history  of  the  people  is,  par  excel- 
lence, the  history  id'  the  state,  the  nation 
or  the  county,  and  in  these  pages  the 
people  shall  fill  the  prominent  place. 
The  annals  of  the  lives  of  these,  the 
"Pilgrim  Fathers"  of  Jersey  county 
have  within  them    all  the  elements  of 


tragedy  or  comedy,  ami  the  story  of  their 
conflict  with  nature  and  the  vicissitudes 
of  pioneer  life  shall  he  the  principal 
theme  of  this  history. 

Thousands  of  facts  arc  herein  record- 
ed, and  individual  sketches  of  hundreds 
of  citizens,  living  and  dead,  are  here 
placed  in  enduring  form.  These  men 
and  women  are,  or  have  been,  actors  in 
the  drama  of  the  settlement  and  devel- 
opment of  Jersey  county.  By  inserting 
these  sketches,  in  addition  to  other  mat- 
ter, is  preserved,  not  only  the  recital  of 
historic  fact,  hut  a  suhcurrent  of  indi- 
vidual deeds  that  run  through  it,  like 
some  minor  chord  in  the  grand  melody, 
giving  a  realism  to  the  narrative,  which 
could  he  imparted  in  no  other  way. 

The  first  place  in  a  history  id'  this 
class  necessarily  begins  with  the  first 
settlers,  the  hardy  pioneers  who  first 
broke  the  way  for  civilization  into  these 
pristine  wastes.  The  pioneers!  how 
that  word  strikes  a  responsive  chord  in 
every  bosom — how  at  its  sound  we  con- 
jure up  the  hold,  hardy  and  adventurous 
father  of  a  family  packing  up  a  few  in- 
disjiensaldes  and  turning  his  hack  upon 
the  parent  roof-tree,  all  its  conveniences 
and  luxuries,  and  plunging  into  a  sav&ge 
and  untried  wilderness,  far  in  advance 
of  the  hosts  of  civilization,  there  to  carve 
him  out  a  new  home.  Hugged  men, 
with  nerves  and  muscles  of  steed,  and 
hearts  hold  as  the  Vikings  of  old,  they 
merit  our  fullest  admiration  of  their 
heroism,  for  heroic  it  was,  this  defying 
of  nature  in  her  wildest  moods.  Let, 
then,  the  tablets  of  history  hear  their 
names,  that  when,  in  a  few  short  years, 
they  have  been  called  to  the  land  of  the 
bereafter,  their  deeds  and  actions  perish 
not  with  them,  and  that  coming  genera- 


54 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY 


tions   may   have    ever  before   them  the 
bright  examples  of  these  noble  men. 

Rough  were  they  in  many  cases,  and 
uncouth,  yet  in  them  lies  the  true  nobil- 
ity that  lifts  a  man  from  an  ignominious 
position  and  places  him  upon  a  high  pe- 
destal. Burns,  the  Scottish  poet,  truly 
says: 

"The  rank  is  but  the  guinea's  stamp, 
The  geld  the  gold  for  all  that." 

And  although  in  many  cases  these 
bold  pioneers  were  men  of  limited  edu- 
cation and  little  social  training,  men 
who  would  lie  out  of  place  in  the  gilded 
salons  of  society,  or  the  silken  boudoir 
of  beauty,  still  they  were  possessors  of  a 
noble  manhood  that  is  the  monopoly  of 
no  race  or  caste.  Then  honor  to  these 
noble  men,  and  women,  too,  that  first 
made  a  settlement  on  the  wild  prairies 
and  in  the  timber  of  Jersey  county;  and 
here  planted  the  seeds  that  have  grown 
into  such  a  flourishing  community;  that 
have  had  a  prominent  hand  in  making 
it  what  it  is. 

When  these  argonauts  first  came  here 
they  were  completely  isolated  from  their 
kind.  No  railroads,  and,  in  fact,  no 
roads  of  any  kind  connected  them  with 
the  far-away  land  of  their  kin.  No 
house  in  which  to  dwell  until  they  could 
rear  their  humble  log  cabin,  no  neigh- 
bors to  render  aid  in  sickness  or  trouble, 
no  one  to  close  their  eyes  in  death — 
alone.  Life  with  them  was  not  all  a 
rosy  dream,  but  a  hard  and  bitter  strug- 
gle with  want,  penury  and  privation,  and 
tbc  wonder  is  that  they  should  still  be 
spared  to  us,  after  almost  a  life-time  of 
toil  and  conflict;  but  still  many  of  them 


linger  this  side  of  the  grave.  Let  us 
then  hasten,  and  inclining  the  ear,  listen 
to  their  tales  of  bygone  days,  the  story 
of  their  lives,  the  description  of  their 
acts  during  the  heroic  age,  that  history 
may  inscribe  them  upon  her  tablets,  a 
monument,  when  they  are  gone,  more 
enduring  than  stone  or  bronze. 

The  men  of  to-day,  hardy  sons  of 
heroic  sires,  prominent  in  official  or  in 
commercial  circles,  also  deserves  a  place 
in  history,  for  "each  day  we  live,  we 
are  making  history,"  and  the  details  of 
the  rise  and  growth  of  the  business  in- 
terests of  the  county  are  not  without 
their  value  in  observations  on  the  grad- 
ual rise  of  this  section  from  barbarism 
and  a  wilderness  to  the  teeming  farm 
lands,  interspersed  with  cities,  towns 
and  villages,  as  we  now  find  it. 

These  old  settlers  must  be  gathered 
unto  their  fathers;  the  men  so  full  of 
business  and  activity  to-day  must  go 
down  into  the  grave;  the  youth  and  bud- 
ding maiden,  rise  to  manhood  and 
womanhood,  linger  and  decay,  and  even 
children  that  now  linger  'round  their 
parents'  knee,  give  place  to  other  people 
and  other  tilings.  Then  the  value  of 
history  will  In'  better  understood,  when 
all  these  actors  upon  the  stage  of  life 
have  lain  down, 
"With  patriarchs  of  the  infant   world,— with 

kiniis. 
Fair  forms,  and  hoary  seers  of  ages  past, 
All  in  one  mighty  sepulchre," 
Then  posterity  will  hail  with   gladness 
these  annals  of  the  times  and  deeds  of 
their  forefathers,  that  they  may  pattern 
after  their  noble  sires. 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


CHAPTER    II. 


GEOGRAPHY,  TOPOGRAPHY  AND   RESOURCES. 


Jersey  county  lies  on  the  western 
border  of  the  great  state  of  Illinois,  at 
the  junction  of  the  Illinois  river  and  the 
mighty  Mississippi,  and  embraces  some"- 
what  over  ten  congressional  townships 
or  about  three  hundred  and  sixty-three 
square  miles,  and  contains  about  232,0  0 
acres  of  land,  nearly  all  of  which  is  val- 
uable for  tillage  or  pasture. 

The  county  is  bounded  on  the  north 
by  Greene  county,  on  the  east  by  Ma- 
coupin and  Madison  counties,  on  the 
south  by  the  state  of  Missouri,  from 
which  it  is  separated  b)  the  Mississippi 
river,  and  on  the  west  by  Calhoun  coun- 
ty, the  Illinois  river  forming  the  boun- 
dary line  between. 

The  central  and  eastern  portions  of 
this  sub-division  of  the  state,  are  mostly 
prairie,  level  or  gently  rolling,  hut  the 
southern  and  western  part  becomes  more 
broken  and  rough  as  it  approaches  the 
rivers  farming  in  bluffs  and  hills  sepa- 
tcd  from  each  ether  by  narrow  ravines, 
and  with  sharp  declivities,  crowned  with 
a  narrow,  knifelike  ridge,  souk-  towering 
some  two  or  three  hundred  feet  in  the 
air.  This  portion  of  the  county  was 
heavily  timbered  at  one  time,  but  the 
hands  of  the  busy  woodman  has  wielded 
the  axe  so  well  that  much  of  the  land 
has  been  cleared  of  its  leafy  mantle,  but 
enough  remains  to  give  to  it  the  appear- 
ance of  a  wooded  country,   and  with  the 


outcrop  of  gigantic  rock,  deep  shady 
ravines  and  purling  springs,  make  as 
picturesque  locality  as  any  found  in  the 
state. 

The  territory  of  Jersey  county  is  di- 
versified with  many  streams  of  water, 
that  Bow  in  all  directions  from  the  cen- 
ter, of  which  Jerseyville  is  the  highest 
point.  The  principal  of  these  streams 
are  the  Macoupin,  the  Otter,  Piasa  and 
Phill's  creek  with  their  affluents.  Ma- 
coupin creek  enters  Jersey  county  first 
in  the  northern  part  of  Ruyle  township 
and  winding,  with  devious  course  in  a 
general  westerly  course  close  to  the 
boundary  line  between  this  and  Greene 
county,  is  some  times  in  one  county  and 
some  times  in  the  other,  until  it  reaches 
the  northeast  corner  of  the  township  of 
Richwoods,  from  which  point  to  the  111- 
nois  river,  into  which  it  empties,  it 
forms  the  boundary  line  between  the 
tw  i  counties.  Phill's  creek,  which  is 
'an  affluent  of  this  stream,  is  formed  by 
the  junction  of  several  small  rivulets, 
which  unite  on  section  17,  of  Fidelity 
township,  and  from  thence  flowing 
northwesterly,  receives  the  waters  of 
the  Owl  and  Dorsey's  branches,  ami 
flows  into  the  Macoupin  creek.  Piasa 
creek  has  its  solirse  in  the  southwestern 
part  of  Macoupin  county,  ami  is  formed 
by  the  function  of  two  or  three  small 
runs     that     meet      on     section     35,     of 


56 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY   COUNTY. 


Fidelity  township,  and  from  thence 
flowing  in  a  general  southwesterly 
course,  empties  into  the  Mississippi 
liver.  Otter  creek  has  its  rise  in  the 
center  of  the  county,  and  flows  west- 
wardly  into  the  Illinois  river,  at  the 
southeast  corner  of  section  6,  Rosedale 
township.  These  streams,  with  their 
numerous  affluents,  and  many  small 
creeks,  runs  and  rivulets  that  empty 
into  the  two  rivers,  afford  ample  drain- 
age for  the  county,  and  supply  an  abun- 
dance of  water  for  stock  purposes. 

KAILROADS. 

There  are  three  lines  of  railroad  tra- 
versing the  territory  of  Jersey  county, 
in  various  directions,  connecting  it  with 
eastern  and  southern  markets.  The  St. 
Louis  and  Kansas  City  branch  of  the 
Chicago  and  Alton  railroad  enters  the 
county  on  the  north  from  Greene  county 
and  traverses  the  townships  of  Jersey- 
ville, Mississippi  and  Piasa.  It  has 
tAvo  stations  within  the  county,  those  of 
Jerseyville  and  Delhi.  Another  branch 
of  the  same  road  crosses  the  southeast 
corner  of  Piasa  township,  the  main  line 
from  Chicago  to  St.  Louis.  The  Rock 
Island  and  St.  Louis  branch  of  the  Chi- 
cago, Burlington  and  Quincy  railroad 
dosses  the  northeastern  part  qf  Ruyle 
township  and  has  one  station  within 
this  county,  Kemper.  The  St.  Louis, 
Jerseyville  and  Springfield  branch  of 
the  Wabash  railroad,  enters  the  county 
from  the  northeast,  crosses  the  town- 
ships of  Fidelity  and  Jerseyville  to  the 
city  <>f  the  latter  name,  and  then  turns 
smith,  passing  through  Mississippi  and 
Elsah  to  the  town  of  Elsah,  on  the  Mis- 
sissippi river,  thence  turning  west,  runs 
to  Grafton,  where  it,  at  present,  has  its 


terminus.  Besides  these  iron  roads, 
nature  has  provided  the  most  magnifi- 
cent of  waterways  for  the  carrying  off 
of  the  surplus  products  of  this  portion 
of  the  state,  the  Illinois  river  and  the 
mighty  Mississippi,  the  Father  of  Wat- 
ers. All  these  numerous  avenues  of 
trade,  facilitate  the  transportation  of 
merchandise  and  produce,  and  bring 
the  county  of  Jersey  into  direct  com- 
munication with  the  mighty  marts  of 
commerce,  both  north  and  south,  and 
add  largely  to  the  commercial  value  of 
everything  raised  within  its  borders. 
From  early  times  the  energetic  agricul- 
turists of  this  county  have  throve  and 
gathered  stores  of  this  world's  goods, 
until  to-day  Jersey  county  stands  well 
to  the  front  as  one  of  the  most  prosper- 
ous in  the  state  of  Illinois.  The  bluff 
lands  of  the  county  are  most  admirably 
adapted  to  the  cultivation  of  all  kinds 
of  fruits,  as  well  as  wheat  and  other 
cereals,  and  the  prairie  with  its  rich, 
black  alluvial  soil  seems  the  home  of 
corn  and  other  grains.  The  rich  succu- 
lent grasses  of  this  region  betray  by  the 
sleek  hides  and  rounded  forms  of  the 
stock  that  are  pastured  therein,  the  nu- 
tritive qualities  drawn  from  a  kindly 
soil.  Thrift  and  affluence  are  mani- 
fested on  every  hand  in  the  fine  im- 
provements and  graded  stock  throughout 
the  county,  and  taking  it  as  a  whole,  in 
an  agricultural  sense,  this  county  ranks 
with  the  best  in  the  land.  Its  proxim- 
ity to  the  great  rivers,  together  with  its 
excellent  railroad  facilities,  and  unex- 
ceptional resources,  must  make  it  com- 
mend itself  to  those  seeking  homes  in 
the  West.  The  broken  land  in  the 
vicinity  of  the  rivers  is  well  adapted  to 
the  culture  of  grape,  as  is  demonstrated 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


57 


by  those  who  have  made  essay  in  this 
direction,  and  in  the  hands  of  skillful 
vinegrowers  could  be  made  to  yield  a 
more  liberal  return  for  the  labor  de- 
voted to  them,  than  can  be  obtained 
from  the  richest  prairie  land,  devoted  to 
the  common  cereals,  indigenous  to  this 
climate  and  latitude.  Sheep  would,  no 
doubt,  do  well  here,  as  it  is  a  known 
fact  that  they  are  more  healthy  on  hill 
land  than  on  the  lowlands. 

The  following  tables  will  give  some 
idea  of  the  wealth  of  the  county,  being 
the  assessments  made  at  various  times 
during  the  existence  of  the  county,  and 
shows  how  the  real  and  personal  prop- 
erty of  the  citizens  of  Jersey  county, 
has  increased  from  time  to  time: 


No. 


Valued  i 
.  $121.8 


1853. 

Horses 3,241- 

Neat  Cattle 6,790  50,963 

MuleB 260  8,729 

Sheep  2,337  8,846 

Hogs 14,707  29,295 

Carriages  and  wagons 1,109  35.477 

Clocks  and  watches 737  3,976 

Pianos 7  730 

Goods  and  merchandise 41,150 

Manufactured  articles 7,822 

Money  and  credits 134,040 

Unenumerated  property 30,100 

Aggregate $466,514 

Deductions 27,473 


Total  value  taxable  personal  property $439,041 

Lands $996,652 

Town  lots 87,679       $1,084,331 

$1,523,370 

1859  No.  Valued  at. 

Horses 8,903  $176,480 

Neatcattle 9,023  88,911 

Mnles  and  assea 606  28,729 

Sheep 2.413  2,421 

Hogs 14,323  23,753 

Carriages  and  wagons 1.549  53,639 

Clocks  and  watches 1,008  6.O09 

Pianos 37  2,475 

Goods  and  merchandise 50,130 

Bankers'  and  brokers'  property 7,000 

Manufactured  articles 16,005 

Moneys  and  credits 144,875 


Bonds,  stockn  Uc 2u0 

Unenumerated  property 63,654 

Aggregate $665,179 

Deduction 12,751 

Total  value  taxable  personal  property $652,428 

Railway  property $    12.507 

Lands 1,502.582 

Town  lots   211,448        $1,726,537 

Total  value  of  real  and  personal  property.  $2, 378,965 


No. 


Valued  ! 
$208,C 


1864 

Horses 5,099 

Cattle 9,154  87,783 

Mules  and  asses 463  15.160 

Sheep 5,561  10.576 

Hogs 13,378  25,852 

Carriages  and  wagons 1.772  59  224 

Clocks  and  watches 967  6,220 

Pianos 65  5  645 

Goods  and  merchandise 75,690 

Bankers' property 2,000 

Manufactured 5,335 

Moneys  and  credits 144,877 

Bonds,  stocks,  etc 11,100 

Unenumerated  property 103.392 

Aggregate $760,878 

Land $1,4*1.720 

Townlots 220,430       $1,702,150 

$2,463,028 

Tai  levied 159,998,74. 

1869  No.  Valued  at. 

Horses 4,698  $171,056 

Neatcattle 6,733  77.319 

Mulesandasses 679  25,266 

Sheep 4,459  5,887 

Hogs 8.961  19,767 

Carriages  and  wagons 1,612  51,225 

Clocks  and  watches 1,196  7,806 

Pianos 88  10.160 

Goods  and  merchandise 79,340 

Bankers'  property 1.000 

Manufactured  articles 7.415 

Msnevs  and  credits 200.690 

Unenumerated  property 103,829 

Aggregate $760,790 

Deduction 1,590 


$759  2u0 


Railroad  property. .   $66,208 

Lands  in  the  county 2.219,282 

Townlots 499,039 


2,784,529 

Total  assessed  valuation $3,543,729 

1884  Valued  at. 

Lands $2,741,398 

Townlots 573,710 

Personal  properl  y 704,364 

Railroad  property — 205.540 

Telegraph  property 918 

Aggregate  value $4,228,930 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


CHAPTER    III. 


GEOLOGY. 


The  geological  structure  of  Jersey 
county  presents,  with  the  exception  of 
Calhoun,  the  most  interesting  and  va- 
ried field  for  investigation  of  any  county 
in  the  state.  The  outcrops  of  the  strat- 
ified rocks  include  a  thickness  of  over 
one  thousand  feet  of  strata,  ranging 
from  the  lower  coal  measures  to  the 
Trenton  limestone  of  the  Lower  Silur- 
ian period.  Sonic  time  after  the  depos- 
its of  the  carboniferous  period  were 
made,  some  great  convulsion  of  the 
pent  up  forces  of  nature  caused  an  up- 
heaval of  the  strata,  and  a  mountain, 
or  rather  the  half  of  a  mountain,  arose, 
whose  highest  point  was  in  the  south- 
ern portion  of  Calhoun  county,  with 
the  foot  of  the  elevation  extending  in  a 
half  circle  from  Alton  through  a  part  of 
Madison,  Jersey,  Greene  and  Calhoun 
comities  to  the  southwest  corner  of  Pike 
county,  on  the  Mississippi  river.  This 
singular  mountain  doubtless  presented 
on  its  southern  and  western  side  a 
mural  wall,  showing  the  whole  range  of 
the  Paleozoic  strata,  from  the  St.  Peters 
sandstone  of  the  calciferous  period  to 
the  coal  measures,  including  over  100 
feet  of  the  latter  formation.  Jutting 
up  against  the  base  of  this  precipice, 
the  rocks,  with  the  coal  measures  on 
top,  lie  in  their  natural  positions, 
though  somewhat  distorted,  as  if  they 


McAdams.l 

had  been  raised  up  and  fallen  back 
again.  The  lowest  rock  exposed  in 
the  county  of  Jersey  is  the  well-known 
Trenton  limestone. 

This  mountain  was  eroded  away  by 
the  drift  period,  which,  according  to 
the  theory  of  Agassiz,  was  an  immense 
glacier,  miles  in  thickness,  and  the  fin- 
ishing stroke  in  the  earth's  creation. 
The  erosive  forces  of  the  drift  period 
left  the  site  of  the  mountain  on  a  gen- 
eral level  with  the  surrounding  country. 
The  stream  known  as  Otter  Creek  has 
its  source  over  tne  coal  measures,  in  the 
prairie  near  the  city  of  Jerseyville,  ami 
its  course  in  a  western  direction,  for  a 
dozen  miles  to  its  mouth,  passes  di- 
rectly over  the  exposed  edges  of  the 
rocks  raised  by  the  upheaval,  thus  pre- 
senting nearly  the  whole  series  of  rocks 
in  the  county.  This  locality,  from  the 
number  of  strata  exposed  in  so  limited 
an  extent,  makes  it  the  most  interest- 
ing field  for  the  study  of  geology  of 
which  there  is  any  knowledge  in  this 
part  of  the  state  of  Illinois  or  the  United 
States. 

The  following  section  will  show  the 
position  and  comparative  thickness  of 
the  different  groups  in  the  county.  The 
names  of  the  groups  given  are  some  of 
the  local,  but  are  those  by  which  they  are 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


59 


designated  in  the   geological   report  of 
the  state  of  Illinois,  by  Prof.  Wbrthen: 


4 

100  feet. 

Quarternary. 

■5  = 

200  feet. 

Lower  Coal  Measures. 

15  feel. 

Chester  Limestone. 

I 

60  to  78  feet. 

st.  Louis  Limestone, 

l 

ISO  lee t. 

Keokuk  Limestone. 

s 

200  feet. 

Burlington  Limestone. 

so  to  100  reet. 

Kinderhook  Group. 

1 

30  feet. 

Black  Slate, 

G 
> 

a 

15  feet, 

Hamilton  Limestone. 

p,     'Z 
p.      = 

ISO  feet. 

Niagara  Limestone. 

5     £ 

40  to  50  leet. 

Cincinnati  Limestone. 

50  feet. 

Trenton  Limestone. 

The  total  thickness  of  the  geological 
depi  >sits  exposed  is  not  far  from  1100  feet . 

We  shall  now  proceed  to  describe  the 
strata  represented  in  the  above  section, 
taking  them  up  in  their  order  of  se- 
quence, ami  giving  some  of  the  more 
prominent  features  that  have  attracted 
our  attention. 

In  the  Quarternary  system  we  include 
tin-  Alluvium,  Loess,  and  Drift,  com- 
prising all  the  loose  superficial  material 
that  overlies  the  stratified  rocks.  The 
alluvial  deposits  of  Jersey  county  are 
the  bottom  lands  bordering  on  the  Illi- 
nois river,  and  on  the  Piasa,  Otter  and 
Macoupin  creeks.  The  bottom  along 
the  Illinois  river  is  a  deep,  sandy  loam. 


differing  somewhat  in  localities,  by 
being  formed  wholly  from  the  sediment 
deposited  by  the  annual  overflow  of  the 
river,  or  mainly  formed  from  the  wash 
from  the  highlands  of  the  adjacenl 
bluffs.  These  bottom  lands  are  exceed- 
ingly fertile,  producing  annually  large 
crops  of  grain  and  vegetables,  which  are 
grown  year  after  year  on  the  same 
ground,  with  hut  little  perceptible  di- 
minution in  the  value  of  the  crops. 
These  lowlands  are  now  gradually 
being  elevated  from  year  to  year  by  the 
the  causes  already  referred  to;  the 
swampy  portions  are  filling  up  or  being 
drained,  and  the  arable  area  constantly 
increasing.  The  alluvial  lands  of  Jersey 
county  will,  at  no  distant  day.  he  very 
valuable. 

That  portion  of  the  county  bordering 
on  the  rivers  has,  adjacent  to  the  bot- 
toms, a  range  of  high  bluffs,  cut  up  In- 
deep  ravines  and  narrow  ridges.  These 
bluffs  are  covered  with  a  heavy  deposit 
of  loess,  varying  from  twenty  to  sixty 
feet  in  thickness.  The  term  loess  is  ap- 
plied by  geologists  to  certain  deposits 
of  partially  stratified  marly  sands  and 
clays,  mainly  restricted  to  the  vicinity 
of  our  great  river  valleys.  The  deposit 
is  in  a  finely  comminuted  condition, 
ami  contains  the  remains  of  fresh  water 
and  land  shells,  as  well  as  some  of  the 
bones  of  animals  of  that  period.  It  was 
doubtless  formed  after  the  deposition  of 
the  true  drift,  and  when  the  Mississippi 
valley  more  resembled  a  lake  than  a 
flowing  river.  Where  the  deposit  of 
loess  is  well  developed,  the  bluffs 
usually  present  a  series  of  bald  knobs, 
which  form  such  a  marked  feature  in 
the  topography  of  the  county  alongthe 
rivers. 


GO 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


This  formation,  from  its  peculiar  na- 
ture,  is  easily  manipulated  by  the 
farmer,  and  yields  excellent  crops.  The 
loess  seems  more  especially  adapted  to 
fnuts  and  vines,  and  some  of  the  finest 
orchards  and  vineyards  in  the  county 
are  in  this  formation.  It  does*  not  ex- 
tend far  back  from  the  river,  except  in 
the  valleys  of  the  creeks  and  streams, 
which  are  tilled  with  the  deposit,  in 
some  instances,  three  to  six  miles  from 
the  Muffs,  an  evidence  that  the  valleys 
were  excavated  by  other  agencies  than 
the  water  winch  now  Hows  in  them.  In 
many  places  in  the  deposits  of  loess  in 
the  county  are  found  curious  concre- 
tions, which  go  by  the  names  of  petri- 
fied potatoe  or  petrified  walnuts.  Some 
of  these  are  very  singular,  but  none  of 
them  are  fossils,  being  simply  secre- 
tions, and  their  presence  is  without 
doubt  due  to  some  chemical  action 
among  the  materials  of  which  the  loess 
is  composed. 

DRIFT. 

The  drift  deposits  are  those  accumu- 
lations of  clay,  sand  and  gravel  which 
overlie  the  stratified  rocks.  The  upper 
part  of  this  deposit  in  this  county  is  a 
yellowish,  brown  clay,  furnishing  an  in- 
exhaustible supply  of  material  for  the 
manufacture  of  brick.  It  is  also  used 
in  the  manufacture  of  coarse  pottery, 
by  being  mixed  with  the  blue  clay  be- 
neath it.  The  middle  division  of  the 
drift  is  usually  a  gravel  bed,  with  clay 
or  sand  intermingled,  and  is  the  main 
supply  of  water  for  our  wells.  Boulders 
of  granite,  sienite,  greenstone  quartz  and 
porphyry  ate  often  washed  out  of  these 
graved  beds,  and  are  seen  in  the  course 
of  all  the. streams.  They  are  sometimes 
called  "lost  rocks,"  a  name  quite   sug- 


gestive, as  they  are  indeed  far  away 
from  their  original  ledges.  The  sand 
in  the  streams  is  all  washed  out  of  the 
drift. 

The  base  of  the  drift  in  this  county 
is  a  blue,  plastic  clay,  in  which  are 
often  found  fragments  of  the  vegetation 
of  the  period.  A  large  proportion  of 
the  materials  occupying  the  drift  de- 
posits have  been  derived  from  regions 
far  beyond  the  limits  of  the  state,  and 
consist  of  water-worn  fragments  of 
primitive  rocks  from  the  Lake  Superior 
region,  and  beyond,  and  which  have 
been  transported  southward  by  the  com- 
bined action  of  ice  and  water,  and  were 
distributed  over  the  valley  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi as  far  south  as  the  Ohio  river, 
wdiere  the  whole  valley  was  covered  by 
a  vast  sea  of  water. 

Sometimes  fragments  of  valuable  min- 
erals, such  as  gold,  silver,  copper  and 
lead,  are  found  in  the  drift,  and  have 
been  the  cause  of  leading  many  persons 
to  give  many  fruitless  search  for  mines 
supposed  to  be  hidden  below.  All  over 
the  country,  in  digging  wells,  pieces  of 
coal  are  found  that  have  been  dragged 
away  from  the  coal  measures,  and  de- 
ceive the  unwary  by  their  presence. 
Occasionally  in  digging  wells,  after 
penetrating  the  drift  deposits,  an  old 
soil  is  discovered.  This  is  generally 
found  in  ancient  valleys  that  existed 
previous  to  the  drift  period.  Other 
creek  cuts  through  one  of  these  an- 
cient valleys  not  far  above  the 
iron  bridge,  and  there  is  plainly  to 
be  seen,  below  the  base  of  the  drift,  a 
curious  black  or  dark  brown  formation, 
almost  wholly  composed  of  the  limbs, 
leaves  and  fruits  of  trees  mingled  with 
a  true  soil.     From  a  cubic  foot  of  this 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


61 


old  deposit  we  extracted  perhaps  a  score 
of  perfect  cones,  from  an  inch  to  three 
inches  in  length,  that  belonged  to  some 
old  eonifer  tree.  Of  the  vegetation  of 
this  period  but  little  is  known:  the  same 
may  be  said  of  the  animals.  They 
wire,  however,  without  doubt  tittrd  to 
live  in  a  cold  climate.  We  have  some 
remains  of  an  animal  found  in  the  drift 
deposits  near  Grafton.  It  was  an  ani- 
mal as  large  as  an  ox,  and  had  long 
tusks,  very  different,  however,  from 
those  of  an  elephant;  it  is  unknown  to 
science.  From  the  same  locality  we 
have  the  teeth  of  a  mammoth  species  of 
elk  or  reindeer,  together  with  the  re- 
mains of  rodents  of  unknown  species. 
On  the  Piasa.  Macoupin  and  Otter 
creeks  a  number  of  the  remains  of  the 
huge  and  peculiar  mammals  of  the  drift 
period  have  been  found.  Relics  or  re- 
mains of  this  kind,  found  in  digging 
wells  or  other  excavations  should  he 
preserved,  as  they  are  the  fragmentary 
pages  of  a  lost  history. 

Although  no  beds  of  the  Tertiary  age 
have  been  identified  in  this  country, 
certain  indications  have  been  observed 
that  would  go  to  show  that  this  forma- 
tion existed  in  local  patches  at  least,  in 
tlie  valley  of  the  Illinois  river.  While 
digging  a  well  on  the  William's  farm  on 
bottom,  four  miles  from  the  Illinois 
river,  at  the  depth  of  twenty  feet,  a 
stratum  of  marl  and  sand  was  discov- 
ered, in  which  were  fossils  undoubt- 
edly of  the  Tertiary  age.  One  of  these 
fossils,  in  our  possession,  is  a  well  pre- 
served shark's  tooth,  some  four  inches 
long.  The  river  valley  at  this  point  is 
three  to  four  miles  wide,  and  seems  to 
he  rilled  with  true  drift  deposits,  beneath 
which    was    found    the    shark's    tooth. 


Further  researches  in  this  locality  will 
no  doubt  reveal  matter  of  great  interest 
to  science. 

COAL    MEASURES. 

The  rocks  that  belong  to  the  coal 
measures  in  this  county  have  a  thick- 
ness- of  about  '-'ihi  feet,  embracing  three 
or  more  seams  of  coal  of  workable 
thickness.  These  coal  beds  under-lie 
the  eastern  portion  of  the  county. 
There  is  no  coal  of  any  value  west  of 
the  Jacksonville  and  Alton  railroad, 
which  runs  through  the  county  from 
north  to  south.  On  the  western  side 
of  this  coal  region  the  measures,  if  any 
are  found,  are  thin  and  of  no  great 
value,  hut  as  we  proceed  easterly  the 
measures  increase  in  thickness,  and  the 
seams  of  coal  become  more  numerous. 

The  following  section  is  compiled 
from  various  local  exposures,  examined 
by  the  stale  geologist  as  well  as  myself, 
and  given  in  his  report,  from  which  we 
draw  largely  in  writing  this  chapter. 
The  section  may  be  taken  as  the  ap- 
proximate thickness  of  the  coal  meas- 
ures of  the  county: 

Feet. 
Gray  shale  exposed  west  of  Brigh- 
ton   10 

Compact  brownish  limestone t> 

Brown  calcareous  shale 3 

Green  and  blue  argillaceous  shale.  .8    to    to 

Coal  No.  6 2i£to    3 

Shaley  clay l1* 

Calcareous  shale 6 

Clay  shale 8    to     10 

Limestone  anil  bituminous  shale.  .  3 

Coal  No,  5 3    to    4 

Shaley  fine  clay l    to    2 

Modular  argillaceous  limestone 4 

Gray  shale 30 

H  tuminous  shale 4 

Sandstone  and  shale 40  to    5o 

Coal  No.  1 2    to    3 

Clay  shale 2 

Modular  dark-blue    limestone,   in 

local  outcrops 3    to    5 

Shale  and  sandstone to  to    20 


62 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY 


The  upper  beds  of  this  section,  in- 
cluding the  two  upper  coal  seams,  can 
be  seen  in  one  locality  near  the  town  of 
Brighton.  The  coal  beds  in  the  state 
of  Illinois  are  numbered  from  one  to 
twelve,  commencing  with  the  lower 
scam ,  which  is  known  as  No.  1.  In 
the  rocks,  in  immediate  connection  with 
each  one  of  these  coal  seams,  are  cer- 
tain fossils  that  are  peculiar  to  them, 
generally  in  the  shale,  limestone  or 
sandstone  that  form  the  roof  over  the 
coal.  By  these  fossils,  with  which  any 
one  can  with  a  little  study  become  fa- 
miliar, the  position  and  proper  horizon 
of  each  coal  vein  is  ascertained. 

The  two  coal  veins,  near  Brighton,  on 
the  eastern  side  n{  the  county,  are 
known  by  the  associating  fossils  as  Nos. 
5  and  6,  in  the  series  of  veins  in  the 
great  coal  fields  in  the  state.  These 
are  the  best  workable  beds  in  Illinois, 
being  the  greatest  in  thickness,  and 
furnishing  the  most  valuable  coal. 

These  two  coal  beds  both  crop  out 
along  the  eastern  portion  of  the  country, 
and  are  separated  by  20  to  30  feet  of 
shales.  They  are  both  underlaid  by  a 
calcareous  clay  shale,  passing  into  lime- 
stone. The  lower  bed  is  overlaid  by  a 
brown  limestone,  which  sometimes  forms 
the  roof  immediately  over  the  coal,  or 
is  separated  from  it  by  a  {hin  bed  of 
bituminous  shale.  The  coal  bed  No.  5 
furnishes  most  of  the  coal  mined  in  the 
county,  as  it  does  in  the  state.  It,  no 
doubt,  underlies  the  greater  part  of 
townships  7  and  8,  in  range  10,  andmay 
be  found  still  further  west,  but  so  near 
its  outcropping  edges  its  presence  is  un- 
certain. 

Coal  beds  Nos.  2,  •'!  and-tof  the  series, 
seem  to  be  wanting  in  Jersey  county;  at 


least  we  have  failed  to  find  any  evidence 
of  their  presence.  There  is,  however,  a 
third  coal  seam  exposed  on  the  I'iasa 
creek,  east  of  Delhi.  This  coal  seam 
has  been  opened  at  various  localities 
along  the  banks  of  the  creek,  and  is 
reached  by  a  shaft  on  the  farm  of  Silas 
Bates.  The  coal  varies  in  thickness 
from  two  to  three  feet,  and  is  overlaid  by 
a  few  inches  of  bituminous  shale,  which 
passes  upward  into  a  brown  clay  shale. 
It  is  underlaid  by  four  or  five  feet  of  fire- 
clay and  about  10  feet  of  sandy  shale 
and  sandstone,  which  lies  directly  upon 
the  St.  Louis  limestone.  There  is  no 
coal  seam  below  this  one,  and  it  is  prob- 
ably the  lowest  of  the  series,  and  equiv- 
alent to  No.  1.  It  is  not  so  good  a  coal 
as  Nos.  5  and  6. 

In  sinking  a  well  for  the  city  of  Jer- 
seyville,  a  few  feet  of  micacious  sand- 
stone was  passed  through,  which,  in  all 
probability,  belongs  to  the  coal  meas- 
ures. The  rocks  exposed  in  the  streams 
north  of  Jerseyville  belong  below  the 
coal  measures.  The  irregular  borders 
of  the  formation,  without"  doubt,  run  in 
an  northeast  direction  from  that  city. 
There  is  plenty  of  coal  in  Jersey  county 
for  the  use  of  the  inhabitants.  Its  easy 
access,  on  account  of  its  nearness  to  the 
surface,  and  consequently  small  outlay 
for  sinking  shafts,  should  make  it  very 
cheap  to  the  consumer. 

CHESTER    LIMESTONE. 

Passing  below  the  coal  measures,  we 
come  directly  upon  the  lower,  or  sub- 
carboniferous  rocks.  In  several  places 
about  the  head  branches  of  Otter  creek 
are  exposed  thin  outliers  of  the  Chester 
group,  which  is  not  more  than  15  feet 
thick.    On  a  branch  of  Otter  creek,  near 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


63 


Beatty's  Mound,  there  is  a  stratum  of 
white  sandstone  three  or  four  feel  thick; 
below  this,  several  feet  of  thin-bedded 
sandstone  is  seen,  which  rests  on  the 
St.  Louis  limestone.  This  sandstone. 
which,  however,  is  really  a  silicious 
limestone,  contains  many  beautiful  fos- 
sils, among  which  are  Retzia  vera  and 
Athyris  ambigua,  familiar  forms  in  the 
Chester  group.  At  Cooper's  quarries, 
three  miles  southwest  of  Jerseyville, 
the  same  beds  are  partly  changed  into  a 
brown,  ferruginous,  shaly  sandstone,  in 
which  are  curious  nodules  of  good  iron 
ore.  In  this  formation  are  found  some 
beautiful  pentremites,  with  a  triangular 
base,  and  of  an  undetermined  species. 

ST.    LOUIS   LIMESTONE. 

This  formation  seems  generally  to  be 

the  underlying  work  along  the  outcrop- 
ping edges  of  the  coal  measures.  It 
has  considerable  development  through 
the  central  portion  of  the  county,  and 
its  maximum  thickness  probably  readies 
from  a  hundred  to  one  hundred  and 
fifty  feet.  This  rock,  from  its  central 
position,  is  more  generally  used  than  any 
other  rock  in  the  county  for  building 
purposes.  It  has  its  greater  develop- 
ment on  the  Piasa,  and  thins  out  in  the 
northern  part  of  the  county,  until  it  is 
not  more  than  about  thirty  feet  thick 
north  of  Jerseyville.  There  are  many 
good  quarries  on  the  I'iasa.  and  the 
abutments  of  the  railroad  bridge  across 
that  stream  are  built  of  this  rock,  from 
quarries  in  its  vicinity.  It  out-crops  on 
the  farm  of  James  Lamb,  and  there  are 
excellent  quarries  both  south  and  west 
of  Beaty's  Mound  on  Otter  creek,  and  at 
Cooper's  quarry,  three  miles  southwest 
of    Jerseyville.       It    is    the    underlying 


rock  beneath  the  city  of  Jerseyville, 
and  is  sometimes  reached  in  digging 
deep  wells  in  that  locality.  In  the 
lower  part  of  this  formation  in  Jersey 
county  there  is  a  bluish,  dove  colored 
hydraulic  limestone,  which  is  as  soft  in 
some  places  as  to  have  the  appearance 
of  a  bed  of  blue  clay.  It  out-crops  on 
the  I'iasa  near  its  mouth,  where  there  is 
a  manufactory  fin'  making  cement.  It 
is  simply  burned  in  a  kiln  to  deprive  it 
of  water,  and  then  ground  into  Hour.  It 
makes  an  excellent  cement,  ami  when 
mixed  by  water  with  two-thirds  of  its 
bulk  of  clean  sand,  will  soon  harden 
into  a  body  having  the  consistency  anil 
hardness  of  rock. 

The  bed  worked  at  the  hydraulic 
mills  is  eight  feet  in  thickness.  Over- 
lying the  hydraulic  limestone  is  a  brown- 
ish magnesian  limestone,  in  which  are 
found  <  >rthis  dubia,  spirifer  lateralis,  and 
a  beautiful  little  pentremite  peculiar  to 
this  formation.  This  hydraulic  lime- 
stone seems  to  be  present  wherever  the 
St.  Louis  limestone  is  found  in  the 
county.  Beds  of  it  are  exposed  near 
Beaty's  Mound,  and  it  underlies  the  city 
of  Jerseyville,  where  we  have  seen  it 
brought  up  from  the  bottom  of  wells 
that  were  less  than  a  hundred  feet  in 
depth.  The  western  limits  of  the  St. 
Louis  group  in  Jersey  county,  would 
form  an  irregular  line  running  from  the 
Mississippi  about  midway  between  the 
mouth  of  the  Piasa  and  the  town  of 
Elsah,  north,  one  mile  west  of  Beaty's 
Mound,  thence  to  Macoupin  creek.  Five 
mill's  above  Grafton  the  St.  Louis  lime- 
stone is  found,  forming  a  part  of  the 
river  bluff.  It  is  not,  however,  in  its 
original  position,  but  seems  to  have 
been  thrown  down  by  the  dislocation  oi 


64 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


the  strata  caused  by  the  upheaval  of  the 
Cap  au  Grey  axis,  which  crosses  the 
Illinois  river  a  short  distance  above. 
These  rocks  at  Dinsmore's  lime  kiln 
resemble  the  upper  beds  at  Alton,  and 
makeexcellent  lime.  This  bed  of  rocks 
will,  at  some  future  day,  be  a  great 
source  of  revenue  to  the  people  of  the 
county. 

KEOKUK   LIMESTONE. 

This  group  underlies  the  St.  Louis 
limestone,  and  has  a  thickness  in  this 
county  of  about  150  feet.  It  is  gener- 
ally thin  bedded,  seldom  affording  strata 
more  than  a  foot  in  thickness.  Almost 
the  entire  thickness  of  these  rocks  can 
be  seen  in  the  Mississippi  bluffs  above 
the  mouth  of  Piasa  creek.  Fine  exposures 
are  also  to  be  seen  on  Otter  creek  and  its 
affluents,  between  Jerseyville  and  Graf- 
ton. The  rocks  on  Otter  creek  at  the 
iron  bridge,  for  a  half  a  mile  above  and 
a  mile  below,  belong  to  this  group;  it  is 
also  exposed  on  the  Macoupin,  north- 
west of  Jerseyville.  The  rocks  of  this 
group  are  not  near  as  valuable  as  the  St. 
Louis  limestone,  being  shaly,  thin  bed- 
ded, easily  broken,  and  liable  to  crumble 
on  exposure.  It  was  formerly  used  to 
some  extent  in  walling  cellars  and  wells, 
for  which  purpose,  as  well  as  for  found- 
ation walls,  it  answers  very  well. 

One  peculiarity  of  this  group  of  rocks, 
is  its  beds  of  geodes,  which  occur  in 
the  shaly  limestone  strata,  sometimes 
so  thickly  disposed  as  to  press  against 
one  another.  Many  of  them  are  hollow 
spher.es  of  quartz  or  chalcedony,  with 
their  interior  cavity  lined  with  beauti- 
ful crystal  of  quartz,  calcite,  dolomite, 
gypsum,  aragonite,  pyrites,  pearl  spar, 
silicate  of  alumina,  and  many  other 
minerals    in   a  crystalline    form.     It  is 


said  that  there  is  no  formation  in  the 
state  that  presents  such  attractive  and 
interesting  specimens  of  crystallized 
minerals,  as  are  to  be  found  in  the  geode 
beds  of  the  Keokuk  limestone. 

On  some  of  the  branches  of  Otter 
creek  after  a  severe  rain  storm,  hun- 
dreds of  these  geodes  can  be  seen  lying 
loose  in  the  bed  of  the  stream.  The 
Keokuk  rocks  are  noted  for  their  fossils, 
and  the  beds  of  this  formation  in  this 
county  are  rich  with  the  remains  of  an- 
cient life.  Fossil  shells,  corals,  encrin- 
ites  and  bryozoans  of  many  beautiful 
and  varied  forms  are  abundant.  Among 
the  fossil  shells,  the  most  common  are 
Spirifer  Keokuk,  S.  cuspidatus,  Pro- 
ductus  puntatus  and  Platyceras  equilet- 
era.  Of  the  corals,  the  most  abundant 
are  Zaphrentes  Dalii,  Sphenopolerium, 
obtusum.  Of  the  bryozoans,  the  curious 
screw  shaped  Archimedes  Owenana  is 
most  common.  A  familiar  acquaintance 
with  the  specific  of  the  above  named 
fossils,  will  enable  anyone  to  identify 
the  Keokuk  rocks  wherever  they  may 
be  observed.  Forty-eight  species  of 
fossil  fish  have  been  determined  from 
this  group,  and  are  figured  in  the  state 
reports.  The  temple  at  Nauvoo  was 
built  of  this  stone. 

BURLINGTON  LIMESTONE. 

This  group  of  rocks  lies  below  the 
Keokuk  limestone,  from  which  it  is 
separated  in  this  county  by  cherty  lay- 
ers of  considerable  thickness,  and  which 
form  beds  of  passage  from  one  limestone 
formation  to  another.  On  the  farm  of 
Mr.  Wm,  McAdams,  on  Otter  creek, 
a  good  section  of  this  chert 
bed,  some  20  feet  in  thickness,  can  be 
seen  with  the  overlying  Keokuk  beds, 


and  beneath  it  the  fossiliferous  beds  ot 
the  Burlington  Limestone.  Itisan excel- 
lent locality  for  the  student  of  geology 
to  see  a  plain  line  of  demarcation  sepa- 
t  rating  two  periods. 

The  Burlington  strata  below  the  chert 
is  a  heavy  bedded,  light  grey  crinoidal 
limestone,  largely  composed  of  the  re- 
mains of  crinoidea,  interspersed  with 
shells  and  corals  that  must  have  grown 
in  remarkable  abundance  in  that  ancient 
quiet  sea.  In  the  formation  of  the  chert 
bed  these  conditions  seem  to  have  been 
changed  the  exuberance  of  life  is  wanting 
the  few  fossils  in  the  chert  bed  plainly 
showing  the  terrible  struggle  during  an 
age  of  convulsions,  for  existence.  The 
shaly  beds  of  the  Keokuk  group, 
above  the  chert,  show  plainly  that  dif- 
ferent conditions  were  ushered;  the  con- 
vulsions ceased,  the  storms  gradually 
subsided,  new  forms  of  life,  strange  and 
beautiful,  came  slowly  in  the  new  seas, 
and  the  wonderful  process  of  creation 
was  continued. 

The  cleavage  of  the  Burlington  lime- 
stone is  generally  through  the  joints 
of  the  crinoidea,  which  gives  the  fresh- 
ly-broken surface  a  crystalline  appear- 
ance. The  thickness  of  this  group  in 
the  county  is  about  200  feet.  The  for- 
mation of  these  rocks  seems  to  have 
been  subject,  at  different  times,  to  dis- 
turbing influences  of  the  elements,  al- 
ternating with  periods  of  tranquility, 
and  cherty  bands  are  interspersed 
through  the  formation,  causing  much  of 
the  strata  to  be  easily  broken  into  sharp, 
angular  fragments,  and  is  useless  for 
building  purposes.  There  is,  however, 
some  good  building  rock  in  this  forma- 
tion in  the  county. 

At  Elsah,  the  river  bluff  is  entirely 


composed  of  this  limestone,  and  is,  in 

.me  place.  190  to  2(A)  feet  high.  The  for- 
mation is  exposed  at  the  head  of  the 
hollow  through  which  the  road  lends 
out  from  Grafton  to  Jerseyville.  It  is 
also  seen  where  the  Jerseyville  and 
Grafton  road  crosses  the  south  branch  of 
Otter  creek.  Fine  exposures  of  rock 
in  the  ravines  west  of  Otterville,  on  the 
poor  farm  and  in  the  bluffs  and  ravines 
near  Fieldon.  Among  the  fossils,  those 
generally  seen  are  Euomphalus  latus, 
Spirifer  Grimesi,  Ortnis  Michelini,  with 
Actino  crinus  turbanatus,  and  many 
beautiful  and  singular  crinoids. 

The  Burlington  rocks  forming  the 
bluffs  on  the  Mississippi  river  in  this 
county,  form  perpendicular  cliffs  nearly 
200  feet  high.  These  being  capped  by 
40  or  50  feet  of  loess,  makes  the  entire 
elevation  from  225  to  250  feet  high. 
From  the  river  they  present  a  pic- 
turesque and  beautiful  appearance,  the 
whole  formation  being  weathered  and 
worn  into  straight  columns  and  but- 
tresses that,  at  a  distance,  have  the  ap- 
pearance of  being  the  ruins  of  some  old 
feudal  castle,  with  towers  and  bastions 
and  buttressed  walls. 

KINDERHOOK    LIMESTONE. 

This  formation  forms  the  basis  of  the 
lower  carboniferous  limestone  series  in 
this  county,  and  rests  directly  on  shales 
belonging  to  the  Devonian  epoch.  Be- 
tween Elsah  and  Grafton,  where  this 
group  is  exposed  in  the  bluff,  it  seems 
to  be  about  100  feet  in  thickness.  It 
consists  of  thin-bedded,  ash-colored, 
impure,  earthy  limestone,  with  an  oc- 
casional heavy  layer  of  dolomitic  lime- 
stone. At  Grafton,  up  the  hollow  in 
which  the  road  runs  to  the  north,  the 


66 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


formation  is  represented  by  50  feel  or 
more  of  gray,  impure  limestone,  some- 
times magnesian,  with  marly  partings 
between  thenaeds.  These  beds  contain 
nodules  of  crystallized  carbonate  of 
limestone,  with  a  silicious  crust,  re- 
sembling geodes  in  appearance,  but  hav- 
ing no  cavity  within.  At  Grafton,  in 
the  Kinderhook,  which  overlies  the  up- 
per quarries,  there  is  a  heavy-bedded, 
bluish,  compact  limestone,  called  by 
Prof.  Swallow,  in  Missouri,  lithographic 
limestone,  from  its  general  resemblance 
tn  the  celebrated  German  stone  used  in 
lithography.  The  Missouri  lithographic 
limestone,  in  all  probability,  occupies 
the  same  horizon  as  these  compact  heds 
of  the  Kinderhook  in  this  county.  This 
rock  breaks  with  a  smooth,  conchoidal 
fracture,  and  from  its  compactness  and 
fine  texture  would,  no  doubt,  receive  a 
high  polish.  Fossils  are  found  in  this 
group,  but  not  in  such  abundance  as  in 
the  Keokuk  and  Burlington. 

BLACK    SLATE. 

The  Devonian  system  is  not  very  ex- 
tensively developed  in  Jersey  county, 
the  whole  extent  probably  not  exceeding 
40  or  50  feet.  It  is  divided  into  two 
groups,  the  first  of  which  is  known  by 
tke  name  of  black  slate.  This  group 
comprises  a  series  of  dark-blue,  green 
or  chocolate-colored  shales,  which  pass 
locally  into  a  black  bituminous  shale, 
from  which  it  derives  its  name,  which 
was  given  to  it  by  early  investigators  of 
western  geology.  In  the  deep  hollow 
going  north  from  Grafton,  this  forma- 
tion can  be  seen  on  the  eastern  slope, 
of  a  deep  blue  color,  and  somewhat  re- 
sembles  the  hydraulic  limestone  of  the 
St.    Louis,  hut   is   without  its   constitu- 


ents, being  a  shale.  In  this  same  hol- 
low the  black  slate  changes  its  local 
color  from  blue  to  a  greenish,  brownish 
hued  shale.  In  Graham's  hollow,  five 
miles  northwest  of  Grafton,  this  forma-^ 
tion  is  a  black  shale,  highly  bituminous. 
On  Otter  creek,  near  the  bluffs,  in  the 
lateral  branches,  we  find  exposures  of 
this  formation.  These  black  shales 
have  a  resemblance  in  color  to  coal, 
and  at  a  distance  has  very  much  the 
appearance  of  an  outcropping  seam 
of  fine  bituminous  coal.  This  has 
lead  many  people  to  believe  that 
coal  existed  in  this  locality,  and  much 
search  has  been  made,  and  money  and 
time  expended  uselessly.  This  forma- 
tion occupies  the  horizon  of  the  great 
oil  producing  zone  of  Ohio  and  Penn- 
sylvania, but  the  bituminous  beds  of 
this  county  are  not  thick  enough  to 
promise  any  considerable  yield  of  oil. 
The  exposures  of  this  formation  extend 
in  this  county  only  from  Grafton  to  the 
mouth  of  Otter  creek,  the  lines  of  the 
outcropping  group  becoming  shorter 
and  narrower  as  we  approach  the  center 
of  the  upheaval. 

HAMILTON    LIMESTONE. 

This  group  also  belongs  to  the  Devo- 
nian, and  together  with  the  black  slate 
comprises  all  the  deposits  of  that  sys- 
tem in  the  county.  It  may  be  proper  to 
state  here,  that  the  scarcity  of  fossils 
from  the  black  slate  makes  it  question- 
able whether  it  belongs  to  the  Lower 
carboniferous  series,  or  to  the  Devo- 
nian. There  seems  to  be  a  plain  line 
between  the  black  slate  and  the  Hamil- 
ton group;  indeed,  the  line  of  demar- 
cation is  more  plainly  observable  than 
between  the  black  slate  and  the  Kinder- 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


67 


hook.  There  is  found  a  Lingula  in  the 
black  slate  that  is  identical  with  the 
Lingula  found  in  the  Devonian  in  other 
states,  and  its  stratagraphical  position 

would  seem  to  place  it  in  the  Devonian. 
The  Hamilton  limestone,  furnishes 
many  fossils  characteristic  of  the  De- 
vonian system.  A  thin  strata  of  the 
group  exposed  in  Graham's  hollow,  a 
few  miles  north  west  of  Grafton.,  is  liter- 
ally made  of  the  fossil  inhabitants  of 
that  old  Devonian  sea.  Some  of  these 
fossils  are  very  perfect.  Slahs  of  this 
fossiliferous  strata  make  beautiful  cabi- 
net specimens.  In  some  of  the  deep 
ravines,  near  the  mouth  of  Otter  creek, 
many  of  these  fossils  are  weathered  out, 
and  can  he  picked  up  among  the  debris. 
In  this  locality  corals  are  seen  in  re- 
markable profusion;  there  being  at  one 
time,  possibly,  a  rural  reef  in  the  shal- 
low  Devonian  ocean.  The  fossil  most 
characteristic  of  the  Devonian  rocks  of 
Jersey  and  Calhoun  counties  is  a  coral 
of  the  genus  Heliophyllum,  of  these  is 
one  or  more  of  the  undescribed  species. 
These  Heliophyllums  are  called  by 
some  of  the  local  collectors,  "petrified 
cows  horns,"  and  in  fact  they  greatly 
resemble  a  short,  thick,  curved  cow's 
horn.  The  Hamilton  in  this  locality  is 
almost  merged  into  a  sandstone,  is  quite 
soft,  and  the  fossils  an;  easily  weath- 
ered out,  making  the  vicinity  a  most 
excellent  one  for  collecting  cabinet  spe- 
cimens. The  Hamilton  is  exposed  in  a 
narrow  belt  in  the  ravines  and  creeks 
between  Grafton  and  the  mouth  of  I  >tter 
creek.  It  is  not  more  than  10  or  15  feet 
in  thickness  in  the  county.  In  Gra- 
ham's hollow,  a  few  miles  from  Grafton, 
this  formation  is  saturated  with  petro- 
leum.    Upon    taking   a    portion   of  the 


rock,  freshly  broken  from  the  bed,  it 
has  the  smell  of  coal  oil,  and  the  petro- 
leum can  be  seen  filling  the  cavities  in 
the  rock.  At  two  or  three  points  in  this 
locality  borings  have  been  made  through 
black  slate,  Hamilton  limestone,  and 
sonic  distance  into  the  Niagara  rocks 
below,  in  search  of  oil,  but  no  paying 
quantities  were  discovered.  These 
rocks  are.  however,  in  the  same  horizon 
as  the  petroleum  districts  of  Pennsylva- 
nia and  Ohio.  The  unmistakable  pres- 
ence of  petroleum  in  the  upheaval  and 
outcropping  edges  of  this  system,  in  its 
limited  exposure  in  the  county,  is  signi- 
ficant at  least.  All  the  rocks  of  the 
county  have  a  strong  inclination  down- 
ward toward  the  northeast,  on  account 
of  the  upheaval  mentioned  at  the  begin- 
ning of  this  chapter.  If  these  rocks 
were  tapped  by  boring  on  the  eastern 
side  of  the  county,  where  the  rocks  lie 
conformable  and  in  a  horizontal  posi- 
tion, who  knows  but  that  coal  oil  may 
be  found  in  quantities? 

NIAGABA  LIMESTONE. 

Underlying  the  Devonian  system  of 
rocks  in  Jersey  county  is  the  Niagara 
group  of  the  Upper  Silurian  system. 
This  group  of  rocks  is  important,  from 
the  great  value  of  its  material  as  a 
building  stone.  This  formation  is  well 
exposed  in  the  deep  hollows  and  rav- 
ines, from  the  mouth  of  Otter  creek  to 
the  town  of  Grafton,  where  it  forms  the 
principal  part  of  the  bluff  on  the  Missis- 
sippi. 

A  mile  below  Grafton  it  disappears 
beneath  the  bed  of  the  river,  and  we 
believe  is  seen  no  more  in  Southern  Il- 
linois. It  has  .a  thickness  in  this 
county  of  about  120  or  125  feet,  and  is  a 


68 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


buff-colored  dolomitic  limestone,  in 
regulaT  beds,  which  vary  in  thickness 
from  four  inches  to  three  feet.  At 
Grafton  the  group  is  very  evenly  bed- 
ded, and  dimension  rock,  almost  any 
required  size,  can  be  easily  obtained 
from  the  quarries,  which  are  situated 
directly  on  the  bank  of  the  Mississippi 
river,  with  the  very  best  shipping  fa- 
cilities. The  rock  has  a  firm,  even 
texture,  cuts  easily  when  freshly  quar- 
ried, and  can  be  readily  worked  into 
forms  for  ornamental  purposes.  It 
hardens  on  exposure,  and  is  remarkably 
free  from  chert  or  deleterious  material. 
Beautiful  fossils  are  found  in  the  quar- 
ries at  Grafton,  the  most  abundant  of 
which  is  a trilobite,  Calymene  Bluman 
bachii,  and  a  large  multivalve  shell, 
Orthoceras  Annulatum.  There  are  six 
or  seven  species  of  these  curious  crus- 
taceans,  known  as  trilobites,  some  of 
them  very  large.  There  are  also  sev- 
eral species  of  orthoceras,  with  bivalve 
shells,  cronoids  and  corals.  These  fos- 
sils, especially  the  trilobites,  are  found 
in  great  perfection,  apparently  in  exact 
positions  as  when  living;  in  some  in- 
stances a  mark  is  left  behind  them,  ap- 
parently the  track  of  their  travels,  the 
whole  indicating  a  sudden  death.  The 
crevices  and  apertures,  caused  by  the 
shrinkage  in  the  strata  in  this  forma- 
tion, often  contain  the  most  beautiful 
stalactites,  or  a  beautiful  encrustation 
of  stalagmite  on  the  floors  and  sides  of 
tin'  caverns.  Fine  crystals  of  calcyte 
are  frequently  met  with.  This  forma- 
tion contains  the  most  valuable  build- 
ing stone  to  be  found  in  the  state,  and 
are  a  source  of  wealth  to  the  owners  of 
the  quarries.  Some  of  the  finest  build- 
ings erected  in  St.  Louis  had  their  wall 


made  from  stone  taken  from  the  Grafton 
quarries,  among  them  the  Lindell  and 
Southern  hotels. 

CINCINNATI    LIMESTONE. 

This  group  of  the  Lower  Silurian 
system  is  represented  in  the  county  by 
40  or  50  feet  of  agillaceous  shales.  It 
appears  to  be  mainly  a  soft,  bluish  clay 
shale,  that  weathers  on  exposure  about 
where  it  outcrops,  to  a  pure  clay,  that 
apparently  might  be  suitable  for  a  pot- 
ter's clay.  This  clay  has  somewhat  the 
appearance  of  some  of  the  fire  clays  of 
the  coal  measures,  but  has  not  the  same 
consistency.  It  is  filled  with  innumer- 
able small,  lancet  shaped  crystals  of 
gypsum  or  phosphate  of  lime.  Many 
of  the  crystals  are  double;  some  are 
half  an  inch  in  length,  perfectly  trans- 
parent, and  exactly  resemble  the  point 
of  a  physician's  lance.  Many  of  the 
crystals  are  found  adhering  together, 
forming  curiously  complicated  groups. 
Great  numbers  of  these  crystals  are 
seen  wherever  we  have  seen  these  clay 
shales  weathering  out  in  the  county. 
No  analysis  of  the  crystals  or  the  clay 
has  ever  been  made  to  our  knowledge. 
They  may  prove  to  be  of  commercial 
value.  The  outcrop  extends  from  Ma- 
son's landing,  or  Upper  Grafton,  where 
the  blue  clay  is  exposed  at  the  base  of 
the  old  quarry  back  of  the  mill,  to 
within  a  short  distance  of  Coon  creek. 
Although  this  formation  furnishes  char- 
acteristic fossils  in  adjoining  counties, 
we  have  found  but  few  in  Jersey, 
enough  however  to  know  it  occupies 
the  same  horizon. 

TRENTON     LIMESTONE. 

This  group  of  the  Lower  Silurian  rocks 


m  ■-  -----    ■    •    -    •  ■    • 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


69 


has  a  limited  outcrop  in  the  county.  It 
is  well  exposed  on  the  farm  of  S.  P. 
Pinsmore,  and  extends  in  a  northeast 
direction  less  than  a  mile,  and  is  mostly 
confined  to  section  9,  T.  6,  R.  13.  40 
t<>  50  feet  of  this  formation  is  to  be  seen 
in  this  locality.  The  rock  is  thin-bed- 
ded, compact,  and  of  a  light-gray  or 
white  color,  splitting  easily,  with  un- 
even cleavage.  It  has  been  quarried 
and  burned  for  lime,  of  which  it  makes 
a  good  quality,  but   not   equal    to   that 


made  from  the  St.  Louis  limestone.  It 
is  filled  with  the  peculiar  and  charac- 
teristic fossils  of  the  Lower  Silurian  ape. 
Among  those  most  familiar  arc  Orthia 
testudinaria,  Spirifer  lynx,  Strophome- 
na  alternata,  S.  deltoidea,  two  or  three 
species  of  Pleurotomaria,<  (rthoceratites, 
and  a  large  specie  of  Keceptaculites,  or 
"  sunflower  coral,"  with  remains  of  tri- 
lobites  and  crinoidea. 

The  Trenton  is  the  oldest   formation 
of  which  Jersey  county  can  boast. 


GHAPTER    IV. 


EARLY  SETTLEMENT. 


To  the  reader  of  local  history,  this 
chapter  is  of  general  interest,  but  to  the 
pioneer  himself  it  is  more.  Here  he 
has  himself,  and  friends  and  neighbors, 
as  in  days  past  they  first  sought  out  the 
western  wilds  and  fought  for  existence 
in  the  wilderness.  See  him,  as  he  takes 
the  book  in  hand,  slowly,  critically  pore- 
ing  over  every  word,  recalling  in  his 
mind  the  pictures  of  a  vanished  past  at 
the  mention  of  some  well-known  name, 
or  smiling  as  recollection  brings  back 
some  ludicrous  adventure  in  the  early 
days  of  his  settlement.  His  old  associ- 
ations, the  trials  and  tribulations  inci- 
dent to  a  new  country,  the  battles 
against  hunger  and  cold  while  settlers 
were  scattered  thinly  over  a  large  ex- 


panse of  country.  All  these  rise  up  be- 
fore him  as  he  reads.  Even  now,  in 
memory,  he  hears  the  wind  moan  round 
the  humble  cottage  that  first  sheltered 
him,  and  hears  the  wolves  howl  as  they 
did  in  days  of  yore.  The  picture  of  the 
past  rises  up  vividly  before  him,  and*  he 
once  more  rejoices  in  the  pride  of  youth. 
Now  the  thought  comes  over  him  that 
by  and  through  his  efforts  he  has  helped 
to  make  this  wilderness  blossom  as  the 
rose,  and  emerge  from  a  state  of  na- 
ture into  a  well  developed  and  thrifty 
land,  and  views  with  satisfaction  the 
growing  towns  and  villages  and  fertile 
farms  that  dot  the  landscape  over.  But, 
perhaps,  the  brow  will  cloud  ami  the  eye 
dim   as  memory's  mystic  voice   recalls 


70 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


the  dark  and  painful  side  of  those  early 
experiences.  The  loved  wife  of  his  bo- 
som fading  slowly  away  before  the 
breath  of  the  cold  destroyer,  or  some 
laughing,  prattling  babe,  the  joy  of  the 
household,  laid  away  under  the  sod  in 
solemn  silence,  by  the  hands  of  rough- 
appearing  but  sympathizing  neighbors. 
Time  has  healed  those  wounds,  but  to- 
day, as  memory  is  fast  unlocking  the 
chambers  of  the  mind,  the  silent  tear 
will  well  itself  to  the  surface  and  drop 
as  a  tribute  to  the  loved  and  lost  of  that 
by -gone  time. 

Notwithstanding  the  cares  and  adver- 
sities that  clustered  round  the  cabin 
door  of  the  pioneer,  these  hardy  Argo- 
nauts led  a  happy  life.  Here  all  were 
free  and  equal,  and  the  absence  of  the 
restraining  presence  of  wealth  and  po- 
sition was  to  him  a  source  of  comfort 
and  satisfaction.  The  rough  hospitality, 
the  hearty  feeling  of  brotherhood, 
among  these  vanguards  of  civilization 
were  the  spontaneous  overflow  of  hearts 
full  of  regard  for  humanity,  and  was 
practiced  more  as  the  natural  prompt- 
ing of  their  nature  than  from  any  teach- 
ing of  a  Christian  duty.  They  were 
men  in  the  highest  acceptance  of  the 

word. 

FRENCH    EXPLORATIONS. 

Early  in  the  spring  of  1673,  accord- 
ing to  the  most  authentic  accounts, 
Father  Marquette  and  Joliet,  a  fur- 
trader  of  Quebec,  with  five  hearty  voy- 
ageurs,  began  to  make  preparations  for 
a  grand  expedition  to  discover  the 
mighty  river  in  the  west,  of  which  they 
had  heard  from  the  Indians,  and  which 
is  now  known  by  the  name  of  Missis- 
sippi. On  the  10th  of  June,  of  that 
year,  they   started   on  their   momentous 


trip.  Crossing  the  water-shed  dividing 
the  Fox  from  the  Wisconsin  river,  they 
journeyed  to  the  latter  stream.  On  the 
17th  of  June,  their  two  canoes  entered  the 
broadmajestic  currentof  the  Mississippi 
river.  They  landed  and  remained  for 
six  days  at  the  mouth  of  the  DesMoines 
river,  near  the  present  site  of  Keokuk, 
enjoying  the  hospitality  of  the  Illinois 
Indians.  They  then  re-embarked,  and 
sailing  on  down  the  mighty  stream, 
came  to  the  confluence  of  the  Illinois 
with  the  Mississippi.  Here,  upon  the 
2nd  of  July,  they  disembarked  upon 
what  is  now  the  soil  of  Jersey  county, 
ascended  the  bluffs  for  the  purpose  of 
viewing  their  surroundings.  They  did 
not  linger  long  but  soon  entered  their 
canoes  and  passed  on  down  the  river  as 
far  as  the  present  site  of  Memphis, 
Tennessee.  On  account  of  the  exposure 
to  the  malarial  air,  and  the  toil  of 
striving  against  the  strong  current, 
some  sickness  prevailed,  but  none  were 
seriously  affected,  except  Father  Mar- 
quette. They  were  informed,  when 
hearing  the  mouth  of  that  stream,  by 
friendly  savages,  that  the  Illinois  river 
was  a  shorter  cut  to  the  lakes.  They 
therefore  turned  the  prows  of  their 
canoes  up  that  stream.  Its  languid 
current  was  easier  to  overcome,  and  in 
the  journal  of  the  voyage,  kept  by 
Father  Marquette,  himself,  is  given 
their  highly  drawn  pictures  of  an  earthly 
paradise,  which,  although  at  the  time 
were  treated  by  all  that  read  them  as 
wild  fancies,  but  were  found  to  be  simply 
the  statements  of  facts. 

The  next  visitors  to  this  county,  were 
doubtless  some  of  the  command  under 
LaSalle,  in  1679.  He  started  Father 
Hennepin  down  the  Illinois  river  to  its 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY 


junction  with  the  Mississippi,  and 
which  was  then  to  proceed  up  that 
stream  towards  its  headwaters.  Thus 
Hennepin  was  the  first  of  this  band  to 
gaze  upon  this  beautiful  land.  In  1680, 
while  in  search  ofTonti,  his  lieutenant. 
who  had  been  left  at  Fori  Creve-cceur, 
and  who  had  Keen  deserted  by  most  of 
his  men,  and  compelled  to  leave  the  de- 
fense, came  down  the  Illinois  river, 
until  he  saw  the  mighty  "Father  of 
waters."  He  landed  on  the  prominent 
point  on  the  bank  of  the  river,  above 
Grafton,  and  set  up  a  sign,  so  that  it 
would  attract  the  attention  of  Tonti,  if 
he  should  come  that  way,  and  fastened 
to  it  a  letter  directing  him  to  come  on 
to  the  lakes.  He  then  proceeded  back 
up  the  Illinois. 

Two  years  had  hardly  elapsed  when 
this  portion  of  Illinois  was  again  visited 
by  these  adventurous  Frenchmen.  La 
Salle  with  23  white  men  and  IS  Indians, 
again  descended  the  beautiful  Illinois, 
and  reached  its  mouth  on  the  6th  of 
February,  1682.  It  was  their  intention 
to  descend  the  Mississippi  to  its  mouth. 
but  on  reaching  this  point,  he  found 
that  the  great  river  was  tilled  with  float- 
ing ice,  and  it  was  determined  to  camp 
and  await  the  clearing  of  the  stream.  It 
has  been  conjectured  that  this  camp  was 
in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  Grafton, 
but  no  clue  exists  in  La  Salle's  account, 
further  than  a  very  vague  description  of 
the  place,  and  the  circumstance,  that  he 
could  not  cross  the  river  through  the  ice 
so  he  most  likely  camped  upon  the  soil 
of  Jersey  county.  Here  he  remained  a 
week.  This  expedition  was  the  first  to 
explore  the  giant  river  to  its  mouth. 
Many  of  the  early  settlers  of  Kaskaskia 
andCahokia  came  by  this  same  route, 


the  Illinois.  Rut  no  settlement  was 
made  within  the  limits  of  what  is  now 
Jersey  county,  by  these  early  French 
settlers,  as  far  as  known,  hut,  probably 
the  timbered  bluffs  of  the  south  and  west 
of  Jersey  may  have  held  many  hunting 
parties  in  these  almost,  pre-historic 
days. 

During  the  war  of  1812-15,  the  In- 
dians, incited  by  British  influence,  were 
very  hostile  to  the  settlers,  and  depre- 
dations w-ere  of  almost  daily  occurrence. 
Great  numbers  of  block-houses  or  log- 
forts,  were  built  for  the  security  of  set- 
tlers' families,  at  intervals  from  Kas- 
kaskia  to  the  Illinois  river.  One  of 
these  log  forts  stood  near  the  tile  site  of 
the  present  town  of  Grafton,  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Illinois,  opposite  the  town 
of  Portage  des  Sioux.  Here  were  sta- 
tioned Mime  rangers  under  ('apt.  John 
Whiteside  The  troops  marching  to  and 
fro,  between,  the  settlements  down 
the  river,  and  the  Indian  villages 
above,  crossed  the  territory  of  what  is 
now   Jersey  county,  several  times. 

Rut  with  the  close  of  the  war  emi- 
gration set  in  toward  the  rich  lands  of 
Illinois  in  a  strong  and  steady  flow. 
Congress  passing  in  1813,  the  pre-emp- 
tion act,  contributed  to  tlii>  to  a  large 
extent,  a-  prior  to  this  the  incomers 
were  compelled,  in  most  cases,  to 
••  squat  "  on  the  public  lands,  without 
righl  or  title  to  the  improvements  that 
they  might  make,  and  were  in  danger  of 
losing  them  every  day.  In  1815,  the  set- 
tlements began  to  push  themselves  out 
northward  from  Madison  county,  and  in 
five  years  had  dotted  most  of  the  country 
now  known  as  Central  Illinois.  It 
seems  that  the  Indian  title  to  this  land 
had  never  been  extinguished,  so,  we  are 


told,  in  about  the  year  1817,  Auguste 
Chouteau  and  Benjamin  Stephenson,  on 
the  part  of  the  United  States,  bought  at 
Edwardsville,  of  the  Kickapoo  Indians, 
10,000,000  acres  of  land,  lying  between 
the  Illinois  river  on  the  northwest,  the 
Kaskaskia  on  the  southeast,  the  Kan- 
kakee on  the  northeast,  and  the  Missis- 
sippi on  the  southwest.  On  the  20th  of 
August,  Benjamin  Parke,  also,  bought 
for  the  United  States,  all  the  lands  on 
the  Wabash,  owned  by  the  same  tribe. 
In  consequences  of  these  purchases,  the 
richest  lands  in  the  State  were  thrown 
open  to  settlement. 

EARLY     SETTLEMENT    OF    JERSEY    COUNTY. 

In  the  fall  of  the  year  1815,  six  men, 
Daniel  Allen  and  his  three  sons,  John, 
.1  ainrs  and  Daniel  and  two  brothers, 
Paul  and  James  Harriford,  left  their 
native  state — Tennessee,  to  search  out  a 
new  home.  They  came  as  far  as  the 
Wood  river  settlement,  without  finding 
any  place  that  suited  them,  and  on  ar- 
riving at  that  place,  after  some  delib- 
eration, started  on  furthernorth.  They 
settled  within  the  limits  of  what  is  now 
Jersey  township,  south  of  the  Macou- 
pin creek,  nearly  opposite  to  the  mouth 
of  Taylor's  creek  or  branch,  on  Section 
13.  Their  nearest  neighbors  were  20 
miles  south  of  them  and  north  of  them 
much  further  off.  During  the  year  1816 
these  pioneers  raised  a  crop  of  corn, 
and  enjoyed  themselves.  During  the 
fall  of  thai  year  Daniel  Allen,  Sr.,  and 
his  two  sons,  James  and  Daniel,  Jr., 
moved  westward  about  six  miles  into 
what  is  now  Greene  county.  The  Har- 
rifords  removed  to  Missouri. 

Philip  Grimes  came  to  this  county  in 
the  spring  of  1818,  and  erected  a  cabin 


on  Section  2,  of  what  is  now  known  as 
English  township.  He  brought  his 
family  here  from  Upper  Alton  and  in- 
stalled them  therein.  At  this  place,  on 
the  20th  of  January,  1820,  was  born 
Jarrett  T.,  his  son,  who  is  supposed  to 
be  the  first  white  child  born  within  the 
limits  of  the  county,  now  living.  Philip 
Grimes  resided  in  the  cabin  until  1822, 
when  he  purchased  the  improvements  of 
Thos.  Lynn,  on  section  23,  of  the  same 
township,  and  moved  there.  Mr.  Grimes 
was  born  August  2(5,  1782,  in  Virginia, 
and  was  united  in  marriage  to  Polly 
Boyett,  June  4,  1808,  in  Davidson 
county,  Tennessee.  Mrs.  Grimes  was 
a  native  of  that  county  and  state,  born 
March  10,  1790.  She  died  September 
29,  1853,  and  Mr.  Grimes,  October  4, 
1851. 

Philemon  Higgins  is  believed  to  have 
settled  on  the  banks  of  the  stream 
called  after  him,  Phill's  creek,  in  1817, 
as  he  was  found  there  by  those  who 
passed  that  way  early  in  the  following 
year.  He  made  this  his  residence  for 
many  years,  and  finally  died  in  this 
county. 

Jacob  Lurton,  Sr.,  came  to  Jersey 
county,  in  the  spring  of  1817,  and 
built  a  cabin  near  the  east  line  of  sec- 
tion 1,  in  what  is  now  Elsah  township. 
He  remained  here  but  a  short  time, 
when  finding  the  water  not  very  good 
in  that  locality,  moved  a  short  distance 
east  of  it  to  the  neighborhood  of  a 
spring,  but  which  still  left  him  in  Jer- 
sey county.  He  lived  in  this  latter 
cabin  until  his  death  in  1827.  His  son 
Judge  Jacob  Lurton  and  grand  children 
are  still  residents  of  the  county. 

David  Stockton  and  James  White- 
sides  came  to  Jersey  county  on  the  10th 


of  June,  1817.  Tradition  has  it  that  a 
party,  among  whom  were  the  above 
mentioned,  Edward  Carroll,  and  others 
came  through  this  section  of  the  state 
looking  for  a  home,  the  most  of  them 
going  as  far  north  as  Sangamon  county, 
but  these  two  gentlemen  liking  the 
looks  of  the  country  hereabouts,  stop- 
ped and  made  settlements.  James 
Whitesides  settled  upon  section  25,  in 
what  is  now  English  township,  where 
he  lived  for  several  years.  He  made 
another  improvement  besides  this,  and 
in  1S21,  sold  out  and  removed  to  Greene 
county. 

William  Bates  made  a  settlement  in 
Elsah  township  among  the  very  first  to 
locate  in  that  sub-division  of  the  county. 
He  erected  his  cabin  on  section  25,  in 
1817,  and  resided  there  some  years  and 
finally  removed  to  a  farm  near  Upper 
Alton,  where  he  died  at  a  later  date. 
With  William  Bates  came  his  son, 
James,  a  married  man  with  a  family. 

John  W.  Huitt  came  to  what  is  now 
Jersey  county,  and  located  on  the  north- 
east quarter  of  section  31,  in  Ruyle 
township  in  1818.  This  land  was  en- 
tered at  the  land  office  on  the  23d  of 
Oetober,  1820,  in  the  name  of  H.  and 
John,  Jr.  The  elder  Huitt  remained  here 
about  two  years,  removing,  in  1820,  to 
the  neighborhood  of  Carrollton  on  a 
farm,  and  later  to  the  city  of  Carrollton, 
where  he  died  in  1882.  He  was  one  of  the 
pioneers  of  the  state  having  located  in 
Madison  county  in  1804. 

The  pioneer  settler  of  Piasa township 
was  John  Wilkins,  who  came  to  this 
county  in  1818,  and  located  upon  the 
southwest  quarter  of  section  31.  He 
improved  a  farm  there,  but  in  1824,  re- 
moved  to  section  18,    near  the    present 


site  of  Delhi.  He  lived  there  some 
twenty  years,  keeping  a  stage  station 
most  of  the  time.  He  then  went  to 
Jerseyville  to  live  with  his  daughter, 
Mrs.  Harriet  Silloway.  Shortly  after- 
wards he  went  to  Paw  Paw  Grove,  Illi- 
nois, to  live  with  his  daughter,  Sarah 
Baker.  While  there  he  died.  He  was 
a  brother-in-law  of  V.  R.  and  S.  A. 
Lurton. 

William  Larue  made  a  settlement  in 
what  is  now  Rosedale  township  early  in 
1818,  where  he  lived,  on  section  8,  until 
1837,  when  he  sold  out  and  removed  to 
Greene  county. 

Jesse  White  came  to  Jersey  county, 
in  1818,  locating  in  what  is  now  Missis- 
sippi township.  He  was  born  in  Madi- 
son county,  Illinois,  January  5,  1807. 
He  is  now  dead. 

Edward  Carroll  was  one  of  the  early 
settlers  of  what  is  now  Elsah  township; 
he  having  located  with  his  family  on  the 
center  of  section  23,  on  July  17,  1818. 
His  settlement  should  probably  date  a 
little  farther  back,  as  he  selected  his  lo- 
cation in  1817,  and  returned  to  it  in  the 
early  spring  of  1818,  having  everything 
in  readiness  for  his  family  when  they  ar- 
rived, in  charge  of  his  brother-in-law. 

With  Mr.  Carroll  came  his  brother-in- 
law,  James  Moffit,  who  made  a  settle- 
ment on  land  adjoining  Carroll's.  He 
resided  here  a  few  years,  but  moved 
back  to  Ohio,  where  he  died. 

John  Carroll,  also,  settled  in  the  same 
locality  in  1819,  and  resided  there 
until  1837,  when  he  died.  He  was  the 
father  of  Thomas  Carroll,  at  one  time 
county  commissioner,  and  prominently 
identified  with  this  county.  The  latter 
gentleman  died  July  24,  1870. 

David  Gilbert  and  John  Stafford  were 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY 


also  settlers  of  the  year  1819,  taking  up 
farms  west  of  Grafton,  on  the  Illinois 
river  bottom. 

About  the  same  time,  Henry  Babcock 
settled  in  the  southeastern  corner  of 
Quarry  township,  where  he  died. 

George  Finney,  who  had  been  a  sol- 
dier in  the  regular  army,  on  receiving 
his  discharge,  in  1819,  came  to  this 
county,  and  located  upon  the  Illinois 
bottom  land,  within  the  present  limits 
of  Quarry  township. 

Sanford  Hughes,  a  companion  and 
friend  of  the  above,  came  here  with  him 
and  located  in  the  same  neighborhood, 
the  same  year. 

Timothy  Copeland,  another  dis- 
charged  soldier,  settled  in  Quarry  town- 
ship in  1819,  on  the  southern  part. 

John  G.  Lofton  and  John  D.  Gilliam 
came  to  Jersey  county  in  1819,  and 
made  a  settlement  in  Mississippi  town- 
ship, the  former  on  section  31.  This 
neighborhood  received  its  name  of  Lof- 
ton's Prairie  from  the  former  of  these 
gentlemen.  Judge  Lofton  resided  lure 
nearly  always  after  this,  with  the  ex- 
ception of  a  short  time  spent  in  Fulton 
county,  until  the  day  of  his  death  in 
1837. 

John  D.  Gilliam  was  a  South  Carolin- 
ian, but  came  here  from  Kentucky,  and 
later  from  Madison  county,  111.,  where 
he  had  settled  as  early  as  1800.  He 
settled,  on  coming  here,  on  section  28, 
where  he  resided  until  the  coining  of 
death,  in  October,  1852. 

John  Grain  settled  in  this  county  in 
1819.  He  was  a  North  Carolinian  who 
had  settled  in  Tennessee  in  1800,  where 
he  was  married  to  Heriba  Rumney.  In 
1811  they  came  to  Illinois,  settling  in 
St.    Clair   county,   where   they  resided 


until  coming  here.  They  located  in 
English  township.  He  afterwards 
moved  to  Texas,  where  he  died. 

Walter  Cresswell  located  in  the  pres- 
ent township  of  Rosedale,  in  1819,  and 
is  said  to  have  b^en  the  first  justice  of 
the  peace  ever  appointed  within  the 
limits  of  what  now  constitutes  Jersey 
county.  He  received  this  appointment 
in  the  year  1820. 

Daniel  McFain  settled  in  what  is  now 
Richwoods  township,  on  section  20,  in 
1819.  He  built  a  cabin  at  the  foot  of 
the  bluff  in  the  same  year,  and  gave  his 
name  to  McFain's  lake.  He  was  one 
of  the  early  justices  of  the  peace  of 
this  county.  He  died  while  a  resident 
of  the  county,  in  1830.  He  was  a  Penn- 
sylvanian  by  birth. 

John  Gunterman,  a  native  of  Ken- 
tucky, came  into  what  is  now  Jersey 
county  in  the  spring  of  1819,  and  set- 
tled upon  a  farm  on  section  5,  in  the 
present  Richwoods  township.  On  the 
10th  of  January,  1821,  he  entered  a 
quarter  section  of  land  here,  on  which 
he  lived  until  1832,  when  be  died. 

Josiah  Cummings  and  his  sons,  James 
and  Jacob,  made  a  settlement  in  Missis- 
sippi township  in  1819,  the  former  lo- 
cating upon  land  on  section  11,  where 
he  lived  until  his  death.  James  subse- 
quently moved  to  Oregon.  Jacob  died 
in  this  county. 

Thomas  Cummings,  another  son  of 
Josiah  Cummings,  came  to  Jersey 
county  in  1819,  and  assisted  his  father 
in  agricultural  pursuits  until  1824,  when 
he  was  married,  and  purchased  a  farm 
adjoining  his  father,  where  he  resided 
until  his  death  in  185(5. 

Col.  Josiah  T.  Askew  came  to  Jersey 
county   in    1819,   with    George    Finney, 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


75 


Sanford  Hughes  and  the  others.  He 
was  a  native  of  Tennessee,  and  had 
served  some  live  years  in  the  regular 
army.  On  his  discharge  he  came  here, 
as  above,  and  settled  on  Lofton's  prai- 
rie. He  married  Hannah  Bates  in  1821, 
this  being  the  first  event  of  that  nature 
in  that  precinct. 

James  Thompson,  settled  in  the  pres- 
ent township  i>t  Elsah,  about  the  year 
1819.  He  afterward  removed  to  the 
state  of  Texas,  and  has  been  lost  sight  of. 

Joseph  Basey,  came  to  the  county  as 
early  as  1819,  and  settled  neighbor  to 
James  Thompson.  He  is  reported  to 
have  been  the  first  justice  of  the  peace 
in  this  township  or  precinct,  having 
been  elected  to  that  office  in  1822. 

Jehu  Brown,  commonly  called 
"Judge,"  came  to  Jersey  county  about 
the  year  1820,  He  was  a  native  of 
South  Carolina,  but  came  here  from  St. 
Louis  county,  Mo.  He.  on  the  5th  day 
of  January,  1821,  entered  880  acres  of 
land,  in  sections  1  and  2,  in  English 
township.  He  died  while  a  resident  of 
this  county  in  1835. 

John  Brown  came  to  Jersey  county 
in  1820,  and  settled  on  section  25,  of 
what  is  now  English  township.  He 
lived  here  until  bis  death  which  occurred 
about  the  year  1873. 

Abirani  McKinney  settled  on  the  Illi- 
nois river  bottom  land  in  Richwoods 
township,  in  1820,  but  in  October,  1821, 
having  entered  land  on  section  23,  he 
removed  thither,  where  he  lived  until 
1822,  when  he  removed  to  section  24. 
where  be  did  die  in  the  year  L840. 
James  McKinney,  Ins  son,  came  with 
him.  The  latter  died  here  but  his  wi- 
dow is  still  living  in  Kansas. 

John  Stall,  settled  on  section  3,  Rich- 


wood  township  in  1820,  where  he  built 
a  cabin,  which  he  vacated  the  following 
year,  going  over  on  the  Macoupin  creek, 
cutting  logs,  and  drifting  them  down  to 
St.   Louis. 

Major  (iersbom  Patterson  was  one  of 
the  settlers,  coming  late  in  1820,  and 
entering  land  in  what  is  now  English 
township,  in  January,  1821.  Before 
coming  here  he  had  lived  in  St.  Clair 
county  for  some  time.  He  was  known 
as  an  enterprising  man,  and  built  the 
first  brick  bouse,  the  first  mill  and  the 
first  distillery  within  the  present  limits 
of  Jersey  county.  He.  was  captain  of  a 
company  in  the  Black  Hawk  war,  and 
was  afterwards  made  a  major  of  the 
state  militia.  He  was  a  zealous  mem- 
ber of  the  Methodist  church,  and  became 
an  exhorter  in  that  faith.  He  died  in 
1857,  a  resident  of  this  county. 

Major  Patterson  had  a  large  peach 
orchard  on  bis  place,  and  he  put  up  a 
copper  still,  about  1828  or  1829,  and  en- 
tered into  the  manufacture  of  peach 
brandy.  The  quality  of  the  product  is 
described  as  having  been  very  good,  and 
as  the  liquor  was  very  cheap,  there  be- 
ing then  no  revenue  tax,  the  capacity 
of  the  still  was  often  taxed  by  appli- 
cants for  the  brandy,  who  would  come 
with  their  jugs  to  be  filled.  Such  goods 
are  said  to  have  been  then  much  purer 
than  they  can  be  obtained  at  the  present 
time,  and  were  much  used  by  the  bard- 
working  pioneers  while  at  their  labors. 
Still,  it  is  said,  there  was  little  or  no 
drunkenness  among  the  early  settlers. 
Major  Patterson  made  a  financial  suc- 
cess of  bis  pioneer  distillery,  and  after 
about  ten  years,  quit  the  business,  hav- 
ing accumulated  considerable  money 
and  property.     He  sold  the  still  to  some 


76 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


one  at  a  distance.  Some  thirty  years 
ago  the  buildings  were  torn  down. 

John  Gill  worth  made  a  settlement  in 
this  county  in  1820,  in  what  is  now 
Rosedale  township,  where  the  Otter 
creek  passes  through  the  bluff.  In  1830 
he  removed  to  the  township  of  Ruyle, 
entering  a  tract  of  land  in  section  29. 
He  has  since  died. 

John  R.  Black  made  a  settlement  in 
what  is  now  Mississippi  township,  in 
1820.  A  sketch  of  him  will  be  found  in 
the  chapter  entitled:  "National,  State, 
and  County  Representation,"  he  having 
been  the  first  treasurer  of  the  county. 

Samuel  J.  Kincade,  came  to  Jersey 
county  in  1820  or  21,  and  settled  in  what 
is  now  Mississippi  township.  The  circuit 
court  of  Greene  county,  (of  which  this 
was  then  a  portion,)  in  1821,  appointed 
him  one  of  the  judges  of  election  for  the 
company  district,  as  it  was  called,  to 
preside  over  the  election  of  militia  offi- 
cers. 

John  Waddle,  was  another  settler  of 
the  same  year,  as  is  evident  by  the  re- 
cord, he  being  one  of  the  judges  of  the 
same  election.  With  him  came  David 
Waddle  and  William  Waddle.  They 
probably  settled  within  the  limits  of 
Mississippi  township.  These  old  pio- 
neers are  now  numbered  with  the  dead, 
but  have  descendants  living  in  Jersey 
county. 

William  Davidson  made  a  settlement 
in  what  is  now  Otter  creek  township, 
about  the  year  1820  or  21,  coming  from 
the  American  Bottom.  After  a  short 
residence  here  he  returned  to  that  local- 
ity, where  he  eventually  died. 

William  Adair  located  in  English 
township  in  1821,  and  opened  up  a  farm. 
He  married  a  Miss  Grain.     He  sold  his 


place  to  Robert  La  Force  and  removed 
from  the  county.  This  farm  is  now 
known  as  the  Wright  place, 

Nathaniel  Rowdon  made  a  settlement 
in  the  present  Richwoods  township  in 
1820,  where  he  lived  for  many  years. 
He  married  a  daughter  of  Abiram  Mc- 
Kinney,  who  afterwards  died.  He  is 
said  to  have  lived,  at  one  time,  in  a  big 
hollow  sycamore  tree.  He  left  here, 
going  to  Texas,  where  he  is  believed  to 
have  died. 

William  Rowdon,  also,  settled  in 
Richwoods  township  the  same  year. 

William  Dixon  and  Ira  Kelley  made 
settlements  in  this  county  early  in  1821. 
They  have  long  since  passed  away  from 
the  memory  of  the  oldest  inhabitant, 
but  they  filled  positions  as  judges  of 
election  in  1822,  as  appears  from  the 
records. 

James  Barnes,  who  settled  in  Elsah 
township,  was  an  incorrigible  bachelor, 
and  remembered  by  old  settlers  as  wear- 
ing a  heavy  beard  and  whiskers. 

John  Smith  settled  on  section  8,  in 
Richwood  township,  in  1820  or  earlier. 
In  1823  he  removed  to  Greene  county. 

Samuel  Gates  settled  on  section  9, 
Richwoods  township,  about  1820,  and 
removed  to  Greene  county  in  1827, 
where  he  died  in  1842.  He  was  the 
first  justice  of  the  peace  in  the  pre- 
cinct, being  appointed  to  that  office  in 
1828. 

John  and  William  Buck  came  about 
1820,  and  located  in  the  vicinity  of 
John  Smith's  settlement,  in  the  north- 
western portion  of  Richwood  township. 
They  removed  to  Greene  county  in  1823, 
and  died  there. 

Among  the  settlers  of  1820,  were 
William  Cresswell,  Elisha  Fowler,  and 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


John  Cox,  who  made  homes  for  them- 
selves within  the  limits  of  what  is  now 
Rosedale  township.  Elisha  Fowler  re- 
moved to  Calhoun  county,  and  died 
while  a  resident  there  in  1858,  at  an  ad- 
vanced age. 

Thomas  Cresswell  and  Samuel  Cress- 
well,  settled  in  Richwood  township  in 
the  spring  of  1820,  where  they  resided 
for  many  years.  Thomas  located  upon 
the  southeast  quarter  of  section  9,  and 
Samuel  on  section  4. 

Moses  Seeds  was  the  next  settler  in 
the  fall  of  182!).  He  located  in  Rich- 
woods  township,  on  section  17,  where 
he  lived  until  1825,  when  he  sold  out 
and  removed  to  the  American  Bottom, 
in   Madison  county. 

John  Thornton  came  to  Jersey  county 
in  1820,  and  in  January,  1821,  entered 
280  acres  of  land  on  section  23,  of  Eng- 
lish township,  where  he  resided  until 
1824,  when  he  disposed  of  this  farm  to 
Mathew  Darr,  and  removed  to  Rich- 
woods  township,  where  he  subsequently 
died. 

Among  the  pioneers  of  1821  or  22,  was 
Joseph  White,  who  settled  in  what  is 
now  Otter  creek  township.  He  died,  a 
resident  of  the  county,  previous  to  1830. 

Silas  Crain,  Sr.,  settled  in  Jersey 
county  in  1821,  on  some  land  one  section 
15,  in  what  is  now  English  township. 
He  afterwards  removed  to  Rosedale 
township.  He  died  at  the  residence  of 
James  McKinney,  of  consumption. 

John  Medford  made  a  settlement  on 
section  8,  Richwoods  township  in  the 
spring  of  1821.  He  was  an  English- 
man but  came  here  from  Cape  Girar- 
deau, Mo..  He  built  his  cabin,  and 
started  back  after  his  family  and 
brought  them  here  and  settled  down  to 


the  hard  work  of  a  western  pioneer, 
and  remained  here  until  his  death, 
which  occurred  in  1825. 

Thomas  White  and  Samuel  Lofton 
made  a  settlement  in  Mississippi  town- 
ship in  1821.  They  resided  here  for 
two  or  three  years,  when  they  removed 
to  Otter  Creek  towaship,  where  they 
lived  for  many  years. 

Jesse  Watson  came  to  Jersey  county 
in  1822,  and  located  on  a  farm  in  Rich- 
woods  township,  where  he  hewed  out  a 
clearing  and  put  up  a  cabin.  Here  he 
lived  until  his  death  which  occurred  in 
1838. 

John  Neal  made  a  settlement  in 
Richwoods  township  in  1822,  on  a  40 
acre  tract  on  section  14.  in  the  timber, 
one  of  the  first  to  enter  land  on  the 
bluff.  He  afterwards  removed  to  an- 
other state. 

Francis  Colean,  was  another  of  the 
pioneers  of  the  year  1*22.  In  April,  of 
that  year  he  entered  the  west  half  of 
the  southwest  quarter  of  section  13,  in 
what  is  now  English  tow«ship,  where 
he  lived  until  the  day  of  his  death,  in 
1846. 

A  man  by  the  name  of  Richardson, 
the  father-in-law  of  Ashur  Chase,  made 
a  settlement  in  Mississippi  township  in 
1822,  or  1823.  He  removed,  sometime 
afterwards,  to  Scott  county,  where  he 
was  drowned. 

John  Ballard  came  to  what  is  now 
Jersey  county,  in  1821,  and  located  on 
section  30,  of  what  is  now  Jersey  town- 
ship, but  in  the  year  1823  he  sold  out  to 
John  Falkner,  who  died  there  in  1824. 
Ballard  then  removed  to  the  present 
site  of  Jerseyville,  and  erected  a  cabin. 
James  Falkner,  in  1826,  purchased  the 
improvements  of  Ballard,  and  the  latter 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


removed  to  a  place  on  what  is  now 
known  as  Dorsey's  branch,  then  known 
as  Ballard's  branch,  but  shortly  after- 
wards left  the  county. 

Mathew  Cowan,  who  had  settled  in 
Madison  county,  in  1812,  came  to  Jer- 
sey county  in  1822,  and  made  a 
settlement  within  the  limits  of  Ruyle 
township  where  he  lived  for  many 
years.  He  was  a  native  of  Virginia  and 
died  a  resident  of  Jersey  county.  He 
was  known  by  the  nickname  of  "Doc- 
tor," and  for  many  years  had  spells  of 
insanity,  but  was  capable  of  doing  busi- 
ness between  them. 

John  Falkner  came  to  this  county  in 
1823,  and  purchased  the  place  on  sec- 
tion 30,  occupied  by  John  Ballard,  and 
commenced  to  open  up  a  farm.  He  was 
a  native  of  Pennsylvania  and  an  excel- 
lent farmer.  He  was  frozen  to  death  in 
the  winter  of  1824-25. 

John  C.  Whitlock  was  one  of  the 
pioneers  of  1823,  coming  to  Jersey 
county,  and  locating  in  what  has  since 
been  known  as  Ruyle  township.  He 
was  a  native  of  the  "Old  Dominion" — 
Virginia,  but  came  here  from  Kentucky. 
He  died  sometime  in  1879. 

William  Gillham,  the  father  of  John 
D.,  following  his  son,  came  into  the 
county  in  1823,  and  made  a  settlement 
in  Mississippi  township,  on  section  29, 
where  he  died  two  years  afterward. 

Mrs.  Jane  Gillham,  a  widow  with  her 
family,  came  from  South  Carolina,  in 
1823.  and  made  a  settlement  on  section 
28,  in  what  is  now  Mississippi  town- 
ship. She  died  here  about  the  year 
1828. 

Thomas  McDow,  a  native  of  South 
Carolina,  came  here  from  Missouri,  and 
settled  on  section  32,  Mississippi  town- 


ship, in  1823.  He  had,  previous  to 
going  to  Missouri,  lived  on  the  Ameri- 
can Bottom,  being  one  of  the  pioneers 
of  the  state,  where  he  was  married  in 
1819,  to  Mary  L.  Lofton.  He  died  a 
resident  of  this  county  in  1874. 

Jacob  Cummings  settled  on  section 
15,  in  the  year  1823.  He  was  from 
Madison  county,  and  made  an  entry  of 
his  lands,  shortly  after  coming  here. 
He  lived  and  died  a  resident  of  this 
county  from  that  time  on.  The  last 
event  took  place  in  1825. 

John  Findley  located  on  section  22, 
in  Mississippi  township,  in  the  fall  of 
1823,  but  after  a  year's  stay  sold  out 
and  moved  from  the  county. 

A  settlement  was  made  by  William  G. 
Waddle,  in  1823,  on  Section  33,  Missis- 
sippi township.  He  was  a  native  of 
South  Carolina,  but  raised  in  Madison 
county,  this  state.  He  lived  and  died  a 
resident  of  the  county. 

AshurChaseis  numbered  among  the 
early  settlers  of  Mississippi  township, 
locating  there,  on  the  Stone  place,  in 
1823.  He  afterwards  moved  to  Knox 
county,  and  a  few  years  ago  was  alive. 
With  him  came  his  father,  Abel,  who 
is  numbered  among  the  oldest  settlers. 
The  latter  died  a  resident  of  this  county. 

John  N.  English,  still  a  resident  of 
the  county,  made  his  settlement  in  Jer- 
sey county  iii  1*24.  A  sketch  of  him 
occurs  further  on. 

Mathew  Darr  came  to  Jersey  county 
in  1S24.  He  had  been  running  a  horse 
mill  on  the  American  Bottom,  but  lik- 
ing the  looks  of  this  county,  came  here 
and  purchased  the  farm  of  John  Thorn- 
ton, in  English  township.  He  resided 
here  until  is.").'*,,  when  he  was  removed 
by  the  hand  of  death. 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


John  McDow,  father  of  Thomas,  came 
in  1824,  and  settled  on  section  2:',.  on 
land  now  owned  by  Joseph  Knight. 
He  came  from  Smith  Carolina,  and  was 
a  powder  maker  by  trade,  having  owned 
a  mill  in  that  state.  He  lived  on  the 
old  homestead  in  this  township,  until 
his  death,  in  1835. 

Thomas  Cuimnings,  a  brother  of  Ja- 
ei  ill's,  made  a  settlement  just  east  of  the 
latter  in  the  fall  of  1824.  He  died  a 
resident  of  this  place.  His  descend- 
ants are  among  the  citizens  of  the 
county. 

Orman  Beeman,  in  the  fall  of  1824, 
made  another  settler  of  the  county, 
locating  on  section  30,  in  Mississippi 
township.  He  was  a  native  of  South 
Carolina.  He  died  here  at  an  advanced 
aire,  about  eight  years  ago. 

With  Orman  Beeman  came  a  man  by 
the  name  of  M.  Griffith,  who  made  a 
settlement. 

Joab  White,  a  blacksmith  by  trade., 
made  his  appearance  in  Mississippi 
township  in  the  spring  of  1824,  and 
settled  upon  the  northeast  quarter  of 
section  30,  and  opened  a  forge,  which 
was  the  first  in  the  county.  He  died  a 
resilient  of  this  county.  He  was  a  na- 
tive of  North  Carolina. 

James  Hinson  made  a  settlement  in 
what  is  now  Mississippi  township  in 
1824.  He  died  on  the  homestead  which 
he  took  up  then,  and  all  of  his  children 
have  followed  him  to  the  land  of  shad- 
ows. 

Alexander  P.  Scott  and  David  Gilbert 
made  settlements  and  cleared  land  in 
the  woods  of  Rosedale  township,  about 
the  year  1*24  or  1825.  Here  they  lived 
for  many  years. 

Robert   Latham,  a  North   Carolinian, 


came  to  Jersey  county  in  1S25,  and  set- 
tled in  Jersey  township,  where  he  lived 
for  many  years.  He  died  at  his  resi- 
lience here  in  1885.  He  was  a  bachelor, 
and  disposed  of  his  property  to  schools, 
churches,  ami  relatives. 

John  Ryan  was  a  settler  of  1825,  in 
Mississippi  township.  He  located  at 
first,  about  five  miles  southeast  of  Jer- 
sey ville,  on  the  Caleb  Stone  place,  but 
afterwards  removed  to  the  neighbor- 
hood of  Carrollton.  In  1840,  he  re- 
turned to  this  county,  and  settled  on 
section  27,  Ruyle  township.  Here  he 
died,  January  27,  1865. 

John  R.  Caldwell  came  to  Jersey 
county  about  the  fall  of  1828,  and  set- 
tled within  the  limits  of  what  is  now 
Mississippi  township. 

Gregg  McDaniel  settled  on  Otter 
creek,  on  section  7.  in  the  fall  of  1828, 
and  died  there  in  1859. 

A.  Carson  made  a  settlement  in  Mis- 
sissippi township,  about  lS2(i. 

James  Falkner  settled  on  the  present 
site  of  the  town  of  Jerseyville,  in  1826, 
and  lived  here  until  about  1880  or  1831, 
when  he  removed  to  Quincy. 

Francis  Swan,  a  native  of  North  Car- 
olina, made  a  settlement  in  Mississippi 
township  in  1826,  where  he  lived  until 
his  death,  in   1850. 

James  Dabbs,  a  native  of  South  Caro- 
lina, moved  thence  to  Barren  county, 
K\\,  several  years  after  his  marriage, 
which  occurred  in  1802.  There  he  re- 
sided until  1819,  when  he  came  to  Illi- 
nois, and  settled  on  Wood  river,  north 
of  Upper  Alton.  In  1826,  he  came  to 
Jersey  county,  and  located  on  what  is 
now  the  McAdan.s  farm,  but  in  1829  or 
1830,  he  removed  on  section  9,  of  Otter 
creek  township,  where  he  resided  until 


80 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


his  death,  which  occurred  December  19, 
1841.  With  him  came  his  brother, 
Samuel  Dabbs. 

Charles  Dodson  settled  on  section  31, 
Mississippi  township  during  the  year 
1828,  where  he  resided  severel  years. 
He  was  a  son-in-law  of  Judge  Lofton. 
He  afterwards  went  to  Greene  county, 
where  he  died. 

John  Stafford  settled  in  Rosedale 
township  in  1828.  He  was  well  known  to 
the  earl}'  settlers,  and  died  on  the  old 
homestead,  in  18(55. 

In  1828,  William  Starr,  Coe  Edsall, 
R.  C.  Baugh  and  James  Perry  made  set- 
tlements in  Rosedale  township.  James 
Perry  removed  from  the  county  years 
ago,  and  Baugh,  Starr  and  Edsall  died 
here,  after  lengthy  residences. 

Jesse  C.  Ennis  first  settled  just  west 
of  Jerseyville  in  1828,  and  afterward 
moved  to  Rosedale  township,  settling 
on  section  16,  near  a  spring  of  water. 
He  and  his  wife  died  about  1833,  and 
were  buried  in  Rosedale  cemetery,  being 
the  first  interment  therein.  They  were 
natives  of  Tennessee.  Mr.  Ennis,  while 
a  strictly  honest,  conscientious  man, 
was  rather  noted  in  this  locality  for  his 
aptitude  for  pretty  tough  yarns.  One  of 
these  was,  in  describing  the  timber  of 
this  country,  he  said  that  he  had  cut 
down  a  sumach  tree,  from  which  he 
split  out  some  fourteen  joists  for  a 
house.  At  another  time  he  related  a 
long  story  about  taking  the  fiddle  and 
sitting  down  near  some  rocks  com- 
menced to  play,  whereupon  thousands 
of  snakes  came  out  of  their  dens,  as 
they  will,  and  that  laying  about  with  a 
club  he  killed  some  three  thousand  of 
them.  Many  other  stories  he  did  tell 
all  dealing  in  the  same  exaggerations. 


Gregg  McDaniels  and  family  settled 
in  Otter  Creek  township,  in  the  spring 
of  1828,  locating  on  section  7,  where 
Charles  McDaniels  now  lives. 

In  1828,  Jasper  M.  Terry,  afterwards 
associate  justice  of  this  county,  lo- 
dated  on  section  24,  in  Otter  Creek 
township.  He  died  in  1876.  He  is 
noticed  at  length  in  connection  with  his 
official  position  further  on. 

Amos  Lynn  and  Enoch  Spaulding,  in 
1828,  settled  in  what  is  now  Rosedale 
township,  where  they  lived  many  years. 

Richard  and  Samuel  Rhoads  came  to 
what  is  now  Jersey  county  in  1828,  and 
made  settlements.  Both  these  gentle- 
men were  natives  of  Kentucky,  and 
located  in  what  is  now  Ruyle  township. 

John  Hart  made  a  settlement  in  Eng- 
lish township,  in  1828,  and  in  1829, 
opened  a  small  stock  of  goods  in  his 
cabin.  He  remained  here  a  few  years, 
when  he  left  for  other  scenes. 
•  W.  D.  F.  Slaten  made  a  settlement  in 
the  present  township  of  Quarry,  in 
March,  1829. 

Ezekiel  Chance,  a  North  Carolinian, 
came  to  Jersey  county  from  Madison 
county  in  1829,  and  settled  in  Otter 
Creek  township,  but  two  years  later  set- 
tled in  Richwoods  township,  where  he 
died  about  1879. 

With  Mr.  Chance,  came  Maurice 
Armstrong,  who  was  in  partnership 
with  Mr.  Chance,  but  in  1831  they  dis- 
solved this  and  moving  to  Richwoods, 
settled  down  as  neighbors.  Mr.  Arm- 
strong was  a  very  prominent  figure  in  the 
county  in  those  early  days.  He  re- 
moved from  here  to  Montgomery  county, 
but  later  to  Girard,  Macoupin  county, 
where  he  died.  His  son  is  a  prominent 
merchant  in  that  city  at  the  pTesent. 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


si 


Elias  and  William  Palmer  made  a 
settlement  in  what  is  now  Ruyle  town- 
ship, in  1829.  They  were  fir  m  Ver- 
mont, of  which  state  they  were  natives. 
William  located  on  section  13.  He 
died  on  this  farm  afterwards. 

In  1829  Tarlton  F.  Brock  settled  on 
section  25,  in  Otter  Creek  township. 
His  biography  is  given  elsewhere. 

Elijah  Brown  made  a  settlement  in 
Otter  Creek,  also,  in  1829.  He  after- 
wards removed  to  Greene  county, 
where  he  died. 

•  During  the  years  1830-31,  -John  D. 
Combs,  David  and  George  Settlemier, 
James  Cummings,  Benjamin  J.  Harri- 
son, William  Harrison  and  Joseph  An- 
drews also  made  settlements  in  Piasa 
township,  in  Jersey  county,  and  are 
numbered  among  the  gallant  pioneers 
of  this  section  of  the  state.  John  D. 
Combs  has  long  been  numbered  with 
the  dead.  His  widow  married  Levi 
M.Xeil.  George  and  David  Settlemier 
emigrated  to  Oregon.  James  Cummings 
moved  to  Montgomery  county,  locating 
in  Litchfield. 

A.  L.  Carpenter  and  wife  settled  on 
the  site  of  the  town  of  Jerseyville,  pur- 
chasing the  "Old  Red  House,"  a  stage- 
ing  station,  or  inn,  on  the  present  site 
of  the  Cheney  mansion,  as  is  more 
fully  detailed  in  the  account  of  the  his- 
tory of  that  town. 

James  B.  Pinckard,  Levi  McNeil,  Jo- 
seph Richardson  and  Samuel  Clarke 
made  settlement  in  what  is  now  Piasa 
township  in  1830,  among  the  first  in 
that  section  of  the  county. 

William  Phillips  settled  upon  section 
25,  Fidelity  township,  in  1830,  where 
he  resided  some  years.  He  has  since 
died. 


Rev.  George  Slaten  made  a  settlement 
in  this  county  in  the  spring  of  1829. 
He  was  a.  minister  of  the  M.  E.  church. 
He  located  in  Mississippi  township, 
where  he  resided  until  the  day  of  his 
death,  in  1844. 

Dr.  Silas  Hamilton  was  a  settler  of 
this  county  during  the  year  1830,  com- 
ing to  what  is  now  Otter  Creek  town- 
ship in  the  spring  of  that  year.  He 
was  a  practicing  physician.  He  died  in 
1834. 

James  Derick  and  Solomon  Dixon 
both  made  settlements  near  Otterville, 
during  the  year  1830.  The  latter  died 
in  1830;  Derrick  moved  to  Missouri. 
He  was  a  member  of  Captain  Carlin's 
company  of  militia,  in  the  Black  Hawk 
war.  / 

James  Richey  came  to  Jersey  county 
in  1836,  and  made  a  settlement  in  Ruyle 
township.  He  was  a  Kentuckian  by 
birth. 

William  Hamilton,  a  brother  of  Dr. 
Silas  Hamilton,  with  his  three  sons, 
came  to  Jersey  county  in  the  fall  of  1830, 
and  located  on  section  13,  Otter  Creek 
township.  He  died  in  1846,  in  Calhoun 
county. 

William  Moore  made  a  permanent 
settlement  on  section  20,  in  Jersey  town- 
ship in  1831,  but  came  to  the  county  two 
years  earlier,  living  in  Mississippi  town- 
ship until  then.  He  was  frozen  to  death 
during  the  winter  of  1835-6. 

After  this  the  settlement  grew  more 
rapidly,  and  many  sought  this  paradise 
on  earth.  The  details  of  the  settlement 
of  these  and  many  other  pioneers  will 
be  given  at  length  in  connection  with 
the  histories  of  the  several  townships, 
where  biographical  sketches  of  many  of 
them  are  given. 


SI- 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


HISTORIC    ITEMS. 

The  oldest  living  white  child  born  in 
Jersey  county  was  J.  T.  Grimes,  com- 
monly known  as  "Tram"  Grimes.  He 
was  born  Jan.  20,  1820,  and  is  a  son  of 
Philip  Grimes.  J.  T.  now  lives  about 
one  mile  northwest  of  Jerseyville. 

The  first  child  born  in  the  county  is 
believed  to  have  been  a  daughter  of 
James  and  Julia  Moffit,  born  in  1819. 
It  lived  only  a  short  time,  when  it  died. 

The  third  white  child  born  in  Jersey 
county  was  Thomas  Edward  Carroll,  son 
of  Edward  and  Mary  C.  Wright  Carroll. 
He  was  born  on  the  2d  day  of  Feb., 
1820,  about  three  weeks  after  the  birth 
of  the  second  white  child.  He  now  lives 
near  the  east  line  of  Macoupin  county, 
not  far  from  Litchfield,  111. 

The  first  death  in  the  county  was  that 
of  Thomas  Carroll,  which  occurred  in 
July  or  Aug.,  1819.  The  family  of  his 
brother  Edward  had  come  to  the  county, 
the  year  before,  and  settled  in  what  is 
now  Elsah  township.  Thomas  had  been 
keeping  store  in  St.  Louis  before  coming 
here,  to  live  with  his  brother  Edward. 
Not  two  months  had  elapsed  after  his 
arrival  in  the  county,  until  he  had  con- 
tracted an  illness  which  speedily  re- 
sulted in  his  death.  His  body  was 
placed  in  a  skiff,  and  taken  down  to  St. 
Louis  for  burial.  He  was  the  youngest 
brother  of  Edward  Carroll. 

The  pioneer  store  of  Jersey  county 
was  established  in  the  latter  part  of 
1829,  at  the  foot  of  the  bluff  on  which 
the  town  of  Eminence  was  laid  out,  by 
Henry  Mills,  who  had  been  running  a 
store  across  the  river  at  Portage  des 
Sioux,  in  St.  Charles  county,  Mo. 

The  second  store  was  that  of  John 
Hart,  in  English  township,  in  1829. 


The  third  store  in  the  county  is  be- 
lieved to  have  been  opened  in  1830,  by 
Woodbury  Massey,  at  Mason's  landing, 
but  in  1831  moved  to  the  forks  of  Otter 
Creek.  He  remained  here  but  a  short 
time  when  he  removed  to  Galena, 
where  he  was  wantonly  murdered  by 
two  men  by  the  name  of  Smith,  in  Sep- 
tember, 1835.  The  cause  of  dispute 
was  a  lead  mine  that  Massey  was  oper- 
ating at  the  time.  Henry  L.  Massey,  a 
brother  of  Woodbury's,  shot  the  elder 
Smith  down  upon  the  street,  and  Louisa 
Massey,  a  sister  of  the  murdered  man, 
arming  herself,  called  Smith  out  of  a 
store  or  saloon,  discharged  the  pistol 
into  his  breast,  and  he  likewise  was 
called  to  his  long  account.  Public  opin- 
ion being  in  favor  of  Miss  Massey,  no 
action  of  any  moment  was  taken  by  the 
authorities. 

The  first  postoffice  in  what  is  now 
Jersey  county  was  established  at  Emi- 
nence, in  Elsah  township.  Isaac  N. 
Piggott  was  the  first  postmaster. 

Tarlton  F.  Brock  was  the  second 
postmaster  in  the  county,  having  charge 
of  Otter  Creek  postoffice. 

Both  Otter  Creek  and  Eminence  post- 
offices  were  discontinued,  and  one  was 
established  at  Newbern,  with  Jacob 
Lurton  as  postmaster. 

In  the  year  1821,  John  L.  Evans  built 
a  grist  and  saw  mill  on  the  Macoupin 
creek,  on  Sec.  33  or  34,  T.  9,  R.  13,  This 
was  a  sash  saw,  and  grist  mill  and  had 
two  run  of  five  foot  buhrs.  One  run  of 
these  buhrs  is  in  C.  C.  Buzby's  mills  in 
Fieldon,  at  the  present  time.  This  on 
the  authority  of  Moses  Ward,  of  the 
latter  village. 

William  Kelley  was  the  first  person 
married  in    the    county    by    a    Catholic 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


83 


priest,  the  event  occurring  in  1839, 
Rev.  Father  Hamilton  officiating. 

First  blacksmith  shop  in  county  by 
Josiah  White  on  section  30,  Mississippi 
township.  Established  about  the  year 
1824. 

Gregg  McDaniel  erected  a  grist  mill 
run  by  water  power,  in  the  county,  and 
also  the  first  saw  mill.  The  saw  mill 
was  built  in  1828,  and  was  located  on 
section  7,  Otter  Creek  township,  on 
the  south  bank  of  Otter  creek.  The 
grist  mill  was  erected  in  the  spring  of 
1S30,  on  the  opposite  bank  of  the  creek. 
The  dam  afterwards  washed  away,  and 
as  steam  mills  were  then  being  built  in 
this  vicinity,  the  damage  was  not  re- 
paired, and  the  mills  were  allowed  to 
go  to  decay. 

The  second  grist  mill  erected,  actual- 
ly within  the  present  limits  of  Jersey 
county,  was  that  of  Major  Gershom 
Patterson.  It  stood  right  east  of  what 
is  now  known  as  the  John  Brown  place, 
about  two  miles  from  Jerseyville,  and 
was  built  in  1828.  The  grinding  ma- 
chinery was  operated  by  a  treadmill 
run  by  cattle.  It  would  grind  about  30 
bushels  per  day.  He  had  a  small  bolter, 
which  turned  by  hand,  but  the  wheat 
was  generally  not  cleaned  before  grind- 
ing, and  the  bolter,  working  very  slow- 
ly, the  bran  generally  had  to  be  separa- 


ted from  the  flour  by  the  customer  him- 
self, after  arriving  at  home. 

The  first  brick  house  built  in  the 
county  was  that  of  Gershom  Patterson. 
It  was  built  about  1827,  and  was  blown 
down  by  a  wind  storm  in  the  spring  of 
1830. 

The  brick  house  of  J.  D.  Gillham, 
built  in  .1828,  was  the  second  brick 
house  in  the  county. 

James  Redden  and  Nancy  Bates,  then 
residents  of  what  is  now  Jersey  county, 
were  one  of  the  first  couples  in  the 
early  settlement  to  be  married.  Greene 
county  (Jersey  was  then  a  part  of 
Greene)  had  just  been  set  off  from  Mad- 
ison, and  no  court  was  yet  organized  in 
Greene.  So,  Redden  went  to  Edwards- 
ville,  got  a  license  in  Madison  county, 
and  then  came  back  to  get  his  intended 
bride.  They  traveled  on  horseback  un- 
til sure  they  were  in  Madison  county, 
then  lighted  a  fire  under  a  large  tree 
and  were  there  married  by  a  justice  of 
the  peace.  They  then  went  back  to 
Bates'  to  live. 

John  Clark,  a  Baptist,' was  one  of  the 
early  preachers.  He  went  about  on  foot 
ministering  to  the  spiritual  wants  of  the 
pioneers.  He  is  described  as  a  tremen- 
dous tobacco  chewer,  though  this  in  no 
wise  interiered  with  his  efficiency  as  a 
minister  of  the  Gospel. 


84 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


GHAPTER    V. 


COUNTY  GOVERNMENT. 


When  the  state  of  Illinois  was  ad- 
mitted into  the  Union  as  a  great  sover- 
eign state,  in  December,  1818,  the  terri- 
tory now  known  as  Jersey  county  was  a 
part  of  Madison  county,  that  then 
stretched  away  north  to  Chicago.  In 
1820,  the  inhabitants  of  this  and  Greene 
county  put  forth  an  effort  for  a  sepa- 
rate organization,  and  the  matter  was 
brought  to  the  attention  of  the  legisla- 
ture, that  convened  at  Vandalia,  in  the 
winter  of  1820-21.  In  accordance  with 
the  wishes  of  the  people,  an  act  was 
passed,  organizing  the  county  of  Greene, 
which  was  approved  by  Governor  Bond, 
January  20,  1821.  This  sub-division  was 
made  to  include  the  present  counties  of 
Greene,  Jersey,  Macoupin,  Morgan  and 
Scott,  and  was  named  in  honor  of  Gen- 
eral Nathaniel  Greene,  of  revolutionary 
fame.  For  a  history  of  the  government 
while  Jersey  and  Greene  counties  re- 
mained as  one,  the  reader  is  referred  to 
the  history  of  Greene  county,  in  this 
volume.  But  that  no  item  of  history 
may  be  lost,  it  would  be  well  in  this 
connection  to  briefly  mention  some  of 
the  minor  events  that  occurred  in  this 
end  of  Greene"  county.  It  is  of  record 
that  in  1821,  the  court  laid  the  county 
off  into  military  districts,  for  militia 
purposes;  these  were  called  company 
districts.  The  first  district  comprised 
what  are  now  the  townships  of  Quarry, 


Elsah,  Rosedale,  Otter  Creek,  Missis- 
sippi and  Piasa,  and  an  election  for 
officers — one  japtain,  one  lieutenant  and 
one  ensign — was  ordered,  and  John  D. 
Gillham,  John  Waddle  and  Samuel 
Kinkead  were  authorized  to  act  as 
judges  of  election.  The  second  district 
was  also  in  this  county,  and  embraced 
the  present  townships  of  Richwoods, 
English,  Jersey  and  Fidelity,  and  Ger- 
shom  Patterson,  William  Adair  and 
Nathaniel  Rowdon  were  appointed  as 
judges  ef  election.  At  the  same  time, 
Ira  Kelly,  Samuel  Kinkead  and  Jehu 
Brown  were  recommended  to  the  gov- 
ernor, Shadrach  Bond,  as  suitable  per- 
sons for  the  offices  of  justice  of  the 
peace.  Jurors  were  also  selected  at  this 
term  of  the  county  court,  to  serve  as 
such  at  the  next  meeting  of  the  circuit 
court,  and  among  those  drawn  were  the 
names  of  the  following  residents  of  what 
is  now  Jersey  county:  Ezekiel  Gilham, 
William  Davidson,  Gershom  Patterson, 
John  D.  Gilham,  James  Whitesides  and 
Philip  ( i  rimes.  The  first  probate  judge 
of  the  double  county  was  John  G.  Lof- 
ton, who  received  $30,121.  for  his  ser- 
vices, and  $5  for  recording  deeds. 
Among  the  jurors  for  the  spring  term  of 
1822  were  the  following  residents  of 
what  is  now  Jersey  county:  Edward 
Carroll,  Joseph  White,  Robert  Avery, 
Joseph  Piggott  and  John  Gunternian. 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


85 


As  the  southern  part  of  Greene 
county  increased  in  population,  the  idea 
of  a  separate  organization  began  to  en- 
ter into  the  minds  of  the  people,  and 
was  agitated  seriously.  Greene  county 
was  at  this  time  represented  in  the  gen- 
eral assembly  by  two  members,  one  of 
whom  it  was  the  custom  to  elect  from 
the  territory  south  of  Macoupin  creek. 
In  1838,  Edward  Daley  was  the  member 
from  this  section,  and  it  is  somewhat 
due  to  his  exertions  that  the  new  county 
organization  was  effected.  The  people 
generally  were  in  favor  of  it,  Col. 
John  N.  English  canvassing  the  county 
for  signatures  to  a  petition  to  be  pre- 
sented to  the  legislature,  in  favor  of  the 
measure,  securing  several  hundred 
names.  Many  people  in  Greene  county 
were  not  averse  to  the  measure,  but 
some  opposition  was  manifested  in  the 
town  (it  Carrollton,  the  citizens  fearing 
that  taking  off  so  large  a  portion  from 
the  south  end  of  the  county,  the  re- 
moval of  the  seat  of  justice  from  that 
place  to  a  more  centrally  located  one 
would  soon  ensue.  A  vote  on  the 
question  of  separation  was  therefore 
taken,  on  the  5th  of  August,  1839, 
which  resulted  in  1,239  voting  in  favor 
of  the  erection  of  the  new  county,  and 
714  against  it,  a  clear  majority  of  525 
in  its  favor.  So  the  separation  took 
place.  The  larger  part  of  the  later 
emigration  having  come  from  the  state 
of  New  Jersey,  the  new  county  was 
christened  Jersey  inhonorof  that  noble 
state,  and  Jerseyville  was  elected  the 
county  seat  without  opposition.  At 
this  time  the  government  of  the  coun- 
ties of  this  state  was  vested  in  a  county 
commissioners'  court. 

The  first  commissioners  of  the  county 


were  Thomas  Cummings,  Solomon  Cal- 
houn and  Amos  Pruitt,  and  the  first 
court  held  by  them  was  a  special  term, 
which  met  on  Monday,  Oct.  4,  1839, 
at  Jerseyville,  when  all  three  of  the 
commissioners  were  present.  In  the 
absence  of  the  clerk  elect,  who  had  not 
yet  qualified  for  the  office,  the  court 
appointed  Robert  L.  Hill,  as  clerk  pro 
tern.,  to  hold  the  same  until  the  duly 
elected  clerk  should  tile  his  bond  and 
be  sworn  in,  whereupon  Robert  Hill, 
filed  his  bond  and  entered  upon  the 
discharge  of  his  duties.  His  bond, 
which  was  ordered  to  be  recorded,  was 
for  the  sum  of  $1,000,  and  was  signed 
by  Edward  M.  Daly,  John  Brown  and 
Joseph  Crabb,  as  sureties.  The  first 
business  brought  before  the  court  was 
the  appointment  of  trustees  for  the 
townships,  and  a  county  agent,  Joseph 
Crabb,  being  the  gentlemen  selected  to 
fill  the  latter  position.  Robert  L.  Hill 
was  instructed  to  purchase  a  stove,  and 
Edward  M.  Daly,  the  books,  seals, 
papers,  etc.,  necessary  to  carry  on  the 
various  offices  of  the  county  govern- 
ment.    It  was  also  ordered: 

"That  Solomon  Calhoun  and  Robert  L. 
Hill  lie  appointed  to  contract  for,  and  super- 
intend the  erection  of  a  building,  to  lie  located 
on  the  public  square  in  Jerseyville.  for  the 
use  of  the  county  of  Jersey,  and  to  obtain 
from  the  trustees  of  Jerseyville  a  lease  oi  the 
said  square;  the  said  building  to  be  18  feet 
square,  and  one  story  high,  and  tolie  built  in 
a  strong  and  workmanlike  manner,  and  to  he 
paid  for  out  of  the  county  treasury." 

The  second  meeting  of  the  count)'  com- 
missioners' court  was  also  a  special  one, 
held  Oct.  28,  1839,  when  John  R.  Black, 
the  newly  elected  county  treasurer,  filed 
his  bond  for  $15,000  and  qualified.  His 
sureties  were  Joseph  Crabb  and  E.  Van 


8G 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


Horn.  At  this  meeting  of  the  court  the 
following  were  appointed  as  road  super- 
visors of  the  various  road  districts  of  the 
county:  John  Utt,  Joseph  Duncan,  Pol- 
lard Kirkland,  John  Gilworth,  H.  N. 
Belt, William  Tompkins,  George  Stamps 
John  Cowan,  Joseph  Crabb,  George  Set- 
tlemiers,  Perley  Silloway,  Henry  Rip- 
son,  William  McDow,  Thomas  Cress- 
well,  William  Williams,  Ezekiel  Gil- 
lam,  John  Simmons  and  Jacob  Lurton. 

Richard  Graham,  who  had  been  elect- 
ed to  fill  the  office  of  clerk  of  the  com- 
missioners' court,  came  forward,  at  this 
meeting,  and  filing  his  bond  for  one 
thousand  dollars,  with  John  Anderson 
and  R.  H.  Van  Dike  as  sureties,  was 
duly  qualified,  and  entered  upon  the 
discharge  of  his  duties. 

The  first  regular  session  of  the  com- 
missioner's court  was  held  in  Decem- 
ber, 1839,  commencing  on  the  2d  of  that 
month.  The  house,  contracted  for  by 
Messrs.  Calhoun  and  Hill  for  the  use  of 
the  county,  having  been  finished  by 
the  contractor,  Peyton  C.  Walker,  it 
was  received  from  his  hands  by  the 
commissioners,  and  the  clerk  ordered 
to  draw  warrants  for  the  sum  of  $220, 
in  payment  for  the  same. 

Thomas  Cummings  having,  with 
Chilton  Smithe,  been  appointed  a  com- 
mittee to  confer  with  the  county  com- 
missioners of  Greene  county,  and  to  ad- 
just the  claim  of  Jersey  county  to  ap- 
portionment of  the  internal  improve- 
ment fund,  at  this  meeting  presented 
a  report  stating  that  they  had  secured 
the  sum  of  $6, 000  and  an  agreement  to 
make  a  final  adjustment  "under  and 
after  the  census  of  1840."  Thomas 
Vance  was  at  once  appointed  as  an  agent 
to  loan  this  fund  at  a  rate  of    10  per 


cent,  per  annum,  payable  in  advance, 
he  entering  into  a  bond  with  the  county 
for  the  faithful  performance  of  the 
same. 

On  Thursday,  December  5,  1839, 
James  C.  Perry,  a  native  of  England, 
came  before  the  court,  and  having  taken 
the  oath  of  allegiance,  was  duly  natur- 
alized a  citizen  of  the  United  States,  the 
first  in  this  county  after  its  organization 
as  a  separate  county. 

At  a  special  meeting  of  the  county 
commissioners,  held  on  the  13th  of 
January,  1840,  the  following  preamble 
and  order  was  made  : 

"  Whereas,  Elijah  Van  Horn,  Solomon  Cal- 
houn and  Thomas  L.  McGill,  a  committee  ap- 
pointed by  a  meeting  of  the  citizens  of  Jersey 
county,  to  superintend  the  erection  of  the  pub- 
lic buildings  for  said  county,  this  day  pres- 
ented to  the  court  a  draft  of  a  plan  and  expla- 
nations thereof,  of  a  building  for  a  court  house 
ami  jail  for  said  county,  which  plan  and  ex- 
planations are  ordered  to  be  tiled.  And  it  is 
further 

"  Ordered,  that  if  the  citizens  of  Jerseyville 
and  its  vicinity  will  build,  at  their  own  ex- 
pense, a  building  according  to  the  said  draft 
and  explanation,  the  said  building  will  be  re- 
ceived by  the  commissioners'  court  of  Jersey 
county,  tor  the  use  of  said  county,  as  a  good 
and  suitable  court  house  and  jail  for  the  said 
county  of  Jersey." 

But  little  was  done  by  this  court,  be- 
yond the  usual  routine  work,  laying  out 
roads,  building  bridges,  auditing  claims, 
etc.  In  March,  1840,  however,  they 
appointed  John  Kimball,  assessor  for 
the  county,  and  George  W.  Lowder, 
collector. 

The  county  commissioners'  court  that 
met  on  the  7th  day  of  Sept.,  1840,  was 
composed  of  Amos  Pruitt,  Chauncey 
Brown,  and  Cyrus  Tolman,  the  latter 
two  of  whom  produced  their  certificates 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


of  election,   and  after  duly  qualifying, 
took  their  seats. 

At  the  March  term  of  the  court,  1841, 
the  following  order  was  made,  and  en- 
tered upon  the  records: 

"  Whereas,  Solomon  Calhoun,  E.  Van  Home 
and  Thomas  L.  McGill,  a  committee  to  super- 
intend the  erection  of  the  court  house  and  jail 
of  Jersey  county ,this  day  presented  to  the  court 
a  statement,  marked  C,  showing  that  the  enclos- 
ing of  tiie  court  house  is  under  contract,  and 
also  showing  the  probable  cost  of  finishing  the 
court  house  and  jail  to  be  §2,170,  and  the  said 
committee  exhibited  to  the  court,  subscrip- 
tions, notes  and  obligations,  to  be  applied  to 
the  public  buildings,  for  the  sum  of  82,189.51 
over  and  above  the  amount  under  contract  and 
expended,  and  also  an  obligation  to  make  up 
the  deficit,  should  the  above  not  he  enough; 
and  whereas,  also,  a  deed  from  the  trustees  of 
Jersevville  to  the  county  of  Jersey,  for  the 
public  square  in  said  town,  being  more  than 
an  acre  oi  ground,  whereon  the  court  hou.se 
now  stands,  duly  recorded  by  the  recorder  of 
Jersey  county,  as  appears  by  certificate  thereon, 
has  been  presented  to  the  court,  which  is  or- 
dered to  be  tiled.  Therefore,  it  is  ordered  that 
it  be  entered  on  record,  that  the  court  is  satis- 
tied  that  the  citizens  of  Jersevville  ami  vici- 
nity will  comply  with  the  provisions  of  the 
sixth  section  of  the  act  of  the  general  assembly 
of  the  state  of  Illinois,  entitled,  an  act  to  cre- 
ate and  establish  the  county  of  Jersey,  ap- 
proved Feb.  28,  L839." 

A  few  days  after,  the  court  made  a 
further  order  as  follows: 

"  Whereas  certain-subscriptions  toward  the 
public  buildings  of  Jersey  county,  have  been 
made  payable  to  the  county  commissioners  of 
said  county,  and  according  to  their  terms  are 
not  binding  on  the  subscribers  until  they  are 
entered  upon  the  records  of  said  court,  it  is 
therefore, 

"Ordered,  that  the  said  subscriptions  be  en- 
tered of  record,  and  that  the  said  subscribers 
pay  their  subscriptions  to  the  committee 
appointed  by  the  citizens  of  the  county 
to  superintend  the  erection  of  the  public 
buildings,  as  other  subscriptions." 


The  court  which  met  at  the  regular 
September  term  in  the  year  1842,  was 
composed  of  Chauncey  Brown,  Cyrus 
Tolman  and  William  Palmer,  the  latter 
taking  the  place  of  Amos  Pruitt.  The 
court  first  assemhled  on -the  5th  of  Sept- 
ember. The  regular  routine  work  of 
auditing  claims  and  hearing  road  peti- 
tions was  gone  through  with,  and  the 
regular  tax  levy  ordered.  This  latter  was 
for  thirty  cents  on  the  hundred  dollars 
for  county  purposes. 

In  September,  1843,  Thomas  Carroll 
became  a  member  of  the  county  com- 
missioners' court,  in  place  of  Chauncey 
Brown,  whose  time  had  expired. 

In  September,  1844,  Maurice  Arm- 
strong became  a  county  commissioner, 
the  court  for  this  year  consisting  of 
Armstrong,  William  Palmer  and  Thomas 
Carroll.  At  the  June  term,  1845,  of 
this  court,  they  appointed  Thomas  L. 
McGill,  as  the  agent  of  the  county  for 
the  collection  of  the  subscription  of  the 
citizens  to  the  fund  for  the  erection  of 
the  court  house  and  jail,  in  the  town  of 
Jerseyville. 

In  the  fall  of  1845,  Ambrose  T. 
Wyckoff  became  a  member  of  the  court, 
in  place  of  William  Palmer,  whose  term 
had  expired. 

At  a  special  session  of  this  court  held 
on  Monday,  Oct,  13,  1845,  the  follow- 
ing order  was  placed  on  the  records: 

"Ordered,    that    Samuel    R.    Perry,    of  the 

county  of  Greene,  and  slate  of  Illinois,  be  and 
he  is  hereby  allowed  the  sum  of  $900.00 
in  full  payment  for  a  certain  farm  situate  and 
being  in  the  county  of  Jersey  and  state  of  Illi- 
nois, containing  166  acres;  it  beingthe  same 
tracts  or  lots  of  land  heretofore  owned  by 
Thos.  Vance,  and  conveyed  by  the  said  Vance 
to  the  said  Samuel  H.  Perry,  which  said  farm 
the  court  has  this  day   purchased  for  the  pur- 


ss 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


pose  of  establishing  a  poor  house  thereon  ;  and 
it  is  further  ordered,  that  the  clerk  deliver  to 
the  said  S.  R.  Perry,  the  aforesaid  sum  of  8900, 
in  Jersey  county  orders,  upon  receiving  the 
-and  of  conveyance  of  said  premises." 

In  December  of  the  same  year,  the 
county  commissioners  established  a 
county  poorhouse,  on  this  farm  which  is 
located  several  miles  northeast  of  Jer- 
seyville,  on  which  was  a  house  already 
for  occupancy;  it  was,  at  once,  used  for 
the  purpose  intended. 

Maurice  Armstrong,  Ambrose  S. 
Wyckoff  and  Benjamin  Cleaver,  consti- 
tuted the  county  commissioners'  court 
for  the  year  commencing  Sept.  7,  1846. 

On  the  6th  of  September,  1847,  when 
court  was  duly  opened,  James  McKin- 
ney,  who  was,  on  the  2d  day  of  August, 
1847,  elected  county  commissioner  as 
the  successor  of  Maurice  Armstrong,  pre- 
sented his  certificate  of  election,  and 
after  due  qualification  took  his  seat. 

James  A.  Piggott,  James  McKinney 
and  Ambrose  S.  Wyckoff,  comprised  the 
county  commissioners'  court,  from  the 
1st  day  of  Sept.,  1848,  and  on  account 
of  the  change  in  the  mode  of  govern- 
ment, consequent  upon  the  adoption  of 
the  state  constitution  of  1848,  held  over 
until  the  following  December,  1849, 
when  the  county  commissioners'  court 
gave  place  to 

THE   COUNTY    COURT. 

The  first  meeting  of  this  court  was 
held  on  the  3d  day  of  Dec,  1849, 
was  presided  over  by  George  E.  Warren, 
county  judge,  assisted  by  Jacob  Lurton 
and  .lames  McKinney,  associate  justices. 
The  commission  of  the  judge  being  read 
and  placed  upon  the  records,  court  was 
opened  in  due  form,  and  proceeded  to 
the    transaction   of  the   business  of  the 


county.  The  usual  routine  work  of 
laying  out  roads,  building  bridges,  aud- 
iting claims,  etc.,  was  gone  through 
with.  At  the  January  term,  1850,  the 
contract  for  the  superintending  of  the 
poor-house  for  the  term  of  one  year  from 
the  first  of  March  following,  for  which 
proposals  had  been  invited,  was  awarded 
to  Ira  Moore,  who  had  offered  to  do  it 
for  the  sum  of  $235.  About  this  time, 
on  account  of  expenditures  of  the  county 
exceeding  the  income,  county  orders 
became  somewhat  depreciated  and 
Judge  Warren  gave  considerable  atten- 
tion to  the  matter  of  repairing  the 
credit  of  the  county  and  restoring  the 
warrants  to  a  par  value.  One  of  the 
methods  employed  was  to  pay  interest 
at  the  rate  of  six  per  cent,  per  annum, 
on  all  warrants  or  orders  for  which  the 
treasurer  had  no  funds  on  hand  to  meet. 
This  was  partially  a  success,  the  credit 
of  the  county  being  strengthened. 

In  December,  1852,  Jasper  M.  Terry 
became  associate  justice  of  this  court, 
in  place  of  Jacob  Lurton,  entering  upon 
the  duties  of  his  office  at  once.  The 
question  now  came  up  before  this  court 
of  the  county  subscribing  the  sum  of 
$50,000  in  bonds  toward  the  building  of 
the  Jacksonville  &  Carrollton  railroad 
and  it  was  placed  before  the  people  who 
voted  upon  it  on  the  26th  of  March, 
1853,  and  a  majority  of  the  voters  of 
the  county  being  in  favor  of  the  said 
subscription,  the  court 

"Ordered  that  George  E.  Warren,  county 
judge,  or  his  successor  in  office,  be,  and  he  is 
hereby,  authorized  and  empowered  to  sub- 
scribe, on  behalf  of  Jersey  county,  500 
shares,  equal  to  $50,000  of  the  capital 
stock  of  said  company,  and  to  issue  the  bonds 
of  the  county,  in  sums  not  less  than  $50,  bear- 
ing six  percent,  interest,  payable  annually, 


and  redeemable  in  the  year  (if  our  Lord,  one 
thousand  eight  hundred  and  seventy-rive 
(1875),  to  pay  such  subscription  in  such  in- 
stallments as  may  lie  called  for  by  said  com- 
pany." 

On  Monday,  December  5,  1863,  the 
term  of  the  office  of  the  judge  and  asso- 
ciate justices  having  expired,  George 
E.  Warren  having  been  re-elected  to  the 
position  of  county  judge,  and  Jasper  M. 
Terry  to  that  of  associate  justice,  to- 
gether with  Charles  H.  Bowman,  the 
other  newly  elected  associate-justice, 
came  together,  and  presenting  their 
commissions,  and  having  been  duly 
sworn,  opened  court  in  form. 

It  now  becoming  necessary  to  have 
larger  accommodations  for  the  paupers, 
the  court  looked  around  fora  proper  and 
suitable  place. 

In  September,  1854,  the  court  pur- 
chased of  .lames  C.  Graham, 20  acres  of 
land  off  of  the  west  side  of  the  farm 
owned  by  the  said  Graham,  lying  east 
of  Jerseyville,  on  the  Carlinville  road, 
and  including  the  house  fronting  on  said 
road,  together  with  the  orchard  and 
other  improvements.  The  sum  paid 
was  $2,000.  This  was  used  as  the  poor- 
house,  as  soon  as  possession  was  had. 

At  the  meeting  of  the  county  court, 
held  in  December,  1856,  J.  Murray 
Bacon  succeeded  C.  H.  Bowman  as  asso- 
ciate justice. 

On  Thursday,  Sept.  the  10th,  1857,  the 
Jacksonville,  Alton  &  St.  Louis  railroad 
company  presented  a  request  ''that  the 
court  issue  bonds  to  said  company  for 
the  amount  of  the  capital  stock,  $50,000, 
subscribed  by  the  county  of  Jersey  to 
the  said  Jacksonville,  Alton  &  St.  Louis 
railroad  company,  "agreeably  to  the  pro- 
visions   of  an   act  of  the  legislature  of 


the  state  of  Illinois."  In  accordance 
the  court  made  the  following  order. 

"  It  is  therefore  ordered,  that  said  bonds  be 
issued  in  behalf  of  said  county,  for  the  sum  of 
$50,000,  in  sums  of  $500  each,  bearing  date  in 
this  day,  and  payable  at  the  American  Ex- 
change bank,  in  the  city  of  New  York,  on  the 
1st  day  of  March,  1875,  with  interest  at  the 
rate  of  six  per  cent,  per  annum,  payable  on  the 
1st  day  of  March  in  each  and  every  succeeding 
year,  at  the  said  American  Exchange  bank. 
And  that  the  judge  and  associate  justices  of 
the  court  sign  said  bonds,  and  that  the  same 
be  attested  by  the  clerk  of  the  court,  under 
tin- seal  thereof.  And  that  the  clerk  of  this 
court  sign  the  interest  warrants,  to  be  attached 
thereto,  for  the  accruing  interest  on  each  of 
said  bonds,  and  deliver  said  bonds  to  the  said 
company  upon  the  receipt  of  the  certificate  of 
stock,  to  which  the  said  county  of  Jersey  is 

entitled,  by  virtue  of  their  said  subscription." 

At  the  December  session  of  the  county 

court  for  the  year  1857,  there  was  an 
entire  change  in  the  composition  of  the 
same.  At  that  time,  0.  P.  Powel,' 
county  judge,  Richard  R.  Ely  and  Wil- 
liam Williams,  associate  justices,  pre- 
sented their  commissions,  filed  their 
official  bonds,  aud  being  duly  qualified, 
entered  upon  the  discharge  id'  their 
duties. 

With  the  December  term  of  1861,  came 
a  new  county  court,  consisting  of  Rich- 
ard I.  Lowe,  county  judge,  Jacob  Lur- 
ton  and  Larkin  Richardson,  associate 
justices.  In  I860,  at  the  June  term  of 
this  court,  $3, 4(H)  was  placed  in  Un- 
hands of  Richard  I.  Lowe,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  making  the  necessary  additions 
and  repairs  to  the  courthouse  according 
to  plans  and  specifications  submitted  by 
William  Embley,  and  adopted  by  the 
court,  the  additions  to  be  made  by  Em- 
bley &  Coddington. 

Upon  Thursday,  Sept.  22,  1864,   at  a 


90 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


special  session,  the  following  was  spread 
upon  the  records: 

••Whereas,  upon  the  representation  of  many 
of  the  citizens,  who  are  large  tax-payers  in  the 
county,  that  by  the  offering  of  a  bounty  of 
$50.00  to  encourage  enlistments,  a  draft 
to  lill  the  required  quota  of  Jersey  county 
may  he  averted,  and  at  the  earnest  request  of 
such  citizens,  a  special  term  of  the  court  is 
called  on  this  day.  And  the  court  bei.ig  satis- 
fied that  it  is  the  general  wish  of  the  tax-pay- 
ers of  the  county,  that  enlistments  should  be 
encouraged,  both  by  individual  and  county 
bounties;  therefore, 

'•It  is  ordered,  that  the  sum  of  $10,000.00 
be  and  the  same  is  hereby  appropriated 
by  the  county  court  of  Jersey  county,  for  the 
purpose  of  paying  a  bounty  of  $60.00  to 
each  person  who  shall  volunteer  from  Jersey 
county  on  or  after  the  19th  day  of  September, 
18U4,  until  her  quota  shall  be  Idled. 

A  special  le,vy  of  a  tax  was  ordered  to 
meet  this  demand  upon  the  finances  of 
the  county,  of  50  cents  on  a  dollar. 

A  committee,  consisting  of  William 
Shcpard,  John  S.  White  and  H.  O. 
Goodrich,  were  appointed  to  inquire  in- 
to and  report  to  the  court  the  names  of 
the  parties  entitled  to  the  bounty,  who, 
on  the  10th  day  of  December,  1864, 
made  the  following  report: 

"  Your  committee  appointed  to  ascertain 
who  were  entitled  to  receive  the  bounty  ap- 
propriated by  your  honorable  body  for  such  as 
would  volunteer  in  the  service  of  the  United 
States  and  be  credited  to  the  various  precincts 
of  Jersey  county,  thereby  relieving  the  county 
from  the  hardships  of  the  recent  draft,  would 
respectfully  beg  leave  to  report  that  in  their 
opinion  all  members  of  the  144th  regiment, 
stationed  at  Alton,  who  are  credited  to  the 
county,  are  entitled  to  and  should  receive  said 
bounty  of  $.")0.00  each,  the  names  of  all, 
or  nearly  all  so  credited  are  herewith  submit- 
ted, and  credits  certified  to  by  the  adjutant- 
general  of  the  state. 

"  We  would  further  recommend  that  the 
same  bounty  be  paid   lo  the  following  parties, 


who  have  enlisted  since  the  issuing  of  your 
order,  in  the  (list  regiment,  and  been  credited 
to  the  county,  as  shown  by  accompanying  cer- 
tificate. (Here  follows  the  list  of  volunteers.) 
"  Believing,  as  we  do,  that  the  parties  above 
specified  have,  by  their  voluntary  acts,  relieved 
the  county  you  have  the  honor  to  represent 
in  a  most  unprecedented  manner  from  the 
hardships  necessarily  attending  a  draft,  and 
which  has  borne  so  heavily  on  other  counties 
in  our  district,  we  respectfully  renew  our 
recommendation  that  the  bounty  be  paid, 
feeling  sure  the  people  of  this  county  will 
sanction  and  approve  your  action  in  these 
premises." 

The  court  approved  the  report,  and 
ordered  the  bounty  paid  as  recom- 
mended. There  were  249  names  on  the 
list,  all  but  five  being  in  the  ranks  of 
the  144th  Reg.  of  HI.  Inf. 

The  court  that  came  into  existence  in 
Dec,  1865,  was  composed  of  tbe  follow- 
ing gentlemen — O.  P.  Powel,  county 
judge;  Phineas  Eldredge  and  William 
H.  Allen,  associate  justices. 

On  Monday,  December  6,  1869,  J.  M. 
Hurd,  county  judge;  Caleb  Noble  and 
G.  W.  Gorin,  associate  justices,  entered 
upon  the  duties  of  the  county  court, 
having  been  elected  to  those  offices  at 
the  regular  election  that  fall.  Before 
this  court,  on  the  9th  day  of  Septem- 
ber, 1871,  came  William  Shephard,  and 
made  an  offer  to  the  court  to  pay  the 
sum  of  $12,750,  in  cash,  for  the  500 
shares  of  stock  in  the  St.  Louis,  Jack- 
sonville and  Chicago  railroad,  succes- 
cors  to  the  Tonica  and  Petersburg  and 
Jacksonville,  Alton  and  St.  Louis  rail- 
road, belonging  to  the  county  of  Jersey, 
in  right  of  the  $50,000  subscribed  to  the 
capital  stock  of  the  said  company,  as 
previously  mentioned.  This  offer,  ap- 
pearing to  be  advantageous  to  the  coun- 
ty, it  was  accepted  and  the  clerk  au- 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


91 


thorized  to  make  out  and  sign  the  re- 
quisite papers  necessary  to  vest  the 
title  of  the  same  in  the  said  William 
Shephard. 

Robert  M.  King  succeeded  J.  M.  Hurd 
as  county  judge,  at  the  December  ses- 
sion, 1872,  the  associate  justices  being 
Caleb  Noble  and  William  A.  Scott. 
They  at  once  entered  upon  the  discharge 
of  the  functions  of  the  court  according 
to  the  law  governing  this  bod.y  Some  re- 
pairs were  made  upon  the  court  house 
by  this  court,  and  a  bell  purchased  and 
placed  on  that  building  in  September, 
1873.  This  was  the  last  county  court 
held  as  the  county  government,  the  con- 
stitution of  the  state,  adopted  in  1870, 
making  change  in  the  form  of  govern- 
ment and  originating  the  rule  of 

THE  COUNTY  COMMISSIONERS. 

The  first  meeting  of  this  board  was 
held  on  Monday,  in  Jan.,  1874,  they 
not  being  able  to  organize  at  the  regular 
time,  December,  on  account  of  some 
lack  of  action  on  the  part  of  the  legis- 
lature in  passing  the  necessary  laws. 
The  board  comprised  the  following  gen- 
tlemen: William  H.  Allen,  Edwin  Co- 
lean  and  Isaac  R.  Ely.  These  parties 
at  once  proceeded  to  cast  lots  as  to  the 
lsngth  of  time  each  would  occupy  the 
office,  when  William  H.  Allen  drew  the 
one  year  term;  Edwin  Colean  the  two 
year  and  I.  R.  Ely  the  three  year.  On 
organization,  Isaac  R.  Ely  was  declared 
chairman,  and  the  board  commenced 
the  consideration  of  the  business  of  the 
county.  The  first  business  brought  be- 
fore them  was  the  examination  and  ap- 
proval of  the  reports  of  the  various  road 
supervisors,  they  having  jurisdiction 
over  those  officers  at  that  time. 


The  boards  of  county  commissioners 
for  the  succeeding  years  were  as  fol- 
lows : 

1875 — Isaac  R.  Ely,  Edwin  Colean 
and  G.  S.  Compton,  with  the  first-named 
in  the  chair.  The  first  meeting  was 
held  on  the  7th   day  of  Dec,  1874. 

1876 — Isaac  R.  Ely,  G.  S.  Compton 
and  William  H.  Fulkerson.  The  first 
meeting  was  convened  on  the  6th  day 
of  Dec,  1875,  and  G.  S.  Compton  was 
chosen  chairman  for  the  ensuing  year. 

1877— G.  S.  Compton.  W.  H.  Fulker- 
son and  John  W.  Evans,  with  Mr. 
Compton  again  in  the  chair.  First 
meeting  held  on  Monday,  Dec  4,  1S76. 

1878— W.  L.  Ruyle,  John  W.  Evans 
and  Prentiss  D.  Cheney,  the  latter 
elected  to  fill  vacancy  occasioned  by 
the  resignation  of  W.  H.  Fulkerson. 
The  last-mentioned  was  elected  chair- 
man for  the  year.  The  first  meeting- 
was,  held  on  the  6th  of  Jan.,  1878. 

1879— W.  L.  Ruyle,  J.  W.  Evans  and 
S.  B.  Foree,  with  Col.  Ruyle  in  the 
chair.  At  a  special  meeting  held  on 
the  25th  of  Feb.,  of  this  year,  the 
chairman  stated  the  object  of  the  meet- 
ing to  be  to  obey  the  summons  of  the 
supreme  court,  on  mandamus,  to  ap- 
point commissioners  to  divide  the  county 
into  towns  under  the  township  organi- 
zation act.  It  seems  that  on  the  3d  of 
Sept.,  1878,  a  petition  numerously 
signed  was  presented  by  Henry  Slover, 
asking  the  board  to  order  the  submission 
of  the  question  of  township  organization 
to  the  people  of  Jersey  county.  The 
commissioners  accordingly  ordered  the 
submission  of  the  question  at  the  next 
general  election.  At  that  time  it  was 
found  that  the  total  number  of  votes  cast 
was  2858,  of  which    1459  were   for  town- 


92 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


ship  organization,  and  1399  against  it, 
but  because  of  some  informality  in  the 
returns  from  Grafton  precinct,  the  vote 
of  that  sub-division  was  not  counted 
which  made  the  vote  stand  as  follows: 
For  township  organization,  1268,  and 
against  township  organization,  1295. 
The  trouble  that  grew  out  of  this  ruling 
was  carried  to  the  supreme  court  of  the 
state,  hence  the  above  action  of  that 
body,  in  ordering  the  appointment  of 
commissioners.  E.  M.  Fuller,  George 
H.  Jacks  and  Phineas  Eldredge,  were 
selected  as  the  parties  to  divide  the 
county  into  townships  for  the  purpose 
of  carrying  out  the  wishes  of  the  people. 
They  made  their  report,  at  the  March 
term  of  the  commissioners  court,  in 
which  they  recommend  the  following 
subdivisions: 

Piasa — embracing  all  of  T.  7,  north, 
R.  10  west. 

Fidelity— T.  8  north,  R.  10  west. 

Ruyle— fract'l  T.  9  north,  R.  10  west. 

Jersey — all  of  T.  8  north,  R.  11  west, 
and  fractional  T.  9  north,   R.  11  west. 

.Mississippi — T.  7  north,  R.  11  west. 

Elsah— fractional  T.  6  north,  R.  11 
west. 

Grafton — all  of  fractional  T.  6  north, 
and  Rs.  12  and  13  west. 

Otter  Creek— T.  7  north,  R.  12  west. 

English— T.  8  north,  R.  12  west. 

Illinois — fractional  T.  7  north,  R.  13 
West. 

Richwoods — fractional  Ts.  8  and  9 
north,  Rs.  13  and  14  west. 

This  report  was  adopted  and  the  com- 
missioners ordered  an  election  for 
county  supervisors,  and  upon  the  25th 
of  March,  i879,  the  court  of  county  com- 
missioners adjourned  sine  die,  and  were 
succeeded  by  the 


BOARD    OF    SUPERVISORS. 

The  first  meeting  of  this  body  was 
on  the  14th  of  April,  1879,  when  the  fol- 
lowing supervisors  appeared,  presented 
their  credentials,  and  after  due  qualifi- 
cation took  their  seats: 

Walter  E.  Carlin,  Henry  J.  Hoffman, 
Lewis  Elliott, William  A.  Scott,  Addison 
Greene,  Samuel  B.  Foree,  E.  Meysen- 
burg,  C.  C.  Buzby,  S.  W.  Rogers,  J.  L. 
English,  J.  G.  Erwin. 

On  organization,  Walter  E.  Carlin 
was  chosen  chairman. 

The  following  have  been  the  various 
boards  of  supervisors  of  Jersey  county, 
for  each  and  every  year. 

1880— W.  E.  Carlin,  J.  L.  Reed,  B. 
F.  Kelly,  I.  R.  Ely,  M.  V.  Hamilton, 
James  R.  Livingstone,  C.  C.  Buzby,  Ad- 
dison Greene,  S.  W.  Rogers,  J.  G.  Er- 
win, E.  Meysenburg. 

W.  E.  Carlin  was  duly  elected  chair- 
man for  the  year. 

1881— This  board  met  for  the  first 
time  on  the  6th  of  June,  when  there 
were  present  the  following  supervisors: 

W.  E.  Carlin,  P.  D.  Cheney,  A.  M. 
Slaten,  C.  B.  Eaton,  W.  H.  Allen,  Jr., 
B.  F.  Kelly,  John  A.  Cory,  M.  V.  Ham- 
ton,  Archie  Craig,  Elias  Palmer,  J.  G. 
Erwin,  CO.  Buzby. 

W.  E.  Carlin  was  nominated  and  re- 
elected unanimously  to  the  chairman- 
ship. 

1882— W.  E.  Carlin,  M.  J.  Richey, 
M.  V.  Hamilton,  C.  B.  Eaton,  Archie 
Craig,  Milo  Landon,  N.  M.  Lurton,  J. 
K.  Cadwalader,  Elias  Palmer,  C.  P. 
Stafford,  B.  F.  Kelly. 

W.  E.  Carlin  was  again  re-elected 
chairman  of  the  board  for  the  ensuing 
year,  at  the  meeting  which  convened 
June  6th,  for  the  first  time. 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


93 


1883 — The  board  for  this  year  met  for 
the  first  time  on  Tuesday,  June  26, 
1888,  and  re-elected  W.  E.  Carlin  as 
chairman.  The  board  consisted  of  the 
following  gentlemen: 

W.  E.  Carlin,  M.  J.  Richey,  Ephraim 
Chappel,  James  Segraves,  M.  V.  Ham- 
ilton, Archie  Craig,  ("has.  Ruyle,  Milo 
Landon,  Isaac  N.  Moore,  A.  J.  Thomp- 
son, ('.  I'.  Stafford,  J.  K.  Cadwalader. 

1884 — First  meeting  on  the  3d  of 
June,  when  the  following  supervisors 
took  their  seats: 

Walter  E.  Carlin,  M.  J.  Richey,  M. 
V.    Hamilton,   Andrew  J.    Thompson, 


J.  M.  Segraves,  C.  P.  Stafford,  Geo.  W. 
Reed,  II.  V.  Vorhees,  N.  T.  Rogers,  V. 
L.  Dodge,  Lloyd  T.  English,  Isaac  X. 
Moore.  . 

1885 — The  present  board  of  supervis- 
ors, held  their  first  meeting  on  the  2d 
of  June,  when  the  following  gentlemen 
took  their  places: 

W.  11.  Bartlett,  B.  F.  Kelly,  V.  L. 
Dodge,  H.  Y.  Vorhees,  Geo.  H.  Van- 
Horne,  N.  T.  Rogers,  Lloyd  T.  English, 
C.  P.  Stafford,  John  L.  Reed,  W.  E. 
Carlin,  F.  J.  Mains,  John  A.  Kraus. 

\V.  E.  Carlin  was  again  chosen  to  fill 
the  chair  for  the  vear. 


GHAPTRR    VI. 


OTHER  OFFICIAL  MATTER. 


In  this  chapter  it  is  designed  to  pre- 
sent the  various  official  matters,  which, 
although  too  brief  to  place  in  a  chapter 
separately,  are  too  important  to  be 
ignored.  These  items  have  been  mostly 
gatheredfrom  the  records  of  thecounty, 
although  some  have  been  gained  in 
fragments  during  interviews  with  those 
familiar  with  the  subject. 

MATRIMONIAL. 

This  is  a  matter  which  always  attracts 
attention  when  treated  historically,  and 
is  especially  interesting  to  the  younger 
portion  of  the  community,  who,  their 
time  not  yet  having  come,  still  walk  "in 
maiden  meditation  fancy  free,"  dream- 
ing of  the  prince  that  will  "a  wooing" 
come,  or  picture  the  charms  of  the  fu- 
ture mistress  of  their  household. 


In  various  lands  the  marriage  rite  is 
solemnized  in  different  ways  and  by  dif- 
ferent ceremonies;  in  all,  the  acts  of  the 
contracting  parties  must  be  understood 
by  each,  and  by  the  community  in  which 
they  live,  as  being  a  mutual  agreement 
to  hold  relations  toward  one  another  as 
man  and  wife.  In  this  state  a  license 
has  always  been  required,  although  it  is 
not  in  all  the  states,  and  thus  from  the 
records  in  most  all  instances  we  can 
trace  all  the  earlier  marriages  of  the 
county.  In  this  county,  it  is  impossible 
to  do  so,  as  the  first  eighteen  years  of 
the  county's  existence  the  records  were 
kept  in  what  is  now  the  county  of 
Greene.  Therefore,  for  the  record  of 
these  the  reader  is  referred  to  the  hist- 
ory of  that  county  for  them. 


94 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


In  early  days,  young  men  and  maidens 
were  not  married  in  the  grand  style 
which  usually  characterizes  the  mar- 
riages of  the  present  period.  They  did 
not  wait  until  riches  came  before  they 
married,  as  is  too  much  the  case  in  this 
money-loving  age,  but  chose  their  mate 
without  regard  to  this  point,  and  settled 
down  to  live  in  simple  and  comfortable 
style,  and  they  generally  lived  happily 
and  gained  the  respect  of  their  neighbors 
by    attending  to    their    own    business. 

There  were  no  "diamond  weddings" 
in  those  days,  and  the  extravagance  that 
now  often  attends  the  marriage  cere- 
mony was  then  unheard  of.  The  old 
folks  were  plain,  economical  and  hos- 
pitable people,  and  the  young  folks 
were  imbued  with  the  same  attributes 
that  characterized  their  fathers  and 
mothers.  They  were  willing  to  com- 
mence housekeeping  in  a  style  corres- 
ponding with  their  means,  trusting  to 
the  future  for  larger  houses  and  more 
expensive  furniture. 

There  are  many  rich  anecdotes  of  the 
rustic  marriages  in  early  days,  but  where 
possible  they  are  treated  of  in  connec- 
tion with  the  history  of  the  townships 
in  which  they  occurred.  How,  when 
the  time  came,  the  blushing  and  rosy 
maid  would  drop  her  milk  pails,  throw 
off  her  apron  and  tying  on  her  sunbon- 
net,  clamber  into  the  lumber  box  wagon, 
while  ''John"  in  his  overalls  and  farm 
boots  would  take  up  the  whip,  and  the 
oxen  would  move  off  with  the  bridal 
procession  to  the  "Squire's"  who  did 
the  "jining  of  the  knot." 

Among  the  amusing  stories  told  of 
some  parties  in  the  county,  away  back 
in  the  misty  past,  is  one  where  a  country 
couple  made  their  way  to  one  of  the  in- 


cipient villages  in  the  county  in  quest 
of  some  one  who  was  authorized  to  tie 
the  hymeneal  knot.  They  went  to  a 
young  storekeeper,  who,  in  the  way  of  a 
practical  joke,  referred  them  to  the 
postmaster,  stating  that  the  government 
authorized  him  to  officiate  upon  such 
occasions.  When  the  postmaster  was 
seen  he  disclaimed  any  knowledge  of 
such  authority,  and  said  that  he  had 
only  been  in  the  employment  of  the 
government  a  short  time  and  was  not 
yet  "quite  up  to  snuff."  But  if  the 
merchant  said  he  could,  he  supposed  it 
was  so.  Accordingly  the  couple  were 
ranged  up  in  front  of  the  postmaster, 
who  in  the  most  approved  style  im- 
pressed them  with  the  solemnity  of  the 
occasion,  warned  them  to  "let  no  man 
put  asunder  what  he  had  jined,"  and  in 
closing  pronouced  them  "Mr.  and  Mrs., 
as  provided  by  the  United  States  postal 
regulations.  Go  your  way,  keep  your 
mouths  shut,  and  you'll  be  happy." 
As  they  turned  to  leave,  he  remarked, 
"only  a  dollar  a  piece,  please." 

The  first  marriage  in  Jersey  county 
after  the  organization  of  the  same,  ac- 
cording to  the  records,  was  that  which 
united  the  destinies  of  John  P.  Allcorn 
and  Mary  Hawkins,  the  lisence  for 
which  was  issued  Oct.  17,  1839;  the 
ceremon}'  was  performed  by  David 
Myers,  J.  P. 

The  other  marriages  recorded  are  as 
follows: 

Thomas  Jackson  and  Rebecca  Cowan, 
issued  Oct.  17,  1839,  married  by  David 
Myers,  J.  P. 

David  Arnspiger  and  Jane  Stephens, 
married  Oct.  20,  1839,  by  David  Myers, 
J.  P. 

Nathan   C.    Swann    and    Mary    Ann 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


95 


Patton,  married  Oct.  31,  1839,  by  John 
Keys,  J.  P. 

James  G.  Swann  and  Elizabeth  A. 
Rolston,  married  Oct.  31,  1839,  by  John 
Keys,  J.  I". 

Joel  Elledgcand  Mrs.  Lucinda  Davis, 
married  Dec.  10,  1839,  by  Urial  Downy, 
J.  P. 

Henry  Marshall  and  Barbara  Arin- 
hart,  married  Jan.  6,  1840,  by  David 
Myers,  J.  P. 

Josiah  L.  Draper  and  Rachel  ('.  Bur- 
ton, married  Jan.  9,  1840,  by  Jos.  G. 
Scott,  J.  P. 

Jackson  Williams  and  Maigaret  Smith 
married  Jan.  2,  1840,  by  Reuben  S. 
Spencer,  J.  P. 

Thornton  Hugs  and  Elizabeth  Wag- 
goner, married  Jan.  23,  1840,  by  Thos. 
McDow,  J.  P. 

Jeremiah  Panick  and  Evaline  Fuller, 
married  Jan.  26,  1840,  by  Joseph  G. 
Scott,  J.  P. 

Solomon  Heter  and  Jane  Giles,  mar- 
ried Jan.  31,  1840,  by  Jos.  Fowler,  min- 
ister. 

Samuel  Piper  and  Levina  Rutherford, 
married  Jan.  Hi,  1840,  by  P.  Downy,  J. P. 

Hardin  Rowdon  and  Lucretia  George, 
married  Feb.  2,  1840,  by  Reuben  S. 
Spencer,  J.  P. 

Robt.  P.  Murphy  and  Mary  Ann 
Clark  married  Feb.  20,  1840,  by  Amos 
Dodge,  preacher. 

Abraham  Borer  and  Cyntha  E.  Jon- 
nessee  married  March  1,  1*40,  by  Geo. 
W.  Powder,  J.  P. 

Isaac  Harbert  and  Mrs.  H.  M.  Shull, 
married  April  24,  1840,  by  Joseph  Fow- 
ler, minister. 

Richard  Arnold  and  Jane  Cowen, 
married  April  8,  1840,  by  Geo  W.  Low- 
der,  J.  P. 


Christopher  Hirchna  and  Elizabeth 
Thurston,  married  April  23,  1840,  by 
Nathaniel  Hamilton,  J.  P. 

Aaron  Wood  and  Nancy  E.  Phelps, 
married  April  28,  1840,  by  Reuben  S. 
Spencer,  J.  P. 

Albertus  Lofton  and  Lucinda  Chap- 
pell,  married  March  12,  1840,  by  Thos. 
McDow,  J.  P. 

John  Parker  and  Mary  Ann  ('base, 
married  May  21,  1840,  by  Thomas  Mc- 
Dow, J.  P. 

Augustin  Stralder  and  Polly  Lance, 
married  April  29,  1840,  by  J.  Keys,  J.  P. 

William  Lee  and  Hily  Dunham,  mar- 
ried May  14,  1840,  by  David  Myers,  J.  P. 

David  McFain  and  Mary  Cooper, 
married  June  IS,  1840,  by  Geo.  W. 
Lowder,  J.  P. 

William  Lavender  and  Margaret  H. 
Little,  married  June  15,  1840,  by  David 
Myers,  J.  P. 

Edward  S.  Atkinson,  and  Sarah  Rog- 
ers, married  July  13,  1840,  by  Joseph 
Fowler,  minister. 

Joseph  Cope  and  Martha  Bullard, 
married  July  1(5,  1840,  by  N.  Hamilton, 
.1.  P. 

Perley  Silloway  and  Harriet  Wilk- 
ins,  married  May  28,  1840,  by  Joseph 
Crabb,  J.  P. 

Stanford  Moore  and  Eliza  Watson, 
married  July  26,  1840,  by  Geo.  Hoff- 
man, J.  P. 

Henry  H.  Cooper  and  Mrs.  Mary 
Burrett,  married  Aug.  18,  1840,  by  Reu- 
ben Spencer,  J.  P. 

Albert  G.  Minor  and  Abigail  C. 
Tyler,  married  Aug.  13,  1840,  by  Geo. 
Hoffman,  J.  P. 

George  Stafford  and  Ann  Elizabeth 
Cresswell,  married  Aug.  25,  1840,  by 
Silas  Grain,  J.  P. 


',16 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


Caleb  Noble  and  Susannah  E.  Gill- 
ham,  married  Sept.  11,  1840,  by  William 
Jerome,  minister. 

Vincent  Martin  and  Lucinda  Hughs, 
married  Sept.  24,  1840,  by  Silas  ('rain, 
J.  P. 

Robert  Williams  and  Martha  Smith, 
married  Oct.  1,  1840,  by  Reuben  Spen- 
cer, .1.  P. 

E.  Miller  and  Judeth  Amanda  Winne- 
ford,  married  Oct.  2,  1840,  by  Amos 
P.  Brown,  minister. 

John  Clifford  and  Hetty  L.  W.  Van 
Hart,  married  April  15,  1840,  by  James 
Harriott,  J.  P. 

William  Rogers  and  Elizabeth  Ham- 
ilton, married  Oct.  15,  1840,  by  Moses 
Leiiien,  minister. 

Philip  Darr  and  Mary  E.  Jonnessee, 
married  Oct.  29,  1840,  by  Geo.  W.  Low- 
der,  J.  P. 

James  Anderson  and  Hannah  Finney, 
married  Nov.  5,  1840,  by  John  Keys, 
J.  P. 

Thomas  Smiril  and  Euphemia Dough- 
erty, married  Oct.  22,  1840,  by  William 
Jerome,  minister. 

William  P.  Pitman  and  Mary  Rogers, 
married  Dec,  2,  1840,  by  W.  S.  Mc- 
Murry, minister. 

Joseph  Parker  and  Sarah  Beeman, 
married  Nov.  15, 1840,  by  Thos.  McDow, 
J.  P. 

Samuel  Ralston  and  Margaret  War- 
ren, married  Dec.  :!,  1840,  by  W.  S.  Mc- 
Murry, minister. 

James  Mag'ee  and  Mary  J.  Bramlett, 
married  December  8,  1840,  by  Luke 
Lyons,  minister. 

James  Swain  and  Hannah  Wat  ley. 
married  Dec.  13,  1840,  by  James  Har- 
riott, J.  P. 

Abram  Rowdon  and  Tamelia  Walden, 


married  Dec.  17,  1840,  by  Thos.  L.  Mc- 
Gill,  J.  P. 

John  N.  English  and  Elizabeth  Ann 
Belt,  married  Dec.  17,  1840,  by  W.  S. 
McMurry,  minister. 

J.  I.  Hupp  and  Elizabeth  P.  Abraham 
married  Dec.  25,  1840,  by  W.  S.  Mc- 
Murry, minister. 

William  K.  Miner  and  Mary  Ann  Sal- 
ly, married  Dec.  24,  1S40,  by  Geo.  Hoff- 
man, J.  P. 

William  W.  Botkin  and  Susanna  Sim- 
mons, married  Dec.  10,  1840,  by  Henry 
Hewberry,  minister. 

Hiram  H.  Adams  ami  Elizabeth  Ham- 
ilton, married  Dee.  20,  1840,  by  David 
Myers,  J.  P. 

The  following  persons  were  married 
in  the  year  1841: 

Hiram  English  ami  Mary  Ann  Grimes, 
Jan.  3,  by  Horatio  N.  Belt,  J.  P. 

William  Willis  and  Altha  Ann  Car- 
son, Jan.  7,  by  Thos.  Mellow,  J.  P. 

Elisha  H.  Barton  and  Rebecca  Lof- 
ton, Jan.  19,  by  Silas  Crain,  J.  P. 

Ephraim  Carter  and  Elizabeth  Sey- 
more,  Jan.  21,  by  Uriah  Downey,  J.  P. 

William  Henry  Frost  and  Rebecca 
Miner,  Jan.  28,  by  Luke  Lyons,  min- 
ister. 

Samuel  Turner  and  Sally  Jane  Spen- 
cer, Jan.  17,  by  Silas  ('rain,  J.  P. 

William  Hughs  and  Eunice  Burley, 
Feb.  4,  by  Thos.  McDow,  J.  P. 

William  Post  and  Hannah  W.  Cal- 
houn, Feb.  4,  by  James  Hartiott,  J.  P. 

James  H.  Maupin  and  Maay  Whis- 
man,  Feb.  4,  by  Geo.  W.  Lowden,  J.  P. 

Herrend  Gardner  and  Nancy  Spangle, 
Feb.  11,  by  Thos.  McDow,  J.  P. 

William  S.  Wilson  and  Mary  Ann 
Smalley,  Feb.  14,  by  W.  S.  McMurry, 
minister. 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


97 


Hugh  Rusk  and  Ellen  Barr,  Feb.  14, 
by  R.  S.  Spencer,  J.  P. 

David  Kirkwood  and  Elizabeth 
Cowen,  Feb.  18,  by  D.  Myers,  J.  P. 

Jonathan  Plowman  and  Elizabeth 
Crull,  March  4,  by  Silas  Crain,  J.  P. 

Dan'l  K.  Fitzgerald  and  Catharine 
M.  Skeene,  March  11,  by  William  F. 
Jarrett,  minister. 

Joseph  Fowler  and  Eliza  Ann  Brown, 
March  28,  by  L.  Lyons,  minister. 

Joseph  Brown  and  Annis  Lee,  March 
30,  by  Horatio  N.  Belt,  J.  P. 

William  Millross  and  Maria  Hobbs, 
April  S,  by  William  Jerome,   minister. 

Jackson  Calfee  and  Martha  Blalock, 
April  14,  by  Joseph  Crabb,  J.  P. 

James  A.  Goodrich  and  Esther  Bush, 
April  22,  by  L.  Lyons,  minister. 

Philip  R.  Cook  and  Elizabeth  Sam- 
son, May  23,  by  William  Jerome  min- 
ister. 

David  Waddle  and  Mrs.  Esther  Parker 
June  23,  by  John  Stafford,  J.  P. 

David  T.  Bonnell  and  Sally  Ann  Kirby 
June  3,  by  Luke  Lyons,  minister. 

Stephen  Tunnell  and  Elizabeth  Rice, 
June  12,  by  Joseph  P.  Tyler,  J.  P. 

('bland  W.  Curry  and  Eliza  Springale, 
July  8,  by  Rev.  Wm.  Wilson. 

Milton  Richey  and  Margaret  Courts, 
July  4,  by  Silas  Crain,  J.  P. 

Felix  Staggs  and  Mary  Catlett,  July 
24,  by  Joseph  Crabb,  J.  P. 

Richard  I.  Simmons  and  Margaret 
Davis,  Aug.  1,  by  Rev.  W.  S.  Mc- 
Murry. 

Jacob  VanDike  and  Mrs. Sarah  French 
July  31,  by  Rev.  W.  S.  McMurry. 

Wilson  Davis  and  Margaret  Arin- 
spiger,  Aug.  5,  by  Rev.  C.  I.  Gardiner. 

Joseph  Beggs  and  Permiah  Hinson, 
July  29,  by  Geo.  W.  Lowder,  J.  P. 


Miles  Misenhermer  and  Margaret  F. 
Jarrett,  Aug.  5,  Rev.  Wm.  F.  Terrall. 

Vincent  Lee  and  Prisilla  Johnson, 
Aug.  30,  by  Geo.  W.  Lowder,  J.  P. 

David  Sego  and  Elizabeth  Mankins, 
Sept.  7,  by  Geo.  W.  Lowder,  J.  P. 

William  B.  Nevis  and  Laura  Goodrich, 
Sept.  9,  by  Rev.  Luke  Lyons. 

John  W.  Farron and  Caroline  Pearson, 
Sept.  80,  by  Samuel  Haycroft. 

Irvine  White  and  Matilda  Quigley, 
Oct,  3,  by  Silas  Crain,  J.  P. 

George  Hoffman  and  Mary  Ann  Koll- 
enborn,  Sept,  30,  by  Joseph  Crabb,  J.  P. 

Benj  C.  Rhodes  and  Amanda  Darr, 
October  7,  by  Geo.  H.  Lowden,  J.  P. 

Abraham  Houser  and  Barbara  A. 
Arinspiger,  October  14,  by  Rev.  Elijah 
Dodson. 

Philip  Pennnington  and  Mary  Ann 
Cummings,  Oct.  10,  by  Rev.  Elijah 
Dodson. 

William  Chappell  and  Elizabeth 
Hooper,  Nov.  7,  by  Geo.  Hoffman,  J.  P. 

Isaac  Elledge  and  Winnefred  A.  Piper. 
Nov.  18,  by  Solomon  Calhoun,  J.  P. 

James  Darr  and  Rachel  Cowen,  Nov. 
21,  by  Geo.  W.  Lowder,  J.  P. 

Richard  J.  Ely  and  Mrs.  Sarah  Grigs- 
by,  Nov.  27,  by  Rev.  Elijah  Dodson. 

William  Kelley  and  Jane  Miller,  Dec. 
9,  by  Rev.  G.  A.  Hamilton. 

John  Massey  and  Maria  Brown,  Dec. 
9,  by  Rev.  Jas.  H.  Dickins. 

Singular  Pence  and  Sarah  A.  Winne- 
ford,  Dec.  13,  by  Jas.  A.  Harriott. 

William  M.  Bailey  and  Mary  Ann 
Parker,  Dec.  16,  by  Rev.    Luke   Lyons. 

Jacob  Rickey  and  Nancy  Higgins,  Dec. 
16,  by  Thos.  L.  McGill,  J.  P. 

Delavin  D.  Wilcox  and  Caroline  E. 
Landon,  Dec.  30,  by  Thos.  L.  McGill. 
J.  P. 


98 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


Henry  Darlington  and  Marian  Noble, 
Dec.  13,  by  Rev.  William  Jerome. 

John  H.  Whitlock  and  Emmaline  My- 
ers, Dec.  16,  by  Benj.  Cleaver,  J.  P. 

William  Lewis  and  Sarah  Smith,  Dec. 
21,  by  Rev.  Henry  Newberry. 

The  following  table  will  show  how  the 
number  of  marriages  varied  witli  each 
year,  and  how  the  market  matrimonial, 
was  affected  by  the  circumstances  of  the 
times: 


1839  from 

Oct   fi 

1862  

127 

1840  

47 

1863  

151 

1S41  

55 

1864  

.  153 

1842  

...  44 

1865  

MS 

1S43  

.  45 

1866  

198 

1844  

50 

1867  

198 

1845  

IS 

1868 

160 

1846  

....  57 

1869  

157 

1884  

77 

1870  ... 

156 

18  tl  

73 

1S71  

IS", 

1S49  

76 

is  72 

124 

1850  

811 

1873 

140 

1851 

73 

1S71 

Hi:', 

1852  .. 

89 

IS  75 

147 

1853   

102 

1876 

157 

1854 

82 

1877 

144 

1855 

101 

1S7S 

L68 

1856 

136 

L879 

161 

1857 

126 

1880 

153 

1858 

123 

1881 

139 

1859 

117 

1882 

1  is 

1860 

751 

1883 

in; 

1861 

221 

1884 

12(1 

RECORDS. 

Shortly  after  the  separation  of  Jersey 
from  Greene  county,  and  its  organiza- 
tion into  a  distinct  sub-division  of  the 
state,  the  county  commissioners  ordered 
the  copying  upon  the  record  books  of 
Jersey  county  all  the  transaction  relat- 
ing to  real  estate  in  Jersey  county,  and 
a  complete  set  of  books  of  this  nature 
were  made  and  are  on  file  in  the  office 
of  the  recorder  of  the  county.  From 
these  it  will  be  seen  that  the  first   deed 


relating  to  land  lying  within  the  present 
limits  of  Jersey  county  was  recorded  in 
Greene  county  on  the  24th  day  of  June, 
1S22.  This  warrantee  deed  bear  the 
date  of  Fel)  7,  1822,  and  was  made  by 
John  Evans  and  Ann  Evans,  his  wife, 
to  Davis  Stockton,  conveying  to  the 
latter  the  east  half  of  the  northeast 
quarter  of  section  11,  and  the  west  half 
of  the  northwest  quarter  of  See.  12,  T. 
8  north,  R.  12  west,  containing  160  acres 
of  land.  The  consideration  was  $160. 
This  instrument  was  acknowledged  be- 
fore Joel  Meacham,  a  justice  of  the 
peace. 

The  first  mortgage  recorded  was  given 
by  Isaac  Piggott  to  John  Evans  and  was 
dated  Feb.  16,  1826,  and  was  for  $800, 
the  security  being  the  <vest  fraction  of 
the  southwest  quarter  of  section  20,  con- 
taining 53.63  acres  ;  and  the  south  frac- 
tion of  the  northeast  quarter  of  section 
30,  containing  103.56;  and  the  north 
fraction  of  the  northeast  quarter  of  sec- 
tion 33,  containing  37.09  acres,  all  ly- 
ing in  T.  9  north,  R.  13  west.  The 
terms  of  this  mortgage  were  that  it  was 
to  he  paid  with  100,000  feet  of  good, 
merchantable  flooring  plank,  to  be  de- 
livered by  said  Piggott,  at  the  rate  of 
10,000  feet  per  year.  It  was  acknowl- 
edged before  Samuel  Lee.  J.  P..  ami 
was  satisfied  in  full,  Nov.  27.  1828. 
This  instrument  was  tiled  for  record 
Feb.  27,  1S26,  in  Greene  county,  and 
transcribed  into  the  records  of  this 
county. 

TOWN    PLATS. 

The  plats  of  the  original  towns  in 
Jersey  county  were  laid  out  and  filed 
for  record  upon  the  dates  given  below. 
To  nearly  all  of  them  additions  have 
since  been  made,  but  space  forbids  the 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


99 


mention  of  them,  and  as  they  are  a 
matter  of  record  it  is  useless. 

Jerseyville,  laid  out  by  John  W. 
Lott,  Edward  M.  Haley  and  Alexander 
H.  Burrett,  Oct.  1,  1834,  and  was  sur- 
veyed by  G.  M.  Richards.  The  plat 
filed  for  record  March  2,  1835. 

Franklin,  tiled  for  record  Aug,  11, 
1836,  by  James  L.  Taylor. 

Grafton,  filed  for  record.  April  15, 
1836,  by  Sarah  Mason,  guardian,  by  her 
attorney,  Perry  Mason. 

Upper  Grafton,  filed  by  David  Pier- 
son  and  Caleb  Stone.  May  2,  1836. 

Fieldon,  filed  by  Robert  Terry.  Aug. 
21,  1837. 

New  Philadelphia,  filed  for  record  by 
William  B.  Little,  Dec.  18,  1837. 

Hartford,  filed  for  record  by  Joseph 
Hawkins,  W.  B.  Canby  and  Levi 
Church,  Oct.. 'in,  1837. 

Rome,  filed  for  record  by  Jay  Daggett, 
it  having  been  laid  out  by  him  Nov.  7, 
1838. 

Fidelity,  tiled  for  record.  June,  1850. 
Joseph  Russell,  proprietor. 

Elsah,  filed  for  record  by  James  Sem- 
ple,  March  7.  1853,  ami  amended  plat 
filed  March  4,  1664. 

Newbern,  filed  for  record  Jan.  10, 
1867,  hy  I.  F.  Gillham,  Marcus  Gill- 
ham,  John  Chambers,  Jr.,  and  Enoch 
Briggs. 

Otterville,  filed  for  record  Nov.  20, 
1867,  hy  the  trustees  of  Hamilton  semi- 
nary, Baptist  and  Cumberland  Presbj  te- 
rian  churches. 

Delhi,  filed  for  record  June  5,  1868, 
by  Sarah  A.  Lurton,  Joseph  X.  Lurton, 
Jacob  M.  Early,  Caroline  S.  Early,  Wil- 
liam A.  Scott  and  Sarah  A.  Scott. 

Kemper,  recorded  November  '■•,  1870, 
W.  H.  H.  Kemper,  proprietor. 


Nelson,  filed  by  T.  J.  Campbell,  Dec. 
1,  1880. 

Dow,  filed  hy  John  II.  McDow  ami 
Medora  A.  McDow,  Oct.  is,  1883. 

Howe  (now  McClusky)  filed  for  record 
by  Hiram  and  Mary  A.  McClusky,  July 
•21.  1883. 

TREASURY. 

The  first  settlement  with  the  treasurer 
of  Jersey  county  was  at  the  December 
session  of  the  county  commissioners' 
court,  in  1841,  and  is  given  here,  as  a 
curiosity. 
Treasurer  in  account  with  Jersey  county: 

Dr. 
To  amount  ree'd  from  collections. . .  S-,072  17 
Amounl   received  from  proceeds 

of  land  sold  for  taxes 95  97 

Amounl    received    from    circuit 

court  clerk 21  00 

AmOunt  from   lisences 25  00 

Cr.  $2,214  44 

By  county  orders  paid. .. .  .-?2,i_;."i  17 
Comm'ns  on  $2,214.14, 

al  -1  per  cent 44  28 

Cash  paid  printer 50 

Balance  on  hand 44  lu 

$2,214   14 

In  order  to  show  the  difference  be- 
tween the  then  and  now,  the  report  of 
County  Treasurer  John  A.  Shepherd  for 
the  year  1884,  is  here  inserted: 
County  Treasurer  in  account  with  Jersey 
county,  1883=1 584; 

Sepi.  10— To  balance  on  hand $5,857  66 

Oct.    L3— Toamtrec.  of  W.E.Carlin  3  75 

Dec.     L— Toamtiec'deol  and  treas       390  83 

Mcli.    LO    To  Co.  Alt'y,  judgment.. 

April  17— To  Co.  Att'y,  judgment. .        808  95 

May    14— To  amt  from  town  col'r. .    14,019  62 

14— To  amt  from  town  col'r. .         15  53 

July    26— To  amt  from  town  col'r...     9,089  78 

26— To  amt  from  town  col'  r. .  77  94 

26— To  amt  from  town  col.  int         47  70 

.lane,  22— Proceeds  sale  of  C.  II....        155  oo 

Total $30,861  76 


100 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


Nov. 


CONTRA. 

21  —  1 5 y  orders  paid. . . 
21— I5y  orders  paid. . . 
21— By  commission.. 
21— By  commission. . 


$3,825  16 

1,018  90 

:!22  75 

5  20 


June    3— By  county  orders  paid —  io,r,07  86 

3— By  county  orders  paid —  1,590  85 

Sept.    8— By  county  orders  paid. . . .  3,833  03 

8— By  county  orders,  paid —  3180 

Bal.  in  hands  of  Treas. .. .  9,836  21 

Total $30,861  76 

COURT  HOUSE. 

The  old  court  house  was  built  in  1840, 
by  subscription  of  citizens,  and  was 
originally  40  feet  square.  Aaron  Hue 
and  Peyton  C.  Walker  did  the  carpen- 
ter work,  and  Peter  Perrine  the  brick 
work.  In  1862  an  addition,  16x30  feet 
in  size,  was  added,  on  the  north  side  of 
the  building,  which  was  used  for  jail 
purposes,  but  about  1873  or  4,  some 
prisoners  escaping  by  digging  through 
the  rear  wall,  the  county  commissioners, 
ordered  that  it  be  lined  with  2x4  pine 
scantling  laid  flat  and  spiked  and  cov- 
ered with  common  sheet  iron.  On  the 
early  morning  of  January  6,  1884,  as 
Charles  Lipscomb,  the  janitor  of  the 
Baptist  church,  was  going  to  that  place 
of  worship,  at  4  o'clock,  to  build  the 
fire,  it  being  one  of  the  coldest  days 
during  that  winter,  he  smelled  smoke, 
but  attaching  no  attention  to  it,  suppos- 
ing that  somebody  was  building  a  fire. 

He  remained  in  the  church  until  after 
6  o'clock,  when  going  out  he  discovered 
smoke  issuing  from  the  jail  windows. 
He  at  once  proceeded  to  awake  G.  C. 
Cockrell,  who  lived  near  by  and  then  to 
inform  Sheriff  C.  S.  Frost,  Finding 
that  C.  Blay,  the  janitor  of  the  jail, 
had  the  keys  of  the  jail,  and  knowing 
that  several  prisoners  were  in  confine- 


ment there,  he  hastened  to  the  house  of 
the  above,  half  a  mile  distant.  Minn 
they  arrived  at  the  jail,  the  found  it 
filled  with  a  dense  smoke,  and  the  pris- 
oners not  able  to  come  out.  Charles 
Keith,  James  Powel,  W.  Hibble,  J.  E. 
Cory  and  M.  Cockrell  at  considerable 
risk  to  themselves  plunged  into  the 
room  and  soon  brought  out  the  dead 
bodies,  for  they  were  nothing  else. 
These  victims  were  Walter  Dunsdon, 
in  jail  under  accusation  of  murder; 
Emile  Koehler,  for  horse-stealing; 
August  Shultz,  for  purloining  a  coat; 
James  Griggs,  for  petit  larceny. 

The  fire  is  generally  believed  to  have 
been  owing  to  a  defective  flue  and  the 
pine  wood  close  to  it  catching  fire  early 
in  the  night  and  being  closely  confined 
between  the  iron  casing  and  brick  wall, 
smouldered  until  it  broke  out  about  six 
or  seven  o'clock  in  the  morning.  The 
flames  soon  wrapped  the  whole  build- 
ing and  soon  the  edifice  was  but  a  smok- 
ing ruin,  and  Jersey  county  was  with- 
out a  court  house  or  jail.  All  the 
books,  furniture,  even  the  bar  railing 
and  the  matting  on  the  stairs  was  taken 
out  of  the  building  and  saved. 

The  subject  of  building  a  suitable 
court  house  in  Jerseyville  is,  at  the 
present  writing,  188.5,  under  considera- 
tion, and  no  doubt,  in  the  near  future, 
the  county  will  find  itself  in  possession 
of  an  edifice  of  that  character.  The 
present  depressed  state  of  trade  and  low 
price  of  farm  products,  causing  a  strin- 
gency in  the  times,  is  all  that  is  defer- 
ring the  matter. 

COUNTY    JAIL. 

The  original  county  jail  was  a  part 
of  the  court  house  and  when  that  build- 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


101 


ing  was  destroyed  by  fire,. Jan.  6,  1884, 
the  county  was  left  without  any  place 
for  the  incarceration  of  its  prisoners. 
Therefore,  at  the  meeting  of  the  board 
of  supervisors  on  the  3d  of  June,  1884, 
the  grand  jury  made  the  following  pre- 
sentment: 

"Whereas,  during  the  past  winter  a  sad  and 
fatal  calamity  befell  our  county,  whereby  our 
court  house  and  county  jail  were  destroyed 
by  tile,  and 

"Whereas,  the  immediate  erection  of  a 
good  and  substantial  county  jail,  adequate  to 
the  present  and  future  demands,  therefore  we 
regard,  as  an  absolute  and  pressing  necessity, 
dictated  alike  by  consideration  of  justice. 
safety  and  an  enlightened  civilization.*' 

The  board  of  supervisors  thereupon 
took  the  matter  under  advisement,  and 
having  some  idea  at  the  time  of  build- 
ing a  court  house  and  jail  together,  ad- 
vertised for  plans,  and  appointed  a  com- 
mittee to  examine  the  said  plans,  and 
decide  upon  one  and  make  a  report  to 
the  board,  the  result  of  their  delibera- 
tions. The  committee  consisted  of  the 
following  gentlemen:  C.  P.  Stafford,  V. 
L.  Dodge,  J.  M.  Segraves,  G.  \V.  Reed 
and  Lloyd  T.  English.  On  consideration 
of  t lie  subject,  at  the  September  term, 
they  reported  that  they  agreed,  that  on 
ace. unit  of  "bard  times,"  caused  by  the 
liglit  crops  for  the  past  three  years,  it 
would  be  useless  to  ask  the  people  of 
the  county  to  lay  a  tax  upon  themselves 
to  build  a  structure  of  this  kind,  but  in 
view  of  the  absolute  necessity  of  build- 
ing a  jail  at  once,  they  considered  a 
plan  for  one,  presented  by  William 
Embley,  of  Jerseyville,  eminently  fitted 
for  construction  and  which  could  be  built 
for  $15,000,  and  recommended  that  the 
board  of  supervisors  submit  to  the  peo- 
ple  of   the   county,    at    the    November 


election,  1884,  the  question  of  levying 
a  tax  of  35  cents  on  the  $100,  to  provide 
a  fund  for  its  erection. 

This  report  was  at  once  adopted  and 
the  necessary  orders  issued  for  submit- 
ting the  question  to  the  people,  and  the 
latter  approving  of  the  measure  by  a 
majority  of  426  votes,  the  plan  of  Mr. 
Embley  was  adopted,  and  the  tax  levied 
in  accordance  with  the  resolution.  A 
building  committee  was  appointed  to 
superintend  the  getting  of  bids,  to  make 
contracts  and  oversee  the  erection  of 
the  building.  This  committee  consisted 
of  M.  V.  Hamilton,  W.  E.  Carlin,  C. 
P.  Stafford,  L.  T.  English  and  V.  L. 
Dodge. 

Bids  for  the  work,  according  to  the 
plans  and  specifications  of  William  Em- 
bley, which  bad  been  adopted,  were  re- 
ceived and  opened  by  the  board  and  after 
some  delay  the  contracts  were  let.  Dow- 
dall  and  Sturdevant  agreed  to  do  the 
stone  foundation  work  for  s.s7o;  H.  0. 
Leak,  of  Jerseyville,  the  superstructure 
and  woodwork,  or,  in  other  words,  the 
building  proper,  for  $7,445,  and  P.  (i. 
Pauly  &  Bio.,  of  St.  Louis,  to  put  in  the 
steel-clad  cells,  corridors  and  other  iron 
work,  for  $6,800. 

Work  was  at  once  commenced,  and 
soon  carried  to  a  successful  finish,  pro- 
ducing as  superb  a  building  of  this 
character  as  is  found  in  the  state. 

The  building  is  of  a  composite  order 
of  architecture,  combining  the  merits  of 
the  Tudor  and  English  Gothic,  is  of 
brick,  with  handsome  stone  trimmings, 
and  presents  an  agreeable  appearance. 
The  front  part  of  the  building  is  the 
residence  of  the  sheriff,  and  contains, 
on  the  first  floor,  an  office  14x27  feet  in 
size,    a    parlor   and    sitting-room,    each 


102 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


15x  17 i,  and  a  kitchen  14x153  feet.  In 
the  second  story  arc  two  bedrooms  the 

size  of  the  parlor  and  Bitting-room,  over 
which  they  arc  situated,  a  guard-room 
over  the  office,  and  two  Bteel-clad  cells 
for  female  prisoners.  This  part  of  the 
building  is  30x40  feet  in  ground  area. 
The  jail  proper  is  in  the  rear  of  the 
dwelling  part,  and  is  38x48  feet  in  size. 
This  latter  contains  two  tiers  of  steel- 
(dad  cells,  four  on  each  floor,  with  cor- 
ridors, also  enclosed  in  grating,  and 
surrounded  by  a  jailor's  corridor,  which 
is  spacious  and  comfortable.  The  cells 
are  each  6!>x8  feet  in  size,  are  well-ven- 
tilated and  exceedingly  comfortable 
for  places  of  that  kind.  The  steel-clad 
work  is  the  best  known,  and  will  defy 
the  most  energetic  attacks  upon  it,  cold 
chisel  or  file  havingno  material  effect  up- 
on it.  Altogether  the  edifice  is  one  in 
which  the  county  can  take  pride,  and 
reflects  great  credit  on  the  people,  the 
board  of  supervisors,  the  architect  and 
builders. 

COUNTY    CHARITY. 

Although  the  heart  of  every  man  in 
the  county  heat  in  earnest  sympathy 
with  the  poor  and  destitute  that  lay 
within  his  knowledge,  and  the  hand  of 
pity  and  help  was  never  withheld,  in 
time  of  need,  from  those  wdio  were  in 
want,  it  was  for  many  years  after  the 
organization  of  the  county  ere  its  citi- 
zens felt  it  just  to  themselves  and  others 
t'>  provide  a  building  to  he  used  as  a 
sanctuary  for  the  poor  and  friendless. 
Many,  having  in  mind  the  parish  poor- 
houses  and  "unions"  of  the  old  coun- 
tries, shrank  hack  with  horror  at  the 
idea  that  any  in  whom  they  felt  an 
interest  should  be  doomed  to  inhabit  a 


place  within  the  cold  and  cheerless 
walls  of  such  an  asylum.  The  large 
and  generous  heart  of  thepioneer  could 
not  tolerate  it.  Little  did  they  feel 
that  many  a  waif  upon  the  broad  and 
troubled  sea  of  the  world's  bitter  expe- 
rience, has  hailed  as  a  safe  harbor,  as  a 
secure  haven,  the  much  dreaded  alms- 
house.  Perhaps  it  was  owing,  partially, 
to  these  mistaken  notions  in  regard  to 
that  noble  charity,  that  so  long  delayed 
the  erection  of  the  building.  But  let 
not  those  of  this  later  generation  think 
that  their  forefathers,  and  the  early  set- 
tlers here,  were  a  people  wanting  in 
brotherly  charity.  As  early  as  1840, 
measures  were  taken  looking  to  the 
relief  of  the  necessitous.  The  method 
of  relief,  the  letting  out  of  the  care 
of  the  unfortunate,  though  not  deem- 
ed the  best  now,  went  far  toward 
mitigating  the  sufferings  of  the  weary 
wight  that  had  lost  his  all  through  force 
of  untoward  circumstances;  the  widow 
and  orphan  struggling  for  the  daily 
crust  of  bread;  the  waif  left  to  live  or 
die,  as  best  it  may.  For  some  years 
this  system  of  relief  was  the  only  one 
practiced,  and  as  but  few  needed  it,  it 
sufficed, 

At  a  special  term  of  the  county  com- 
missioners' court,  held  Oct.  1.'!,  1846, 
the  purchase  of  a  tract  of  land  for  a 
poor  farm  was  consummated.  This 
farm,  which  comprised  some  166  acres 
of  land,  was  purchased  for  $900,  of 
Samuel  R.  Perry,  and  was  situated 
northeast  of  Jerseyville.  On  it  was  a 
house  already  built,  and  in  December 
of  the  same  year,  the  commissioners 
having  established  it  as  a  poorhouse,  it 
was  at  once  odenee  for  that  purpose. 
This  was  used  for  many  years. 


In  1864,  the  building  being  too  small 
for  the  purpose  intended,  and  in  a 
dilapidated  condition,  it  was  determined 

to  build  a  new  almshouse.  Fen-  that 
purpose  a  new  farm  was  purchased,  the 
old  "lie  proving  ineligible.  This  latter 
is  <m  section  16,  English  township.  On 
it  the  present  handsome  and  substantial 
brick  edifice  was  erected,  in  1865.     It  is 


two  stories  in  height,  the  main  building 
occupying  30xfi0  feet  of  ground  area., 
with  an  L  20x40  feet  in  size.  Close  by- 
is  a  smaller  building,  used  for  the  siek, 
which  is  20x30  feet  in  size.  A  fine  barn 
is  also  on  the  premises.  The  farm, 
which  is  an  exeellent  one,  and  the 
house,  is  under  the  superintendeney  of 
Castleton  Lynch. 


GHAPTRR    VII. 


POLITICAL. 


How  much  better  can  the  political 
history  of  a  county  be  given,  than  by 
grouping  together,  in  one  comprehensive 
chapter,  the  vote  of  each  succeeding 
year?  What  long  dissertation  upon  the 
causes  that  Lead  to  this  or  that  issue, 
equal  the  plain  facts,  deduced  from  the 
mathematics  of  the  ballots  on  the  occa- 
sion? it  has  been  the  endeavor  to  give 
the  official  vote  of  every  year,  but  in 
Bome  cases,  some  parts  are  wanting,  but 
a  diligent  research  among  the  records 
ami  papers,  both  of  the  county  offices 
ami  the  office  of  the  secretary  of  state, 
at  Springfield,  fails  to  produce  anything 
more.     The  following  is  the 


OFFICIAL    VOTE. 

SPECIAL   ELECTION.    18:19. 

Coroner. 

Nelson  R  Lurton  

William  Spriugate        

I  eaac  N  .  Bacey 

election  1840. 

President. 

W    H.  Harrison,  "    

Mmtin  VanBnren,  d 

Scattering 


nielT.  Kendall,  .1 


A.  G.  Mil. or. 
I .  \  1  n  „•■  . 
Vinson  Lee.. 


Representative. 


ELECTION,   AUOU8T,    1812. 

Governor. 
Joseph  Duncan,  w 53L- 


Thomas  Ford.  J 

Charles  vv.  Hunter 

Lieutenant  Go* 
K  Uliam  II.  Henderson,  w 

J  "bn  Moore,  d     



Senator. 

Ctuirlfs  Orcein-   w 

Alfred  W.  Cave'rly,  d 

P.  in-  Vauarsdell 


403 

IS 

euti  tive. 

Samuel  T.  Kendall  441- 

George  W  Lowder 4-iti 

JamesC.  Perry 74 

James  M.  Medford 8 

John  L.  Morrall 4 


John  Britton. . . 

P.  C.  Walker... 
John  cope  — 
II.  K  Haves.... 
.1.  \\v-t 

James  Walden 
E.  Ham   .. 
Aaron  Rice 


Coroner. 


178— 


Murray  Cheney 4"i 

Perley  Silloway 484—    55 

Adam  Wagoner -12 


104 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


County  Commissioner. 

Wiliam  Palmer 433- 

Ili'iirv  Webster 358 

Amos  Pruitt 92 

Thomas  McDow 43 

On  the  question  of  a  Convention. 

For  328- 

Against 364 

ELECTION,    AUGUST.    1843. 

Congress. 

Orville  B.  Browning,  w 5.p5- 

Stepheu  A.  Douglas,  d 4*29 

Thomas  Moore 18 


County  Couimiesiouer. 

Thomas  Carroll 

Maurice  Armstrong  ..    , 


Richard  Graham  . 
George  W.  Lowdei 
George  \V.  Btirke. 


Martin  B.  Miner.. 
Joseph  G.  Scott.. 
David  T.  Bunnell. 


Probate  Justice. 


School  Commissioner. 

James  Harriott.  (,uo  opposition). .  

Surveyor. 

James  A.  Potts,  (no  opposition) 

Treasurer  and  Assessor. 


Delegate  to  Coustitutioial  Convention. 

- 1  Augustus  A.  Knapp 

Daniel  E.  Brown 

Edward  A.  IVArcy.... 

Ehhu  Palmer 

REGULAR  ELECTION,   1847 

County  Clerk. 


ELECTION,    AUGUST,    1844.   . 

C<  ngress. 

David  M.  Woodson 

Stephen  A.  Douglas  

Richard  E.  Ells 

State  Senator. 

John  Harris 

James  oraham  

John  Viall 

Representative. 

James  Harriott. .   

Isaac  Darueille . 

Thomas  McDow 

Conuly  Commissioner. 

Maurice  Armstrong 

Cyrus  Tolman 

Juab  White 

Shenfl". 

Perley  silloway 

Isaac   Harbert.  Jr 

Delavau  D.  Willcox 

Coroner. 

John  Brittoa  

Bushrod  W.  Hamilton 

George  Wha>  ton 


ELECTION,   AUGUST,   1845. 

ty  Commissioner. 


Ambrose  S   Wyckoft' 

Benjamin  Saundert 

John  Hawkins 

Virgil  Noble 

J.  Peunifield 

School  Commissioner 

James  Harriott 

P..  B   Hamilton 

W.  F.  Guernsey 

D.  D.  Wilcox 


Augustus  C.  French,  d. 
Thomas  M.  Kil  patrick, 
Richard  Elle... 


ELECTION,    AUGUST,    1846. 

Governor. 


Lieutenant-Governor. 

Joseph  B.  Wells,  d 

Nathaniel  G.  Wilcox,  w 

Abraham  Smith 


Representative. 

J.  M.  Ilurd.d 

Thomas  Cti  minings,  w 

Thomas  McDow 

Elihu  J   Palmer 

County  Commissioner. 

Benjamin  Cleaver,  w 

Jacob  Lurton,  d 

James  Brown : 

Sheriff. 

Perley  Silloway.   .    

Jonathan  Piowman 

Isaac  Snedeker 

John  Darueille 

Coroner. 

George  Hofl'man 

John  staflbrd 

William  Edsall ....   . 


SPECIAL     ELECTION,    APRIL   19,    1847 


Thomas  L.  McGill 856—  856 


J.  M.  Hurd 

Joseph  G.  Scott. 
M.,B.  Miner , 


Probate  Judge. 


County  Commissioner. 


B.  B.Hamilton. 
Willard  Guernst 
James  Harriott 


School  Commissioner. 


Job  Collins  

James  A.  Potts 

John  H.  Buttiugtou. 


Solomon  Calhoun. 
James  E.  Vanllorm 
John  L.Cromuton. 


ELECTION,    AUGUST,    1848. 

Congress. 

William  A.  Richardson,  d 

Eli  Wilson,  vv 

Governor. 

Augustus  C.  French,  d 

C.  v.  Dyer,  w 

[  ieutenant-Governor. 

William  McMurtry,  d 

Henry  H.  Snow,  w 


Horace  S.  Coo'ey,  d. 
S.  C.  Painefreer,  w. 


Secretary  of  Slate. 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


10.5 


Anditor  of  State. 

Thomas  II    Campbell,  d 

Benjamin  E.  Viall.w 


Treasurer  of  State . 

Milton  Carpenfr.  d 682—637 

Moses  Pctteusiil.  w 44 

State  Senator. 

Franklin  Witt,  d  521-  162 

James  Metcalf.  w 359 

Scatterine 6 


John  D  Frv.  d 
Isaac  Danie'  w 
Scattering 


RepreseBtative. 


Jonathan  Plowmau. 
Wright  Casey. 
Josiah  French 


86 


l.-.l 


County  Commissioner. 

AmbroseS.WvcKi.fi' 619— 

James  A.  Plggott 868 

Jacob  B.  Prtchett 349— 

Josiah  Jackson 274 

John  Arnspiger -7 

Asa  Snell 8 

Isaac  Snedeker 45 

Abijah  Davis 43 

Coroner. 

William  Lay 472- 

William  W.  Bailey 821 

School  Coaimissioner. 

Hiram  Bridges  449-    89 

Charles  H    Knapp 360 

ELECTION.   1849- 

Associate  Justice. 

James  McKinney 553 

Jacob  Lurton 291 

James  A    Piggott B54 

S    P.  Strattou 193 

E.  M.  i  ease 2"* 

County  Surveyor. 

James  A    Potts 697-  696 

George  M.  Burke 1 

School   Commissioner. 

Hiram  Bridges 559—  458 

Elihu  J    Palmer 101 

County  Treasurer. 

Solomon  Calhoun '. 642- 

John  Q    Cromptou 4 

Countv  Ji.dge 

George  E.  Warren 695- 

Cyrus  Tolman 1 

County  Clerk. 

George  M.  tiowder 704- 

Anthony  L.  Knapp 1 

ELECTION,    SEPTFMBEU,    184S. 

Supreme  Judge. 


638 


166  - 


Supreme  Clerk. 

Edward  H    Kidgewav 768-  751) 

John  K    Gallerfleld 18 

Circuit  Judge. 

Alfred  W.  Caverly 347 

David  M.  Woodson  511—  164 

Scattering 1 

Attornev 

Mark  W.  Delahav 278 

(lark  K.  Gi  odri'ch  481—  21  3 

Circuit  Clerk. 

Charles  I.  Jackson 2*0 

Robert  i..  Hill 126 

Thomas  L    Hill 472-  192 


ELECTION.   NOVEMBER,    1848 

President. 

Lewis  Cass,  d MO 

Zachaiv  Taylor,  w 454 

Martin  YauBureu,  f 93 

ELECTION,    1850. 

State  Treasurer. 

John  Moore 116—  116 

John  Y.  Kuox 0 

Congressman. 

William  A    Richardson 364 

Orville  H.  Biowning 417—    5:1 

State  Senator. 

Franklin  Witt 882-    82 

John  A.  Logan 300 

Kipreseutative. 

Charles  I).  Hodges 148-  332 

J.  C.  Winters  H6 

election.  1851. 
On  the  adoption  ofthe  general  banking  law. 

For  the  banking  law 216 

Against 837—    21 

County  Treasurer. 

Solomon  Calhoun 411-  411 

Surveyor 

Janv-  p.  p., its 452-  445 

T.  Hum.Tlaw 7 

School  Commissioner. 

Hiram  Bridges 315—  221 

B.  .1    Pa  liner 94 

ELECTION.    1*52. 

President. 

Franklin  Pierce,  d 564 

Millard  Fillmore,  w 651—    87 

Governor. 

Joel  A.  Mal'eson 576 

E    B    Webb  654--      1 

D.  A.  Knowlton 77 

Lieuteoant-Govei  nor. 

Gus.  Koerner 5(  S 

J    L    E.  vorrlson 650—     4 

P.  Carpenter "8 

Secretary  of  Stat.-. 

Alexander  Starne 570 

RnckuerS.  Morris 647—      1 

El  asms  Wright 76 

State  Auditor. 

Thus.  H  Campbell 570 

Chas    Behs 651-    81 

E.J   Smith 76 

State  Treasurer. 

John  Moore 570 

Francis  \very 649  -    79 

Moses  Pettiugill  72 

Congressman. 

R.chatd  Yates  743-  199 

John  Calhoun 544 

State's  Attornev. 

Cyrus  Epler 424 

Win    Ueer 420 

Mahlon  Ross 285 

ELECTION.    1852. 

Representative. 

Chas    1>.  Hodges 786 

A.  L.  Knapp  711 

Jacob  Lurton 254 

T.  W   lirvo.in 6" 

William  Webb  37 


106 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


Sheriff. 

Jonathan  Plowman 637 

J.  M.  Hurd 841—     4 

Clerk  of  the  Circuit  Court. 

Thos.  h.  McGill 890—  890 

Coroner. 

William  Williams 587—  310 

J.  O.  Hamilton 277 

SPECIAL  ELECTION.  MARCH,  26,    1853, 

On  the  question  op  the  county  subscribing  $5(j.O00  toward 
the  capital  stock  of  the"  Jacksonville  &  Carrollton 
railroad. 

For  the  subscription 1036—  798 

Against  the  subscription   238 

ELECTION.   NOVKMBER,  1853. 

County  Judge. 

George  E    Warren 653-  289 

Anthony  L    Knapp 364 

Associate  Justices. 

Jasper  M    Terry 491 

Churlee  11.  Bowman 0*6 

John  N.  English 354 

William  Loy  265 

Thomas  11.  Chapman 44 

County  Clerk. 

George  W.  Lowder 557 —  471 

Charles  11.  Roberts 186 

J.  Murray  bacon 177 

County  Surveyor. 

James  A.  Potts 475 

Levi  F.  McNeil  518—    43 

School  Commissioner. 
Hiram  Bridges,  (no  opposition) 942 

Treasurer  and  Assessor. 

Solomon  Calhoun 937—  9:35 

H.  N.  Belt 2 

ELECTION,   NOVEMBER,  1854. 

Congress. 

lilchard  Yates,  w 714—  2:14 

Thomas  S.  Harris,  d 480 

State  Treasurer 

John  Moore,  w 490 

James  Miller,  d 596—  206 

Senator. 

John  M    Palmer,  w 724—  264 

B.  T.  Burke,  d 460 

Representative. 

Lafayette  Mcl'rillis 409 

Augustus  R.  Kuapp 457 

B.  B.  Hamilton 263 

Sheriff. 

Jonathan  Plowman 603 —    25 

John  F.  Smith 578 

Coroner. 

Benjamin  Wedding 724—  297 

William  Williams 427 

election,  1855. 

On  the  question  of  prohibiting  the  sale  of  intoxicating 
liquors. 

For  prohibition 841—    343 

Against 498 

Judge  of  the  Circuit  Court. 
D.  M.  WoodBon  1136—  1136 

ELECTION.  NOVEMBER,  1856. 

President. 

James  Buchanan,  d 702—    172 

M  il  lard  Fillmore,  a 530 

John  C.  Fremont.r 387 


Congress. 

Thomas  L.  Harris    732 

John  Williams  769-     37 

Governor. 

William  A.  Richardson,  d 7-IH—      56 

William  A.  BiBSell,  a 692 

Buckuer  11.  Morris,  r 177 

Lieutenant  Governor. 

Richard  J.  Hamilton,  d 740—     61 

John   Wood,  a 679 

Parincnos  Bond,  r 154 

Secretary  of  State. 

O/.iasM.  Hatch 893-      90 

William  U.  Snyder 703 


Jesse  K.Dubois.. 
Samuel  li.  Casey. 
Hiram  Barber. . . . 


State  Auditor. 


State  Treasurer. 


907 


202 


Tuo 


Superintendent  of  Public  Instruction. 

EzraJenkius 208 

William  H.  Powell 710—      10 

John  H.  St.  Mathemy TOO 

Associate  Justices. 

J.  Hurray  Bacon 751—      25 

Richard  Ely 720 

State's  Attorney. 

Albert  G.  Burr 909—    207 

James  W.  English 70S 

Circuit  Clerk. 

Thomas  L.  McGill  (no  opposition) 1005 

Sheriff. 

Charles  H.  Bowman 510 

Benjamin   Wedding  724—    204 

J.  M.  Hurd 370 

Coroner. 

C.P.Staftbrd 634 

Felix  Vlrney 824—    190 

William  Evans 18 

On  the  question  of  a  Convention  to  amend  the  consti- 
tution ot  the  Stale  of  Illinois. 

For 137 

against 607—    470 

ELECTION,  NOVEMBER,  1857. 

Supreme  J -idee. 

Edwin  B.  Webb 666—    497 

Sidney  Breese 160 

County  Judge. 

O.P.Powell 794—    385 

George  E.  Warren 409 

Associate  Justices. 

William  Williams 789—    379 

Richard  R.  Ely  8o2—    436 

J.  .Murray  Bacon 410 

Jasper  M.  Terry 366 

County  Clerk. 

Andrew  Jackson 671-    5:15 

Thomas  P.  Wilson 330 

Assessor  and  Treasurer. 

JohuT. Smith 777—    364 

E.M.Smith 413 

Surveyor. 

Henrv  M.  Chase 708—    217 

Josiah  White ■ 491 


School  Commit 

Henrv  H.  Howard  82S—    480 

Joseph  O.  Hamilton 348 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


KiT 


ELECTION  NOVEMBER,  1858. 

Congress. 

Thomas  L.  Harris  1059— 

James  H.  Matheny 574 

JuliuL.  McCounell " 

State  Senator. 

Ant  bony  L.  Knapp 1032— 

Alexander  B.  Morean  600 

Representative 

Francis  P.  Rush 1016— 

C.  M.  Hamilton 596 

State  Treasurer. 

William  B.  Fondey 1051— 

James  Miller..... 593 

John  Dougherty 9 

Superintendent  of  Public  Instruction. 

Augustus  C.  French 1054— 

Newton  Batemau 581 

John  Reynolds 12 

Sheriff. 
Charles  H.  Bowman Mil- 
John  L.  Johnson 8U2 

Coroner. 

Lewie  Johnson 1036— 

James  B.  Veitch 496 

SPECIAL  ELECTION  JANUARY,  1859. 

Congress. 

Charles  D.  Hodges 641— 

James  C.  Conkhng 368 

ELECTION  NOVEMBER,  1858. 

Congress. 

John  A.  McCleruand,  d 72r,— 

John  SI.  Palmer,  r 453 

Assessor  and  Treasurer. 

John  P.  Smith,  d 730— 

Robert  Darlington,  r 405 

School  Commissioner, 

William  J.  Herdman,  d 605- 

Pennel  Corbett,  r 552 


ELECTION  NOVEMBER,  I860. 


President, 

Abraham  Lincoln,  r 910 

Stephen  A.  Douglas,  u.  d  , 1291— 

John  Bell.e 105 

John  C.  Breckenridge,  6.  d 11 

Congress. 

John  A.  McCleruand,  d 1318— 

Henry  Case,  r 1*77 


Go 


nor. 


Junes  0.  Allen,  d 1 1S03— 

Richard  Yates,  r '.'">l 

John  T.  Smart,  c 66 

Thomas  M.  Hope,  s.  d 8 

Lieutenant  Governor. 

Lewis  W.  Koss,  d 1295- 

Brancis  A.  Hoffman,  r 946 

A.  C.  Blackburn,  c 58 

Thomas  Snell,  8.  d 11 

Secretary  of  State. 

George  H.  Campbell,  d 1295— 

Ozaia  K.  Hatch,  r 952 

Jamas  Monroe,  e 58 

B.  T.  Burke,  s.  d 11 

State   Auditor. 

Bernard  Arntzen.  d 1288  - 

Jesse  K.  Dubois,  r 954 

James  I)  Smith.  C 59 

Harrj  S.  Smith,  »   d 11 


State  Treasurer. 

Hugh  Maher.  d 1241—    3S6 

William  Butler,  r 865 

Jonathan  stamper,  c 58 

William  H,  father,  s.  d 11 

Superintendent  of  Public  Instruction. 

Edward  K.  Roe,  d 1292—    35 

Newton  t'.atcinau.  r 953 

D.  I.  Snow,'  c 58 

John  II.  Dennis,  s.  d 11 

Representative. 

John  N.  English,  d 1299-    311 

Benjamin  F.  Slaten,  r 988 

State's  Attorney. 

James  W.  English,  d 1275—    300 

James   lee.  r 975 

Robert  Hitt,  c 19 

Circuit  Clerk. 

M.E.  Baglcv.d 1092-    133 

Thomas  1.  ilcGill,  r 957 

Sheriff. 

William  H.  Cummings.  d 1229—    154 

Benjamin  Wedding,  r 1075 

Coroner. 

Lewis  Johnson,  d 1285       325 

W.  B.  Slaten,  r 959 

On  the  question  of  a  convention  to  amend  the  consti- 
tution. 

For 771 

Against 1658-^897 

On  the  question  of  township  organization. 

For 1129—    539 

Against 890 

SPECI  AL  ELECTION,   1861. 

Congress. 
Anthonv  L.  Knapp.to  fill  vacancy  caused  by 
resignation  of  John  A.  McCleruand 610 

Delegates,  Constitutional  Convention. 

William  II.  Allen 1229—    607 

D.  M.  McKinney 022 

Judge  of  Supreme  Court. 

Sidney  Breese 258—    258 

Clerk  Supreme  *  unit. 

Noah  Johnson 306—    306 

Circuit  Judge. 
D.  M.  Woodson 360—    360 

ELECTION.    1861. 

County  Judge. 

Richard  I.  Lowe .'. 184i—  1842 

Associate   Justices. 

Larkin  Richardson 1159—    458 

William  Williams 701 

Jacob  l.urton 1113—    193 

Arch i bald  Craig 92J 

County  Clerk. 

Andrew  Jackson 1150—    453 

Samuel  W.  Davis 697 

County   Treasurer. 

John  E.  Van  Pelt '. 1203-     506 

James  S.  Peairs  037 

School  Commissioner, 

William  J.  Herdman 1136 —  673 

L.  M.  Cutting 706 

Surveyor. 

George  I.  Foster 1251—    673 

11.  M.  Chase 578 

ELECTION,    NOVEMBER,    18&2. 

Congress— At  Large. 

Samuel  C.  Allen,  d 1259—    723 

I;,  t     [ngersoll,  r 536 


108                                 HISTORY   OP 

JERSEY  COUNTY. 

Congress— 10th   District. 

1256 

5:17 

1279 

1256— 
MB 

1259— 
534 

1258— 
533 

1202— 

55S 

1285 

853 
841 
849 

L546— 

KIT 

1537— 
832 

82S 
1539— 

825 
I5jl— 

1540— 

828 

1539— 
827 

1538— 
828 

1534— 
831 

ons. 
1.-.37— 

aiu 

1544- 
819 

1538 

1137— 
121 

,93 

1538- 
824 

719 

730 
725 

647 

729 
705 

711 

'26 
712 

710 

712 

7111 

703 

707 

725 

644 

714 

BLhCTIOK,  1865. 

County  Judge. 
().  I>.  Powel 

351 
302 
382 
356 
303 

442 
474 
4S1 
472 
368 

513 

338 

510 

271 

867 
,879 
877 
881 
876 

Stats  Senator. 

County  Clerk. 
Thos   11.  Simmons 

018 

Treasurer. 
Alexander  Starne,  d 

Superintendent  of  Public  Instrncli 
John   P.  Brooks,  d 

County   Treasurer. 
J.  T.  Ross 

611 

Representative. 

John  N    Knglish.  (1 

Benjamin  K.  Childs,  r 

Sheriff. 

Surveyor. 

Oeo   I.  Foster 

966— 

Superintendent  of  Schools 

Coroner. 

ELECTION,    NOVEMBER,    1863. 

Assessor  aud  Treasurer. 

ELECTION,   NOVEMBER,    1866. 

Cougress— At   Large. 

1407— 

Cougr.  es-inth  District. 

School  Commissioner. 

Surveyor. 

ELECTION,   NOVEMBER,   1864. 

President. 
George  li  McClellan.d 

State  Treasurer. 

....   14*1— 

942 

Superintendent  of   Public  Inetrt 
John  M.  .rebs,  d 

ction. 

1418— 

Congress-  At  Large. 
James  U.  Allen,  (I 

She  rift'. 

H.  C.  Mussey.  r 

Coroner. 

857 

Congress— inin  District. 

Governor, 
Richard  J.  Oglesby,  r 

ELECTION  JUNK,   I8l»7. 

Circuit  Judge. 

Charley  D.  Hodges,  (no  opposition)  

Clerk  Supreme  Court. 

581 

James  C.  Robinson,  d 

Lieutenant-Governor 

S.  Coruii  g  Jtldd.d 

Secretary  of  Slate 
William  A.  Turney,  d 

ELECTION,     NOVEMBER,  18ti7. 

Ar-Bee>or  tin  l  Treasurer. 

State  Auditor. 
John  Hise,  d 

O.  H   Miner,  r 

State  Treasurer. 

James  H.  Beveridge,  r 

Representative. 
Ji  hu  McDonald,  d 

Surveyor. 

ELECTION,    NOVEMBER,  18fi8. 

Presid*  ut. 

1998- 

Carlin  Twitcbell,  r 

Superintendent  oi  Public   Instmcti 
John  P.  Brooks,  d  

Congress -At  Large. 

W.  W.  O'Brien  d 

John  A.  Logan,  r  

2007— 
....  1128 

Newton  Batcmau,  r 

„                               Clerk  of  Circuit   Court. 

Emmor  linnton.  r  

Congress  10th  District. 
Allien  ^i.   Burr,  d     

80^7- 

Slate's  Attorney. 
William  Brown  (no  oppositioni 

Sheriff 

T.  J.  Selbv.  d 

Governor. 
John  R    Eden,  d 

Lieutenant-Governor. 
William  11    Van  Kpps.  d 

2009— 
1128 

2005— 
1129 

William  Billings,  i  . 

Archibald  Craig,  r 

F.  W.  Beeterfeldi,  d 

Brook  Statl'ord.  r 

HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY 


109 


Secretary    f  State. 

Gnstavus  Van  Hoorebeke.  d 2004— 

Edward  Ku  nmel,  r 1133 

Auditor. 

John  R     ShaiiiiDii,  d  2007— 

Charles  S.   Lippincott,  r 1130 

T  'eaeurer. 

Jess    .1    Phillips,  d  2003— 

Erastus  N    Bat  8,  r  ...   1133 

Attorne}    General. 

Fober    E    Williams,  d     ..     2«04— 

Washington   Dustmen,  r 1132 

Keprescrtattvc. 

Thomas  I!.  Fuller,  d SSOi— 

J  'AdirII.i H31 

Penitentiary    Commissioners. 

John  W    Connett.d 2004 

W    M    Garrard,  d  soul 

Calneh  Z.irlev,  d  SW04 

Andrew  Shannon 1133 

John  Iteid.r        HM 

Robert  E.   Logan,  r 1133 

Member  Board  Equalization. 

W.  H.    Reed,  d 2006- 

JamraH    Vunausdall.  r 1133 

Strte's  Attorney. 

William  Brown,  (no  opposition)    201T 

Circuit  Clerk. 

M.  R.  Baglev,  d  2018— 

Emmor   Brinton,  r 1121 

Bherifi. 

Henry  B  II  1568— 

Henry  Dougherty  108-1 

Jauieb  McMuuey  466 

Coroner. 

Sidney  Noble  1978— 

H.  F,  McNeil 1135 

On  the    Question  of  a  Convention   to   Amend  the   SI 
Constitution. 

For  746— 

Against   548 

ELECTION,    NOVEMBEB.  I860. 
County  Judge. 

J.  M.  lltird  1149— 

David  E   Beaty T 14 

County  Justices. 

Charles  Noble 1221 

George  W    Gorin  1135 

Isaac  MrCollister 774 

James  Downey  752 

Clerk  of  Court- 
Thomas  T    Selbv 1016- 

John  C.  Darby  ' 874 

Treasurer. 

.1-  Im    F    Smith 1110— 

James  W.  Calhoun 770 

Surveyor. 

George  I    Foster 1097— 

Linus   llumiston. 751 

Superintendent   of  Schools. 

Chat  lea  II.  Knapn  1196— 

i     M    Brady    684 

De'egate  to  Convent  on. 

Robert  A.  King 1122  - 

George  E.  Warren 771 

ML.    HON.    JULY,   1870. 

On  the  Question  of  a  new  Constitution 

For 557 

Against   498 

Supreme   Judge. 

Antbom  Thornton 763— 

Aaron  Shaw  187 


KLI-C   ION,  NOVEMBER,   1870. 

Congress— At  Large. 

William  B.  Anderson 1286  - 

John  A.  Logan 887 

Congress— 10th  District 

E.  Y    Rice   '.     1290- 

J.  W.  Ki  chel]   891 

State  Senator. 

William  Shepb  rd 1*71 

.1    M     Bush  1282 

George  E.  Warren B79 

Tho-nae  U    Flynn    88) 

Representative. 

George  W    H   rdman 1048 

Robert  A.  King  nhb 

Benjamin  F    cyids 911 

Emmor  Brini on. 1002 

State  Treasurer. 

Charles  Hidgelv 1289- 

Erastus  N.  Bates 888 

superintendent  ot    Public  Inatruetion. 

Charles  Fefnee 1286- 

Newtou  Baieman   8t-7 

Penitentiary  Com  mi -shiners. 

Francis  T.  Sherman    1287— 

Elmer  Washburn  887 

T la-  Uetimool  (to  till  vacancy)  1285- 

Casper  But/,  (to  till  vacancy)  . .    887 

Sheriff. 

I  harles  II.  Bowman 1158- 

Jobn  C .  Darby  988 

Coroner. 

E    1.    Harriott    1348- 

.lohn  T   Curliss s't 

Congressman    at  Large,  t»  Fill  Vacancy 

S     S    liars  1084- 

J.  L.    Beveridge 653 

Cotiutv   treasurer  and  Assessor. 

lames  Young  ....' 1090- 

Jau.es  Burke 651 

Survcor. 

William  L.  West    ' 981 

Henry  11     Edwards ...     731 

ELECTION.    NOVEMBER,    1812 

President. 

I*.  S   Grant,  r  1205 

Horace  Greeley,  d.. 1431- 

Congress. 

Robert  M    Kuapp,  d 1481- 

A.  C.  Mathews,  r  U91 

Member  of  Board  of   Equalization. 

L.T     Whiteside,  d  1497- 

ChatlesH    Eldred,  r    1199 

Governor. 

RichardJ    Oglesby, r.... 1198 

GustavueKoeruer.  d    1637- 

Lieutenant-Goveruor. 

John  L    Beveridge,  r 1201 

John  C.  Black,  d 1457- 

•*  Secretary  of  State. 

George  n     Harlow,  r    .. 1200 

Edward  Hummel,  d 149i>- 

state    Auditor. 

Charles  K    Lippincott,  r 1200 

Daniel  o'Hara,  d   1469- 

State  Treasurer. 

Edward  Hutz    r 1200 

('barks  11     Lamphier.  d 1490- 

Attorney-General 

James  K.  Edsall,  r  1200 

JohuV.  Eustace, d 1488- 


110                                  HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 

Senator. 
Brally  P.  Burke,  r 

1484 

lina 

S405V4 

3237  % 

.     389  J4 

1494 
1192 

1 

11117 
iltiu 

571— 
381 
98 

820- 
119 

1219 
911i 

1216 
967 

134S— 
818 

57 
1252— 

887 

1234 
1216 
1239 

970 
929 
951 

1528- 

1135 

1519— 
1155 

1215 

HI4— 

1475— 

1201 

1843 

n. 
1242 
1633— 

1228 
91 
1488— 
4 

232 

302 

190 
701 

273 
249 
528 

365 

393 
364 

199 
274 

186 
391 
260 

Sheriff. 

1330 
.       99 

1436 

1399 
96 
ation. 
1294— 

1057— 

1009 
25 

11 

.     980 
1000 

1120— 
913 
.       65 

1345 
12 

,   2159— 
1330 

1349 

2164— 

12 

1343 

2170 

1343 

,  2171 

1348 

2135— 

12 

1349 
2172— 

1346 

2172— 

12 

2176— 
1342 

2106— 

1329 
61 

151 

105 
97 
191 

48 

207 

821 
829 

815 

827 

828 

787 

822 

826 
834 

Daniel  E.  Beaty,  d 

Representative, 

A    L.  Virden  

George  E.  Warren  ... 

Coroner. 

County  Commissioner. 

Clerk  of  Supreme  Court. 

K.  A.  I).  Wilbanks,  d 

JohnW.  Campbell,  r 

SPEIIAL  ELECTION,   FBB.    15,   1873. 

si..  [ill- 
Stephen  H.  Bowman,  to  fill  vacanev  cause 
by  death  of  C.  H.  Bowman . 

On  the  (Question  of  Township  Organic 

For 

Against 

ELECTION,  NOVEMBER,  1875. 

County  Treasurer. 

John  P.  Stout 

Thomas  O'Donmll 

M.  C.  Stauly 

Surveyor. 

ELECTION,    JUNE,   1873. 

Circuit  Judge. 
D.  M    Woodson 

N.M.  Knapp  

Cyrus   Eplor 

Supreme  Judge. 

County  Commissioner. 
William!!     FulkerBon  

ELECTION  NOVEMBER  1873. 

County  Judge. 

ELECTION,  NOVEMBER,  1876. 

President. 
Rutherford  B.  Hayes,  r 

Clerk. 
Thomas  J.  Selbv    d 

Treasurer. 

Horatio  N.  Belt,  r 

Congress. 

Robert  M.  Knapp,  d 

Joseph  Bobbins,  r 

Governor. 
Shelby  M.  Cullom,  r  

Superintendent  of  Schools. 
Mrs.  E.   Halstead 

County  Commissioners. 
William  H.  Allen 

Lieutenant-Governor. 

Isaac  R.    Ely  

State's  Attorney. 

Secretary  of  State. 

Circuit  Clerk. 

State  Auditor. 
John  Uise,  .1  

Sheriff. 

Coroner. 
E.  L.   Harriott 

State  Treasurer. 

Edward  Rutz,  r 

George  Gundlach,  d 

ELECTION,  NOVEMBER,  1874. 

Congress. 
David  E.    Beaty 

Attorney -General. 
Edmund  Lvnch,   d  

Miiiil.er  Board  of  Equalization. 
LeviT.  Whiteside,  d 

Superintendent  of  Public  Instructk 
William  B.  Powell 

State  Treasurer. 

Thomas    S.  Ridgway 

David  Gore 

State  Senator 
George  W.  Herdman,  d 

HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


Ill 


Representatives. 

John  X.  English,  d 2784 

Hampton  W.  Wall,  d 2729 

Richard  Rowett,  r 8447)4 

O.  r.   Powel,  g 1336!-i 

State's  Attorney 

William  M    Jackson,  d  1912— 

Theodore  6.  chapman,  r  1490 

Circuit  Clerk. 

Marcos  E    Bagley,  d 2086- 

James  Burke,  r 1392 

Sheriff. 

James  M    Yonng,  d 2017— 

A    H.  Barrett,  r 1393 

Coroner. 

Johns    Williams,  d 2130- 

ThoruasA.  Kingston,  r 1381 

County  Commissioner. 

John  W    Evans,    d 1986— 

Brook  Stafford.  Sr.,  r 1411 

ELECTION,   AUGUST,    1ST". 

Circuit  Judge. 

AlbertQ    Burr 985— 

->>n 71 

ELECTION,  NOVEMBER,    1877. 

Count    Judge. 

EiobertA    Kins,  d    2708—  i 

William  U.  Po;iic.  p 100 

Clerk. 

James  Eads.  d 1445 — 

Harryl      Alien,  r 1428 

Peari  Combs,  p 57 

Treasurer 

Thomas  O'Donnell,  d 1409— 

M.  W     Nelson,  p   

John  P.  Stout,  r 1355 

Superintendent  of  Schools. 

Lott  Pennington,  d 1577— 

Leonard  M.  Cuttiog.r   1278 

John  A.  Blennerhassett,  p 35 

County  Commissioner. 

William  L.  Ruvle,  d  1419— 

Archibald  Craig,  r        1405 

William  R.  Mears,  p 3b 

On  the  Question  ol"  an  Appropriation  to  Complete 
Stale  Capitol. 

For 935— 

Against 784 

ELECTION.  NOVEMBER,   1878. 

Congress. 

James  W    Singleton,  d  173S—  : 

William  H.  Pogue,  p  

James  P.  DimmMt.  r  

State  Treasurer. 

John  C.  Smith,  r  074 

Edward  L    Coukrlte,  d 1558— 

ErastusN.  Bates,  p 540 

Jerome  li    Gorin 50 

Superintendent  Public  Instruction. 

Kate  L.  Hookius 05 

James  P    Siade,  r 674 

Samuel  M    Etter.d  1558— 

Frank  11 .  Hull,  p  532 

Representative. 

John  X     English 229-o. 

Hampton  W    Wall  1732S4 

George  E   Warren 1628 

James  A.  stsrr  109 y-:z 

Jotham  A.  Scarrltt 842 


Supreme  Clerk. 

Jacob  O    Chance,  d 1504—    890 

Adam  Knoph.  r  668 

George  liinick.p 62 

Appellate  Clerk. 

J>  hn  D.Harmon,  d 1571—    904 

1.    Ullen,r 607 

Pearl  Combs,  p 57 

County  Attorney. 

A.  A    Goodrich,  d 1771—  1060 

A    M    Slaten.r 710 

OB.  Hamilton,  p  5 

Sheriff. 

•I  nnes  SI.  Young,  d 1670—  1140 

Willi   m    ford,  r 536 

William  Mc  Bride,  p 02 

John  W.  Vinson,  i  521 

Coroner. 

John  S.  Williams,  d 1663—1049 

John  T.  Curliss,  r  ...    M4 

William  Bowker,  p :>7 

EL.  Harriott,  i 465 

Counlv  Commissioner. 

Samuel  B.  Foree  ...    .'. 1440—    375 

Ephraim  Chappell 665 

H.X.Beit    687 

P.  D    Cheney  1 

On  the  (J;;estiou  of  Township  Organization. 

For    1459—    307 

Against 1092 

On  the   Qu'  etion  of  an    Amendment  to    the  Constitu- 
tion. 

For 1985-     182! 

Against  158 

On    the  Question    of  Domestic     Animals   Running  at 

For   1312—    113 

Against 1199 

ELECTION.   .11'  VE,   1879. 

Supreme  Judge. 
John  Schofield  (no  opposition). 1519 

Circuit  Judge. 

Cvrus  Epler.  d  1873 

Albert  li.  Bnrr.d SOS 

Lym  in  Lacy,  'I   892 

Nathaniel  W    Bron-on.  r  6Vi 

■  lames  T     Hoblit,  r 648 

Herbert  li.  Whitlock,  r 623 

ELECTION.    1879. 

Countv   Treasurer. 

Tims.   O'Donnell 1207-     306 

John  C    Darhv    828 

W.  H    U.  West  73 

County  Survevor. 

D    J .  Murphv 1171-    249 

11.  D    Edwards 801 

Geo.  I.  Foster    121 

BPBOIAL  ELECTION,   .lANTAEY,  1880. 

Tre  iBurer 

.John  A.  Shephard  (no  opposition)  815 

ELECTION.  NOVF.MIlKIt.   1880. 

President. 

WinfleldS.  Hancock,  d  2107—    759 

James  A    Garfield,  r 1348 

James  B.   Weaver,  g 123 

Congress 

James  W    Singleton,  d  ...     2104—    756 

William  D    Edgar,  r  1348 

A     B.  Allen,  g 119 


112 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


Governor 

Shelby  M  Cullora,  r 1327 

Lym»u  Trumbull,  d  2t»08—    771 

Alsou   J.  Slrealor,  g 149 

Lieutenant-Governor. 

John  M  .  Hamilton,  r 1342 

LewisB.    Paisous.d 2114-    772 

Andrew   B.   Adair,  g..        i2ti 

Secretary  of  State. 

llunrv  D.  Dement,  r 1349 

John  II.  Obery.d -2111—    766 

J.  M.    Thompson,  g 124 

Stale   Auditor. 

Charles  P.  Swigert,  r  1347 

Lewis  C.  Starkel,  d 2109—    762 

WiLiam  T.Ingram    g 124 

State  Treasurer. 

Edward  Rutz.  r  1345 

Tii«mas  Butlerworth,  d  2110—    765 

George    W.  Iivaus,  g 121 

Attorney  General. 

James  McCartney,  r 1347 

Lawrence  Harmon,  d 2109-    762 

G.    11.  W  hillock,  g 124 

Senator. 

Charles  A.  Walker,  d        2  05-    740 

Urville  A.  Suedaker,  r 1365 

John  It.  t>aragiitv,g 1 

Representative. 

John  N.   English,  d  '. 2123" J 

A    N     Yannccv  d  Mill'; 

Belfuur  Cor.eu,  r 3BU2 

S.  V.   Keller,  g 11,'. 

Member  of  Board  of  Equalization. 

Egbert  B.  Brown 2109-    758 

Charles   M.  Grammer 1351 

Stated  Attorney. 

Adam  A.  Goodrich  216-;— 2154 

Morris  K.   Locke 28 

Circuit    Clerk. 

Jesse  I    McGready,  d 1883—    390 

Benjamin  Wedding,  r 1493 

Thomas  a.   Reeves,  g 114 

Sheriff. 

Henry  C    Massey,  d  1995—    505 

Charles  C.  Bu/.by,  r 1-190 

Coroner. 

Caleb  DuHadway,  d 2134—    748 

James  F.  Greary,  r 1388 

On  the  IJuestiou  of  an  Amendment  to  the  Constitution . 

For 1981—  144.; 

Against 535 

SPECIAL    ELECTION,   .H'NE,1882. 

Circuit  Judge— To  till  Vacancy. 
George  W    llcrdman   

ELECTION,  NOVE.MBEU,  1882. 

Congress. 

James  M.   Riggs.  d    1566—     795 

James  W.  Singleton,  r 771 

1  hilip  N  .  Min'ear,  g 319 

superintendent  of  Public  Instruction. 

Henry   liaub,  d      1663—    618 

CharlesT.   Stratton,  r  1015 

I  lizabeth  B    Brown,  g  21 

State  Treasurer 

Alfred  Oroudorff,  d 1664—    621 

Ji  !i"  C    Smiil loin 

John  G.   Irwin,  g 19 


Frank  M.  Bridges,  d  1658—    611 

Thomas  II.  Sinilh.r 1047 

Representative. 

Walter  E.  Carl  in.  d  ...   2581!4 

George  W.  Murray,  d 2391 

John  H     l  oais,  r- 3094 

Duncan  C.    Mclier,  r 6 

On  the   Question  of  an  Appropriation  to   Complete   the 
State    Capitol. 

For     1631—1108 

Against 523 

On  the  Question  of  Ceding  the   Illinoi-  and   Michigau 

Canal  to  the  Uuiled  States, 
For    1154-     420 


County  Judge. 


Clerk. 

James  Eads,  d 1493—    297 

Edson  A.  Dudge,  r 1196 

Sheriff. 

Charles  8.  Frost,  d 1614—    528 

Thomas  F.  Hansel,  r lOtJti 

Coroner. 

Caleb  Du  Hadway,  d 1682—    554 

Wesley  Park,  r  loso 

Treasurer. 

John  A.  Shephard,  d 1706 —    697 

John  H.  lieaty,  r  1009 

Superintendent  of  Schools. 

Lott  Pennington,  d 1583—    484 

M    J.  Hoffman,  r 1099 


ELKC1ION,  NOVE.MBEU,    1884. 

President. 

James  G.  Blaine,  r I:'07 

G rover  Cleveland,  d. 2ol4— 

John  P.  St.  John,  p  80 

Benjamin    F.  Butler,    g 1 

Cougress. 

Milton  J.  Riggs.  d 2023— 

Thomas  J.  Black,  r  1310 

.1    A    Wallace,  p     73 

H.J     Parker,   g 2 

Governor. 

Richard  .1    Oglesby,  r 1304 

Carter  H.  Harris d  2034— 

James  B.  llobbs,  p     72 

Jesse  Harper,  g 1 


Lieutenant-Governor 


John  C.  Smith,  r  

Henry  Sciter,  d  ... 
James  L.  Ferryman,  p 
A.  c.  Vanderwater,  g 


Secretary  of  State. 

Henrv  D.  Dement,  r 1300 

Michael  J.  Duugheity.  d. 2916—    716 

Charles  W.    Enos,  p  98 

11.  E.  Baldwin,  g  i 


Auditor. 


Walter  li    Carlin.  d   . 
A  exander  B    Irwin,  p 
E.   F.    Reeves,  g 


Treasurer. 

Jacob  Gross,  r  

Alfrer'  Oiendorft',  d 

Uriah  f-app       

Bei.j   miu  N.  Goodhue,  g 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


113 


Attorney-General . 

George  Hunt,  r 1301 

Robert  L.  McKinlay.d 3030—    719 

Hale  Johnson,  p 73 

J.  N.  Gwin,  g 1 

Member  of  Board  of  Equalization . 

Samuel  R.  Chittenden 2045—    715 

William  H    Ellis 1310 

Representatives. 

Henry  C .  Maseey 3058V4 

Byron   McEwre, 2968 

Theodore  S.  Chapman  3839 

Jehu  H    Reeves  248 

D.A.Trulter 5 

Supreme    Clerk. 

Ethan  A .  Snively,  d 2027—    734 

Thomas  L.  McGrath,  r 1293 

Appellate  Clerk. 

George  W .  Jones,  il  3024—    719 

I.    W.  Sheptaard.  r 1305 

State's  Attorney. 

A.  A.  Goodrich,  d 2066—    790 

James  F    GreatLouse,  r 273 

August  Berger 1 

Scattering 2 

Circuit    Clerk. 

Jesse  I.  McGreadv.  d  2033—    753 

Robert  T.  Brock,' r  1280 

Cory  P.  Edsall,  p 94 


Coroner. 

E.  L.  H.  Barry 2001—    675 

J.  Tidhall 1326 

Surveyor 

Daniel  J.  Murphy 2023—    729 

Henry  D.  Edwards 1294 

WE.  Kingsley 81 

Om  Question  of  Levying  a  Tax  to  Build  a  County  Jail. 

For  lmi—    426 

Against 1188 

On  the  Question  of  an  Amendment  to  the  Constitution. 

For  2109—  1858 

Against 251 

On  the  Question  of  an  Appropriation   to  Complete  the 
State    Capitol. 

For 3843—  2714 

Against 128 

SPECIAL  ELECTION,  APRIL,  1885. 

State  Senator— To  fill  Vacancy  Occasioned  bv  the  death 
of  F.  M.  Bridges. 

Robert  H   Davis 633—    6U9 

E.Wilson 11 

AM.  Hackley 12 

ELECTION,  JUNE,  1885. 

Circuit  Judge. 

George  W.  Herdman 1007—     34 

Cyrus    Epler 968 

Lyman  Lacy 973 


CHAPTER    VIII. 


JUDICIAL. 


Man,  a  finite  being,  is  of  a  necessity, 
from  His  nature,  an  imperfect  creature, 
and  as  such  requires  that  laws,  both 
human  and  divine,  shall  be  enacted,  with 
the  penalties  attached  for  their  violation, 
for  his  government.  Ever  since  the  day 
when  our  first  parents,  Adam  and  Eve, 
were  placed  in  the  garden  of  Eden,  with 
the  injunction  tip  let  the  fruit  of  a  certain 
tree  alone,  with  the  penalty  for  trans- 
gression attached,  man  has  had  to  have 
some  law  to  govern  him,  or  he  descends 
to  barbarism  or  rapine.  Through  a 
long  line  of  law-givers  and  legislators, 
we  trace  the  laws  of  the  present  back  to 
the  decalogue,  given  to  the  tribes  of 
Israel     when     they      wandered     in     the 


deserts  of  Arabia,  the  underlying  prin- 
ciples of  which  arc  the  fundamental 
basis  of  all  modern  law.  Circumstances 
and  surroundings  have  changed  since  the 
days  when  that  alone  was  needed,  and 
the  present  complex  and  often  prolix 
laws  are  the  superstructure  built  upon 
the  foundation  of  the  "ten  command- 
ments." 

The  existence  of  laws  implies  the  ex- 
istence of  courts  wherein  all  questions 
of  law  shall  be  determined  and  inter- 
preted. This  fact,  so  patent,  being  de- 
termined, the  framers  of  the  state 
constitution  instituted  certain  courts  of 
justice,  eaeh  with  well  defined  powers. 
Changes  have  been  made,  from  time  to 


114 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


time,  in  the  jurisdiction  of  these  courts, 
hut  the  rights  of  every  citizen,  of  high 
or  low  degree,  have  ever  been  main- 
tained. 

Among  the  men  who  took  a  part  in 
laying  the  foundation  of  this  portion  of 
the  state  of  Illinois,  there  is,  perhaps, 
no  class  that  stands  out  more  promi- 
nently than  the  members  of  the  bench 
and  bar,  and  Jersey  county  has  had  the 
honor  of  having  contributed  some  of  the 
ablest  men  to  this  portion  of  govern- 
ment. Of  these,  in  their  turn,  it  is 
now  the  pleasure  of  the  historian  to  pre- 
sent a  view.  Many  of  the  sketches  of 
the  talented  men  who  have  occupied  the 
bench  in  some  of  these  courts  are 
meager,  but,  they  having  passed  from 
this  arena  of  active  life,  but  little  can 
be  gathered  respecting  them,  although 
no  pains  have  been  spared  to  make  this 
chapter  as  full  and  complete  as  possible. 

The  first  term  of  circuit  court  in 
Jersey  county,  convened  Nov.  25,  1839, 
in  a  small  frame  school  house  which 
then  stood  in  the  southwest  corner  of 
the  old  Morean  place,  now  owned  bj; 
John  Smith.  That  building  was  after- 
wards removed  about  two  squares  further 
northwest,  when  it  was  owned  by  Mrs. 
Abijah  Davis  as  a  dwelling.  It  was  torn 
down  in  the  summer  of  1884.  It  was 
also  the  first  school  building  erected  in 
Jerseyville.  Judge  William  Thomas, 
of  the  first  judicial  circuit,  presided  at 
this  session. 

The  certificates  of  appointment  of 
Robert  L.  Hill,  clerk,  John  N.  English, 
sheriff,  and  Nelson  R.  Lurton,  coroner, 
were  produced,  with  the  oath  of  office 
endorsed  «thereon,  and  were  ordered  to 
be  recorded,  together  with  the  bonds  of 
the  several  officers. 


The  sheriff  returned  the  panel  of 
grand  jurors  selected  and  summoned 
for  the  body  of  Jersey  county.  The 
following  constitutes  a  list  of  those 
present  :  Elijah  Van  Home,  William 
Draper,  John  D.  Gillham,  Thomas 
Hamilton,  Samuel  L.  McGill,  James 
Davis,  John  Corson,  George  Hoffman, 
Josiah  Rhodes,  John  Hawkins,  Henry 
Coonrod,  Maben  Anderson,  John  Kim- 
ball, George  Smith,  John  Brown  and 
Robert  B.  Robbing.  Elijah  Van  Home 
was  selected  and  sworn  as  foreman,  and 
the  other  members  of  the  grand  jury 
were  sworn  and  charged  by  the  state's 
attorney  and  retired  to  consider  the  du- 
ties assigned  them. 

The  first  case  which  came  up  for 
hearing  before  this  body  was  that  of  J. 
M.  Hurd,  for  the  use  of  Ezra  Hurd, 
plaintiff,  against  John  W.  Slaten,  de- 
fendant, being  an  appeal  from  the  jus- 
tice's court.  John  W.  Scott  and  Ed- 
ward M.  Daley,  plaintiffs,  against  Al- 
exander H.  Burrett,  defendant,  being 
an  action  for  trespass,  was  the  second 
case.  Both  cases  were  continued  by 
the  attorneys  who  appeared  for  the  par- 
ties concerned. 

The  first  state  case  was  that  of  "Wil- 
liam Dixon,  alias  Captain  Dixon,  in- 
dicted for  passing  fictitious  notes  and 
for  forgery,  This  called  into  requisition 
the  first  petit  jury,  which  was  composed 
of  the  following  named  gentlemen:  Jos- 
eph Duncan,  James  Ritchie,  Josiah 
Jackson,  John  Keyes,  Thomas  H.  Chap- 
man, Richard  Simmons,  Moses  Cock- 
rell,  Ambrose  S.  Wyckoff,  Chilton 
Smithe,  Isaac  Barree,  William  Palmer, 
William  K.  Miner.  The  jury  found  the 
defendant  guilty,  in  the  manner  and 
form  as  was  alleged  against  him  in  the 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


11.", 


indictment  of  the  grand  jury,  and  in- 
structed that  he  should  be  confined  in 
the  penitentiary  fora  term  of  four  years. 
The  day  following,  the  court  executed 
the  verdict  of  the  petit  jury,  by  sen- 
tencing defendant  to  4(i  months  at  hard 
labor  in  the  penitentiary.  Dixon  was 
also  held  for  larceny,  by  an  indictment 
of  the  grand  jury,  but  the  attorney  for 
the  state  refused  to  further  prosecute  the 
case,  and  it  was  consequently  dismissed. 

After  completing  the  balance  of  busi- 
ness which  came  before  the  court,  an 
adjournment  was  had  until  the  next 
regular  meeting. 

The  next  term  of  court  convened 
April  30,  1840,  Judge  William  Thomas 
presiding.  Nothing  worthy  of  particu- 
lar mention  in  thi>  connection  appears 
in  the  record  of  this  session. 

The  next  term  of  the  court  began  on 
Oct.  28,  1840,  Judge  Thomas  still  pre- 
siding. 

At  this  term,  the  first  murder  case,  of 
which  Elias  Cockrell  was  defendant, 
was  heard.  The  defendant  pleaded 
"not  guilty,"  and  tiled  his  affidavit  and 
moved  the  court  for  a  change  of  venue, 
whereupon  the  court  ordered  that  the 
venue  be  changed  to  Greene  county. 

At  the  following  term  of  court,  which 
convened  April  26,  1841,  Judge  Samuel 

I).    Lockw 1  occupied   the  bench   for 

the  first  time  in  this  county.  He  pre- 
sided at  every  session  until  that  of  Sep- 
tember, 184N.  which  was  his  last  in  that 
capacity. 

In  conformity  with  the  provisions  of 
the  general  assembly  of  Illinois,  at  their 
last  session,  the  court,  at  the  April 
term,  of  1843,  appointed  Robert  L. 
Hill  master  in  chancery  of  Jersey 
county,  and  the  said  Hill  being  present, 


accepted  the  appointment,  took  the  oath 
of  office  and  tiled  a  bond  with  security, 
approved  by  the  court,  in  the  penalty 
of  $2,000. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Jersey  county 
bar  and  officers,  before  the  convening 
of  court.  Sept.  13,  IMS.  the  following 
resolutions  were  adopted  in  honor  of 
Samuel  D.  Lockwood,  circuit  judge.  A. 
W.  Caverly,  the  oldest  member  of  the 
bar,  was  selected  to  read  and  tender  the 
resolutions  for  the  acceptance  of  Judge 
Lockwood,  about  to  retire  from  the  ju- 
dicial circuit.  These  resolutions  were 
as  follows: 

Whereas,  the  Honorable  Daniel  ]).  Lock- 
wood  will  shortly  retire  from  the  judicial 
station  which  he  has  su  long  and  eminently 
adorned,  theretore, 

Resolved,  that  the  members  of  the  bar  can- 
not let  the  occasion  pass  wit hout  expressing 
their  profound  respect  for  the  purity  of  his 
life,  and  then  admiration  tor  Ins  distinguished 
hearing  as  a  jurist. 

Resolved,  that  on  the  contemplated  re- 
tirement of  Hon.  Judge  Lockwood  from 
the  public  service,  we  will  take  our 
leave  of  him  with  unfeigned  regret.  The 
uniform  courtesy  and  urbanity  which  hasever 
characterized  his  intercourse  witli  t tie  liar  and 
the  people;  his  learning,  dignity,  impartiality 
.mil  strict  honesty  as  a  judge,  ha\  e  endeared 
him  to  us  all,  and  in  bidding  him  farewell  we 
tender  to  him  the  anient  wishes  of  our  hearts 
that  his  future  days  to  a  good  old  age  may  lie 
unclouded  and  serene. 

Resolved,  that  while  the  memory  of  the 
pleasant  intercourse  betwixt  Judge  Lockwood 
and  the  liar  of  the  circuit  court  must  in  a 
great  measure  pass  away  with  the  lives  of 
its  members,  we  rejoice  that  the  opinions  de- 
livered by  Judge  Lockwood,  as  a  justice  of  the 
supreme  court,  of  which  he  has  long  lieen  a 
distinguished  member,  constitute  a  monument 
to  bis  ability  and  learning  as  a  judge,  upon 
which  the  bar  of  Illinois  will  ever  look  with 
respect  and  admiration. 

Resolved,  that  these  proceedings  be  signed 


116 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUN  TY. 


by  the  chairman  and  secretary,  and  a  copy  of 
the  same  be  presented  to  Judge  Lockwood, 
and  a  like  copy  to  the  court,  with  a  request 
that  they  bespread  upon  the  records,  and  that 
they  be  published  in  the  different  newspapers 
of  the  circuit. 

Resolved,  that  A.  W.  Caverly,  Esq.,  as  the 
oiliest  member  of  this  bar,  be  requested  to  pre- 
sent the  foregoing  resolutions  to  the  court, 
with  the  request  that  the  same  be  spread  upon 
the  records. 

After  reading  the  resolutions  Mr. 
Caverly  remarked:  "In  behalf  of  my 
professional  brethren  of  this  bar,  I  now 
present  you  a  copy  of  these  resolutions 
as  a  tribute  of  our  admiration  and  re- 
spect, and  beg  your  acceptance  of  the 
same."  Judge  Lockwood,  on  receiving 
the  copy,  replied:  "I  accept  them. 
My  heart  is  too  full  to  say  more." 

At  the  term  of  court,  which  convened 
May  14,  1849,  Judge  David  M.  Wood- 
son presided  for  the  first  time  in  this 
court.  He  occupied  the  bench  at  every 
session  of  the  court  in  this  county  from 
that  time  until  April,  1867,  with  the  ex- 
ception of  the  October  term,  1851. 

He  was  born  in  Jessamine  county, 
Ky.  ,  May  18,  1806.  His  parents  were 
Samuel  H.  and  Ann  R.  (Meade)  Wood- 
son. His  father  was  a  leading  lawyer 
in  Kentucky,  and  had  several  times 
represented  Jessamine  county  in  the 
state  legislature.  In  1831,  David  M. 
was  himself  elected  to  the  legislature, 
on  the  whig  ticket,  and  cast  one  of  the 
votes  which  elected  Henry  Clay  to  the 
United  States  senate.  When  elected, 
Mr.  Woodson  was  carried  through  the 
streets  of  the  village  in  which  he  lived, 
on  men's  shoulders,  which  attested  his 
popularity,  even  then.  On  the  6th  day 
of  October,  1831,  he  was  married  to 
Lucy    McDowell,    daughter    of    Major 


John  McDowell,  of  Fayette  county, 
Ky.  He  came  to  this  state  in  the 
autumn  of  1833,  and  chose  Carrollton, 
Greene  county,  as  his  future  home,  and 
then  returned  to  Kentucky  for  his  fam- 
ily, whom  he  brought  out  the  following 
year.  He  had  studied  and  practiced 
law  in  Kentucky,  and  when  he  came  to 
Carrollton,  entered  into  his  partnership 
with  Charles  D.  Hodges,  which  contin- 
ued 14  years,  being  terminated  by  the 
election  of  Mr.  Hodges  to  a  judgeship. 
His  first  wife  died  in  Kentucky,  in  Au- 
gust, 1836.  He  was  again  married, 
Nov.  1,  1838,  to  Julia  Kennett.  At  the 
sesimi  of  the  legislature  of  1838-39,  he 
was  elected  to  the  office  of  state's  attor- 
ney, to  fill  a  vacancy  to  which  he  had 
recently  been  appointed  by  Governor 
Duncan.  In  August,  1840,  he  was 
elected  to  the  legislature  from  Greene 
county.  In  1843,  he  ran  for  congress, 
from  the  5th  district,  against  Stephen 
A.  Douglas,  but  was  defeated.  He  was 
a  member  of  the  state  constitutional 
convention  of  1847.  The  next  position 
to  which  he  was  elected  was  the  circuit- 
judgeship  of  the  first  judicial  district, 
which  he  held  until  1867,  when*  he  re- 
tired from  the  bench.  He  was  elected 
to  the  house  of  representatives  from 
Greene  county,  in  1868,  on  the  demo- 
cratic ticket.  He  was  the  father  of  one 
son,  by  his  first  marriage,  John  M. 
Woodson,  of  St.  Louis.  By  his  second 
marriage  there  was  one  child,  a  daugh- 
ter, now  the  wife  of  H.  C.  Withers. 

The  October  term  of  1851  began  on 
the  20th  day  of  the  month.  It  was  pre- 
sided over  by  Judge  0.  C.  Skinner,  and 
this  was  the  only  term  not  presided 
over  by  Judge  Woodson,  from  the  first 
one  until  his  retirement  from  the  bench. 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


117 


Court  met  Oct.  14,  1867,  with  Charles 
D.  Hodges  on  the  bench,  he  having 
succeeded  his  law  partner,  Judge  Wood- 
son. Judge  Hodges  presided  at  every 
term  for  about  six  years,  the  session 
beginning  .March  17,  1873,  being  his  last 
in  this  county. 

Court  convened  Sept.  22,  1873,  with 
Judge  Cyrus  Epler  occupying  the  bench. 
Judge  Epler  like  those  who  had  preceded 
him  in  that  capacity,  had  been  widely 
known  for  his  legal  attainments  before 
being  elevated  to  the  bench,  and  while 
occupying  that  position  in  this  circuit, 
added  largely  to  his  reputation  for  wis 
dom  and  brilliancy  in  his  profession. 
Judge  Epler  presided  at  each  term  of 
court  until  that  of  September,  1877. 

At  that  session,  which  began  on  the 
24th  day  of  the  month,  Judge  Albert  G. 
Burr  occupied  the  bench  for  the  first 
time  in  this  county. 

Charles  S.  Zane,  then  of  Springfield, 
now  chief  justice  of  Utah  territory, 
presided  at  the  term  commencing  Sept. 
22,  1879. 

Judge  Burr  presided  at  each  subse- 
quent sitting  of  the  court,  until  he  was 
succeeded  by  Judge  Cyrus  Epler,  at  the 
March    term,    1882.     Judge    Epler   also 


occupied  the  bench  at  the  term  begin- 
ning Sept.  25,  1882. 

George    W.    Her  dm  an,    the    present 

judge,  presided  for  the  first  time  at  the 
March  term,  1883. 

George  W.  Herdman  is  a  native  of 
the  state  of  New  York,  and  was  born 
March  6,  1839.  In  the  fall  of  1854  he 
located  in  Jersey  county,  having  previ- 
ously removed  to  this  state  with  his 
parents.  His  early  life  was  spent  on  a 
farm.  At  the  age  of  24  years  he  com- 
menced the  study  of  law,  and  in  the 
spring  of  1867  received  a  diploma  from 
the  University  of  Louisville,  Ky.  He 
commenced  practice  in  Jerseyville,  the 
same  spring.  In  the  fall  of  1870  he 
was  elected  to  the  legislature  as  repre- 
sentative from  Jersey  and  Calhoun 
counties.  In  1876  he  was  elected  state 
senator,  and  served  four  years.  In 
July,  1882,  he  was  elected  judge  of  the 
7th  judicial  circuit,  to  fill  the  un. 
expired  term  occasioned  by  the  death 
of  Albert  G.  Burr,  and  in  June,  1885) 
was  re-elected  for  a  term  of  six  years. 
He  has  also  been  a  member  of  the  Jer- 
seyville board  of  education  three  years. 
In  February,  1880,  he  was  united  in 
marriage  with  Helen  A.,  a  daughter  of 
James  W.  Parrish.     He  is  a  democrat. 


GHAPTRR    IX. 


JOURNALISM  IN  JERSEY   COUNTY. 


The  inception  of  journalism  dates 
from  remote  ages.  The  institution  now 
known  as  the  newspaper  was  ante-dated 
nearly  1,000  years  by  manuscript  pub- 


lications, in  which  the  accounts  of  pub- 
lic occurrences  and  familiar  gossip  was 
made  known  to  the  citizens  of  imperial 
Rome,    seated   upon   her    seven    hills. 


118 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


These  sheets  were  known  by  the  name 
of  "Acta  Diurna;"  but  their  issues  were 
at  all  times  irregular,  and  in  times  of 
scarcity  of  news  totally  suspended,  the 
editor  either  engaging  in  some  other 
calling,  or  indulging  in  the  sports  of  the 
day. 

But  little  progress  seems  to  have  been 
made  for  many  years  in  this  branch  of 
business,  until  the  early  part  of  the  17th 
century. 

Frankfort-on-the-Main  claims  to  have 
produced  within  her  walls  the  father  of 
modern  newspapers.  She  claims  that 
Egenolf  Emm  el,  a  book  dealerandbook 
printer  of  Frankfort,  in  the  period  of 
that  city's  greatest  literary  prosperity, 
was  the  first  in  Europe  to  issue  a  news- 
paper at  regular  intervals  in  the  shape 
in  which  we  see  them  to-day.  This 
honor  of  priority  of  newspaper  produc- 
tion has  been  considerably  contested, 
but  unsuccessfully.  Emmel  first  pub- 
lished a  weekly,  Frankfurter  Journal,  in 
1615.  The  Nuremburgers  say  that 
Wendelin  Borsch  published  a  newspaper 
in  their  city  as  early  as  1571;  but  there 
is  no  proof  that  this  was  anything  more 
than  the  fugitive  leaves  which  had  then 
become  pretty  common  in  the  great 
trading  centers  of  Europe;  and  as  the 
English  claim  their  first  regular  news- 
paper to  have  appeared  in  1622,  and  the 
French  in  1631,  to  Frankfort  must  be 
left  the  honor  of  Egenolf  Emmel,  the 
father  of  newspapers. 

The  precursors  of  Germannewspapers 
were  the  small,  printed,  flying  sheets 
issued  in  the  latter  half  of  the  15th  cen- 
tury, under  the  titles  Relatione, t  or  Neue 
Zeitung  (New  'Puling*),  which,  however, 
only  made  their  appearance  at  irregular 
intervals,  generally  to  record  some  event 


of  more  than  ordinary  note.  These 
reports  are  said  to  have  existed  as  early 
as  the  middle  of  the  15th  century;  the 
oldest  mentioned  are  from  the  years 
1457-1460;  though  the  oldest  copy  now 
preserved  in  the  university  library  at 
Leipsic  bears  the  date  of  1494.  But 
these  Relations  or  Tidings  cannot  he  looked 
upon  as  the  germs  of  the  modern  press. 
The  beginnings  of  the  German  newspa- 
papers  are  to  be  traced  in  the  written 
commercial  correspondence  of  the  mid- 
dle ages.  The  editorial  bureaus  were 
the  counting-rooms  of  the  great  mercan- 
tile houses,  which  had  their  agents 
transmit  information  to  them  from  all 
parts  of  the  world  then  open  to  com- 
merce. But  as  these  sheets  were  almost 
private,  they  were  of  little  service  to 
the  world  at  large.  As  Gutenburg's 
invention  won  its  way,  and  the  large 
trading  houses  entered  into  communica- 
tion with  each  other  and  with  their 
various  governments,  which  had  an 
equal  interest  in  the  information  con- 
tained in  the  commercial  correspond- 
ence, types  were  introduced  into  the 
trading  bureaus,  or  the  written  corres- 
pondence was  placed  in  the  hands  of  the 
special  writers,  and  a  regular  system  of 
printed  correspondence  was  inaugurated. 
Venice  is  usually  awarded  the  honor  of 
first  printing  this  commercial  corres- 
pondence in  the  NottzieScritte,  which  was 
at  first  written  and  exhibited  in  certain 
public  places;  but  Germany  was  not 
long  in  following  her  example. 

A  collection  of  "28  volumes  of  this 
printed  commercial  correspondence, 
from  the  years  15(>8  to  Ki04,  was  taken 
with  the  library  of  the  celebrated  Fug- 
ger  family,  to  the  imperial  library,  at 
Vienna,  in  1G06,  and  is  of  great  histori- 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


119 


cal  importance,  connected,  as  it  is,  with 
the  Rothechild  house  of  the  middle 
ages,  These  reports  contain  not  only 
commercial  intelligence,  but  political 
and  social  news  from  the  districts  and 
countries,  which  then  were  attracting 
the  attention  of  Europe.  Many  reports 
an-  written  by  eye-witnesses,  and  official 
documents  relating  to  incidents  de- 
scribed, are  frequently  transmitted. 
When  important  political  information  is 
reported,  the  source  from  whence  it  is 
procured,  is  generally  given.  Others, 
again,  contained  literary  departments 
corresponding  to  the  feuillton  of  the 
European  press  of  to-day,  bringing 
graphic  descriptions,  accounts  of  popu- 
lar festivities,  manners  and  customs: 
accounts  of  the  discovery  of  America, 
of  the  conquests  of  the  Turks,  and  local 
occurrences,  such  as  all  sorts  of  fearful 
signs  in  the  heavens,  wonderful  animals, 
and  misbirths;  accounts  of  executions, 
inundations,  earthquakes,  burning  of 
witches,  and  child-murders  committed 
by  bigots,  together  with  prophecies  and 
warnings — the  editorials  of  to-day — con- 
nected with  passing  events.  News  then 
came  to  hand  very  slowly.  An  Indian 
overland  post  required  eleven  months  to 
get  to  Europe,  and  40  or  •">()  days  were 
required  for  a  letter  to  get  from  Con- 
stantinople to  Vienna.  Naturally 
enough,  as  the  papers  gained  a  more  ex- 
tended circulation,  the  jealous  govern- 
ments began  to  look  after  them;  and 
history  knows  whole  series  of  govern- 
ment ordinances,  issued  from  Paris  to 
Rome,  condemning  them  as  destructive 
to  soul  and  body. 

The  idea  of  issuing  a  newspaper  at 
regular  intervals,  that  is,  every  week, 
first  originated  in  the  mind  of  Egenolf 


Emmel,  of  Frankfort,  and  with  his 
Frankfurter  Journal,  which  made  its  ap- 
pearance in  1615,  the  transition  from 
the  irregular  publications,  such  as  the 
/,'.  lationen,  to  the  newspapers,  was  made. 
The  same  journal  still  flourishes,  and 
the  house  from  which  it  was  first  issued, 
may  yet  be  seen.  The  Journal  appeared 
as  a  weekly  up  to  the  year  1740;  then  it 
appeared  oftener;  in  1795,  it  appeared 
rive  times  a  week,  and  subsequently  be- 
came a  daily. 

In  England,  the  mental  appetite  was 
fed  by  the  News  Letter,  a.  manuscript 
production,  which  was  only  furnished  at 
fabulous  prices.  It  was  in  1622,  as 
above  mentioned,  when  the  first  English 
newspaper  was  born.  This  was  The 
Weekly  News  from  Italie  end  Germanie, 
which  was  printed  upon  a  mechanical 
contrivance,  perfected  by  one  Nathaniel 
Butler,  who  is  thus  the  progeniter  of  the 
English  press.  The  first  attempt  at  the 
publication  of  parliamentary  reports 
was  made  in  1641,  when  the  parties  and 
politics  of  the  realm  first  occupied  a 
place  in  the  newspaper.  It  was  some 
seven  years  later,  in  1648,  when  the  first 
advertisement  appeared.  This  was  in 
verse  form,  and  was  an  invitation  to 
call  upon  a  fashionable  tailor  of  the 
period,  and  purchase  of  him  the  styles 
then  in  vogue  among  the  beaux. 

The  pioneer  daily  morning  newspaper 
of  the  world  was  the  London  Courrnt, 
which  was  initiated  in  170!*,  and  con- 
sisted of  only  one  page  of  two  columns, 
each  five  paragraphs  long,  and  was  made 
up  from  translations  from  foreign  jour- 
nals. The  revolutions  in  journalism 
during  the  present  century  have  been  of 
so  stupendous  a  type  as  to  be  almost 
beyond   comprehension,    were    we    not 


brought  face  to,  face  with  the  fact  day 
by  day.  In  this  country,  from  the  ad- 
vent of  the  Boston  Nenos  Letter,  in  17(14, 
unto  the  present  time,  when  the  United 
States  can  boast  of  its  962  daily,  and 
over  8,000  weekly  papers,  seems  a  tre- 
mendous step  in  the  forward  march  of 
improvement,  but  is  only  a  forerunner 
of  what  may  be  the  achievements  and 
power  of  an  independent  press  in  a  free, 
republican  country  in  the  future. 

Jersey   county   has   had  considerable 
opportunity  to  test  the  value  of  news- 
papers, as  aids  in  building  up  its  busi- 
ness centers,  and  making  known  its  re- 
sources  and   advantages    to    the   outer 
world,  while  the   ennobling  influences 
of  the  press  has  been  incalculable;  and, 
as   a   general    thing,    its    citizens   have 
always  manifested  a  liberal  spirit  of  en- 
couragement  toward  the   various  jour- 
nalistic enterprises  that  have  originated 
in  their  midst,    and   which  support  is 
rapidly  growing  in  extent  and  volume. 
It  would  be  almost  impossible  to  esti- 
mate in  a  money  value,  the  advantages 
derived  by  Jersey  county,  in  a  business 
point  of  view,  from  the  influence  of  the 
press,  but  it  is  beyond  all  cavil  inesti- 
mable.    At  all  times  the  press  has,  in 
advocacy   of  local  interests,  called  into 
requisition   respectable,   and    in    many 
instances,  eminent  talent,  which  has  a 
tendency  to  inspire  its  citizens,  as  well 
as  friends,  with  hope  and  confidence  in 
its  prosperity. 

As  patrons  of  the  press,  as  would  be 
expected  of  those  who  people  it,  Jersey 
county's  citizens  have  established  a  good 
name.  As  records  of  current  history, 
the  emanations  of  the  local  press  should 
be  preserved  by  town  and  county  gov- 
ernment among  the  archives  for  refer- 


ence. These  papers  are  the  depositories 
wherein  are  stored  the  facts  and  the 
events,  the  deeds  and  the  sayings,  the 
undertakings  and  achievements,  that  go 
to  make  up  the  history  of  the  day.  One 
by  one  these  things  are  gathered  and 
placed  in  type;  one  by  one  these  papers 
are  gathered  together  and  bound,  and 
another  volume  of  local,  general,  and 
individual  history  is  lard  away  imper- 
ishable. The  volumes  thus  collected 
are  sifted  by  the  historians,  and  the 
book  for  the  library  is  ready. 

There  should  be  some  means  devised 
by  which  press  records  might  be  pre- 
served and  made  accessible.  This  is, 
of  course,  attempted  in  all  offices,  but  by 
the  removal  of  editors,  who  claim  the 
files  as  their  property,  and  a  general 
carelessness  on  the  part  of  all  inter- 
ested, in  many  instances  the  files  are 
sadly  deficient. 

BACKWOODSMAN. 

This  was  the  singular  title  of  the  first 
newspaper  ever  issued  within  the  lim- 
its of  the  county  of  Jersey.  It  was  es- 
tablished in  the  year  1837,  at  Grafton, 
by  Paris  Mason,  who  was  sole  proprie- 
tor ;  but  the  editorial  management  was 
under  the  control  of  John  Russell,  quite 
a  noted  and  talented  gentleman.  He 
was  a  native  of  Vermont,  born  at  Cav- 
endish, that  state,  July  31,  1793.  He 
entered  Middlebury  college  in  1814, 
against  the  wishes  of  his  parents,  and 
was  driven  to  the  drudgery  of  author- 
ship by  the  stern  necessity  of  procuring 
funds  for  his  education  and  living.  His 
first  venture  in  this  line  was  "  The  Au- 
thentic History  of  the  Vermont  State 
Prison,"  published  by  Preston  Merri- 
field.     He  was  a  noted  school  teacher, 


after  leaving  college.  While  teaching 
in  Bonhoniinie  bottom,  Missouri,  in 
1819  or  1820,  he  wrote  for  the  Missowrian, 
a  local  paper,  an  anonymous  article 
entitled,  "  The  Venomous  Worm,"  that 
much  resembled  in  pithiness,  pungency 
and  brevity  the  writings  of  Benjamin 
Franklin,  which  attracted  attention  over 
the  world.  It  was  afterwards  placed  in 
Pierpont's  and  in  McGuffey's  readers, 
as  a  specimen  of  native  talent  He  took 
charge  of  the  Backwoodsman  on  its  inau- 
guration, and  remained  at  the  helm  of 
that  paper  until  the  organization  of  the 
county,  in  1839,  when  he  removed  to 
Louisville.  Ky.,  and,  in  1841  and  1*42, 
edited  the  Advertiser,  of  that  place.  In 
1828  he  came  to  Bluffdale,  a  very  ro- 
mantic place  in  Greene  county,  where 
he  made  his  residence,  except  at  such 
times  as  related  above,  until  the  day  of 
his  death,  Jan.  21,  1865.  As  a  writer 
(and  he  was  considerable  of  an  author! 
his  language  was  chaste  and  classical, 
his  style  clear  and  concise,  although 
sometimes  vigorously  ornate;  his  taste 
was  pure  ami  his  thoughts  always  ap- 
propriate and  frequently  striking. 

In  1839,  when  Jerseyville  was  made 
the  seat  of  county  government,  a  joint 
stock  company  of  Jerseyville  people 
purchased  the  paper  and  material  and 
removed  it  to  the  county  seat,  and  in 
the  spring  of  1840  its  publication  was 
resumed,  with  A.  S.  Tilden  as  editor. 
This  gentleman  did  not  remain  long, 
but  was  succeeded  by  Fletcher  and  Par- 
enteau,  who  had  obtained  control  of  it 
and  changed  its  name  to  that  of  the 

NEWSPAPER. 

This  paper  had  a  life  of  only  about 
four    months,  when   the  office    was    de- 


stroyed by  fire,  and  it  never  was  revived. 
Mr.  Fletcher  afterwards  started  and  pub- 
lished the  Carrollton  Advocate  fin  1842. 

THE  DEMOCRATIC  UNION. 

During  the  year  1854,  the  above 
named  paper  was  established  at  Jersey- 
ville, by  Thomas  Wright,  who  came 
from  Indiana.  The  Unitrn  was  the  first 
democratic  paper  ever  published  at  Jer- 
seyville. Its  publication  was  continued 
by  Mr.  Wright  until  1856,  when  it  was 
suspended  and  he  left  town.  The  fol- 
lowing year  Henry  H.  Howard  revived 
the  paper,  and  was  succeeded  in  1858 
by  John  C.  Doblebower,  who  continued 
to  publish  the  Union  until  the  1st  of 
April,  1865,  when  it  was  discontinued. 
The  following  valedictory  appeared  in 
the  last  issue  of  that  paper: 

"  We  approach  the  above  subject  with 
feelings  of  the  greatest  regret.  We  are 
filled  with  compunctions  because  the 
change  we  have  recently  made  from  the 
editorial  chair  of  the  loved  and  cherished 
Democratic  Intuit  to  that  of  the  Alton 
National  Democrat,  while  it  has,  perhaps, 
been  an  advantage  to  us,  has  resulted  in 
the  death  of  our  old  friend.  This  was 
wholly  unexpected  by  us,  nor  did  we 
know  such  was  the  intention  of  the  com- 
mittee to  whom  we  sold,  until  the  ar- 
rangements were  so  far  completed  as  to 
make  it  unadvisable  to  negotiate  upon 
that  point. 

*         *         *  *         *         * 

"  To  our  friends  and  patrons  in  Jersey 

county  and  elsewhere,  we  return  our 
hearty  thanks  for  the  liberal  and  con- 
stant support  they  have  given  us;  we 
shall  cherish  their  friendship  and  kind- 
ness to  the  latest  moment  of  our  fu- 
ture existence.     We  should  be  pleased 


122 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


if  that  kindness  and  liberality  should 
follow  us  into  our  new  relations,  and 
hope  to  tuive  the  pleasure  of  receiving  a 
share  of  their  support  and  patronage 
while  we  shall  occupy  our  new  position 
as  the  editoi  of  the  daily  and  weekly 
Alton  National  Democrat.  To  the  editor 
and  the  paper  that  shall  succeed  us  and 
our  paper,  the  Democratic  Union,  we  wish 
the  most  unbounded  success;  and  we 
welcome  both  into  the  field  of  journal- 
ism in  Jersey  county,  hoping  that  they 
may  successfully  maintain  and  defend 
the  good  old  cause  of  Jeflersonian  dem- 
ocracy." 

The  office  material  was  purchased  by 
a  stock  company,  and  a  new  journal  was 
immediately  inaugurated  in  Jersey  ville, 
which  was  christened 

THE  JERSEY  COUNTY  DEMOCRAT. 

The  first  issue  of  this  paper  appeared 
April  7,  1865,  under  the  editorial  man- 
agement of  Augustus  C.  Smith.  It  was 
a  seven-column  folio,  all  printed  at  home 
and  displayed  a  good  amount  of  adver- 
tising— the  life  and  existence  of  a  coun- 
try paper  at  that  time.  Mr.  Smith  con- 
tinued in  editorial  charge  of  the  Demo- 
crat until  the  issue  of  April  20,  1866, 
when  the  stock  company  was  dissolved, 
and  Thomas  J.  Selby  became  editor  and 
proprietor.  With  the  issue  of  October 
1),  18611,  Mr.  Selby  disposed  of  the  paper 
to  A.  A.  Wheelock  and  L.  L.  Burr. 
On  that  date  of  the  Democrat,  the  follow- 
ing notice  of  the  change  was  made  by 
the  new  proprietors: 

"The  undersigned,  having  purchased 
of  T.  J.  Selby  the  Jerseyville  Democrat, 
appear  before  the  old  friends  and  patrons 
of  that  paper  confident  that  with  their 
effort  and   co-operation,  the  enterprise 


will  prove  a  success.  They  come  with- 
out promises  or  pledges,  save  only  the 
discharge  of  their  duty  as  public  jour- 
nalists, and  with  the  determination  to 
devote  their  time  and  talent  to  the  best 
of  their  ability,  to  build  up  and  main- 
tain a  local  paper  that  shall  reflect  the 
interests  and  advance  the  prosperity  of 
the  citizens  of  Jerseyville  and  the  county. 

"The  name  of  the  paper  will  remain 
unchanged.  Its  politics  will  be  demo- 
cratic, aiming,  at  all  times,  to  discuss 
political  questions  fairly  and  candidly, 
and  reserve  the  right  to  condemn  cor- 
ruption and  wrong,  wherever  brought 
to  light.  The  support  of  the  public 
generally  is  respectfully  solicited." 

With  the  issue  of  September  29,  1S70, 
Wheelock  &  Burr  sold  the  Democrat 
office  to  J.  A.  J.  Birdsall  and  J.  I. 
McGready,  formerly  of  the  Macoupin 
Times.  In  the  first  issue,  under  the 
control  of  the  new  firm,  the  following 
salutatory  appeared. 

"Having  purchased  the  office  of  the 
Jersey  county  Democrat  from  Messrs. 
Wheelock  and  Burr,  with  the  present 
issue,  the  undersigned  assumes  its  con- 
trol and  management. 

"It  is  customary  upon  such  occasions 
to  publish  a  long  salutatory,  full  of 
pledges  and  promises,  ami  abounding 
with  fine  words.  We  shall  do  nothing 
of  the  kind.  It  is  one  thing  to  promise 
and  another  to  perform.  Any  man  can 
tell  what  a  good  newspaper  ought  to  be. 
Few  men  can  make  one.  Without  at- 
tempting the  former,  we  shall  try  our 
best  to  accomplish  the  latter. 

"The  only  pledge  we  have  to  make  is, 
that  it  shall  he  as  good  a  newspaper, 
and  as  soundly  democratic,  as  we  know- 
how  to  make  it." 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


12:; 


Mr.  Birdsall  was  connected  with  the 
paper  about  one  year,  when  he  retired 
and  Mr.  McGready  became  sole  editor 
and  proprietor,  [n. the  issue  of  Oct.  27, 
1871,  speaking  of  the  change,  Mr.  Mc- 
Gready says  : 

"Having  purchased  Mr.  Birdsall 's  in- 
terest in  tlic  Democrat,  the  responsibility 
of  continuing  the  paper  devolves  upon 
myself.  1  hope  to  be  aide,  in  a  short 
time,  to  present  to  the  people  of  Jersey 
county  a  paper  in  every  way  worthy  of 
their  support,  one,  at  least,  equally  as 
good  as  is  generally  published  in  a  place 
the  size  of  Jerseyville.  Of  course,  I 
shall  look  particularly  to  the  democracy 
of  Jersey  county  for  encouragement  and 
support.  The  paper  will  he  'demo- 
cratic at  all  times  and  under  all  circuni- 
Btances.'  I  therefore  call  upon  all  the 
democrats  to  give  me  whatever  support 
they  can  in  the  way  of  subscriptions, 
advertising  and  job  work.  It  lias  been 
said  by  some  one  who  has  evidently 
made  the  matter  a  particular  study,  that 
'money  makes  the  mare  go,'  and  it  will 
make  a  printing  office  just  as  'goish.'  " 

From  this  time  until  1880,  the  Demo- 
crat was  under  the  exclusive  control  of 
Mr.  McGready.  During  that  time,  he 
brought  it  to  a  high  standard  in  journal- 
ism in  this  part  of  the  state,  and  be- 
came very  popular  with  all  classes, M  ith- 
OUt  regard  to  political  belief,  and  also 
enjoyed  a  most  prosperous  existence. 
At  the  beginning  of  the  new  year  of 
1880,  the  Democrat  was  changed  in  form 
to  a  six-column  eight-page  paper,  pre- 
senting a  very  neat  and  tasty  appear- 
ance, in  which  form  it  has  continued 
permanently.  Mr.  McGready  disposed 
of  the  paper  to  its  present  editor  and 
proprietor,  J.  M.    Page,   Nov.    11,   1880, 


after  a  most  successful  career  of  over 

ten  years.  In  severing  his  connection 
with  the  Democrat,  in  the  last  issue  un- 
der his  supervision,  he  took  occasion  to 
say: 

'•Having  sold  the  Democrat  office  to 
Mr.  J.  M.  Page,  our  management  with 
the  paper  ceases.  We  return  our  thanks 
to  our  friends  for  the  liberal  patronage 
and  encouragement  extended  us  during 
ten  years  connection  with  the  demo- 
cratic organ  of  Jersey  county,  and  ask 
that  it  be  continued  to  the  new  proprie- 
tor, who  is  in  every  way  worthy  of  the 
confidence  of  the  party,  and  the  people 
generally.  Subscriptions  up  to  Octo- 
ber 1st,  and  advertising  and  job  work 
up  to  Nov.  1,  1880,  will  be  payable  to 
me.  With  our  best  wishes  for  the  read- 
ers of  the  Democrat,  we  bid  them  good- 
bye." 

On  presenting  himself  to  the  friends 
and  patrons  of  the  Democrat,  Mr.  Page 
indulges  in  a  salutatory  which  appears 
in  the  issue  of  November  11,  couched  in 
the  following  language  : 

"Having  purchased  the  Democrat  of  its 
late  proprietor,  .les^e  I.  McGready, 
whose  retirement  from  the  paper  is 
caused  by  his  election  to  the  office  of 
circuit  clerk,  we  offer  our  salutatory  to 
our  friends  in  to-day's  issue.  We  shall 
continue  the  Dcmocratio  its  present  form 
for  a  while  at  least.  It  will  still  be  dem- 
ocratic politically,  and  we  shall  striv« 
to  in  till  into  the  minds  of  our  readers 
the  true  meaning  of  all  that  the  phrase 
signifies,  feeling,  as  we  do,  that  the  well- 
fan'  of  this  country  needs  patriots  not 
only  to  tight  for  its  perpetuity  when  as- 
sailed by  enemies,  but  to  preserve  it 
from  the  peculations  of  unscrupulous 
officeholders,  the  tyranny  of  demagogues 


124 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


and  the  machinations  of  ambitious  party 
leaders.  These  evils  to  be  shunned  are 
to-day  found  in  the  bosom  of  the  repub- 
lican party,  nurtured  and  protected  by  it, 
and  unless  throttled  by  the  honest  yeo- 
manry of  the  country  will  sap  the  vital- 
ity of  our  free  institutions.  Men  whose 
characters  have  been  weighed  in  the 
scales  of  public  opinion  and  found  want- 
ing, even  when  balanced  by  friendly 
hands,  have  been  elected  to  fill  the  two 
highest  offices  in  the  gift  of  the  people, 
and  we  see  in  the  near  future  a  plot  to 
overthrow  the  constitutional  liberty  of 
this. country,  and  establish  on  the  ruins 
thereof  a  monarchial  government, against 
the  thought  of  which  the  feeling  of  the 
patriot  should  rise  above  that  of  the 
partisan.  The  perpetuation  of  our  pres- 
ent form  of  government,  we  believe,  is 
in  the  success  of  democratic  principles 
in  the  field  of  politics,  and  we  shall  en- 
deavor to  impress  this  upon  the  minds 
of  our  readers  until  the  sun  shall  rise 
upon  this  nation  to  find  it  freed  from 
sectional  strife,  and  a  man  seated  in  the 
presidential  chair  who  will  be  put  there 
by  the  honest  vote  of  a  free  people, 
honestly  counted,  and  not  a  political 
demagogue.  We  shall  strive  to  make 
the  Democrat  a  newspaper  in  fact  as  well 
as  in  name,  and  to  succeed  in  this,  ask 
all  our  friends  to  aid  us.  If  you  know 
of  an  item  of  interest  tell  it  to  us,  that 
all  may  be  enlightened.  All  personal- 
ities calculated  to  engender  bitterness 
of  feeling,  one  towards  another,  we  shall 
try  to  exclude  from  our  columns;  but  if 
such  do  at  any  time  appear,  don't  come 
at  us  with  a  shot-gun,  for  that  will  do 
no  good,  but  if  told  in  a  gentlemanly 
manner,  we  will  make  the  amende  honor- 
able, and  be  more  careful  in  the  future. 


Ed.  Gray  will  still  have  charge  giving 
personal  supervision  to  all  job  work; 
and  we  ask  a  liberal  patronage  from  our 
citizens  for  this  class  of  work,  guaran- 
teeing satisfaction  in  all  cases.  In  look- 
ing over  our  subscription  list  we  notice 
the  absence  of  the  names  of  some  of  our 
prominent  democrats.  This  should  not 
be,  as  every  party  needs  an  organ,  and 
in  order  for  that  organ  to  discourse  first- 
class  music  to  its  patrons,  the  bellows 
should  be  tilled  by  a  high-pressure  sub- 
scription list.  This  inspires  the  editor 
with  enthusiasm,  and  his  paper  is  filled 
with  the  vitality  consequent  thereon. 
We  have  a  host  of  friends  in  this  county 
who  have  often  remarked:  '  Joe,  if  we 
can  do  anything  for  you,  let  us  know;' 
and  we  wish  to  say  to  them:  Now  is 
the  time;  come  up  with  your  $2.00 
for  a  year's  subscription  to  the  Democrat, 
give  us  your  job  work,  and  tell  us  all 
you  know,  that  we  may  tell  it  to  others. 
The  length  of  time  intervening  between 
this,  our  salutatory,  and  our  valedictory, 
will  depend  entirely  upon  the  success  of 
our  enterprise,  as  we  do  not  intend  to 
sacrifice  ourself  upon  the  altar  of  our 
country,  and  when  we  die  have  written 
as  an  epitaph  upon  our  tombstone: 
'  Here  lies  a  fool,  who  thought  he  could 
run  a  newspaper  without  being  possessed 
of  either  money  or  brains.'  We  shall 
publish  the  paper  at  the  old  place  of 
business,  and  will  always  be  happy  to 
greet  our  friends  in  our  sanctum.  In 
closing  this  article,  we  quote  an  item 
from  the  Johnson  county,  Nebraska, 
Journal  that  applies  to  our  case  exactly: 
'If  you  like  the  paper,  help  extend  its 
circulation.  If  you  don't  like  it,  if  it 
will  relieve  your  feelings  any  to  swear 
at  it  or  its  editor — pitch  in.'  ': 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


125 


Since  the  accession  of  Mr.  Page  to  the 
editorial  chair  of  the  Democrat,  it  has 
continued  to  enjoy  a  most  flattering 
patronage.  The  paper  is  a  six-column 
quarto  at  the  present  time,  neatly 
printed,  and  manifesting  in  its  make-up 
the  oversight  of  a  practical  printer  of 
first-class  ability;  ably  edited,  and  with 
a  large  amount  of  spicy  local  matter 
and  pungent  editorial  comment. 

Joseph  M.  W .  Page,  editor  and  pro- 
prietor of  the  Jersey  County  Democrat, 
is  among  the  business  men  o(  Jersey 
county  who  have,  by  the  exercise  of 
industry,  energy,  a  sterling  character, 
and  of  their  natural  abilities,  won  for 
themselves  an  honorable  station  in  life. 
He  is  a  native  of  Stoughton,  Massachu- 
setts. Elisha  Page,  his  father,  was  born 
in  the  same  state,  and  was  united  in 
marriage  to  Almira  Wightman,  of  Bos- 
ton. She  still  survives  her  husband. 
By  this  union  there  were  five  children, 
three  of  whom  are  living — Lizzie  H., 
who  has  been  a  teacher  of  high  stand- 
ing in  the  Stoughton  high  school,  Bos- 
ton, during  a  period  of  over  30  years; 
Elisha  W.,  farmer  and  grain  dealer, 
Girard,  111.;  and  the  subject  of  this 
sketch,  who  was  born  May  20,  1845.  His 
father  dying  when  Joseph  was  only  three 
years  of  age,  the  responsibilities  of  real 
life  rested  heavily  upon  the  mother  and 
older  members  of  the  family,  who  were 
compelled  to  provide  for  themselves  at 
a  time  when  more  favored  youths  were 
receiving  an  education  and  fitting  them- 
selves for  the  battle  of  life.  Joseph 
received  a  good  education  in  the  public 
schools  of  Stoughton.  He  graduated  at 
the  age  of  16,  just  at  the  opening  of  the 
late  civil  war,  and  yielding  to  those 
patriotic  desires  which   so  marked  his 


career  in  after  life,  he  enlisted  in  the 
12th  Massachusetts  infantry;  but  after 
the  usual  examination  to  qualify  as  a 
soldier,  he  was  not  permitted  to  be  mus- 
tered in.  to  his  bitter  disappointment, 
on  account  of  age  and  ill-health.  He 
returned  home,  where  he  remained 
attending  school  until  the  next  year, 
when  he  again  enlisted  in  the  35th  Mas- 
sachusetts regiment,  but  was  rejected 
for  the  same  reason  as  on  the  previous 
occasion.  In  the  spring  of  1863,  he 
bade  farewell  to  friends  and  companions 
of  the  home  circle,  and  launched  his 
craft  upon  unknown  currents,  steering 
to  the  west.  He  landed  at  Greenville, 
Bond  county.  111.,  where  he  was  em- 
ployed to  work  on  a  farm.  Soon  after 
lie  went  to  St.  Louis,  and  engaged  him- 
self as  a  clerk  in  a  wholesale  grocery 
store,  where  he  worked  diligently  for 
some  time.  Being  irrepressible  and 
thoroughly  imbued  with  patriotism,  he 
still  desired  to  serve  his  countryin  time 
of  need,  and  again  offered  his  services 
to  the  government.  This  time  he  en- 
listed in  the  40th  Missouri  infantry,  in 
August,  1864,  was  accepted,  and  served 
till,  the  close  of  the  Avar,  being  mustered 
out  in  August,  1865.  He  served  under 
Generals  Canby,  Schofield  and  Thomas, 
taking  an  active  part  in  various  cam- 
paigns. He  was  in  several  engagements 
in  different  states — at  Spring  Hill,  Co- 
lumbia, Franklin,  Nashville,  second 
battle  of  Corinth,  Mobile  and  Fort 
Blakeley.  After  the  close  of  the  war, 
he  returned  home,  where  he  remained 
nearly  a  year,  and  in  the  spring  of  1866, 
again  came  west,  this  time  to  Jersey- 
ville.  He  had  now  reached  the  age  of 
21,  and  upon  his  arrival  his  aggregate 
capital  amounted  to   25   cents.       Then 


126 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


was  shown  the  true  metal  of  his  charac- 
ter, for  at  this  age  how  few  young  men 
would  entertain  the  ambition  to  appren- 
tice themselves  for  a  number  of  years  to 
learn  a  trade  and  call  for  the  sufficient 
will  power  and  energy  to  accomplish 
the  object  they  have  in  contemplation. 
This,  Mr.  Page  did.  He  engaged  him- 
self with  Wm,  Embley,  architect  and 
builder,  for  a  period  of  three  years,  to 
learn  the  carpenter's  trade,  receiving 
for  his  services,  the  first  year,  the  sum 
of  $100,  and  $25  additional  for  each  of 
the  following  years.  Being  apt,  as  well 
as  industrious,  he  soon  became  a  skill- 
ful workman,  and  at  the  expiration  of 
his  apprenticeship,  was  employed  as 
fireman,  witha  lucrative  compensation, 
by  X.  F.  Smith,  Jr.,  for  whom  he 
worked  until  1877,  when,  on  account  of 
of  threatened  disturbance,  occasioned 
by  strikers  who  boldly  disregarded  law 
and  order  throughout  the  entire  country 
— he  having  gained  by  his  fearless. 
upright  manner  the  confidence  of  the 
people  and  a  reputation  for  undaunted 
hra  very — was  unanimously  elected  city 
marshal,  his  predecessor  having  been 
removed.  Soon  after  he  was  elected,  an 
incident  occurred  that  now  confirmed 
the  respect  and  esteem  in  which  he  was 
held  by  the  people.  With  the  assist- 
ance of  hut  two  officers,  Kinsla  and 
Dunphy,  he  recaptured  a  train  that  was 
taken  complete  possession  of  by  several 
hundred  strikers,  captured  the  leaders, 
and  brought  them  to  the  bar  of  justice. 
They  were  sent  to  the  penitentiary  for 
a  term  of  two  years.  He  succeeded  in 
subduing  the  mob  spirit  that  had  been 
gaining  ground  in  the  vicinity.  For 
this  meritorious  conduct,  he  was  pre- 
sented with  a  family   pass  by  General 


Manager  McMullin,    of  the  Chicago  & 

Alton  railroad.  It  is  gratifying  evidence 
of  the  manner  in  which  he  was  endorsed 
by  this  people,  as  he  was  elected  with- 
out opposition  for  four  successive  terms. 
In  November,  1880,  he  resigned,  and 
purchased  of  Jesse  I.  McGready,  who 
had  been  elected  circuit  clerk,  the  Jer- 
sey County  Democrat,  the  official  organ 
of  city  and  county.  He  has  continued 
the  publication  of  this  news  journal  to 
the  present.  Under  his  ownership  and 
vigorous  management,  many  improve- 
ments have  been  added  the  office  has  been 
equipped  with  an  Acme  engine  and  large 
Campbell  printing  press,  the  paper  has 
grown  to  lie  the  pride  of  the  party  it 
represents  in  this  county,  has  proved  a 
paying  investment,  and  continues  to  be 
one  of  the  most  potential  democratic 
organs  in  this  congressional  district.  It 
is  in  a  great  measure  due  to  his  efforts 
as  a  worker,  and  t<>  the  political  articles 
published  in  his  paper,  that  the  county 
has  remained  so  strongly  democratic. 
Politically,  he  is  most  soundly  indoc- 
trinated in  the  principles  of  the  demo- 
cratic party,  and  has  been  an  active 
member  of  that  political  organization 
since  he  cast  his  first  vote  for  Seymour 
and  I'dair,  in  1868.  In  political  cam- 
paigns he  has  taken  an  active  part,  is 
an  effective  campaigner,  and  his  time 
and  services  are  in  great  demand  in  all 
interesting  political  times.  He  has  held 
various  offices  of  public  trust  at  differ- 
ent times,  among  which  have  been  city 
alderman,  clerk  and  treasurer,  is  now 
chairman  of  city  and  county  democratic 
central  committees,  secretary  of  con- 
gressional committee,  12th  district, 
member  of  central  committee  of  7th 
circuit,  secretary  of  Jersey  County  Soh 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


1127 


cliirs'  Monument  Association,  and  of 
the  Jerseyville  Manufacturing  Co.,  Sir 
Knight  Commander  of  Washington  di- 
vision No.  ■_',  C.  R.  K.  of  P.,  Chancel- 
lor Commander  of  Antioch  lodge  No. 
6-r>,  K.  of  P.,  Post  Commander  of  Lowe 
post  No.  L'()"«,  G.  A.  R.,  member  of  Jer- 
seyville  lodge  No.  295,  A.  F.  A  A.  M., 
and  of  Apollo  lodge  No.  877,  K.  of  H. 
His  fidelity  to  public  trusts  received  still 
further  evidence  of  the  approbation  of 
the  people  by  his  being  appointed  by 
the  three  judges  of  the  7th  circuit  as 
master  in  chancery  of  Jersey  county,  in 
the  spring  of  1885.  In  all  his  under- 
takings he  lias  been  eminently  success- 
ful, and  it  is  evident  that  all  he  has 
accomplished  has  been  through  his  own 
efforts,  and  that,  too,  from  very  disad- 
vantageous beginnings,  when  he  had  no 
friends — not  even  an  acquaintance,  and 
in  a  strange  land,  thrown  upon  his  own 
resources.  His  success  in  life  is  only 
an  evidence  of  what  can  be  accomplished 
by  the  exercise  of  sober  industry,  backed 
by  an  indomitable  will-power.  The 
world's  measure  of  success  is  success. 
On  the  17th  of  March,  1871,  he  was 
united  in  marriage  with  Sadie  M.  Remer, 
who  is  of  American  parentage,  a  native 
of  New  Jersey.  Her  father  and  mother. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Abram  Remer,  are  yet 
living,  and  are  residents  of  Jerseyville. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  J.  M.  Page  are  both  con- 
sistent members  of  the  Baptist  church, 
he  having  joined  in  1871.  They  have 
one  child — Theodore. 

PRAIRIE    STATE. 

A  newspaper  with  the  above  name  was 
established  at  Jerseyville,  somewhere 
about  the  year  1857.  A  diligent  search 
has  failed  to  discover  any  of  the  files  of 


it.  ami  therefore  it  is  impossible  to  be 
exact  as  to  the  time.  It  ran  along  until 
the  campaign  of  1860,  between  Lincoln, 
Douglas,  Breckenridge  and  Bell,  in  the 
race  for  the  presidency. 

Early  in  1860the  republicans  of  Jersey 
county,  foreseeing  the  gigantic  struggle 
for  the  presidential  office  of  that  event- 
ful year,  formed  themselves  into  an 
association.  They  adopted  a  constitu- 
tion of  which  the  following  is  the  pre- 
amble: 

"In  view  of  the  great  issues  involved 
in  the  approaching  presidential  election, 
and  believing  that  the  welfare  and  safety 
of  our  common  country  is  in  a  great 
measure  dependant  upon  the  success  of 
republican  principles,  and  that  those 
principles,  if  fairly  promulgated  and 
understood,  will  commend  themselves 
to  the  intelligence  and  patriotism  of 
every  true  citizen  of  this  great  republic. 
Yet  conscious  of  the  power  of  the  dem- 
ocratic party,  not  in  its  inherent 
strength,  or  the  truth  of  its  principles, 
but  in  the  thorough  organization  and 
drill  of  its  forces,  who,  rallying  under 
the  shibboleth  of  democracy,  are  ready 
to  follow  their  leaders  to  the  death. 
And  being  assured  that  a  thorough  and 
perfect  organization  of  all  the  opposi- 
tion forces  is  essential  to  the  overthrow 
of  that  party  in  the  coming  election, 
and  that  such  an  organization  can  only 
be  effected  by  associated  efforts  in  every 
county  and  election  precinct  throughout 
the  country.  And  encouraged  by  the 
hope  of  redeeming  our  own  county  from 
the  bondage  of  democracy  and  restoring 
her  to  the  position  she  once  held,  a 
bright  spot  amid  surrounding  darkness, 
we,  the  undersigned,  for  the  purpose  of 
affecting    such    an    organization    at   the 


county  seat,  as  a  center  and  rallying 
point  for  the  whole  county,  as  shall 
unite  all  the  forces  of  the  opposition, 
and  lead  them  a  solid  phalanx  to  the 
polls,  do  form  ourselves  into  an  asso- 
ciation to  be  called  the  Republican  Club 
of  Jersey  county." 

This  club  numbered  among  its  mem- 
bers some  of  the  best  citizens  of  the 
county,  and  as  they  were  much  in  need 
of  a  newspaper  to  further  their  political 
interests,  arrangements  were  completed 
by  which  the  trustees  of  the  association 
— George  E.  Warren,  J.  J.  Paris,  James 
A.  Barr,  E.  M.  Smith  and  Harley  E. 
Hayes — purchased  the  Prairie  State  of 
Augustus  S.  Smith,  then  editor  and  pro- 
prietor, for  the  consideration  of  $1,625. 
An  agreement  was  also  entered  into  at 
that  time,  with  A.  C.  Clayton,  now  a 
resident  of  St.  Louis,  Mo.,  to  conduct 
the  paper  for  the  association.  The  first 
issue  under  his  management  appeared 
Jan.  20,  1860. 

The  salutatory  of  Mr.  Clayton  was  a 
most  excellent  one,  and  would  amply 
repay  perusal,  but  its  great  length  will 
not  permit  its  insertion  in  this  place. 

Mr.  Clayton  was  an  able  writer,  and 
conducted  the  paper  with  success  and 
satisfaction  for  the  association  until  Jan- 
uary, 1S62,  when  he  retired,  and  the 
services  of  Lambson  Williams  weie  se- 
cured. 

After  this,  the  paper  had  a  varied  ex- 
perience until  about  1863  or  1864,  when 
it  came  to  an  end. 

THE   JERSEYVILLE    EXAMINER. 
The  Examiner  was  established   in   Jer- 
seyville in  1878,  the  first  issue  appear- 
ing August  14.     The  material  affairs  of 
the  office  were  owned  by  a  stock  com- 


pany known  as  the  Jerseyville  Publish- 
ing Company,  of  which  William  H. 
Pogue,  James  A.  Barr,  Horace  N.  Belt, 
William  McBride  and  Morris  R.  Locke 
were  stockholders.  The  paper  was  a 
neatly-printed  five-column  quarto,  is- 
sued Wednesdays,  J.  Sterling  Harper 
being  engaged  as  editor.  The  journal 
was  an  uncompromising  advocate  of  the 
temperance  cause,  and  continued  as 
such  during  its  entire  existence.  In 
the  first  issue  of  the  Examiner,  the  fol- 
lowing salutatory  appears  : 

"  Here  we  are,  in  Jerseyville,  to  work 
in  the  temperance  cause.  We  will  not 
task  your  patience  with  a  lengthy  ad- 
dress, or  profess  too  much ;  but  sim- 
ply and  sincerely  state  that  we  desire 
the  good  of  all,  and  to  that  end  and  for 
that  object  propose  to  write  and  speak 
our  sentiments  on  the  great  questions 
of  the  day.  The  paramount  subject  is 
temperance,  and  in  regard  to  it  the  peo- 
ple generally  are  interested.  The  pro- 
hibition of  the  liquor  traffic  would  be 
one  of  the  greatest  blessings  of  the 
age.  The  Examiner  will  teach  this 
wholesome  doctrine,  and  endeavor  by 
all  honorable  means  to  obtain  a  hearty 
endorsement  from  the  people  of  Jersey 
county  and  elsewhere,  and  especially  in 
the  city  of  Jerseyville  do  we  ask  a. 
hearty  co-operation. 
***** 

"  We  will  do  the  best  we  can  to  make 
the  Examiner  a  welcome  visitor  in  every 
household,  filled  with  local  and  general 
intelligence  of  a  high  moral  character, 
and  we  kindly  ask  each  and  all  of  you 
to  lend  us  a  helping  hand  in  a  worthy 
and  noble  cause." 

With  the  issue  of  November  27,  the 
Examiner  was  leased  by  the  editor,  Mr. 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


129 


Harper,  who  continued  to  publish  the 
paper  but  two  weeks,  when  lie  with- 
drew entirely.  A  salutatory  which  ap- 
peared in  the  issue  of  December  11, 
from  the  pen  of  Morris  R.  Locke,  is 
explanatory,  as  follows: 

"  By  direction  of  the  Jerseyville  Pub- 
lishing Company,  I  assume  editorial 
management  of  the  Examiner.  I  shall 
hew  to  the  line  of  prohibition,  as  an- 
nounced by  that  party,  believing  that 
an  ounce  of  prevention  is  worth  a  pound 
of  cure. 

"The  news  of  the  county  and  of  the 
day  will  be  given. 

"  To  our  friends,  I  would  say,  be  of 
good  cheer  !  To  the  opposition — '  Come 
with  us  and  we  will  do  you  good.'  " 

The  paper  was  continued  under  this 
management  until  its  consolidation  with 
the  Republican,  which  occurred  Sept.  10, 
18S0. 

THE  JERSEYVILLE    REGISTER. 

This  journal  was  established  in  the 
early  part  of  November,  I860,  by  Fred- 
erick S.  Houghawout,  editor  and  pro- 
prietor. It  was  a  seven-column  folio, 
all  printed  at  home,  at  a  subscription 
price  of  two  dollars  ayear.  Mr.  Hough- 
awout continued  the  publication  of  the 
Register  until  the  year  1867,  when  he  dis- 
posed of  the  paperto  L.  Williams,  fami- 
liarly known  by  his  friends  as  "  Yank." 
He  afterward  removed  to  Topeka,  Kan., 
and  his  son,  Charles  F.,  leased  the  office 
and  became  its  editor  and  publisher. 
In  October,  186S,  the  office  was  adver- 
tised for  sale,  and  later  purchased  by 
Col.  (i.  P.  Smith,  of  the  Jacksonville 
Journal,  who  established  the 

JERSEYVILLE  REPUBLICAN. 

Part  of  the  material  which  went  to 
form  the  new  paper  was  removed  from 


Jacksonville,  by  Frank  M.  Roberts,  now 
senior  editor  of  the  Republican- Examiner. 
The  material  arrived  from  Jacksonville, 
on  Christmas  day,  1868,  and  on  the  first 
day  of  Jan.,  1869,  W.  H.  Edgar  assumed 
editorial  control.  When  the  Jackson- 
ville Journal  was  disposed  of  in  1869  to 
Chapin  it  Clover,  the  latter  named  firm 
also  became  proprietors  of  the  Repub- 
lican. 

The  Republican,  which  was  an  eight- 
column  folio,  all  printed  at  home,  con- 
tinued, under  the  proprietorship  of 
Chapin  and  Glover,  with  W.  H.  Edgar 
as  an  editor,  until  Aug.  25,  1870,  when 
it  was  disposed  of  to  the  latter  named 
gentleman,  who  then  became  sole  editor 
and  proprietor.  The  following  card 
which  appeared  in  the  issue  of  the  above 
date,  is  explanatory: 

"  With  this  issue  of  the  Jerseyville 
Republican,  we  transfer  to  Mr.  William 
H.  Edgar,  who  has  so  long  and  intelli- 
gently labored  as  resident  editor,  our 
entire  interest  in  the  paper,  and  take 
pleasure  in  commending  him  anew  to 
the  best  offices  of  the  people  of  Jersey 
county.  He  has,  during  his  connection 
with  the  Republican,  evinced  an  ability 
which  is  rarely  met  with  in  the  editorial 
room  of  other  than  a  metropolitan 
paper,  and  has  succeeded,  by  his  well 
directed  efforts,  in  securing  for  the 
Republican  a  standing  which  is  most  cred- 
itable, and  must  redound  greatly  to 
the  interests  of  the  city  of  Jerseyville. 
Having  done  so  much  effective  work  for 
the  city  of  his  adoption,  he  certainly 
deserves  and  has  reason  to  expect  the 
hearty  support  and  generous  patronage 
of  his  fellow  citizens. 

"  Having  become  by  this  transfer  an 
exclusively  local    enterprise,    business 


130 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


men  may  bestow  their  favors  upon  the 
Republican,  knowing  that  money  thus 
expended  will  be  kept  at  home,  and  be 
used  in  the  upbuilding  of  Jersey  ville."  * 

Immediately  following  the  above  card 
appears  the  salutatory  of  Mr.  Edgar, 
which  is  appended  as  follows: 

"Having  purchased  the  interest  of 
Chapin  and  Glover  in  the  Jerseyville 
Republican,  I  have  with  the  present 
number  assumed  its  entire  control  and 
ownership,  and  hope  by  continued  effort 
to  increase  the  business  and  usefulness 
of  the  paper,  and  to  make  it  a  welcome 
visitor  in  many  households  that  it  has 
not  as  yet  reached.  With  the  exper- 
ience of  the  past  three  years  before  me, 
I  am  persuaded  that  the  Republican,  with 
proper  industry  and  economy,  may  be 
made  one  of  the  best  and  most  influential 
weeklies  in  this  section  of  the  state;  its 
circulation  is  to-day  much  larger  than 
the  average  circulation  of  provincial 
weeklies,  and  its  business  patronage  has 
steadily  increased  during  the  past  year; 
with  this  showing  'tis  safe  to  count  on 
continued  success.  It  is  my  purpose  to 
largely  increase  the  facilities  of  the 
office  for  doing  every  variety  of  job 
work,  and  to  this  end  I  shall,  so  fast  as 
my  means  will  permit,  add  to  our 
already  well  assorted  stock,  the  latest 
and  best  styles  of  job  and  advertising 
type,  thus  hoping  to  meet  every  de- 
mand, and  give  entire  satisfaction  to  all 
patrons.  It  is  also  my  purpose  to  make 
the  Republican  pre-eminently  a  local 
paper,  i.  e.,  by  adding  to  its  list  of  home 
contributors,  and  by  increased  effort 
myself  to  gather  into  its  columns, 
weekly,  all  the  available  county  and  vi- 
cinity news,  and  thus  hope  to  make  the 
paper  still  more  valuable  as  a  reliable 


news  medium.  In  the  past  we  have 
labored  under  many  disadvantages, 
which  it  is  hoped  are  in  a  measure  ob- 
viated by  this  change.  The  prejudice 
(perhaps  wholly  imaginary)  against  a 
foreign  ownership  (a  circumstance  which 
has  greatly  disturbed  our  considerate 
neighbor,  at  least,  in  the  past,)  is  re- 
moved, and  the  Republican  may  now  be 
regarded  as  a  strictly  home  institution, 
wholly  devoted  to  home  interests  and 
enterprise,  and  as  such  I  do  not  fear 
but  that  it  will  receive  its  share  of  the 
public  patronage  and  support.     *     *     * 

*  Tendering  our  grateful  acknowledg- 
ments to  the  patrons  of  the  paper  for 
their  kindness,  forbearance  and  lib- 
eral patronage  in  the  past,  I  shall  hope 
by  increased  effort  to  merit  a  continu- 
ance of  the  same  in  the  future." 

The  Republican  was  edited  and  pub- 
lished successfully  by  Mr.  Edgar  for  a 
number  of  years.  In  the  issue  of  Sept. 
3,  1880,  the  following  notice  of  a  business 
change  appeared,  in  reference  to  the 
consolidation  of  the  Examiner  and  Repub- 
lican, under  the  caption  of 

THE  REPUBLICAN  EXAMINER. 

"  As  already  indicated  in  the  Examiner 
of  this  city,  a  consolidation  of  the  two 
papers,  Republican  and  Examiner,  has 
been  effected,  the  first  issue  under  the 
new  management  appearing  on  the  10th 
inst.,  under  the  headline,  Republicun- 
Examiner. 

"  It  is  the  purpose  of  the  proprietors 
to  make  the  new  paper  second  to  none 
of  its  character  in  this  section  of  the 
state.  In  politics  the  paper  will  be 
progressively  and  aggressively  republi- 
can, holding  that  the  continued  peace 
and  prosperity  of  the  country  depends 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


131 


upon  a  continuence  in  power  of  the 
republican  party.  Its  weekly  compila- 
tion of  news,  local  and  general,  the 
proprietors  will  spare  no  pains  or 
expense  to  make  full  and  complete. 
In  a  word,  it  will  lie  the  aim  of  the  pub- 
lishers to  furnish  a  first-class  family 
newspaper,  devoted  to  republican  prin- 
ciples, to  the  development  of  home  in- 
terests, to  practical  temperance,  and  to 
elevation  of  the  moral  and  social  stand- 
ard in  our  midst. 

"The  Republican  returns  thanks  to  its 
patrons,  in  the  past,  and  believing  that 
the  combination  will  make  a  more  effi- 
cient and  satisfactory  journal  than  either 
alone  could  have  been,  solicits  a  contin- 
uance of  their  patronage  and  good  will." 

The  first  issue  of  the  Republican- 
Examiner  appeared  September  10th, 
as  a  five-column  quarto,  in  which 
form  it  has  since  continued,  Wil- 
liam II.  Edgar  and  Morris  R.  Locke 
acting  as  editors  and  proprietors,  under 
the  firm  name  of  Edgar  &  Locke,  the 
latter  gentleman  having  served  as  editor 
and  proprietor  of  the  Examiner.  The 
following  salutatory  appeared  in  the 
first  number  of  the  newly  consolidated 
journal: 

''With  this  issue  the  Republican-Exam- 
iner makes  its  bow  to  the  good  people  of 
Jersey ville  and  Jersey  county,  not  as 
strangers,  but  as  friends  joined  to- 
gether, with  the  hope  that  united  we 
may  be  of  greater  service  to  the  relig- 
ious, moral,  social  and  business  inter- 
ests of  the  city  and  county.  We  make 
no  pretentious  boasts  of  what  we  pro- 
pose to  do,  preferring  rather  to  let  our 
work  speak  for  itself  in  our  effort  to 
furnish  a  first-class  family  newspaper  to 
our    patrons.      Politically,    the    paper 


will  be  unqualifiedly  republican,  and 
we  shall  labor  assiduously  for  the  un- 
building of  our  party  in  the  county  and 
its  continuance  in  power  in  the  nation. 
In  the  other  departments  of  our  paper 
we  shall  know  no  one  class  or  sect  to  the 
exclusion  of  any  other,  but  shall  en- 
deavor to  treat  all  classes  and  all  sexes 
witli  equal  candor  and  fairness.  We 
thus  hope  with  diligence  in  business  to 
make  our  paper  a  valuable  one,  and  a 
welcome  guest  in  every  household  it 
may  enter.  With  these  few  plain  words 
we  launch  the  Republican-Examiner  forth 
on  its  mission,  with  malice  toward  none 
and  charity  for  all,  hoping  the  paper 
will  prove  worthy  of  an  enlarged  and 
generous  patronage." 

The  firm  of  Edgar  &  Locke  conducted 
the  paper  until  January  12,  1885,  when 
Mr.  Locke  retired,  and  was  succeeded 
by  Frank  M.  Roberts,  who  some  three 
weeks  previous  had  leased  the  office, 
and  who,  at  present,  is  the  senior  mem- 
ber of  the  firm  conducting  that  journal. 
In  the  issue  of  Jan.  Hi,  the  following 
valedictory  of  Morris  R.  Locke  appeared: 
"Reluctantly  I  leave  the  editorial  rooms 
of  the  Republican-Examiner,  but  having 
Bold  my  undivided  one-half  interest  in 
the  newspaper  and  job  office  of  the  Re- 
publican-Examiner to  Frank  M.  Roberts, 
must  of  necessity  make  room  for  him. 
Mr.  Roberts  comes  to  the  front  with  a 
ripe  newspaper  experience  and  a  practi- 
cal knowdedge  of  all  the  various  branch- 
es of  the  printers'  art.  I  bespeak  for 
him  a  cordial  welcome.  And,  in  bidding 
the  readers  of  the  Republican-Examiner 
adieu,  I  shall  always  remember  their 
kindly  indulgences  and  pleasant  ac- 
quaintanceship. Before  closing  this 
brief  '  leave  taking,'   I  want  to  express 


132 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


thus  publicly  my  sense  of  obligation  to 
the  kind,  courteous  and  gentlemanly 
treatment  received  at  all  times  and  un- 
der all  circumstances  from  my  late  part- 
ner and  colleague,  Col.  Win.  H.  Edgar, 
who  remains  editor-in-chief  of  the  Re- 
publican-Examiner." 

Immediately  below  the  foregoing  ap- 
peared the  following  just  and  worthy 
comment,  upon  the  retirement  of  Mr. 
Locke,  by  the  new  firm: 

"The  facile  pen  of  Morris  R.  Locke, 
Esq.,  will  be  missed  in  the  columns  of 
the  Republican- Examiner,  that  gentleman 
having,  as  will  be  noticed  elsewhere, 
dissolved  his  connection  with  the  paper. 
As  a  partner,  Mr.  Locke  has  been  con- 
siderate and  honorable,  seeking  by  every 
fair  means  to  do  justice  to  his  business 
associates  and  deal  fairly  with  the  pa- 
trons of  the  paper.  In  leaving,  he 
takes  with  him  the  kindliest  feelings 
of  those  with  whom  he  has  been  associ- 
ated, and  the  assurance  of  their  best 
wishes  for  his  future  success." 

In  March  following,  another  change 
occurred  in  the  management  of  the  Re- 
publicom-Examiner.  William  H.  Edgar, 
who  had  edited  the  paper  since  its 
advent  in  Jerseyville,  retiring,  and 
giving  place  to  Will  H.  Hedley,  one  of 
the  present  proprietors.  In  the  last 
issue — March  27,  18S.r>_under  Mr.  Ed- 
gar's control,  he  inserted  the  following 
adieu  to  his  friends  and  patrons,  as  the 
sad  farewell  of  a  parent  parting  from  a 
child: 

"After  16  years  continuous  service  in 
newspaper  work  in  Jerseyville,  I  yield 
to  the  pressure  of  other  duties  and  lay 
down  the  pen  for  others,  and  doubtless 
worthier  hands.  To  my  friends  I  can 
say  in  parting  that  I  reluctantly^break 


the  tie  that  has  so  long  bound  us  to- 
gether. When  I  recall  the  many  bitter 
political  struggles  of  the  past,  the  ups 
and  downs  of  our  minority  party,  the 
different  leaders  who  have  from  time 
to  time  stood  at  the  head  of  affairs  in 
Jersey  county,  and  their  hearty  and 
cordial  co-operation  in  the  effort  to  up- 
build the  republican  party;  when  I 
think  of  this  record  extending  through 
these  many  years — the  best  ofmy  life,  I 
turn  from  it  with  the  feeling  of  one 
whose  cherished  work  is  still  unfinished, 
and  reluctantly  bid  farewell  to  the 
friends  who  must  carry  forward  the 
work  in  the  future.  Whether  much  or 
little  has  been  accomplished  in  these 
years,  I  have  here  sought  to  do  what  I 
could,  not  only  to  advance  the  interests 
of  the  republican  party  in  Jersey  county, 
but  to  advance  as  well  the  moral,  social 
and  material  interests  of  Jerseyville  and 
Jersey  county.  If  mistakes  have  been 
made,  and  doubtless  they  have,  they 
were  of  the  head  and  not  the  heart.  To 
the  business  men  of  Jerseyville  I  shall 
ever  feel  profoundly  grateful  for  their  lib- 
eral patronage  and  support,  by  reason  of 
which  I  have  been  enabled  to  pass 
through  the  panics  and  'hard-times'  in 
years  past  without  pecuniary  embarass- 
ment,  and  prepared  always  to  meet  my 
obligations  as  they  fell  due.  Such  lib- 
erality is  exceptional  and  prompts  me 
to  say  what  few  publishers  of  provincial 
papers  can  say,  that  in  all  these  years  I 
have  never  had  to  borrow  a  dollar  or 
ask  for  an  extension,  to  carry  on  my 
business.  My  successors,  Messrs.  Rob- 
erts &  Hedley,  are  in  every  way  worthy 
the  confidence  and  support  of  the  citi- 
zens of  city,  and  county.  They  are 
young  men   trained   in   the   republican 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


133 


faith  and  will  labor  in  season  and  out  of 
season  to  hold  up  the  republican  ban- 
ner, and  being  practical  newspaper 
men,  they  will  carry  forward  the  busi- 
ness of  the  paper  in  a  practical  and 
workmanlike  manner.  To  these  skilled, 
active  and  enterprising  young  men,  I 
leave  the  Republican'- Ejxaminer,  with  the 
assurance  that  they  will  not  only  main- 
tain the  present  standard  of  the  paper, 
but  will  greatly  increase  its  facilities  for 
usefulness  in  the  future." 

The  present  management,  on  assum- 
ing editorial  control,  wrote  the  follow- 
ing short  but  pithy  salutatory,  a  speci- 
men of  Spartan  terseness,  that  should 
serve  as  a  model  to  many  other  young  ad- 
venturers upon  the  rough  and  stormy 
seas  of  journalism: 

"We  are  not  after  scalps,  but  after 
friends  and  dollars,  and  hope  by  com- 
ducting  a  fearless  republican  paper,  and 
square  dealing  with  all  to  merit  both. 


From  7  o'clock  a.   m.,   until  9  o'clock 
p.  in.,  every  working  day  in  the  year." 

Messrs.  Roberts  and  Hedley  are  both 
young  men  of  ability  and  practical  ex- 
perience in  the  newspaper  field,  full  of 
push,  enterprise  and  industry,  which 
cannot  help  but  redound  to  the  best 
interests  of  not  only  themselves,  but 
also  the  town  and  county  in  which  they 
reside.  The  Republican-Examiner,  at 
present,  is  a  neat,  five-column  quarto, 
ably  edited,  and  is  a  spicy  local  paper. 


Frank  M.  Roberts  was  born  in  Lan- 
caster, Schuyler  county,  Mo.,  Aug.  28, 
184G,  his  parents  being  Thomas  and 
Elizabeth  A.  (Brownj  Roberts.  In  1862 
the  family  removed  to  Jacksonville,  111., 
where  Frank  M.  learned  the  printer's 
trade,  in  the  Journal  otlice.  In  Febru- 
ary, 1865,  lie  enlisted  in  Company  K, 
154th  Illinois  volunteer  infantry,  and 
served  till  September,  1865,  when  he 
was  mustered  out  at  Nashville,  Tenn. 
Returning  to  Jacksonville,  he  resumed 
work  at  his  trade,  and  continued  the 
same  till  July,  18(38.  He  then  went  to 
Decatur,  and  had  charge  of  a  job  print- 
ing otlice  till  December.  On  the  24th 
ot  that  month  he  was  at  Jerseyville,  ar- 
ranging presses  and  material  prepara- 
tory to  establishing  the  Jerseyville  Re- 
publican— now  the  Republican-Examx 
with  which  office  he  was  connected 
eight  months.  The  following  year  he 
was  in  Missouri,  but  did  not  follow  his 
trade.  He,  however,  longed  to  again 
enter  a  printing  office,  and  thus,  in  No- 
vember, 1870,  accepted  a  position  in  the 
job  rooms  of  the  Springfield,  111.,  State 
Journal.  Five  months  later  we  find  him 
a  shareholder  in  the  Daily  Leader,  at 
Bloomington.  In  July,  1872,  he  went 
to  Humboldt,  Kan.,  where,  during  the 
presidential  campaign,  he  published 
the  Southwest.  Afterwards,  the  paper 
was  moved  to  Neodesha, Wilson  county, 
Kan.,  and  the  name  changed  to  the 
Free  Press.  While  in  Humboldt, on  the 
22d  of  December,  1872,  Mr.  Roberts 
was  united  in  marriage  with  Lydia  Boyce 
a  daughter  of  William  and  Diana  Boyce. 
In  March,  187.'!,  he  returned  to  Spring- 
field, 111.,  and  again  entered  the  employ 
of  the  State  Journal  company.  In  the 
fall  of  1873,  he  went  to  LaPorte  county, 


Indiana,  and  accepted  a  position  as  trav- 
eling agent  and  correspondent  for  the 
Herald,  which  position  he  held  till  Jan- 
uary,  1874,  when  he  went  to  Burlington, 
Iowa,  and  became  superintendent  of 
the  Hawkmje  job  rooms,  which  were 
changed  to  Acres,  Blackmail  &Co.,  with 
whom  he  remained  till  the  winter  of 
1875.  During  his  stay  lie  introduced 
many  novelties  in  the  job  printing 
business.  He  next  had  charge  of  the 
Cedar  Rapids  Republican  job  office,  and 
in  July,  1876,  became  superintendent  of 
the  Western  Stock  Journal  and  Farmer.  In 
March,  1877.  he  established  a  job  office 
at  Oscaloosa,  Iowa,  and  commenced  the 
publication  of  the  Messenger  mid  Appeal, 
a  publication  in  the  interest  of  the  la- 
bor movement,  and  continued  the  same 
till  November,  1879.  He  then  went  to 
Sigourney  and  took  charge  of  the  News. 
'I'ht  iiir,  tn  Ottumwa,  and  became  fore- 
man of  the  Courier  job  room.  Nov.  10, 
1881,  he  returned  to  Sigourney  and  ac- 
cepted  the  position  of  superintendent 
(if  the  News  office.  March  29,  1882,  his 
wife  died.  She  had  given  birth  to  two 
children,  one  of  whom — Coral  F. — is 
still  li\  ing.  After  the  death  of  his  wife 
be  wmt  to  Chariton,  Iowa,  and  took 
charge  of  the  Democrat- Leader.  July  21, 
1881,  he  went  to  Santa  Fe,  N.  M.,  and 
accepted  a  position  as  foreman  of  the 
New  Mexico  Printing  and  Publishing 
Company.  In  June,  1882,  he  accepted 
;i  position  in  the  office  of  the  general 
manager  of  the  Tertio-centennial  Cele- 
bration Association,  and  remained  till 
after  the  exposition,  in  August.  He 
then  took  a  camp  outfit  and  started  out 
prospecting  and  mining.  He  located 
mines  in  October,  and  remained  till 
April,  1884.     He  was  then  appointed  to 


a  position  in  the  government  printing 
office,  at  Washington,  which  he  retained 
till  September,  when  he  returned  to 
Jerseyville.  In  December,  he  leased 
the  Republican-Examiner  job  rooms,  and 
Jan.  9,  1885,  he  bought  Morris  It. 
Locke's  half-interest  in  the  paper,  and 
in  March  assumed  editorial  charge. 
April  15,  1885,  Mr.  Roberts  was  mar- 
ried to  Clara  E.  Buffington,  a  daughter 
of  Dr.  J.  M.  and  Frances  (Gordon) 
Buffington.  Quite  a  romance  was  con- 
nected with  this  marriage,  of  which 
part  will  be  given  here  as  taken  from 
the  St.  Louis  Gtobe-Denwcrat.  "  The 
bride  and  groom  were  betrothed  16 
years  ago,  but  owing  to  the  opposition 
of  her  parents,  the  nuptials  were  not 
celebrated,  and  they  separated,  she 
knowing  nothing  of  his  whereabouts 
for  13  years.  In  1872  he  married  an- 
other lady,  and  in  1882  she  died,  exact- 
ing from  him  the  promise  that  if  he 
married  again,  it  should  be  to  the  one 
to  whom  he  was  at  first  betrothed,  if 
possible.  Subsequently,  he  found  her 
unmarried,  and  the  sequel  indicates  her 
fidelity." 

Will  H.  Hedley  was  born  in  St.  Louis, 
Mo.,  August  21,  1859.  His  parents, 
James  and  Mary  A.  Hedley,  are  natives 
of  Sheffield,  England,  having  emigrated 
to  America  about  1852.  The  subject  of 
this  sketch  resided  in  St.  Louis  until 
1869,  when,  with  his  parents,  he  moved 
to  Chicago,  111.,  residing  there  one  year; 
removing  back  to  St.  Louis  in  1870.  Since 
1871  the  life's  experiences  of  the  above 
subject  have  been  rather  rugged  for  one 
so  young  in  years.  In  1872  he  went  to 
Webster's  Grove,  Mo.,  remaining  there 
about  18  months;  from  thence  he  re- 
moved to  Barry,  111.,  and  took  up  his 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


135 


abode  with  a  farmer  for  about  nine 
months;  he  then  traced  his  steps  back 
to  St.  Louis,  Mo.,  and  in  August,  1875, 
entered  the  office  of  the  Central  Ohristian 
Advocate,  for  the  purpose  of  learning  the 
printing  business.  He  labored  in  this 
capacity  about  one  year,  when  he  once 
more  engaged  in  farm  life  for  two  years; 
returning  to  St.  Louis  in  1878,  and  la- 
bored at  the  printing  business  there 
until  July,  188U,  when  he  left  the  latter 
place  for  Barry,  111.,  and  entered  the 
printing  office  of  S.  Fitch,  proprietor  of 
the  Unicorn,  remaining  with  him  until 
March  8,  1881;  at  this  date  he  accepted 
a  position  with  A.  Hughes,  Griggsville, 
111.,  publisher  of  the  Press.  He  remained 
at  the  latter  named  place  until  Feb.  20, 
1884,  at  which  time  he  departed  for  St. 
Louis,  Mo.,  and  took  a  position  in  the 
Nixon-Jones,  book  and  job  printing  es- 
tablishment, remaining  there  until  Oct. 
20,  1884.  He  then  accepted  a  position 
in  the  state  printing  office  of  II.  W. 
Rokker,  at  Springfield,  111.,  remaining 
at  that  place  until  March  21,  1885,  when 
he  came  to  Jerseyville,  111.,  and  pur- 
chased Col.  W.  H.  Edgar's  half  interest 
in  the  Republican- Examiner,  and  asso- 
ciated himself  with  Frank  M.  Roberts 
in  publishing  the  paper  above  named. 

GKAFTON    INDEPENDENT. 

This  newspaper  was  established  by 
Col.  W.  H.  Edgar,  of  Jerseyville,  in 
1877,  the  first  number  appearing  on  the 
11th  day  of  October.  It  was  a  seven 
column  folio;  decidedly  neat  in  appear- 
ance, and  well  filled  with  local  news 
and  pointed  editorial  paragraphs.  The 
paper  was  issued  from  the  office  of  the 
Republican,  Jerseyville,  where  all  the 
mechanical  work  was  done,  though  the 


editor,  Mr.  R.  R.  Claridge,  prepared  all 
his  manuscript  at  Grafton.  Like  all 
other  newspapers,  the  launching  of  this 
one  was  accompanied  by  a  salutatory, 
which  was  as  follows: 

"In  presenting  the  initial  of  the  Inde- 
pendent to  the  citizens  of  Grafton  and 
vicinity,  we  shall  not  weary  our  readers 
or  friends  with  any  learned  disquisition 
on  the  mission  of  the  newspaper,  or 
what  we  propose  or  expect  to  accom- 
plish. This  stereotyped  method  of  salu- 
tation has  had  its  day,  and  the  world  is 
now  looking  out  for  something  practical 
rather  than  the  mere  visionary  or  ideal, 
A  newspaper  air-castle  is  very  similar 
to  any  other  kind  of  an  air-castle,  and 
just  as  likely  to  collapse;  golden  prom- 
ises are  easily  made  and  oft  times  easily 
broken;  and  a  newspaper  promise  is 
possibly  less  value  than  any  other  kind, 
particularly  a  promise  to  pay.  A  news- 
paper, we  may  remark,  is  a  very  preca- 
rious institution  at  best,  depending  up- 
on the  variable  temper  of  the  people 
that  support  it.  One  week  the  editor  is 
popular  and  is  credited  with  being  a  very 
useful  citizen;  the  next,  he  is  under  a 
cloud,  and  is  pronounced  an  ass  of  the 
first  magnitude,  and  so  the  business 
suffers  or  prospers  accordingly  as  the 
editorial  barometer  is  high  or  low.  It 
is,  therefore,  unwise,  not  to  say  foolish, 
for  the  mouthpiece  to  promise  in  ad- 
vance what  tunes  the  organ  shall  play; 
many  of  them  will  of  necessity  be  dis- 
cordant and  harsh,  while  many  will  be 
the  reverse  and  pleasant  to  hear.  The 
Independent  is  a  practical  business  enter- 
prise, and  will  be  conducted  as  such.  It 
is  not  conceived  in  the  interest  of  any 
sect,  party  or  class,  but  in  the  interest 
of  the  whole  people,  with  a  proper  re- 


136 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


gard  for  honesty,  sobriety,  justice,  in- 
dustry and  economy.  These  ends  it 
hopes  to  subserve,  and  thus  be  worthy 
the  cordial  and  liberal  support  of  the 
people  for  whom  it  is  intended.  To 
merchants  and  business  men  we  say, 
we  hope  to  make  our  columns  useful  to 
you — a  valuable  medium  for  the  adver- 
tising ofyour  goods  and  wares,  resulting 
we  trust,  to  your  mutual  advantage  and 
profit.  To  the  general  reader  we  may 
say,  we  hope  weekly  to  furnish  you  with 
stub  a  budget  of  local  and  general  news, 
as  shall  make  our  paper  a  welcome 
visitor,  and  one  to  which  you  may  point, 
we  hope,  with  some  degree  of  satisfac- 
tion and  pride.  This  is  no  Utopian 
scheme.  We  expect  to  work  hard  and 
unceasing  to  make  the  Independent  use- 
ful and  profitable  to  its  patrons.  We 
are  not  of  those  who  expect  something 
for  nothing,  but  we  hope  to  render  an 
honest  equivalent  for  what  we  get,  and 
to  merit  the  respect  and  confidence  of 
all." 

The  paper  continued  without  any 
change  of  management  until  September, 
1878,  when  R.  R.  Claridge  purchased  the 
necessary  materials,  and  removed  the 
office  to  Grafton,  becoming  himself  sole 
proprietor,  as  well  as  editor.  In  the 
issue  of  September  20,  the  following 
paragraph,  relative  to  the  change,  ap- 
pears: 

Heretofore  this  paper  has  been  simply 
an  experiment,  but  it  may  now  be  re- 
garded as  one  of  the  permanent  institu- 
tions of  the  county.  It  shall  be  our  en- 
deavor to  give  the  people  of  Jersey  and 
the  lower  portion  of  Calhoun  counties  a 
paper  that  they  may  regard  with  at  least 
some  degree  of  local  pride.  The  prep- 
aration   of    printing  the   Independent  at 


home  has  involved  the  outlay  of  a  com- 
paratively large  sum  of  money,  and  in 
addition,  the  expense  of  publishing  will 
be  considerable,  therefore  it  will  he 
necessary  for  our  patrons  to  be  as  prompt 
as  their  circumstances  will  admit  in 
paying  their 'Subscriptions-.  Our  patrons 
have  doubtless  observed  that  in  the 
past  they  have  not  been  bored  with  the 
duns  for  subscriptions  that  are  so  com- 
mon in  country  papers.  We  have  two 
reasons  for  this:  First,  because  to  do 
this  would  be  very  unpleasant  for  us; 
and  second,  we  do  not  think  it  would  do 
any  good,  as  we  take  it  for  granted  that 
those  who  are  sufficiently  interested  in 
the  Independent  to  subscribe  for  it,  will 
pay  their  subscriptions  as  soon  as  they 
are  able  to  do  so.  And  in  the  mean- 
time, we  have  reason  to  believe  that  we 
receive  as  much  or  more  money  on  sub- 
scriptions, than  if  we  were  continually 
reminding  delinquent  subscribers  of 
their  failure  to  pay.  In  conclusion,  we 
feel  justified  in  stating  that  the  Inde- 
pendent will  enter  its  second  volume 
under  very  favorable  auspices." 

The  Independent  was  continued  at  Graf- 
ton until  in  November,  1880,  when  it  was 
removed  to  Jerseyville,  the  name  being 
changed  to 

THE   JERSEY    INDEPENDENT. 

The  size  of  the  paper,  as  well  as  the 
place  of  publication,  was  changed  with 
this  issue,  it  coming  out  at  the  county 
seat,  as  a  five-column  folio.  The  fol- 
lowing is  a  copy  of  the  salutatory: 

"Encouraged  by  the  generous  support 
bestowed  upon  the  Independent  during 
the  past  three  years,  we  have  moved  it 
to  Jerseyville,  enlarged  and  improved 
it,  and  here  it  is.     We  have  faith  that 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


137 


an  earnest,  faithful,  independent  paper, 
devoted  to  the  interests  of  Jersey  county 
— even  such  as  this  paper  has  been  and 
will  continue  to  be — will  not  be  suffered 
to  go  begging  for  support.  And  as  show- 
ing that  we  have  not  reckoned  without 
our  host,  the  change  has  been  made  at 
the  solicitation  of  a  large  number  of  the 
best  citizens  of  the  county,  irrespective 
of  party — men  who  have  stood  by  the 
paper  in  the  past,  and  who  will  not  for- 
sake it  now.  In  conclusion,  if  by  dint 
of  hard  work  we  can  make  a  respectable 
living  for  our  family,  and  at  the  same 
time  make  the  paper  of  use  to  the  peo- 
ple who  support  it,  we  shall  be  content." 

With  the  issue  of  April  5,  1882,  Mr. 
Claridge  closed  his  connection  with  the 
paper,  disposing  of  it  to  Lyman  T. Wag- 
goner, who  became  editor  and  proprietor. 

A.  M.  Slaten  became  identified  with 
the  paper  as  part  owner,  with  the  issue 
of  June  4,  1882.  The  firm  name  was 
then  changed  to  Slaten  &  Waggoner, 
the  latter  being  the  editor.  Mr.  Slaten 
soon  afterward  assumed  entire  owner- 
ship and  control,  and  in  turn  disposed 
of  the  property  to  J.  M.  Giberson,  of 
Elsah. 

In  July,  1882,  the  paper  and  the  ma- 
terial was  purchased  by  J.  M.  Giberson 
and  C.  II.  Kelly,  of  Elsah,  but  before  a 
paper  was  issued  the  latter  bought  out 
the  interest  of  his  partner  and  became 
sole  proprietor.  The  first  paper  under 
the  new  management  was  issued  August 
2,  1882,  and  contained  the  following 
salutatory. 

"With  this  issue  we  commence  the 
publication  of  the  Jersey  Independent, 
ami  hope  that  the  following  few  lines 
will  sufficiently  serve  to  introduce  us  to 
the  public.     Our  object  shall  be  the  dis- 


semination of  news,  and  the  honest  re- 
flection of  our  own  political  opinion 
editorially.  Another  aim  will  be  to 
publish  a  paper  for  our  patrons  gener- 
ally, and  not  to  meet  the  views  alone  of 
any  individual,  class,  or  corporation. 
All  promises  herein  contained  will  be 
fullfilled  to  the  satisfaction  of  the  patrons 
of  the  huh pt  ikIi nt,  as  our  every  endeavor 
will  be  for  that  end.  What  we  ask  is 
the  cordial  co-operation  of  our  friends 
and  patrons,  and  once  this  is  secured  to 
us  we  can  safely  promise  that  a  news- 
paper shall  be  secured  to  them.  We 
close  here  trusting  that  our  introduction 
will  be  found  sufficient. 

In  the  fall  of  1885,  the  support  given 
to  the  Independent  proving  insufficient 
for  its  existence,  the  office  was  closed, 
and  the  paper  discontinued. 

In  October,  1885,  a  new  journal  came 
into  existence  in  Jerseyville.  which 
bears  the  title  of 

THE    FREE    PRESS. 

This  is  owned  and  edited  by  E.  T. 
Lurton  and  R.  E.  Smith,  and  is  intended 
to  take  the  place  of  the  Independent.  It 
is  quite  a  neat  and  well  gotten  up  sheet. 

Charles  H.  Kelly,  the  late  editor 
and  proprietor  of  the  Independent,  is  a 
native  of  the  state  of  Illinois,  having 
been  born  in  Alton,  in  December,  1848. 
In  1850,  his  parents  removed  to  Jersey 
county,  where  Charles  was  reared,  and 
where  he  has  lived  ever  since.  He  like 
the  other  boys,  attended  the  common 
district  schools  of  the  neighborhood  in 
winter,  but  during  the  summer  was  en- 
gaged in  work  on  the  farm.  His  latter 
school  days  were  spent  at  the  Christian 
Brothers'  College,  at  Alton,  the  place  of 
his  birth.     Finishing  his  education,  he 


138 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY 


returned  home  where  he  divided  his 
time  between  farming  and  teaching 
school.  Politics  now  attracted  Ids  at- 
tention, and  he  was  four  times  succes- 
sively elected  to  the  office  of  assessor  of 
Elsah  township,  and  one  term  as  treas- 
urer of  the  school  fund  of  the  same 
township.  In  1884,  after  removing  to 
Jerseyville,  he  was  duly  elected  col- 
lector of  Jersey  township.  He  was 
united  in  marriage,  in  May,  1S74,  with 
Sarah  A.  Darlington,  and  as  the  result 
of  this  union  there  have  been  five  child- 
ren, three  of  whom  are  living — Bertha 
K.,  Samuel  B.,  and  Percy  D.  Myrtle 
and  Willie  are  deceased.  In  politics 
My.  Kelly  is  a  staunch  democrat,  of  the 
old  Jacksonian  type,  notwithstanding 
the  name  by  which  the  journal  over 
which  he  presided  has  been  known  dur- 
ing his  connection  with  it.  During  his 
editorial  career,  his  general  aim  was 
always  to  labor  in  the  interest  ofthe  gen- 
eral advancement  and  enlightenment  of 
his  country  and  this  community  in  par- 
ticular. As  an  editor  he  was  conscientous 
in  the  discharge  of  what  he  conceived 
his  duty  to  his  friends  and  party,  and 
therefore  had  the  confidence  of  many 
who  admired  his  honor  and  adherence  to 
his  principles. 

THE   GRAFTON    NEWS. 

When  the  Independent  was  removed  to 
Jerseyville,  in  November,  1880,  Grafton 
was  left  without  a  newspaper.  This 
state  of  affairs  continued  until  April, 
1882,  when  the  Grafton  News  made  its 
appearance,  the  first  number  coming 
out  on  the  l.'5th  of  the  month  named, 
with  J.  A.  McClintock  as  editor  and 
publisher.  A  four-column,  eight-page 
paper,  it  was  well  gotten  up  and  edited, 


and  was  received  with  genuine  greeting 
by  the  citizens  of  Grafton  and  vicinity. 
The  following  is  Mr.  McClintock's  sa- 
lutatory, appearing  in  this  number: 

"What,  another  newspaper?  Yes  sir, 
and  this  time  it  is  to  be  a  natural  one. 
This  is  the  agreement  with  the  sub- 
scribers, and  with  that  understanding  I 
have  promised  to  do  the  best  I  can  for 
its  columns  in  all  that  pertains  to  the 
general  news  and  welfare  of  the  sur- 
rounding country.  I  shall  have  noth- 
ing to  do  with  the  political  questions  of 
the  country  at  large,  and  very  little 
with  such  questions  in  any  way  that 
does  not  strictly  interest  the  people  of 
Jersey  county.  What  we  do  say  shall 
be  in  an  independent  way,  entirely  re- 
gardless of  partyism,  and  we  shall  be 
glad  to  have  the  hearty  co-operation  of 
those  who  wish  honestly  to  advance  the 
interests  of  the  people  of  Jersey  county. 
Knowing  well  that  there  is  no  big 
bonanza  in  a  newspaper  published  in 
Grafton,  and  still  feeling  as  though  the 
community  ought  to  support  a  small 
paper,  and  that  it  will  be  for  the  benefit 
of  everybody  else  as  well  as  myself,  I 
would  like  to  ask,  at  least,  the  encour- 
agement the  people  think  I  am  entitled 
to.  We  know  many  people  of  good 
judgment  think  a  newspaper  cannot  live 
in  a  town  of  the  population  of  this, 
while  others,  when  such  an  enterprise 
is  talked  of,  will  come  forward  and  blow 
their  whistle  long  and  loud  about  the 
heqi  they  will  give,  and  when  you  get 
into  the  mire  they  slip  off  and  leave  you 
to  help  yourself. 

"  What  we  want  is  good  genuine 
friendship  that  will  take  you  by  the 
hand  and  help  you  up  and  let  you  go  on 
your    way   untrammeled.       I    certainly 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


139 


think  that  this  side  of  the  county  ought 
to  support  an  enterprise  of  this  kind, 
and  if  even  the  few  who  are  ready  and 
willing  to  assist  in  such  an  undertaking 
will  stand  hy  me  and  not  expect  en- 
tirely too  much  of  me,  I  shall  spare  no 
exertion  of  which  I  am  capable  to  make  a 
success  of  the  Grafton  News." 

With  the  issue  of  Aug.  22,  1884,  the 
name  of  the  paper  was  changed  to  that  of 

JERSEY   COUNTY    PROHIBITIONIST. 

No  change  was  made,  however,  as  re- 
gards editorship,  form  or  size,  but  under 
its  new  name  it  was  everything  that  its 
name  implied — a  strong  advocate  of 
prohibition.  It  continued  thus,  without 
change  until  the  end  of  the  year,  1884, 
when  it  resumed  its  former  name  of  the 
Grafton  News,  .Mr.  McClintock  turning 
over  the  editorship  to  C.  B.  Edsall,  and 
retaining  the  ownership  himself.  No 
changes  have  been  made  in  these  de- 
partments since  that  time,  though  the 
size  of  the  paper  has  been  altered  to 
that  of  a  six-column  folio. 

Corydon  Perry  Edsall  is  a  native  of 
Jersey  county,  born  three  miles  north 
of  Grafton.  He  is  a  son  of  William 
and  Lydia  H.  (Perry)  Edsall  The  for- 
mer, who  was  born  in  Cayuga  county, 
N.  Y.,  settled  in  this  county  in  1838. 
The  latter  parent  was  born  in  the  state 
of  Alabama.  The  subject  of  this  sketch 
attended  the  district  schools  of  his  na- 
tive township,  and,  later,  the  Illinois 
Industrial  University,  at  Champaign, 
where  he  became  fitted  for  school  teach- 
ing, in  which  occupation  he  has  since 
engaged.  He  has  taught,  altogether, 
15  years,  7  years  of  the  time  in  one 
school — Shiloh  district.  He  is  thor- 
oughly   qualified    for    his    responsible 


position,  and  as  an  instructor  is  highly 
successful  and  popular.  He  was  mar- 
ried April  6,  1879,  to  Catherine  Shaffer, 
daughter  of  Andrew  Shaffer,  of  this 
county.  They  have  three  children, 
Thomas  Harry,  Perry  A.  and  Lennie 
Edith.  Mr.  Edsall  is  a  supporter  of 
the  prohibition  party,  and  was  defeated 
on  that  ticket  for  the  position  of  circuit 
clerk  in  1882.  He  took  charge  of  the 
Grafton  News,  as  editor,  Jan.  1,  1885, 
which  position  he  still  occupies.  He  is 
also  the  representative  of  the  .Etna  in- 
surance company  at  this  point,  and  a 
real  estate  agent. 

JEKSEYVILLE  EVENING  TIMES. 

This  paper  was  established  by  .Messrs. 
J.  A.  Walker  and  .1.  A.  Blannerhassett. 

The  first  issue  appeared  on  the  after- 
noon of  May  25,  1885,  as  a  five-column 
folio.  The  initial  number  contained  the 
following  salutatory  : 

"For  some  months  past  we  have  been 
frequently  urged  by  our  friends  to  es- 
tablish a  daily  newspaper  devoted  to  the 
interest  of  Jerseyville  and  Jersey 
county.  We  have  finally  yielded  to 
their  friendly  solicitations  and  with  this 
number  enter  into  the  arena  of  journal- 
ism. The  Times,  an  evening  paper,  will 
strictly  adhere  to,  and  advocate  the 
principles  of  justice,  and  equity,  assist 
in  advancing  every  work  of  enterprise 
in  our  midst,  and  always  be  in  the  front 
rank  in  opposing  wrong  and  defending 
right." 

On  July  13,  1885,  the  paper  was 
changed  to  a  morning  publication  and 
the  name  altered  to  that  of 

THE    DAILY    TIMES. 

Both  proprietors  were  practical  print- 
ers,  and  understood  the  wants  of  the 

community,  and  catered  to  it. 


On  the  17th  of  Aug.,  1885;  Mr.  Blen- 
nerhassett  retired  from  the  ffrm  and  the 
paper  is  now  in  the  hands  of  J.  A. 
Walker,  sole  proprieter  and  editor. 

John  A.  Walker,  the  subject  of  this 
sketch,  was  burn  in  Deavertown,  Mor- 
gan county,  Ohio,  Feb.  5,  1853.  He 
spent  the  early  part  of  his  life  on  his 
father's  farm,  and  at  the  age  of  12 
years  moved  to  Jerseyville,  111.,  in  the 
spring  of  1865.  In  1S67  the  family  re- 
turned to  Ohio,  and  in  1870,  leaving  his 
paternal  parent  there,  he  again  visited 
Jerseyville,  and  entered  the  office  of 
the  Democrat,  then  published  by  Burr 
iV  Wheelock,  as  apprentice.  He  re- 
mained in  the  office  until  1873,  when  he 


went  to  Carrollton,  Greene  county,  HI., 
und  engaged  as  a  compositor  on  the 
Patriot,  published  by  Minor  &  Lindley, 
where  on  Nov.  11,  1879,  he  married 
Susie  Sapp,  adopted  daughter  of  Hon. 
George  Wright.  In  the  spring  of  1880 
he  moved  to  Jerseyville  and  was  em- 
ployed on  the  Republican*  Examiner,  where 
he  labored  until  May  1885,  when  he 
became  the  junior  editor  and  publisher 
of  the  Jerseyville  Daily  Time*. 

He  received  his  education  in  the  free 
school  of  his  district,  and  was  noted  for 
his  close  application  to  study,  receiving 
a  good  knowledge  of  the  branches  gen- 
erally taught  in  the  common  schools  of 
the  day. 


CHAPTER    X. 


THE  BAR. 


Horace  Greeley  once  said  that  the 
only  good  use  a  lawyer  could  be  put  to 
was  hanging,  and  a  great  many  other 
people  entertain  the  same  opinion. 
There  may  be  cause  for  condemning  the 
course  of  certain  practitioners  of  the 
law,  but  the  same  may  be  said  within 
the  ranks  of  all  other  professions.  Such 
nun  should  not  be  criticized  as  lawyers, 
doctors  or  the  like,  but  rather  as  indi- 
viduals who  seek,  through  a  profession 
that  is  quite  essential  to  the  welfare  of 
the  body  politic  as  the  science  of  medi- 
cine is  to  that  of  the  physical  well  be- 
ing, or  theology  to  the  perfection  of 
moral  nature,  to  carry  out  their  nefari- 
ous and  dishonest  designs,  which  are 
usually  for   the  rapid  accumulation  of 


money,  although  at  times  for  more  evil 
and  sinister  purposes,  and  which  are 
the  instincts  of  naturally  depraved  and 
vicious  natures.  None  of  the  profes- 
sions stand  alone  in  being  thus  affected. 
All  suffer  alike.  The  most  holy  and 
sacred  offices  have  been  prostituted  to 
base  uses.  And  it  would  be  quite  as 
reasonable  to  hold  the  entire  medical 
profession  in  contempt  for  the  malprac- 
tice and  quackery  of  some  of  its  un- 
scrupulous members,  or  the  church, 
with  its  thousands  of  sincere  and  noble 
teachers  and  followers,  in  derision  for 
the  hypocrisy  and  deceit  of  the  few, 
who  simply  use  it  as  a  cloak  to  conceal 
the  intentions  of  a  rotten  heart  and  cor- 
rupt nature,  as  to  saddle  upon  a  profes- 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


141 


sion  as«great  as  either,  the  shortcomings 
of  some  of  its  individual  members. 

By  a  wise  ordination  of  Providence. 
law  and  order  govern  everything  in  the 
vast  and  complex  system  of  the  uni- 
verse. Law  is  everything,  lawyers  no- 
thing, Law  would  still  exist  though 
every  one  of  its  professors  and  teachers 
should  perish  from  the  face  of  the  earth. 
And,  should  such  a  thing  occur,  and  a 
new  race  spring  up,  the  first  instinctive 
desire  of  its  best  men  would  be  to  bring 
order  out  of  chaos  by  the  enactment  and 
promulgation  of  wise  and  beneficial 
laws.  Law  in  tfoe  abstract  is  as  much  a 
component  part  of  our  planet  as  are  the 
elements,  earth,  air,  fire  and  water.  In 
a  concrete  sense,  as  applied  to  the  gov- 
ernment of  nations,  races  and  peoples, 
it  plays  almost  as  important  a  part. 
Indeed,  so  grand  is  the  science,  and  so 
noble  are  the  objects  sought  to  be  ac- 
complished through  it,  that  it  has  in- 
spired some  of  the  noblest  and  greatest 
men  of  ancient  and  modern  times  to  an 
investigation  and  study  of  its  princi- 
ples; and  in  the  long  line  of  great  names 
handed  down  to  us  from  the  dim  and 
shadowy  portals  of  the  past,  quite  as 
great  men  will  be  found  enrolled  as 
members  of  the  legal  profession  as  any 
other,  and  owe  their  greatness  to  a  sound 
knowledge  of  the  principles  of  law,  and 
a  strict  and  impartial  administration  of 
them.  Draco,  among  the  first  and  great- 
est of  Athenian  law-givers,  was  hailed 
by  the  people  of  that  province  as  a 
deliverer,  because  of  his  enacting 
laws  and  enforcing  them,  for  the  pre- 
venting of  vice  and  crime,  and  looking 
to  the  protection  of  the  masses  from  op- 
pression and  lawlessness.  It  is  true 
that  many  of  the  penalties  he  attached 


to  the  violation  of  the  laws  were  seven1 
and  even  barbarous,  but  this  severity 
proceeded  from  an  honorable  nature, 
with  an  honest  desire  to  improve  the 
condition  of  his  fellow  man.  Triptole- 
mus,  his  contemporary,  proclaimed  as 
laws:  "Honor  your  parents,  worship 
the  Gods,  hurt  not  animals."  Solon, 
perhaps  the  wisest  and  greatest  of  all,  a 
man  of  remarkable  purity  of  life  and  no- 
ble impulses,  whose  moral  character 
was  so  great  and  conviction  as  to  the 
public  good  so  strong,  that  he  could  and 
did  refuse  supreme  and  despotic  power 
when  thrust  upon  him,  and  thus  replied 
to  the  sneers  of  his  friends: 

Nor  wisdom's  plan, nor  deep  laid  policy. 

Can  Solon  boast.    For  when  its  noble  blessing 

Heaven  poured  into  his  lap,  he  spurned  them 

from  lii i ii. 
Where  were  his  sense  and  spirit.when  inclosed 
lie  found  l  lie  choicest  prey,   nor   deigned   to 

draw  it  t 
Who  to  command  fair  Athens  hut  one  day 
Would    not  himself,  with  all   his  race,  have 

fallen 
Contented  on  the  morrow V 

What  is  true  of  one  nation  or  race  in 
this  particular  is  true  of  all,  viz:  that 
the  wisest  and  greatest  of  law-makers 
and  lawyers  have  always  been  pure  and 
good  men,  perhaps  the  most  notable  ex- 
ceptions being  Justinian  and  Trilionia- 
nus.  Their  great  learning  and  wisdom 
nabled  them  to  rear  as  their  everlast- 
ing monuments  the  Pandects  and  the 
Justinian  Code,  which,  however,  they 
sadly  defaced  by  the  immoralities  and 
excesses  of  their  private  lives.  Among 
the  revered  of  modern  nations  will  be 
found,  conspicuous  for  their  great  ser- 
vices to  their  fellows,  innumerable  law- 
yers. To  the  Frenchman  the  mention 
of  the  names  of  Tronchet,  LeBrun,  Por- 


142 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


t.ilis,  Roederer  and  Thibaudeau,  excites 
a  thrill  of  pride  for  greatness  and  of 
gratitude  for  their  goodness.  What 
Englishman  or  American,  either,  hut 
that  takes  just  pride  in  the  splendid  re- 
putation and  character  of  the  long  line 
of  England's  loyal  lawyer  sons?  The 
Bacons,  father  and  son,  who,  with  Lord 
Burleigh,  were  selected  by  England's 
gn-itest  queen  to  administer  the  affairs 
of  State,  and  Somers  and  Hardwieke, 
Cowperand  Dunning, Eden,  Blackstone, 
Coke,  Stowell  and  Curran,  who  with  all 
the  boldness  of  a  giant  and  eloquence  of 
Demosthenes,  struck  such  vigorous 
blows  against  kingly  tyranny,  and  op- 
pression; and  Erskine  and  Mansfield, 
and  a  score  of  others. 

These  are  the  men  who  form  the  cri- 
terion by  which  the  profession  should 
be  judged.  And  in  our  own  country, 
have  we  not  names  among  the  dead  as 
sacred,  and  among  the  living  as  dear? 
In  the  bright  pages  of  the  history  of  a 
country,  founded  for  the  sole  benefit  of 
(he  people,  who,  more  than  our  lawyers 
are  recorded  as  assisting  in  its  forma- 
tion, preservation,  and  working  for  its 
perpetuity? 

The  American  will  ever  turn  with  es- 
pecial  pride,  to  the  great  Daniel  Web- 
ster, Henry  Clay,  Jo  Daviess,  Rufus 
Choate, William  Wirt,  Taney,  Marshall, 
and  hundreds  of  others,  who  reflected 
the  greatest  honor  upon  the  profession 
in  our  own  country.  Among  the  truest 
and  best  sons  of  this  state  are  her  law- 
yers, and  even  in  this  county,  some  of 
her  most  highly  esteemed  and  most  re- 
sponsible citizens  are  members  of  this 
noble  profession. 

The  first  practicing  attorney  to  locate 
within  the  bounds  of  what  now   consti- 


tutes Jersey  county,  was  Martin  B. 
Miner,  who  came  to  Jersey  ville  in  1840. 
He  was  born  in  Addison  county,  Vt., 
March  22,  1805,  and  was  a  descendent 
of  one  Henry  Bullman,  a  miner,  who 
had  his  name  changed  to  that  of  Miner, 
by  King  Edward  III,  of  England,  for 
his  loyalty  in  furnishing  100  men  from 
his  mines,  all  armed,  when  that  king 
started  on  one  of  his  wars.  His  ances- 
tors came  to  America  in  1630.  Martin 
B.  was  educated  in  the  schools  and 
academies  of  his  native  state,  by  his 
own  exertions,  and  read  law  with  Her- 
man Allen,  M.  C.  of -Burlington,  Yt. 
He  was  admitted  to  practice  in  the 
supreme  court  of  that  state  in  1834,  and 
was  married  to  Laura  S.  McNeil,  in 
January,  1836.  In  tin'  fall  of  1836,  they 
removed  to  Illinois,  locating  at  Wood- 
burn,  but  in  the  fall  of  18117  moved  to 
Alton,  and  in  the  spring  of  1840,  to 
Jersey ville.  He  practiced  law  for  over 
30  years,  and  died  a  resident  of  this  city 
in  October,  ls?4. 

The  second  attorney  was  C.  H.  Good- 
rich. 

H.  H.  Howard  was  the  third  attorney 
to  locate  in  the  county.  When  he  first 
came  here  he  taught  a  private  academic 
school.  He  afterwards  practiced  law, 
for  a  while  alone,  then  took  into  part- 
nership his  nephew,  A.  L.  Knapp,  who 
afterwards  represented  this  district  in 
congress.  Mr.  Howard  was  at  an  early 
date  editor  of  the  De  'ncratic  Union,  a 
newspaper  in  Jerseyville.  About  the 
close  of  the  war  he  left  this  place  going 
to  Kansas,  where  he  is  probably  now 
living. 

W.  K.  Titcomb  was  the  next  to  locate 
in  Jersey  county,  and  practice  law.  In 
1847  or  8,  he  left  here  for  St.  Louis,  Mo., 


and  during  the  cholera  epidemic  of  1849, 
he  was   assiduous  in   his   attentions  to 

the  sick,  as  nurse  and  attendent,  and 
taking  the  fell  disease,  became  a  victim. 

William  P.  Chestnut  came  next.  He 
did  not  remain  in  practice  here  fur  any 
length  of  time,  dying  at  the  National 
Hotel  of  small-pox. 

Aimer  C.  Hinton,  practiced  law  for 
some  years  at  Jerseyville.  He  after- 
wards inherited  some  property  in  the 
neighborhood  of  Garrolton,  and  removed 
there.  He,  in  after  years  became  par- 
tially insane,  and  in  one  of  his  spells 
of  aberration  of  mind  shot  himself. 

Robert  M..  and  Anthony  L.  Knapp, 
have  both  been  prominently  identified 
with  this  honorable  profession  in  this 
county  and  vicinity.  Both  of  these 
gentlemen — brothers — were  so  fortunate 
as  to  represent  this  district  on  the  floor 
of  the  national  house  of  representatives, 
in  which  connection  sketches  of  them 
are  given. 

E.  A.  Pinero  practiced  law  in  Jersey- 
ville for  some  years,  first  alone,  then  in 
partnership  with  T.  J.  Selby,  and  later 
with  that  gentleman  and  George  W. 
Herdman. 

Thomas  J.  Selby  was  admitted  to  the 
bar  in  1869,  but  did  not  engage  in  the 
practice  of  law  for  a  few  years.  In 
1876,  the  firm  of  Pinero  and  Selby,  was 
formed  as  above  stated.  Mr.  Selby  was 
prominently  identified  with  the  oilier  of 
county  clerk,  and  is  mentioned  at  length 
in  that  connection  in  the  chapter  en- 
titled National,  State  and  County  repre- 
sentation. 

W .  Ames,  while  a  partner  in  the  law 
firm  of  Warren,  Pogue  and  Ames,  was  a 
member  of  the  legal  fraternity  of  Jersey 
countv.     He  left  here  about  1871. 


Among  other  members  of  the  bar  of 
past  was  Robert  A.  King,  who  was  a 
member  of  the  -27th  general  assembly, 
in  which  connection,  he  is  noted  at 
length. 

Atone  time  a  young  lawyer  by  the 
name  of  John  W.  Merrill  was  in  part- 
nership with  R.  A.  King,  and  practiced 
at  this  liar  for  a  short  time. 

The  bar  of  Jersey  county  at  present, 
comprises  some  of  the  talented  of  the 
past  and  the  rising  legislators  and  states- 
men of  the  future.  Many  of  them  are 
well  known  professionally,  and  a  few 
are  just  rising  into  public  favor.  The 
following  list  embraces  all  of  them  : 
George  E.  Warren,  George  W.  Herd- 
man,'  William  II.  Pogue.  0.  B.  Hamil- 
ton, A.  M.  Slaten,  T.  S.  Chapman, 
Morris  R.  Locke,  A.  A.  Goodrich, 
Joseph  F.  Greathouse,  Joseph  S.  Carr, 
Thomas  Ferns,  '  William  M.  Jackson 
and  George  F.  Lane,  the  latter  a  resi- 
dent  of  Elsah.  Many  of  these  gentle- 
men having  filled  official  positions  are 
noticed  at  length  in  that  connection,  for 
which  the  reader  is  referred  to  the 
chapters  in  relation  to  the  courts  of  the 
county,  and  the  national,  state  and 
county  representation. 

Adams  Augustus  Goodrich,  a  son  of 
Henry  <>.  ami  Jane  A.  (Knapp)  Good- 
rich, and  a  prominent  lawyer  of  Jersey 
county,  was  born  at  Jerseyville,  Jan. 
8,  1849,  and  was  educated  in  the  graded 
schools  of  his  native  place  and  at  the 
military  academy  at  West  Point,  which 
he  was  obliged  to  leave  on  account  of 
impaired  health,  in  his  fourth  year.  He 
spent  nearly  two  years  in  Colorado  and 
California,  and  returned  with  his  health 
completely  restored.  He  then  read 
law  at  Jerseyville  and  Springfield,  with 


144 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


his  maternal  uncles.  He  was  admitted 
to  the  bar  in  Jan.  1873,  and  since  that 
time  has  been  engaged  in  the  practice 
of  his  chosen  profession,  at  Jersey  ville. 
He  has  a  good  reputation  as  a  lawyer, 
and  manages  cases  entrusted  to  him 
with  ability  and  care.  He  is  studious 
and  painstaking,  and  a  young  man  of 
much  promise.  Thus,  by  nature  stu- 
dious and  ambitious,  lie  is  sure  to  suc- 
ceed in  life,  if  health  will  hold  out  un- 
der the  strain  brought  to  bear  upon  it. 
He  held  the  office  of  city  attorney  three 
terms,  and  was  elected  state's  attorney 
in  1878;  re-elected  in  1880,  and  again  in 

1884,  and  is  the  present  incumbent.  Po- 
litically, he  affiliates  with  the  demo- 
cratic party,  and  is  a  rapidly  rising 
character  in  the  political  field  of  the 
future.  He  is  a  Blue  lodge  Mason  and 
Knight  Templar,  an  Odd  Fellow  and  a 
Knight  of  Pythias.  "  He  has  been 
through  the  last  two  orders,  holding  all 
the  offices  of  the  local  lodges. 

Thomas  F.  Ferns,  the  present  city 
attorney  of  Jerseyville,  is  a  son  of  John 
and  Hannah  (Hays)  Ferns,  and  was 
born  in  this  city  July  25,  1862.  His 
father,  John  Ferns,  was  a  son  of  Thomas 
and  Margaret  Ferns,  and  was  born  in 
Trenton.  New  Jersey,  on  the  4th  day  of 
March,  1832,  He  settled  in  Jersey 
county  in  1835.  He  was  married  in 
September,  1860,  to  Hannah  Hays,  and 
two  children  were  born  to  them— Thomas 
F.  ami  Margaret  M.  In  politics  he  was 
a  democrat,  in  religion  a  Catholic.  Our 
subject  was  educated  in  the  schools  of 
Jerseyville,  graduating  from  the  high 
school  in  1882.  In  October,  1883,  he 
entered  the  St.  Louis  law  school,  from 
which  institution  he  graduated  June  10, 

1885.  He  was  admitted   to  the  bar  of 


Illinois  in  March  previous  to  his  gradu- 
ation. He  immediately  opened  an 
office  in  Jerseyville,  and  commenced 
practice.  He  is  a  member  of  the  West- 
ern Catholic  Union,  of  which  he  is  one 
of  the  supreme  trustees.  In  politics  he 
is  a  staunch   democrat. 

Allen  M.  Slat  en,  a  member  of  the 
Jerseyville  bar,  was  born  in  this  county 
in  1842.  His  parents  were  J.  W.  and 
Ann  F.  (Pickett)  Slaten.  He  attended 
the  common  schools,  and  awhile  at 
Kendall  college,  also  taking  a  commer- 
cial course.  He  clerked  for  his  father 
at  Grafton,  and  afterwards  ran  a  store 
at  Otterville.  He  was  admitted  to  the 
bar  in  August,  1883,  after  which  he 
commenced  practice.  He  is  now  a 
member  of  the  firm  of  Hamilton  & 
Slaten. 

Joseph  F.  Greathouse,  was  born  near 
Milton,  Pike  county.  111.,  March  10, 
1839.  He  resided  upon  a  farm,  with 
his  widowed  mother  until  he  was  17 
years  of  age.  He  then  commenced 
teaching  school,  which  he  followed,  suc- 
cessfully, until  the  breaking  out  of  the 
civil  war,  when  obeying  the  call  of  his 
country,  he  enlisted  as  private  in  Co.  I, 
99th  111.  Inf.  regiment.  This  was  in 
1862.  In  I860,  he  was  made  regimental 
quartermaster,  and  remained  in  that 
position  until  the  close  of  hostilities. 
Returning  home,  he  studied  law  with 
John  B.  Henderson,  of  Louisiana,  Mo., 
from  1866  to  1869,  and  was  admitted  to 
practice  as  an  attorney-at-law,  by  the 
rules  of  the  Supreme  court  of  the  state 
of  Illinois,  in  the  year  1870.  He 
opened  an  office  and  practiced  his  pro- 
fession at  Pittsfield,  111.,  for  10  years, 
hut  in  the  spring  of  1880,  removed  to 
East  St.  Louis,  and  in  1882,  to  Jersey- 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


147 


ville,  where  he  now  resides,  and  prac- 
tices his  profession.  He  was  married 
Sept.  19,  1861,  to  Nancy  L.  Binns,  and 
by  virtue  of  this  marriage  there  has 
been  boTn  unto  them  rive  children — 
Dora,  Lenore,  Valeria,  Gertrude  and 
Nina. 

Judge  Geoige  W.  Herdman,  the  pres- 
ent circuit  judge  of  this  circuit  com- 
menced the  practice  of  law  in  Jersey- 
ville  in  the  spring  of  1867,  having  just 
graduated.  He  is  ranked  among  the 
prominent  attorneys  of  this  section  of 
the  state  and  is  accorded  high  rank  as  a 
judge.  He  is  noticed  at  length  in  the 
chapter  in  relation  to  the  courts  of  the 
county. 

Joseph  S.  Carr,  attorney  at  law,  is  a 
native  of  St.  Charles,  Mo.,  where  he 
was  horn  in  the  year  1832.  His  parents 
were  John  Carr,  a  native  of  Lexington, 
Ky.,  ami  Elizabeth  Mary  Ann  (Sum- 
ner) Carr,  who  was  born  in  North  Caro- 
lina. John  Carr  was  murdered  in  the 
old  City  hotel  at  St.  Louis,  in  1840. 
Mrs.  Carr  died  in  1873.  The  subject  of 
this  sketch  was  reared  in  St.  Charles,  re- 
ceiving a  liheral  education,  graduating 
at  the  old  St.  Charles  college.  In  1869 
he  came  to  Illinois,  and  located  in 
Kane,  in  Greene  county,  where  he  en- 
gaged in  the  practice  of  law  until  1883. 
He  then  removed  to  Jersey  county, 
continuing  the  practice  of  his  profes- 
sion in  the  city  of  Jerseyville,  where 
he  now  resides.  May  10,  1859,  he  was 
united  in  marriage  with  Georgie  Ann 
Logan,  a  native  of  Callaway  county,  Mb. 
They  had  eleven  children,  nine  of 
whom  are  now  living,  Bettie  E.,  Lois. 
Ernest  H.,  Louis  M.,  John,  Josephine, 
Fritz,  Festus  and  Georgie  E.  He  was 
bereaved  by   the  death  of  his    wife  in 


1881,  and  in  1883  was  married  to  Etta 
Cory,  a  native  of  Jersey  county.  By 
this  marriage  there  is  one  child,  Etta 
May.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Carr  are  members 
of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church.  In 
1881  Mr.  Carr  was  chosen  to  represent 
his  district  in  the  state  legislature  and 
served  one  term.  He  is  Deputy  Grand 
Master  of  the  state  in  the  I.  0.  0.  F., 
and  a  member  of  the  Knights  of  Honor, 
also  of  the  Knights  of  Pythias. 

George  F.  Lane  was  born  in  Havana, 
Mason  county,  111.  His  father  was  a 
minister  of  the  M.  E.  church,  and  died 
while  the  subject  of  this  sketch  was  a 
small  lad.  His  mother  was  left  awidow, 
with  George  and  his  sister  Minnie  to 
support  and  educate.  The  mother  then 
removed  to  Lebanon,  111.,  and  gave  to 
her  children  all  the  advantages  of 
an  excellent  education  that  could  be 
afforded  by  the  McKendree  College, 
located  at  that  place.  For  several 
years  George  did  not  follow  any  busi- 
ness very  long,  but  was  what  is  termed 
wild.  In  the  year  1874  he  became  a 
student  in  the  office  of  H.  H.  Horner, 
a  real  estate  lawyer  of  that  place,  and 
what  success  has  attended  George  F. 
Lane's  efforts  he  attributes  to  the  teach- 
ing of  Mr.  Horner.  While  in  the  law 
office,  and  while  yet  a  student,  George 
was  chosen  city  attorney,  and  filled  the 
office  in  an  acceptable  manner  to  the 
people.  After  his  admission  to  the  bar 
he  commenced  business  for  himself,  and 
did  well,  until  sickness  compelled  him 
to  quit  work  for  awhile.  He  moved  to 
Elsah  in  1879,  and  has  resided  in  that 
place  since.  In  regard  to  offices  that 
he  has  held  since  he  came  to  Jersey 
county,  we  can  say  he  was  elected  town- 
ship clerk  in  1880;  elected  justice  of  the 


148 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


peace  in  1881,  and  re-elected  without 
opposition  in  1885.  He  has  not  been 
engaged  in  active  law  practice  since 
1878,  but  has  devoted  his  time  to  real 
estate  and  loan  business.  His  office  is 
in  Elsah,  where  he  has  a  good  library 
of  law,  as  well  as  books  that  are  to  be 
found  on  the  shelves  of  private  libra- 
ries. He  was  married  to  his  wife — 
Emma  Stephany — on  Christmas  day, 
1883,  and  their  union  has  been  blessed 
by  one  child,  an  infant.  George  F. 
Lane  is  a  man  who  tries  to  enjoy  life, 
and  is  happy  when  he  sees  others  enjoy- 
ing themselves.     He   is   a  young  man 


yet,  only  about  30  years  old.  He  is  at 
present  the  president  of  the  board  of 
trustees  of  the  village  of  Elsah,  to 
which  office  he  was  chosen  unanimously. 
His  office  is  the  general  meeting-place 
of  the  old  business  men  of  his  town- 
ship, and  all  matters  of  interest,  either 
of  the  village  or  township,  are  talked 
over  there.  In  politics  he  is  a  democrat 
of  the  Douglas  democracy,  and  the  ex- 
Union  soldier  has  in  George  a  friend 
who  is  always  ready  to  help  him  get  his 
pension  papers  in  shape,  and  was  never 
known  to  charge  a  pensioner  a  cent  for 
his  labor. 


CHAPTER    XI. 


THE  MEDICAL    PROFESSION. 


It  has  been  justly  said  by  one  of  the 
deepest  thinkers  and  most  philosophic 
of  men,  that  a  physician  is  the  most  un- 
fortunate of  men,  as  he  is  expected  to 
cure  men,  and  keep  them  well,  when 
they  violate  the  very  laws  of  their  ex- 
istence, every  hour  of  their  lives. 
Hence  the  life  of  the  active  practitioner 
in  the  healing  art  is  no  sinecure,  at  the 
best,  as  any  one  who  has  followed  the 
profession  can  testify.  Twenty-five  to 
thirty  years  ago  it  was  rather  a  serious 
matter  to  be  a  physician  and  to  make  the 
long  and  toilsome  rides,  through  this 
then  newly  and  sparsely  settled  country, 
when  there  were  scarcely  any  roads,  and 
no  bridges,  and  the  adventurous  disciple 
of  Galen  was  frequently  lost  on  the 
wide  prairie,  and  often  floundered 
through  sloughs.     Often  in  the  muddy 


days  of  spring  or  fall,  he  found,  on 
emerging  from  some  particularly  miry 
place,  that  his  girth  has  broken,  or 
some  equally  important  part  of  the  har- 
ness damaged,  and  alone  on  the  wide 
expanse  of  wind  swept  prairie,  with 
night  coming  on,  he  must  stop  and  re- 
pair it,  with  fingers  numbed  with  the 
cold,  and  energies  exhausted  by  a  hard 
day's  labor. 

The  medical  profession  is  an  honor- 
able one  if  conducted  in  an  honorable 
manner.  John  Quincy  Adams  called  it 
"the  most  honorable  of  the  professions." 
And  one  of  our  eminent  physicians  in 
speaking  of  it,  uses  the  following  words: 

"The  doctor  certainly  feels  proud  to 
relieve  the  pain  and  distress  of  his  pa- 
tients; to  soothe  the  dying  pillow,  and  to 
comfort  the  afflicted  friends.     But  the 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


14'.) 


people  are  sometimes  imposed  upon  by 
pretenders,  who  claim  to  cure  all  the 
'ills  flesh  is  heir  to,'  and  to  raise  the 
dead,  but  we  think  the  days  of  miracles 
have  passed — are  there  too  many  doc- 
tors, or  lias  the  profession  lost  all 
honor?  The  peopleseem  to  be  growing 
weaker  and  wiser,  but  at  the  expense  of 
vigorous  health — the  system  of  cram- 
ming in  school  does  not  fit  the  young 
man  for  a  useful  life,  nor  the  young  wo- 
man to  he  a  good  staunch  helpmate. 
Was  the  hoy  bright  and  clever,  that  was 
sufficient  reason  for  the  forcing  and 
cramming  him — so  far,  however,  as  that 
goes,  the  boys  have  a  certain  conserva- 
tism about  them  that  prevents  them 
from  committing  suicide  by  excessive 
brain  work.  The  poor  girls,  with  their 
liner  organizations  are  the  unfortunate 
victims,.  How  often  does  the  doctor 
have  interesting  lady  patients,  who  talk 
beautifully,  as  they  recline  upon  the 
sofa,  but  who,  when  married  and  mothers 
of  a  single  child,  probably  are  unequal 
to  the  task  of  a  household,  or  the  care 
of  a  family." 

The  people  owe  certain  duties  to  the 
physician,  and  the  physician  owes  cer- 
tain duties  to  the  people,  and  the  way 
these  duties  are  performed,  stamps  the 
standing  both  of  the  practitioner  and  the 
people. 

In  all  ages  of  the  world,  among  civil- 
ized and  uncivilized  people,  the  medical 
profession  has  been  held  in  high  esteem. 
Whether  it  be  the  learned  professor, 
who  has  studied  the  science  of  medi- 
cine in  all  of  its  branches,  or  the  "great 
medicine  man"  of  the  untutored  sav- 
ages, who  from  actual  experience  has 
made  discoveries  of  the  healing  powers 
of  herbs  and   roots,    honor  awaits  him 


upon  every  hand,  while  the  life  and 
death  of  every  human  being  is 
virtually  placed  in  his  keeping. 
The  weary  patient  lying  upon  a 
bed  of  pain,  and  the  no  less  weary 
watcher  by  his  side,  wait  anxiously  for 
the  coming  of  the  "good  doctor,"  and, 
on  his  arrival,  note  his  every  movement 
and  every  expression  for  a  ray  of  hope. 
The  medical  fraternity  of  Jersey 
county  have,  with  few,  if  any  exceptions, 
been  an  honor  to  the  profession.  They 
have  ever  been  ready  to  respond  to  the 
call  of  duty.  The  winter's  cold,  the 
summer's  heat,  or  the  rains  of  spring 
and  autumn,  could  not  keep  them  back 
when  the  cry  of  distress  reached  their 
ears.  Not  a  physician  in  the  county, 
especially  among  those  who  settled  here 
at  an  early  day,  but  has  experienced 
sufferings  that  would  have  deterred 
those  in  any  other  profession,  in  re- 
sponse to  a  summons  to  attend  the  bed- 
side of  a  sick  and  suffering  one.  They 
have  been  compelled  to  cross  the  road- 
less prairie,  or  thread  the  hills  and 
woods,  to  face  the  cold,  bleak  storms  of 
winter,  or  the  blazing  sun  of  mid-summer 
often  with  no  hope  of  fee  or  reward,  but 
only,  if  possible,  to  relieve  those  who 
plead  for  their  care.  All  this  has  been 
done  by  the  physicians  of  Jersey  county 
without  complaint.  If  the  good  deeds 
of  the  profession  are  not  remembered 
by  those  who  have  received  aid,  a  time 
will  come  when  they  will  be  recollected. 
In  the  following  review  of  the  medical 
profession  in  the  various  towns  and  cities 
of  the  county,  some  of  the  most  promi- 
nent doctors,  who  have  practiced  for  any 
length  of  time,  will  be  noticed  first,  and 
then  the  representatives  of  the  profes- 
sion in  1885. 


150 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


PHYSICIANS    OF   THE   PAST. 

Among  the  physicians  of  the  county, 
was  Dr.  Silas  Hamilton,  who  came  to 
Otterville  in  1830.  He  died  there  in 
1834.  A  sketch  of  him  is  given  in  con- 
nection with  the  history  of  that  township 
with  which  he  was  closely  identified. 

The  first  disciple  of  the  healing  art  to 
locate  at  Jerseyville  was  Dr.  A.  H.  Bur- 
ritt,  who  came  in  1833,  before  the  town 
was  laid  out,  being  among  the  first  set- 
tlers on  the  site  of  Jerseyville.  The 
old  log  cabin  which  he  erected  still 
stands  as  a  monument  to  his  memory, 
and  is  located  on  the  corner  of  Exchange 
and  Pleasant  streets.  He  here  first 
settled,  and  entered  80  acres  of  land. 
He  was  born  in  Troy,  New  York,  where 
he  resided  until  1832,  when  he  came  to 
Illinois,  locating  in  Carrollton,  and  the 
following  year  came  to  Jerseyville,  as 
above  stated.  He  was  of  the  old  allo- 
pathic school,  and  practiced  here  until 
1836,  when  he  removed  to  a  farm  in 
Greene  county.  In  1838,  he  went  to 
Cleveland,  Ohio,  and  later  removed  to 
New  Orleans,  where  he  lived  until  his 
death,  about  the  year  1875. 

During  the  year  1833  there  was  an  ac- 
cession to  the  medical  profession  of  Jer- 
seyville in  the  person  of  Dr.  Asa  Snell, 
who  came  from  his  native  state,  Vermont. 
He  remained  here  until  his  death,  Jan. 
21,  1874,  although  retired  from  active 
practice  during  the  latter  years  of  his 
life.  He  raised  quite  a  large  family  of 
children,  all  of  whom  proved  to  be 
bright,  intelligent  and  industrious. 
One  son  is  still  a  resident  of  the  county. 
Dr.  Snell  was  considered  a  smart  man, 
having  a  large  and  lucrative  practice, 
and  died  leaving  considerable  property. 

Dr.   Edward    Augustus    D'Arcy,    for 


thirty  years  one  of  the  most  prominent 
physicians  of  this  county,  came  here  in 
1833,  and  settled  on  land  which  he  en- 
tered near  a  small  stream  which  still 
bears  his  name.  He  was  born  in  Han- 
over, Morris  county,  N.  J.,  April  15, 
1796,  and  was  the  son  of  Dr.  John  D'- 
Arcy, an  eminent  physician  of  that 
state,  and  surgeon  of  the  1st  New  Jersey 
regiment,  in  the  Revolutionary  war. 
His  mother  was  Phoebe  Johnes,  who  be- 
fore the  dawn  of  the  new  century  was 
numbered  with  the  silent  inmates  of  the 
tomb,  leaving  Edward  an  infant  but 
three  years  old.  He  received  his  edu- 
cation at  the  schools  of  Morristown,  and 
studied  medicine  under  the  tuition  of 
his  father,  and  was  licensed  to  practice 
medicine  April  4,  1817.  He  was  mar- 
ried Oct.  22,  1821,  to  Mary  McEowen,  a 
daughter  of  Dr.  Hugh  McEowen,  of 
Baskingridge,  N.  J.,  by  whom  he  had 
two  daughters — Ann  Caroline,  wife  of 
Judge  Frederick  H.  Teese,  of  New  Jer- 
sey, member  of  the  44th  Congress;  and 
Catherine  M.,  late  wife  of  P.  D.  Cheney, 
of  Jerseyville.  In  1833  he  came  to 
Jersey  county,  and  located  on  a  farm 
on  the  stream  now  known  as  Dorsey's 
branch.  He  was  considered  a  very 
skillful  man  and  pronounced  authority. 
He  did  not  like  practicing  very  well, 
but  was  a  great  admirer  of  horses,  con- 
sequently did  not  devote  much  time  or 
attention  to  medicine.  He  died  here 
April  25,  1863. 

Dr.  John  W.  Lott,  a  native  of  New 
Jersey,  came  to  Jerseyville  in  1834. 
He  was  one  of  the  proprietors  of  the 
original  town  plat,  assisting  in  the  lay- 
ing out  and  naming  of  the  place  in 
honor  of  his  native  state.  He  practiced 
for  some  time,  but  having  a  strong  at- 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


151 


tachment  for  his  native  soil,   returned 
to  that  state. 

Dr.  James  C.  Perry,  a  native  born 
Scotchman,  who  had  served  in  the  Brit- 
ish service  for  seven  years,  came  about 
the  year  1838.  He  is  well  remembered 
by  the  citizens  of  Jerseyville  as  a  skill- 
ful practitioner,  and  an  honest  and  up- 
right man  in  all  his  dealings.  He  con- 
tinued to  practice  here  until  his  death 
in  May,  1859.  He  was  a  scholarly  and 
scientific  man,  generous  to  a  fault  and 
was  never  known  to  oppress  the  poor 
for  payment  for  medical  aid. 

Dr.  Edwin  A.  Casey,  who  came  to 
Jerseyville  about  the  year  1840,  and 
practiced  successfully  many  years,  died 
March  22,  1874.  He  was  a  native  of 
Rhode  Island,  and  at  the  time  of  his 
death  was  66  years  of  age.  He  was  the 
senior  member  of  the  medical  firm  of 
Casey  &  Wellington,  the  latter  coming 
to  Jerseyville  about  the  same  time — 
1840. 

Dr.  R.  H.  Van  Dyke  came  to  the  city 
of  Jerseyville  from  the  state  of  New 
Jersey,  about  the  year  1840,  and  was 
one  of  the  prominent  physicians  of  this 
county  until  the  day  of  his  death,  Sep- 
tember 6,  1845. 

Dr.  James  Bringhurst,  now  deceased, 
was  one  of  the  early  physicians  of  Jer- 
sey county.  He  was  born  in  Philadel- 
phia, Pennsylvania,  in  1818.  His  par- 
ents were  James  and  Sarah  Bringhurst. 
When  he  had  arrived  at  the  age  of 
about  13  years,  his  parents  removed  to 
Wilmington,  Delaware.  There  he  re- 
sided until  coming  out  to  Illinois.  He 
commenced  the  study  of  medicine  with 
Dr.  Robert  Porter,  of  Wilmington.  After 
this  he  attended  the  Jefferson  Medical 
College,    at    Philadelphia,    and    before 


graduating  there,  he  spent  eight  years 
in  the  acquirement  of  a  knowledge  of 
the  profession.  He  practiced  in  Wil- 
mington until  1842,  when  he  came  out 
to  Illinois,  and  located  in  what  is  now 
Ruyle  township,  Jersey  county.  He 
remained  at  that  location  about  two 
years,  and  then  removed  to  section "2, 
Fidelity  township,  where  his  son,  John, 
now  resides.  About  1850  he  moved  into 
Jerseyville,  and  entered  into  partner- 
ship with  Dr.  D'Arcy.  From  that  time 
until  1857,  he  practiced  in  Jerseyville, 
Chicago  and  Springfield,  and  from  1857 
to  1861  in  Jerseyville  alone.  In  April, 
1861,  he  enlisted  as  surgeon  of  the  128th 
111.  Inf.  He  was  afterwards  promoted 
to  be  brigade  surgeon.  He  was  taken 
sick  in  the  service,  and  his  constitution 
was  undermined,  so  that  he  never  re- 
gained his  health.  From  the  army  he 
returned  to  Jerseyville,  where  he  re- 
mained a  short  time,  then  removing  to 
Alton.  For  short  periods  after  this  he 
resided  in  Jerseyville,  on  his  farm  in 
Fidelity  township,  and  in  Alton.  In 
the  latter  place,  he  contracted  Bright's 
disease,  and  he  steadily  declined,  until, 
on  coming  to  Jersey  county  for  rest,  he 
died  at  the  house  of  his  cousin,  Henry 
Ryan,  now  of  Ruyle  township,  on  the 
23d  day  of  June,  1870.  He  was  married 
to  Mary  Ryan,  a  daughter  of  John  Ryan, 
an  old  settler,  in  1850.  They  were  the 
parents  of  four  children — James,  John, 
Robert  and  Harry. 

Doctor  R.  D.  Farley,  one  of  the  early 
doctors  of  Jerseyville,  came  to  this 
county  sometime  in  the  "forties."  In 
1852  he  was  county  physician,  attending 
to  the  wants  of  those  unfortunates  who 
had  to  depend  upon  the  charity  and 
commiseration    of    those    about    them. 


152 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


Dr.  Farley  was  the  oldest  child  of  Rev. 
Abel  and  Hannah  (Dressier)  Farley, 
horn  Dec.  3,  1808,  in  Massachusetts. 
Ee  was  twice  married,  first  in  March, 
1831,  to  Mary  G.  Rand,  of  Boston. 
Soon  after  his  marriage  he  removed  to 
Illinois,  locating  at  Carrollton,  and  af- 
terward removed  to  Alton,  from  which 
place  he  came  to  Jerseyville,  where  he 
lived  until  his  death,  Sept.  27,  1884. 
His  first  wife  died  Sept.  25,  1875.  He 
was  married,  the  second  time,  July  26, 
L877,  to  Mrs.  Mary  E.  Briggs.  Dr. 
Farley  did  not  commence  practice  here 
at  a  very  early  day,  but  was  the  first 
homoeopathic phy  i  ian  in  the  city.  He 
was  well  known  and  highly  esteemed, 
and  a  gentleman  whose  wisdom  and 
judgment  were  much  respected  by  his 
many  friends  and  associates. 

Dr.  Augustus  R.  Knapp  was  one  of 
the  most  prominent  physicians  of  Jer- 
sey county  in  early  days.  He  came  to 
Jerseyville  in  1844,  and  after  enjoying 
a  large  and  extensive  practice,  died  at 
his  residence  in  that  city,  July  13,  1862., 
Dr.  Knapp  was  a  member  of  the  consti- 
tutional convention  of  1847,  and  is 
spoken  of  in  that  connection. 

Charles  Glazier,  a  German  physician, 
located  in  Jerseyville  in  1846,  but  only 
remained  about  a  year. 

Dr.  Pitner  also  came  about  this  time, 
from  Marion  county.  In  1848  he  joined 
the  excited  throng  for  the  far  west,  to 
seek  his  fortunes  in  the  gold  regions  of 
California,  and  has  not  been  heard  of 
since. 

Dr.  George  Adrain,  at  one  time  con- 
nected with  the  medical  profession  of 
Jerseyville,  deserves  mention  in  this 
connection.     He  came  here  about  1850. 

Dr.  John  L.  White  was  prominently 


identified  with  the  profession  at  Jersey- 
ville for  several  years.  He  was  born  in 
Massachusetts  in  1832,  and  came  to  this 
place  in  1852.  He  was  married  in  1858 
to  Hattie  Hawley,  who  resided  a  short 
distance  from  Jerseyville.  He  contin- 
ued the  pursuit  of  his  profession  at  this 
place  until  1870,  when  he  removed  to 
Bloomington,  this  state,  where  he  still 
resides.  He  has  passed  into  history 
as  having  been  one'  of  the  leading  phy- 
sicians of  Jerseyville,  and  a  skillful  and 
successful  practitioner.  He  was  also  a 
prominent  member  of  the  Masonic  fra- 
ternity, having  attained  the  position  of 
master. 

Among  the  medical  profession  during 
the  "fifties,"  was  Dr.  H.  C.  Harriman, 
a  native  of  Massachusetts,  who  came 
from  Gardner,  that  state,  to  Jerseyville. 
He  died  here  March  12,  1858. 

Among  the  former  physicians  of  Jer- 
seyville was  Dr.  William  T.  Hutchin- 
son, anative  of  Kentucky, who  continued 
in  the  practice  of  his  profession  until 
his  death,  January  27,  1864. 

Dr.  John  L.  Furber  came  to  Jersey- 
ville about  the  year  1860,  where  he  was 
shortly  afterward  married.  He  practiced 
here  two  or  three  years,  when  he  re- 
moved to  Kansas  and  engaged  in  the 
cattle  business,  and  has  subsequently 
became  wealthy.     He  is  an  Illinoian. 

Dr.W.  L.  Burnett,  anative  of  Indiana, 
came  to  Jerseyville  and  commenced  the 
study  of  the  science  of  medicine  in  the 
office  of  J.  0.  Hamilton,  in  1866,  and 
later  attended  lectures  at  the  St.  Louis 
Medical  College,  from  which  he  grad- 
uated in  1869.  He  practiced  his  pro- 
fession in  the  village  of  Fidelity  and 
vicinity  for  several  years,  when  he  re- 
moved to  Kane;  Greene  county. 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


153 


Among  the  physicians  of  Jerseyville 
of  the  past  was  Dr.  John  B.  Hamilton. 
He  is  the  second  of  a  family  of  nine 
children  of  Rev.  B.  B.  and  Mary  A. 
Hamilton.  The  subject  of  this  sketch 
was  educated  in  the  common  schools  of 
Jersey  and  Greene  counties.  In  1862 
he  became  a  clerk  in  the  drug  store  of 
his  uncle,  Dr.  J.  O.  Hamilton,  of  Jer- 
seyville, and  afterward  clerked  in  the 
drug  store  of  J.  M.  Israel,  M.  D.,  at 
White  Hall.  When  about  the  age  of 
seventeen  he  commenced  the  study  of 
medicine,  under  the  instruction  of  Dr. 
J.  0.  Hamilton.  From  White  Hall  he 
removed  to  Bunker  Hill,  where  he  sold 
goods  in  the  store  of  C.  C.  Campbell, 
until  February,  1864,  when  he  returned 
to  Jerseyville  and  resumed  his  studies. 
Soon  after  this  his  father  purchased  an 
interest  in  a  drug  store  at  Manchester, 
111.,  and  in  September,  1865,  the  subject 
of  this  sketch  went  to  Manchester  to 
conduct  the  store,  where  he  remained 
till  February,  1867.  While  there  he  de- 
voted his  leisure  hours  to  the  study  of 
Latin,  under  the  tuition  of  John  Grant, 
A.  M,,  and  in  the  winter  of  1867-8  at- 
tended lectures  at  Rush  Medical  College, 
Chicago.  He  spent  his  vacation  at  Jer- 
seyville,  in  study,  and  in  the  winter  of 
1X68-9  attended  the  same  college,  and 
in  February  of  the  latter  year  graduated. 
That  session  in  college  he  was  assistant 
to  Dr.  R.  L.  Rhea,  professor  of  anatomy. 
In  March,  1869,  he  settled  at  Jerseyville, 
in  partnership  with  Dr.  J.O.  Hamilton, 
and  in  December  following  purchased 
the  practice  of  Dr.  0.  K.  Reynolds,  of 
Kane.  Besides  enjoying  a  good  prac- 
tice, he  was  proprietor  of  a  drug  store 
at  that  place.  In  May,  1869,  he  became 
a  member  of  the  State  Medical  Society, 


and  at  that  meeting  was  appointed  a 
member  of  the  committee  on  surgery. 
On  the  4th  of  October,  1871,  Dr.  Hamil- 
ton was  married  to  Mary  L.  Frost, 
daughter  of  the  late  John  S.  Frost,  of 
Jersey  county,  and  grand-daughter  of 
Judge  Lowe.  The  doctor  has  rapidly 
risen  to  a  high  standing  in  the  profes- 
sion of  medicine  and  surgery,  and  is 
now  filling  the  important  position  of 
surgeon-general  of  the  United  States 
marines. 

Doctor  W.  0.  Langdon,  at  one  time  a 
practicing  physician  of  Jersey  county, 
came  to  Delhi  in  1870,  and  carried  on 
the  duties  of  his  profession  in  that 
vicinity  for  about  eight  years,  when  he 
removed  to  Carrollton,  Greene  county. 
In  the  history  of  that  county  a  sketch 
of  him  may  be  found. 

Henry  Z.  Gill,  M.  D.  came  to  Jersey- 
ville April  26,  1873,  from  St.  Louis. 
He  is  a  native  of  Pennsylvania,  born 
Oct.  6,  1831.  He  graduated  at  Jefferson 
Medical  College,  Philadelphia,  and  be- 
gan practice  at  Columbus,  Ohio,  where 
he  remained  till  the  commencement  of 
the  rebellion,  when  he  enlisted  in  the 
three  month's  service,  serving  four 
years  and  a  half.  He  arose  from  assist- 
ant surgeon  to  surgeon  of  volunteers,  of 
the  rank  of  lieutenant  colonel,  which 
position  he  held  until  the  close  of  the 
the  war.  He  then  spent  two  years  in 
Europe,  after  which  he  located  at  St. 
"Louis,  Mo.,  where  he  followed  his  pro- 
fession, and,  in  company  with  Dr.  W. 
S.  Edgar,  published  the  Medical  Journal, 
after  which  he  came  to  Jerseyville  as 
noted  in  the  foregoing.  In  August, 
1881,  he  took  charge  of  the  Southern 
Illinois  penitentiary,  and  in  November, 
1883,  resigned  that   position   to  accept 


154 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


the  chair  of  surgery  in  the  Wooster 
Medical  College  at  Cleveland,  Ohio, 
where  he  now  resides,  and  which  posi- 
ti'Ui  he  still  retains. 

Among  the  physicians  of  the  past  was 
Charles  A.  Knapp,  a  son  of  A.  R.,  who 
practiced  here  for  two  or  three  years. 
Shortly  after  his  marriage  he  removed 
to  California,  where  he  subsequently 
died. 

PHYSICIANS  OF  THE  PRESENT. 

Among  the  medical  fraternity  of  the 
present  now  located  in  the  county,  the 
following  are  among  the  most  prominent 
and  are  representative  men  of  the 
class:  Drs.  A.  K.  Van  Home,  George 
Sumrall,  E.  L.  H.  Barry,  Caleb  Du 
Hadway,  A.  A.  Shobe,  C.  A.  Edgar,  C. 
R.  and  C.  W.  Enos,  T.  J.  Kingston,  A. 
A.  Barnett,  of  Jerseyville;  C.  G. 
Burlington  and  Wesley  Park,  of  Fieldon; 
A.  D.  Erwin,  of  Fidelity;  John  S.  Wil- 
liams and  James  A.  Flautt,  of  Otterville; 
S.  M.  Watson  and  E.  F.  Francis,  of 
Mississippi  township;  A.  F.  Slover,  of 
Elsah  township;  J.  F.  Gary,  of  Delhi 
and  J.  Tidball,  of  Grafton. 

Dr.  A.  K.  Van  Home,  is  a  son  of 
Elijah  and  Polly  Wyckoff  Van  Home, 
was  horn  in  Schoharie  Co.,  N.  Y.,  April 
2,  1831,  and  came  with  his  parents  to 
Jersey  county  in  1833.  He  received  his 
education  in  the  common  schools  of  this 
county.  In  1852,  he  commenced  the 
study  of  medicine  with  Dr.  Charles  A. 
Knapp,  of  Jerseyville.  He  attended 
lectures  at  the  Missouri  Medical  College 
St.  Louis,  in  1853  and  1854.  In  the 
latter  year  he  went  to  Greene  county, 
where  he  continued  his  studies  and 
practice  his  profession.  In  the  fall  of 
1855,  he  entered  Jefferson  Medical  Col- 


lege, Philadelphia,  from  which  he  gra- 
duated in  March,  1856.  He  then  came 
to  Jerseyville  and  commenced  the  prac- 
tice of  his  profession  in  earnest.  In 
1871  and  1872  he  returned  to  Philadel- 
phia, and  took  part  of  a  course  of  lec- 
tures, to  bring  himself  abreast  of  the 
times.  On  the  11th  day  of  Oct.,  1859, 
he  was  married  to  Elizabeth  S.  Bacon, 
who  died  Oct.  18,  1881.  On  Dec.  23, 
1884,  the  doctor  was  again  married  to 
Sarah  M.  Stelle.  He  is  the  eldest 
practicing  physician  in  the  county. 

George  Sumrall,  M.  D.,  Jerseyville, 
Jersey  county,  111.,  came  to  Illinois 
March  1,  1872,  and  to  Jersey  county 
October,  1874 ;  is  a  member  of  the 
Presbyterian  church,  and  of  Masonic 
lodge,  chapter  and  council  ;  has  one 
child  Maggie,  born  March  4,  1873.  In 
April,  187G,  was  mover  and  drafter, 
before  Jersey  County  Medical  Soci- 
ety, of  a  greeting  to  State  Medical  As- 
sociation, praying  that  body  to  secure 
such  legislative  action  as  would  compel 
higher  medical  education  and  partially 
rid  our  state  of  quacks.  In  response  to 
said  greeting,  the  State  Medical  Asso- 
ciation appointed  a  committee  which 
spent  the  next  winter  at  the  capitol, 
memorialized  the  legislature,  and  se- 
cured the  enactment  of  our  state  medi- 
cal act,  and  the  appointment  of  our 
State  Board  of  Health,  which  has  saved 
to  our  state  millions  of  dollars,  and  to 
her  citizens  untold  suffering.  Witness 
the  control  of  the  small-pox,  the  emi- 
grant train  inspection,  and  the  hundreds 
of  uneducated  charletans  compelled  to 
cease  practicing  on  the  lives  of  our  citi- 
zens, and  to  seek  climes  where  ignor- 
ance is  more  tolerated. 

A.  A.   Shobe,  M.  D.,  one  of  the  lead- 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


155 


ing  physicians  of  this  county,  came 
herein  the  spring  of  1873,  from  Frank- 
lin county,  Mo.,  of  which  state  and 
county  he  is  a  native,  and  was  born 
Aug.  24,  1846.  His  father,  Alfred 
Shobe,  and  mother  Mary  (McGinnis) 
Shobe,  both  died  when  he  was  but  two 
years  old.  He  was  brought  up  by  W. 
J.  Brown,  who  was  a  member  of  the 
Missouri  state  legislature,  and  whose 
daughter  he  subsequently  married.  His 
youth  was  spent  on  a  farm,  where  he 
was  variously  employed  in  the  multi- 
farious duties  incident  to  the  life  of  a 
boy  in  such  a  position.  He  attended 
common  schools  in  his  native  county, 
and  when  14  years  old  was  attending 
the  academy  at  Kirkwood,  St.  Louis 
county,  preparatory  to  a  military  edu- 
cation at  West  Point.  Meanwhile,  his 
guardian,  whose  sympathies  were  with 
the  southern  people,  during  the  conflict 
of  that  time,  went  south  and  placed 
himself  among  those  of  the  legislature 
who  favored  secession.  The  subject  of 
this  sketch  went  with  him  subsequently, 
and  in  1862,  joined  the  Confederate 
army,  remained  in  the  service  until  the 
close  of  the  war,  and  was  paroled  at 
Mobile,  Ala.  He  then  entered  the  Chris- 
tian Brothers'  college,  St.  Louis,  to 
complete  his  literary  education,  and 
remained  two  sessions.  He  then  com- 
menced the  study  of  medicine,  gradu- 
ating from  the  McDowell's  College  in 
1868-69,  when  he  commenced  the  prac- 
tice of  medicine  in  Franklin  county, 
Mo.,  and  there  continued  until  coming 
here.  His  marriage  to  Sallie  A.  Brown 
occurred  June  3,  1868.  They  have  had 
three  children,  Mary  0.,  Cora  B.  and 
Irene  V.  Mr.  Shobe  is  a  member  of 
the  Knights  of  Pythias  and  the  Masonic 


fraternity.  He  takes  a  commendable 
interest  in  public  affairs,  and  was  for 
two  years  president  of  the  board  of  ed- 
ucation. 

Charles  R.  Enos,  M.  D.,  was  born  in 
Madison  county,  N.  Y.,  in  March, 
1816.  His  father,  Joseph  Enos,  anative 
of  Rhode  Island,  was  a  farmer,  and  the 
subject  of  this  sketch  was  reared  to 
farm  life.  In  1842  he  migrated  to  St. 
Louis,  Mo.,  where  he  worked  in  a  ma- 
chine shop  till  1849.  He  then  went  to 
Madison  county,  111.,  and  engaged  in 
farming.  Here  he  commenced  taking 
care  of  the  sick,  being  a  good  nurse, 
also  practiced  medicine  to  a  consider- 
able extent.  In  1874  he  graduated  from 
the  homoeopathic  medical  college,  of 
Missouri,  and  has  since  that  time  given 
his  attention  principally  to  the  practice 
of  medicine.  In  April,  1882,  he  came 
to  Jerseyville,  since  which  he  has  prac- 
ticed his  profession  in  company  with 
his  son,  Dr.  C.  W.  Enos.  He  was  mar- 
ried in  1845,  to  Eliza  A.Thorpe,  and  by 
this  union  has  had  ten  children,  eight 
of  whom  are  living; — Sarah  C,  Charles 
W.,  of  Jerseyville;  William  H.,  who 
graduated  as  a  physician,  but  follows 
farming;  Ida  V.,  wife  of  Theo.  S. 
Ellison;  Joseph  W.,  a  physician;  Law- 
rence, Dcwitt  C.  and  Grace. 

C.  W.  Enos,  M.  D.,  located  at  Jersey- 
ville, Jan.  29,  1874.  He  was  born  in 
Madison  county,  111.,  Dec.  13,  1849,  and 
is  a  son  of  Dr.  C.  R.  and  Eliza  Ann 
(Thorpe)  Enos.  He  was  brought  up  on 
a  farm  and  received  a  good  education, 
attending  the  state  normal  school  at. 
Bloomington,  111.,  also  the  state  indus- 
trial institution  at  Champaign.  After 
completing  his  education  he  taught 
school  two  terms,  then  turned  hisatten- 


156 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


tion  to  the  study  of  medicine,  with  a 
view  to  making  that  profession  his  life 
work.  He  entered  the  office  of  Dr.  W. 
C.  F.  Hempstead,  of  Edwardsville,  with 

whom  he  studied  for  a  time.  In  1872 
he  became  a  student  at  the  homoeo- 
pathic medical  college  of  Missouri, 
from  whence  he  graduated  in  1874,  re- 
ceiving the  prize  for  surgery.  He  then 
came  to  Jerseyville  and,  opening  an 
office  on  the  day  of  his  arrival, within  two 
hours  received  his  first  call,  to  attend  a 
case  of  lung  fever  the  patient  being  a 
daughter  of  David  M.  Houghton.  His 
practice  rapidly  increased,  and  in  the 
first  eleven  months  of  his  residence 
here,  his  accounts  amounted  to  two 
thousand  dollars.  Since  Dr.  Enos  lo- 
cated in  this  city  there  have  been  but 
three  days  during  which  he  has  not  re- 
ceived a  call,  with  the  exception  of  one 
week  when  he  was  absent  from  the  city 
upon  a  pleasure  trip.  In  1881  Dr.  Enos 
took  a  course  of  lectures  on  the  eye  and 
ear,  at  the  New  York  Opthalmic  Hos- 
pital, also  an  operating  course  on  the 
eye  and  ear,  under  the  celebrated  Dr. 
H.  Knapp.  He  has  since  made  a 
specialty  of  treating  those  organs.  He 
has  performed  many  difficult  surgical 
operations,  and  always  with  perfect 
success.  Although  comparatively  a 
young  man,  Dr.  Enos  stands  at  the  head 
of  his  profession,  and  his  reputation  for 
skill  and  good  judgment  is  well  known 
and  widespread.  His  success  has  been 
something  remarkable,  and  his  practice 
extensive  and  remunerative.  He  is  a 
member  of  the  Western  Academy  of 
Homoeopathy,  and  of  the  American  In- 
stitute of  Homoeopathy.  Dr.  Enos  was 
married  in  1875,  to  Melissa  Post,  daugh- 
ter of  C.  A.  Post,  who  died  in  October, 


1877.  In  1879,  Dr.  Enos  was  married 
to  Elizabeth  Cory,  daughter  of  Abner 
and  Margaret  Cory.  They  are  the 
parents  of  two  children,  Herbert  C.  and 
Gracie  E.  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Enos  are  mem- 
bers of  the  Baptist  church,  and  he  was 
for  six  years  superintendent  of  the  Sab- 
bath school.  He  is  an  active  temperance 
worker,  and  in  1884,  was  candidate  for 
secretary  of  state  on  the  prohibition 
ticket.  He  is  a  member  of  the  county 
and  state  central  committees.  Dr.  Enos 
came  to  Jerseyville  fifty  dollars  in  debt, 
but  has  been  highly  successful  finan- 
cially. He  is  the  owner  of  a  farm  of 
two  hundred  acres,  and  also  of  town 
property. 

Dr.  Augustus  R.  Knapp  (deceased) 
was  born  in  Connecticut  in  the  year 
1801.  When  young,  he  removed  to  Del- 
aware county,  N.  Y.,  and  was  educated 
for  a  physician  in  New  York  city.  He 
was  married  in  Schoharie  county,  in 
1822,  to  Catherine  Wyckoff,  and  the  fol- 
lowing year  removed  to  New  York  city, 
where  he  practiced  medicine  till  1839. 
At  that  date  he  came  to  Illinois,  and  lo- 
cated at  Kane,  in  Greene  county,  where 
he  practiced  his  profession  five  years. 
He  then  moved  to  Jerseyville.  Here 
he  had  an  extensive  practice.  He  was 
a  member  of  the  constitutional  conven- 
tion of  1847,  to  revise  the  constitution 
of  Illinois.  In  1849  he  went  to  Califor- 
nia, where  he  remained  for  a  time,  in 
search  of  gold,  in  which  he  was  quite 
successful.  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Knapp  had 
five  children.  Charles  A.,  who  was  edu- 
cated for  a  physician,  went  to  Califor- 
nia, where  he  died  in  1856;  Jane  A., 
married  to  H.  0.  Goodrich;  Anthony 
L.,  who  was  a  lawyer,  Robert  M.,  and 
George  H.,  now  a  practicing  physician 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


157 


of  St.  Louis.  These  children  all  re- 
ceived the  benefits  of  a  good  education, 
and  all  of  the  sons  became  professional 
men,  two  studying  law  and  two  medi- 
cine. Dr.  Knapp  died  in  Jersey ville, 
July  13,  18G2.  Mrs.  Knapp  survived 
her  husband  till  February,  1868. 

Dr.  Charles  A.  Knapp  (deceased), was 
bom  in  Blenheim,  X.  Y.,  July  21.  1823. 
He  studied  medicine  with  his  lather. 
and  afterwards  took  a  medical  course 
and  graduated  from  .McDowell  College, 
in  St.  Louis.  He  commenced  practice 
at  Kane,  111.,  in  1847.  Two  years  later 
he  came  to  Jerseyville  and  took  the 
practice  of  his  father,  who  then  went  to 
California,  and  continued  here  until 
1854.  Then,  on  account  of  feeble 
health,  he  migrated  to  California, where 
he  died  in  1856.  He  was  married  in 
1850  to  Caroline  Whitney,  who  survived 
him  about  20  years.  They  had  two 
children.  Elnora  and  George  A. 

Joseph  Ormond  Hamilton,  M.  D., 
(deceased)  was  born  in  Monroe  county, 
111.,  April  2,  1S24.  He  is  the  youngest 
child  of  Thomas  M.  and  Alpha  Ham- 
ilton. Thomas  M.  Hamilton  was  a  son 
of  Captain  Nathaniel  Hamilton,  who 
commanded  a  company  of  Green  Moun- 
tain boys  during  the  Revolutionary  war. 
Thomas  was  born  in  Rutland,  Vt.,  of 
Scotch  and  English  parentage,  and  was 
reared  in  Ohio,  whither  his  parents 
emigrated  about  the  year  171(7.  In  the 
spring  of  ISIS  lie  removed  with  his 
family  to  Illinois,  landing  at  ILurison- 
ville,  on  the  east  hank  of  the  Missis- 
sippi river,  on  the  first  day  of  May. 
He  located  at  what  is  now  New  Design, 
Monroe  county,  four  miles  southwest  of 
Waterloo.  On  the  9th  of  May,  1831,  he 
moved  to  the  present  limits  of  Jersey 


county,  settling  on  a  tract  of  land  in 
T.  7,  R.  12,  where  lie  followed  farming 
during  the  remainder  of  his  life.  Dr. 
Hamilton  attended  school  first  in  Mon- 
roe county,  then  at  the  stone  school 
house  buili  at  Otterville  through  the 
munificence  of  Dr.  Silas  Hamilton.  In 
1843  he  became  a  student  at  the  Ohio 
University,  at  Athens,  0.,  remaining 
there  two  years.  He  then  commenced 
the  study  of  medicine  with  Dr.  Silas 
Parker.  The  latter  moving  from  Athens, 
he  continued  his  studies  with  Dr.  Wil- 
liam Black  stone.  In  1845  he  came  to 
Jerseyville  and  practiced  under  Dr. 
James  C.  Perry,  who  was  originally 
from  Scotland,  and  a  gentleman  of  fine 
attainments.  Dr.  Hamilton  practiced 
with  him  one  year,  after  which  he  lo- 
cated in  Calhoun  county.  In  1846  he 
returned  to  Jersey  county  and  taught 
school,  in  what  was  locally  known  as 
Buttermilk  academy  on  Sec.  2,  T.  7, 
R.  11.  The  following  year  he  went  to 
Louisiana  and  obtained  a  situation  as 
teacher,  after  waiting  for  them  to  build 
a  Bchool-house,  which  was  constructed 
of  gum  logs,  sawn  by  negro  power.  He 
taught  in  Tensas  parish,  on  Tensas 
river,  receiving  for  his  services,  $35  per 
month  in  gold,  hoard  included.  In 
1849  he  returned  to  Jersey  county  and 
attended  lectures  at  the  Medical  Uni- 
versity of  Missouri,  graduating  on  the 
4th  of  March,  1850,  and  commenced 
practice  at  Grafton.  May  1,  1851,  he 
was  married  to  Margaret  Perry,  daugh- 
ter of  Dr.  Perry,  of  Jerseyville.  They 
had  six  children,  three  of  whom  are 
deceased,  and  one  daughter  and  two 
sons  are  yet  living.  In  1852  he  entered 
into  partnership  with  his  father-in-law, 
with  whom  he  practiced    till    January, 


158 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


1853.  Dr.  Perry  died  in  1858.  Dr. 
Hamilton's  death  occurred,  Aug.  21, 
1882.  He  was  one  of  the  the  most  cel- 
ebrated physicians  in  the  west.  Some 
of  his  essays  have  been  incorporated  in 
the  transactions  of  the  American  Medi- 
cal Association  and  can  be  found  in  the 
volumes  of  1870  and  1872.  He  was 
elected  president  of  the  Illinois  Medi- 
cal Society,  convened  at  Peoria  in  May, 
1871,  being  the  first  native  president 
from  Illinois.  He  attended  as  delegate, 
the  American  Medical  Association  at  the 
cities  of  Cincinnati,  New  Orleans,  Wash- 
ington, Philadelphia  and  San  Francisco. 
In  1867  he  was  appointed  surgeon  for 
the  United  States  pension  office  of  this 
district,  and  acted  as  examining  surgeon 
for  six  of  the  most  prominent  insurance 
companies  of  the  United  States.  He 
was  a  man  of  great  ability  and  untiring 
industry,  and  performed  many  difficult 
surgical  operations  with  perfect  success. 
He  was  highly  appreciated  at  home,  as 
well  as  abroad,  being  popular  with  all 
classes,  who  regarded  him  as  a  skillful 
physician  and  a  gentleman  of  the  high- 
est moral  worth  and  principle. 

Dr.  John  S.  Williams,  physician  at 
Otterville,  was  born  in  Simpson  county, 
Ky.,  in  1839,  where  he  remained  until 
fourteen  years  of  age.  He  then  re- 
moved with  his  mother,  Lucinda  (Sal- 
monds)  Williams,  to  Lincoln  county, 
Mo.,  his  father  being  dead.  While 
living  here  John  S.  attended  the  high 
school  at  Truxton,  Mo.,  then  entered 
Iowa  State  University,  at  Keokuk,  grad- 
uating from  the  medical  department  of 
that  institution  in  1865.  During  that 
year  he  had  charge  of  a  ward  in  the  hos- 
pital, attending  sick  and  wounded  sol- 
diers.    He  then  came  to  Jersey  county, 


and  located  at  Otterville.  Here  he 
practiced  his  profession  until  1870, 
then  went  to  St.  Louis  and  took  a  course 
of  lectures  at  St.  Louis  Medical  College, 
graduating  in  1871,  after  which  he  re- 
turned to  Otterville  where  he  has  since 
remained  engaged  in  the  practice  of  his 
profession.  Doctor  Williams  has  won 
an  enviable  reputation  as  a  physician 
and  has  an  extended  and  remunerative 
practice.  He  was  married  in  September, 
1867,  to  Millie  Close,  a  native  of  Illinois. 
They  had  two  children — LucyE.,  who 
died  in  1882,  at  the  age  of  thirteen  years, 
and  Jesse  Franklin,  who  died  in  infancy. 
Mrs.  Williams  died  in  January,  1873. 
In  December  of  the  same  year  Doctor 
Williams  was  married  to  Maggie  Blaik- 
stock,  a  native  of  Wisconsin.  By  this 
union  there  were  two  children — one  died 
an  infant,  and  Dalton  Hall,  now  living. 
Doctor  Williams  owns  four  hundred  and 
twelve  acres  of  land,  and  a  residence  in 
Otterville.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
State  Medical  Society,  and  of  the  Amer- 
ican Medical  Association,  also  of  the  I. 
O.  0.  F.,  and  the  Masonic  fraternity. 
He  is  one  of  the  board  of  education,  and 
has  been  coroner  two  terms,  during 
which  he  kept  the  first  coroner's  record 
ever  kept  in  this  county. 

James  A.  Flautt,  M.  D.,  was  born  in 
Maryland  in  1848,  and  is  a  son  of  James 
M.  and  Ann  C.  (Althoff)  Flautt,  the 
former,  a  native  of  Pennsylvania,  and 
the  latter  of  Maryland.  When  he  was 
quite  young,  his  parents  moved  to  Ohio, 
thence  to  Wisconsin  in  1855.  He  re- 
mained in  the  latter  state  till  the  spring 
of  1870,  when  he  went  to  Alton,  111. 
Four  years  later  he  moved  to  Jersey- 
ville,  and  lived  there  also  four  years, 
after  which  he  came  to  Otterville.     Dr. 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


159 


Flautt  was  educated  in  the  graded 
schools  of  Reedsburg,  Wis.,  and  at  St. 
Joseph,  0.  He  attended  medical  col- 
lege at  Keokuk,  la., where  he  graduated 
in  1881.  He  began  his  medical  studies 
with  Dr.  Williams,  of  this  county,  in 
1878.  After  graduating  he  located  per- 
manently at  Ottcrville,  where  he  is  now 
engaged  in  the  practice  of  his  chosen 
profession.  Although  a  comparatively 
new  comer  here,  Dr.  Flautt  has  gained 
the  reputation  of  being  a  skillful  prac- 
titioner, and  has  a  lucrative  practice. 
He  was  married  Sept.  21,  1872,  to  Mary 
A.  Deming,  a  native  of  this  county;  they 
have  one  child — Charles  Edward,  horn 
August  5,  1883.  Dr.  Flautt  owns  240 
acres  of  land  in  Christian  county,  and 
60  acres  in  Jersey  county,  all  im- 
proved; also  a  fine  residence  property 
in  Otterville.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
A.  F.  &  A.M.,andalsooftheI.O.O.F. 
As  a  citizen  he  is  popular  and  esteemed. 
Austin  F.  Slover,  M.  D.,  a  practicing 
physician  of  Elsah  township,  resides  on 
the  northeast  quarter  of  Sec.  11.  He 
was  born  in  Middletown,  Butler  county, 
O.,  June  4,  1828.  In  1836  he  went  to 
Delaware  county,  Ind.,  where  he  ob- 
tained his  education,  and  remained  un- 
til 1850;  at  that  date  he  came  to  Jersey 
county,  111.,  and  located  at  Jerseyville. 
Here  he  was  married  in  1853,  to  Marv 
E.  Freeman,  daughter  of  Dr.  J.  D. 
Freeman,  of  Jerseyville.  She  was  born 
in  Rochester,  N.  Y.,  in  1832,  and  died 
Jan.  28,  1857,  leaving  one  child — Mary 
E.,  who  was  born  Jan.  18,  1857.  She  is 
now  married,  and  is  living  in  Mississ- 
ippi township,  Jersey  county,  111.  Dr. 
Slover  was  married  in  1866,  to  Mrs. 
Agnes  McAdams,  and  by  this  union  has 
six  children — Nancy  J.,  wife  of  Marion 


Coonrod,  of  Elsah  township;  Josephine, 
Robert  L.,  Ann  Louisa,  Alice,  Willard 
and  Abel.  In  addition  to  his  medical 
practice,  Dr.  Slover  is  engaged  in  rais- 
ing small  fruits  and  vegetables.  He  is  a 
democrat  in  politics. 

A.  D.  Erwin,  M.  D.,  was  born  near 
Rockbridge,  Greene  county,  on  the  21st 
of  March,  1858,  his  parents  being  A.  D., 
Sr.,  and  Malinda  (Hill)  Erwin.  In 
1864,  his  parents  removed  to  Jersey- 
ville, where  they  have  since  continued 
to  reside.  They  gave  him  his  prelimi- 
nary education  in  the  common  and  high 
schools  of  Jerseyville,  and  he  then 
commenced  the  study  of  medicine  with 
Dr.  A.  K.  Van  Home,  of  the  same  town. 
He  studied  with  him  two  years,  reading 
medicine,  and  afterward  attended  two 
full  courses  of  lectures  at  the  Missouri 
Medical  College,  in  St.  Louis,  where  he 
graduated  in  1S82.  After  completing 
his  medical  education,  he  commenced 
the  actual  practice  of  medicine  at  Bluff- 
dale,  Greene  county,  where  he  con- 
tinued until  coming  to  Fidelity  in  the 
spring  of  1884.  He  was  married  in 
Jerseyville  on  the  9th  day  of  May,  1884, 
to  Tillie  Davis,  of  that  town.  He 
devotes  his  entire  mind  and  attention 
to' his  business  and  is  making  a  success 
in  his  chosen  profession. 

Dr.  J.  Tidball,  one  of  the  prominent 
physicians  of  Jersey  county,  is  located 
in  the  picturesque  town  of  Grafton.  He 
is  a  native  of  Ohio,  born  in  1848,  and  is 
the  son  of  John  and  Mary  L.  (Rich 
mond)  Tidball.  The  doctor  remained 
in  the  state  of  his  nativity  until  1864, 
when  he  emigrated  to  Mercer  county, 
111.  In  1868,  he  removed  to  Monmouth, 
Warren  county,  this  state,  where  he 
attended  college  until   1871.     He   then, 


160 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


to  fit  himself  for  his  life's  labor, 
attended  the  medical  department  of  the 
Michigan  University,  at  Ann  Arbor, 
and  graduated  from  that  noble  institu- 
tion in  1874,  with  high  honors,  The 
doctor  then  commenced  the  practice  of 
medicine,  but  three  years  later,  with  a 
devotion  to  his  honored  profession,  he 
resolved  to  still  further  pursue  his 
studies  in  the  same,  under  competent 
instructors,  to  the  end  that  he  might 
attain  greater  eminence  therein.  He 
therefore  proceeded  to  New  York  city 
and,  entering  the  Bellevue  Hospital 
Medical  College,  devoted  himself  to  the 
study  of  surgery  and  medicine.  He 
graduated  from  this  noted  surgical  train- 
ing school  in  1878,  his  attendance  there 
being  chiefly  to  avail  himself  of  the 
unparalleled  facilities  a  Horded  there  for 
the  closer  study  of  practical  surgery. 
On  quitting  the  classic  walls  of  this 
latest  alma  mater,  be  removed  to  Graf- 
ton, in  this  county,  where  be  has  al- 
ready built  him  up  a  large,  lucrative 
and  constantly  increasing  practice.  As 
a  scholar  and  a  physician  he  takes  rank 
with  any  in  this  section  of  the  state, 
while  as  a  genial  companion  and  bed- 
side visitor  he  has  but  few  peers.  He 
was  united  in  marriage,  in  1874,  with 
Ellen  Montgomery,  also  a  native  of 
Ohio.  The  doctor  is  in  polities  a  repub- 
lican, is  a  member  of  both  the  I.  0.  0. 
F.  and  A.  F.  &  A.  M.  societies. 

Dr.  James  F.  Gary,  practicing  physi- 
cian of  Delhi,  located  here  in  the  spring 
of  1878.  He  is  a  son  of  Thomas  and 
Sarah  (Rives)  Gary,  both  of  whom 
were  born  near  Frankfort,  Ky.,  and  are 
now  living  in  Greenfield,  Greene  coun- 
ty, 111.  The  subject  of  this  sketch  was 
born  in  Macoupin  county,  March  4, 1852. 


He  grew  to  manhood  in  his  native 
county,  receiving  a  liberal  education. 
After  completing  his  literary  studies  he 
engaged  in  teaching  school  two  years, 
and  in  the  meantime  commenced  the 
study  of  medicine.  He  then  entered 
the  office  of  Dr.  J.  Lane,  at  Barr's  Store, 
Macoupin  county,  where  he  pursued 
bis  medical  studies  one  year,  after 
which  he  went  to  St.  Louis  and  entered 
the  American  Medical  College,  taking  a 
two  years'  course  at  that  institution, 
graduating  in  1878.  He  bad,  during 
this  time,  commenced  the  practice  of 
his  profession,  at  .Jerseyville,  but  pre- 
vious to  his  graduation  located  at  Delhi, 
where  he  now  has  an  extensive  and 
highly  remunerative  practice,  and  has 
gained  the  reputation  of  being  one  of 
the  most  skillful  as  well  as  one  of  the 
most  successful  physicians  of  Jersey 
county.  He  was  married  in  Delhi,  Oct. 
10,  1882,  to  Mary  Ingles,  a  daughter  of 
Frederick  Ingles,  of  Alton.  They  have 
one  daughter,  Etta,  born  July  27,  1883. 
Dr.  Gary  is  a  member  of  the  State  Ec- 
lectic Association,  also  of  the  Knights 
of  Honor,  No.  1129,  of  Jerseyville. 

Dr.  Wesley  Park  wras  born  in  Luray, 
Licking  county,  Ohio,  on  the  19th  of 
November,  1833,  his  parents  being  Sam- 
uel and  Lethe  A.  (Belt)  Park.  When 
quite  young  our  subject  moved  with  his 
parents  to  Granville,  Licking  county, 
where  he  received  his  education  in  the 
common  schools  of  that  place.  When 
16  years  of  age  he  attended  the  academy 
for  one  year,  when  he  entered  into  a 
course  of  study  at  the  Granville  College. 
At  the  age  of  19  he  commenced  the 
study  of  medicine  with  Dr.  Spellman. 
He  came  to  Marshall,  Clark  county,  111. 
where  his  parents  had  previously  moved 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


161 


and  established  their  home.  Wesley 
continued  his  course  under  the  care  of 
Dr.  J.  L.  Duncan,  about  one  year,  when 
he  commenced  the  course  of  lectures. 
In  1861  he  was  appointed  acting  assist- 
ant-surgeon with  the  79th  111.  Infy.  His 
regiment  was  nearly  annihilated  at  the 
battle  of  Murfreesboro,  Tenn.,  and  he 
was  then  assigned  to  the  general  hospi- 
tal, at  Yicksburg,  having  charge  of  the 
same  for  the  remainder  of  the  three 
years  of  the  service,  with  the  exception 
of  the  time  he  was  held  a  captive.  He 
was  captured  by  the  Confederates  and 
taken  as  a  prisoner  to  Jackson,  Miss. 
He  was  taken  to  Cahawba,  where  he  was 
released  and  sent  back  to  Yicksburg. 
After  the  war  he  remained  about  one 
year  in  the  south,  and  on  the  31st  of 
December,  I860,  he  came  to  Jersey 
county,  111.,  and  practiced  medicine 
until  the  winter  of  1866,  when  he  at- 
tended the  Chicago  Medical  College,  and 
there  graduated.  He  then  practiced  in 
Fieldon,  111.,  until  1871,  when  he  w«snt 
to  Philadelphia  to  attend  the  Jefferson 
Medical  College,  of  that  city.  He  grad- 
uated in  1873,  and  has  practiced  since 
that  time  in  Fieldon.  Dr.  Park  is  a 
member  of  the  odd  Fellows  order,  and 
was  a  charter  member  of  Fieldon  lodge, 
No.  592,  A.  F.  and  A.  M.,  of  which 
lodge  he  has  been  worshipful  master 
for  11  years  out  of  the  15  of  its  exist- 
ence. He  was  married  in  Crawford 
county,  111.,  on  the  4th  of  January,  1855, 
to  Miss  J.  E.  Ward.  They  have  three 
children — Arthur  F.,  George  C.  and 
Frederick  W. 

C.  G.  Burlington,  practicing  physician 
and  surgeon,  was  born  in  Jerseyville, 
Jersey  county,  111.,  on  the  22d  day  of 
May,  in  the  year  1858.     He  is  the  son 


of  Joseph  H.  and  Francis  (Gordon)  Buf- 
fington.  His  father  was  a  native  of 
Philadelphia,  Penn..  his  mother  of 
Kdwardsville,  111.  Hfs  father  emigrated 
to  this  state  in  the  year  of  1837,  settling 
in  Jerseyville.  He  was  the  oldest 
physician  in  that  city  at  the  time  of  his 
death.  Our  subject  was  in  the  drug 
business  with  his  brother  at  Indianola, 
Warren  county,  Iowa,  about  three  years 
before  he  entered  college.  In  the  year 
1881,  he  graduated  at  the  Missouri 
Medical  College  at  St.  Louis,  where  he 
attended  a  two  year's  course  of  lectures. 
He  then  returned  to  Jerseyville,  but  did 
not  locate  for  about  a  year  after  gradu- 
ating. In  1882  he  selected  Fieldon  as 
the  most  suitable  place  for  the  practice 
of  his  profession,  and  has  remained 
there  since.  He  was  appointed  county 
physician  for  Jersey  county  in  1882. 
His  practice  has  been  increasing  every 
year  until  it  now  extends  over  Jersey, 
Greene  and  Calhoun  counties,  and  is 
one  of  the  largest  and  most  lucrative  of 
any  in  the  county,  and  although  he  is 
the  youngest  in  the  profession  he  stands 
among  the  first. 

E.  F.  Francis,  M.  P.,  practicing 
physician  at  East  Newbern,  Mississippi 
township,  Jersey  county,  111.,  was  horn 
in  Monmouth  county,  X.  Y.,  .June  3d, 
1845.  He  is  a  son  of  Richard  I.  and 
Susanna  (Carrj  Francis.  He  remained 
with  his  parents  until  he  arrived  at  the 
age  of  IS  years,  when  lie  left  home  to 
complete  his  studies.  He  obtained  his 
literary  education  at  the  high  school  at 
Shelbyvillc,  Ind.,  Battleground  Col- 
lege, in  Tippecanoe  county  of  the  same 
state,  and  at  Hartsville  University. 
He  then  studied  medicine  at  the  Ohio 
Medical  College,  Cincinnati,  and  after- 


162 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


wards  spent  one  year  at  the  Indiana 
College  of  Physicians  and  Surgeons 
from  which  institution  he  graduated, 
with  the  highest  honors  in  1876.  He 
enlisted  in  1864  in  the  37th  regiment  of 
Indiana  infantry,  and  was  transferred 
to  the  87th  regiment,  serving  till  the 
close  of  the  war.  He  participated  in 
the  march  through  Georgia,  taking  part 
in  the  engagements  of  that  memorable 
campaign.  Dr.  Francis  was  married 
Feb.  18th,  1882,  to  Carrie  Jane  Cham 
bers,  daughter  of  Jacob  and  Margaret 
(Ridgway)  Chambers.  He  is  well  quali- 
fied for  the  practice  of  his  chosen  pro- 
fession and  during  his  residence  in  New- 
bern,  has  won  the  reputation  of  a  skill- 
ful physician,  and  established  an  exten- 
sive and  lucrative  practice. 

S.  M.  Watson,  M.  D.,  was  born  on  the 
26th  of  Jan.,  1845,  at  LaGrange,  Mo. 
He  remained  with  his  parents  while 
they  lived.  His  mother  was  taken  with 
an  attack  of  cholera  and  died  in  the 
month    of  August,    1873.     His    father's 


death  was  caused  by  cancer  of  the 
face,  in  May,  1876.  Both  are  buried  in 
the  cemetery  at  Delhi,  Jersey  county. 
He  lives  on  the  northwest  quarter  of 
Sec.  12,  in  Mississippi  township. 
He  was  united  in  marriage  with  Emma 
J.  Howell,  on  the  13th  day  of  Oct., 
1869,  by  Rev.  Wm.  Hill,  of  Jerseyville. 
They  have  a  family  of  six  children, 
James  M.,  born  July  31,  1870;  Charles 
S.,  born  August  1,  1872;  John  W.,  born 
Oct.  29,  1874;  Mary  A.,  born  Oct.,  29, 
1874;  Mary,  one  of  the  twins,  died 
August  6,  1875;  Emma  G.,  born  August 
29,  1876,  and  Jennie  M.,  born  April  18, 
1880.  Mrs.  Watson  was  born  at  God- 
frey, 111.,  on  the  18th  day  of  Feb.,  in 
the  year  1845. 

Dr.  A.  A.  Barnett,  came  to  Jersey- 
ville, in  1862,  where  he  has  remained  in 
practice  ever  since.  He  is  a  native  of 
New  York,  and  is  a  graduate  of  the 
medical  department  of  the  university 
at  Louisville,  Ky.,  of  the  class  of  1853, 
and  has  been  in  practice  ever  since. 


CHAPTER    XII. 


COUNTY  SOCIETIES. 


Although  much  can  be  accomplished 
by  energetic  individual  effort,  still  more 
can  be  brought  about  by  concerted  ac- 
tion performed  under  thorough  organiza- 
tion. This  truth  has  been  abundantly 
demonstrated  in  Jersey  county,  and 
several  societies,  for  mutual  improve- 
ment, mutual  benefit  and  mutual  pleas- 
ure   have    been    organized,    prominent 


among  which  are  the  Agricultural  Soci- 
ety, Old  Settlers'  Association,  and  the 
Farmers'  Mutual  Insurance  Company. 
A  short  history  of  each  of  these  is  given 
in  this  connection. 

AGRICULTURAL    SOCIETY. 

For  manv  years  the  farmers  of  Jersey 
county  were  in  the   habit   of  attending 


the  county  agricultural  fairs  of  the 
neighboring  counties,  especially  that  of 
Greene  county,  but  in  the  fall  of  1867, 
while  visiting  at  the  latter  place,  several 
well-to-do  agriculturists  of  Jersey 
county,  among  whom  were  William 
Kirby,  E.  0.  Hartwick  and  Ezekiel 
Davidson,  after  talking  the  matter  over, 
thought  that  their  home  county  could 
Bupport  a  fair,  and  that  the  time  had 
come  when  some  movement  looking  to 
that  end  be  inaugurated.  When  they 
came  home,  they  did  not  let  the  matter 
drop,  but  arranged  a  meeting  when 
there  were  present,  besides  the  above 
named  gentlemen,  David  E.  Beaty,  Jere- 
miah Beaty,  Lathrop  L.  Kirby  and 
William  Shephard.  This  meeting  was 
held  at  the  office  of  Benjamin  Wedding. 
at  Jerseyville.  After  a  preliminary  dis- 
cussion it  was  agreed  among  themselves 
that  they  would  canvass  among  their 
friends  to  see  how  much  money  could 
be  raised  for  the  purpose  of  purchasing 
grounds,  etc.  At  a  meeting  held  on  the 
13th  of  April,  1868,  the  committee  re- 
ported that  they  held  subscriptions  to 
the  amount  of  $9,855,  and  a  permanent 
organization  was  determined  on.  Hugh 
N.  Cross,  James  H.  Belt,  J.  H.  H.  Sim- 
mons, J.  E.  Starr  and  William  Kirby 
were  appointed  a  committee  to  draft  a 
constitution.  At  this  meeting  an  address 
was  delivered  by  D.  M.  Woodson,  of 
Carrollton,  which  did  considerable  good. 
At  a  meeting  shortly  after  this  a  con- 
stitution was  reported  and  adopted,  and 
an  election  held  for  officers,  which  re- 
sulted in  the  choice  of  the  following 
gentlemen:  David  E.  Beaty,  president; 
Samuel  W .  Davis,  secretary;  William 
Kirby,  treasurer,  and  William  Shep- 
hard,  Hugh  N.    Cross,   J.  H.    H.    Sim- 


mons, Lathrop  L.  Kirby,  Jeremiah 
Beaty,  James  H.  Belt,  Jasper  M.  Terry, 
Janus  E.  Starr,  Archibald  Craig  and 
Caleb  A.  Post,  directors.  John  N. 
Squier  acted  as  temporary  secretary  of 
this  meeting.  This  organization  effected, 
it  was  determined  to  hold  a  fair  that 
fall,  and  the  necessary  steps  were  taken 
to  purchase  the  ground  and  fit  it  up  for 
the  purpose.  These  grounds  in  the 
north  portion  of  the  city  of  Jerseyville. 
were  bought  and  improved  at  a  cost  of 
nearly  815.0(H).  Before  the  fair  came 
off,  Mr.  Davis  resigned  the  secretary- 
ship and  Morris  R.  Locke  was  elected 
to  that  office,  and  has  held  it  ever  since, 
thus  conducting  the  society  through 
every  fair  ever  held,  by  this  highly  suc- 
cessful organization. 

The  first  fair  of  the  Jersey  County  Ag- 
ricultural and  Mechanical  Association, 
was  held  at  the  grounds  near  Jersey- 
ville, on  Tuesday,  Wednesday,  Thurs- 
day and  Friday,  Oct.  13,  14,  15  and  16, 
1868,  and  proved  a  decided  success. 
Thus  was  inaugurated  a  series  of  annual 
fairs,  second  to  none  in  the  country  and 
the  most  successful  county  exposition 
on  record. 

The  second  annual  fair  was  held  Oct. 
12,  13,  14  and  15,  1869,  under  the  official 
management  of  the  following  gentle- 
men: David  E.  Beaty,  president;  Mor- 
ris R.  Locke,  secretary;  E.  Davidson, 
treasurer;  William  Shephard,  Hugh  X. 
Cross,  L.  L.  Kirby,  James  H.  Belt.  Ad- 
dison Greene,  Jasper  M.  Terry,  Archi- 
bald Craig,  C.  A.  Post,  James  VanHorae 
and  Charles  Eldred,  directors.  Smith 
M.  Titus  was  the  grand  marshal  of  the 
occasion. 

The  third  annual  fair  occurred  on 
Oct.  11,   12,  13  and  14,  1870,  and  was  a 


164 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


complete  success.  The  Jersey  County 
Democrat  of  that  date,  thus  speaks  of  the 
exposition: 

"Our  county  fair  which  closes  to-day 
(Oct.  14th)  has  been  one  grand  success. 
The  rain  of  Monday,  and  the  lowering, 
drizzling,  misty  sky,  of  Tuesday,  led 
many  to  fear  for  the  result.  But  on 
Wednesday  it  cleared  off,  and  the  last 
three  days  the  weather  was  all  that 
could  be  desired.  And  so  was  the  fair 
all  that  could  be  desired. 

"The  general  arrangement  and  ap- 
pointments of  the  ground  are  better 
than  we  have  ever  before  seen  on  any 
county  grounds  in  Illinois.  And  cer- 
tainly the  management  of  the  details 
could  not  be  excelled.  Everything  was 
done  that  could  be,  and  done  just  right. 
The  officers  of  the  society  are  all 
strangers  to  us,  and  we  therefore  feel  per- 
fectly free  in  saying  to  the  citizens  of 
Jersey  county,  that  we  do, not  see  how 
it  could  be  possible  for  any  set  of  men 
to  more  successfully  manage  so  intricate 
and  difficult  a  piece  of  business,  as  is  the 
arrangement  of  such  an  exhibition.  We 
cannot,  at  this  time,  give  the  figures, 
but  we  understand  that  the  total  num- 
ber of  entries  is  about  one-third  larger 
than  last  year,  and  that  the  cash  re- 
ceipts will  probably  exceed  those  of 
last  year,  about  $1,000. 

The  officers  for  this  year  were  as  fol- 
lows: Hugh  N.  Cross,  president;  Geo. 
E.  Warren,  vice-president;  Morris  R. 
Locke,  secretary;  E.  Davidson,  treas- 
urer; II.  0.  Goodrich,  C.  C.  Cummings, 
John  Buckels,  Jr.,  William  H.  Fulker- 
son,  H.  N.  Belt,  Jr.,  L.  L.  Kirby,  Joeb 
Cory,  Sr.,  Jeremiah  Beaty,  Hem\>Ryan, 
Isaac  R.  Ely,  W.  D.  Curtiss,  and  C.  M. 
Hamilton,  directors. 


The  fourth  fair  was  held  Oct.  10,  11, 
12  and  13,  1871,  and  was  a  pronounced 
success,  a  greater  one  than  ever  before 
held.  The  gross  proceeds  of  this  exhi- 
bition, as  reported  by  the  treasurer,  was 
$5,903.  The  officers  for  this  year  were: 
Hugh  N.  Cross,  president;  William  H. 
Fulkerson,  vice-president;  Morris  R. 
Locke,  secretary;  Joseph  G.  Marston, 
treasurer;  with  Moses  Cockrell,  Robert 
Newton,  C.  M.  Hamilton,  Joel  Cory, 
Sr.,  John  G.  Dougharty,  Henry  D. 
Ryan,  John  A.  Cory,  C.  C.  Cummings, 
J.  H.  Belt,  N.  C.  Beaty,  and  William 
Kirby  on  the  board  of  direction. 

And  so  on  each  year  the  fairs  have 
been  held,  andthe  society  has  prospered 
until  the  name  of  the  Jersey  county  fair 
has  obtained  a  state-wide,  if  not  a  world- 
wide reputation,  for  being  the  finest, 
the  best  conducted,  and  the  most  suc- 
cessful of  agricultural  expositions.  The 
various  officers  who  have  helped  to 
make  this  the  prime  success  that  it  is, 
have  been  picked  from  the  very  best 
business  men  of  the  county,  and  these 
have  not  thought  it  beneath  their  dignity 
to  attend  to  it  closely,  and  hence  its 
almost  unprecedented  success.  The 
following  is  a  complete  roster  of  the 
officers,  directors  and  committees  for  the 
year  1885,  and  for  the  annual  fair  of  that 
year:  P.  D.  Cheney,  president;  Robert 
Newton,  vice-president;  John  A.  Shep- 
hard,  treasurer;  Morris  R.  Locke,  secre- 
tary; James  S.  Daniels,  J.  V.  Striker, 
H.C.  Terry,  J.  L.  Post,  M.  B.  Trabue, 
Spencer  Wyckoff,  G.  C.  Cockrell,  L.  L. 
Kirby,  Andrew  Bierman,  J.  N.  Lurton, 
Leslie  Cross  and  J.  R.  Colean,  directors; 
Col.  W.  H.  Fulkerson,  grand  marshal; 
J.  K.  Cadwalader,  assistant  marshal;  J. 
R.  Colean,  clerk  of  races;    N.  C.  Beaty, 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


165 


Sup't  of  the  grounds;  J.  X.  Lvtrton, 
Sup't  of  amusement;  Leslie  Cross,  Sup't 
of  arena.  ( hi  the  reception  committee 
are  the  following  :  Mr.  and  Mrs.  David 
E.  Beaty;  Mr.  and  Mrs.  H.  0.  Good- 
rich; Mr.  and  Mrs.  Henry  Ryan;  Mr. 
-and  Mrs.  W.  H.  Fulkerson;  .Mrs.  An- 
tonnette  V.  Cross;  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Oliver 
P.  Powel;  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Ed.  Trabue; 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  J.  M.  Conklin. 

OLD    SETTLERS'    SOCIETY. 

On  Saturday,  Oct.  7,  1871,  a  meeting 
was  held  at  the  court  house,  in  Jersey- 
ville,  for  the  purpose  of  organizing  the 
Old  Settlers'  Society,  of  Jersey  county. 
Among  those  who  were  present  and 
took  part  in  the  organization  of  the 
association  were  Cyrus  Tolinan,  J.  M. 
Hurd,  Geo.  B.  Warren.  Jos.  G.  Scott, 
J.  M.  Terry,  Caleb  Noble,  Murray 
Cheney,  J.  N.  English,  Geo.  W.  Law- 
der,  f.  F.  Brock,  Geo.  H.  Jackson, 
J.  E.  Cooper,  Joel  Cory,  Thomas 
Wedding,  John  Brown,  William  Keller, 
William  McDow,  John  R.  Black,  Alfred 

Hinton,  James  T.  Post, Vandyne, 

George  Hoffman,  John  P.  Stout,  An- 
drew Gillham,  Irvin  Little,  J.  J.  Sim- 
mons, Robert  Latham,  John  Utt,  D.  G. 
Wyckoff,  William  Hackley,  Moses 
Cockrell,  Penuel  Corbett,  Glover  Short, 
J.  T.  Grimes,  Geo.  W.  Burke. 

A  committee  of  three  was  appointed 
to  draft  a  constitution  and  plan  organ- 
ization, consisting  of  Geo.  E.  Warren, 
J.  G.  Scott  and  Geo.  H.  Jackson.  After 
some  deliberation,  the  committee  re- 
ported as  follows: 

CONSTITUTION. 

1.  This  society  shall  be  called  the 
Old  Settlers'  Society  of  Jersey  county, 
Illinois. 


2.  The  object  of  the  society  is  to 
perpetuate  the  memory  of  the  pioneers 
and  old  settlers  of  the  county,  to  collect 
and  preserve  a  history  of  the  settlement 
and  progress,  and  of  interesting  events 
connected  with  the  same,  and  to  revive 
and  keep  alive  by  annual  meetings  old 
friendships  and  the  memory  of  by-gone 
days;  to  obtain  and  record,  so  far  as 
practicable,  the  names  and  ages  of  the 
early  settlers  of  this  state  and  county, 
the  place  of  their  nativity,  and  the  date 
of  their  location  here,  and  to  keep  a 
record  of  the  death  of  members  of  the 
society  and  the  date  of  such  death,  to 
be  read  at  each  annual  meeting. 

3.  All  persons  male  or  female,  resid- 
ing in  the  state  of  Illinois,  in  the  year 
1840,  who  were  then  '2\  years  of  age, 
and  who  have  resided  in  the  counties  of 
Greene  and  Jersey  for  25  years,  may 
become  members  of  the  society  by  en- 
rolling their  names  upon  the  register 
thereof. 

4.  The  officers  of  the  society  shall 
consist  of  a  president,  13  vice-presi- 
dents, one  to  be  elected  as  far  as  practi- 
cable from  each  township,  and  a  sec- 
retary. 

5.  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  presi- 
dent to  preside  at  all  meetings  of  tin- 
society,  to  preserve  order,  and  in  gen- 
eral to  fulfill  the  duties  incumbent  upon 
the  presiding  officer  of  all  deliberative 
assemblies. 

6.  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  respect- 
ive vice-presidents  to  preside  at  the 
meetings  of  the  society,  in  the  absence 
of  the  president,  according  to  seniority 
and  rotation,  to  procure  a  list  of  the 
names,  ages,  places  of  nativity  and  date 
of  location,  of  the  early  settlers  in  their 
several    townships,    and    report    them 


166 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUN  TY. 


from  time  to  time  to  the  secretary,  and, 
also,  to  collect  and  furnish  the  secretary 
accounts  of  events  and  incidents  that 
were  connected  with  the  early  his- 
tory of  the  county,  as  they  may  be 
able  to  do  so,  as  shall  be  of  special 
or  general  interest,  and  also  to  report  to 
the  secretary  the  death  of  any  member 
occurring  in  their  respective  townships. 

7.  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  secre- 
tary to  keep  an  accurate  record  of  the 
names,  ages,  places  of  nativity  and  date 
of  location  in  the  state  and  county, 
together  with  the  date  of  death  of  any 
of  the  members  of  the  society,  to  record 
the  proceedings  of  all  meetings  of  the 
society,  and  also  all  historical  events 
and  incidents  connected  with  the  settle- 
ment of  the  county  that  may  be  fur- 
nished him  by  the  vice-presidents,  or 
derived  from  the  personal  narration  of 
members  at  the  meetings  of  the  society, 
which  shall  be  ordered  by  vote  of  the 
the  society.  The  secretary  shall  keep 
a  register  of  the  names  of  all  the  mem- 
bers in  alphabetical  order,  which  shall 
constitute  the  roll  to  be  called  by  him 
at  each  regular  meeting;  also  a  journal 
the  proceedings  of  every  meeting,  and  a 
third  book  to  be  denominated  the 
historical  record,  in  which  shall  lie 
recorded  events  and  incidents  connected 
with  the  settlement  of  the  county,  fur- 
nished him  as  before  provided,  or  or- 
dered by  the  secretary,  to  be  recorded 
therein. 

8.  There  shall  be  an  annual  meeting 
of  the  society  held  at  the  court  house, 
in  Jerseyville,  on  the  first  Saturday  of 
October  of  each  year,  at  which  time  an 
election  shall  be  held  for  officers  of  the 
society,  special  meetings  shall  be  held 
at  any  time  at  the  call  of  the  president. 


Officers  were  elected  to  serve  until  the 
next  regular  meeting  of  the  society,  as 
follows:  President,  Cyrus  Tolman;  Vice- 
presidents,  Benjamin  F.  Slaten,  T.  6, 
R.  11;  Brook  Stafford,  T.  6,  R.  12;  Geo. 
Stafford,  T.  6,  R.  13;  William  Hackney, 
T.  7,  R.  10;  Thomas  McDow,  T.  7,  R.  11; . 
John  M.  Hull  T.  7.  R.  12;  Thomas 
Wedding,  T.  7,  R.  13;  Jeremiah  Bell,T. 
8,  R.  10;  J.  E.  Cooper,  T.  8;  R.  11; 
John  Brown,  T.  8,  R.  12;  Z.  Reddish,  T. 
8,  R.  13;  D.  P.  Pritchett,  T.  9,  R.  10; 
William  Waddle,  T.  9,  R.  11.  George 
H.  Jackson  was  chosen  secretary. 

JERSEY    CO.    FARMERS'  MUTUAL    INS.  CO. 

This  association  was  chartered  on  the 
22d  of  February,  1861,  and  organized 
June  6th,  1862,  with  the  following  in- 
corporators: Joel  E.  Cory,  Lewis  Ran- 
dolph, George  E.  Warren,  J.  Murray 
Bacon,  0.  P.  Powel,  J.  E.  Cooper,  Rob- 
ert C.  Whyte,  Israel  Squier  and  Wil- 
liam Darby.  On  organization,  officers 
were  chosen  for  the  government  of  the 
same,  and  for  the  transaction  of  busi- 
ness. These  were  as  follows:  J.  E. 
Cory,  president;  J.  E.  Cooper,  vice 
president;  George  E.  Warren,  secre- 
tary; Lewis  Randolph,  treasurer.  Joel 
E.  Cory  remained  president  until  his 
death,  which  occurred  Feb.  13,  1872, 
when  he  was  succeeded  by  Hugh  N. 
Cross,  who  also  remained  in  that  office 
until  removed  by  the  hand  of  death, 
Nov.  21, 1883, when  Jonathan  E.  Cooper, 
the  present  president,  was  elected  to 
that  office.  George  E.Warren  remained 
in  the  office  of  secretary  from  the  date 
of  organization  until  May  10,  1880, 
when  he  was  succeeded  by  R.  P.  Shack- 
elford, who  held  it  until  May  1,  1882, 
when  Jett.  A.  Kirby,  the  present  incum- 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


167 


bent, was  elected.  The  company,  which 
is  a  purely  mutual  one,  has  issued  a 
total  number  of  1,241  policies,  and  has 
now  insured  property  to  the  value  of 
$250,000.  There  has  been  paid  losses 
to  the  amount  of  $20,985,  but  no  assess- 
ment has  been  made  for  the  past  three 
years,  showing  a  healthy  state  of  affairs, 
largely  owing  to  the  business  abilities 
and  integrity  of  the  officers  of  the  com- 
pany.    Taking  the  average  cost  of  in- 


surance for  20  years,  from  the  date  of 
organization,  it  is  found  by  this  com- 
pany to  be  about  $2,70  per  year  on 
$1,000.  The  present  officers  are:  J.  E. 
Cooper,  president;  Edward  Trabue,vice 
president;  Jett.  A.  Kirby.  secretary; 
John  I.  W'hyte,  treasurer;  Lewis  Ran- 
dolph, Arch.  Craig,  J.  E.  Cooper,  Orin 
Palmer,  A.  Beiermann,  John  I.  Whyte, 
D.  E.  Beaty,  Edward  Trabue  and  L.  L. 
Kirby,  directors. 


CHAPTER    XIII. 


ECCLESIASTICAL. 


"Yon  raised  these  hallowed 
Ami  paradise  was  opened  i 

In  touching  upon  the  religious  his- 
tory, whether  the  field  of  the  chronicler 
be  extended  to  the  broad  expanse  of  the 
universe,  or  confined  to  the  narrow  lim- 
its of  a  state  or  county,  there  stands  out 
on  every  page,  predominant,  the  fact 
that  the  religion  of  any  nation,  of  any 
people,  of  any  age,  is  the  foundation  of 
its  institutions,  the  source  ofits  customs, 
and  the  one  thing  nearest  the  popular 
heart. 

Let  us  go  back  no  further  than  the 
dawn  of  the  christian  era — though  the 
same  conditions  appear  as  clearly  be- 
fore as  after  that  date;  we  rind  that  for 
many  generations  after  the  birth  of 
Christ,  the  records  of  religion  comprise 
the  history  of  the  times;  later  on,  we 
find  the  religious  wars  of  the  crusades 
upsetting  the  equilibrium  of  the  whole 
civilized  world.    Later  still,  we  find  the 


walls,  the  desert  smiled, 
n  the  wild." 

people  of  the  old  world,  fleeing  from  re- 
ligious persecution,  flocking  to  Amer- 
ica's gladsome  shores,  the  one  object 
urging  them  on  to  the  casting  of  their 
lots  in  unexplored  climes,  being  the  de- 
sire and  firm  determination  to  worship 
God  according  to  their  own  belief. 

Thus  we  see,  as  early  as  1562,  the 
Hugenots,  finding  the  practice  of  their 
religious  belief  in  France  impossible, 
settling  Carolina's  shores  for  no  other 
purpose  than  to  carry  out  this  one  pre- 
eminent trait  of  human  character — free- 
dom, at  least  for  one's  own  religion; 
then,  for  like  reasons,  the  Pilgrim 
Fathers  taking  up  their  abode  on  New 
England's  rock-bound  coast;  then  the 
Calverts  and  their  followers,  fleeing  from 
the  ban  in  England,  are  found  in  1634, 
peopling  Maryland,  and  taking  up  again, 
where  it  was  broken  off  in  their  native 


168 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


land,  the  thread  of  their  religion;  and 
lastly,  in  our  retrospect,  we  can  see  the 
Quakers,  that  peaceful  sect,  unable  to 
worship  in  their  quiet  fashion  at  home, 
following  the  guidance  of  William  Perm, 
and  settling  on  that  pleasant  Pennsyl- 
vania grant  which  his  foresight  and 
wisdom  had  provided  for  them  in  the 
promised  land — the  new  world.  And  is  it 
any  wonder  that  at  this  later  day,  and  in 
this  land  of  freedom,  the  descendants  of 
those  people  still  hold  an  elevated  opin- 
ion of  that  for  which  their  ancestors 
fought  and  bled,  suffering  the  afflictions 
of  martyrdom  and  banishment?  Right 
here,  among  our  own  people,  with  all  the 
rough  edges  of  conflicting  creeds  worn 
away  by  the  contact  of  years,  it  is  not 
difficult  to  note  the  fact  that  a  man's  re- 
ligion, or  the  want  of  it,  is  the  underly- 
ing trait  of  his  character,  if  his  senti- 
ments be  fully  aroused  on  that  point. 

So,  mindful  of  this  fact,  in  giving  the 
ecclesiastical  history  of  Jersey  county, 
it  will  be  the  endeavor  to  treat  of  each 
sect  independently,  instituting  no  com- 
parisons, but  showing  historical  events 
as  they  occurred,  and  leaving  it  to  the 
reader  to  draw  his  own  conclusions. 

FIRST     PRESBYTERIAN      CHURCH,      JEKSEV- 
VILLE. 

The  following  particulars,  relative  to 
the  above  named  church,  are  taken  from 
a  sermon  delivered  by  the  present  pas- 
tor, Rev.  Ira  C.  Tyson,  Feb.  24,  1884, 
commemorative  of  the  fiftieth  anniver- 
sary of  the  church.  It  is  most  carefully 
and  ably  prepared,  and  no  apology  is 
deemed  necessary  in  copying  bodily 
portions  which  will  be  interesting  and 
valuable  as  a  historical  record  of  that 
society. 


At  an  early  day  religious  meetings 
were  held  in  private  houses  for  a  time, 
with  preaching  when  it  could  be  ob- 
tained. At  length  arrangements  were 
made  for  organizing  a  church,  and  a 
meeting  was  appointed  for  that  purpose 
at  the  house  of  N.  L.  Adams,  near 
Hickory  Grove,  on  the  15th  of  Feb., 
1834.  Two  members  of  the  Illinois 
Presbytery  were  present — Rev.  Thomas 
Lippincott  and  Rev.  Elisha  Jenney,  the 
the  latter  beiug  supply  pastor  at  Alton. 
A  sermon  was  preached,  after  which  the 
church  was  organized.  There  were 
eighteen  original  members.  Alexander 
H.  Burritt,  James  Lumsden  and  M.  N. 
Bosworth  were  the  original  elders. 
There  is  no  record  in  existence  of  the 
names  of  the  original  members,  but  the 
names  of  fourteen  are  given  by  Dr. 
Norton,  in  his  history  of  Presbyterian- 
ism  in  Illinois,  as  follows  :  James 
Lumsden,  Reuben  Page,  Mrs.  Elizabeth 
Page,  Joseph  Gerrish,  Elizabeth  Ger- 
rish,  Mrs.  Miriam  Turner,  Dr.  Alex- 
ander Burritt,  Mrs.  Nancy  Burritt,  M. 
N.  Bosworth  and  wife,  John  Anderson 
and  wife,  Matilda  McGill  and  Mrs.  So- 
phronia  Adams.  It  is  believed  that  the 
original  members  are  all  now  deceased. 
At  first  the  church  was  without  a  pastor 
and  without  a  house  of  worship.  Meet- 
ings continued  to  be  held  in  private 
dwelling  and  also  in  a  school  house  west 
of  the  present  residence  of  Robert 
Newton.  There  being  a  Congregational 
element  in  the  society,  that  portion  re- 
tained the  use  of  the  school  house  while 
the  Presbyterians  worshiped  in  Mr. 
Keith's  shop  for  about  six  months.  For 
a  year  and  a  half  after  the  organization, 
the  church  appears  to  have  been 
without  a  stated  minister,   although  a 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


169 


Mr.  Pierce,  or  Pierson,  a  teacher  from 
Carrollton,  preached  for  a  time  on 
alternate  Sabbaths.  At  length,  in  Oct., 
1835,  Rev.  Amos  P.  Brown  commenced 
his  labors  as  stated  supply,  where  he 
continued  until  1838,  preaching  and 
laboring  as  his  feeble  health  would  per- 
mit. In  1836,  steps  were  taken  to  build 
a  meeting  house.  A  subscription  paper 
was  circulated,  dated  Oct.  6,  1836. 
Forty-seven  names  were  attached  with 
sums  ranging  fron  $200  down  to  SKI,  the 
total  amount  subscribed  being  $1,782.75. 
It  was  a  year  before  the  subscriptions 
reached  a  sum  'sufficient  to  warrant  the 
committee  to  proceed  with  its  work. 
In  Oct.,  1837,  another  paper  was  drawn 
up  and  signed  by  33  names,  authorizing 
the  building  committee  to  "proceed  and 
build  the  house  in  such  size  as  they  may 
deem  expedient,  provided  they  shall  not 
reduce  the  size  below  36x40  feet."  Dur- 
ing the  years  of  1838-39  the  frame  of 
the  building  was  put  up,  but  still  there 
was  not  money  enough  raised  to  finish 
it,  the  amount  required  being  about 
$700.  In  1840  another  subscription  was 
started  and  §478  additional  were  raised 
tii  enable  the  trustees  to  finish  the 
meeting  house.  The  building  was  at 
length  completed  and  dedicated  Oct. 
14,  1841.  It  was  48x48  feet  in  size,  and 
according  to  the  preceding  subscriptions 
cost  about  $2,600. 

By  a  vote  of  the  church  in  March, 
1839,  the  name  was  changed  from  South 
Greene  to  Jerseyville,  as  previous  to 
this  time  thh'  party  comprised  a  part  of 
Greene.  In  August,  1838,  Mr.  Brown 
resigned  his  charge,  but  continued  to 
reside  here  for  several  years  afterward. 
He  died  in  Rushville,  111.,  May  16, 
1859.     Rev.   Joseph    Fowler  began  his 


ministry  here  in  September,  1838,  and 
was  ordained  by  the  Alton  Presbytery, 
April  4,  1839.  He  left  Jerseyville  in 
September,  1840,  and,  after  an  active 
ministry  in  different  churches  in  Ohio 
and  Illinois,  died  Sept.  6,  1857.  Rev. 
Luke  Lyons,  who  had  previously  la- 
bored here  in  a  revival  with  Mr.  Fow- 
ler, was  invited  to  the  pastorate  on  the 
retirement  of  the  latter.  He  entered 
upon  his  labors  in  November,  1840,  and 
was  installed  as  pastor  Dec.  26,  1843. 
Mr.  Lyons  continued  his  labors  here 
until  his  death,  which  occurred  Jan.  11, 
1845.  During  his  pastorate  the  church 
enjoyed  great  prosperity,  as  he  was  an 
earnest  preacher,  a  devoted  pastor  and 
possessed  unusual  executive  ability. 
After  his  death  the  church  was  without 
a  pastor  for  over  a  year,  when  Rev.  Geo. 
C.  Wood  took  charge  of  the  pulpit 
March  1,  1846.  On  the  20th  of  April,  1850 
he  resigned  the  charge  in  Jerseyville. 
He  afterward  labored  in  Michigan  and 
this  state,  and  finally  became  mission- 
ary of  the  Illinois  Presbytery  for  sev- 
eral years,  residing  at  Jacksonville. 
His  death  occurred  Jan.  5,  1879.  In 
October,  1850,  Rev.  Samuel  Grosvenor 
commenced  his  labors  as  acting  pastor. 
During  his  pastorate  the  church  build- 
ing was  enlarged,  and  a  bell  tower 
erected  and  furnished  with  a  bell.  He 
continued  until  July,  1855.  After  leav- 
ing Jerseyville,  he  was  settled  at  Wood- 
stock, Conn."  He  afterward  visited 
Europe,  and  died  in  London,  Aug.  8, 
1870.  In  December,  1855,  Rev.  Joseph 
S.  Edwards  assumed  the  duties  of  the 
pastorate.  He  came  to  Jerseyville  at  a 
time  of  great  political  excitement,  the 
troubles  in  Kansas  occupying  at  that 
time  a  large  part  of  public  attention. 


170 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


Having,  in  the  pulpit,  expressed  his 
views  decidedly,  twenty  of  the  leading 
members  withdrew  and  formed  a  Second 
Presbyterian  church,  connecting  them- 
selves afterward  with  the  southern  gen- 
eral assembly.  Mr.  Edwards  continued 
as  pastor  until  December,  1858.  During 
liis  ministry  here  the  present  parson- 
age was  built  at  a  cost  of  $2,400.  He 
died  at  Cleveland,  0.,  Oct.  17,  1876. 
Rev.  Chas.  H.  Foote  was  invited  to 
supply  the  pulpit  for  one  year,  begin- 
ning Dec.  1,  1858.  He  was  installed 
pastor  April  15,  1860,  his  pastorate  of 
the  church  extending  over  a  period  of 
eight  yea*-s  and  three  months,  and  was, 
on  the  whole,  prosperous.  He  resigned 
Feb.  17,  1867,  and  his  death  occurred 
June  28,  1880.  April  7,  1867,  Rev. 
Wm,  W .  Williams  was  invited  to 
preach.  He  continued  to  supply  the 
pulpit  until  the  following  September, 
when  he  resigned,  and  was  succeeded 
by  Rev.  Geo.  I.  King,  D.  D.  The  two 
branches  of  the  Presbyterian  church 
having  united  during  Dr.  King's  pastor- 
ate, the  church  raised  over  $2,000 
towards  the  memorial  fund.  During 
the  year  of  1872  the  health  of  Dr.  King 
failed  and  he  visited  New  Orleans  with 
the  hope  of  receiving  benefit.  He  sank 
rapidly,  however,  and  died  there  March 
12,  1873.  Rev.  James  W .  Stark  entered 
upon  his  duties  as  pastor  in  November, 
1873,  as  a  successor  of  Dr.  King,  serv- 
ing the  church  in  that  capacity  for 
about  10  years.  On  the  18th  of  Jan., 
1880,  the  rotary  system  of  eldership 
was  adopted,  as  provided  for  by  the 
general  assembly,  in  accordance  with 
which  W.  S.  Ross  was  elected  to  the 
eldership  in  January,  1881;  B.  C.  Van- 
dervoort  in  January,  1882;  and   Dr.   A. 


A.  Barnett  in  January,  1883.  The  initi- 
atory steps  for  building  a  new  church 
were  taken  during  the  year,  1880,  the 
ladies  of  the  congregation  taking  a 
leading  part  in  the  matter.  To  secure 
the  co-operation  of  all,  and  to  make  the 
terms  of  payment  as  easy  as  possible, 
it  was  proposed  to  raise  the  sum  of 
$12,000,  by  dividing  the  whole  amount 
into  480  shares  of  $25  each,  to  be  paid 
in  three  annual  payments,  namely, 
Sept,  1,  1881,  Sept.  1,  1882,  and  Sept.  1, 
1883,  the  whole  to  be  collectable  when 
the  entire  amount  was  subscribed.  A 
soliciting  committee  was  appointed  to 
collect  funds,  which  part  of  the  work 
was  delegated  to  the  ladies.  This  com- 
mittee consisted  of  the  following  mem- 
bers: Mrs.  Emily  B.  King,  Mrs.  A.  A, 
Barnett,  Mrs.  W.  S.  Ross,  Mrs.  Cor- 
nelia J.  Shephard,  Mrs.  S.  A.  Holmes, 
Mrs.  W.  H.  Pogue,  Mrs.  Mary  E.  Jack- 
son, Mrs.  B.  C.  Vandervoort,  Mrs.  Jane 

B.  Pittman,  Mrs.  J.  A.  Cory,  Mrs.  R.  I. 
Lowe,  Mrs.  Hugh  N.  Cross,  Mrs.  J.  C. 
Darby  and  Miss  C.  A.  VanLiew.  The 
building  committee  was  composed  of 
the  following  named  gentlemen  and 
ladies:  A.  W.  Cross,  Wallace  Leigh, 
T.  F.  Remer,  Dr.    A.  A.   Barnett,  J.   L. 

C.  Richards, John  I.  Whyte,  Mrs.  B.  C. 
Vandervoort  and  Mrs.  Emily  B.    King. 

The  church  is  constructed  of  Graf- 
ton stone,  with  slate  roof  and  stained 
glass  windows  and  square  tower  90  feet 
high,  located  on  the  site  of  the  old 
church,  at  the  corner  of  State  and  Car- 
penter streets.  The  corner  stone  was 
laid  with  appropriate  ceremonies  on 
the  12th  of  August,  1882,  and  on  the 
23d  of  August,  1883,  the  building  was 
completed  and  dedicated.  The  edifice 
is  what  is  known   as   modern  Gothic  in 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


171 


architecture,  considerably  ornate,  yet 
nut  departing  from  a  rigid  adherence  to 
the  Gothic  rules,  and  is  one  of  the  finest 
churches  in  this  part  of  the  state.  In 
January  1883,  Rev.  Stark  tendered  his 
resignation  as  acting  pastor  of  the 
church  on  account  of  continued  ill 
health,  which  was  accepted.  However, 
with  renewed  health,  he  is  now  preach- 
ing in  the  Presbyterian  church  of  Santa 
Fe,  N.  M.  The  present  pastor,  Rev. 
Ira  C.  Tyson,  entered  upon  his  duties 
as  pastor  of  the  church  on  the  first 
Sabbath  in  June,  1883,  and  was  in- 
stalled as  pastor  on  the  25th  day  of 
September  following.  The  church  to- 
day is  in  a  highly  flourishing  condition 
with  a  membership  numbering  about 
250. 

Rev.  Ira  C.  Tyson,  pastor  of  the  First 
Presbyterian  Church,  has  been  a  resi- 
dent of  Jerseyville  only  since  June, 
1883,  but  in  that  time  lie  has  won  a  high 
place  in  the  esteem  and  affections  of  his 
congregation.  Jerseyville  is  his  first 
charge  in  the  West,  he  having  been 
called  here  from  New  Hampshire.  He 
is  a  native  of  Pennsylvania,  born  in 
Montgomery  county,  on  the  .'Id  day  of 
March,  1830.  His  parents  were  also 
natives  of  that  county,  ami  members  of 
the  society  of  Friends.  His  father  was 
a  firmer  by  occupation,  but  in  his  later 
years  removed  to  Philadelphia,  where 
he  leda  retired  life  until  the  time  of  his 
death,  which  occurred  after  he  had  at- 
tained his  83d year.  His  mother,  Mary 
(Hallowell)  Tyson,  also  died  in  Phila- 
delphia. Our  subject  was  the  fifth  in  a 
family  of  eight  children,  and  was  the 
oldest  son.  Four  of  the  children  are 
yet  living,  six  having  reached  the  age 
of  maturity.      Ira  C.  was   reared  to   the 


occupation  of  farming,  receiving  in  the 
meantime,  such  education  as  was  af- 
forded by  the  common  schools  of  the 
neighborhood.  At  the  age  of  17  years, 
he  commenced  the  acquisition  of  the 
printer's  trade,  in  the  office  of  the  Tele- 
graph, at  Germantown,  Penn.  In  this 
office  he  was  employed  for  12  years, 
starting  in  as  an  apprentice,  and  ending 
as  foreman  of  the  establishment.  While 
in  Germantown.  he  was  united  in  mat- 
rimony with  Fannie  L.  Hunt,  of  that 
city,  in  1853.  She  died,  four  years 
after  their  marriage.  In  1856  he  united 
with  the  Market  Square  Presbyterian 
church,  of  Germantown,  and  soon  after 
this  time  he  was  impressed  with  the 
conviction  that  he  must  enter  the  minis- 
try. He  commenced  the  study  of  the 
languages  with  the  principal  ofthe  Ger- 
mantown Academy,  and  afterward  under 
a  private  tutor  in  New  York  city,  his 
practical  knowledge  as  a  jointer  supply- 
ing, to  a  considerable  extent,  the  place 
of  a  college  course.  After  two  and  one- 
half  years  spent  in  preliminary  study, 
he  entered  the  Union  Theological  Sem- 
inary, of  New  York  city,  in  1859,  and 
graduated  in  May,  1862.  Feeling  the 
need  of  a  more  thorough  classical  train- 
ing than  could  be  obtained  in  a  printing 
office,  he  has  continued  with  vigor  the 
study  of  the  languages  up  to  the  present 
time.  In  the  month  of  June  following 
his  graduation,  he  received  and  accepted 
a  call  to  the  pastorate  of  the  Presbyte- 
rian church  at  Hughsonville,  Dutchess 
county,  N.  Y.,  and  was  ordained  and  in- 
stalled by  the  Presbytery  of  North 
River,  <>.  S.,  on  the  7th  of  Oct..  1862. 
In  1869,  he  was  called  to  the  Presbyte- 
rian church,  at  Bedford,  N.  H.,  and  was 
settled   over   that    congregation  by  the 


172 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


Presbytery  of  Londonderry,  in  May, 
1869.  He  held  the  pastorate  there  till 
August,  1879.  In  September  following, 
he  was  invited  to  take  charge  of  the 
Presbyterian  church,  at  Londonderry. 
X.  II.,  and  was  soon  after  installed  by 
the  Presbytery  of  Boston,  serving  as 
pastor  of  that  church  until  May,  1883, 
when  became  to  Jersey ville.  In  1882, 
he  attended,  as  a  commissioner,  the 
meeting  of  the  general  assembly,  held 
th.it  year  at  Springfield,  this  state,  and 
while  there  met  with  Rev.  James  W. 
Stark,  who  was  at  that  time  the  pastor 
of  the  First  church,  Jerseyville.  They 
had  been  acquainted  before, while  fellow 
students  at  the  theological  seminary, 
and  Mr.  Stark  invited  Mr.  Tyson  to 
accompany  him  to  Jerseyville,  which 
he  did.  While  here,  he  preached  two 
sermons,  soon  returning  to  his  charge, 
in  New  Hampshire.  During  the  winter 
following,  Mr.  Stark's  health  declined 
so  that  lie  was  obliged  to  resign  his  pas- 
torate here,  and  an  urgent  invitation 
was  at  once  sent  Mr.  Tyson,  to  fill  the 
expected  vacancy.  He  took  charge  of 
the  church  here  in  June,  1883,  and  was 
installed  as  pastor  by  the  Alton  Presby- 
tery the  following  September.  By  the 
congregation  he  is  given  much  of  the 
credit  for  the  rapid  progress  made  in  the 
welfare  of  this  church  since  that  time. 
During  his  early  life,wdiile  in  the  print- 
ing office,  he  frequently  contributed 
articles  to  the  newspapers,  and  read 
such  works  as  those  of  Shakspeare, 
Milton,  Sir  Walter  Scott,  Gibbon,  and 
other  standard  authors  of  English  litera- 
ture, and  the  knowledge  and  experience 
thus  gained  have  been  of  the  greatest 
value  to  him  in  the  preparation  of  his 
sermons,  most   of  which  are  delivered 


from  his  own  manuscript.  His  thorough 
knowledge  of  Greek  and  Hebrew  has 
enabled  him  to  pursue  his  Biblical  .re- 
searches for  himself,  in  a  satisfactory 
manner.  Since  entering  the  ministry 
he  has  written  only  occasionally  for  the 
press,  contributing,  at  intervals,  articles 
for  the  New  York  Observer  and  other 
papers.  Among  his  sermons  which 
have  been  published,  may  be  mentioned 
one  on  the  teachings  of  the  scriptures 
on  total  abstinence,  and  a  historical  ser- 
mon, delivered  at  Bedford,  N.  H.  Mr. 
Tyson  married  his  present  wife,  in  New 
York  city,  immediately  after  graduation 
at  the  seminary,  in  May,  1862.  Her  name 
was  Henrietta  Sperling,  a  native  of  New 
York  city.  This  union  has  been  blessed 
with  live  children,  four  of  whom  are 
now  living.  Their  names  are:  Louis  J., 
Fannie  A.,  Mary  L.,  and  Chas.  W. 
Eddie,  their  first  child,  died  at  the  age 
of  11  years.  Mrs.  Tyson  has  always 
occupied  a  high  position  in  religious 
circles,  and  socially,  wherever  stationed. 
While  in  New  England,  he  was  stated 
clerk  of  the  Boston  Presbytery,  and  was 
chosen  its  historiographer.  He  had  col- 
lected considerable  material  for  a  history 
of  Presbyterianism  in  New  England,  but 
feeling  that  his  great  life-work  was  to 
preach  the  gospel,  he  was  induced  to 
relinquish  this  important  work  on  re- 
ceiving a  call  to  the  west.  In  Oct., 
1878,  he  read  a  paper  before  the  New 
York  Synod,  on  "The  Scotch-Irish  in 
New  England,"  receiving  a  vote  of 
thanks  for  the  same.  In  October  he  was 
elected  moderator  of  New  York  Synod, 
being  the  last  moderator  of  that  body 
prior  to  the  reconstruction  of  the  synod. 
Four  times  during  his  ministry  he  has 
been  chosen  commissioner  to  the  gen- 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


173 


era!  assembly — in  1867,  at  Cincinnati;  in 
1871,  at  Chicago;  in  1878,  at  Pittsburg; 
and  in  1882,  at  Springfield,  111.  Mr. 
Tyson  has  given  considerable  attention 
to  the  science  of  music,  having  given 
private  instruction  in  music,  and  taughl 
singing-school  classes  in  various  places. 
While  prosecuting  his  studies  in  the 
seminary,  his  musical  ability  afforded 
him  a  partial  support,  by  means  of  an 
engagement,  on  a  stated  salary,  as  a 
singer  in  the  choir  of  one  of  the  large 
churches  of  New  York  city, 

OTTEEVILLE  PKESBYTERIAN  CHURCH. 

This  society  was  organized  on  the  1 '. >t  1 1 
day  of  March,  1855,  with  ten  original 
members.  The  first  elders  of  the  con- 
gregation were  Isham  Finck  and  Sidney 
Noble.  The  services  in  the  early  days 
of  the  organization,  were  held  in  the  old 
M.  E.  church  south  of  Otterville.  The 
first  to  officiate  as  minister  was  Rev.  D. 
R.  Bell.  The  officers  of  the  church  for 
1885  are:  W.  I.  Mears,  Milo  Landam 
and  Wm.  Noble,  elders.  The  pastor  is 
R.  M.  Smith.  The  congregation  has  a 
frame  structure,  which  is  30x40  feet  in 
ground  area.  Services  are  conducted 
by  the  pastor  two  Sundays  in  each 
month.  Sabbath  school  is  held  regu- 
larly each  week.  The  membership  at 
present  is  about  30. 

EPISCOPAL    CHURCH    OF  JEESEYVILLE. 

As  early  as  April,  1SI5S,  the  Rev.  C. 
S.  Abbott,  then  rector  of  the  St.  Paul's 
church,  Alton,  111.,  visited  this  village 
and  held  occasional  services.  During 
his  charge  there  were  five  persons  con- 
tinued and  seventeen  baptized.  Rev. 
D.  W.  Dresser,  also  visited  occasionally. 
Among  the  early  workers  and   members 


of  the  society  were  Allen  Marshall,  Cor- 
nelia Cockrell,  Francis  A.  Knapp,  Alice 
L.  Titus,  Elizabeth  F.  Van  Home, 
Mary  A.  Davenport,  Elizabeth  Coding- 
ton, Ann  Londen,  Cecilia  K.  Gibson — 
all  of  whom  were  communicants  prior 
to  January  1.  1869.  In  the  spring  of 
this  year  the  Rev.  George  Gibson  was 
appointed  missionary  for  this  place  and 
Carrollton,  which  charge  he  held  for 
about  two  years.  The  Rev.  II .  0. 
Perry  followed  and  served  about  two 
years.  From  that  time  until  February, 
1879,  the  services  were  almost  entirely 
discontinued.  Rev.  P.  A.  Johnson,  of 
Bunker  Hill,  did  some  work  here  early 
in  the  year.  1879,  and  on  the  22d  of 
February,  the  Rev.  (i.  \V.  (<.  Van  Win- 
kle came  from  New  York  city  and  as- 
sumed charge  of  the  mission  work  in 
this  place  and  Carrollton,  to  which  he 
had  been  appointed  in  January,  1879, 
by  Right  Rev.  G.  F.  Seymour,  D.  D., 
L.  L.  D.  On  the  22d  of  April,  1879, 
the  congregation  met  and  a  petition  was 
prepared,  asking  to  be  organized  as  a 
mission.  This  was  sent  to  the  bishop 
in  May,  and  the  bishop  approving  the 
action,  appointed  the  following  named 
persons  as  officers,  which  names  were 
respectfully  proposed  by  the  congrega- 
tion: E.  L.  II.  Barry,  M.  D,,  S.  W.; 
J.  G.  Blish,  J.  W,;  H.  N.  Wyckoff,  T.; 
John  Fox,  S.  He  sent  a  certificate 
signed  on  the  6th  day  of  May.  1879, 
signifying  his  consent  and  approval, 
and  making  the1  appointment  of  the 
officers  according  to  the  canons.  Im- 
mediately after  this  date  steps  were 
taken  toward  the  erection  of  a  church 
building,  which  resulted  in  the  cash 
purchase  of  land  enough  to  build  the 
church    edifice   upon,    and   yet  leaving 


174 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


room  for  a  rectory,  which  the  congre- 
gation hope  soon  to  have  erected.  The 
building  committee  was  composed  of 
Dr.  E.  L.  H.  Barry,  Charles  Catt,  John 
Fox,  M.  E.  Bagley  and  the  rector,  Rev. 
G.  W.  G.  Van  Winkle,  the  corner  stone 
of  the  new  edifice  being  laid  on  the  22d 
day  of  July,  1880,  with  appropriate 
ceremonies.  The  edifice,  which  is 
neatly  constructed  of  brick,  was  com- 
pleted at  a  cost  of  $2,900,  besides  an 
addition  of  $'600  being  expended  for  a 
lot, 

Much  credit  is  due  Dr.  E.  L.  H.  Barry 
for  the  active  interest  he  manifested  du- 
ring the  time  the  building  was  under 
the  course  of  construction,  as  it  was  un- 
doubtedly due  to  his  efforts  more  than 
any  other  that  the  building  was  ever 
attempted  at  that  time.  On  the  2d  day 
of  June,  1881,  being  the  octave  of  the 
Ascension,  the  new  church  building  was 
ready  for  occupancy,  and  was  opened 
with  appropriate  service,  conducted  by 
the  Rev.  G.  P.  Betts,  of  the  Trinity 
church,  St.  Louis.  The  Rev.  T.  W. 
Haskins,  of  Alton,  and  Rev.  William 
Elmer,  of  Jacksonville,  were  also  pres- 
ent. The  church,  at  times  since  its  or- 
ganization, has  experienced  difficulties 
to  retain  life  and  existence,  but  at  pres- 
ent is  in  quite  a  flourishing  condition, 
with  a  membership  of  about  30.  Rev. 
William  T.  Whitmarsh  is  the  present 
rector.  The  present  officers  of  the 
church  are  :  John  Fox,  senior  warden; 
J.  S.  Holmes,  junior  warden;  A.  A. 
Shobe,  clerk;    E.  P.  Bagley,  treasurer. 

DKI.AWARE  CONGREGATIONAL  CHURCH, 
KEMPER. 

On  March  13,  1870,  a  meeting  was 
held  of  those  interested  in  organizing  a 


Congregational  church  in  this  vicinity. 
This  church  gathering  was  held  in 
the  Delaware  school  house.  At  that 
meeting  a  committee  was  appointed, 
consisting  of  Orin  Palmer,  Elias  Palmer 
and  Luther  Dodge,  to  draw  up  a  consti- 
tution, articles  of  faith  and  a  covenant, 
with  instructions  to  report  at  a  similar 
meeting  to  be  held  on  Sunday,  March 
7,  1870.  At  the  meeting  held  on  that 
date,  the  committee  reported  favorably 
on  organization,  and  brought  in  the 
covenant,  articles  of  faith,  etc.,  which 
were  received,  and  acted  upon  favor- 
ably. On  April  12,  1870,  a  council  of 
neighboring  churches  was  held,  to  take 
under  consideration  the  advisability  of 
organizing  the  Delaware  church.  This 
council  passed  favorably  upon  the  idea. 
It  was  decided  to  postpone  the  election 
of  officers  for  the  time.  The  first  mem- 
bers who  entered  into  this  organization 
were:  Elias  Palmer,  Mrs.  Phebe  Palmer, 
Lora  T.  Palmer,  Mrs.  Martha  J. 
Palmer,  Mrs.  Anna  Twitchell  and  Mrs. 
Harriet  S.  Stowe.  On  January  4,  1875, 
officers  were  elected  for  the  church,  as 
follows :  Messrs.  Orin  Palmer,  clerk; 
Elias  Palmer  and  Dennis  Palmer,  dea- 
cons; W.  W.  Larue,  Orin  Palmer  and 
D.  G.  Twitchell,  trustees.  At  the  or- 
ganization of  the  church,  Rev.  H.  D. 
Piatt  preached  for  the  congregation,  but 
there  was  no  regular  pastor  until  1875. 
Services  were  presided  over  in  that 
time,  however,  by  Revs.  H.  D.  Piatt, 
R.  M.  Hall,  William  Harlan  and  E. 
Loomis.  Rev.  J.  Scott  Davis,  a  Pres- 
byterian preacher,  was  the  first  regular 
pastor,  commencing  in  1875.  He  was 
succeeded  by  Rev.  H.  D.  Park,  also 
a  Presbyterian,  who  preached  here  till 
May  1,  1877,  when  he  was  followed  by 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


175 


Rev.  H.  D.  Piatt.  After  his  retirement, 
the  pastorate  was  again  vacant.  Rev. 
I.  W.  Baker  then  came,  remaining  three 
months.  He  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  J. 
W.  Phillips,  who  was  pastor  for  two 
years.  In  March,  1SS4,  the  present 
pastor,  Rev.  P.  B.  Vest  took  charge  of 
this  flock.  The  first  church  edifice  of 
this  congregation  was  built  where  the 
present  one  stands,  in  1878,  the  build- 
ing committee  being  J.  C.  Dannell,  Den- 
nis Palmer  and  Orin  Palmer.  It  cost 
about  13,500.  Part  of  this  sum  was  left 
by  William  Palmer,  who  set  aside  in 
his  will  $500  for  that  purpose. 

That  building  was  destroyed  by  fire 
on  the  night  of  Dec.  25,  1879.  The 
building  proper  was  totally  consumed, 
but  the  foundation  was  saved,  as 
were  also  the  doors,  windows,  seats, 
pulpit,  etc.  In  the  spring  of  1880  the 
work  of  rebuilding  was  commenced, 
which  was  completed  in  the  spring  of 
1881.  The  cost  of  the  new  building 
was  $2,500,  aside  from  what  was  saved 
from  the  fire.  The  building  committee 
for  the  latter  structure  was  composed  of 
John  C.  Dannell,  Dennis  Palmer,  Milo 
Stowe,  and  V.  L.  Dodge.  The  seating 
capacity,  including  gallery,  is  about 
300.  The  membership  at  present  is  69, 
and  the  church  is  in  fair  condition. 
There  have  been  no  changes  in  the  of- 
fices of  clerk  or  deacons.  Olive  S. 
Palmer  is  treasurer.  G.  D.  Twitchell, 
Orin  Palmer,  and  Mrs.  Harriet  S. 
Stowe  are  trustees.  This  church  has  a 
parsonage  for  its  pastor,  purchased  in 
April,  1884,  at  a  cost  of  $600. 

BETHEL    BAPTIST    CHURCH,    RUYLE    TOWN- 
SHIP, 

The  early  records  of  this  church  have 
been    lost   or    destroyed,    and   but   few 


dates  are  obtainable  from  which  to 
write  its  history.  It  was  organized  on 
May  22,  1834,  in  a  schoolhouse  which 
then  stood  close  to  where  the  church 
building  now  stands.  Revs.  Moses  Lee- 
man  and  Elijah  Dodson  guiding  the  or- 
ganization. The  members  of  whom  it 
was  at  first  composed  had  formerly 
belonged  to  the  Kane  church,  but  for 
convenience,  branched  off,  in  Jorder  to 
hold  services  near  their  places  of  resi- 
dence. When  the  present  school  hoUse 
of  district  No.  2  was  erected,  they  com- 
menced to  hold  meetings  there,  and  so 
continued  until  the  present  house  of 
worship  was  built.  This  handsome 
structure  is  the  free  gift  of  Robert  La- 
tham, a  benevolent  gentleman,  now  de- 
ceased. Work  was  commenced  on  it  in 
1880,  and  finished  in  1881.  The  cost 
was  about  2,000.  The  present  officers 
of  the  church  are:  John  Fink,  R.  W. 
Stroud  and  Enos  Johnson,  trustees; 
John  Fink  and  Lewis  Gilworth,  dea- 
cons. The  membership  is  about  73, 
and  the  church  is  in  good  condition, 
some  20  additions  having  been  made 
the  past  winter.  Rev.  S.  F.  Rice,  of 
Medora,  is  the  present  pastor. 

LEBANON     BAPTIST    CHURCH. 

This  society  erected  a  church  building 
in  1850.  Among  its  first  members  were 
Samuel  Erwin  and  wife,  N.  P.  Jobn- 
nessee  and  wife,  Jonas  Bradshaw  and 
wife,  John  Vaughn  and  wife,  Mrs. 
Elizabeth  Routh,  Joseph  Brown  and 
wife.  Samuel  Erwin  was  the  first 
deacon,  and  N.  P.  Johnnessee  was  clerk. 
The  first  minister  was  Rev.  Jacob 
Rhodes,  and  preached  the  first  sermon 
in  the  church.  The  church  edifice  was 
remodeled  in  1S72.     The  present  officers 


176 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


of  the  church  are:  Samuel  Erwin,  I). 
E.  Seago  and  Thomas  Miller,  deacons; 
J.  G.  Erwin,  clerk.  Isaac  D.  Crawford 
is  the  present  pafstor.  The  church  has 
a  membership  of  54  in  good  standing. 

FIRST   MISSIONARY    BAPTIST    CHURCH,   MIS- 
SISSIPPI  TOWNSHIP. 

Rev.  John  Clark  organized  a  Baptist 
church  in  1*26,  at  the  house  of  John 
Mellow,  which  is  known  by  the  above 
designation.  Among  the  first  members 
were:  John  Lofton  and  wife,  John Mc- 
Dow  and  wife,  Josiah  P.  Askew  and  wife, 
Joab  White  and  wife,  Mrs.  Mary  McDow, 
Mrs.  Matilda  McDow,  and  Samuel  Lof- 
ton. They  held  meetings  for  a  number 
of  years,  and  finally  built  a  church  on 
the  northeast  quarter  of  Sec.  17.  It  was 
a  frame  structure,  about  30x40  feet  in 
size.  It  was  blown  down  and  com- 
pletely destroyed  by  a  cyclone,  and 
never  rebuilt.  The  congregation  was 
very  large  for  that  day. 

OTTER  CREEK    BAPTIST  CHURCH. 

In  June,  1855,  the  religious  society 
known  as  the  Otter  Creek  Baptist  church 
was  organized  by  Revs.  B.  B.  Hamilton, 
Alvin  Bailey,  I).  P.  French,  R.  C.  Ball, 
Aaron  Dodson  and  Elder  John  Brown. 
Twenty  persons  were  associated  with 
the  society  at  its  organization  Services 
were  then  held  in  the  upper  rooms  of 
the  old  stone  school  house,  which  stood 
on  the  site  of  the  present  Otterville 
school.  The  first  regular  pastor  was 
Rev.  R.  C.  Keele,  who  officiated  here 
six  months.  Then  came  B.  B.  Hamil- 
ton, who  remained  one  year;  George  P. 
Guild  and  Aaron  Dodson,  who  preached 
alternately,  one  year;  A.  Dodson,  two 
years;    H.    T.    Chilton,    two   years;    A. 


Dodson,  three  years;  then  J.  \V.  Terry, 

six  months;  David  Matlock,  11  months; 
Aaron  Dodson,  one  year  and  six  months; 
Rev.  Lamb,  six  months;  B.  B.  Hamil- 
ton, one  year;  Geo.  W.  Robinson,  six 
months.  He  was  succeeded  by  A.  Dod- 
son, who  still  retains  the  pastorate. 
The  church  edifice  of  this  congregation 
is  constructed  of  brick,  and  is  34x56 
feet  in  ground  dimensions.  It  was  com- 
menced in  1871,  and  finished  in  1873, 
the  total  cost  being  about  $10,000.  Ser- 
vices are  being  held  on  alternate  Sun- 
days, and  Sabbath  school  sessions  are 
held  each  week.  The  present  member- 
ship of  the  society  is  41.  The  church 
building  is  located  near  the  center  of 
the  village  of  Otterville. 

ANTIOCH    BAPTIST    CHURCH,  OTTER    CREEK 
TOWNSHIP. 

This  society  has  its  church  building 
in  the  village  of  Otterville.  It  was 
erected  in  1872  at  a  cost  of  $1,200.  It  is 
24x36  feet  in  dimension,  of  frame  con- 
struction. The  edifice  was  dedicated 
by  Rev.  Butler,  of  Alton.  The  first 
pastor  was  Rev.  Aaron  Dodson.  Rev. 
Isaac  Crawford  now  administers  to  the 
spiritual  welfare  of  the  flock.  When 
the  church  building  was  erected  the 
membership  was  (55,  but  it  has  since 
fallen  off  to  some  extent,  so  that  it  is 
now  40.  However,  the  congregation  is 
in  a  prosperous  condition  at  present. 
The  church  building  is  located  on  the 
northeast  corner  of  the  southeast  quar- 
ter of  section  36. 

COLORED  BAPTIST  CHURCH  OF  JERSEYVILLE 

This  church  was  organized  about  the 
year  1858,  by  Elder  James  H.  Johnson. 
The  first  officers  were:     P.  S.  Brayden, 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY 


W.  M.  Phillips  and  Samuel  Evans, 
trustees:  P.  S.  Brayden,  clerk,  and  W. 
M.  Phillips,  treasurer.  Among  the  first 
members  were:  Cynthia  Brown,  Hen- 
rietta Johnson,  John  Barton,  America 
Barton,  P.  S.  Brayden,  W.  M.  Phillips 
and  Samuel  Evans.  They  held  meet- 
ings for  two  or  three  years  at  private 
residences.  About  the  year  l.sijii  the 
present  church  building  was  erected. 
It  is  a  brick  structure  30x50  feet  in 
ground  area,  and  cost  $1,500.  The  pas- 
tors of  this  church  have  been:  Revs.  .1 . 
H.Johnson,  Jackson  Robinson,  G.  M. 
Davis,  S.  J.  Griswell,  L.  A.  Coleman 
and  J.  \V.  Jones,  the  present  pastor  or 
elder.  The  membership  at  present  is 
about  6.5.  The  officers  of  the  church  at 
the  present  time  are:  William  Swan. 
clerk;  Andrew  Thomas,  John  Waddle, 
William  Dillon  and  Joseph  Hunter, 
deacons;  P.  S.  Brayden,  William  Swan, 
John  Brown,  Andrew  Thomas.  John 
Waddle  and  William  Dillon,  trustees; 
Andrew  Thomas,  treasurer.  There  is  a 
Sunday  school  in  connection  with  the 
church,  which  has  an  attendance  of 
about  20.  William  Swan  is  the  super- 
intendent. 

KEMPER  BAPTIST  CHURCH. 

This  church  was  an  offshoot  of  the 
Medora  Baptist  church.  It  was  organ- 
ized April  1,  1876,  with  the  following 
original  members:  Jas.  W.  Rhodes, 
Sarah  Rhodes,  John  B.  Rhodes,  John 
Davis,  Margaret  Davis,  Lewis  Elliott, 
Serena  Elliott,  Benjamin  Taylor,  Mary 
Taylor,  Arthur  McDonald,  Hezekiah 
Rhodes,  John  McCann,  Chas.  Beaver, 
Mary  Snow,  Delia  Snow,  James  T. 
Elliott,  Maria  A.  Elliott,  Thomas  P. 
Ruyle,  Mary  Ruyle,  Alice  Ruyle,  Eliza- 


heth  Ketcham,  Susan  McCann.  The 
trustees  were:  John  B.  Rhodes,  John 
Beaver  and  Lewis  Elliott.  The  first 
minister  was  William  M.  Rhodes,  who 
occupied  the  pulpit  until  1880.  He  was 
followed  Ly  Lev.  B.  Culp,  who  preached 
during  1881,  being  succeeded  by  Rev. 
John  W.  Bush,  who  is  pastor  at  the 
present  time.  The  church  has  its  own 
building,  and  is  in  a  prosperous  condi- 
tion. B.  C.  Elliott  is  church  clerk. 
The  membership  at  present  is  about  tin, 
a  large  portion  being  farmers  living  in 
the  neighborhood. 

FIDELITY    R.U'TIST    CHURCH,  OF    FIDELITY 
TOWNSHIP. 

This  congregation  was  organized  on 
the  4th  day  of  Sept.,  1853,  by  Elders 
Joel  Terry,  William  Hill,  J.  Buckley 
and  Ezekiel  Dodson,  the  last  named  a 
licentiate.  The  following  members 
were  constituted  into  a  church,  to  he 
known  as  the  Fidelity  Baptist  church 
of  Christ:  John  H.  Reddish,  Samuel 
Rich,  David  P.  Pritchett,  Samuel  W. 
Sexton,  Catharine  L.  Sexton.  Emily 
Hauskins,  Mary  Rich,  Mary  Reddish 
and  Lydia  W.  Pritchett.  They  first 
met  in  the  old  school  house,  at  Fidel- 
ity, and  continued  to  hold  their  meet- 
ings there  for  some  time.  After  giving 
up  the  school  house  ;is  a  place  of  wor- 
ship, they  met  in  session  with  the 
Methodists.  In  lSUil,  they  commenced 
holding  meetings  in  Ruyle's  National 
hall,  Fidelity,  where  services  were 
held  until  the  present  church  edifice 
whs  erected-  At  a  meeting  held  May.".. 
1873,  Brethren  Tompkins,  R.  T.  Rich 
and  William  Hooper  were  appointed  to 
look  up  the  feasibility  of  building  a 
house   of  worship.     On   July  25,    1873, 


178 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


Messrs.  Tompkins,  Shannon,  S.  Rich, 
J.  C.  Marshal]  and  T.  C.  Watson  were 
appointed  a  building  committee,  with 
] lower  to  select  a  site,  secure  a  plan, 
etc.  R.  T.  Rich  and  W.  Hooper  were 
afterwards  added  to  the  committee,  and 
S.  Rich,  R.  T.  Rich  and  W.  Hooper 
were  elected  trustees.  Work  was  soon 
begun  and  the  building  rapidly  pro- 
ceeded to  completion.  It  was  dedicated 
November  9,  1873,  by  Rev.  Bulkley. 
Joel  Terry  was  the  first  pastor  of  the 
church,  and  Samuel  Rich  was  the  first 
clerk.  The  pastors  after  the  first  were 
B.  B.  Hamilton,  G.  Seymore,  J.  Terry, 
G.  P.  Guild,  H.  T.  Chilton,  A.  J.  De- 
leno,  H.  D.  Weaver,  S.  Adams,  S.  M. 
Whiting,  S.  Hussey,  D.  Seckman,  T.  S. 
Lowe,  J.  E.  Roberts,  J.  F.  Wells,  J.  F. 
Baker,  William  F.  Allen,  W.  H.  Beeby, 
J.  H.  Beeven  and  A.  E.  Carson.  Sam- 
uel Rich  was  the  first  clerk  of  the 
church.  He  held  that  position  until 
succeeded  by  the  present  incumbent. 
The  officers  of  the  congregation  at  pres- 
ent are  D.  P.  Pritchett,  Samuel  Rich 
and  Benjamin  Foster,  deacons;  Wil- 
liam Hooper,  clerk;  Samuel  Rich,  W. 
Hooper  and  T.  A.  Price,  trustees. 
There  are  at  present  about  DO  members. 
The  church  is  in  a  reasonably  flourish? 
ing  condition. 

NEWBEKN      CUMBERLAND       PRESBYTERIA  X 
CHURCH. 

This  society  was  organized  on  the 
14th  day  of  March,  1867,  The  follow- 
ing wese  the  original  members  :  Nelson 
M.  Lurton,  Daniel  Cornelius,  Joshua 
Manning,  Robert  Dymond,  Selina  E. 
McDow,  Daniel  King,  Bartholomew 
Milford,  William  Sego,  Mary  Dymond, 
Ellen   Haines,  Hannah  Snyder,  Joshua 


Lurton,  Mary  C.  McDow,  Melissa  Waid, 
Maitha  McDow,  Maria  Bell,  Elca  Cor- 
nelius, William  C.  Bell,  Nancy  E.  Mc- 
Dow, Eliza  J.  McDow.  John  R.  Corne- 
lius, J.  W.  Russett,  Jonathan  Manning, 
Mary  J.  Wadman,  Nancy  E.  Bell,  Mar- 
tha Bell.  Leonard  P.  Hell,  Ellen  Bur- 
ley,  John  M.  Piggott,  Jonathan  Ward, 
William  C.  Milford,  Leonard  Briggs, 
Martha  Burley,  Anna  Slowman,  John 
Manning,  James  Bell,  Joel  Burley, 
Emma  Lurton,  Mary  J.  Lurton,  Sarah 
Manning.  Nelson  M.  Lurton  and  Rob- 
ert Dymond  were  chosen  elders;  Wil- 
liam C.  Bell  and  Daniel  Cornelius, 
deacons;  and  Nelson  M.  Lurton.  clerk 
Rev.  Daniel  R.  Bell  was  the  first  pas- 
tor, who  also  organized  the  church. 
The  present  officers  are  as  follows: 
Nelson  M.  Lurton,  Robert  Dymond  and 
John  Buckles,  elders;  Nelson  M.  Lur- 
ton, clerk.  Robert  M.  Smith  is  the 
present  pastor,  who  preaches  regularly 
every  four  weeks,  although  services  are 
held  more  frequently  by  William  Lo- 
gan, of  Alton,  and  John  H.  Belt,  of 
English  township.  The  church  build- 
ing, which  stands  on  the  southeast 
quarter  of  section  32,  was  completed  in 
tin'  summer  of  1859.  It  is  a  frame 
structure,  32x50  feet  in  size,  with  16- 
fooi  ceiling,  and  cost  about  $2,500.  The 
church  lot,  which  contains  about  half 
an  acre,  was  deeded  to  the  society  by 
Jacob  Lurton.  At  one  time  the  society 
had  a  membership  of  about  125,  and 
was  very  prosperous,  but  at  present  the 
membership  numbers  only  about  30, 
many  having  moved  away,  withdrawn, 
etc. 

FIELDON  CUMBERLAND  PRESBYTERIAN. 

This    church    was    organized   in    this 
township  by  Rev.  Joshua  Lowrance,  in 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


1S1 


the  year  1841,  in  the  pioneer  school 
house  of  that  village,  with  James  Ma- 
gee,  Henry  Warren  and  George  Crosby 
as  elders.  Services  were  held  in  the 
old  school  house  at  Fieldon  until  1877. 
In  that  year  the  society  erected  a  sub- 
stantial church  edifice  in  Fieldon.  It 
is  a  frame  structure  26  feet  wide  by  44 
feet  in  depth,  and  was  built  at  a  cost  of 
$2,500.  It  is  well  supplied  with  com- 
fortable  seats,  has  a  good  organ  and  a 
bell.  Rev.  John  H.  Belt  has  been  the 
regular  pastor  ever  since  the  building 
of  the  present  church.  Rev.  Daniel 
Bell  was  pastor  of  the  church  in  1861 
and  1862,  ami  Rev.  T.  R.  Shull  was 
pastor  for  a  long  time.  The  present 
elders  are:  George  W.  Shaffer,  James 
H.  Belt,  George  A.  Harmon  and  YVm. 
II.  H.  West.  There  is  a  membership 
of  about  40,  and  the  society  is  in  a 
flourishing  condition. 

THE  METHODIST  EPISCOPAL    CHURCH,    JER- 
SEY VILLE. 

The  now  powerful  society  of  christian 
people  of  the  above  denomination  had 
but  a  feeble  beginning.  Very  early  in 
the  history  of  tthe  town,  sermons  were 
doubtless  preached  by  itinerant  preach- 
ers of  this  sect,  but  nothing  like  any 
sustained  effort  occurred  until  about 
1837,  when  services  were  held  here  by 
Revs.  J.  B.  Wollard  and  William  Gan- 
naway,  preachers  in  charge  of  the 
circuit.  In  the  following  year  the  Alton 
district  of  the  Illinois  conference  was 
formed  and  Revs.  George  W.  Robbins 
and  William  Meldrum  were  appointed 
to  the  circuit.  Under  the  ministrations 
of  the  former  a  society  was  formed  in 
July,  1839,  from  which  this  church  has 
grown.     This  class    was    formed   in    an 


upper  chamber  of  the  house  of  Josiah 
Mulkins,  on  the  southeast  corner  of 
State  and  Pearl  streets,  and  consisted  of 
the  following  seven  members:  Samuel 
Pitman,  Richard  Johnson,  Josiah  Mul- 
kins, Mary  Ann  A.  Mulkins,  Hannah 
Hankins,  E.  VanPelt  and  Sarah  Van 
Pelt.  Samuel  Pitman  was  chosen  class- 
leader.  Revs.  Norman  Allya.  and  N. 
P.  Heath  were  appointed  to  what  was 
then  known  as  the  Grafton  circuit, 
which  included  Jerseyville,  and  were 
the  first  regular  preachers  to  this  little 
church.  In  1840,  this  territory  was 
included  in  the  Jacksonville  district,  of 
which  the  honored  Peter  Cartwright 
was  presiding  elder.  For  more  than 
ten  years,  this  circuit  was  supplied 
with  the  regular  circuit  riders  of  those 
days.  There  were,  Rev.  W.  S.  Mc] Mur- 
ray, 1840;  James  H.  Dickens  and  Joseph 
Kelly,  1841;  Lewis  Anderson  and  H.  S. 
Shaw,  1842;  C.  D.  James  and  J.  P. 
Sebastian,  1843;  C.  D.  James  and  Charles 
Holliday,  1844.  In  1845,  this  was  made 
Jerseyville  circuit  and  was  served  that 
year  by  Revs.  James  Leaton  and  L.  C. 
Pitner.  The  others  were,  John  Mathers 
and  Joseph  Lane,  in  1846;  Elijah  Cor- 
rington  and  T.  N.  McCorkle,  1847;  T. 
W.  Jones  and  J.  Goodrick,  1848;  B.  C. 
Wood  and  J.  H.  Dodson,  1849;  C.  W. 
Lewis  and  John  Sappington,  i850;  S.  II . 
Culver  and  Z.  R.  Piercy,  1851.  In  1852, 
the  little  church  in  Jerseyville  was 
made  a  station  and  was  again  included 
in  the  Alton  district. 

The  first  church  edifice  of  this  infant 
church  was  erected  during  the  years 
from  1843  to  1847.  It  was  a  plain  but 
neat  frame  building  34x40  feet  in  ground 
area,  and  cost  about  $'.100.  The  lot  on 
which  it  stood,  on  the  corner  of  Liberty 


182 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


and  Exchange  streets,  was  100x110  feet 
in  size,  and  was  presented  to  the  society 
by  Major  Gershom  Patterson.  The 
subscription  paper,  toward  building  the 
church,  was  written  on  New  Year's  day, 
1843,  at  the  residence  of  E.  Van  Pelt. 
The  society  being  but  few  in  number 
and  those  of  but  limited  means,  it  was 
only  after  a  struggle  of  several  years 
that  the  edifice  was  completed.  It  was 
dedicated  in  1847,  by  Rev.  Peter  Akers, 

D.  D.  Many  were  now  added  to  this 
church,  and  many  revivals  added  num- 
bers to  the  church  and  it  prospered  with 
the  years  of  its  growth.  In  1868,  the 
society  under  the  ministration  of  Rev. 
John  W.  Caldwell,  determined  to  build 
a  larger  and  more  stately  edifice,  and  on 
the  17th  of  August,  1868,  the  corner 
stone  of  the  new  building,  which  was 
planned  by  William  Embley,  the  well 
known  architect  of  Jerseyville,  was 
laid  by  Rev.  B.  P.  Crary,  D.  D.,  assisted 
by  Revs.  Isaac  N.  Hill,  Samuel  Walker, 

E.  A.  Hoyt  and  J.  W.  Caldwell.  The 
first  mentioned  of  these  assistants  was 
the  Baptist  minister.  This  edifice  was 
so  far  completed  during  the  pastorate 
of  Rev.  W.  H.  Reed,  that  it  was  impres- 
sively dedicated  to  the  service  of  the 
Divine  King,  on  the  the  1st  of  Jan., 
1871.  The  services  were  conducted  by 
Rev.  Thomas  Bowman,  D.  D.,  since 
bishop  of  the  church,  assisted  by  the 
following  gentlemen:  Rev.  J.  S.  Mor- 
rison, presiding  elder;  Rev.  Winfield  S. 
Sly,  of  Kane;  Rev.  J.  W.  Van  Cleve,  of 
Otterville;  Rev.  J.  F.  Baker,  pastor  of 
the  Second  Presbyterian  church;  Rev. 
A.  F.  Hutchinson,  pastor  of  the  Cum- 
berland Presbytepian  church;  Rev.  Isaac 
N.  Hill,  pastor  of  the  Baptist  church; 
Rev.  George  I.  King.  D.  D.,  pastor  of 


the  First  Presbyterian  church,  and  Rev. 
W.  H.  Reed,  the  pastor  of  the  Metho- 
dist Episcopal  church.  Dr.  Bowman 
preached  a  powerful  sermon  in  the 
morning,  and  as  there  was  a  debt  of 
$4,000,  to  be  provided  for,  he  asked  for 
subscriptions  to  that  amount,  and  re- 
ceived pledges  for  $4,047.50,  of  which 
amount  $3,767.50  was  afterwards  paid. 
The  trustees  who  presented  the  edifice 
to  Dr.  Bowman  for  dedication  were, 
John  F.  Smith,  Joseph  G.  Marston,  C. 
M.  Hamilton,  Francis  Orborn,  John 
Christopher,  Charles  N.  Adams  and 
Charles  Brooks.  The  church  furniture 
was  beautiful  and  appropriate.  Dr. 
Caleb  DuHadway  presented  the  Bible 
and  hymn  book  for  the  pulpit;  David  T. 
Bonnell,  the  chandeliers;  Mrs.  Sarah 
Holdridge  and  other  ladies,  an  elegant 
communion  set;  the  young  ladies  of  the 
church,  the  cushioned  chairs  for  the 
pulpit;  and  the  carpets  and  pulpit  by 
the  ladies  of  the  society. 

The  edifice  is  42x72  in  ground  area, 
one  story  high,  built  of  brick,  with  a 
slate  roof,  and  is  a  fine  specimen  of  the 
Gothic  order  of  architecture,  The  ceil- 
ing, inside  is  20  feet  high  at  the  sides, 
and  28  feet  at  the  apex.  The  brick  work 
was  done  by  Joseph  Langliss  and  Lewis 
R.  Myers;  the  carpenter  work  princi- 
pally by  N.  F.  Smith,  Jr.,  the  plaster- 
ing by  William  J.  Pittinger,  and  the 
painting  and  glazing  by  Wm.  Hall  and 
George  Parent.  The  original  cost  of 
the  building,  was  about  $12,000,  but  sev- 
eral additions,  improvements, etc., make 
the  property  of  considerable  more  value 
than  that  at  the  present  time.  The 
building  committee  consisted  of  William 
Embley,  John  E.  VanPelt  and  Francis 
Osborn,  but  the  first  two  were  succeeded 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


183 


by    Ezekiel    Davison   and   Clarence  M. 
Hamilton. 

Dining  the  32  years  that  have  inter- 
vened  between  the  time  when  this  was 
made  a  station  the  following  gentlemen 
have  had  spiritual  charge  of  this  con- 
gregation: Revs.  S.  H.  Culver,  1852-3; 
A.  L.  Rish-y,  1853-4;  J.  W.  Caldwell, 
1854-5;  C.  J.  Houts,  1S55-7;  J.  W.  Cald- 
well, 1857-8;  H.  B.  Taylor,  1858-9;  Dr, 
J.  B.  Corrington,  1859-61;  Joseph  Earp, 
1861-2;  -  Dr.  John  VanCleve,  1862-4; 
William  Cliffe,  1864-6;  J.  W.  Caldwell, 
1866-9;  W.  H.  Heed,  1869-71;  John  W. 
Phillips,  1871-3;  F.  L.  Thompson, 
1873-6;  Daniel  W.  Phillips,  1876-9;  J. 
W.  VanCleve,  1879-80;  Eugene  May, 
1880-2;  C.  E.  ('line,  1882-3,  and  T.  M. 
Van  Treese.  the  present  efficient  pastor 
who  was  appointed  to  this  charge  at  the 
conference  at  Belleville,  Sept.  19,  1883, 
and  who  has  served  ever  since.  On  the 
17th  of  Nov.  1883,  Mr.  Van  Freese,  com- 
menced revival  services,  which  many  of 
his  predecessors  had  done  with  excellent 
results,  and  this  was  the  means  of  the 
conversion  of  over  200,  and  an  addition 
of  110  to  full  membership  of  the  church. 

The  present  board  of  trustees  consists 
of  Francis  Osborn,  Francis  M.  Cowen, 
Charles  N.  Adams,  William  Hall,Thos. 
McReynolds,  A.  M.  Slaten,  and  Clarence 
M.  Hamilton.  The  board  of  stewards 
embraces  J.  N.  English,  Jr..  Morris  R. 
Locke,  Henry  Maxwell,  Philip  Paul, 
Thomas  C.  Kellar,  and  Thomas  J. 
McReynolds.  There  is  a  fine  Sabbath 
school  in  connection  with  the  church, 
J.  W.  Phillips  is  now  presiding  elder. 

M.  E.  CHURCH,  FIDELITY  TOWNSHIP. 

The  class  was  formed  in  the  fall  of 
1856,  by  Rev.  (i.  W.  Waggoner.     There 


were  original  members  as  follows: 
Daniel  Osborne  and  wife,  Frank 
Beaty  and  wife,  Henry  Arnspiger 
and  wife,  Mis.  Adams,  Mrs.  Eliza- 
beth Armstrong  and  two  others.  They 
met  in  the  old  school  house  just 
east  of  the  main  north  and  south  street. 
In  the  fall  of  1858  the  present  church 
building  was  commenced,  and  finished 
and  dedicated  in  the  summer  of  1859. 
Dr.  John  VanCleve  officiated  at  the 
dedication.  Fidelity  was  on  the  Jersey- 
ville  circuit  when  the  first  organization 
was  effected.  The  next  year  the  Kane 
circuit  was  formed,  to  which  it  was 
attached.  The  following  is  a  list  of  the 
preachers  down  to  the  present  time: 
1856-57,  G.  W.  Waggoner;  1857-58,  W. 
(I.  Moore;  1858-59,  J.  D.  Gillham; 
1859-60,  L.  Casey  and  J.  W.  Caldwell; 
1860-61,  D.  H.  Stubblefield;  1861-C.2.  D. 
H.  Stubblefield;  1862-64,  I.  W.  Thombs; 
1X64— 65,  James  Johnson;  1865  67, 
Samuel  Walker;  1867-68,  E.  A.  Hoyt; 
1868-69,  James  P.  Dew.  In  the  fall  of 
1869,  the  work  was  divided  and  Fidelity 
was  attached  to  Piasa,  under  the  name 
of  Fidelity  anil  Piasa  circuit.  Since 
then  the  preachers  here  have  been  as 
follows:  1869-70,  A.  Bliss;  1870-72,  R. 
S.  Moore;  1872-73,  D.  P..  Van  Winkle; 
1873-75,  L.  C.  English;  1875-76,  Win. 
Wallace;  1876-78,  N.  E.  Harmon;  1878- 
79,  J.  W.  Caldwell;  1880-84,  Lemuel 
Cramp;  1884-85,  R.  Z.  Fahs.  He  is  the 
present  pastor.  The  church  building  is 
valued  at  $2,500.  There  are  at  present 
about  60  members,  and  the  congregation 
is  in  a  flourishing  condition. 

SHII.OH  M.  E.  CHURCH,  OTTER  CREEK  TP. 

This  church  was  built  in  1S59,  a  man 
named  Grubb  being  the  contractor.     It 


184 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUN  TY. 


is  24x30  feet  in  dimensions,  and  was 
erected  at  an  expense  of  $1,200.  There 
is  a  membership  of  30,  and  the  interest 
manifested  is  fair.     Rev.  J.  T.  Hoffman 

is  the  pastor. 

MEADOW    BRANCH    METHODIST    EPISCOPAL 
CHURCH,  ROSEDALE  TOWNSHIP. 

This  was  at  first  a  Protestant  Metho- 
dist church,  and  services  were  held  at 
the  residences  of  the  various  members. 
The  first  preacher  was  William  Tipton. 
Among  the  first  members  of  this  church 
was  J.  L.  Beirne,  and  it  generally  de- 
volved upon  him  to  secure  a  preacher 
for  these  meetings.  The  church  was 
afterward  changed  to  make  it  Methodist 
Episcopal,  and  the  first  preacher  after 
the  change  was  Rev.  Leander  Leggate. 
There  were  about  12  members,  who 
finally  met  to  devise  means  for  the  erec- 
tion of  a  house  of  worship.  These 
efforts  culminated  in  the  erection  of  a 
church  building,  26x30  feet  in  size, 
built  of  logs,  the  work  being  done  by 
the  people  of  the  neighborhood,  and 
everything  requiring  the  expenditure  of 
money  being  accompanied  by  raising 
donations.  The  work  was  superin- 
tended by  Mr.  Stubblefield.  The  build- 
ing was  erected  in  1867.  About  20 
members  are  connected  with  the  church. 

FIELDON    METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH. 

This  body  was  organized  in  Decem- 
ber, 1884,  by  Rev.  Huffman,  of  Grafton. 
Among  the  first  members  were  Mrs. 
Darby,  Henry  Rice  and  wife,  Mrs. 
Frank  Brown,  Mrs.  James  Brown, 
Delia  Harmon,  Lucy  Briggs,  Mrs.  Lucy 
Depper,  Mrs.  Luella  Cutler  and  Mrs. 
Allie  Reddish.  The  officers  of  the  con- 
gregation are  Henry  Rice,  class  leader; 


Mrs.  Luella  Cutler,  collector.  The 
preachers  at  present  are  Revs.  Huffman 
and  Cole.  The  former  is  from  Grafton 
and  the  latter  from  Elsah.  The  pres- 
ent membership  is  about  15.  The  con- 
gregation has  as  yet  no  house  of  wor- 
ship of  its  own,  but  services  are  held 
every  two  weeks  in  the  Cumberland 
Presbyterian  church. 

METHODIST  EPISCOPAL    CHURCH,  OF    RK'H- 
WOODS    TOWNSHIP. 

A  class  was  organized  at  the  house  of 
James  Turner  about  the  year  1839. 
Rev.  McMurry  was  present  at  the  meet- 
ing and  effected  the  organization.  This 
was  the  pioneer  Methodist  Episcopal 
organization  in  Richwoods  township. 
The  second  class  of  this  church  in 
Richwoods  township  was  organized  at 
Fieldon,  in  1842,  by  Revs.  Allen,  C.  D. 
James,  Pinkard  Heath  and  William 
Jerome.  All  of  these  early  ministers 
of  the  gospel  were  identified  with  the 
progress  of  the  church  in  Richwoods 
township  and  Jersey  county.  William 
Jerome,  one  of  those  mentioned,  was 
quite  a  prominent  man  in  his  day.  In 
the  early  days  of  the  county  he  kept  a 
store  west  of  Kane,  but  in  1841  removed 
to  Sec.  2,  T.  6,  R.  11,  in  what  is  now 
Elsah  township.  He  had  acquired  con- 
siderable property  before  he  left  the 
county  and  removed  to  Madison  county. 
He  was  married,  the  second  time,  to 
Mrs.  Ezekiel  Gillham. 

HOPEWELL  METHODIST    CHURCH,   FIDELITY 
TOWNSHIP. 

The  church  building  of  this  society 
was  the  first  one  erected  in  Fidelity 
township.  Some  of  the  first  members 
were:    James    Cummings,    Sabie   Cum- 


mings,  Maria  Cummings,  Jeremiah 
Bell,  Mary  Bell,  Ann  Chapman,  Sam- 
uel C.  Simmons,  Richard  J.  Simmons, 
Sarah  E.  Simmons,  Jeremiah  Tyndall 
and  wife.  The  first  class  leader  war- 
James  Cummings.  The  old  church 
was  occupied  solely  by  the  Methodists 
until  1873,  when  they  united  with  the 
Baptists,  and  erected  a  union  church, 
of  which  a  Mr.  Gifford  was  the  archi- 
tect. Of  the  Baptist  members,  the 
older  ones  are  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Bartlett, 
Jefferson  Carzine  and  wife,  Revs.  Wat- 
terman  and  Aaron  Trabue. 

METHODIST     EPISCOPAL     CHURCH,     ELS.UI. 

The  Methodists  have  the  only  relig- 
ious organization  at  Elsah.  The  society 
consists  of  55  members,  with  the  fol- 
lowing officers:  Richard  Hansel  and 
Mary  Hansel,  stewards;  W.  T.  Onetto, 
William  Rhodes,  Sr.,  T.  F.  Hansel,  J. 
Kisler  and  C.  Beslerfeldt,  trustees;  T. 
F.  Hausel,  superintendent  of  Sabbath 
school.  The  parsonage  was  erected  in 
1S5U,  during  the  labors  of  Rev.  C.  J.  T. 
Tulle,  at  a  cost  of  $1,304.96.  It  is  con- 
structed of  brick,  two  stories  high,  and 
is  24x28  feet  in  size,  occupying  two  lots 
fronting  on  Valley  street.  The  church 
edifice  was  built  during  the  pastorate  of 
Rev.  N.  E.  Harmon.  It  is  26x42  feet 
in  size  and  was  completed  at  a  cost  of 
about  S2,(X)0.  The  lots  upon  which  it 
stands  were  donated  to  the  society  by 
the  Elsah  Building  and  Manufacturing 
Company.  The  building,  which  was 
dedicated  by  Rev.  George  W.  Hughey, 
Dec.  13,  1874,  is  entirely  free  from  any 
indebtedness,  as  is,  also,  all  the  prop- 
erty of  the  church.  Since  the  erection 
of  the  church  the  following  have  served 
as  pastors:  N.  E.  Harmon,  H.  Delicate, 


A.  C.  Greenlaw,  G.  W.  Farmer,  S.  J. 
Harrington,  L.  Cramp,  J.  VanCleve, 
R.  Z.  Fahs,  and  L.  E.  Cole.  Of  these 
ministers  H.  Delicate  died  at  Wanda, 
in  1>S2:  A.  L.  Greenlaw  withdrew; 
Rev.  Farmer  died  at  the  hospital  for  the 
insane,  at  Anna,  111.,  Aug.  24,  1884; 
Rev.  Harrington  died  at  Elsah.  in  1880; 
and  the  remainder  are  still  preaching  the 
gospel. 

BETHEL  M.  E.  CHl'KCH,  MISSISSIPPI  Tr. 

This  class  was  organized  at  the  house 
of  John  D.  Gillham,  in  182:],  by  Rev. 
Jacob  Lurton,  Sr.,  the  pioneer  preacher. 
Among  the  original  members  were: 
John  D.  Gillham  and  wife,  Ezekiel 
Gillham  and  wife,  Mrs.  Jane  Gillham, 
her  two  daughters,  Sarah  and  Margaret, 
Thomas  G.  Lofton  and  William  G. 
Waddle.  Rev.  Jacob  Lurton,  Sr.,  was 
pastor  of  the  church  at  that  time,  and 
continued  to  serve  in  that  capacity 
until  his  death.  Services  were  held  in 
private  houses,  and  such  other  places  as 
were  convenient,  until  about  the  year 
1835,  when  a  frame  structure,  2Ux36  feet 
in  size,  was  erected  on  the  southwest 
quarter  of  section  27.  It  outlived  its 
usefulness  as  a  house  of  worship,  and 
was  afterward  used  as  a  barn  by  George 
Briggs.  The  present  church  edifice 
was  built  near  the  site  of  the  old  one,  in 
the  year  1873.  It  is  a  frame  structure, 
30x40  feet  in  ground  area.  The  .dedi- 
cation sermon  was  preached  by  Rev. 
Joseph  Earp.  The  first  pastor  in  this 
church  was  Rev.  Washington  Waggoner. 
The  class  then  contained,' among  oth- 
ers, the  following  members: J  John 
Buckles,  Marcus"  Gillham^Geo.  Briggs, 
Samuel  Darlington,  Messrs.  Blyler  and 
McAdams,  and  Fletcher  Gillham.     The 


186 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


pastor  at  the  present  time  is  Rev.  L.  E. 
Cole.  The  trustees  are:  Wm.  Onetto, 
John  Buckles,  and  J.  K.  Cadwalader. 
Previous  to  the  war  this  was  one  of  the 
largest  and  most  prosperous  church  or- 
ganizations in  the  county,  but  at  pres- 
ent the  congregation  is  quite  small. 
Services  are  held  in  the  church  on  every 
second  Sunday. 

GERMAN  EVANGELICAL  LUTHERAN  CHURCH, 
JERSEYVILLE. 

This  church  was  organized  in  1870, 
and  in  that  year  the  society  purchased 
for  $300  the  house  of  worship  of  the 
German  Methodist  congregation.  This 
edifice  was  erected  in  1856.  It  is  24x36 
feet  in  ground  area,  and  has  a  14-foot 
ceiling.  It  is  of  frame  construction. 
Among  the  first  members  were:  Adolph 
Bayer,  Charles  Rutter,  Henry  Bayer, 
Henry  F.  Bayer,  William  Egelhoff, 
Conrad  Borger,  V.  Vellinger,  Henry  A. 
Brandt,  Charles  Jacobs,  Jacob  Gum- 
merdinger,  Paul  Glohr,  John  Boon, 
Jacob  Fryer,  Louisa  Grosseau  and  Wm. 
Dopper.     The  pastors  up  to  the  present 

time  have  been:  Anton  Michael, 

Weissinger,  Fred  Eshenfeld,  Fred 
Schmale,  and  Edward  Wurst.  The 
present  officers  are:  Conrad  Borger, 
president;  Charles  Rutter,  treasurer; 
Charles  Neumeyer,  clerk;  Christian 
Harms,  vice-president.  The  officers  at 
the  organization  of  the  church  were: 
Charles  Jacobs,  president;  William 
Dopper,  vice-president;  Henry  Brandt, 
clerk;  John  Boon,  treasurer.  The  mem- 
bership at  present  numbers  about  20. 
Rev.  Carl  Lengtat  is  the  present  pastor. 

GERMAN  LUTHERAN  CHURCH,  PIELDON. 

This  church  assumed  organization  in 
Dec,    1867.     The    first    officers    were: 


August  Berger,  president;  George  Arke- 
bauer,  secretary;  Henry  Brockmeyer, 
treasurer.  The  first  minister  was  Rev. 
Charles  Muentor.  The  society  has,  as 
yet,  no  house  of  worship  of  its  own  con- 
struction, though  a  movement  has  been 
under  way  which  will  probably  result  in 
the  erection  of  a  church  building  in  the 
near  future.  They  purchased  the  Wyne 
property,  and  have  held  services  there 
up  to  the  present  time.  There  are  now 
53  members.  The  present  officers  are: 
H.  Groppel,  president;  (ieorge  Arke- 
bauer,  secretary;  Henry  Brockmeyer, 
treasurer.  Rev.  Herman  Taeger  is  at 
present  administering  to  the  spiritual 
welfare  of  the  congregation. 

CATHOLIC    CHURCH     OF    JERSEYVILLE. 

The  first  service  ever  held  by  the 
Catholics  in  Jerseyville,  and  probably 
in  Jersey  county,  was  at  the  house  of 
Mr.  William  Shephard,  in  the  fall  of 
1841,  Rev.  Father  Hamilton,  of  the 
Upper  Alton  parish,  officiating.  After 
that  time  Father  Carroll,  of  Alton,  occa- 
sionally visited  here  and  held  services 
in  various  private  houses,  and  in  the 
court  house.  In  1848  or  9,  Wm.  Shep- 
hard, F.  Bertman,  William  Kelley,  and 
a  few  others,  purchased  from  J.  A.  and 
and  J.  C.  Barr,  a  lot  of  ground,  upon 
which  to  erect  a  church,  but  it  was  not 
until  1857  that  the  building  of  a  small 
frame  church  was  commenced,  and  in 
the  latter  part  of  July,  1858,  although 
it  was  not  completed,  it  was  dedicated 
by  Right  Rev.  H.  D.  Juncker,  bishop  of 
Alton.  Father  Margum  was  the  first 
priest  stationed  permanently  here.  He 
began  his  labors  in  August,  1858,  and 
remained  until  April,  1860, during  which 
time  he  had  the  church  plastered   and 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


187 


seated.  He  was  succeeded  by  Father 
Morrill,  who  remained  until  the  1st  of 
Feb.  1861.  His  successor  was  Father 
Laurent,  who,  during  his  ministry,  had 
the  comfortable  and  convenient  parson- 
age built,  and  secured  ground  for  the 
Catholic  cemetery.  Father  Laurent 
remained  until  Feb.  1865,  when  Father 
Hovin  was  appointed  in  his  stead,  and 
was  succeeded  by  Father  Sullivan,  in 
Dec.  1860,  who  remained  pastor  until 
1868.  During  Father  Sullivan's  ministry 
the  foundation  of  the  new  church  was 
commenced,  as  the  old  frame  church, 
which  had  been  used  for  the  past  ten 
years,  was  found  too  small,  and  was 
removed  to  another  part  of  the  city, 
where  it  was  used  by  the  society  for 
church  purposes  and  a  day  school.  The 
corner  stone  of  the  stately  and  commo- 
dious edifice  was  laid  in  the  month  of 
May,  1868, with  appropriate  ceremonies, 
by  Bishop  Juncker,  of  Alton  dio- 
cese. The  building  was  pushed  very 
rapidly  forward,  and  was  dedicated  on 
the  4th  day  of  July,  1871.  The  structure 
was  planned  by  William  Embley,  of 
Jersey  ville,  who  is  one  of  the  most  suc- 
cessful architects  in  this  region,  and 
will  stand  as  a  monument  to  his  skill 
and  ability  for  many  years.  The  main 
body  of  the  church  is  55x110  feet  in 
dimensions,  and  is  built  in  the  early 
English  style.  The  body  of  the  edifice 
is  built  of  brick,  800,000  being  required 
in  its  construction.  The  stone  trimmings 
are  from  the  celebrated  Grafton  quar- 
ries. The  extreme  height  of  the  tower 
from  the  pavement  is  140  feet,  and  it 
occupies  the  center  of  the  main  front, 
and  in  the  lower  are  stairs  leading  to 
the  gallery  and  choir.  In  the  rear  of 
the  main  audience  room  stands  the  high 


altar,  in  a  semi-circular  chancel,  on 
either  side  of  which,  and  facing  each  of 
the  side  aisles,  are  the  small  altars. 
Between  the  high  altar  and  the  small 
ones,  and  in  the  chancel,  are  the  doors 
leading  to  the  sacristy  where  the  con- 
fessionals are  placed.  The  church  has 
sittings  on  the  main  floor  for  800  per- 
sons, and  250  in  the  gallery.  The  roof 
is  constructed  of  wood,  and  is  self-sup- 
porting, vaulted  in  the  center  and  level 
ceilings  on  each  side, and  is  divided  into 
bays  by  ornamental  arches  springing 
from  elaborate  brackets.  The  vault  is 
groined  with  moulded  ribs  from  each 
bracket  and  the  intersections  covered 
with  ornamental  bosses.  The  height  of 
the  ceiling  in  the  center  of  the  nave  is 
43  feet,  and  over  the  aisles,  25  feet  high. 
The  interior  of  the  doors  and  windows 
have  moulded  labels  over  them,  termin- 
ated by  ornamental  drops. 

Masons  from  Alton  did  the  brick 
work,  Nichol  T.  Smith,  Jr.,  the  carpen- 
ter work,  and  Coddington  &  Erwin  the 
plastering,  all  of  which  is  done  in  the 
best,  workmanlike  manner,  and  when 
entirely  completed  cost  about  $25,000. 
The  edifice  is  situated  on  South  State 
street,  on  as  commanding  and  elevated 
a  position  as  St.  Paul's  church,  on 
Broadway,  in  New  York,  and  can  be 
seen  for  miles  around.  Rev.  Father 
Harty  succeeded  Father  Sullivan  in 
December,  1868.  Since  he  has  had 
charge  of  the  society,  the  German  Ca- 
tholics withdrew  and  formed  a  separate 
church,  but  the  congregation  has  not 
decreased  any  from  the  original  number, 
owing  to  the  new  members  received 
into  the  church.  The  church  is  entirely 
out  of  debt. 

Previous    to    1839,    Thomas   Carroll, 


Mrs.  Mary  A.  CummingS,  and  the  Car- 
rolls  who  resided  at  Otter  Creek,  were 
the  only  Catholics  in  this  county.  The 
number  was  increased  that  year  by  Win. 
Shephard,  .Tames  Flaimigan  and  Wil- 
liam Kelley,  the  latter  being  the  first 
person  ever  married  in  the  county  by  a 
priest,  which  occurred  in  1839,  Father 
Hamilton  officiating.  Up  to  1840  there 
was  neither  a  church  nor  a  priest 
between  Alton  and  Terre  Haute,  Ind., 
and  a  Catholic  was  not  heard  of  at  Car- 
linville,  Hillsboro,  Bunker  Hill,  Van- 
dalia,  Paris,  Charleston,  and  other 
points  where  they  now  have  large 
churches  and  flourishing  societies.  Be- 
fore many  years  another  diocese  will 
have  to  be  formed. 

The  Rev.  James  Harty  was  born 
in  Waterford  county,  Ireland,  in  Decem- 
ber, 1836.  He  neceived  his  classical 
education  at  Mount  Mellery,  and  went 
through  his  theological  course  at  All 
Hallows'  College,  in  the  city  of  Dublin. 
He  emigrated  to  this  country  in  Octo- 
ber,  18fi2,  and  was  ordained  in  the  city 
of  Alton,  111.,  Dec.  4,  1863.  His  first 
pastoral  labors  were  in  the  Alton  cathe- 
dral, where  he  remained  until  Aug.  15, 
1868,  when  he  came  to  Jerseyville, 
where  he  still  remains.  His  labors  as 
pastor  of  St.  Francis'  church,  have  been 
arduous,  and  valuable  to  his  charge. 
The  erection  of  their  fine  church  edifice 
is  the  result  of  the  pastor's  energy  and 
the  munificent  donations  of  its  mem- 
bership. Father  Harty  is  a  gentleman  of 
literary  culture,  and  is  among  the  well- 
read  theologians  of  the  church  to  which 
he  is  attached. 

ST.  MICHAEL  CATHOLIC  CHURCH,  ELSAB  TP. 

The   edifice   of    this  denomination  is 


situated  on  a  high  nob,  on  the  southeast 
quarter  of  section  14.  It  is  a  frame 
structure  30x60  feet  in  dimensions,  and 
was  erected  in  1877,  at  a  cost  of  $2,000, 
being  furnished  at  an  additional  cost  of 
about  $300.  In  addition  to  one  acre  of 
ground  used  as  a  church  lot,  there  is  a 
cemetery  of  two  acres  located  near  the 
church.  The  dedicatory  services  of  the 
church  occurred  in  March,  1878,  and 
were  conducted  by  Father  Peters,  of 
Alton.  Rev.  Father  A.  Marks  is  the 
present  pastor  of  the  church. 

CATHOLIC  CHURCH  AT  GRAFTON. 

The  first  services  of  the  Catholic 
church  were  held  at  the  house  of  Sarah 
Dempsey,  by  Father  Manyan,  in  1857. 
The  next  priest  was  Father  Carroll, 
who  held  services  in  the  school  house. 
Following  Father  Carroll  was  Bishop 
Juncker,  who  held  meetings  in  the 
Methodist  church  building.  Then  came 
Father  Sullivan  and  Father  Laurant, 
successively,  who  secured  a  room  over 
the  store  of  John  Slaten,  in  which  to 
hold  services.  The  next  priest  was 
Rev.  Father  Harty,  of  Jerseyville,  who 
held  meetings  in  the  school  house  and 
private  residences  of  the  place.  The 
first  priest  to  be  stationed  here  was 
Father  Burke,  who  conducted  services 
in  the  Quarry  hall  until  the  present 
church  building  was  erected  in  1871, 
and  continued  here  about  14  months. 
He  was  succeeded  by  Father  McGonin, 
who  remained  but  four  months,  giving 
way  to  Father  Chinsick,  who  was  suc- 
ceeded eight  months  later  by  Fathers 
Rhine,  Dateman  and  Rosenmiller,  the 
hitter  remaining  some  five  or  six  years, 
and  was  the  last  regular  priest  of  the 
church.     Services  are  now  held  once  a 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


189 


month  by  Father  Marks,  of  Jerseyville. 
The  church  building  is  constructed  of 
stone,  45x65  feet  in  ground  area,  and  is 
well  furnished  throughout. 

GERMAN  CATHOLIC  CHURCH,  JERSEYVILLE. 

On  the  11th  day  of  June,  1883,  the 
Very  Rev.  Father  Janssen,  vicar-general 
of  the  diocese  of  Alton,  111.,  called  a 
meeting  of  the  German  Catholics,  of 
Jerseyville  and  vicinity,  in  that  city, 
fur  the  purpose  of  organizing  a  congre- 
gation of  that  denomination  and  nation- 
ality. Many  attended  and  a  subscription 
list  was  initiated  for  the  express  purpose 
of  raising  funds  to  erect  a  church  edifice. 
In  the  meantime  the  Second  Presbyter- 
ian church  building,  on  the  corner  of 
Spruce  and  Washington  streets,  was 
offered  for  sale,  and  at  a  second  meeting, 
held  a  few  weeks  later,  it  was  decided 
that  it  was  more  advisible  to  buy  the 
building  instead  of  erecting  a  new  one. 
In  the  autumn  of  1883,  this  was  carried 
into  execution,  and  the  purchase  made 
of  the  trustees  of  the  Presbyterian 
church  for  $2,150.  On  obtaining  posses- 
sion, the  building  underwent  a  large 
amount  of  alteration,  and  was  decorated 
within  in  excellent  taste,  under  the  per- 
sonal direction  and  supervision  of  the 
Very  Rev.  Father  Janssen.  and  upon 
Thanksgiving  day  of  that  same  year, 
the  church  was  dedicated  by  the  bight 
Rev.  P.  J.  Baltes,  bishop  of  Alton,  and 
the  first  mass  celebrated.  The  same 
day  the  congregation  was  organized  with 
Rev.   F.  A.    Marks,    as    pastor,    Henry 


Scheffer  and  Charles  Schmeider,  trus- 
ters. In  this  building  they  continued 
to  worship  until  the  destruction  of  the 
structure  by  fire,  on  the  night  of  Sept. 
19,  1884.  The  loss  by  this  was  not  less 
than  $5,000,  including  decorations,  fur- 
niture, etc.  Scarcely  were  the  ashes 
cold,  before  a  new  subscription  list 
opened,  which  was  liberally  responded 
to  by  the  whole  community.  In  the 
spring  of  1885,  the  debris  of  the  burnt 
building  was  cleared  away  and  work 
commenced  on  the  erection  of  the  new 
building.  This  is  of  brick,  65x39  feet  in 
ground  area,  built  in  the  Gothic  style, 
and  is  an  ornament  to  the  city.  The  cosl 
of  the  edifice  is  not  far  from  $6,500. 
The  congregation  consists  of  about  150 
people,  all  under  the  ministration  of 
Rev.  Father  Marks. 

st.   mary's   catholic  church,  English 

township. 

The  first  services  of  this  congregation 
were  held  at  the  residence  of  Mr.  Heit- 
zig.  The  first  priest  remembered  to 
have  presided  over  the  spiritual  welfare 
of  the  flock  was  Father  Temmel.  The 
earliest  baptism  was  that  of  a  child 
named  William  Sauer.  The  present 
trustees  are  Stephen  Funke  and  Joseph 
Kallal.  There  are  about  30  families 
connected  with  the  church.  The  church 
edifice  is  a  neat,  substantial  building, 
which  is  located  near  the  west  line  of 
the  northeast  quarter  of  Sec.  3D.  Father 
Frank  J.  Reinhart  is  the  present  pastor. 
He  resides  near  the  church. 


11)0 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


CHAPTER    XIV. 


NATIONAL,  STATE   AND   COUNTY  REPRESENTATION. 


While  unworthy  man  may  at  any  and 
all  times  thrust  themselves  into  office, 
in  this  free  land,  still  it  cannot  but  be 
acknowledged  that  the  great  body  of  the 
office-holders  of  the  country,  especially 
the  elective  ones,  are  truly  representa- 
tive men — men  of  positive  force  and 
character.  They  are  of  the  number  of 
those  that  do  much  to  build  up  and 
strengthen  a  town,  a  county  or  a  state. 
In  this  chapter  it  has  been  the  endeavor, 
so  far  as  possible,  to  give  slight  sketches 
of  all  who  have  served  the  county  of 
Jersey  in  the  nation,  state  or  county. 
That  some  of  these  are  imperfect  is 
known,  but  it  should  not  be  laid  to  the 
historian.  Some  that  are  mentioned 
have  passed  away  from  this  mundane 
sphere,  leaving  no  record  from  which  a 
sketch  could  be  written,  while  others 
have  removed  from  this  to  other  local- 
ities, and  their  present  whereabouts  is 
generally  unknown. 

UNITED  STATES  SENATE. 

The  county  of  Jersey  has  been  among 
the  few  counties  of  the  state  that  have 
had  the  honor  of  furnishing  a  senator 
to  represent  the  great  state  of  Illin- 
ois in  the  senate  chamber  of  the  United 
States.  Samuel  McRoberts,  the  United 
States  senator  from  Illinois,  dying  on 
the  22d  of  March,  1843,  Governor  Ford 
appointed  James  Semple  to  fill  the 
vacancy.     This  gentleman  assumed  the 


duties  of  the  office,  and  discharged 
them  to  the  uttermost  satisfaction  of 
everybody,  serving  from  1843  to  1847. 
A  man,  in  every  sense  of  the  word,  he 
made  his  mark  upon  the  period  of  his 
existence  and  only  gave  way  before  the 
rising  genius  of  one  ofthe  greatest  states- 
men of  the  age,  Stephen  A.  Douglas, 
who  succeeded  him. 

GEN.  JAMES  SEMPLE. 

General  James  Semple,  deceased,  a 
native  of  Greene  county,  Ky.,  was  born 
January  5,  1798.  He  was  the  oldest  son 
of  Dr.  John  W.  and  Lucy  (Robertson) 
Semple.  Dr.  Semple  was  a  lineal 
descendant  of  the  ancient  Scottish 
family  of  that  name,  which  was  con- 
nected with  leading  events  in  the  history 
of  that  kingdom  for  many  generations. 
The  subject  of  this  sketch  received  his 
early  education  in  the  schools  of  Green- 
boro,  Ky.  After  leaving  school  and 
when  about  22  years  old,  he  went  to 
Chariton,  Mo.  Residing  there  only 
ahout  one  year,  he  returned  to  Louis- 
ville, Ky.,  commenced  the  study  of  law, 
and,  in  due  time,  was  admitted  to  the 
bar.  In  1828  Gen.  Semple  settled  at 
Edwardsville,  111.,  where  he  began  the 
practice  of  his  profession,  and  soon 
became  a  leading  member  ofthe  Madi- 
son county  bar.  Gen.  Semple  took  a 
prominent  part  in  the  Black  Hawk  war, 
first  as  colonel  of  an   Illinois  regiment, 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


l!tl 


and  afterwards  as  a  general  officer.  On 
his  return  he  was  elected  to  the  legisla- 
ture, from  Madison  county,  on  the  dem- 
ocratic ticket.  Being  twice  re-elected, 
he  was,  for  four  years,  speaker  of  the 
house  of  representatives.  On  the  5th 
of  June,  1833,  he  was  married  to  Mrs. 
Mary  S.  Mizner,  daughter  of  Dr.  Cairns, 
of  Monroe  county.  111.  Mrs.  Semple's 
father  was  a  member  of  the  first  consti- 
tutional convention  of  Illinois,  and 
held  other  prominent  positions.  The 
issue  of  this  marriage  was  three 
daughters  and  one  son.  Two  daughters, 
Mrs.  L.  V.  S.Ames  and  Mrs.  Ashley  D. 
Seott,  of  St.  Louis,  Mo.,  and  one  son, 
Eugene  Semple,  of  Vancouver,  Wash- 
ington territory,  still  (1885)  survive. 
In  1837  Gen.  Semple,  who  had  pre- 
viously been  attorney-general  of  the 
state,  was  appointed  by  President  Van 
Buren  charge  d'affairs  of  the  U.  S.  at 
Bogota,  which  position  he  filled  with 
credit  until  1842,  when  he  resigned  and 
returned  to  his  adopted  state.  In  the 
fall  of  1842  he  was  elected  one  of  the 
justices  of  the  supreme  court  of  Illinois, 
and  soon  afterwards  was  appointed  to 
the  C  S.  Senate  by  Gov.  Ford,  to  fill  a 
vacancy  in  that  body  caused  by  the 
death  of  Senator  McRoberts.  Being 
afterward  elected  by  the  legislature  to 
fill  the  unexpired  term,  Gen.  Semple 
took  a  prominent  part  in  national  affairs, 
being  the  first  to  introduce  a  resolution 
in  favor  of  the  abrogation  of  our  treaty 
with  Great  Britain,  in  regard  to  the 
joint  occupancy  of  Oregon.  This  ques- 
tion was  then  one  of  paramount  import- 
ance, and  Gen.  Semple  always  main- 
tained that  our  claim  to  54°  40'  north 
latitude,  was  clear,  and  that  we  ought 
to   insist   upon    it,  even    at   the    cost  of 


war.  At  the  close  of  his  senatorial 
term,  Gen.  Semple  retired  from  politics 
entirely,  and  devoted  himself  to  his 
private  affairs.  Sonic  years  afterward 
he  became,  by  a  combination  of  circum- 
stances, the  most  available  candidate 
for  governor  of  the  state,  and  the  demo- 
cratic nomination  was  tendered  him, 
but,  tn  the  regret  of  his  friends,  he 
refused  to  emerge  from  his  retirement. 
The  leading  characteristic  of  Gen. 
Semple,  and  the  secret  of  his  continuous 
popularity,  was  his  conscientious  devo- 
tion to  the  duties  of  every  position  in 
life  in  which  he  found  himself.  He 
demeaned  himself  in  office  with  Jeffer- 
sonian  simplicity,  and  had  faith  in  the 
continued  existence-  of  the  Republic. 
He  died  at  his  country  residence, 
Trevue,  near  Elsah,  Illinois,  on  the 
20th  day  of  Dec,  1866,  and  was  buried 
in  Bellfontaine  cemetery,  near  St. Louis, 
Mo.  Lucy  V.  Semple,  second  daughter 
of  Gen.  Semple,  who  inherited  much  of 
the  talent  and  energy  of  her  distin- 
guished father,  remains  in  Jersey 
county,  as  the  representative  of  the 
Semple  family.  She  was  married  in 
1861)  to  Edgar  Ames,  Esq.,  one  of  the 
most  prominent  and  wealthy  merchants 
lit'  St.  Louis.  By  the  death  of  her 
husband,  in  1867,  she  was  left  with  the 
care  of  four  children  and  a  vast  estate. 
By  providence  and  foresight  she  has 
acquitted  herself  with  credit  in  both 
these  responsible  positions.  In  pur- 
suance of  the  plans  of  her  husband  and 
in  the  fulfillment  of  the  wishes  of  her 
father,  she  has  built  an  imposing  resi- 
dence on  the  bluff's  overlooking  the 
village  of  Elsah  and  the  Mississippi 
river,  on  the  old  estate  of  Trevue. 
Here  sh*e    resides    during   most  of  each 


192 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


year,  and  while  dispensing  the  hospi- 
talities of  "Notch  Cliff,"  contributes 
largely  to  the  material  prosperity  of  the 
village  and  surrounding  country. 

CONGRESSIONAL. 

When  the  county  of  Jersey  was  cut 
off  from  that  of  Greene  and  organized 
as  a  separate  county,  the  State  of  Illi- 
nois constituted  butthree  congressional 
districts,  and  Jersey  county,  a  part  of  the 
third  district,  was  represented  in  the 
26th  congress,  from  1839  to  1841,  by 
John  T.  Stuart,  a  resident  of  Spring- 
field. He  was  re-elected  to  the  27th 
congress,  and  served  until  March  4, 
1843.  This  gentleman  was  born  in 
Fayette  county,  Ky.,  Nov.  10,  1807. 
He  was  educated  at  Danville  college, 
Kentucky,  graduating  in  1826,  and  stud- 
ied law  under  Judge  Breck.  In  1828  he 
came  to  Springfield  and  entered  upon 
the  practice  of  law.  It  was  in  his  office 
that  Abraham  Lincoln  studied  for  the 
bar.  In  1838  he  ran  against  Stephen  A. 
Douglas  for  congress,  and  beat  him,  and 
in  1841  was  re-elected,  as  above  stated. 
During  his  congressional  career,  he,  du- 
ring the  session  of  1841-3,  secured  an 
appropriation  for  the  harbor  at  Chicago. 

By  the  apportionment  act  of  March  1, 
1843,  the  state  of  Illinois  was  divided 
into  seven  districts,  and,  in  re-district- 
ing, the  county  of  Jersey  was  placed  in 
the  fifth  congressional  district.  The 
first  election  held  under  this  act  was  in 
August,  1843,  and  Stephen  A.  Douglas, 
of  Quincy,  was  elected.  The  district 
was  composed  of  the  counties  of  Greene, 
Jersey,  Calhoun,  Pike,  Adams,  Mar- 
quette, Brown,  Schuyler,  Fulton,  Peoria 
and  Macoupin.  Douglas  represented 
this  district  in  the  28th  congress,  from 


1843  to  1845;  was  re-elected  to  the  29th 
congress,  but  resigned  before  the  expir- 
ation of  his  second  term. 

Stephen  A.  Douglas,  one  of  the  great- 
est statesmen  of  his  time,  and,  in  fact, 
of  all  time,  was  born  in  the  town  of 
Brandon,  Vermont,  on  the  23d  of  April, 
1813.  His  father  was  a  physician,  and 
died  early  in  life,  leaving  his  widow 
and  son  in  almost  indigent  circum- 
stances. Stephen  had  but  few  oppor- 
tunities for  schooling,  much  of  the  liv- 
ing of  his  mother  and  himself  depend- 
ing upon  the  labor  of  his  hands.  He 
devoted  this  time  of  his  life  to  learning 
the  cabinet  maker's  trade,  and  spent 
some  years  at  the  business.  His  mother 
finally  married  again,  and  young  Ste- 
phen, in  1831,  accompanied  her  and  his 
step  -  father  to  Canandaigua,  N.  Y. 
There  he  attended  an  academy  and 
remained  until  the  year  1833,  when  he 
came  to  Illinois,  and  taught  school  at 
Winchester,  near  the  county  seat  of 
Scott  county.  This  was  a  subscription 
school.  Mr.  Douglas  employed  his 
time  evenings  and  holidays  in  the  study 
of  law,  and,  in  1834,  he  removed  to 
Jacksonville,  where  he  was  admitted  to 
the  bar,  and  during  the  same  year  was 
elected  attorney  general  of  the  state, 
though  only  22  years  of  age.  He  soon 
resigned  that  office  to  accept  a  seat  in 
the  legislature.  On  the  expiration  of 
his  term  in  that  body,  he  settled  down 
to  the  practice  of  law  in  Jacksonville, 
where  he  remained  until  1837,  when  he 
removed  to  Springfield,  having  been 
appointed  register  of  the  land  office  by 
President  Van  Buren.  In  1839,  he 
resigned  this  office,  and  the  year  follow 
rag  was  made  secretary  of  the  state.  In 
1841,  he  was   appointed  by  the  legisla- 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


193 


lure  judge  of  the  supreme  court,  and  he 
reorganized  the  circuit  court,  serving  as 
circuit  judge.  The  circumstances  under 
which  he  entered  upon  the  duties  of 
this  office  were  sufficient  to  thoroughly 
try  the  force  and  scope  of  his  abilities. 
The  circuit  was  large — the  previous 
incumbent  of  the  office  had  left  the 
docket  loaded  with  unfinished  cases; 
but  he  was  more  than  equal  to  the  task. 
He  cleaned  out  the  docket  with  that 
dispatch  and  ability  which  distinguished 
his  subsequent  course;  and  so  profound 
was  the  impression  which  he  made  upon 
the  people,  that,  in  the  first  congres- 
sional ebction,  which  occurred  after  he 
was  established  in  his  character  as 
a  judge,  he  received  the  nomination  for 
member  of  congress,  and  was  elected 
thereto.  Through  the  distinguished 
abilities  wnieh  he  displayed  as  a  states- 
man, he  received  the  appellation  of 
"Little  Giant,"  and  became  the  recog- 
nized leader  of  a  great  political  party. 
In  I860,  he  received  the  nomination  for 
the  presidency,  but  owing  to  a  division 
in  the  party,  he  was  beaten  by  Abraham 
Lincoln,  his  competitor  for  the  United 
States  senate  two  years  previous.  On 
the  inauguration  of  President  Lincoln, 
and  the  subsequent  withdrawal  of  the 
southern  states  from  the  Union,  and 
the  war  following,  Mr.  Douglas  took 
strong  Union  grounds,  and  declared 
henceforth  there  could  be  but  two  par- 
ties in  the  country,  patriots  and  traitors. 
In  a  few  days  thereafter,  he  was  taken 
sick  and  died  on  the  3d  of  June,  1861, 
sincerely  mourned  by  the  whole  nation. 
On  the  resignation  of  Mr.  Douglas, 
William  A.  Richardson,  of  Rushville, 
succeeded  him  in  the  29th  congress,  and 
was  re-elected  from  this  district  to  the 


30th,  31st  and  32d  congress.  Mr.  Rich- 
ardson was  a  native  of  Fayette  county, 
Kentucky,  born  Jan.  Hi,  1811.  His 
parents  were  James  L.  and  Mary  (Ed- 
mondson)  Richardson.  His  father  dy- 
ing when  William  was  but  five  years  of 
age,  his  mother,  in  obedience  with  the 
dying  request  of  the  father,  gave  her 
son  the  advantages  of  a  most  excellent 
education.  He  entered  Center  College, 
at  Danville,  Kv.,  but  afterwards  was 
transferred  to  Transylvania  University, 
at  Lexington,  that  state.  He  entered 
the  law  office  of  Allan  &  Simpson,  and 
was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  March,  1831. 
He  then  came  to  Illinois,  locating  at 
Sbelbyville.  In  1832,  he  was  a  volun- 
teer in  the  Black  Hawk  war,  and  on 
returning  from  the  front,  removed  to 
Rushville,  Schuyler  county,  where  he 
resided  until  May,  1849,  when  he 
removed  to  Quincy.  In  1836,  he  was 
elected  to  the  general  assembly  from 
Schuyler  county,  and  from  that  time 
acted  a  prominent  part  in  the  state  and 
nation.  He  was  elected  to  the  state 
senate  in  1838;  wasone  of  the  electors 
on  the  Polk  and  Dallas  presidential 
ticket  of  1844;  was  a  captain  in  the  1st 
111.  Reg.,  under  Colonel  J.  J.  Hardin, 
during  tjie  Mexican  war;  was  a  member 
of  congress,  as  above  stated;  in  1856, 
ran  for  the  office  of  governor,  but  wras 
defeated  by  a  small  majority;  was 
appointed  governor  of  Nebraska,  in 
1858,  and  served  in  that  capacity,  leav- 
ing a  splendid  record;  was  elected 
United  States  senator,  in  1863,  and 
served  two  years.  He  died  at  Quincy, 
Dec.  27,  1875,  from  paralysis. 

By  the  act  of  August  22,  1852,  the 
state  was  again  redistricted,  this  time 
into  nine  districts,  the  counties  of  Mor- 


194 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


gan, Scott, Sangamon,  Macoupin, Greene, 
Montgomery,  Christian,  Shelby,  Cass, 
Menard  and  Jersey  were  united  in  the 
6th  district.  Richard  Yates,  was 
elected  at  the  first  election  under  this 
act  in  Nov.  1852,  to  the  33d  congress. 
Richard  Yates,  the  well  known  "war 
governor"  was  a  native  of  Kentucky, 
Lorn  in  Warsaw,  in  that  state,  in  the 
year  1818.  He  came  to  Illinois  in  1831, 
and  read  law  in  the  office  of  Col.  J.  J. 
Hardin.  He  served  two  terms  in  con- 
gress, was  governor  of  the  state  during 
the  civil  war,  and  United  States  senator, 
being  elected  to  the  latter  office  in  1865. 
He  died  in  St.  Louis. 

In  the  34th  congress  from  1855  to 
1857,  the  district  was  represented  by 
Thomas  L.  Harris,  of  Petersburg, 
Menard  county,  who  was  re-elected  to 
the  35th  congress,  and  died  while  in 
office,  Nov.  24,  1859,  and  was  succeeded 
by  Charles  I).  Hodges,  of  Carrollton, 
Greene  county.  A  sketch  of  this  gen- 
tleman appears  in  the  history  of  that 
county,  in  this  volume. 

In  the  36th  congress  the  district  was 
represented  by  John  A.  McClernand,  of 
Springfield,  who  was  re-elected  to  the 
37th  congress,  but  resigned  his  seat 
Dec.  12,  1861,  to  take  a  commission  in 
the  army,  where  he  made  a  record  that 
is  the  pride  of  the  state. 

On  the  resignation  of  John  A.  McCler- 
nand, he  was  succeeded  by  A.  L.  Knapp, 
of  Jerscyville,  who  occupied  a  place  in 
the  37th  congress  up  to  March  4,  1863. 

Anthony  L.  Knapp  was  horn  in  Mid- 
dletown,  Delaware  county,  N.  Y.,  June 
14,  1828.  When  11  years  of  age  he  re- 
moved with  his  father  to  Illinois,  and 
studying  law  was  admitted  to  practice 
at  the  bar  in   1849,   locating  in  Jersey- 


ville.  In  1858,  Mr.  Knapp  became  a 
candidate  for  state  senator,  accompany- 
ing Stephen  A.  Douglas  in  that  ever 
memorable  campaign  with  Abraham 
Lincoln.  In  the  fall  of  1861  he  was 
elected  to  the  37th  congress  to  fill  the 
vacancy  caused  by  the  resignation  of 
John  A.  McClernand.  He  served 
through  the  37th  and  38th  congresses 
with  distinguished  ability,  Some  of 
his  speeches  while  a  member  of  the 
house  were  so  favorably  received  that 
they  were  used  as  campaign  documents 
in  1864.  A  single  sentence  from  his 
speech  on  the  policy  and  objects  of  the 
wav,  delivered  on  June  5,  1862,  is  here- 
with given:  "For  long  years  the  consti- 
tution has  served  as  a  bright  light  to 
guide  and  direct  the  efforts  of  men, 
everywhere  striving  for  the  blessings  of 
a  free,  popular  government,  while  to 
each  of  us  it  has  proved  a  shield  and 
protection.  Formed  in  our  weakness, 
its  blessings  have  encompassed  us  in 
our  strength.  We  have  seen  it  expand 
by  its  own  force  over  nearly  twice  as 
many  states  as  at  first  received  its  care, 
and  with  not  more  solicitude  does  the 
parental  heart  entwine  itself  in  loving 
folds  around  each  new  pledge  of  their 
affections,  than  has  this  instrument 
sought  the  welfare  of  its  youngest  born." 
On  retiring  from  congress,  Mr.  Knapp 
commenced  the  practice  of  law  at  Chi- 
cago in  1865,  where  he  remained  two 
years  and  then  removed  to  Springfield, 
this  state,  where  he  formed  a  law  part- 
nership with  James  C.  Robinson,  which 
lasted  until  dissolved  by  the  death  of 
Mr.  Knapp,  Monday,  May  23,  1881. 
Mi-,  Knapp  was  married  in  Chicago  to 
Henrietta  Smith,  by  whom  he  had  one 
child— Toney  W. 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY 


195 


By  the  census  of  1860,  it  was  found 
that  the  population  of  Illinois  had  so 
increased  as  to  be  entitled  to  14  congress- 
men, and  under  the  apportionment  act 
of  April  24,  1861,  the  state  was  divided 
into  thirteen  districts.  The  first  elec- 
tion held  under  this  act  was  in  Novem- 
ber, 18(i2.  By  an  error  in  the  appor- 
tionment the  number  of  representatives 
was  fixed  at  13,  though  the  state  was 
entitled  to  14,  so  the  error  was  corrected 
by  electing  one  member  from  the  state 
at  large.  Jersey  by  that  apportionment 
became  a  part  of  the  10th  district,  and 
bad  associated  with  it  the  counties  of 
Bond,  Morgan,  Scott,  Calhoun,  Greene, 
Macoupin,  Montgomery,  Christian  and 
Shelby.  This  district  was  represented 
in  the  national  house  of  representa- 
tives of  the  38th  congress  by  Anthony 
L.  Knapp,  of  Jerseyville,  who  was  duly 
elected  to  fill  that  position  at  the  elec- 
tion mentioned  above. 

In  the  39th  congress,  which  convened 
for  the  first  time  March  4,  1865,  the  10th 
district  was  represented  by  Anthony 
Thornton,  of  Shelbyville,  one  of  the 
most  prominent  members  of  the  legal 
fraternity  in  the  state. 

The  40th  congress,  during  the  two 
years  succeeding  March  4,  1867,  con- 
tained, as  the  representative  of  the  peo- 
ple of  this  district,  Albert  G.  Burr,  a 
citizen  of  Carrollton,  Greene  county. 
He  was  re-elected  to  the  41st  congress, 
and  served  until  March  4,  1871.  A 
sketch  of  this  gentleman  is  given  in  the 
history  of  Greene  county. 

In  the  41st  congress,  which  convened 
at  Washington,  March  4,  1871,  this,  the 
10th  district,  was  represented  by  E.  Y. 
Rice,  of  Hillsborough,  Montgomery 
county. 


E.  Y.  Rice  was  a  native  of  Logan 
county,  Ky.,  son  of  Francis  and  Mary 
(Gooch)  Rice,  born  Feb.  8,  1820.  His 
father,  a  North  Carolinian,  was  a  pio- 
neer Methodist  preacher  in  Macoupin 
county,  where  he  settled  in  1835,  and 
where  he  died  in  1837.  Edward  remained 
upon  a  farm  until  20  years  of  age,  but 
receiving  the  foundation  of  a  good  edu- 
cation. In  1*40  he  entered  Shurtleff 
College,  where  he  remained  until  1842, 
but  did  not  graduate.  The  next  year  he 
entered  the  office  of  John  M.  Palmer, 
then  in  Carlinville,  with  whom  he 
studied  law,  and  in  1844  was  admitted  to 
the  bar.  In  1845,  he  settled  in  Hills- 
borough, where  he  entered  upon  the 
practice  of  his  profession,  where  he  has 
remained  ever  since.  He  occupied  sev- 
eral offices  previous  to  his  election  to 
congress,  holding,  among  others,  the 
office  of  circuit  judge  of  the  18th  judi- 
cial district,  for  14  years.  Since  his  re- 
tirement from  the  congressional  halls, 
he  has  pursued  the  practice  of  his  pro- 
fession. He  was  married  to  Mrs.  Susan 
R.  Coudy,  nee  Allen,  by  whom  he  had 
three  children. 

Under  the  apportionment  act  of  July 
2,  1872,  made  on  the  basis  of  the  census 
of  1870,  the  state  of  Illinois  was  divided 
into  19  districts,  and  the  counties  of 
Adams,  Brown,  Pike,  Calhoun,  Greene 
and  Jersey  were  combined  into  the  11th 
district.  The  first  election  was  held  in 
November,  1872,  when  Robert  M.  Knapp, 
of  Jerseyville,  was  elected  representa- 
tive from  the  district,  and  took  his 
place  March  4,  1873,  in  the  43d congress. 
He  served  one  term,  at  this  time. 

Hon.  Robert  M.  Knapp  was  born  in 
the  city  of  New  York,  April  21,  1831. 
His   father,    Dr.    Augustus    R.    Knapp, 


l'.IC. 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


was  an  eminent  physician  of  Jersey 
county,  111.  While  Robert  was  a  child, 
his  father  removed  to  Savannah,  Ga., 
and  from  thence  to  New  Jersey,  and 
finally,  in  1839,  to  Illinois,  and  the  fol- 
lowing year  to  this  county.  In  Illinois 
he  was  prominent  in  his  profession  and 
in  local  politics.  In  1847  he  was  a 
member  of  the  constitutional  conven- 
tion. Robert,  after  securing  such  in- 
struction as  was  given  in  the  common 
schools  of  Illinois  at  that  time,  became 
a  student  in  the  Kentucky  State  Mili- 
tary Institute,  near  Frankfort,  in  1849  ; 
but  becoming  affected  by  the  then  pre- 
vailing gold  fever,  went  overland  to 
California,  and  remained  two  years  suc- 
cessfully operating  in  the  gold  mines. 
He  subsequently  studied  law,  and  in 
1855  commenced  practice  in  Jerseyville. 
On  Dec.  26,  1855,  he  married  Fannie  A. 
Green,  who  was  born  in  Haverstraw, 
Rockland  county,  N.  Y.,  March  15,  1837. 
She  is  a  daughter  of  Capt.  Stephen  S. 
and  Letitia  (Quick)  Green,  deceased, 
who  were  natives  of  Westchester  coun- 
ty, N.  Y.  Captain  Green  ran  a  line  of 
boats  from  New  York  to  Sing  Sing  sev- 
eral years.  In  1839  he  came  to  Macou- 
pin county  and  bought  a  large  tract  of 
land,  upon  which  he  placed  numerous 
tenants.  An  incident  which  may  be 
mentioned  in  his  farm  life  is  that  he 
purchased  the  first  McCormiek  reaper 
ever  sold.  As  a  result  of  the  marriage 
there  are  three  children — Katie  L.,  burn 
Sept,  26,  1856;  Susie  Green,  born  Aug. 
16,  1858;  Hattie  Bagley,  born  Nov.  17, 
1864.  Mr.  Knapp  was  a  democrat  in  poli- 
tics, in  1867  he  was  elected  to  the  Illi- 
nois general  assembly,  but  declined  to 
be  a  candidate  for  a  second  term.  In 
1871  he  was  elected  mayor  of  Jersey- 


ville, and  re-elected  in  1872.  In  1876, 
he  was  again  elected  to  fill  that  (.Hire. 
He  was  elected  to  the  43d  congress  in 
1872,  and  was  re-nominated  for  the 
same  position  by  the  Roodhouse  con- 
vention in  1874,  but,  for  the  sake  of 
harmony,  declined.  In  1876  he  was 
again  re-nominated  and  elected.  He 
departed  this  life  June  24,  1879,  a  few 
minutes  before  six  o'clock,  A.  M. 
Mr.  Knapp  was  a  Knight  Templar, 
and  was  buried  with  Masonic  honors 
The  bar  of  the  county  passed  resolu- 
tions of  respect  and  condolence  with 
the  widow  and  relatives  of  the  deceased. 

In  the  44th  congress,  which  was  first 
convened  in  March  1875,  this  district  was 
duly  represented  by  Scott  Wike,  of 
Pittsfield,  Pike  county,  who  served  one 
term  of  two  years. 

Mr.  Wike  was  succeeded  in  the  45th 
national  assembly  by  Robert  M.  Knapp 
whom  he  had  followed.  This  gentle- 
man served  one  term  of  two  years  at 
this  time. 

James  W.  Singleton,  a  resident  of 
Quincy,  was  the  accredited  representa- 
tive of  this  district  in  the  46th  congress, 
which  was  organized  in  March,  1879,  and 
served  two  years,  and  was  elected  to 
the  47th  congress,  where  he  distin- 
guished himself  greatly  to  the  credit  of 
himself  and  his  friends. 

By  the  apportionment  act  based  upon 
the  census  of  1880,  the  state  of  Illinois 
was  divided  into  twenty  districts,  and 
the  counties  of  Cass,  Brown,  Adams, 
Pike,  Scott,  Greene,  Jersey  and  Calhoun 
were  grouped  together  into  the  12th  dis- 
trict. In  the  fall  of  1882,  James  Milton 
Riggs,  a  highly  respected  and  talented 
citizen  of  Winchester,  Scott  county,  was 
elected  to  fill  the  position  of  member  of 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


197 


congress  from  this  district,  and  occupied 
a  prominent  place  in  the  house  of  the 
4Sth  congress.  He  was  re-elected  in 
1884,  and  is  the  present  representative 
iu  the  49th  congress. 

GENERAL    ASSEMBLY. 

When  the  county  of  Jersey  was  organ- 
ized in  1S39,  it  was  a  part  of  a  legislative 
district,  then  without  a  number,  com- 
posed of  this  county  and  Greene,  and 
was  represented  in  the  senate  of  the 
12th  general  assembly  by  John  Allen, 
and  in  the  house  by  Revell  W.  English. 
This  general  assembly  convened  in 
Springfield  on  the  28d  of  Nov.,  1840, 
and  adjourned  Dec.  5,  1840.  A  second 
session  met  Dec.  7,  1840,  and  continued 
until  .March  1,  1841. 

The  13tb  general  assembly  convened 
at  Springfield,  Dec.  5,  1842,  and  ad- 
journed March  4,  184.'!.  In  the  senate 
this  district  was  represented  by  Alfred 
W.  Caverly,  and  Samuel T.  Kendall  was 
the  delegate  to  the  house  of  representa- 
tives. 

The  Nth  general  assembly  convened 
at  the  city  of  Springfield,  Dec.  2,  1844, 
and  adjourned  March  3,  184S.  The 
district  composed  of  Macoupin  and 
Jersey  counties  was  represented  in  the 
senate  by  John  Harris,  while  James 
Harriott  was  the  representative  of  Jer- 
sey county  in  the  lower  house. 

The  loth  general  assembly  met  at 
Springfield,  Dec.  7,  1846, and  adjourned 
March  1,  1847.  John  Harris  continued 
to  serve  this  district  in  the  senate.  In 
the  house  Thomas  Cummings,  an  early 
settler  in  this  county,  served  the  people 
of  this  district  to  their  satisfaction. 

Before  another  general  assembly  had 
met  the  constitution  of  1848  was  adopted, 


and  under  it  a  new  apportionment  of  the 
state  was  made,  and  Jersey  county,  to- 
gether with  those  of  Macoupin,  Greene 
and  Calhoun,  were  made  the  13th  sena- 
torial district  and  the  counties  of  Jersey 
and  Greene,  the  22d  representative  dis- 
trict. 

The  16th  general  assembly  convened 
at  Springfield,  Jan.  1,  1849,  and  ad- 
journed Feb.  12,  1849;  a  second  session 
met  Oct.  22,  1849,  and  continued  until 
Nov.  7,  1849.  This  district  was  repre- 
sented in  the  senate  by  Franklin  Witt, 
a  resident  of  Greene  county,  ami  in  the 
house,  first  by  Isaac  Darneille  and  John 
D.  Fry,  but  the  former  of  these  dying 
and  the  latter  resigning,  they  were  suc- 
ceeded by  Joel  Cory  and  Thomas  Carlin. 
The  latter  gentleman  was  a  resident  of 
Greene  county,  ami  is  noticed  in  that 
connection. 

Isaac  Darneille  came  to  this  county 
during  1828  or  29,  entering  land  in  what 
is  now  English  township.  He  is  said  to 
have  been  one  of  the  most  social  men 
ever  in  the  county.  He  is  reported  to 
have  been  much  more  interested  in  rid- 
ing around  the  country  chatting  with  his 
neighbors,  than  attending  to  the  duties 
of  husbandry.  He  was  a  relative  of 
Isaac  Darneille,  of  Kaskaskia,  the  mt- 
ond  lawyer  in  the  state  of  Illinois,  and 
like  him  had  a  penchant  for  legal 
matters,  although  no  lawyer.  He  was 
often  on  hand  to  manage  for  his  friends 
causes  before  a  justice  of  the  peace,  and 
would,  if  necessary,  follow  the  cases  to 
a  higher  court,  and  stand  as  chief  adviser 
to  the  attorney.  In  fact  he  never  missed 
an  opportunity  of  attending  court,  and 
was  frequently  found  outside  the  court 
house,  expounding  the  law  to  groups  of 
listeners.     He  removed  to  Jerseyville, 


198 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


but  after  living  there  for  a  few  months 
was  stricken  down  with  the  cholera  in 
1849. 

Hon.  Joel  Cory,  one  of  the  pioneers 
of  Jersey  county,  was  born  in  New 
Jersey,  August  26,  1805.  He  followed 
farming  in  his  native  state,  and  was 
there  married  to  Sarah  Cross,  a  sister  of 
Hugh  N.  Cross.  In  1834  he  left  New 
Jersey  with  his  family,  consisting  of  a 
wife  and  four  children,  and  moved  in 
wagons  to  Illinois.  He  at  once  entered 
land,  two  and  a  half  miles  south  of  the 
site  of  the  present  city  of  Jerseyville, 
where  he  improved  a  farm  of  400  acres, 
upon  which  he  resided  until  his  death 
which  occurred  Feb.  26,  1872.  Mrs. 
Cory  died  in  1884.  Six  of  their  children 
survived  them  in  life.  They  are — Mary, 
now  the  wife  of  D.  R.  Stelle;  Levi  D., 
John,  Joel,  Sarah,  wife  of  Robert  New- 
ton, and  Walter,  all  of  whom  reside  in 
Jersey  county.  Mr.  Cory  represented 
his  district  in  the  state  legislature  one 
term,  and  often  served  the  people  in 
minor  offices.  He  was  a  democrat 
politically.  He  gave  close  attention  to 
his  farm  and  was  successful  financially. 
He  was  for  many  years,  a  prominent 
and  consistent  member  of  the  Baptist 
church. 

The  17th  general  assembly  met  at 
Springfield,  Jan.  6,  1851,  and  adjourned 
Feb.  17,  1851;  a  second  session  con- 
vened June  7,  1852,  and  adjourned  June 
23,  1852,  The  13th  senatorial  district 
was  represented  by  John  M.  Palmer, 
then  a  resident  of  Macoupin  county, 
afterwards  governor  of  the  state.  Jersey 
and  Greene  counties,  then  constituting 
the  22d  district, were  served  in  the  house 
of  representatives  by  Charles  D.  Hodges, 
of  Greene,  and  J.  C.  Winters,  of  Jersey. 


John  M.  Palmer  was  afterward  a  general 
in  the  Union  army,  during  the  civil 
war,  and  governor  of  the  state  of  Illinois, 
and  is  now  engaged  in  the  practice  of 
law  at  Springfield. 

The  18th  general  assembly  convened 
for  its  first  session,  Jan.  3,  1853,  and 
continued  until  Feb.  14,  of  the  same 
year;  a  second  session  met  Feb.  9,  1854, 
and  adjourned  March  4,  1854.  John  M. 
Palmer  still  represented  the  13th  dis- 
trict in  the  senate,  and  Charles  D. 
Hodges  and  Giles  H.  Turner,  in  the 
house.  The  latter  gentleman  was  a  res- 
ident of  Jersey  county. 

The  19th  general  assembly  convened 
at  the  state  capital,  Jan.  1,  1855,  and 
remained  in  session  until  Feb.  15th  fol- 
lowing. The  act  of  apportionment  of 
Feb.  27,  1854,  having  placed  the  coun- 
ties of  Greene,  Macoupin  and  Jersey  in 
the  14th  senatorial  district,  it  was  still 
represented  in  the  senate  by  that  dis- 
tinguished jurist,  John  M.  Palmer.  By 
the  same  act,  Jersey  and  Calhoun  coun- 
ties were  erected  into  the  22d  represen- 
tative district,  and  was  served  by  Lafay- 
ette McCrillis,  of  Jersey. 

On  the  5th  of  January,  1857,  the  20th 
general  assembly  of  the  state  of  Illi- 
nois, met  at  Springfield,  and  continued 
in  session  until  Feb.  19,  1857.  Linus 
E.  Worcester,  of  Greene,  was  the  sena- 
tor, and  Wright  Casey,  of  Jersey,  the 
representative. 

The  21st  general  assembly  convened 
at  Springfield,  Jan.  3,  1859,  and  ad- 
journed Feb.  24,  1859.  Anthony  L. 
Knapp,  of  Jersey,  was  in  the  senate 
from  this,  the  14th  district,  and  F.  P. 
Rush,  of  Calhoun,  was  the  representa- 
tive in  the  lower  house  from  the  22d 
district. 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


199 


The  first  session  of  the  22d  general 
assembly  met  at  Springfield,  Jan.  7, 
1861,  and  adjourned  the  22d  of  Febru- 
ary; a  second  session  was  held  from 
April  23,  1861,  until  the  3d  of  the 
month  of  May.  In  the  senate  Anthony 
L.  Knapp  still  represented  this  district. 
In  the  house  John  N.  English  was  the 
delegate  from  this  district  and  filled  the 
place  with  credit  and  honor  to  himself 
and  to  his  constituents. 

Hon.  John  Nelson  English  stands 
conspicuous  in  the  history  of  Jersey 
county,  not  only  as  an  early  pioneer, 
but  also  as  a  citizen  who  for  half  a  cent- 
ury has  taken  an  active  part  in  the  pub- 
lic welfare  of  his  fellowmen.  Mr.  Eng- 
lish is  a  native  of  Henry  Co.,  Ky.,  born 
on  the  31st  day  of  March,  1810.  He  is 
the  eldest  son  of  Thomas  and  Alia 
(Cooper)  English, of  French  and  German 
ancestry,  the  former  a  native  of  Mary- 
land, and  the  latter  of  Pennsylvania, 
and  the  daughter  of  Jonathan  Cooper, 
who  served  in  the  war  of  1812.  They 
were  married  in  Kentucky, whence  they 
removed  in  1820  to  Washington  county, 
111.,  where  they  resided  till  1825,  when 
they  settled  in  Jersey  county  and  here 
continued  to  carry  on  farming  till  the 
death  of  Mr.  English,  which  occurred 
Oct.  14,  1836;  Mrs.  English  having  died 
July  13,  1833.  John  N.  received  his 
education  in  the  common  schools  of 
Washington  and  Jersey  counties,  divid- 
ing his  time  between  study  and  farm- 
work.  At  the  opening  of  the  Black 
Hawk  war,  in  1831,  he  enlisted  in  a  com- 
pany of  mounted  volunteers, commanded 
by  Captain  Carlin,  afterward  governor  of 
Illinois,  and  started  on  a  march  to  Rock 
Island,  where  a  treaty  with  the  Indians 
was  soon   made.      Returning   home    in 


1832,  he  enlisted  in  Capt.  Patterson's 
company,  and  participated  in  the  battles 
of  Wisconsin  and  Bad  Axe,  receiving  an 
honorable  discharge  from  the  service 
when  peace  was  declared.  The  soldiers 
who  were  thus  engaged  received  about 
$1  per  day,  and  congress  afterward 
ceded  to  each,  80  acres  of  land.  After 
his  return  home,  Mr.  English  was  em- 
ployed by  D.  A.  Spauldingin  surveying 
the  lands  around  Lake  Michigan,  and  in 
1834,  entering  land  in  Jersey  county, 
engaged  in  farming.  Upon  the  organi- 
zation of  the  county  he  was  elected 
sheriff,  and  was  re-elected  at  the  expira- 
tion of  his  first  term.  At  the  close  of  his 
service  in  this  capacity,  in  company 
with  Messrs.  Magee  and  Terry,  he 
erected  a  steam  saw  and  grist  mill,  five 
miles  out  of  Jerseyville,  the  location 
now  being  in  English  township,  which 
he  conducted  about  two  years,  and  then 
engaged  in  steamboating  with  the  rank  of 
mate;  after  following  this  vocation  two 
seasons  he  purchased  a  farm  in  what  is 
known  as  "Rich  Woods,"  now  English 
township,  where  he  settled  in  the  fall  of 
1847  and  continued  to  reside  until  the  fall 
of  1867,  when  he  removed  to  Jerseyville, 
his  present  home.  His  attention  has 
been  almost  unremittingly  given  to  agri- 
culture and  stock-raising,  and  by  an 
industrious  and  upright  course,  he  has 
accumulated  a  liberal  competence.  Poli- 
tically, Mr.  English  is  a  staunch  demo- 
crat, and  he  has  been  a  delegate  to  nearly 
all  the  conventions  of  that  party  since 
he  began  to  mingle  in  political  affairs. 
He  has  taken  a  high  stand,  and  has 
exerted  a  wide  influence  and  his  fellow- 
citizens  have  shown  their  appreciation 
of  his  worth  by  honoring  him  with  many 
positions  of  trust.    In  the  fall  of  1860  he 


200 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUN  TY. 


was  elected  to  the  state  legislature  from 
Jersey  and  Calhoun  counties,  and  there 
rendered  efficient  service,  being  of  that 
class  of  legislators  who  were  in  favor  of 
coercing  the  Southern  states.  At  the 
expiration  of  his  first  term  he  was 
re-elected  with  a  larger  majority,  and 
filled  the  position  with  honor  to  himself 
and  satisfaction  to  his  constituents.  Mr. 
English  then  lived  a  private  life  till  the 
fall  of  1875,  when -he  was  again  nomin- 
ated as  a  candidate  for  the  legislature, 
and  was  elected  by  a  good  majority  and 
served  three  consecutive  terms.  Mr. 
English  has  been  twice  married.  On  the 
17th  day  of  Dec,  1840,  to  Elizabeth  Belt, 
daughter  of  H.  N.  Belt, of  Jersey  county. 
She  died,  after  a  lingering  illness,  on 
the  5th  of  January,  1872.  Of  four  child- 
ren, three  survive  her  in  life — Lloyd, 
present  supervisor  of  English  township; 
John  N.,  Jr.,  present  township  clerk, 
both  farmers  in  English  township,  and 
R.  B.,  a  lawyer  at  Hardin,  Calhoun 
county.  In  Oct.,  1873,  Mr.  English  mar- 
ried Catherine  C.  Selby,  nee  DeLong, 
she  being  the  widow  of  John  Selby,  of 
Jersey  county.  Mr.  English,  or  Col. 
English,  as  he  is  familiarly  known, 
resides  in  the  west  part  of  Jerseyville 
city,  where  he  has  a  pleasant  home,  sup- 
plied with  all  the  accessories'  of  the  best 
social  life.  He  owns  80  acres  of  land, 
for  which  he  gave  $16,000,  40  acres  of 
the  land  lying  within  the  city  limits  of 
Jerseyville.  At  the  present  writing  he 
is  75  years  of  age,  but  enjoys  good  health 
and  life.  Every  day  he  is  seen  up-town, 
and  is  always  surrounded  with  friends 
who  enjoy  his  conversation.  He  is 
always  ready  to  appreciate  a  good  story 
or  joke,  and  rejoices  in  the  prosperity 
of  his  fellow-men.      Mr.    English   is    a 


man  remarkably  well  preserved  for  one 
of  his  age.  He  stands  just  six  feet,  and 
is  straight,  well  built,  and  from  all 
appearances  bids  fair  to  enjoy  yet  many 
years  of  life.  He  weighs  195  pounds, 
is  not  a  fleshy  person  but,  is  built  from 
the  "ground  up,"  and  presents  a  very 
commanding  appearance. 

The  twenty-third  general  assembly  of 
Illinois  convened  at  Springfield,  Jan.  5, 
1863,  and  adjourned  Feb.  14, 1863,  until 
June  2,  1863.  On  the  latter  date  it 
again  met,  in  pursuance  to  the  adjourn- 
ment, and  was,  on  the  10th  of  June, 
prorogued  by  the  governor  until  Dec. 
31,  1864",  on  which  day  it  convened  and 
adjourned.  By  the  act  of  apportion- 
ment of  Jan.  31,  1861,  the  county  of 
Jersey  was,  together  with  Calhoun, 
Greene,  Scott  and  Pike,  made  into  the 
6th  senatorial  district,  and  the  counties 
of  Jersey  and  Calhoun  still  kept  together 
under  their  old  number,  as  the  22d  rep- 
resentative district.  Linus  *E.  Wor- 
cester, of  Greene,  represented  this  dis- 
trict in  the  senate,  and  John  N.  English 
in  the  house. 

On  Jan.  2,  1865,  the  24th  general 
assembly  met  in  regular  session,  at 
Springfield,  and  adjourned  the  16th  of 
February  following.  The  6th  district 
was  still  represented  by  Linus  E.  Wor- 
cester, and  in  the  house  of  representa- 
tives by  John  McDonald,  a  resident  of 
Hardin,  Calhoun  county. 

The  25th  general  assembly  held  three 
sessions,  the  first  commencing  Jan.  7, 
1867,  which  adjourned  Feb.  28;  the 
second  convened  June  11,  and  adjourned 
June  13;  and  the  third  commenced  June 
14,"  and  adjourned  June  28,  1867.  In 
the  senate  William  Shephard,  of  Jersey- 
ville,  represented  the   district,   and  in 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


201 


the  house  Robert  M.  Knapp,  after- 
wards the  member  of  congress  from  this 
district,  was  the  representative.  Mr. 
Shephard  was  largely  identified  with 
the  growth  and  development  of  the  city 
of  Jerseyville,  and  is  mentioned,  at 
length,  in  that  connection. 

The  26th  general  assembly,  which 
convened  at  Springfield,  the  4th  of  Jan., 
1869,  contained  as  the  representatives 
of  this  district  William  Shephard,  of 
Jerseyville,  in  the  senate,  and  Thomas 
B.  Fuller,  of  Hardin,  Calhoun  county, 
in  the  house.  This  assembly  adjourned 
April  20,  1869. 

The  first  regular  session  of  the  27th 
general  assembly  began  on  the  4th  of 
Jan.,  1871,  and  on  the  17th  of  April 
following  it  was  adjourned  until  Nov. 
15,  1871.  A  special  session  commenced 
May  4,  1871,  and  lasted  until  June  22, 
and  a  second  special  session  met  Oct. 
13,  and  adjourned  Oct.  24.  It  again  met 
in  regular  adjourned  session  Nov.  15, 
1871,  and  on  the  9th  of  April,  1872,  ad- 
journed sine  die.  This  was  the  first 
assembly  under  the  constitution  of  1870. 
This  instrument  made  the  senate  to 
consist  of  50  senators,  and  the  house  of 
175  representatives.  Jersey  county, 
associated  with  those  of  Calhoun, 
Greene,  Scott  and  Pike,  made  up  the 
6th  senatorial  district,  and  was  at  first 
represented  by  William  Shephard  and 
J.  M.  Bush,  but  the  former  gentleman 
having  resigned,  was  succeeded  b}' 
William  H.  Allen.  In  the  house,  the 
minority  representation  system  having 
been  adopted  in  the  constitution,  by 
which  three  members  from  each  district 
were  entitled  to  seats,  the  county  of 
Jersey,  under  the  title  of  the  38th 
district,  was  represented  by  George  W. 


Herdman  and  Robert  A.  King,  both 
citizens  of  the  city  of  Jerseyville.  G. 
W.  Herdman  is  the  present  circuit 
judge  of  this  judicial  circuit,  and  is 
spoken  of,  at  length,  in  connection  with 
the  history  of  that  court. 

Robert  A.  King  was  born  in  St.  Louis 
county,  Mo.,  July  5,  1830.  He  was  the 
eldest  of  a  family  of  six  children  of 
George  Y.  and  Mary  (Dougherty;  King. 
The  parents  resided  upon  a  farm  until 
1835,  when  they  removed  to  Washing- 
ton, Franklin  Co.,  Mo,,  where  they  lived 
until  overtaken  by  death.  Robert  A. 
worked  on  the  farm  until  his  17th 
year,  attending  school  during  the  win- 
ter. In  1846  he  went  to  Cape  Girardeau 
county,  Mo.,  and  studied  privately  with 
Rev.  A.  Munson  for  two  years.  He  aft- 
erwards studied  law  with  his  uncle, 
Judge  Andrew  King.  He  served  two 
years  as  deputy  in  the  county  and  cir- 
cuit clerk's  office,  at  St.  Charles,  and 
two  years  as  deputy  sheriff.  He  ob- 
tained his  license  to  practice  law  in 
1853,  and  the  year  following  returned 
to  Washington  and  opened  an  office. 
Here  he  entered  the  political  field  and 
filled  several  positions.  He  was  mar- 
ried May  24,  1859,  to  Jennie  L.  Bibb, 
and  by  this  union  they  had  one  child — 
James  B.  King.  His  wife  died  Jan.  11. 
1861,  and  one  month  later  the  child 
died.  On  the  22d  of  May,  1864,  he  was 
again  married  to  Miriam  Munson,  by 
whom  he  had  three  children — Louis  M., 
Robert  A.  and  Arthur  S.  Robert  A.,  Jr., 
died  Feb.  26,  1875.  In  1865  Mr.  King 
came  to  Jerseyville,  and  entered  into  a 
law  partnership  with  E.  A.  Pinero,  to 
which  firm  George  W.  Herdman  was 
admitted  later.  In  the  summer  of  1*67 
Mr.  King  retired  from  the  firm  on  ac- 


202 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


count  of  ill-health.  In  1869  he  was 
elected  a  member  of  the  constitutional 
(•'invention.  In  1870,  he  became  a 
member  of  the  general  assembly,  and 
in  1872  was  appointed  probate  judge, 
and  the  year  following  was  elected  to 
the  same  office.  After  the  expiration 
of  his  term  of  office  in  1883,  he  went  to 
Lus  Angelos,  Cal.,  where  he  is  now  liv- 
ing. 

The  28th  general  assembly  convened 
at  Springfield  Jan.  8,  1873;  adjourned 
May  6,  1873,  until  Jan.  4,  1874;  and  met 
in  adjourned  session  on  the  latter  date 
and  continued  until  March  31, 1874,  when 
it  adjourned,  sine  die.  The  senatorial 
districts  had  been  changed  according  to 
the  act  of  March  1,  1872,  previous  to 
the  meeting  of  this  assembly,  and  Ma- 
coupin and  Jersey  counties  were  associ- 
ated together  as  the  40th  senatorial  dis- 
trict, and  was  represented  by  Beatty  T. 
Burke,  of  Carlinville,  Macoupin  county. 
In  the  house  the  district  was  ably  rep- 
resented by  William  McAdams,  of  Jer- 
sey, and  Jonathan  Plowman  and  Archi- 
bald Virden,  of  Macoupin  county. 

Hon.  William  McAdams,  Jr.,  was  born 
in  Butler  county,  Ohio,  Dec.  the  28th, 
1839,  and  is  the  eldest  of  a  family  of 
seven  children  of  William  and  Eliza 
McAdams.  The  subject  of  this  sketch 
received  his  early  education  principally 
under  the  tuition  of  Professor  Nathan- 
iel P.  Firman,  an  eminent  educator  of 
Ohio,  by  which  he  attained  a  thorough 
knowledge  of  the  English  branches. 
He  was  passionately  fond  of  the  study, 
and  practiced  investigation  of  the  science 
of  geology,  and  in  the  state  geological 
reports  of  Illinois  frequent  mention  is 
made  of  his  name,  in  connection  with 
the  many  important  discoveries  that  he 


has  made  in  that  profound  science.  Pre- 
vious to  becoming  a  resident  of  Illinois, 
he  was  engaged  in  teaching  for  three  or 
four  winters  in  Ohio,  but  his  principal 
occupation  has  been  that  of  farming. 
In  the  spring  of  1865  he  was  married  to 
Anna  Curtis,  of  Jersey  county.  They 
have  had  six  children.  In  early  life  he 
became  a  member  of  the  democratic 
party,  to  which  he  has  since  strictly 
adhered.  He  was  elected  a  member  of 
the  Historical  Society  of  Illinois,  sev- 
eral years  ago,  and  his  attainments  in 
the  scientific  field  have  won  him  many 
golden  opinions.  He  is  now  president 
of  the  State  Natural  History  Society 
of  Illinois.  In  1878  he  became  a  mem- 
ber of  the  American  Association  for  the 
Advancement  of  Science,  and  has  since 
read  many  scientific  papers  before  this 
body.  At  the  Ann  Arbor  meeting  of 
this  association  he  was  elected  to  be  a 
Fellow  and  placed  on  the  committee 
for  the  nomination  of  officers.  He 
employs  much  of  his  time  in  scientific 
work  for  the  government.  In  the  fall 
of  1872  he  was  elected  a  member  of  the 
legislature  of  Illinois  and  was  a  promi- 
nent member  of  that  body  two  sessions. 

In  Springfield,  on  the  6th  of  January, 
1875,  the  29th  general  assembly  of  the 
state  assembled,  and  remained  in  ses- 
sion until  the  15th  of  April  following, 
when  it  adjourned,  sine  die.  Beatty  T. 
Burke,  of  Carlinville,  was  the  senator 
from  this  district.  In  the  house,  the 
interest  of  this  and  the  adjoining  county 
of  Macoupin,  constituting  the  40th  dis- 
trict, was  in  the  hands  of  Samuel  G. 
Gilbert,  of  Carlinville,  Oliver  P.  Powel, 
of  Jerseyville,  and  Henry  F.  Martin, 
of  Brighton. 

0.  P.  Powel  was  born  in  Tennessee, 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


203 


March  17,  1819,  and  came  to  this  county 
during  the  year  1848.  He  was  twice 
county  judge,  his  first  term  being  from 
1857  to  1861,  his  second  from  1865  to 
1869.  He  was  married  in  his  native 
state;  Oct.  27, 1846,  to  Sarah  E.  Russell, 
a  daughter  of  Joseph  Russell.  He  is  a 
democrat  in  politics  and  a  Presbytarian 
in  religion.  He  is  still  a  resident  and 
large  land  owner  in  the  county. 

The  30th  general  assembly  met  in 
regular  session  at  Springfield,  Jan.  3, 
1877,  and  adjourned  the  24th  of  May, 
the  same  year.  George  W.  Herdman, 
of  Jerseyville,  was  in  the  senate,  and 
the  district  was  represented  in  the 
house  by  Richard  Rowett,  of  Carlin- 
ville,  Hampton  W.  Wall,  of  Staunton, 
and  John  N.  English,  of  Jerseyville. 

The  31st  general  assembly  convened 
at  the  state  capital,  Jan.  8,  1879,  and 
continued  in  session  until  May  31.  Geo. 
W.  Herdman  was  again  in  the  senate, 
and  in  the  house  were  the  three  follow- 
ing gentlemen  as  representatives  of  the 
40th  district  :  Hampton  W.  Wall,  of 
Staunton,  and  John  N.  English  and 
George  E.  Warren,  of  Jerseyville. 

Hon.  George  E.  Warren  was  born  at 
Worthington,  Franklin  county,  Ohio,  on 
the  16th  day  of  August,  1817.  His 
father,  Thomas  Warren,  by  profession 
a  physician,  a  native  of  New  Hamp- 
shire, was  lineally  descended  from  the 
Puritans.  In  about  181U  he  removed  to 
Bristol,  Rhode  Island,  and  there  united 
in  marriage  with  Martha,  daughter  of 
Charles  DeWolf,  a  prosperous  merchant 
and  ship-owner  of  that  port;  in  fact,  he 
was  part  owner  of  the  noted  privateer 
"Yankee,"  that  figured  in  the  war  of 
1812.  In  1814  Dr.  Warren  moved  to 
Ohio,  and  there  resided  until  the  spring 


of  1818,  when  they  returned  to  Bristol 
and  there  remained  till  1835.  His  wife 
having  died  in  1829,  in  1835,  the  family , 
then  consisting  of  a  daughter  and  two 
sons,  of  whom  Judge  Warren  is  the 
only  survivor,  again  moved  west  and 
settled  at  Alton,  111.  Dr.  Warren  en- 
tered considerable  land  within  the 
limits  of  Jersey  county  and  resided  here 
at  the  time  of  his  death,  which  occurred 
in  1853,  at  the  residence  of  his  son, 
Judge  Warren.  He  was  a  gentleman  of 
rather  extensive  literary  culture.  Geo. 
E.  Warren  received  an  education,  partly 
collegiate,  having  entered  Brown  Uni- 
versity, at  Providence,  R.  I.,  at  14  years 
of  age,  and  remaining  till  the  middle  of 
bis  senior  year.  After  his  removal  to 
Illinois  he  commenced  reading  law  in 
the  office  of  Woodson  &  Hodges,  of 
Carrollton,  111.,  and  also  assisted  M.  O. 
Bledsoe,  clerk  of  both  the  circuit  and 
county  commissioners'  courts.  His 
health  having  become  seriously  impaired 
by  close  application,  in  the  spring  of 
1837  he  made  a  visit  to  bis  former  home 
and  friends  in  Rhode  Island,  for  the 
purpose  of  recuperating,  and  there,  the 
following  August,  he  was  married  to 
Harriet  S.,  daughter  of  S.  S.  Allen, 
Esq.,  collector  of  the  port  of  Bristol. 
He  soon  thereafter  returned  to  the  West, 
and  in  the  spring  of  1838  settled  at 
Alton,  111.,  where  he  completed  his 
law  studies  and  was  admitted  to  prac- 
tice  in  the  Illinois  courts,  in  1839. 
Owing  to  the  financial  depression  then 
prevalent  in  Alton, and  other  causes,  that 
place  offered  but  little  inducement  to 
the  aspiring  young  lawyer,  and  his 
father  having  purchased  for  him  a  large 
farm  near  Jerseyville,  with  money  be- 
queathed  by    his   grandfather,   Charles 


204 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


DeWolf,  he  removed  thither  in  the 
spring  of  1840,  and  engaged  in  farming. 
If  he  did  not  acquire  wealth  at  his  new 
pursuit,  he  gained  a  vigorous  constitu- 
tion and  a  practical  knowledge  of  hard 
work.  In  politics  Judge  Warren  was  a 
whig  till  the  declension  of  that  party. 
He  then  east  his  fortunes  with  the  repub- 
licans, and  is  still  ardently  attached  to 
their  principles.  In  1841  he  was  elected 
justice  of  the  peace,  without  solicitation 
on  his  part,  and  he  thereafter  continued 
in  that  capacity  till  1849,  when,  under 
the  state  constitution  of  1848,  he  was 
elected  the  first  county  judge  of  Jersey 
county.  He  performed  the  duties  of 
that  office  to  the  satisfaction  of  the  peo- 
ple for  eight  years.  In  Jan.,  18(12,  he 
resumed  the  practice  of  law  in  connec- 
tion with  his  son-in-law,  William  H. 
Pogue,  which  business  relation  existed 
until  the  election  of  Mr.  Pogue  to  the 
office  of  county  judge  in  the  fall  of  1883. 
In  1875  Judge  Warren  was  elected 
mayor  of  the  city  of  Jerseyville,  as  the 
anti-license  candidate,  and  thus  became 
the  first  republican  mayor  of  the  city. 
In  the  fall  of  1878  he  was  elected  to 
represent  his  district  in  the  legislature. 
The  district  was  then  composed  of 
Jersey  and  Macoupin  counties,  both 
democratic.  Judge  Warren  served  one 
term  in  the  legislature  He  has  fre- 
quently been  a  delegate  to  state  con- 
ventions. Thus  it  can  be  seen  that  the 
life  of  Judge  Warren  has  been  one  of 
moderate  success.  He  never  aimed  at 
the  acquirement  of  immense  wealth  or 
political  notoriety,  but  sought  and  found 
satisfaction  in  a  quiet  home  life,  finding 
his  chief  happiness  in  his  home  circle, 
the  society  of  genial  friends,  and  the 
pursuit  of  knowledge.     He  has  always 


been  a  firm  believer  in  the  christian  re- 
ligion, owing  in  the  first  place  to  the 
early  training  of  a  pious  mother,  and  in 
maturer  years,  to  an  intelligent  appre- 
hension of  the  truth  of.  that  religion 
taught  in  the  bible.  At  the  age  of  16 
he  united  with  the  Protestant  Episcopal 
church,  of  which  his  mother  was  a 
member.  He  retained  his  predeliction 
for  that  society  for  some  years,  but  there 
being  no  congregation  of  that  denomi- 
nation in  Jerseyville,  in  company  with 
his  wife  he  united,  in  March,  1852,  with 
the  First  Presbyterian  church,  of  which 
he  has  been  an  elder  since  Jan.  4,  1866. 
Judge  Warren  is  blessed  with  a  devoted 
and  intelligent  wife,  and  their  union 
has  been  blessed  with  nine  children. 
The  eldest,  a  son,  died  at  the  age  of 
four  years.  Mattie  D.  became  the  wife 
of  Dr.  George  S.  Miles.  Mary  A.  be- 
came the  wife  of  Judge  W.  H.  Pogue. 
Charles  D.  is  a  farmer.  Harriet  S.  be- 
came the  wife  of  Henry  C.  Lovel,  who 
is  a  clerk  in  the  United  States  treasury 
department  at  Washington.  Mark  A. 
is  a  merchant.  George  is  a  clerk  in  the 
store  of  his  brother.  Anna  became  the 
wife  of  Robert  S.  Powel,  a  farmer,  and 
Frank  is  at  home.  Judge  Warren  is  the 
oldest  Odd  Fellow  in  Jerseyville,  as  he 
became  a  member  of  Jerseyville  Lodge 
No.  53,  I.  0.  0.  F.,  in  1849. 

The  32d  general  assembly  convened 
at  Springfield,  in  Jan.,  1881,  and  the 
district  was  represented  in  the  senate 
by  C.  A.  Walker,  of  Carlinville,  Ma- 
coupin county,  and  in  the  house  by  John 
N.  English,  of  Jersey,  and  Archelaus 
X.  Yancey  and  Balfour  Co  wen,  of 
Macoupin  county. 

In  1882,  a  new  apportionment  of  the 
state    was   made,    and   the    counties    of 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


205 


Scott,  Greene  and  Jersey  were  placed 
together  in  the  37th  senatorial  district. 
The  33d  general  assembly,  which  met 
in  Springfield,  in  Jan.,  1883,  contained 
as  the  representative  of  this  new  district 
Frank  M.  Bridges,  of  Carrollton,  in  the 
senate,  and  W.  E.  Carlin,  of  Jersey, 
and  George  W.  Murray  and  John  H. 
Coats,  of  Scott  county,  in  the  house. 
This  assembly  adjourned  June  18,  1883. 
Major  Walter  E.  Carlin,  one  of  the 
prominent  representative  men  of  Jer- 
sey county,  was  born  at  Carrollton, 
Greene  county,  111.,  April  11,  1844.  His 
father  was  William  Carlin,  a  farmer  and 
prominent  man  of  Greene  county,  be- 
ing county  clerk  at  one  period,  and 
holding  the  office  of  circuit  clerk  at  the 
time  of  his  death  in  1850.  He  was  a 
brother  of  Hon.  Thomas  Carlin,  once 
governor  of  Illinois.  William  Carlin 
married  Mary  Goode,  a  native  of  Vir- 
ginia, who  is  still  living.  Walter  E. 
was  educated  in  the  common  schools  of 
Carrollton,  at  the  school  of  the  Chris- 
tian Brothers,  in  St.  Louis,  and  the  Uni- 
versity of  Wisconsin.  Aug.  the  17th, 
1861,  he  enlisted  in  Company  A,  of  the 
38th  Illinois  Infantry.  He  was  promo 
ted  tn  second  lieutenant,  then  to  first 
lieutenant,  and  finally  to  captain,  but 
on  account  of  his  age,  being  under  19, 
he  declined  to  accept  the  last  commis- 
sion. He  served  for  awhile  on  the 
staff  of  Genera]  Jefferson  C.  DaviB,  and 
later  on  the  staff  of  his  brother,  General 
William  P.  Carlin,  a  graduate  of  West 
Point.  He  was  highly  commended  by 
General  Davis  tor  his  gallantry  in  the 
battles  preceding  that  of  Chickamauga, 
and  in  that  bloody  contest  he  had  two 
horses  shot  under  him.  He  served 
three  years,  and  at  the  close  of  the  war 


was  appointed  second  lieutenant  in  the 
regular  army,  but  declined.  In  the 
spring  of  1S7S  he  assisted  in  organizing 
the  loth  battalion  Illinois  National 
Guards,  and  was  elected  major,  which 
position  he  held  five  years,  being  coin- 
missioned  by  Gov.  Cullom.  On  his  re- 
turn from  the  army  he  served  two  years 
as  deputy  circuit  clerk  of  Greene  coun- 
ty, under  his  brother,  Thomas  J.  Car- 
lin. In  August,  1866,  he  engaged  in 
banking  with  his  brother-in-law,  John 
Long,  at  Carrollton,  the  firm  being 
Long  it  Co.,  and  continued  till  LS70. 
He  then  went  to  Mount  Vernon  and 
there  established  a  bank,  becoming  a. 
member  of  Carlin,  Cross  &  Co.  In  1S72 
he  came  to  Jerseyville  and  engaged  in 
the  same  business.  In  1876  he  organ- 
ized the  First  National  Bank  of  Jersey- 
ville, of  which  he  acted  as  cashier  till 
1880,  when  he  resigned  that  position, 
but  continued  vice-president  of  the 
bank  till  the  fall  of  1881.  In  1880  he 
engaged  in  grain  buying,  having  charge 
of  the  Jerseyville  elevator,  of  which 
lie  was  a  three-fourths  owner.  He  dis- 
posed of  that  interest  in  1881,  to  E.  0. 
Stannard,  of  St.  Louis.  In  September, 
of  tin'  same  year,  he  became  associated 
with  M.  E.  Bagley  in  the  banking  busi- 
ness, the  firm  being  Carlin  &  Bagley. 
This  partnership  continued  till  March, 
1885,  when  he  sold  his  interest  to  Mr. 
Bagley.  Major  Carlin  is,  politically,  a 
democrat.  He  represented  his  district 
in  the  state  legislature  one  term,  and  in 
1884  was  re-nominated,  without  opposi- 
tion, but  later,  at  the  state  convention, 
he  received  the  nomination  for  state 
auditor,  and  thus  declined  the  nomina- 
tion for  representative.  He  is  at  pres- 
ent  chairman   of   the    board   of   super- 


206 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


visors  of  Jersey  county,  a  position 
which  he  has  occupied  for  seven  con- 
secutive years,  and  has  usually  been 
elected  without  opposition.  He  is  now 
serving  his  third  term  as  representative 
from  the  Grand  Encampment  of  Illi- 
nois to  the  Sovereign  Grand  Lodge  of 
Odd  Fellows.  In  April,  1868,  he  was 
married  to  Mary  Cross,  daughter  of 
Hugh  N.  Cross.  She  died  in  March, 
1880,  leaving  two  daughters,  Mary  Eu- 
genia and  Alma  W.  In  June  1883,  he 
was  married  to  Lina  Darneille,  daugh- 
ter of  James  M.  Darneille,  of  Chatham, 
Sangamon  county,  111.  Major  Carlin 
is  connected  with  the  Presbyterian 
church  of  Jerseyville. 

The  34th  general  assembly  met  at 
Springfield,  the  state  capital,  Jan.  7, 
1885,  and  adjourned  after  a  long  and 
stormy  session.  F.  M.  Bridges,  the 
senator  from  this  district,  dying  in  the 
latter  part  of  March,  Robert  H.  Davis,  a 
grain  dealer  of  Carrollton,  was  elected 
April  11,  1885,  to  fill  the  vacancy,  and 
took  his  seat.  In  the  house  the  37th 
district  was  represented  by  Henry  C. 
Massey  and  Theo.  S.  Chapman,  both  of 
Jersey,  and  Byron  McEvers,  of  Scott. 

Theodore  S.  Chapman,  present  repre- 
sentative from  this  district  in  the  state 
legislature,  is  a  citizen  of  this  county, 
and  a  prominently  rising  character  in 
the  political  field  of  the  future.  He  is 
a  native  of  Berkshire  county,  Mass., 
born  March  31,  1849.  His  parents, 
Theodore  and  Julia  E.  (Wadsworth) 
Chapman,  were  formerly  from  the  same 
county  and  state.  When  the  subject  of 
this  sketch  was  seven  years  old  his 
father  died,  and  two  years  later  his 
mother  was  married  to  a  missionary 
and  went  to  India.     Theodore  had  two 


sisters,  Anna  and  Julia;  the  former 
accompanied  her  mother  to  India,  and 
there  died;  the  latter  was  married  to 
Prof.  J.  A.  Edgar,  who  was  the  founder 
of  the  Swedish  department  of  Morgan 
Park  Theological  Seminary,  of  Chicago. 
When  Theodore  was  nine  years  old  he 
went  to  Rockford,  111.,  and  lived  with  a 
farmer  named  M.  H.  Johnson  for  three 
years.  Then,  his  mother  having  re- 
turned to  this  country  and  located  in 
Hamilton,  Madison  county,  N.  Y.,  he 
went  there  and  attended  the  city  schools 
for  two  years.  This  course  of  instruc- 
tion was  subsequently  supplemented  by 
three  years  attendance  at  Madison 
University.  The  same  thoroughness 
which  characterized  his  actions  of  later 
years,  there  prevailed,  and  by  studious 
application  he  obtained  a  very  fair  edu- 
cation. He  then  went  to  La  Porte 
county,  Ind.,  and  engaged  in  teaching 
two  years;  thence  to  Rockford,  111.,  and 
remained  four  months;  thence  to  St. 
Louis.  Not  being  satisfied  or  contented 
in  Missouri,  he  returned  to  Illinois,  and 
soon  afterward  located  at  Jerseyville. 
Here  he  engaged  in  teaching  one  winter, 
and  afterwards  had  charge  of  the  Otter- 
ville  school  two  years.  Meanwhile,  as 
he  had  opportunity,  he  studied  law, 
and  in  1874  was  admitted  to  the  bar, 
since  which  time  he  has  been  engaged 
in  the  practice  of  his  profession.  Polit- 
ically he  adheres  to  the  republican 
party.  In  1876  he  was  a  candidate  for 
state's  attorney,  and  although  defeated, 
received  a  vote  much  beyond  the 
strength  of  his  party,  a  deserved  compli- 
ment to  a  worthy  man.  In  1884  he  was 
elected  to  the  state  legislature,  where 
he  faithfully  worked  for  the  best 
interests    of  his  constituents,  and  was 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


207 


instrumental  in  effecting  various  legisla- 
tion of  much  interest  and  importance  to 
the  people.  His  ability  was  early 
recognized  in  that  body,  and  he  was  a 
member,  not  only  of  the  temporary 
steering  committee,  but  of  the  perma- 
mt'iit.  Among  the  acts  traceable  to  his 
influence  and  effort,  was  an  amendment 
to  the  bill  concerning  "guardian  and 
ward,"  a  law  of  much  importance  and 
of  great  benefit,  as  follows:  "On  any 
accounting  and  final  settlement  of  guar- 
dian, he  shall  exhibit  and  file  his  ac- 
count as  such  guardian  setting  forth 
specifically,  in  separate  items,  on  what 
account  expenditures  were  made  by 
him,  and  all  sums  received  and  paid 
out  since  his  last  accounting,  and  all 
money  on  hand,  and  an  itemized  ac- 
count of  all  notes,  bonds,  accounts,  and 
evidences  of  indebtedness,  composing 
the  personal  estate  of  his  ward,  and 
said  guardian  shall  produce  and  exhibit 
to  the  court  the  notes,  bonds,  accounts, 
and  evidences  of  indebtedness  so  item- 
ized, and  held  by  him,  and  it  is  hereby 
made  the  duty  of  the  court  to  inspect 
the  assets  so  exhibited.  Which  accounts 
shall  be  accompanied  by  proper  vouch- 
ers and  signed  by  him,  and  verified  by 
his  affidavit."  The  very  loose  and  un- 
satisfactory manner  heretofore  pursued 
by  persons  thus  in  charge  of  important 
interests  will,  by  this  law,  meet  a  whole- 
some check,  and  be  the  means  of  saving 
hundreds  of  dollars  to  those  to  whom 
it  properly  belongs.  Mr.  Chapman  is 
what  might  be  called  a  self-made  man. 
His  position  has  been  secured  solely  by 
his  own  endeavor.  He  commenced  the 
practice  of  law  here  under  what  would 
ordinarily  be  considered  unfavorable 
circumstances,  renting  an  office  without 


the  partnership  or  influence  of  any,  he 
has  steadily  and  with  commendable  en- 
ergy, built  up  a  practice  and  made  a 
reputation.  He  has  a  good  business  in 
both  probate  and  chancery  courts,  and 
is  a  lawyer  of  acknowledged  honesty 
and  ability.  He  was  married  Dec.  31, 
1S75,  to  Sarah  A.  Landon,  daughter  of 
William  D.  and  Alvira  Landon.  They 
have  four  children — Harry,  Theodore, 
Paul  and  Truman. 

Henry  C.  Massey  is  a  native  of  St. 
Charles  county,  Mo.,  born  Nov.  19, 
1828,  and  is  the  son  of  Woodberry  and 
Wana  (Coonts)  Massey.  His  father  re- 
sided in  St.  Charles  county  for  a  short 
time  after  his  marriage,  and  about  1830 
crossed  the  river  into  this  county,  at 
Grafton,  where  he  entered  some  land. 
Not  long  after,  he  removed  to  the  forks 
of  Otter  creek,  where  he  carried  on  a 
store.  He  afterwards  went  to  the  Du- 
buque lead  mines,  where  he  was  subse- 
quently murdered.  His  murder  was 
amply  avenged  by  his  brother  and  sis- 
ter, Henry  L.,  and  Louise.  After  this 
tragic  event,  Mrs.  Massey,  with  her 
young  family,  returned  to  St.  Charles, 
Mo.,  but  in  1837,  came  again  to  this 
county.  Henry  C.  was  reared  princi- 
pally in  Jersey  county,  and  in  early  life 
was  thrown  on  his  own  resources.  Nov. 
25,  1854,  he  was  united  in  marriage  with 
Catherine  Fitzgerald. 

CONSTITUTIONAL  CONVENTIONS. 

Since  the  organization  of  Jersey  coun- 
ty there  have  been  three  conventions  to 
draft  state  constitutions,  and  in  each  of 
them  Jersey  county  was  represented. 

The  first  of  these  was  convened  at 
Springfield,  upon  the  7th  day  of  June, 
1847,  and  contained    162  delegates  from 


208 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


various  parts  of  the  state.  They  labored 
on  the  matter  for  which  they  were  called 
together  until  the  81st  of  Aug.,  1847, 
when  they  adjourned.  William  Bosby- 
shell  and  A.  R.  Knapp  were  the  dele- 
gates from  the  counties  of  Jersey  and 
Calhoun.  This  constitution  was  sub- 
mitted to  the  people,  and  at  the  elec- 
tion held  March  6,  1848,  they  ratified  it; 
and  it  went  into  force  April  1  of  that 
year,  hence  is  called  the  constitution  of 
1848. 

Dr.  A.  R.  Knapp  was  a  native  of  Con- 
necticut, and  at  an  early  age  moved  to 
Delaware  county,  N.  Y.  He  was  a  man 
of  fine  scholarly  attainments.  He  was 
married  to  Catherine  Wyckoff,  and  they 
had  a  family  of  live  children.  He  re- 
moved to  Illinois  in  1839,  first  locating 
at  Kane,  where  he  engaged  in  the  prac- 
tice of  his  profession  of  medicine.  In 
1844  he  removed  to  Jerseyville.  Few 
physicians  of  this  portion  of  the  state 
had  a  more  extensive  practice.  In  1849, 
having  contracted  the  gold  fever;  he 
went  to  California,  and  came  back  with 
a  fair  share  of  money.  He  was  always 
prominently  identified  with  the  demo- 
cratic party,  and  was  an  intimate  friend 
ami  admirer  of  Stephen  A.  Douglas.  His 
death  occurred  July  13,  1862.  Two  of 
his  sons,  prominent  attorneys  of  this 
county,  represented  this  district  in  con- 
gress. 

The  second  constitutional  convention 
came  together  at  the  city  of  Springfield, 
on  the  7th  of  January,  1862,  at  which 
there  were  75  delegates  present,  and 
among  them  William  H.  Allen,  the  rep- 
resentative of  Jersey  county.  This  con- 
vention remained  in  session  until  March 
24,  1862.  This  constitution  was  sub- 
mitted to  the  people  at  an  election  held 


June  17,  1862,  but  not  meeting  the  views 
of  the  qualified  electors,  was  rejected 
by  them. 

William  Henry  Allen,  a  native  of 
New  Bedford,  Bristol  county,  Mass., 
was  born  on  the  12th  of  October,  1814, 
and  is  the  son  of  William  H.  and  Ruth 
(Parker)  Allen.  His  father  was  of 
Quaker  descent,  and  held  to  the  faith  of 
that  sect  until  his  marriage.  His  mother 
was  a  direct  descendant  of  Miles  Stand- 
ish,  and  both  were  of  Saxon  origin  and 
Puritan  stock.  During  his  early  life 
William  enjoyed  superior  educational 
advantages,  attending  the  schools  of  his 
native  place  until  17  years  of  age,  when 
he  entered  Harvard  University.  His 
habits  were  of  a  social  character.  Being 
of  a  practical  turn  of  mind,  he  bad  lit- 
tle sympathy  with  abstruse  questions, 
but  had  a  great  fondness  for  literary 
work,  and  a  desire  and  natural  taste  for 
the  study  of  medicine  and  surgery. 
After  graduating  from  college,  however, 
in  1835,  following  the  advice  of  a  rela- 
tive, he  decided  to  devote  himself  to 
business  rather  than  to  professional  life, 
as  a  more  speedy  way  to  success,  a 
choice,  the  wisdom  of  which  is  seen  in 
the  reward  that  has  crowned  his  work. 
He  removed  to  Illinois  in  1840,  and  in 
the  following  year,  settled  at  Grafton, 
Jersey  county,  his  present  home.  He 
at  first  engaged  in  the  real  estate  busi- 
ness, and  such  other  employment  as 
might  prove  lucrative,  and  after  a  few 
years,  having  accumulated  sufficient 
capital,  engaged  in  merchandising,  and 
at  the  same  time  dealt  in  grain  and  pro- 
duce. In  1854  he  erected  a  flouring 
mill  at  Grafton,  which  he  conducted 
until  1868,  when  he  was  succeeded  in 
the  business  by    his  son.     In    1869  he 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


209 


began  the  banking  business,  and  has 
continued  in  it  up  to  the  present  time, 
1885.  In  all  his  business  career  he 
manifested  an  integrity  and  a  spirit  of 
generous  and  fair  dealing  that  have  won 
for  him  the  highest  respect  of  all  who 
have  been  brought  under  his  influence. 
In  his  religious  views  he  is  identified 
with  no  church,  although  he  has  the 
greatest  respect  for  all.  His  early 
training  was  shaped  by  the  teachings  of 
Dr.  Channing,  Dr.  Dewey,  and  other 
eminent  Unitarians,  and  he  was  natur- 
ally led  to  sympathize  with  that  faith, 
but  he  is  now  wholly  independent  in 
his  opinions,  and  gives  to  all  that  en- 
joyment of  personal  views  which  he 
asks  for  himself.  In  politics  he  was 
formerly  a  whig,  but  upon  the  dissolu- 
tion of  that  party  became  a  democrat, 
casting  his  first  vote  for  James  Buch- 
anan. Although  he  has  never  aspired 
to  political  honors  he  has  had  several 
important  public  trusts  imposed  upon 
him.  In  1860  he  was  elected  to  the 
constitutional  convention;  served  as 
county  associate  judge  from  1865  to  1869 
inclusive  and  in  1871  was  chosen  state 
senator  from  the  6th  district,  comprising 
Pike,  Calhoun,  Greene  and  Jersey  coun- 
ties. In  1873  he  was  elected  a  member 
of  the  county  board.  In  all  these  vari- 
ous offices  he  acquitted  himself  with 
credit,  but  at  the  termination  of  each 
was  happy  to  return  to  the  peace  and 
quiet  of  his  home.  Mr.  Allen  was 
married,  in  1840,  to  Martha  Maria  Mason 
a  native  of  Illinois,  and  only  child  of 
James  Mason,  well  known  in  the  early 
history  of  the  state.  They  have  six 
children — Rosalie,  wife  of  Dr.  E.  L. 
Harriott,  of  Jacksonville;  Irene  A., 
wife  of  Edward  A.  Pinero,  an  attorney 


of  Tecumseh,  Neb.;  James  M.,  Harry 
C  ,  William  H.,  Jr.,  and  Ruth  M.,  wife 
of  E.  C.  Stelle,  near  Jerseyville,  111. 
James  is  engaged  in  the  flouring  busi- 
ness. Mr.  Allen  is  one  of  the  leading 
men  of  the  state;  as  a  man  of  the  strict- 
est integrity  and  impartial  judgment; 
he  is  looked  to  as  the  arbiter  of  all  con- 
troversies in  his  community,  lb'  has 
given  special  attention  to  self-culture, 
and  is  a  man  of  high  social  attainments, 
and  does  not  fail  to  impress  all  whom 
he  meets  with  the  genuineness  of  his 
true  manhood.  Liberal  and  charitable, 
his  hand  is  ever  open  to  the  needy, 
while  his  sympathies  are  broad  enough 
to  gather  in  their  embrace  all  men.  He 
now  looks  back  upon  a  life  well  spent, 
crowded  with  happy  recollections  and 
cheered  with  warm  friendships,  and 
sees  in  all  only  the  preparation  for  that 
existence  beyond,  whose  hopes  cheer 
and  strengthen  his  declining  years. 

December  13,  1869,  the  third  consti- 
tutional convention  convened  in  the 
city  of  Springfield,  at  which  there  were 
85  delegates.  It  remained  in  session 
until  May  13,  1870.  They  labored  long 
and  faithfully,  and  the  production  of 
their  conjoint  efforts  was  submitted  to 
the  people  July  2,  1870,  and  was  by 
them  ratified,  going  into  effect  Aug.  8, 
1870.  The  22d  legislative  district  of 
the  state,  embracing  the  counties  of  Jer- 
sey and  Calhoun,  was  represented  by 
Robert  A.  King.  This  gentleman  has 
been  already  mentioned  as  a  member  of 
the  general  assembly. 

TKOBATE   JUSTICES. 

Under  the  constitution  of  the  state  of 
Illinois,  adopted  in  1818,  and  in  force 
when  the  county  of  Jersey  was  organ- 


210 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


ized,  in  1839,  all  matters  of  probate 
were  entrusted  to  an  officer  of  the  above 
title.  Joseph  G.  Scott  was  the  first  to 
occupy  the  office,  having  entered  upon 
the  duties  thereof  at  the  time  of  the 
organization  of  the  county,  in  the  fall 
of  1839,  and  remained  in  the  same  until 
1847,  being  re-elected  continuously, 
thus  being  the  only  one  in  the  county  to 
fill  the  position. 

Joseph  G.  Scott,  a  native  of  Somerset 
county,  N.  J.,  born  Aug.  12,  1809,  was 
the  son  of  Col.  Joseph  W.  Scott,  an 
eminent  and  brilliant  lawyer  of  that 
state.  Joseph  G.  received  his  educa- 
tion, first  in  the  grammar  school  of 
Queen's  College,  and  lastly  at  Rutger's 
College,  entering  the  sophomore  class, 
and  graduating  three  years  later,  being 
the  valedictorian  of  his  class.  After 
leaving  college  he  studied  law  with  his 
father  three  years,  and  one  year  with 
Elias  Van  Arsdale,  of  Newark,  N.  J., 
after  which  he  was  admitted  to  the 
bar.  He  practiced  at  New  Bruns- 
wick three  years.  In  the  spring  of 
1835,  he  started  west,  landing  in  Jersey- 
ville  on  the  5th  of  July,  of  that  year. 
He  soon  afterward  entered  a  farm  about 
three  miles  south  of  the  town.  He  was 
married  in  1839  to  Eliza  Duryee. 

COUNTY   JUDGES. 

On  the  adoption  of  the  constitution 
of  184S,  all  matters  of  probate,  as  well 
as  the  government  of  the  county,  were 
vested  in  the  county  court,  presided 
over  by  the  county  judge.  The  first  to 
fill  the  position  was  Hon.  GeoTge  E. 
Warren,  who  was  elected  in  1849,  and 
opened  the  court,  for  the  first  time,  on 
the  3d  day  of  December,  of  that  year. 
The  court  consisted  of  three  justices — 


the  county  judge,  G.  E.  Warren,  and 
Jacob  Lurton  and  James  McKinney, 
associate  justices.  Judge  Warren  was 
re-elected  to  this  honorable  office  in 
1853,  holding  the  same  for  eight  years, 
consecutively.  During  this  time,  be- 
sides the  above  named  associate  jus- 
tices, the  following  filled  the  same 
offices:  Jasper  M.  Terry,  Charles  H. 
Bowman  and  J.  Murray  Bacon. 

Jacob  Lurton  is  among  the  first  settlers 
of  this  section  of  country,  having  come 
here  in  1817,  with  his  father,  from  Ken- 
tucky. He  is  now  living  on  Sec.  32,  T. 
7,  R.  11,  or  the  township  called  Miss- 
issippi. He  is  a  native  of  Kentucky, 
and  was  born  near  Louisville,  Sept.  16, 
lso.'i.  In  the  spring  of  1817  the  family, 
consisting  of  seven  children,  four  boys 
and  three  girls,  bid  farewell  to  their  old 
home,  and  started  from  Louisville  on  a 
keel  boat,  landing  subsequently  at  the 
city  of  St.  Louis.  Jacob  Lurton,  Sr., 
the  father  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch, 
was  a  physician,  and  a  minister  of  the 
M.  E.  church,  and  realizing  the  import- 
ance of  an  education,  determined  that 
Jacob  should  have  a  good  opportunity, 
and  to  this  end  kept  him  engaged  in 
study  until  he  graduated  from  the  high 
school  at  Louisville.  The  profession  of 
medicine  was  chosen  as  his  future  avo- 
cation, and  to  become  familiar  with  the 
many  details,  he  was  kept  in  an  "apoth- 
ecary shop"  for  four  winters,  attending 
school  during  summers.  The  effort  to 
make  a  doctor  out  of  the  young  man 
only  partially  succeeded,  and  he  never 
became  a  "full-Hedged"  physician. 
Almost  constant  application  to  the  books 
of  his  father  and  his  father's  partner, 
and  making  collections  for  them,  gave 
him  an  insight  to  that  particular  branch 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


211 


of  the  business,  and  he  became  dis- 
gusted with  the  whole  matter,  and  made 
a  farmer  of  himself.  Upon  their  arrival 
here  they  settled  on  Piasa  creek,  on  a 
farm  through  which  subsequently  ran 
the  division  line  separating  the  counties 
of  Jersey  and  Madison.  In  addition  to 
the  family  they  brought  five  negroes,  a 
mother  and  four  children,  who  were 
indentured  and  set  free  at  the  age  of  25 
and  27.  Thus,  in  1817,  commenced  the 
life  here  of  Jacob  Lurton.  He  has  wit- 
nessed the  development  of  this  county, 
and  has  had  no  small  share  in  its  trans- 
formation from  a  scene  of  natural  wild- 
ness  to  its  present  condition.  He  was 
for  eight  years  a  judge  of  the  county 
court  of  this  county,  and  for  12  years  a 
justice  of  the  peace  in  Mississippi  town- 
ship, and  was  the  first  postmaster  in 
this  township,  which  office  he  held  14 
years.  He  was  a  captain  of  the  militia 
at  the  time  of  the  Black  Hawk  war,  the 
place  of  rendezvous  being  Carrollton. 
They  were  held  as  a  reserve  for 35  days, 
when  the  adjutant-general  called  on 
them  and  told  them  to  disband,  and  to 
be  ready,  at  a  moment's  warning,  with 
five  days'  provisions  for  self  and  horse. 
He  went  home  and  has  never  been  called 
upon,  and  has  never  been  discharged 
nor  received  any  compensation.  His 
sword  and  outfit  cost  §25,  and  the  sword 
is  in  good  preservation  to  this  day,  and 
isin  possession  of  his  son,  N.  M.  Lurton. 
He  still  has  hie  commission,  and  for 
many  years  was  known  as  Capt.  Lurton. 
He  is  a  man  of  integrity  and  ability, and 
performed  the  duties  pertaining  to  these 
and  other  offices  conscientiously  and 
well.  He  was  deservedly  popular,  and 
was  the  leading  man  in  the  community 
where  he  lived.     His  advice  was  sought 


and  asked  on  all  matters  of  every  descrip- 
tion. At  every  marriage  he  officiated, 
and  by  him  were  tied  the  nuptial  knots, 
uniting  the  hearts  and  destinies  of  many 
a  happy  couple.  For  all  these  and 
kindred  services  he  never  made  a  charge, 
and  after  so  many  years,  there  being  no 
absolute  necessity  longer,  and  wishing 
to  be  free,  he  resigned  all  offices  and 
announced  his  intention,  having  done 
his  part,  of  remaining  out  of  office,  and 
notwithstanding  the  wishes  of  the  people 
he  has  since  steadfastly  pursued  that 
course.  He  was  married  March  20, 
1829,  to  Margaret  McDow,  a  daughter  of 
John  and  Margaret  (Gillham)  McDow. 
There  were  born  by  this  union  eight 
children — N.  M.,  born  Jan.  9,  1830; 
John  C,  born  April  6,  1831;  Julia  A., 
born  Nov.  17,  1832;  Mary  J.,  born  Feb. 
26,  1834,  and  who  died  February  27, 
1876;  Sarah  M.,  born  March  4,  1836; 
Jacob  P.,  born  July  17,  1838,  and  died 
Nov.  8,  1868;  Elizabeth  C,  born  Nov. 
28,  1842;  Olivia  M.,  born  Jan.  6,  1850. 
Jacob  P.  was  a  lieutenant  in  Co.  H,  97th 
111.  Inf.,  and  died  of  disease  contracted 
in  the  army.  Mr.  L.urton  is  a  remark- 
able man.  He  is  now  80  years  of  age 
and  has  never  been  intoxicated,  never 
played  a  game  of  cards,  never  took  a 
part  in  a  dance,  never  sued  but  one  man, 
never  was  sued,  never  bet  higher  than  a 
gill  of  butter-milk,  and  has  always  led 
an  upright,  honest  life.  Mrs.  Lurton  is 
now  (1885)  76  years  old,  and  in  good 
health,  and  together  they  are  passing 
down  the  decline  of  life,  with  a  feeling 
of  peace  and  happiness  known  only  to 
those  whose  lives  have  been  well  spent. 
They  must  soon  go  to  their  reward.  May 
the  Lord  grant  an  abundant  entrance  to 
his  heavenly  kingdom. 


212 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


James  McKinney  was  a  native  of  Vir- 
ginia, born  May  24,  1806.  He  was  the 
eldest  son  of  Abirara  and  Mary  McKin- 
ney,  who  emigrated  to  Illinois  and  set- 
tled in  Madison  county,  in  ISIS,  where 
they  remained  two  years,  when  they 
removed  to  this  county,  locating  on  the 
Illinois  bottom,  but  afterwards  moved 
to  section  24,  English  township.  Here 
young  McKinney  was  reared.  James 
McKinney  and  Mary  Ann  Grain,  a 
native  of  Tennessee,  were  united  in 
marriage  June  8,  182(i.  They  had  a 
family  of  13  children.  Mr.  McKinney 
died  Sept.  17,  1867. 

Jasper  M.  Terry,  deceased,  was  born 
in  Hardin  county,  Ky.,  Jan.  5,  1811. 
He  is  the  fifth  child  of  Jasper  and 
Sarah  Terry,  the  former  a  native  of 
Botetourt  county,  Ya.,  and  the  latter  of 
l'eekskill,  N.  Y.  Jasper  Terry,  Sr., 
was  married  in  1797,  and  in  the  fall  of 
1800,  emigrated  to  Kentucky,  where  he 
resided  until  the  fall  of  1828.  At  that 
date  he  came  to  Illinois  anil  settled  in 
the  present  limits  of  Jersey  county,  on 
the  northeast  quarter  of  Sec.  24,  T.  7, 
R.  12.  In  1849,  he.  sold  his  farm  here 
and  after  a  visit  to  Texas,  returned  to 
Greene  county,  where  he  died,  in  Nov., 
18o0,  at  the  residence  of  his  eldest 
daughter,  Elizabeth,  wife  of  Rev.  John 
Stephens.  His  wife  died  at  the  same 
place  about  one  year  later.  They  had 
a  family  of  nine  sons  and  three  daugh- 
ters. Jasper  M.  Terry  obtained  his 
early  education  in  the  common  schools 
of  Hardin  county.  He  came  to  Illinois 
with  his  father's  family,  and  was  mar- 
ried Sept.  20,  1833,  to  Mary  Ann  Wag- 
ner, daughter  of  John  and  Mary  Wag- 
ner,  of  Greene  county,  111.  By  this 
union  there  were  born   nine    sons   and 


two  daughters,  three  of  whom  died  in 
infancy.  Those  who  reached  maturity 
are  Rev.  John  W.,  of  Carlinville,  111.; 
William  H.  and  Anslam,  in  Montgom- 
ery county,  111.;  Albert  0.,  living  near 
Janesville,  111.;  Henry  Clay,  near  Pana, 
111.;  Mary  E.,  wife  of  E.  D.  Howard, 
of  Montgomery  county,  111.;  Thomas 
J.,  Theodore  F.  and  Annie  Frances, 
residing  with  their  parents.  Mr.  Terry 
settled,  soon  after  his  marriage,  on  the 
northwest  quarter  of  Sec.  24,  T.  7,  R. 
12,  where  he  resided  until  his  death, 
Oct.  21,  1876.  He  made  farming  the 
business  of  his  life,  and  was  successful. 
He  began  life  without  financial  capital, 
hut  he  was  possessed  of  those  elements 
of  mind  which  are  more  valuable,  and 
the  proper  use  of  which  insure  success 
to  their  possessor.  These  qualities  are 
good  common  sense,  unerring  judgment 
to  plan,  and  energy  to  execute,  with 
order  and  method.  He  gave  to  his 
children  the  advantage  of  a  liberal  edu- 
cation, as  well  as  financial  aid  to  facili- 
tate their  life  labors.  He  settled  four 
of  his  sons  on  1,000  acres  of  land  in 
Montgomery  county,  111.  Politically, 
Mr.  Terry  was  an  'old  line  whig."  He 
was  a  great  admirer  of  Henry  Clay, 
after  whom  one  of  his  sons  was  chris- 
tened. Although  he  never  sought  offi- 
cial position,  he  served  several  years  as 
acting  justice  of  the  peace.  He  was 
elected  associate  judge  of  the  county 
court  of  Jersey  county,  which  position 
he  filled  seven  years  with  credit  to  him- 
self and  satisfaction  to  his  constituency. 
Judge  Warren  was  succeeded  as  county 
judge  by  Hon.  <>.  P.  Powel,  in  Dec, 
1857,  and  opened  court  with  R.  R.  Eley 
and  William  Williams  as  associate 
justices      These  gentlemen  held  these 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


215 


positions  for  four  years,  with  honor  and 
credit  to  themselves,  and  to  the  benefit 
of  the  county. 

Richard  I.  Lowe,  was  the  next  occu- 
pant of  the  office  of  county  judge, 
having  been  elected  to  that  exalted  po- 
sition in  Nov.,  1861,  and  opened  the 
the  county  court  in  the  following  De- 
cember, with  Jacob  Lurton  and  Larkin 
Richardson  as  associate  justices.  These 
gentlemen  served  a  term  of  four  years, 
until  1865.  Jacob  Lurton  has  been 
noted  at  length  elsewhere.  Larkin 
Richardson  came  to  this  county  in  1834, 
from  the  American  Bottom.  He  re- 
mained here  some  time,  holding  several 
unimportant  offices  and  went  to  Texas, 
but  in  a  few  years  returned  to  this 
county  where  he  lived  several  years,  but 
finally  removed  to  Texas  where  he  set- 
tled. A  sketch  of  Judge  Lowe  is  given 
in  connection  with  the  history  of  the 
township  of  Jersey,  of  which  he  is  still 
a  resident. 

0.  P.  Powel  again  filled  this  position 
commencing  in  the  fall  of  1865,  and 
filled  it  for  four  years.  W.  H.  Allen 
and  Phineas  Eldredge  were  associate 
justices  at  the  same  time,  and  assisted 
in  the  government  of  the  county. 

Phineas  Eldredge  was  the  son  of  An- 
thony and  Susanna  (Vance)  Eldredge, 
and  was  born  in  Philadelphia,  Penn., 
March  14,  1822.  He  served  an  appren- 
ticeship of  three  years  at  ship  build- 
ing, and  three  more  at  sail  making 
in  his  native  city.  His  father  was  a 
sea  captain,  at  this  time,  in  the  mer- 
chant service,  and  Phineas  sometimes 
accompanied  him  on  his  voyages.  The 
man  with  whom  Phineas  was  learning 
his  trade,  having  a  contract  to  get  out 
live  oak  timber,  he  sent  Phineas,  who 


had  studied  naval  architecture,  to  su- 
perintend the  operations  in  Florida,  and 
he  did  so  well  that  when  he  returned, 
although  his  apprenticeship  was  not 
out,  he  was  "given  his  time,"  as  the 
saying  is — or,  made  a  full  journeyman. 
He  now  entered  upon  a  sea-faring  life, 
having  accepted  the  position  of  second 
mate  on  a  trading  vessel.  He  made  a 
trip  to  South  America,  and  then,  for 
three  years  was  first  officer.  He  then 
went  to  New  Orleans,  and  in  1843  was 
made  senior  warden  of  the  city  prison, 
and,  with  the  prisoners,  built  the  house 
of  refuge  in  that  city.  He  remained 
there  until  1846,  when  the  Mexican  war 
broke  out,  when,  having  a  steamship, 
largely  owned  by  his  father,  he  en- 
tered the  transport  service,  but  being 
caught  in  the  Gulf  by  a  norther,  after 
battling  with  the  storm  for  five  days, 
the  vessel  was  lost,  and  they  lost  their 
all.  He  then  returned  to  New  Orleans, 
and  was  deputy  superintendent  of  the 
city  gas  works,  where  he  remained  two 
years,  when  his  father  made  him  an 
offer  of  a  tract  of  land  (his  present 
farm)  if  he  would  come  and  live  on  it, 
which  he  accepted.  The  Eldredges 
were  sea-faring  men  for  five  generations, 
and  Phineas  Eldredge's  ancestors  had 
settled  on  Cape  Cod,  coming  from  Wales 
at  an  early  day.  On  his  mother's  side 
his  ancestors  were  German,  and  her 
grandfather  served  on  the  staff  of  Gen- 
eral Washington.  In  1848  Phineas 
came  to  Illinois  and  settled  on  the  farm 
where  he  now  lives,  on  section  11,  Piasa 
township.  At  one  time  he  and  his 
father  owned  some  1,600  acres  of  land, 
800  acres  of  it  in  a  body.  He  was 
elected  associate  justice  of  the  county 
court  in  1865,  and  a  study  of  the  official 


216 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


actions  of  the  court  in  this  volume  will 
show  that  he  did  efficient  work.  He 
was  the  projector  of  the  poorhouse,  also. 
This  was  his  last  official  act.  He  was 
married  in  Sept.,  1843,  in  Philadelphia, 
to  Elizabeth  Wharf.  Their  children 
have  been — Susanna,  wife  of  James 
Burke;  Anthony,  clerk  in  the  Anchor 
line;  Elizabeth,  wife  of  Colonel  John 
Breenholt;  Harry,  pilot  on  the  City  of 
Natchez  ;  and  five  deceased.  Mr.  Eld- 
redge  is  a  member  of  Hibbard  Lodge, 
No.  249,  A.  F.  and  A.  M.,  at  Brighton. 
On  his  farm  he  has  two  and  one-half 
acres  of  fish  pond,  and,  sailor-like,  he 
has  a  sail -boat  thereon. 

J.  M.  Hurd  was  duly  elected  to  the 
office  of  county  judge  in  the  fall  of  1S69, 
and  entering  upon  the  duties  of  the 
office  with  Caleb  Noble  and  G.  W.  Gorin 
as  associate  justices  carried  on  the  busi- 
ness of  the  county  for  the  ensuing  three 
years,  when  he  resigned. 

J.  M.  Hurd  was  the  second  son  of 
Ezra  and  Polly  (Hamilton)  Hurd,  and 
was  born  in  Georgetown,  Madison 
county,  N.Y.,  March  1,  1809.  He  was 
educated  in  the  common  schools  of 
Georgetown,  becoming  proficient  in  sev- 
eral branches,  especially  surveying.  At 
the  age  of  14  he  commenced  helping  his 
father  in  the  saw-mill,  of  which  he  was 
placed  in  charge.  At  the  age  of  17  he 
spent  the  fall  and  winter  learning  the 
cloth-dressing  trade.  He  continued  in 
the  old  home  until  1830,  when,  being  21 
years  of  age,  he  turned  his  steps  west- 
ward and  came  to  Illinois,  and  met  his 
uncle,  Dr.  Silas  Hamilton,  in  Monroe 
county,  and  with  whom  he  came  to  Jer- 
sey county  on  the  3d  of  July ,  of  the  same 
year,  and  located  in  what  is  now  Otter 
Creek  township.     In   September  he  re- 


turned to  his  New  York  home,  where  he 
spent  the  winter.  In  the  spring  of  1831 
he,  together  with  his  father's  family, 
came  to  Illinois  by  the  water  route, 
landing  at  Eminence,  from  whence  they 
proceeded  by  a  hired  team  and  wagon. 
His  father  died  that  fall.  J.  M.  built  a 
log  cabin  on  the  site  of  the  present  vil- 
lage of  Otterville,  but  spent  the  most  of 
his  time  in  surveying  until  1837.  In 
1833  he  was  elected  constable,  and  two 
years  later  justice  of  the  peace.  He 
was  married  January  26,  1836,  to  Lydia 
Noble,  by  whom  he  had  eight  children. 
From  1839  to  1847  he  was  the  postmaster 
of  Otterville.  In  the  fall  of  the  latter 
year  was  made  probate  judge  of  the 
county.  After  serving  his  term  he  per- 
sonally managed  his  farm  until  1852, 
when  he  was  elected  sheriff,  when  he 
removed  to  Jersey  ville,  where  he  resided 
until  1873, when  he  removed  to  Nebraska, 
where  he  died.  He  was  from  1844  to 
1859  in  the  mercantile  business  with  C. 
M.  Hamilton  and  Marcus  E.  Bagley,  sell- 
ing out  in  the  latter  year.  In  Novem- 
ber, 1869,  he  was  elected  county  judge, 
as  above. 

Caleb  Noble  was  born  in  Adams  county, 
Miss.,  July  28,  1817,  and  is  the  son  of 
Henry  and  Mary  (Swayze)  Noble.  The 
father,  wishing  to  move  to  a  more  north- 
ern climate,  started  for  Illinois,  and 
landed  at  Grafton  on  the  3d  of  April, 
1833.  He  settled  on  a  farm  which  he 
purchased  on  section  10,  in  Otter  Creek 
township,  where  he  engaged  in  agricul- 
tural pursuits,  and  where  he  died  in 
July,  1852.  His  son  Caleb,  when  ahoy, 
attended  the  schools  of  his  native  state. 
Robert  A.  King  was  the  last  county 
judge  at  the  head  of  the  administrative 
department  of  the  county  government. 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


217 


In  the  fall  of  1872,  he  was  appointed  by 
the  governor  to  fill  the  vacancy  caused 
by  the  resignation  of  Judge  Hurd,  and 
assumed  his  official  functions  at  the 
December  term  of  court,  with  Caleb 
Noble  and  W'iliiam  A.  Scott  as  associate 
justices.  Under  the  new  constitution  of 
1870  the  powers  of  the  county  judge 
were  much  curtailed,  most  of  his  busi- 
ness being  restricted  by  that  instrument 
"to  all  matters  of  probate;  settlement  of 
estates  of  deceased  persons;  appoint- 
ment of  guardians  and  conservators,  and 
settlement  of  their  accounts;  in  all  mat- 
ters relating  to  apprentices:  and  in  pro- 
ceedings for  the  collection  of  taxes  and 
assessments,  etc."  Under  this  docu- 
ment, in  November,  1873,  Judge  King 
was  duly  elected  to  fill  the  office  of 
county  judge,  and  filled  it  most  ably 
until  1882,  when  his  term  expired,  be 
having  been  re-elected  in  1877. 

Hon.  W.  H.  Pogue,  the  present  in- 
cumbent of  the  office  of  county  judge, 
was  elected  at  the  November  election  of 
1882,  and  has  made  one  of  the  best 
officials  of  this  character  that  the  county 
has  had  for  many  years. 

Hon.  William  H.  Pogue,  is  a  native 
of  Philadelphia,  Penn.,  born  on  the 
23d  of  Dec,  1835,  and  a  son  of  Joseph 
and  Jane  Knox  (nee  Cooper)  Pogue,  the 
former,  a  native  of  Ireland,  who  immi- 
grated to  America  about  1812;  and  the 
latter  a  native  of  Philadelphia,  and 
daughter  of  Hugh  Cooper,  an  old  mer- 
chant of  that  city.  His  father  was  for 
33  years,  an  active  business  man  of 
Philadelphia,  while  his  mother  was  a 
noted  Sunday  school  worker;  she  and 
her  sister,  over  50  years  ago,  having 
established  a  Sunday  school-  where 
there    is   now   an   old    and    flourishing 


church.     It  was  owing  largely  to  her  in- 
fluence that  the  subject  of  this   sketch 
became    interested    in    Sunday    school 
work,    he  having   held  the   positions  of 
secretary  of  the   Illinois  State   Sabbath 
school    convention,    president    of    the 
Jersey  county  Sabbath   school  conven- 
tion,  and   superintendent  of  a  mission 
school  in  his  own  town.     William   re- 
ceived his  early   education  in  a  private 
school  in    Philadelphia,  under  the    in- 
struction  of  Samuel  Crawford,  a  noted 
teacher  of  his  day,  but,  later,   removed 
with  his  father's  family   to  Camden,  N. 
J.,  and  there  attended  school  until  the 
death  of  his  father,   which   occurred   in 
1848.     He  completed  his  studies  at  the 
Pennington   Male   Seminary,    receiving 
an  ordinary   English  education   with   a 
limited  knowledge  of  Latin  and  German. 
After   closing   his    studies,    being  still 
young,  he  was   placed   in  the   store   of 
James  R.   Webb,   of  Philadelphia,   but 
after  a  short  time  took  a  position  in  the 
store  of  Horatio   Litzenberg,   of  Lower 
Merion.      He   afterwards   went  to  live 
with  Perry  Litzenberg,   of  West  Phila- 
delphia.    In  Feb.,  1854,  he  removed  to 
Illinois,  where  his  father  had  invested 
large  sums   of  money,   in  landed  pro- 
perty.    He  first  settled  at  Alton,  and  in 
January    of  the    following   year,    began 
the  study  of  law  in  the  office  of  Hon. 
Edward    Keating,    of  that   place.      He 
soon   became  private  secretary  of   Mr. 
Keating,    who    was   attorney-general  of 
what  is  now  the  Chicago  and  Alton  rail- 
road, and  acquired  a  knowledge  of  bus- 
iness that  has  proved  invaluable  to  him 
in  bis  life-work.     After  the  death  of  his 
employer,   which  occurred  in   1857,  Mr. 
Pogue  began  practicing  his   profession, 
being  then  about  20  years  of  age.     In 


218 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


Sept.,  1858,  he  was  elected  city  attorney 
of  Alton,  and  on  the  organization  of 
Alton  city  court  he  became  ex-officio  the 
states  attorney,  thereof,  and  in  the  fol- 
lowing spring,  by  appointment  of  Judge 
Henry  W.  Billings,  he  became  master 
in  chancery  of  the  Alton  city  court,  a 
position  to  which  he  was  re-appointed 
in  April,  1861.  In  Jan.,  1862,  he  re- 
moved to  Jerseyville  and  formed  a 
partnership  with  Hon.  George  E.  War- 
ren, his  father-in-law,  and  began  prac- 
tice under  the  firm  name  of  Warren  & 
Pogue.  The  business  of  this  firm 
rapidly  increased  and  soon  became  one 
of  the  largest  in  the  county.  In  1872, 
he  was  appointed  by  Governor  Palmer, 
state's  attorney,  for  the  first  judicial  dis- 
trict of  Illinois,  in  place  of  Hon.  Wm. 
Brown,  who  had  resigned,  and  was  also 
appointed  state's  attorney  of  Jersey 
county,  by  Judge  J.  M.  Hurd,  county 
judge,  under  the  new  law  conferring 
criminal  jurisdiction  upon  county  courts 
in  Illinois.  In  the  fall  of  1882  he  was 
elected  county  judge,  which  office  he  has 
since  held.  In  Dec,  1860,  he  was 
married  to  Mary  A.  Warren,  of  Jersey 
county.  They  are  the  parents  of  four 
children — Harry  W.,  Edmund  D.  W., 
Hattie  and  George  Dudley.  Judge 
Pogue  is  a  member  of  the  board  of  edu- 
cation, and  was  its  president  for  two 
years.     In  politics  he  is  a  democrat. 

COUNTY    CLEBK. 

This  office  is  one  of  the  most  import- 
ant in  the  government  of  the  county.  In 
early  days  it  was  officially  known  as 
the  clerk  of  the  county  commissioners' 
court.  The  first  regular  incumbent  of 
this  office  was  Richard  Graham,  who 
was  duly    elected   at   the    first   election 


after  the  separation  of  the  county  from 
that  of  Greene,  Mr.  Graham  not  quali- 
fying at  the  first  meeting  of  the  county 
commissioners'  court,  R.  L.  Hill  was 
appointed  to  fill  the  office,  pro  tem., 
but  two  weeks  thereafter,  on  the  28th 
of  Oct.  1839,  Mr.  Graham  filed  his  bond, 
and  assumed  the  duties  of  the  office. 
He  held  this  place  for  four  years. 

Geoge  W.  Lowder  was  the  successor 
of  Mr.  Graham  in  the  office,  serving  the 
people  from  1843  to  1857,  or  14  years, 
being  re-elected  at  every  successive 
election  by  an  appreciative  constituency. 

In  the  fall  of  1857,  Andrew  Jackson 
became  the  successor  of  Mr.  Lowder  in 
the  office  of  county  clerk,  and  retained 
the  same  for  12  years. 

At  the  regular  election  in  Nov.,  1869, 
Thomas  J.  Selby  was  duly  elected  to 
the  office  of  county  clerk,  and  entering 
upon  the  functions  devolving  on  that 
officer,  soon  won  for  himself  a  place  in 
the  regards  of  the  people,  and  was 
re-elected  his  own  successor  in  1873, 
and  served  the  people,  in  this  capacity, 
for  eight  years. 

Thomas  J.  Selby  was  born  in  Dela- 
ware county,  0.,  Dec.  4,  1840,  and  is 
the  son  of  G.  H.  Selby,  a  native  of  Vir- 
ginia, of  English  descent.  His  mother 
was  of  Dutch  origin,  but  a  native  of 
New  Jersey.  Both  his  parents  have 
been  called  to  their  last  account.  The 
father  was  a  stone  cutter  by  trade  and 
removed  to  Illinois  in  June,  1849,  and 
settled  in  Crawford  county,  and  in  1860 
the  family  came  to  Jersey  county. 
There  were  four  children  in  the  family 
—I.  N.  a  member  of  the  97th  111.  Inft., 
died  while  in  the  service,  in  Jan.,  1862; 
Mrs.  Frances  Dixon,  who  died  in  1883; 
Mrs.    Allan,   a   teacher   in   Jerseyville; 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


219 


and  Thomas  J.  The  latter  gentleman 
was  united  in  marriage  with  Amanda 
Richardson,  March  30,  1862,  and  they 
have  been  blessed  with  five  children, 
one  daughter  and  four  sons,  all  living. 
Mr.  Selby  followed  teaching  from  the 
age  of  16  until  1864,  when  he  was 
elected  to  the  office  of  sheriff  of  Jersey 
county,  and  served  as  such  one  term  of 
two  years.  In  1866,  he  purchased  the 
Jersey  county  Democrat  and  run  it  until 
1870,  when  he  sold  out  to  Wheelock  & 
Burr.  He  was  elected  county  clerk  as 
above  stated.  He  also  served  three 
terms  as  mayor  of  Jerseyville.  Mr. 
Selby  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1869, 
but  did  not  commence  the  practice  of 
law  in  Jerseyville  until  1876,  in  connec- 
tion with  E.  A.  Pinero.  In  1879,  he 
removed  to  Nebraska,  where  he  en- 
gaged in  the  practice  of  law.  He  made 
some  unfortunate  investments  in  sheep- 
raising,  which  financially  embarrassed 
him  for  the  time.  He  is  now  a  practic- 
ing attorney  at  Hardin,  Calhoun  county. 
He  has  always  been  prominently  iden- 
tified with  the  democratic  party. 

James  Eads,  the  present  county  clerk 
of  Jersey  county,  was  first  elected  to 
this  office,  in  Nov.,  1877,  and  has  served 
continuously  ever  since. 

James  Eads,  who  is  now  serving  his 
second  term  as  county  clerk,  was  born 
in  St.  Louis,  Mo.,  April  25,  1846,  he 
being  the  older  of  the  two  sons  of  James 
A.  and  Caltha  (Burke)  Eads.  When  he 
was  three  years  of  age,  the  family  re- 
moved to  Jersey  county.  111,  and  since 
that  time,  the  subject  of. our  sketch  has 
been  a  resident  of  the  same.  He  was 
educated  in  the  common  schools,  and  at 
an  early  age  assisted  his  father, who  was 
a  merchant  at  Fieldon.     When  he  was 


only  16  years  of  age,  he  quit  the  school- 
room on  account  of  bis  father's  poor 
health,  and  took  charge  of  the  store  and 
continued  in  business  with  his  father 
until  1873.  From  1868  to  1873,  he  dealt 
in  grain.  In  1873  he  removed  to  Jersey- 
ville, and  served  as  chief  deputy  in  the 
office  of  county  clerk,  T.  J.  Selby,  and 
in  Dec,  1877,  succeeded  Mr.  Selby,  and 
was  re-elected  in  1882.  Mr.  Eads  is  a 
democrat  in  politics,  as  was  his  father 
before  him.  He  is  a  Mason,  belonging 
to  blue  lodge,  chapter  and  commandery; 
a  member  of  the  subordinate  lodge  and 
encampment  of  the  I.  0.  0.  F.;  a  mem- 
ber of  the  K.  P.  society,  and  the  K.  of 
H.  He  was  married  on  the  2d  day  of 
April,  1874,  to  Virginia  E.  Crosby, 
daughter  of  George  W.  Crosby,  and  two 
children  have  been  born  to  them — James 
B.  and  Emma  F.  Mr.  Eads,  besides 
attending  to  the  duties  of  his  offices, 
also,  in  connection  with  his  brother, 
deals  in  real  estate,  and  loans  money. 
He  is  a  gentleman  who  is  easily  ap- 
proached, always  attending  to  the  duties 
of  his  office,  and  ever  ready  to  be  of  ser- 
vice to  his  fellowman. 

William  Eads,  younger  son  of  James 
A.,  and  Caltha  A.  (Burke)  Eads,  was 
born  in  Richwood  township,  Jersey 
county,  111.,  Dec.  14,  1850.  In  early 
life,  he  attended  school  during  the  win- 
ter seasons,  and  the  remainder  of  the 
year,  assisted  his  father  in  the  store. 
The  winter  of  1869  he  spent  in  attend- 
ing school  in  Jacksonville.  In  the  fall 
of  1871, he  went  to  Calhoun  county,  and, 
in  partnership  with  E.  P.  Lowe,  en- 
gaged in  general  mercantile  business  at 
Batch-town,  the  firm  being,  Eads,  Lowe 
&  Co.  In  the  fall  of  the  following  year 
he  returned  to  Fieldon,  and  assisted  his 


220 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


father  in  business,  until  the  death  of 
the  latter,  which  occurred  in  Jan.,  1874. 
He  then  continued  the  business  with 
his  brother,  for  two  years,  under  the 
firm  styled  "Eads  &  Bro."  William 
then,  in  Jan.,  1S7G,  having  sold  out  his 
former  business,  came  to  Jerseyville, 
and  clerked  in  the  office  of  county  clerk 
T.  J.  Selby,  until  Feb.,  1877.  At  that 
date  he  went  to  Kane,  Greene  county, 
where,  with  his  brother,  he  established 
a  dry  goods  business.  Five  months 
later,  they  sold  out,  and  William  re- 
turned to  Jerseyville,  again  entering 
the  employ  of  T.  J.  Selby,  whom  he 
served  till  Dec,  1877.  Since  that  time 
he  has  served  as  deputy  county  clerk, 
under  his  brother.  Mr.  Eads  was  mar- 
ried  in  Montgomery  county,  111.,  to 
Elizabeth  J.  Thomas,  second  daughter 
"f  Samuel  and  Mary  E.  Thomas.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Eads  have  three  children — 
<  laltha  T.,  Mary  D.  and  Lenna  B.  Mr. 
Eads  is  a  democrat  in  politics,  and  a 
member  of  Fieldon  lodge,  No.  592,  of 
A.  F.  &  A.  M.,  also  of  the  Jerseyville 
chapter,  No.  140,  of  R.  A.  M. 

CLERK    OF   THE    CIRCUIT    COURT. 

The  first  to  occupy  this  onerous  office 
was  Robert  L.  Hill,  who  was  duly  ap- 
pointed by  Judge  Thomas,  at  the  organ- 
ization of  the  county,  in  1839,  and  being 
successively  elected  his  own  successor, 
served  until  1849,  a  service  of  10  years. 
Robert  L.  Hill  was  a  native  of  Todd 
county.  Ky.,  and  was  born  during  the 
year  1797.  He  was  reared  and  educated 
in  the  plaje  of  his  nativity,  where  he 
was  also  married  to  Maria  Tonstall. 
They  were  the  parents  of  six  children — 
Martin  L.,  Mary  A.  C,  M.  Ellen,  Juliet 
A.,  Robert  T.,  and  Oscar.     But  three  of 


these  are  now  living— Mary,  in  Nebraska; 
Ellen,  in  Kentucky;  and  Oscar,  in  Jer- 
seyville. Mr.  Hill  removed  to  what  was 
then  Jersey  county  from  Kentucky,  and 
on  the  organization  of  the  county  was 
made  circuit  clerk,  as  above  stated.  His 
death  occurred  in  1863,  while  a  resident 
of  Jerseyville. 

In  the  latter  part  of  1849  Mr.  Hill  was 
succeeded  by  Thomas  L.  McGill,  who 
also  remained  in  this  official  capacity  for 
a  number  of  years,  serving  for  11 
years,  or  until  the  fall  of  1860.  Mr.  Mc- 
Gill came  to  Jersey  county  about  the 
year  1840,  from  St.  Louis,  Mo.,  and  set- 
tled in  what  is  now  Piasa  township.  He 
has,  since  the  expiration  of  his  term  of 
office,  died. 

Marcus  E.  Bagley  was  the  next  incum- 
bent of  the  office  of  clerk  of  the  circuit 
court,  being  elected  thereto  in  1860,  and 
served  for  twenty  years.  Marcus  Bag- 
ley  was  born  August  18,  1828,  in  Greene 
county,  N.  Y.,  and  is  the  son  of  Thomas 
and  Mary  Bagley.  In  the  fall  of  1850 
he  came  to  Jerseyville,  and  soon  engaged 
in  mercantile  pursuits  in  company  with 
A.  W.  Howe,  in  which  he  remained  sev- 
eral years.  February  16,  1860,  he  was 
married  to  Mrs.  Hattie  M.  Harriman, 
nee  Page.  In  the  fall  of  1860  he  was 
elected,  as  above.  He  was  the  first 
mayor  of  Jerseyville  and  master  in 
chancery  many  years.  He  is  now  en- 
gaged in  the  banking  business. 

At  the  regular  election  of  November, 
1880,  Jesse  I.  McGready,  the  present 
clerk  of  the  circuit  court  of  Jersey 
county,  was  duly  elected  to  that  office, 
by  a  majority  of  390,  and  the  following 
1st  of  January  he  entered  upon  the 
duties  of  the  office,  and  still  serves  the 
county  in  that  capacity. 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


221 


Jesse  I.  McG ready  was  born  in  Wash- 
ington, Mo.,  Jan.  10,  1847.  He  is  a 
son  of  John  and  Isabella  (Mcllvaine) 
McGready,  the  former  a  native  of  Ten- 
nessee, and  the  latter,  of  Kentucky. 
John  McGready  settled  in  Missouri 
when  a  young  man,  and  engaged  in 
farming  and  lead  mining.  He  resided 
in  that  state  until  his  death.  Jesse  I. 
McG  ready  is  the  youngest  of  eight  chil- 
dren, only  three  of  whom  are  now  liv- 
ing. His  early  life  was  spent  on  the 
farm.  At  the  age  of  sixteen  years  he 
entered  McKendree  College,  at  Lebanon, 
111.,  where  he  attended  one  year.  He 
then  learned  the  art  of  printing,  first 
working  in  the  office  of  the  St.  Louis 
Republican,  and  afterwards  at  Carlin- 
ville,  from  whence,  in  1870,  he  came  to 
Jersey  ville.  Here  he  became  associated 
with  J.  A.  J.  Birdsall,  formerly  of  the 
Macoupin  Times,  and  purchased  the  Jer- 
sey County  Democrat.  In  1871  Mr. 
McGready  became  sole  proprietor,  and 
continued  editor  and  proprietor  until 
1880.  At  that  date  he  was  elected  cir- 
cuit clerk,  and  in  1884  re-elected  to  the 
same  office,  in  which  he  is  now  serving 
his  second  term.  He  was  elected  mayor 
of  Jersey  ville  in  1879,  and  served  four 
terms.  He  is  a  member  of  the  I.  0.  0. 
F.,  both  subordinate  lodge  and  encamp- 
ment; also  of  the  K.  P.  society.  Mr. 
McGready  is  a  faithful  and  efficient 
officer,  and  his  continued  re-election  to 
places  of  public  trust  is  abundant  testi- 
mony of  the  respect  and  esteem  with 
which  he  is  regarded  by  his  fellow 
citizens. 

COUNTY    TREASURERS. 

At  the  first  election  held  after  the  or- 
ganization of  the  county,  among  the 
first  officers  elected  was  Juhn  R.  Black, 


who  entered,  at  once,  upon  the  duties 
of  his  office,  and  served  for  four  years. 
Col.  John  R.  Black  was  a  native  of 
Lancaster  county,  Penn.,  was  born  April 
19,  1797,  and  was  the  son  of  James  and 
Mary  A.  Black,  who  were  of  Irish 
descent.  John  R.  attended  school  in 
Tennessee,  his  parents  having  removed 
to  that  state  when  he  was  but  six  years 
of  age.  In  1815  John  R.  came  to  Illi-  . 
nois,  locating  upon  the  American  Bot- 
tom, but  five  years  later  came  to  Jersey 
county,  settling  in  what  is  now  Missis- 
sippi township.  He  was  married  here, 
April  23,  1833,  to  Malinda  Darneille, 
and  they  had  four  children.  He  was  a 
volunteer  during  the  war  of  1812-15, 
and  also  of  the  Black  Hawk  war.  He 
died  in  1880. 

In  1843,  C.  Easell  was  inducted  into 
this  very  responsible  office,  having  been 
elected  at  the  regular  election  of  that 
year.     He  served  four  years. 

Solomon  Calhoun  was  the  next  in- 
cumbent of  this  office,  being  elected  to 
the  same  in  the  fall  of  1847,  and  served 
until  December,  1857. 

Solomon  Calhoun  was  born  in  Lyman, 
Grafton  county,  N.  H.,  Nov.  the  25th, 
1795,  and  was  married  to  Rhoda  Walker. 
In  1823  he  moved  to  Bridgeport,  Addison 
county,  Vt.,  and  from  thence  to  Illinois 
in  1833,  and  settled  on  a  farm  near  Jer- 
seyville,  where  he  continued  to  reside 
till  his  death,  Dec.  the  25th,  1869.  His 
wife  survived  him  13  years.  There 
were  five  children. — James  W.  resides 
at  Jerseyville.  Hannah  W.  married 
William  Post;  she  died  in  May,  1884. 
Caleb  C.  died  at  the  age  of  37  years. 
Adrastus  resides  in  Jersey  county. 
Benjamin  F.  resides  on  the  homestead. 
Mr.  Calhoun  was  a  devoted  member  of 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


the  Masonic  order,  being  made  a  Mason 
at  Bath,  N.  H.,  when  21  years  of  age. 
He  was  a  charter  member  of  Jersey  ville 
Lodge,  No.  394,  A.  F.  &  A.  M.  Hewas 
strictly  honorable  in  all  his  dealings  and 
had  a  large  circle  of  admiring  friends. 
Politically  he  was  a  whig  and  afterwards 
a  republican.  He  was  one  of  the  first 
county  commissioners,  and  for  16  years 
assessor  of  Jersey  county. 

John  F.  Smith  was  the  next  incum- 
bent of  this  office,  having  been  elected 
to  the  same  in  the  fall  of  1857,  and  in 
December  entered  upon  his  official  du- 
ties. He  was  re-elected  in  1859,  thus 
serving  at  this  time  four  years  as  county 
treasurer. 

John  F.  Smith  was  a  native  of  South 
Carolina,  born  April  7,  1811.  He  came 
to  Jersey  county  in  1848  or  '49,  and  en- 
tered upon  the  business  of  cultivating  a 
farm  which  he  acquired.  He  was  mar- 
ried to  Sarah  McGuire,  previous  to 
his  coming  here,  and  three  of  the  four 
children  by  this  marriage  are  still  liv- 
ing— Mary,  Martha  and  James  Knox. 
He  died  Feb.  25,  1877;  his  widow  still 
survives,  living  in  St.  Louis.  He  was 
elected  and  served  as  treasurer  as  above 
stated.  Mr.  Smith  was  a  leading  mem- 
ber of  the  M.  E.  church. 

John  E.  Van  Pelt,  now  a  prominent 
citizen  of  Cook  county,  succeeded  Mr. 
Smith  as  treasurer,  being  first  elected 
in  1861,  and  again  in  1863,  serving  the 
people  for  four  years  in  the  office. 

John  F.  Smith,  having,  when  in  office, 
pleased  the  people,  was  again  elected 
to  this  position  in  1865,  was  re-elected 
in  1867,  and  again  in  1869,  serving  this 
time  six  years,  with  credit  to  himself 
and  honor  to  the  people  of  the  county. 

James  M.  Young,  was  the  next  to  fill 


the  office  of  treasurer.  His  election 
took  place  in  1871,  and,  proving  his 
worth  and  adaption  to  the  office,  he  was 
re-elected  in  1873,  serving  the  full  four 
years. 

James  M.  Young,  a  prominent  citizen 
of  Jersey  county,  was  born  in  Ruther- 
ford county,  N.  C,  Dec.  16,  1828.  He 
was  the  eldest  of  the  seven  children  of 
Martin  and  Deborah  Young,  who  were 
of  French  and  German  descent.  In 
1835  Martin  Young  removed  with  his 
family  to  McDonough  county,  111.,  locat- 
ing on  a  farm  near  Blandinsville,  where 
they  remained  till  1845.  They  then 
moved  to  the  state  of  Georgia.  After 
the  war  broke  out,  Mr.  Young  moved 
his  family  to  Jersey  county.  He  died  at 
the  residence  of  his  son,  James  M.,  in 
the  fall  of  1865,  and  the  following  spring 
his  widow  and  children  returned  to 
Georgia.  James  M.  Young  attended 
the  common  schools  of  McDonough 
county,  and  at  the  age  of  16  went  to 
Wisconsin  and  worked  in  the  lead  mines 
about  four  years.  On  Nov.  13,  1848,  he 
came  to  Jersey  county,  and,  for  a  few 
years,  followed  boating  and  rafting  on 
the  Illinois  river.  Oct.  15,  1851,  Mr. 
Young  was  married  to  Lucretia  Nott, 
daughter  of  S.  B.  Nott,  of  Jersey  coun- 
ty. They  have  had  seven  children,  five 
of  whom  are  now  living.  For  a  few 
years  after  his  marriage,  Mr.  Young 
followed  farming  in  this  county.  He 
served  as  justice  of  the  peace  two  years, 
and  also  two  years  as  constable  of  Rich- 
woods  township.  He  was  appointed 
postmaster  at  Fieldon,  September  18, 
1868,  and  held  that  office  three  years, 
being  constable  at  the  same  time.  In 
the  fall  of  1871  he  was  elected  assessor 
and  treasurer  of  Jersey  county,  and  in 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


223 


the  spring  of  1872  removed  to  Jersey 
ville.  In  1873  he  was  re-elected  to  the 
same  office,  thus  serving  four  years.  In 
the  fall  of  1876  he  was  elected  sheriff, 
and  re-elected  in  the  year  1878,  and 
served  as  such  for  four  years.  In 
1880  he  rented  the  National  hotel,  and 
run  the  same  two  years.  In  June,  1883, 
he  removed  to  southern  Kansas,  there 
acting  as  agent  for  a  patent  machine  for 
the  manufacture  of  fencing.  He  re- 
turned to  Jerseyville  in  February,  1885, 
shortly  before  the  death  of  his  wife, who 
for  some  time  had  been  in  feeble  health. 
She  died  Feb.  12,  1885.  Mr.  Young  is 
a  member  of  the  A.  F.  and  A.  M.,  also 
of  the  subordinate  encampment  of  I. 
O.  O.  F.  and  the  Knights  of  Pytbias. 
The  children  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Young 
are — Luella,  wife  of  C.  A.  Sullard,  of 
Kansas  City,  Mo.;  Hattie,  wife  of  Fred 
Armstrong,  of  Jerseyville;  Luther,  who 
is  a  printer  by  trade  and  resides  in 
Springfield,  Mo.;  Susan  and  Antonia, 
who  reside  with  their  father,  in  Jersey- 
ville. 

At  the  regular  November  election  of 
1875,  John  P.  Stout  was  elected  to  the 
office  of  treasurer,  and  he  entering  upon 
the  duties  of  the  same,  continued  in  the 
office  two  years. 

Thomas  O'Donnell,  in  1877,  was 
elected  to  the  office  of  county  treasurer, 
and  filling  that  office  to  the  satisfaction 
of  the  people,  was  re-elected  in  1879. 
He  did  not  enter  upon  the  duties  of  the 
office,  however,  as  he  was  cut  off  by 
death,  Thanksgiving  day,  1879. 

On  the  death  of  Mr.  O'Donnell  an 
election  was  held  on  the  20th  of  Jan., 
1880,  which  resulted  in  the  election  of 
John  A.  Shepbard,  who  was  re-elected 
in  1882,  and  is  the  present  county  treas- 


urer of  Jersey.  Mr.  Shepbard  is  men- 
tioned at  length  in  the  history  of  Jer- 
seyville, in  connection  with  the  banking 
interests. 

COUNTY  RECORDERS. 

Under  the  earlier  constitutions,  the 
office  of  recorder  was  a  separate  one 
from  that  of  circuit  clerk.  At  the 
organization  of  the  county  George  H. 
Jackson,  Sr.,  was  chosen  to  till  the 
office  for  the  first  time  in  Jersey  county. 
He  entered  upon  the  office  in  the  fall  of 
1839,  and  continued   therein  four  years. 

George  Hunter  Jackson,  deceased, 
formerly  one  of  Jerseyville's  most  use- 
ful and  highly  esteemed  citizens,  was 
born  in  Philadelphia,  Pa.,  Oct.  15,  1813. 
His  father,  Andrew  Jackson,  was  also 
a  native  of  Philadelphia,  and  one  of 
its  honored  citizens.  He  was  appointed, 
by  President  Washington,  an  officer  in 
the  custom  house  of  that  city,  where  he 
remained  till  1837.  In  1838,  he  came 
to  Jersey  county,  and  died  here  in  1850. 
Mary  (Servoss)  Jackson,  mother  of  the 
subject  of  this  sketch,  was  born  in  New- 
Jersey,  and  was  the  grand  daughter  of 
Samuel  Fleming,  the  founder  of  Flem- 
ington,  in  that  state.  George  H.  re- 
ceived the  rudiments  of  bis  education 
in  the  common  schools  of  Philadelphia, 
and  subsequently  completed  a  course  at 
the  American  Scientific  and  Military 
Academy,  of  Middleton,  Conn.  He 
moved  to  Illinois  in  1.S33,  and  located 
on  land  adjacent  to  the  present  site  of 
Jerseyville.  Here  he  engaged  in  farm- 
ing, which  occupation  he  followed  the 
greater  portion  of  the  time  until  his 
death,  which  took  place  May  20,  1884. 
In  Oct.,  1839,  upon  the  organization  of 
the  county,  he  was  elected  recorder, 
in    which    capacity   he   continued    four 


224 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


years.  In  1866,  he  was  appointed  post- 
master of  Jerseyville,  and  held  that 
office  two  years.  Soon  after  the  incor- 
poration of  the  city  of  Jerseyville,  in 
1867,  he  was  elected  city  clerk,  and  was 
re-elected  to  the  same  office,  in  1874. 
During  the  latter  years  of  his  life,  he 
devoted  his  spare  time  to  investigating 
and  making  ahstracts  of  the  land  titles 
of  Jersey  county,  compiling  a  work  of 
incalculable  value  to  the  people  of  the 
county,  as  much  vagueness  and  uncer- 
tainty had  previously  characterized  the 
boundaries  and  titles  to  large  portions 
of  the  land  of  that  county.  For  this 
work  Mr.  Jackson  was  eminently  quali- 
fied, by  reason  of  his  early  settlement, 
long  residence  and  large  experience. 
Politically,  he  was  an  Andrew  Jackson 
democrat,  believing  in  the  greatest 
good  to  the  greatest  number.  He  was 
a  firm  believer  in  the  doctrines  of  Chris- 
tianity, as  taught  by  the  "sermon  on 
the  mount,"  and  a  member  of  the  Pres- 
byterian church.  He  was  married  in 
March,  1837,  to  Elizabeth,  daughter  of 
John  Brown,  who  came  to  the  territory 
of  Illinois  in  1802,  and  entered  a  con- 
siderable tract  of  land  in  Greene 
county.  He  accumulated  much  wealth 
and  was,  in  later  years,  one  of  the  influ- 
ential men  of  Jersey  county,  where  he 
died  April  24,  1872.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Jackson  reared  10  children,  nine  of 
whom  are  now  living — Charles,  who  is 
an  engineer  and  resides  in  Springfield; 
Emily,  wife  of  J.  S.  Daniels;  John, 
who  resides  in  Kingman  county,  Kas., 
engaged  in  the  real  estate  business; 
Mary,  living  at  home;  Katie,  wife  of 
W.  W.  Douglas,  of  Indianapolis,  Ind.; 
Lizzie,  Fannie  and  George  H.,  at  home. 
Mrs.  Jackson  lives  in  Jerseyville. 


Thomas  L.  McGill,  was  the  next  in- 
cumbent of  the  office,  having  been 
elected  to  the  same  in  August,  1843,  and 
held  the  same  until  the  adoption  of  the 
constitution  of  1848,  caused  the  blend- 
ing of  the  offices  of  clerk  of  the  circuit 
court  and  recorder  into  one,  under  the 
name  and  title  of  the  former.  Mr.  Mc- 
Gill for  many  years  held  the  position 
of  county  clerk,  and  has  been  already 
noticed  in  that  connection. 

SHERIFFS. 

The  first  to  occupy  the  office  of  sher- 
iff of  Jersey  county  was  John  N.  Eng- 
lish, who  was  elected  in  1839,  and  served 
in  this  capacity  until  the  fall  of  1842, 
when  he  stepped  down  and  out.  This 
eminent  gentleman  has  been  already 
noticed  under  the  caption  of  members 
of  the  general  assembly,  in  this  chapter. 

Perley  Silloway  succeeded  Mr.  Eng- 
lish as  sheriff,  in  the  latter  part  of  the 
year  1842,  and  was  re-elected  in  1844, 
thus  serving  four  years. 

Jonathan  Plowman  was  the  next  in- 
cumbent of  the  office,  having  been 
elected  in  1846,  re-elected  in  1848,  serv- 
ing four  years.  Mr.  Plowman  after- 
wards removed  to  Macoupin  county, 
and  represented  this  district  in  the  gen- 
eral assembly,  under  which  head  may 
be  found  a  mention  of  him. 

Murray  Cheney  was  duly  elected  to 
the  office  of  sheriff,  at  the  general  elec- 
tion in  the  fall  of  1S50,  and  served  the 
people  of  Jersey  county  in  this  capac- 
ity for  two  years. 

Captain  Murray  Cheney  was  born  in 
Addison  county,  Vt.,  Feb."  28,  1809.  He 
was  reared  in  his  native  state,  where  he 
remained  until  he  arrived  at  the  age  of 
24  years.      He  then  started  for  Illinois, 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


225 


making  the  journey  by  canal  to  the  city 
of  Buffalo,  thence  to  Pittsburg,  and  via 

the  river  to  Illinois.  This  was  during 
the  long  to  be  remembered  "cholera 
year,"  and  some  of  his  fellow  passen- 
gers sickened  and  died  while  on  the 
passage  down  the  Ohio  river.  Mr. 
Cheney  was  intending  to  remain  on  the 
boat  until  it  reached  St.  Louis,  but  on 
account  of  the  cholera  landed  at  flhaw- 
neetown,  and  proceeded  on  foot  to 
Alton,  thence  to  Jersey  county.  He 
had  no  objective  point  in  view,  but  had 
simply  started  in  search  of  a  favorable 
location  in  Illinois.  On  arriving  at  the 
site  of  the  present  city  of  Jerseyville, 
he  located  land  and  remained  here  one 
year,  after  which  he  returned  to  Ver- 
mont, where  he  was  married  to  Caroline 
Pickett,  who  was  born  in  Addison 
county.  Her  parents  had  just  removed 
to  Chatauqua  county,  N.  Y.,  and  in 
that  county  Mr.  Cheney  remained  for  a 
short  time.  In  1836  he  again  came  to 
Jersey  county,  making  the  journey 
with  wagons.  Mr.  Cheney  continued 
to  reside  in  Jersey  county  till  1856,  and 
during  that  period,  held  numerous 
offices,  among  which  were  those  of  con- 
stable, deputy  sheriff  and  sheriff.  At 
an  early  day  he  organized  a  militia 
company,  of  which  he  was  elected  cap- 
tain. Their  arms  were  the  old  flint- 
lock muskets,  and  were  furnished  by  the 
state.  The  "training  days"  are  well 
remembered  by  the  older  inhabitants, 
and  the  "muster"  was  an  event  looked 
for  ;is  anxiously  as  the  fair  of  the  pres- 
ent day.  It  constituted,  for  many  years, 
the  amusement  of  the  people,  and  was 
a  semi-holiday.  Capt.  Cheney  was 
elected  major  of  the  regiment  to  which 
his  company   belonged.      He  moved  to 


Sangamon  county  in  1856.  He,  at  that 
time,  owned  land  nearVirden,  in  Macou- 
pin county,  where  he  followed  farming 
for  a  time,  after  which  be  removed  to 
the  village  of  Virden,  where  he  still 
resides,  having  retired  from  active  busi- 
ness, Mr.  and  Mrs.  Cheney  reared  a 
family  of  eight  children — Prentiss  1) 
Gilead  P.,  who  resides  at  Denver,  Col 
Byron  M.,  living  in  Scott  county,  111 
Mary,  wife  of  George  W.  Cox,  of  Vir- 
den; Charles  H.,  living  in  Burlington, 
la.;  Martha  S.,wife  of  Oliver  S.  Greene, 
of  Jacksonville,  111.;  John  G.,  living  in 
Christian  county,  and  William,  wdio 
lives  upon  his  father's  farm  in  Sanga- 
mon county.  Mr.  Cheney  was  formerly 
a  whig  in  politics,  but  now  votes  with 
the  republican  party.  He  is  a  member 
of  the  Masonic  fraternity. 

In  1852  Jay  M.  Hurd  was  elected  and 
entered  upon  the  duties  of  this  office. 
He  remained  in  it  a  term  of  two  years. 
Mr.  Hurd  having  served,  also,  in  the 
office  of  county  judge,  he  is  mentioned 
in  connection  with  that  office. 

In  1854,  ex-sheriff  Jonathan  Plowman 
was  again  elected  to  this  office,  and 
transacted  the  business  of  the  same  for 
one  term.  He  was  succeeded  in  1856 
by  Benjamin  Wedding,  who,  also,  oc- 
cupied the  office  for  two  years. 

Benjamin  Wedding,  son  of  James  H. 
and  Nancy  Wedding,  was  born  April 
14,  1826,  in  Scioto  county,  Ohio.  He 
came  with  the  family  to  what  is  now 
Jersey  county  in  1834,  and  here  spent 
bis  carl)'  life  and  obtained  his  educa- 
tion. At  the  age  of  20  years,  he  began 
teaching  school,  which  occupation  he 
followed  during  the  winter  seasons  for 
10  years,  farming  during  the  summers. 
In  1856  he  was  elected  sheriff  of  Jersey 


226 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


county  by  the  whig  party  and  removed 
to  Jersey ville.  He  served  one  term. 
He  joined  the  republican  party  at  its 
organization  and  has  consequently  since 
been  on  the  minority  side  of  poli- 
tics in  this  county.  In  1864  he  was  ap- 
pointed revenue  collector  for  Jersey 
and  Calhoun  counties,  which  office  he 
held  four  years.  He  was  justice  of  the 
peace  eight  years,  and  mayor  of  Jersey- 
ville  one  year.  He  has  carried  on  a  real 
estate  and  loan  business.  Aug.  9,  1847, 
Mr.  Wedding  was  married  to  Tabitha 
Johnson,  then  of  Jersey  county,  but  a 
native  of  Scioto  county,  Ohio.  Twelve 
children  were  born  to  them,  five  of 
whom  died  in  infancy.  Those  now 
living  are — Barkley,  James,  Arabella, 
wife  of  R.  H.  Maltimore,  Thomas,  Phil, 
Harry  and  Heber. 

Charles  H.  Bowman  was  first  elected 
to  the  office  of  sheriff  of  Jersey  county 
in  the  fall  of  1858,  and  occupied  the 
same  this  term. 

Charles  H.  Bowman  was  born  in  Troy, 
N.  Y.,  March  12, 1822,  and  was  the  third 
of  a  family  of  the  six  children  of  Elisha 
and  Eunice  Bowman.  The  elder  Mr. 
Bowman  with  his  family  came  to  Jersey 
county,  in  1836,  landing  here  Sept.  27, 
of  that  year.  He  soon  after  settled 
upon  a  farm  in  Fidelity  township. 
Charles  H.  was  educated  in  his  native 
city,  and  came  to  this  county  with  his 
parents  and  engaged  in  farming  until 
1858,  when  he  was  elected  sheriff  as 
above.  He  held  the  office  several  terms 
and  died,  while  in  this  position,  in  Jan., 
1873. 

W.  H.  Cummings  was  the  next  occu- 
pant of  the  office,  entering  upon  its 
duties  in  Dec,  1860,  and  continuing 
there  in  two  years. 


Mr.  Cummings  was  succeeded  by 
Charles  H.  Bowman,  in  1862.  The  lat- 
ter gentleman  served  two  years,  or  until 
Dec,,  1864. 

T.  J.  Selby,  in  1864,  was  duly  elected 
to  the  office  of  sheriff  of  the  county, 
and  filled  it  for  one  term.  Mr.  Selby 
having  occupied  the  position  of  county 
clerk  for  many  years,  he  has  been 
noticed  in  that  connection  in  this 
chapter. 

Again  in  1866,  Charles  H.  Bowman 
was  induced  to  enter  the  office  of  sheriff, 
and  again  served  one  term.  He  was 
followed  by  James  Henry  Belt,  who 
was  elected  at  the  regular  election  of 
1868,  and  entering  upon  the  duties  of 
the  office  he  filled  it  for  two  years. 

James  H.  Belt  was  born  Feb.  22, 
1837,  in  Jersey  county,  and  was  the  son 
of  Horatio  N.  and  Mary  Jane  Belt.  He 
received  his  education  in  the  common 
schools  of  this  county,  and  when  but 
about  16  years  of  age  he  became  a  mem- 
ber of  the  firm  of  Belt  Bros.  &  Co. 
When  about  25  years  of  age  he  was 
united  in  marriage  with  Helen  M. 
Bramlett.  In  the  fall  of  1868  he  was 
elected  sheriff  as  above  mentioned. 

Charles  H.  Bowman  was  again  elected 
to  this  position  in  1870,  and  re-elected 
in  1872,  but  dying  while  an  incumbent 
of  the  office.  At  the  fall  election  of 
1873,  his  son,  Stephen  H.  Bowman,  was 
elected  by  the  people  to  fill  the  vacancy, 
until  the  expiration  of  the  term,  which 
he  did  very  acceptably. 

In  1874  Augustus  H.  Barrett  entered 
the  office  of  sheriff,  and  filled  it  for  one 
term. 

James  M.  Young  was  duly  elected  to 
the  office  of  sheriff  of  Jersey  county  in 
1876,  and  filling  it  to  the  satisfaction  of 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


227 


the  people,  was  re-elected  in  1878, 
serving,  in  all,  four  years.  Mr.  Young 
having  occupied  the  office  of  county 
treasurer,  a  sketch  of  him  is  given  in 
connection  with  that  office. 

H.  C.  Massey  served  the  people  of 
this  county  as  sheriff  for  two  years, 
from  Dec,  1880.  Mr.  Massey  is  one  of 
the  present  members  of  the  general 
assembly  and  is  noticed  under  that  cap- 
tion. 

C.  S.  Frost,  the  present  sheriff  of 
Jersey  county,  was  first  elected  to  the 
office  in  1882,  and  has  filled  the  same 
to  the  credit  of  himself  and  honor  of 
his  friends,  ever  since. 

SURVEYORS. 

The  following  is  believed  to  be  a  com- 
plete list  of  those  who  have  filled  the 
office  of  surveyor  of  the  county  of  Jer- 
sey. On  account  of  the  early  records 
of  the  county  being  incomplete  in  some 
respects,  an  omission  may  occur,  but  it 
should  not  be  laid  to  the  historian,  as 
every  endeavor  has  been  made  to  make 
it  cover  all  the  ground:  James  A. 
Potts,    1843-47;    Job    Collins,    1847-49; 


James  A.  Potts,  1849-53;  Lewis  S. 
McNeil,  1853-57;  H.  M.  Chase,  1857-59; 
Josiah  H.  White,  1859-61;  George  I. 
Foster,  1861-71;  W.  L.  West,  1871-75; 
George  I.  Foster,  1875-79;  and  D.  J. 
Murphy,  elected  in  1879,  and  the  pres- 
ent incumbent. 


The  following  is  a  complete  list  of 
the  various  gentlemen  who  have  filled 
the  office  of  coroner  of  Jersey  county, 
from  the  date  of  its  organization  to  the 
present  time,  together  with  the  dates  of 
their  service:  N.  R.  Lurton  was  first 
elected,  in  1839,  and  served  one  year; 
Aaron  Rue,  1840-42;  John  Britton, 
1842-46;  George  Hoffman,  1846-48;  Wil- 
liam Loy,  1848-54;  Benjamin  Wedding, 
1854-56;  Felix  Virney,  1856-58;  Lewis 
Johnson,  1858-62;  James  L.  Beirne, 
1862-64;  F.  W.  Besterfeldt,  1864-66; 
Lewis  Johnson,  1866-68;  Sidney  Noble, 
L868-70;  E.  L.  Harriott,  1870-74;  Wes- 
ley Park,  1S74-76;  John  S.  Williams, 
1876-83;  Caleb  Dulladway,  1880-84;  and 
E.  L.  H.  Barry,  the  present  incumbent 
of  the  office, was  elected  in  Nov.,  1884. 


GHAPTRR    XV. 


Schools,  of  some  sort,  were  estab- 
lished many  years  ago;  but  the  eye  of 
history  has  furnished  no  lens  sufficiently 
powerful  to  enable  us  to  determine  when 
or  where  the  first  one  was  located.  It 
appears  like  a  fixed  star,  which  is  lost  in 
the  nebula1  of  mythology,  and  obscured 


EDUCATIONAL. 

from  our  vision  in  the  vista  of  distance. 
Schools  of  astronomy  were  in  operation 
in  Babylon  over  3,300  years  B.  C.  An 
academy  of  scribes  and  philosophers 
was  an  existing  institution  in  China  a 
thousand  years  later.  Schools  of  archi- 
tecture, astronomy  and  magic  were  in 


22S 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY 


operation  in  the  time  of  Moses,  among 
the  Egyptians,  and  ho  was  educated 
therein.  Schools  of  philosophy  flour- 
ished in  Judea  2, (KM)  years  B.  C.  The 
schools  of  Greece  date  back  to  the  siege 
of  Troy.  The  first  Roman  school  was  a 
military  academy,  established  667  years 
B.  C.  How  these  schools  were  con- 
ducted, we  have  hut  little  means  of 
knowing.  In  many  countries  they  were 
state  institutions  for  the  benefit  of  the 
royal  court.  The  magic  wise  men, sooth- 
sayers and  prophets  of  those  ancient 
countries  were  not  ignoramuses,  es- 
pecially gifted,  as  many  suppose,  but 
were  educated  men  —  learned  in  the 
knowledge  of  their  age  —  so  as  to  fit 
them  for  royal  counsellors.  Most  of 
these  schools  were  kept  secret  from  the 
masses,  and  as  much  mystery  and  won- 
der were  thrown  around  their  inmates 
as  possible.  These  were  seats  of  the 
oracles,  and  court  prophets,  without 
whose  sanction  kings  rarely  commenced 
or  prosecuted  any  great  enterprise.  In 
the  more  republican  nations,  teachers 
gathered  their  students  in  groves,  mar- 
ket places,  temples,  porches,  or  by  the 
sea,  and  taught  them  by  conversational 
lectures.  Book  were  unknown.  The 
art  of  printing  slumbered  in  the  then 
distant  future.  Even  letters  had  not 
been  born  out  of  hieroglyphic  charac- 
ters. Education  was  confined  to  the 
royal  retinue.  The  masses  were  igno- 
rant, and  purposely  kept  so,  in  order  to 
insure  subordination.  It  was  realized 
many  years  ago  that  ignorance  only 
would  demand  and  submit  to  des- 
potism. 

After  the  discoveries  of  Galileo,  edu- 
cation made  rapid  strides  toward  popu- 
larization.    He,   being   repudiated   and 


persecuted  by  the  royal  authorities,  be- 
came the  people's  educator;  and  the 
progressive  ideas  by  him  promulgated, 
caused  America  and  the  Pacific  isles  to 
be  discovered  and  settled — brought  forth 
the  art  of  printing,  unfolded  the  pro- 
testant  religion,  and  infused  a  general 
spirit  of  research  throughout  Europe. 
After  this  the  graded  system  began  to 
be  introduced  into  academies  and  col- 
leges; but  the  common  schools  received 
but  little  benefit  therefrom  until  within 
the  last  half  century,  when  Prussia  took 
the  lead  in  the  enterprise.  A  committee 
appointed  by  the  crown  reported  that  "it 
was  advisable  to  educate  all  classes,  for 
the  encouragement  of  piety  and  religion, 
in  order  to  lessen  the  police  force  of  the 
nation."  Public  schools  were  accord- 
ingly established  for  all  classes.  The 
common  people  flocked  in,  and  it  became 
necessary  to  erect  new  and  more  com- 
modious buildings,  and  to  provide  an 
increased  number  of  teachers.  To  meet 
this  demand  the  graded  system  was 
adopted.  It  was  found  that  where  one 
teacher  had  but  one  grade  of  pupils,  he 
could  give  instruction  to  about  twice  the 
usual  number — be  more  thorough,  and 
advance  them  much  faster  than  by  the 
ungraded  method. 

The  pioneer  school  houses  of  Jersey 
county,  as  was  common  in  all  new 
countries,  were  built  of  logs,  and  in 
some  cases  yet  stand  rough  cradles  of 
learning  that  many  distinguished  men 
recall  in  the  glamour  that  memory 
throws  around  their  boyhood's  days,  as 
their  only  alma  mater.  These  days  are 
past  and  gone,  and  now,  on  every  hill- 
top, the  white  frame  school  house  rears 
itself,  inviting  the  reluctant  youth  to 
follow  the  road  to  knowledge. 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


229 


COMMISSIONERS  OF  SCHOOL  LANDS. 

When  the  county  of  Jersey  was  organ- 
ized, in  1839,  the  office  of  superintend- 
ent of  schools  had  not  been,  as  yet, 
created.  The  only  officer  connected 
with  the  schools,  under  the  constitution 
of  1818,  was  the  commissioner  of  the 
school  lands,  who  had  charge  of  the 
funds  arising  from  the  sale  of  the  six- 
teenth sections,  donated  in  each  con- 
gressional township  for  educational  pur- 
poses. This  officer  was  appointed  by 
the  county  commissioners'  court,  who 
were  empowered  to  fix  the  compensation 
of  the  same.  Many  of  these  men  in  all 
the  early  communities  were  unfit  for 
the  position,  and  upon  the  records  of 
Jersey  county  is  spread  the  following 
unique  preamble  and  resolution,  which 
is  here  given  with  names  and  dates  left 
out,  as  it  is  not  necessary  for  historic 
accuracy  that  they  should  be  given; 
suffice  it  to  say,  that  it  is  at  a  term  of 
court  in  the  early  "forties:" 

''Whereas,  an  order  was  made  at  the 
June  term,  18 — ,  declaring  the  office  of 
school  commissioner  and  agent  for  the 
inhabitants  of  Jersey  county,  vacant  by 

the  removal  of for  neglect 

of  duty  and  incompetency;  and  whereas, 
the  court  was  not  aware  of  the  existence 
of  the  law  passed  last  winter,  making 
said  offices  elective  by  the  people,  on 
the  first  Monday  in  August  next;  and, 
whereas,  in  consequence  of  the  exist- 
ence of  said  law,  the  court  could  not 
get  a  suitable  and  competent  person  to 
accept  the  appointment  of  said  office  for 
so  short  a  time;  therefore  it  is 

"Ordered,  that  said  order  is  hereby 

rescinded,  and  said is  to 

all  intents  and  purposes  re-instated  in 
and  to  said  office,  for  the  reason  above 


mentioned.  But,  be  it  known,  that 
nothing  has  occurred  to  change  or  alter 
the  minds  of  this  court  relative  to  the 
causes  of  removal." 

The  first  to  occupy  this  office  was  Jo- 
seph Crabb,  who  was  appointed  by  the 
county  commissioners'  court  Oct.  14, 
1839,  and  held  it  for  about  a  year.  He 
was  succeeded  by  George  Pegues.  By 
some  change  in  the  law  this  was  altered 
from  an  appointive  to  an  elective  one, 
and  this  gentleman  was  elected,  but  re- 
signed it  September  of  that  same  year, 
and  James  Harriott  was  appointed  in  his 
place.  In  1843  he  was  re-elected  with- 
out any  opposition,  and  again  in  1S45 
and  1847,  holding  the  office  for  eight 
years. 

Rev.  B.  B.  Hamilton  was  the  next  to 
fill  the  office,  being  elected  thereto  in 
the  fall  of  1847,  but  only  served  one 
year.  Mr.  Hamilton  is  a  resident  and 
present  postmaster  of  the  town  of  White 
Hall,  Greene  county,  in  the  annals  of 
which  town  may  be  found  his  sketch. 

In  the  fall  of  1848  Hiram  Bridges  whs 
elected  to  fill  this  office,  and  held  it  for 
nine  years,  being  re-elected  in  1855. 

Henry  H.  Howard,  a  prominent  attor- 
ney of  the  county,  was  elected  to  this 
office  in  1857  and  acceptably  filled  it  for 
two  years. 

In  1858  the  law  governing  school  mat- 
ters was  radically  changed,  among  the 
improvements  being  the  abolishment  of 
the  office  of  school  commissioner,  and 
the  establishment  of  the  office  of 

SUPERINTENDENT    OF    SCHOOLS. 

This  officer  was  required  to  examine 
applicants  for  teachers'  certificates,  and 
to  issue  said  certificates  to  such  as  were 
qualified;  to  visit  and  inspect  the  schools 


230 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


in  the  county,  periodically;  to  examine 
the  plans  for  any  new  school  buildings 
and  modify  the  same  when  necessary; 
to  hold  meetings  of  the  presidents  of 
school  districts,  and  make  a  report  to 
the  state  superintendent. 

W.  J.  Herdman  was  the  first  to  fill 
this  new  position,  being  elected  thereto 
in  the  fall  of  1859,  and  held  the  same 
for  nine  years,  being  elected  his  own 
successor  several  times. 

C.  H.  Knapp,  was  the  next  incumbent 
of  the  office,  being  elected  at  the  regular 
election  of  1867,  and  served  the  people 
in  that  capacity  for  six  years. 

W.  H.  Lynn  was  elected  to  the  office 
of  county  superintendent  of  schools  of 
Jersey  county  in  the  fall  of  1878,  and 
was  re-elected  in  1875,  serving  four 
years. 

William  H.  Lynn  was  born  in  Cin- 
cinnati, Ohio,  Dec.  14,  1836,  his  parents 
heing  Samuel  and  Frances  W.  (Wilson) 
Lynn.  His  early  life  was  spent  in 
Kentucky,  where  he  received  an  aca- 
demic education.  In  1857,  he,  with  his 
parents  came  to  Illinois,  and  served  as 
a  clerk  one  year  in  Carrollton.  He  then 
gave  his  attention  to  teaching,  and  was 
afterwards  elected  county  superintend- 
ent of  schools,  and  served  as  such  four 
years.      Politically,    he  is  a  democrat. 

Lott  Pennington,  the  present  incum- 
bent of  the  office,  was  first  elected  in 
4877,  and  has  filled  it  ever  since,  being 
elected  regularly  his  own  successor,  on 
the  expiration  of  his  term  of  office. 

Lott  Pennington,  county  superintend- 
ent of  schools,  is  a  native  of  New  Jer- 
sey, born  July  22,  1842.  He  is  a  son  of 
James  and  Elizabeth  (Richards)  Penn- 
ington, the  former,  a  native  of  New  Jer- 
sey,the  latter  born  in  Wales, but  brought 


to  this  country  in  infancy.  James  Penn- 
ington was  a  farmer,  and  Lott  was  reared 
to  agricultural  pursuits.  In  1857  he 
came  to  Illinois,  and  stopped  first  at 
Bunker  Hill.  He  came  soon  after,  to 
Jerseyville.  In  1860,  he  entered  Mount 
Morris  Seminary,  and  continued  a  stu- 
dent there,  three  years.  He  then  fol- 
lowed teaching  during  the  winter,  and 
farming  during  the  summer  seasons,  in 
the  vicinity  of  Jerseyville.  In  the  fall 
of  1877,  he  was  elected  county  superin- 
tendent, and  was  re-elected  in  1882.  He 
is  well  qualified  for  this  responsible 
position,  and  his  popularity  is  well  at- 
tested by  his  re-election  to  the  same.  In 
Nov.,  1863,  Mr.  Pennington  was  married 
to  Rebecca  Rue,  a  daughter  of  George 
S.  ami  Ellen  Rue.  They  have  six 
children — George,  Herbert,  Birdie,  Jes- 
se, Frank  and  Edith. 

EDUCATIONAL    DEVELOPEMENT. 

In  the  pioneer  days  in  Jersey  county, 
in  common  with  all  new  countries,  good 
schools  were  like  "angels'  visits — few 
and  far  between;"  and  it  was  consid- 
ered very  fortunate,  indeed,  if  any 
opportunity  was  offered  for  obtaining 
even  the  rudiments  of  a  common  school 
education.  Some  of  the  scattered  set- 
tlements could  not  afford  to  employ  a 
teacher,  and  were  therefore  compelled 
to  do  without,  or  send  their  children 
across  the  prairie  or  through  the  timber 
to  some  mora  fortunate  settlement, 
where  a  school  was  in  operation.  Many 
instances  are  mentioned  where  children 
have  been  sent  a  distance  of  from  three 
to  six  miles,  walking  the  entire  way 
morning  and  evening  of  each  day,  that 
they  might  avail  themselves  of  the 
chance  of  acquiring  knowledge,  and 
thus  fitting  themselves  for  life's  duties. 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


231 


How  different  now  !  In  every  town- 
ship there  are  several  schools  in  success- 
ful operation;  competent  teachers  are 
employed,  many  of  whom  have  spent 
years  in  fitting  themselves  for  their  voca- 
tion, and  every  convenience  afforded  for 
the  education  of  the  rising  generation. 
In  those  early  days  a  log  cahin  or  shanty, 
probably  10x12  feet  in  size,  was  erected 
on  some  of  the  old  settlers'  land.  Fre- 
quently these  huts  had  but  one  window, 
a  small  doorway  cut  through  the  logs  at 
the  most  convenient  place,  while  the 
furniture  consisted  of  slab  seats  for  the 
scholars  and  a  three-legged  stool  and  a 
hazel  or  hickory  rod  for  the  teacher. 
As  fur  books,  but  few  were  needed — the 
less  the  better,  as  the  teacher  could  get 
along  the  more  readily. 

The  school  statistics  of  the  county  are 
a  profitable  study,  and  many  items  here 
presented  will  show  more  conclusively 
and  accurately  the  standing  of  the  county 
in  this  respect. 

From  the  last  report  of  the  county 
superintendent,  Lott  Pennington,  for  the 
year  ending  June  30,  1884,  a  number  of 
items  have  been  compiled,  which  will 
best  show,  in  tabulated  form,  the  pres- 
ent condition  of  educational  matters  in 
Jersey  county. 
Number  of  mules  in  the  county  between 

the  ages  of  c>  and  21 2,662 

Number  of  females 2,3i»i 

Number  of  districts  in  the  county 61 

Number  of  graded  schools 8 

Number  of  ungraded  schools 64 

Number  of  male  teachers  employed. . . .  42 
Number  of  female  teachers  employed..  66 
Number  of  males    enrolled    in     graded 

schools 736 

Number  of  females 1)42 

Number  of  males  enrolled  in   ungraded 

schools 1 ,394 

Number  of  females 1,255 


Whole  number  enrolled 4.027 

Number  of  bi-iek  school  houses 7 

Number  of  frame  school  houses 62 

Number  of  school   houses   built    dining 

the  year ■'• 

Number  of  districts  having  libraries. ...         ■'. 

Number  of  volumes  in  same 260 

Average  monthly  wages  paid   male 

teachers 8         53.78 

Average  for  female  teachers 42.25 

Amount  of    district   tax    levy   for 

schools 33,296.38 

Estimated  value  of  school  property  132,985.00 
Estimated  value  of  school  libraries.         .>::4.(»."> 
Estimated  value  of  school  apparatus      1,826.00 
Number  of  first  grade  teachers'  certifi- 
cates issued I"i 

Number  of  second  grade 4s 

Number  teachers'  certificates  to   males       29 

Number  to  females :14 

Number  of  male  applicants  rejected. ...         :: 

Number  of  females •"> 

First  grade  certificates  renewed  during 

the  year i> 

Second  grade  certificates 10 

FINANCIAL  STATISTICS. 

As  to  the  financial  condition  in  school  mat- 
ters, below  is  presented  the  account  of  the 
various  township  treasurers  with  the  school 
districts,  for  the  year  ending  June  30,  1884: 

RECEIPTS. 

Balance  on  hand  June  30,  L882 $15,664.98 

From  distribution  of  trustees 6,724.92 

Special  district  taxes  received 33,743.88 

From  loans  paid  in 372.47 

Tuition  fees 528.75 

From  sale  of  school  property 41.00 

From  district  bonds  for  building. .  . .  1,295.00 

From  treasurers  of  other  townships.  1,143.03 

Fees  of  transferred  pupils (12.72 

Total $59,576.75 

EXPENDITURES. 

Amount  paid  to  male  teachers  in 
graded  schools #  4,979.10 

Amount  paid  to  male  teachers  in  un- 
graded schools 8,074.92 

Amount  paid  to  female  teachers  in 
graded  schools 5,281,25 


232 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


Amount  paid  female  teachers  in  un- 
graded schools 8,468.00 

Paid  for  new  school  houses,  built  or 

purchased 2,21ii.:i4 

Paid    for   school    house   sites   and 

grounds 88.50 

Paid  for  repairs  and  improvements.  1,609.96 

Paid  for  school  furniture 1,719.79 

Paid  for  school  apparatus 32.05 

Paid  for  fuel  and  incidental  expenses  4,260.54 


Amount  paid  clerks  of  dist.  boards. .  120.10 
Amount  of  interest  paid  on  district 

bonds 443.15 

Amount  paid  of  principal  of  district 

bonds 400.00 

Paid  tuition  of  pupils  transferred. . .  94.18 
Amount  paid   treasurers   of   other 

townships 1,218.00 

Total $20,252.09 


GHAPTRR    XVI. 


THE  WAR  FOR  THE  UNION. 


The  institution  of  slavery  was  always 
a  source  of  trouble  between  the  free  and 
slave-holding  states.  The  latter  were 
always  troubled  with  the  thought  that 
the  former  would  encroach  upon  their 
rights,  and  nothing  could  be  done  to 
shake  this  belief.  Compromise  meas- 
ures from  time  to  time  were  adopted  to 
settle  the  vexed  question  of  slavery,  but 
the  fears  of  the  slave-holders  were  only 
allayed  for  a  short  time.  Threats  of 
secession  were  often  made  by  the  slave- 
holding  states,  but  as  soon  as  measures 
of  a  conciliatory  character  were  passed, 
no  attempt  was  made  to  carry  their 
threats  into  execution.  Finally  came 
the  repeal  of  the  Missouri  compromise 
and  the  adoption  of  a  measure  known  as 
the  Kansas-Nebraska  bill.  This  bill 
opened  certain  territory  to  slavery, 
which,  under  the  former  act,  was  for- 
ever to  be  free.  About  the  time  of  the 
passage  of  this  act,  the  whig  party  was 
in  a  state  of  dissolution,  and  the  great 
body  of  that  party,  together  with  cer- 
tain democrats  who  were  opposed  to  the 


Kansas-Nebraska  bill,  united,  thus 
forming  a  new  party  to  which  was  given 
the  name  of  republican,  having  for  its 
object  the  prevention  of  the  further  ex- 
tension of  slavery.  The  people  of  the 
south  imagined  they  saw  in  this  new 
party  not  only  an  effort  to  prevent  the 
extension  of  slavery,  but  one  that  would 
eventually  be  used  to  destroy  slavery  in 
those  states  in  which  it  already  existed. 

In  1860,  four  presidential  tickets  were 
in  the  field.  Abraham  Lincoln  was  the 
candidate  of  the  republicans,  Stephen 
A.  Douglas  of  the  national  democrats, 
John  C.  Breckenridge  of  the  pro-slaver}' 
interests,  and  John  Bell  of  the  union. 
The  union  party  was  composed  princi- 
pally of  those  who  had  previously  affili- 
ated with  the  American  or  know-noth- 
ing party.  Early  in  the  campaign  there 
were  threats  of  secession  and  disunion 
in  case  of  the  election  of  Abraham  Lin- 
coln, but  the  people  were  so  accustomed 
to  southern  bravado  that  little  heed  was 
given  to  the  bluster. 

On  the  20th  of  December,  1860,  South 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


Carolina,  by  a  convention  of  delegates, 
declared  "that  the  union  now  existing 
between  South  Carolina  and  the  other 
states  of  North  America  is  dissolved, 
and  that  the  state  of  South  Carolina  has 
resumed  her  position  among  the  nations 
of  the  earth  as  a  free,  sovereign  and 
independent  state,  with  full  power  to 
levy  war  and  conclude  peace,  contract 
alliances,  establish  commerce,  and  do  all 
other  acts  and  things  which  independent 
states  may  of  right  do." 

On  the  24th  Gov.  Pickens  issued  a 
proclamation  declaring  that  "  South  Car- 
olina is,  and  has  a  right  to  be,  a  free 
and  independent  state,  and  as  such  has 
a  right  to  levy  war,  conclude  peace,  and 
do  all  acts  whatever  that  rightfully  ap- 
pertain to  a  free  and  independent  state." 

On  the  26th  Maj.  Anderson  evacuated 
Fort  Moultrie  and  occupied  Fort  Sum- 
ter. Two  days  previously  he  wrote 
the  secretary  of  war,  follows  : 

"  When  I  inform  you  that  my  garrison 
consists  of  only  60  effective  men,  and 
that  we  are  in  very  indifferent  works, 
the  walls  of  which  are  only  14  feet  high, 
and  that  we  have  within  160  yards  of 
our  walls  sand  hills  which  command  our 
works,  and  which  afford  admirable  sites 
for  batteries  and  the  finest  coverts  for 
sharp-shooters;  and  that  besides  this 
there  are  numerous  houses,  some  of  them 
within  pistol  shot,  and  you  will  at  once 
see  that  if  attacked  in  force,  headed  by 
any  one  but  a  simpleton,  there  is  scarcely 
a  possibility  of  our  being  able  to  hold 
out  long  enough  for  our  friends  to  come 
to  our  succor." 

His  appeals  for  reinforcements  were 
seconded  by  Gen.  Scott,  but  unheeded 
by  President  Buchanan  and  entirely  ig- 
nored by  Secretary  of  War  Floyd. 


On  the  28th  South  Carolina  troops 
occupied  Fort  Moultrie  and  Castle  Pinck- 
ney,  and  hoisted  the  palmetto  flag  on  the 
ramparts.  On  the  29th  John  B.  Floyd 
resigned  his  place  in  Buchanan's  cabi- 
net, charging  that  the  president  in  re- 
fusing to  remove  Maj.  Anderson  from 
Charleston  harbor,  designed  to  plunge 
the  country  into  civil  war,  and  added  : 
"I  cannot  consent  to  be  the  agent  of 
such  a  calamity."  On  the  same  day  the 
South  Carolina  commissioners  presented 
their  official  credentials  at  Washington, 
which,  on  the  next  day,  were  declined. 

On  the  2d  day  of  January,  1861,  Geor- 
gia declared  for  secession,  and  Georgia 
troops  took  possession  of  the  United 
States  arsenal  in  Augusta  and  Forts 
Pulaski  and  Jackson. 

Gov.  Ellis,  of  North  Carolina,  seized 
the  forts  at  Beaufort  and  Wilmington 
and  the  arsenal  at  Fayetteville.  On  the 
evening  of  the  4th  the  Alabama  and 
Mississippi  delegations  in  congress  tele- 
graphed the  conventions  of  their  respec- 
tive states  to  secede,  telling  them  that 
there  was  no  prospect  of  a  satisfactory 
adjustment. 

On  the  7th  the  conventions  of  Ala- 
bama, Mississippi  and  Tennessee  met  in 
secession  conclave.  Secretary  Thomp- 
son resigned  his  seat  in  the  cabinet  on 
the  9th,  on  the  ground  that,  contrary  to 
promises,  troops  had  been  sent  to  Major 
Anderson.  On  the  same  day,  the  Star 
of  the  West,  carrying  supplies  and  re- 
inforcements to  Major  Anderson,  with 
her  flag  at  her  mast-head,  was  fired  into 
from  Morris  Island,  and  obeying  in- 
structions turned  homeward,  leaving 
Fort  Sumter  and  its  gallant  little  band 
of  heroes  to  the  mercy  of  the  rebels  and 
traitors.      On  the  same  day,   also,  the 


234 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


ordinance  of  secession  passed  the  Mis- 
sissippi convention.  Florida  adopted 
an  ordinance  of  secession  on  the  10th, 
and  Alabama  on  the  11th.  On  the  latter 
day  the  rebels  seized  the  arsenal  at 
Baton  Rouge,  and  Forts  St.  Philip  and 
Jackson,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Missis- 
sippi river,  and  Fort  Pike  at  the  en- 
trance of  Lake  Pontchartrain.  Pensacola 
navy  yard  and  Fort  Barrancas  were  sur- 
rendered to  rebel  troops  by  Colonel 
Armstrong  on  the  13th.  Lieutenant 
Slemmer,  who  had  drawn  his  command 
from  Fort  McRea  to  Fort  Pickens,  defied 
Armstrong's  orders  and  announced  his 
intention  to  "hold  the  fort"  at  all 
hazards.  The  Georgia  convention 
adopted  an  ordinance  of  secession  on 
the  19th.  On  the  following  day  Lieu- 
tenant Slemmer  was  besieged  by  a 
thousand  "allied  troops"  at  Fort  Pick- 
ens. Louisiana  adopted  an  ordinance 
of  secession  on  the  25th.  On  the  1st  of 
February  the  rebels  seized  the  United 
States  mint  and  custom  house  at  New 
Orleans.  The  peace  convention  assem- 
bled at  Washington  on  the  4th,  but 
adjourned  without  doing  anything  to 
quiet  the  disturbed  elements.  On  the 
9th  a  provisional  constitution  was 
adopted  at  Montgomery,  Alabama,  it 
being  the  constitution  of  the  United 
States  "re-constructed"  to  suit  their 
purpose.  Jefferson  Davis,  of  Missis- 
sippi, was  chosen  president,  and  Alex- 
ander H.  Stephens,  of  Georgia,  vice- 
president,  of  the  "Confederate  States  of 
North  America."  Jefferson  Davis  was 
inaugurated  on  the  18th,  and  on  the 
25th  it  was  learned  that  General  Twiggs, 
commanding  the  department  of  Texas, 
had  basely  betrayed  his  trust,  and  had 
surrendered  all  the  military  posts,  am- 


munition and  arms  to  the  Texas  au- 
thorities. 

Abraham  Lincoln  was  inaugurated 
March  the  4th,  1861,  in  front  of  the 
capitol,  the  ceremonies  being  witnessed 
by  a  vast  concourse  of  people,  Before 
taking  the  oath,  Mr.  Lincoln  pronounced 
in  a  clear,  ringing  voice  his  inaugural 
address,  to  hear  which  there  was  an  al- 
most painful  solicitude  ;  to  read  which 
the  whole  American  people  and  civilized 
world  awaited  with  irrepressible  in- 
terest. With  that  address  and  the  ad- 
ministration of  the  oath  of  office,  the 
people  were  assured.  All  doubt,  if  any 
had  previously  existed,  was  removed. 
In  the  hands  of  Abraham  Lincoln,  the 
people's  president,  and  himself  of  the 
people,  the  government  was  safe. 

Traitors  were  still  busy  plotting  and 
planning.  Troops  were  mustering  in 
all  the  seceded  states.  On  Friday, 
April  12,  the  surrender  of  Fort  Sum- 
ter, with  its  garrison  of  60  effective 
men,  was  demanded,  and  bravely  re- 
fused by  the  gallant  Robert  Anderson, 
the  heroic  commander.  Fire  was  at 
once  opened  on  the  almost  helpless  gar- 
rison by  the  rebel  forces,  numbering 
several  thousands.  Resistance  for  any 
length  of  time  was  useless,  and,  at  last, 
out  of  ammunition,  and  seared  and 
scorched  by  flames  from  their  burning 
quarters,  the  little  band  of  heroic  men 
were  compelled  to  give  up,  and  the  na- 
tional colors  were  hauled  down  and  by 
traitor  hands  were  trailed  in  the  dust, 
the  dirt  and  the  mire  not  defiling  them 
half  as  much  as  the  Judas  touch  of  ar- 
rant rebels.  On  Sunday  morning,  the 
14th,  the  news  of  the  surrender  was  re- 
ceived in  all  the  principal  cities  of  the 
Union.      That   was    all,    but   that   was 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


235 


enough.     A  day  later,  when  the  news 
was   confirmed  and  spread  throughout 
the  country,  the  patriotic  people  of  the 
North  were  aroused  from  their  dreams 
of  the  future — from  undertakings   half 
completed — and   made  to  realize    that, 
behind   that   mob,    there    was    a    dark, 
deep  and  well-organized  purpose  to  des- 
troy the  government,  rend  the  Union  in 
twain,  and  out  of  its  ruins  erect  a  slave 
oligarchy,  wherein  no  one  would  dare 
question  their  right  to  hold  in  bondage 
the  sons  and   daughters   of  men  whose 
skins  were  black.     Their  dreams  of  the 
future — their    plans   for   the    establish- 
ment of  an  independent  confederacy — 
were  doomed  from   their   inception   to 
sad  and  bitter  disappointment. 
"Draw  fortb  your  million  blades  as  one; 
Complete  the  battle  how  begun; 
God  tights  with  ye.  and  overhead 
Floats  the  dear  banner  of  your  dead. 
They,  and  the  gluries  of  the  past. 
The  future,  dawning  dim  and  vast. 
And  all  the  holiest  hopes  of  man 
Are  beaming  triumphant  in  your  van. 
"Slow  to  resolve,  be  swift  to  do; 
Teach  ye  the  False  how  tights  the  True: 
How  buckled  l'ertidy  shall  feel 
In  her  black  heart  the  Patriot's  steel; 
How  sure  the  bolt  that  Justice  wings: 
How  weak  the  arm  a  traitor  brings; 
How  mighty  they  who  steadfast  stand 
For  freedom's  tlag  and  freedom's  land." 
On  Monday,  April  15,  President  Lin- 
coln issued  the  following  proclamation: 
Whereas,    The  laws  of  the  I'nited  states 
have  for  some  time  past,  and  are  now,  op- 
posed and  the  execution  thereof  obstructed, 
in   the   states   of   South    Carolina.    Alabama, 
Florida.  Mississippi,  Louisiana  and  Texas,  by 
combinations  too  powerful  to  be  suppressed 
by   the   ordinary  course  of   judicial  proceed- 
ings, or  by  the  power  vested  in   the  marshals; 
now,  therefore,  I,  Abraham  Lincoln,  president 
of  the  United  States,  by  virtue  of  the  power 
in  me  vested  by  the  constitution  and  the  laws. 


have  thought  to  call  forth,  and  hereby  do  call 
forth,  the  militia  of  the  several  states  of  the 
Union,  to  the  number  of  seventy-five  thou- 
sand, in  order  to  suppress  said  combinations, 
and  to  cause  the  laws  to  be  duly  executed. 

The  details  for  this  subject  will  be  immedi- 
ately communicated  to  the  state  authorities 
through  the  war  department.  I  appeal  to  all 
loyal  citizens  to  favor,  facilitate  and  to  aid 
this  effort  to  maintain  the  honor,  the  integ- 
r  ty  and  existence  of  our  National  Union,  and 
the  perpetuity  of  popular  government,  and  to 
redress  wrongs  already  long  endured.  I  deem 
it  proper  to  say  that  the  first  services  assigned 
to  the  forces  hereby  called  forth  will  probably 
be  to  repossess  the  forts,  places  and  property 
which  have  been  seized  from  the  Union;  and 
in  every  event  the  utmost  care  will  be  observed, 
consistently  with  the  object  aforesaid,  to 
avoid  any  devastation,  any  destruction  of,  or 
interference  with  property,  or  any  disturbance 
of  peaceful  citizens  in  any  part  of  the  country; 
ami  I  hereby  command  the  persons  composing 

the  combinations  aforesaid,  to  disperse  I 

retire  peaceably  to  their  respective  abode,, 
within  twenty  days  from  this  date. 

Deeming  that  the  present  condition  of  pub- 
lic affairs  presents  an  extraordinary  occasion, 
1  do  hereby,  in  virtue  id'  the  powers  in  me 
vested  by  the  constitution,  convene  both  the 
houses  of  congress.  The  senators  and  repre- 
sentatives are  therefore  summoned  to  assemble 
at  their  respective  chambers  at  1_!  o'clock, 
noon,  on  Thursday,  the  fourth  day  id'  July 
next,  then  and  there  to  consider  and  deter- 
mine such  measures  as  in  their  wisdom  the 
public  safety  and  interest  may  seem  to  demand. 

In  witness  thereof.  I  have  hereunto  set  my 
hand  and  caused  the  seal  of  the  I'nited  Slates 
to  be  affixed. 

Done  at  the  city  of  Washington,  on  the  fif- 
teenth day  id'  April,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord 
one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  sixty-one, 
and  of  the  independence  of  the  I'nited  states, 
tie  eighty-fifth. 

By  the  president, 

Abraham  Lincoln. 

William  II.  Seward,  secretary  of  state. 

The  last  word  of  this  proclamation 
had  scarcely  been  taken  from  the  elec- 


>36 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


trie  wire  before  the  call  was  filled.  Men 
and  money  were  counted  out  by  hun- 
dreds and  thousands.  The  people  who 
loved  their  whole  country  could  not 
give  enough.  Patriotism  thrilled  and 
vibrated  and  pulsated  through  every 
heart.  The  farm,  the  workshop,  the 
office,  the  pulpit,  the  bar,  the  bench, 
the  college,  the  school  house — every 
calling  offered  its  best  men,  their  lives 
and  fortunes,  in  defense  of  the  govern- 
ment's honor  and  unity.  Party  lines 
were  for  a  time  ignored.  Bitter  words, 
spoken  in  moments  of  political  heat, 
were  forgotten  and  forgiven,  and  join- 
ing hands  in  a  common  cause,  they  re- 
peated the  oath  of  America's  soldier 
statesman:  "By  the  great  eternal,  the 
union  must  and  shall  be  preserved  !" 

Seventy-five  thousand  men  were  not 
enough  to  subdue  the  rebellion.  Nor 
were  ten  times  that  number.  The  war 
went  on,  and  call  followed  call,  until  it 
seemed  as  if  there  were  not  men  enough 
in  all  the  free  states  to  crush  out  the 
rebellion.  But  to  every  call  for  either 
men  or  money,  there  was  a  willing  and 
ready  response.  The  gauntlet  thrown 
down  by  plotters  of  the  south  was  ac- 
cepted; not,  however,  in  the  spirit 
which  insolence  meets  insolence,  but 
with  a  firm,  determined  spirit  of  patri- 
otism and  love  of  country.  The  duty 
of  the  president  was  plain  under  the 
constitution  and  laws,  and,  above  and 
beyond  all,  the  people,  from  whom  all 
political  power  is  derived,  demanded 
the  suppression  of  the  rebellion,  and 
stood  ready  to  sustain  the  authority  of 
their  representative  and  executive  offi- 
cers to  the  utmost  extremity. 

Settled  as  Jersey  county  was  by  many 
from  the  southern  states,  it  is  in  no  wise 


derogatory  to  her  that  in  the  breasts  of 
many  of  her  citizens  beat  hearts  in  sym- 
pathy with  the  cause  of  the  southern 
confederacy,  and  that  a  feeling  of  ill- 
will  should  prevail  against  the  radical 
abolitionists.  But  to  their  honor  be  it 
spoken,  that  many  of  these,  who  looked 
upon  the  movement  of  the  south  as  hav- 
ing just  grounds,  with  a  noble  patriot- 
ism, sank  all  sectional  and  political 
feelings  in  their  devotion  to  the  cause  of 
the  Union,  and  the  "star  gemmed  fiag" 
of  their  country.  Many  of  the  citizens 
of  the  county  of  Jersey,  and  among 
them  many  of  the  most  influential  and 
respected  ones,  used  every  honorable 
means  to  defeat  the  election  of  Abraham 
Lincoln  to  the  presidency,  deeming  it 
to  be  the  best  interests  of  the  country. 
But  others  worked  equally  hard  to  ele- 
vate the  favorite  son  of  Illinois  to  the 
executive  seat,  although  a  no  less  dis- 
tinguished citizen  of  Illinois  was  one 
of  his  opponents.  The  vote,  in  Novem- 
ber 1860,  best  shows  the  number  of 
those  who  favored  the  election  of  Lin- 
coln and  who  favored  his  opponents: 
for  Lincoln,  910  votes;  for  Douglas, 
1,291;  for  Breckenridge,  11;  and  for 
Bell,  105.  In  the  minds  of  all  it 
seemed  impossible  that  the  south  would 
secede,  and  that  this  glorious  republic 
would  be  disrupted,  thinking  that  when 
the  excitement  of  the  political  cam- 
paign had  passed  away,  peace  and  pros- 
perity would  continue.  But  when  the 
sad  news  of  Anderson's  surrender  was 
made  known  throughout  the  land,  no 
greater  indignation,  at  the  outrage  to 
our  flag,  was  betrayed  anywhere  than 
in  Jersey  county.  Political  rancor  was 
hushed,  partisan  feeling  was  swept 
away,  and  pure  patriotism  animated  the 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


237 


whole  people.  Nobly  did  the  people  of 
the  county  respond  to  the  calls  for  men 
in  the  foregoing  proclamation,  and  at 
each  succeeding  call. 

All  throughout  the  long  years  that  the 
dark  cloud  of  war  covered  our  country, 
the  enlistment  of  men,  the  forming  of 
new  companies,  the  constant  stir  and 
excitement  was  kept  up,  and  men, 
young,  middle-aged  and  old,  pressed  to 
the  front.  Many  brave  and  gallant 
sons  of  Jersey  county  represented  her 
in  the  ranks  of  "blue-coated  national 
defenders,"  men  who  stood  in  the  red 
front  of  lurid  battle,  and  always  took  a 
prominent  part.  Numbers  of  them 
laid  down  their  lives  upon  the  altar  of 
their  country,  and  their  bones  enrich 
the  soil  of  nearly  every  southern  state. 
From  the  Potomac  to  the  Rio  Grande, 
from  Albemarle  sound  to  the  Rocky 
mountains,  have  their  drums  beat,  and 
the  ground  re-echoed  to  their  tread,  and 
no  more  heroic  soldiers  led  the  van  in 
many  a  stricken  field  than  did  the 
representatives  from  this  section  of  the 
state. 

While  they  were  away  upon  the  tented 
field,  the  patriotic  men  and  women  at 
home  were  not  idle.  Although  impos- 
sible to  get  the  county  to  do  anything 
in  an  official  way  for  the  relief  of  sol- 
diers' families,  many,  as  private  citi- 
zens, thought  it  not  only  a  duty  but  a 
blessed  privilege  to  render  all  the  aid 
in  their  power.  During  the  entire  four 
years  of  war,  we  think  but  little  actual 
suffering  was  experienced  by  any  at 
home  on  account  of  the  absence  of  their 
natural  protectors,  who  were  serving 
their  country.  Fairs  and  festivals  were 
held  for  the  purpose  of  obtaining  sani- 
tary supplies  for  those  in  the  field,  and 


soldiers'  aid  societies  were  continually 
investigating  and  relieving  the  wants 
of  the  needy  at  home. 

ROSTER. 

The  following  is  a  complete  roster  of 
the  citizens  of  Jersey  county,  who,  in 
that  trying  hour  of  a  nation's  need,  left 
wife,  children  and  comfortable  homes, 
and,  shouldering  the  musket,  went  to 
the  front  in  discharge  of  the  patriot's 
duty.  These  are  compiled  from  the 
adjutant  general's  report,  and  other 
official  and  authentic  sources.  If  there 
are  any  inaccuracies  of  spelling,  or 
omissions,  the  historians  hope  that 
they  will  be  pardoned,  as  the  rolls  have 
been  followed  as  nearly  as  possible,  and 
none  has  a  higher  appreciation  of  the 
"boys  in  blue,"  than  the  writers  of 
these  annals: 

.SEVENTH   IXFAXTIiY. 
COMPANY  F. 

Bickner,  G.  W.,  Camp,  Christopher, 

Elliott,  William  It.,       .James,  George, 
Becker,  J.  II.,  Phillips,  11.  W. 

James,  William, 
NINTH   INFANTRY. 

COMPANY    A. 

Harris,  Charles, 
TWELFTH  INFANTRY. 

COMPANY    E. 

Yates,  George. 

COMPANY   1. 

Hamilton,  Alexander. 
FOURTEENTH  IX FAXTUY. 

COMPANY  F. 

Captains: 

Littlelield.  M.  S.,  Moore,  John  I). 

First  Lieutenants: 
Scott,  William  II.,        Simmons,  T.  II., 
Stafford,  I.  B. 
Sergeants: 
Mendenhall,  A.  W.,      Pattern,  William  II., 
Davis,  J.  A.,  Stafford,  I.  B., 

Leonard,  T.  H. 


238 

HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 

c 

orporals: 

FOURTEENTH    ILLINOIS    INFANTRY. 

Drew,  J.  M.. 

Aullabaugh,  R.  R, 

The  regiment  known  as  the   14th  111. 

smith. . I.  \\\, 

Catt.  William, 
Umphreys,  J.  II., 

Vol.  Inf.  was  organized  for  30  days  un- 

Pinckard, (i.  R., 

Stafford,  Brook. 

der  what  is  known   as  the  "Ten  Regi- 

Musicians: 

ment  bill,"  and  was  mustered  into  the 

Adams,  George, 

Smutz,  D.  P. 

state  service  at  Jacksonville,  where  it 

] 

Jrivates: 

rendezvoused,  on  the  4th  of  May,  1861. 

Arkebauer,  George 

Austin,  James, 

On  the  25th  of  the  same  month  it  was 

Beck,  J.  I)., 

Bright,  Mahlon, 

mustered  into  the  service  of  the  United 

Brockus,  J.  L., 
Berry,  W.  W., 

Ballard,  Ludwig, 

Craig.  Lionel. 

States,  for  three  years,  by  Capt.  Pitcher, 

1  i.ivis,  Jackson, 

Davidson,  E.  G., 

of  the  regular  army. 

Elliott,  W.  J., 

Estes.,  A.  J., 

The  regiment  remained  at  Camp  Dun- 

Free, M.  VV., 

Freeman,  J.  (J., 

can,  Jacksonville,    111.,  until  the  latter 

Greene,  <>.  S., 

Hoag,  W.  A., 

part  of  June,  1861,  under  instruction  in 

Hoag,  Franklin. 

Hull,  M.  J., 

drill  and  other  duties  contingent  upon 
the  life  of  a  soldier,  but  upon  the  date 

Halloran,  John, 

James,  Alonzo, 

Johnessee,  John, 
Keys.  John, 

Leonard,  s.  B., 

Leigh,  Joseph. 

above   they  proceeded   to  Quincy,  111., 

Milliken.  T.  8., 

Monk.  John, 

and   upon  the  5th   of  July  were  trans- 

Miller, Newton, 

Moore,  William, 

ferred  to  Missouri.     The  officers  at  this 

Moore,  John  1)., 

Price,  '1'.  A.. 

time  were   as    follows :     Colonel,  John 

Barker,  J.  V., 

Iioland,  Alexander. 

M.  Palmer;    lieutenant-colonel,  Amory 

Rowdan,  Isaac, 

Rowdan,  James, 

Rudolph,  Charles, 

Richards.  A.  P., 

K.   Johnson;  major,    Jonathan    Morris; 

Slaten,  W.  W., 

Stover,  David, 

and  adjutant,  Robert  P.  MeKnight.     It 

Smith,  S.  ('.,  Si-., 

Smith,  S.  ('..  Jr., 

did  some  guard  duty  in  Missouri,  in  con- 

Strode. T.  II., 

Taylor,  G.  W.. 

nection  with  the  16th   111.  Inf.     On  the 

Vinson,  (i.  W., 

Ware,  Nathaniel, 

16th  of  July  the  regiment  marched  with 
other   troops,    under   the   command    of 

Brower,  Eliphalet, 

Brewer,  Emory. 

Brewer,  Edward, 

Bigelow,  <!.  L. 

Grosjean,  Nicholas 

Gosling,  David, 

(it'll.   Stephen   A.    Hurlbut,  to    Honey- 

Gill,  Jacob. 

Ileberick.  Herman, 

ville,  Mo.,  in  pursuit  of  the  column  un- 

Jennegan, \V.  < '.. 

Jennings,  J.  Q. 

der  Gen.  Martin  E.  Green,  and  arrived 

Lane.  J.  \\\. 

Loran,  Matthew, 

in  that  town  on  the   1st  of  September, 

Leonard.  J.  L. 
McBain,  Franklin. 
McGuire,  J.  R,, 

Matt,  Asbury, 

Murry,  Patrick, 
Moore,  James, 

dispersing  the  forces  of  the  enemy,  cap- 
turing  James    Green,    lately   a    United 

.Moure.  Wyatt, 

Miner.  ('.  F., 

States  senator,  a  strong  fomentor  of  se- 

North, James, 

Price,  s.  s.. 

cession    and   rebellion.     The   regiment 

Pitt,  W.  G, 

Roady,  Moses, 

then  proceeded   to   Rolla,   where  it  re- 

liichards, L.  I'., 

Randle.  W.  P., 

mained   but   a   short   time,    moving  to 
Jefferson    City,   where    it    joined    with 

Roody,  W.  1".. 

short.  T.  S„ 

Smith.  John, 
Tracy.  Patrick. 

]?; 

rnos.  J.  R. 

the  forces  under  Gen.  John  C.  Fremont, 

C( 

MP  ANT    D. 

in  his  memorable  campaign  to  Spring- 

Lancord.  .1.  L.. 

McGuire,  J.  R. 

field,  Mo.,  after  Gen.  Price.     On  the  con- 

(( 

MP  ANY   E. 

clusion   of    the   campaign  the    14th  re- 

DellaCella, Stephei 

McDonald.  Barney. 

turned  and  wintered  at  Otterville,  Mo. 

HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


239 


In  the  month  of  Feb.,  1862,  the  regi- 
ment was  ordered  to  join  the  forces 
under  Gen.  Grant,  at  Donelson,  but  ar- 
rived at  that  place  one  day  too  late  to 
participate  in  the  engagement  of  that 
place.  Here  it  was  brigaded  with  the 
15th  and  46th  111.  and  25th  Ind.  Inf. 
Regts.,  and,  under  the  name  of  the  2d 
Brig.,  assigned  to  the  4th  Div.,  under 
the  command  of  Gen.  S.  A.  Hurlbut,  of 
this  state.  In  the  meantime  Col.  Palmer, 
having  been  promoted  to  the  rank  of 
brigadier-general, and  Lieu't-Col.Amory 
K.  Johnson,  having  been  made  colonel 
of  the  28th  111.  Inf.,  Maj.  Cyrus  Hall,  of 
the  7th  111.  Cav.  was  appointed  colonel 
of  Hie  14th. 

From  Fort  Donelson  the  regiment 
proceeded  to  Fort  Henry,  where  it  em- 
barked and  was  transported  by  steam. 
boats  up  the  Tennessee  river  to  Pitts- 
burg Landing.  Heie,  early  on  the 
morning  of  the  6th  of  April  the  regi- 
ment was  called  into  line  and  marched 
half  a  mile  to  the  front,  where  it  nut 
the  enemy  driving  General  Prentiss. 
It  was  assigned  a  position  on  the  left  of 
the  line,  in  Peach  Orchard.  The  enemy 
immediately  attacked  it,  but  were  re- 
pulsed; and  it  held  its  position  from  8 
o'clock  A.  M.  until  3  P.  M.,  only  then 
retiring  under  orders  from  General  S.  A. 
Hurlbut,  commanding  the  old  fighting 
4th  division.  On  the  morning  of  the 
7th  it  held  a  position  on  the  right  of  the 
line,  and  was  hotly  engaged  until  the 
battle  closed  and  the  victory  won. 
During  those  two  long,  trying,  bloody 
days  the  regiment  behaved  nobly,  and 
was  never  broken  or  driven  back  by  the 
enemy,  though  often  most  heavily 
pressed,  although  this  was  the  first  time 
that  the  regiment  had   been  under  fire. 


They  sustained  a  loss  of  nearly  one-half 
of  the  command  present,  and  their 
colors,  which  came  out  of  the  conflict 
with  forty-two  bullet  holes  through 
them,  fully  attest  the  fierceness  of  the 
combat  and  the  gallantry  of  the  men  in 
that  memorable  struggle.  All  the  his- 
torians of  this  fearfully  contested  field 
highly  compliment  this  noble  band  of 
heroes,  who  that  day  distinguished 
themselves  at  a  most  terrible  sacrifice. 
In  the  grand  charge  on  the  7th,  which 
was  the  consummation  of  that  splendid 
victory  wrested  from  the  arms  of  defeat, 
the  14th  Illinois  was  in  the  advance,  and 
was  led  by  Col.  Hall.  In  the  official 
reportofGen.  Veach,  commander  of  the 
brigade,  he  used  the  following  words  in 
speaking  of  this  favorite  body  of  men: 
"Col.  Hall,  of  the  14th  Illinois,  led 
with  his  regiment  that  gallant  charge 
on  Monday  evening,  which  drove  the 
enemy  beyond  our  lines  and  closed  the 
struggle  of  that  memorable  day." 

The  regiment,  also,  took  an  active 
part  in  the  siege  of  Corinth,  during  the 
month  of  May,  1862,  and  after  the  evac- 
uation of  that  place  by  Gen.  Bragg,  they 
went  to  Memphis,  thence  to  Bolivar. 

On  the  4th  of  Oct.,  1862,  the  gallant 
4th  division,  under  Gen.  Hurlbut,  was 
ordered  to  proceed  to  Corinth,  as  a  for- 
lorn hope,  to  relieve  the  beleagured 
garrison  of  that  place,  but  the  gallant 
Rosecrans,  before  Corinth  was  reached, 
had  already  severely  punished  the  ene- 
my, and  the  forlorn  hope  met  the  enemy 
at  the  village  of  Metamora,  on  the 
river  Hatchie.  After  eight  hours  hard 
fighting  a  glorious  victory  was  gained, 
in  which  the  14th  111.  sustained  most 
nobly  the  reputation  gained  at  Shiloh  or 
Pittsburg  Landing. 


The  regiment  constituted  a  part  of 
the  right  wing  of  Grant's  army  in  the 
march  into  northern  Mississippi, 
through  Holly  Springs,  to  Yacona  Pa- 
talfa,  under  the  immediate  command  of 
General  McPherson.  General  VanDorn, 
of  the  confederate  army,  having  cap- 
tured Holly  Springs  with  its  large 
amount  of  army  stores,  and  General  W. 
T.  Sherman  being  unable  to  effect  a  dis- 
lodgement  of  the  enemy  from  Vicks- 
burg,  Grant's  army  was  compelled  to 
retreat,  and  Jan.  18,  1863,  the  14th  111. 
Reg.  went  into  winter  quarters  at  La- 
Fayette,  Term. 

Early  in  the  spring  of  1863,  the  regi- 
ment was  ordered  to  the  lines  in  front 
of  Vicksburg,  and  took  part  in  the  siege 
of  that  stronghold  until  its  fall,  July  4, 
1863.  After  this,  the  command  took  its 
part  in  the  expedition  to  Jackson,  Miss., 
remaining  there  until  the  evacuation  of 
that  city.  In  August,  of  that  year,  it 
proceeded  to  Natchez,  and  formed  part 
of  the  force  which  marched  across  the 
swamps  of  northeastern  Louisiana,  to 
Harrisonburg,  on  the  Ouachita  river,  and 
captured  Fort  Beauregard,  where,  the 
spring  previous,  the  ram,  Queen  of  the 
West,  had  been  sunk.  It  also  took  part 
in  the  famous  Meridian  campaign,  under 
General  Sherman  and  on  its  return  from 
that  expedition,  the  regiment,  or  a  large 
part  of  it,  veteranized,  although  its 
time  would  have  expired  in  a  short 
period.  After  a  short  veteran  furlough 
in  the  beloved  northland,  they  returned 
to  the  field  refreshed,  and  anxious  for 
the  fray. 

General  W.  T.  Sherman,  with  a  force 
numbering  a  little  less  than  100,000 
men  of  all  arms,  with  254  guns,  in  the 
spring  of  1864,  started  on  his  ever  me- 


morable campaign,  to  penetrate  the 
heart  of  the  confederacy,  draw  off  the 
attention  of  a  large  portion  of  the  forces 
of  the  south,  so  that  they  could  not  re- 
inforce the  hard  pressed  army  of  Vir- 
ginia. The  country  to  be  traversed  was 
almost  chaotic,  in  its  upheaval.  Rugged 
mountains,  deep,  narrow  ravines,  thick 
primitive  woods,  crossed  by  narrow, 
ill-made  roads,  succeed  each  other  for 
40  miles;  then  intervenes  a  like  distance 
of  comparatively  open  country,  only  to 
be  succeeded  by  another  rugged,  diffi- 
cult region  of  mountains  and  passes 
which  reaches  nearly  to  the  Chattahoo- 
chie  river,  across  which,  eight  miles 
distant,  lay  the  important  city  of  At- 
lanta. The  gallant  band  of  heroes 
called  the  14th  111.  Inf.,  still  under  the 
command  of  Colonel  Hall  participated 
in  all  of  the  movements  and  engage- 
ments that  led  up  to  the  siege  of  At- 
lanta, and  honorably  acquitted  them- 
selves in  every  place  they  were  called 
upon  to  act  the  part  of  men. 

While  before  Atlanta  the  14th  and 
loth  111.,  ever  together  since  the  autumn 
of  1862,  sharers  of  each  others'  sorrows 
and  joys,  weary  marches  and  honorably 
earned  laurels,  were  consolidated  into 
the  "14th  and  loth  111.  Vet.  Bat.,"  and 
it  was  detailed  to  guard  the  railroad 
communications  at  or  near  Ackworth, 
Ga.,  a  most  important  and  dangerous 
duty,  as  it  was  the  only  route  by  which 
the  supplies  for  Sherman's  army  could 
be  brought,  and  upon  the  preservation 
of  which  depended  the  subsistence  and 
ammunition  of  this  immense  host.  In 
the  month  of.  Oct.,  1864,  when  the  con- 
federate General  Hood  made  his  demon- 
stration against  the  rear  of  Sherman's 
army,  a  large  number  of  the  battalion 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


241 


were  killed,  and  a  large  part  of  the 
balance  captured  and  sent  to  Anderson- 
ville  prison  pen.  Those  who  escaped 
capture  were  mounted,  and  accompany- 
ing Sherman  on  the  ever  memorable 
march  to  the  sea,  acted  as  scouts,  and 
were  continually  in  the  advance,  and 
were  the  first  to  drive  the  confederate 
pickets  into  Savannah,  Ga.  During  the 
long  and  dreary  march  through  South 
and  North  Carolina,  this  battallion  was 
on  duty  day  and  night,  being  constantly 
in  the  presence  of  the  enemy,  and 
gained  great  notoriety  as  skillful  scouts 
and  skirmishers.  They  were  the  first 
to  enter  the  town  of  Cheraw,  S.  C,  and 
later,  the  town  of  Fayetteville,  N.  C, 
and  took  a  part  in  the  battle  of  Ben- 
tonvillc. 

At  Goldsborough,  N.C.,  the  battalion 
organization  was  discontinued  in  the 
spring  of  1865,  a  sufficient  number  of 
organized  recruits,  of  the  one  year  men, 
having  arrived  by  way  of  New  York  and 
Morehead  City,  N.  C,  to  fill  up  the  two 
regiments,  Colonel  Hall  being  again  as- 
signed to  the  command  of  his  old  regi- 
ment, the  14th.  After  the  capitulation 
of  Johnston,  the  regiment  marched  to 
Washington,  D.  C,  where  it  partici- 
pated in  the  well  remembered  review. 
It  afterwards  was  transported  by  rail 
and  steamboat  to  Louisville,  Ky., 
thence  by  river  to  Fort  Leavenworth, 
Kas.  From  this  place  they  marched  to 
Fort  Kearney,  Neb.,  and  from  thence 
back.  It  was  mustered  out  at  Fort 
Leavenworth,  Sept.  16,  1865,  and  ar- 
rived at  Springfield,  111.,  where  the 
men  received  their  discharge.  The  ag- 
gregate number  of  men  who  belonged 
to  this  favorite  regiment  was  1,980,  and 
only  480  were  mustered  out. 


During  its  four  years  and  four  months 
of  arduous  service,  this  regiment 
marched  4,490  miles,  traveled  by  rail 
2,330  miles,  and  by  river  4,490  miles, 
making  in  all  a  grand  total  of  11,670 
miles. 

EIGHTEENTH  INFANTRY. 

COMPANY     E. 

Pegues,  John,  Hughes,  T.  E.. 

Bean,  T.  J.,  Rhoads,  Samuel, 

Roberts,  T.  E..  Rhoads,  E.  E. 

TWENTY- SECOND    INFANTRY. 
COMPANY    B. 
Edsall,  W.  II.,  Mcl'lierson,  Angus, 

Butler,  W.  A.,  Crissup,  James  F., 

Moore,  John,  Sackett,  William, 

Wadlington,  W.  I).,       Jones,  s.  E. 

TWENTY- SEVENTH    INFANTRY. 

COMPANY    D. 

Second  Lieutenant: 

Brock.  .1.  W. 
First  Sergeant: 

Miller,  A.  L. 
Privates: 
Balcomb,  William,        Hrigg,  J.  S., 
Hell,  W.  1).,  (ireen,  W.  L., 

Hartley,  Nes.,  Ilurk,  William, 

Kenady,  J.  K.  P.,  Lewis,  Charles, 

Mimcy,  William.  Mott,  Frank. 

.Mill.  John,  Shedler,  John, 

Trimble,  William,         lit,  George, 
Bell,  .1.  W„  Boyles,  Lafayette, 

Braydon,  (1.  W.,  Davis,  J.  H, 

Howard.  W.  H.,  Hartley.  R.  P., 

Johnson,  A.  J.,  Kennedy,  .John, 

Larabee,  Vinton,  Mclntiie,  Henry, 

Paugh,  Edward.  Reynolds,  B.  F., 

Towreville,  Frank,       Ward,  John, 
Ward,  IJ.  E.,  White.  J.  T., 

White,  Herman. 

COMPANY    F. 

Sergeant: 
Fisher,  D.  I). 
Corporal: 
Whitney,  Charles. 
Privates: 
Daudridge,  C.  F.,  Darlington,  J.  W., 

Hyndman,  John,  Miller,  J.  W., 

Martin,  J.  ('.,  Martin,  J.  P., 


242 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


Nelson.  \V.  ( '., 
Ryal,  Alfred. 
Smith.  A.  A., 
Wood,  W.  R., 
Tallev.  W.  V.. 


Philbrick,  X.  B., 

Shield,  Anthony, 
Talley,  ,1.  R., 
Harrington,  Francis, 
Talley,  A.  T. 


TWENTY-SEVENTH    ILLINOIS    INFANTRY. 

This  regiment  was  organized  with 
only  seven  companies,  at  Camp  Butler, 
Springfield,  111.,  Aug.  10,  1861,  and 
ordered  to  Jacksonville,  as  a  part  of 
the  brigade  of  Gen.  John  A.  McCler- 
nand.  The  officers  of  the  regiment 
were  as  follows:  Colonel,  Napoleon  B. 
Buford;  lieutenant-colonel,  Fazillo  A. 
Harrington;  major,  Hall  Wilson;  and 
Henry  A.  Rust,  adjutant.  On  the  1st 
of  Sept.,  1861,  the  regiment  proceeded 
under  orders  to  Cairo,  where  three  ad- 
ditional companies  were  added  to  their 
strength,  and  all  moved  on  to  the  scene 
of  hostilities,  and  first  smelt  powder  at 
Belmont,  on  the  7th  of  Nov.,  1861, 
where  it  bore  a  prominent  part  and  suf- 
fered heavily.  On  the  evacuation  of 
Columbus,  Ky.,  the  27th  was  sent  there 
to  duty  as  garrison.  On  the  14th  of 
March,  1862,  in  company  with  the  42d 
HI.,  18th  Wis.  and  parts  of  the  2d  111. 
light  Art.  and  2d  111.  Cav.,  it  formed 
what  was  called  the  Mississippi  flotilla, 
and  started  down  the  Mississippi  river 
and  remained  during  the  siege  of  Island 
No.  10,  the  27th  being  the  first  federal 
force  to  land  upon  the  island,  after  its 
capture.  After  crossing  the  river,  the 
regiment  was  moved  to  Ft.  Pillow,  but 
was  recalled  and  ordered  to  Pittsburg 
Landing,  Tenn.,  and  was  engaged  in 
the  siege  of  Corinth,  and  battle  of  Far- 
mington,  May  9,  1862,  and  followed  in 
pursuit  of  the  enemy  to  Booneville.  It 
then  retraced  its  steps  to  Corinth,  where 
it  remained  some  time.     In  July,  1862, 


the  regiment  received  orders  to  proceed 
to  Iuka,  and  soon  after  was  distributed 
along    the    line    of    the    Memphis    & 
Charleston  railroad,  where  it  remained 
until  the  early  part  of  September,  when 
it  crossed  the  Tennessee  river,  at  Deca- 
tur,  Alabama,   under  the  command   of 
Maj.  Gen.  John  M.  Palmer,  and  push- 
ing on  made  a  rapid  and  forced  march 
tu   Nashville,   Tenn.,   where  it    arrived 
September   12,  and  where  it  remained 
during  the  time  it  was  cut  off  from  com- 
munication with  the  north.     The  27th 
was  also  with  the  advance  from  Nash- 
ville,   and    particularly     distinguished 
itself  at  the  battle  of  Stone   River.     On 
the  24th  of  June,   1863,  it  moved  with 
the  army  against  Shelby  ville  and  Tulla- 
homa,  and  thence  to   Bridgeport,   Ala. 
On    the    2d   of    September,    the    corps 
crossed  the  Tennessee  river,  and  moved 
down  toward  Rome,  Ga.,  below  Chatta- 
nooga, and  returned  in  time  to  take  part 
in   the    pursuit    of   Bragg.     For    some 
time  Gen.  Rosecrans  had  been  gather- 
ing a  large  body  of  men  at  Nashville, 
and    had,    by   threatening    his   line    of 
communication,    caused   Gen.    Braxton 
Bragg  to  evacuate   Chattanooga,  on  the 
8th    of    Sept.     Gen.    Rosecrans,    under 
the    impression  that  Bragg's  forces   in 
retreat  were  demoralized,  pushed  on  in 
his  rear,  but  the  confederate  comman- 
der,   who    was   an   able   one,  receiving 
heavy  reinforcements,  turned  and  met 
his  pursuer.     This  he  did  with  so  much 
suddenness  and  ferocity,  that  the  union 
forces  narrowly  escaped  being  cut  up  in 
detail,  as  they  were  scattered  along  the 
line  forty  miles  in  length.     Gen.  Rose- 
crans, who  was  on  hand,   rapidly  con- 
centrated his  forces,  and  the  two  armies 
met  at  Chiekamauga  creek. 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY 


243 


The  first  day's  engagement,  although 
a  hot  one,  was  indecisive  and  on  the 
second  day,  the  20th  of  Sept.  1863,  the 
day  had  hardly  dawned  ere  the  roar  of 
artillery,  and  the  sharp  rattle  of  mus- 
ketry awoke  the  slumbering  echoes  of 
the  "  River  of  Death,"  the  Indian  name 
of  the  creek  bearing  that  interpretation. 
All  the  forenoon  the  battle  raged  with 
unparalleled  fury,  but  about  noon  the 
federal  line  was  broken  for  a  few  mo- 
ments by  the  passing  of  troops  to  the 
left,  then  hard  pressed.  General  Long- 
street,  of  the  confederate  army,  seized 
the  opportunity,  and,  hurling  the  nec- 
ecessary  forces  on  the  weakened  center, 
soon  swept  it  and  the  right  wing  from 
the  field.  The  demoralized  fugitives,  in 
their  headlong  (light,  carried  off  General 
Rosecrans  with  them.  All  now  de- 
pended upon  General  Thomas,  who  had 
command  of  the  left  wing,  which  yet 
stood  steadfast.  All  through  that  long 
afternoon  the  entire  confederate  army 
surged  around  that  band  of  heroes,  a 
body  of  brave  men  commanded  by  as 
brave  a  commander,  who,  by  the  firm- 
ness of  their  front,  earned  for  General 
Thomas  the  proud  sobriquet  of  the 
"  rock  of  Chickamauga."  The  '27th 
suffered  severely  during  the  fight,  and 
with  the  balance  of  the  army  fell  back 
to  Chattanooga,  where  it  remained  du- 
ring the  investment  of  that  place,  for 
Bragg,  following  the  retreating  forces, 
occupied  the  surrounding  hills,  threat- 
ening the  city  and  the  garrison  with 
starvation. 

Grant  was  now  appointed  to  supercede 
General  Rosecrans,  and  hastened  to 
Chattanooga,  but  being  afraid  that  Gen- 
eral Thomas,  who  had  command  after 
Rosecrans  left,  would  surrender  before 


re-enforcements,  could  reach  him,  tele- 
graphed him  to  hold  fast.  The  old  Ro- 
man's reply  was,  -'I  will  stay  till  I 
starve.''  On  Grant's  arrival  things  be- 
gan to  wear  a  different  aspect.  A  corps 
from  the  army  of  the  Potomac  23, 000 
strong,  under  (ieneral  Joseph  Hooker 
came,  and  (ieneral  W .  T.  Sherman, 
hastened  by  forced  marches  from  Iuka, 
200  miles  away,  and  communications 
were  again  restored.  On  the  24th 
of  November  the  27th  was  ordered  on 
duty,  and  helped  fight  the  ever-memor- 
able battle  of  Lookout  Mountain.  Gen. 
Hooker  was  ordered  to  charge  the  enemy, 
but  to  stop  on  the  high  ground,  but  the 
men,  carried  away  by  the  ardor  of  the 
attack,  swept  on,  over  the  crest,  driving 
the  enemy  before  them.  The  next 
morning  Hooker  advanced  on  the  south 
of  Missionary  Ridge.  Sherman  had 
been  the  whole  time  pounding  away  on 
the  northern  Hank,  and  Grant  perceiv- 
ing that  the  rebel  line  in  front  of  him 
was  being  weakened  to  repel  these 
attacks  on  the  dank,  saw  that  the 
critical  moment  had  arrived  and  launch- 
ed Thomas'  corps  on  its  center. 

"  The  signals  for  the  attack  had  been 
arranged.''  says  B.  F.  Taylor,  in  his  ac- 
count of  the  battle,  "'six  cannon  shots 
fired  at  intervals  of  two  seconds.  The 
moment  arrived.  Strong  and  steady  tin- 
order  rang  out  :  '  No.  1,  fire  !  No.  2, 
tire  !  No.  ,">,  tire  !'  It  seemed  to  me  like 
the  tolling  of  the  clock  of  destiny.  And 
when  at  '  No.  6,  fire  !'  the  roar  throbbed 
out  with  the  Hash,  you  should  have  Been 
the  dead  line,  that  had  been  lying  behind 
the  works  all  day,  come  to  resurrection 
in  the  twinkling  of  an  eye,  and  leap  like 
a  blade  from  its  scabbard." 

The  orders  were  to  take  the  rifle-pits 


244 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY 


at  the  foot  of  Missionary  ridge,  then 
halt  and  reform;  but  the  men  forgot 
them  all,  and  carrying  the  works  at  the 
base,  swept  up  the  ascent.  Grant  caught 
the  grand  inspiration,  and  ordered  a 
grand  charge  along  the  whole  front.  Up 
they  went,  without  firing  a  shot,  over 
rocks,  trees,  and  stumps,  surmounted 
the  crest,  captured  the  guns  and  turned 
them  upon  the  enemy,  now  fully  routed 
and  in  disorderly  retreat.  Although  the 
27th  held  its  accustomed  place  in  these 
battles,  it  lost  only  a  few  men. 

From  Mission  ridge  the  Reg. was  called 
on  to  make  a  forced  march  to  the  relief 
of  Knoxville,  then  closely  pressed  by 
the  confederate  forces  under  Gen.  Long- 
street,  but  by  the  time  it  reached  the 
beleaguered  city  the  enemy  had  been  re- 
pulsed. It  then  returned  to  Loudon, 
Tenn.,  arriving  there  Jan.  25,  1864,  and 
going  into  camp,  remained  until  April 
18,  when  orders  were  received  that 
caused  it  to  move  to  Cleveland,  Tenn. 
While  at  this  place  Gen.  Sherman  was 
collecting  his  forces  and  organizing  his 
army  for  the  descent  upon  Atlanta  and 
the  subsequent  march  to  the  sea,  and 
the  27th  111.  was  ordered  to  join  the  in- 
vading force,  which  it  did.  At  Rockv 
Face  ridge,  May  9,  Resaca,  May  14,  Cal- 
houn, May  the  16th,  Adairsville,  May 
the  17th,  Dallas,  May  the  26th  to  June 
4,  Pine  Top  mountain,  June  10  to  14, 
Mud  creek,  June  18,  and  Kenesaw,  this 
gallant  regiment  performed  prodigies  of 
valor  and  wrung  from  a  defeated  enemy 
the  highest  encomiums. 

At  the  battle  of  Peach  Tree  creek,  July 
20,  the  27th  was  in  line,  and  to  quote 
the  words  of  Greeley  in  his  history  of 
the  war:  "These  soldiers  stood  as  still 
as  though  bullet  proof." 


The  regiment  was  relieved  from  duty 
at  the  front,  Aug.  25,  1864,  and  ordered 
to  Springfield,  111.,  for  muster  out,  but 
was  detained  for  a  couple  of  days  at 
Nashville,  Tenn.,  on  the  way  home,  on 
account  of  apprehensions  felt  in  that 
city,  of  an  attack  by  the  cavalry  column 
under  Gen.  Wheeler.  It  then  proceeded 
to  the  capital  of  Illinois,  where  it  was 
mustered  out,  Sept.  25,  1864. 

During  the  term  of  service  it  had  the 
following  casualties:  killed  or  died  of 
wounds,  102;  died  of  disease,  80;  num- 
ber of  wounded,  328;  discharged  and 
resigned,  209;  transferred,  39.  The 
veterans  and  recruits  of  the  27th  were 
consolidated  with  the  9th  111.  Inf.,  on 
their  comrades  leaving  for  home. 
THIRTY- FIRST    INFANTRY. 

COMPANY   I. 

Strickland.  Benjamin. 
THIRTY-  SECOND    INFANTRY. 

COMPANY    l>. 

Corporal: 

Hannah,  J.  E. 

Privates: 

Hardy.  Henry.  Pickett,  William, 

Strapps,  Fields. 

Till  R  T  V-T 1 1 1 H I )    I X  F  A  X  T  V. 

COMPANY    C. 

Bailey,  J.  C,  Beck,  II.  W... 

Curtis.  Leander,  Humiston,  Linus, 

Kennedy.  .1.  K.  P..  Lucas.  J.  W. 

Land,  .1.  II..  McGee,  J.  A., 

Malott,  J.  s..  Murphy,  Robert, 

O'DonnelL  Jeremiah,  sisson,  H.  H., 

Ntringham,  M.  E.,  Terry,  II.  C, 

Wilson.  J.  L..  Whitaker,  James. 
FORTY-SEVENTH  INFANTRY. 

COMPANY   F. 
Marks.  Kul'us. 

COMPANY   K. 

O'Brien,  Patrick. 
FIFTY- THIRD   INFANTRY. 

COMPANY   C. 

Andrews.  Joel,  Arbogast,  John. 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY.                                  245 

FORTY- NINTH   INFANTRY. 

Gallagher,  E.  C,            Grinin,  W.  R., 

COMPANY   O. 

Grather,  W.  M.,              HalLE.  E„ 

Second  Lieutenant: 

Handling,  Orange,        Hegans,  Nelson, 

Lucas,  Joseph. 

Judd.,  J.  W.,                  Jackson,  Charles, 

■Sergeant: 

Linnel,  William,           Lee,  J.  W., 

Lucas,  Joseph. 

Loney,  J.  P.,                   Martin,  John, 

Corporal: 

Nott,  M.  II.,                   Minor,  B.  F., 

Spangle,  Henry. 

Martin,  Leonard,          Miner,  L.  J., 

Privates: 

Myrick.  ().  T.,                Millford.  B.  C, 

Egan,  John,                   Gibbs,  William. 

Mack,  Patrick,              Me  Dow,  William, 

FIFTY-  NINTH   INFANTRY. 

McQuiddy,  J.  I).,           Nugent,  Edward, 

COMPANY  I. 

Nevius,  Henry,               Nichols,  J.  N., 

Luba,  Jacob,                 Perry,  Alonzo, 

Older.  Coleman,             O'Reilly,  Matthew, 

Macumber,  Alonzo,       Tuller,  Isaac. 

Post,  W.  F„                    Parker.  M.  S., 

SIXTY- FIRST   INFANTRY. 

Perry,  Commodore.        Powers,  William, 

Assistant   Surgeon: 
Knapp,  George  H. 

COMPANY  A. 

Copeland,  Alfred,          McCoy,  W.  II., 
Roberts,  John,              Shaw,  J.  M, 
Manning.  J.  M„              Walpole,  J.  S. 

Piggott,  J.  T,                  Bobbins,  Richards, 
Reed.  J.  II.,                    Savage,  J.  ('., 
Slover,  Samuel,              Sweeney,  W.  H, 
Smith,  Joseph,                Sansom,  (i.  W., 
Stone,.!.  B.,                     Schuller.  J.  p., 
Todrany,  William,         Thurston.  J.  L., 
Vinson,  I.  N.,                 Wentworth,  J.  F., 

COMPANY   B. 

Kemper,  Levi. 

Welch.  J.  P.,                    Wentworth,  G.  E., 
Yuard,  Hugh.                 Chism,  T.  II., 

COMPANY    c. 

Captains: 

Ihrie.  Warren,                  Hesser,  .1.  T. 

Cope,  Alexander,           Conoway,  John, 

Dodson,  Theodore,        Erwin,  S.  P., 

First  Lieutenants: 

Hesser,  Joseph,              Machel,  John, 

Milford.  H.  F.,               Piper,  Oliver, 

I  lesser,  J.  T..                  Parker,  M.  S., 

Judd,  J.  W. 

Pritchall,  B.  H.,             Scroggins,  J.  F., 

Second  Lieutenants: 

Slat  en.  II.  L. 

Hesser,  J.  T.,                 Parker,  M.  S., 

COMPANY    I). 

Judd,  J.  W.,                   Nevius,  Henry, 

Captain: 

Cooley,  John. 

Reddish.  J.  II . 

Privates: 

First  Lieutenants: 

Allen,  R.  M.,                   Briggs.  G.  L., 

Reddish.  J.  II.,               Stillwell,  Leander. 

Hell,  Henry,                   Beale,  J.  15., 

Second  Lieutenants: 

Bates.  W.  P.                  Bates.  J.  W., 

Reddish,  W.  M.,             Wallace,  E.  W., 

Cook,  W.  II..                  Cyter,  J.  II., 

Stillwell,  Leander,         Oberdeik,  C.  H. 

Campbell,  J.  II.,              Cooley,  John. 

Privates: 

Chadwell,  T.  II.,             Case,  James, 

Austin,  B.  F.,                 Albert,  F.  J., 

Chism,  R.  P.,                  Crain,  J.  B., 

Allenden,  A.  P.,             Bethall,  L.  W.. 

Carson,  John,                 Collip,  Frederick, 

Conner,  Bark,                 Davis,  Amos. 

Brewer.  Lemuel,            Bingham,  R.  ('., 

Dodson,  F.  M.,              Dehner,  Jacob, 

Bartlett,  I.  W..               Burris,  Amnion, 

Dallis,  T.  N.,                  Edington,  William, 

Hurnham,  F.  S.,             Corbin,  M.  B., 

Enule,  Joh  n,                 Elmore,  William, 

Carroll.  J.  M.,                 Dabbs,  Emanuel. 

Embley,  Edgar,             Faulkner,  John  R., 

Ellifrity,  James,            Ellifritty,  Isaac, 

Finicye,  W.  B.,              Ferguson,  G.  B.. 

Eldridge,  John.              Fillay.  A.  B., 

Francis,  John,              Forbes,  J.  B., 

Gates,  T.  M,                 Gates,  F.  M., 

Gaul,  William,               Goff,  J.S., 

Green,  E.  IL,                  Donell,  William, 

~ 

246                                HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 

Gunther,  W.  .M.,            Holliday,  Hiram, 

COMPANY  K. 

Harris.  A.  J.,                  HarvilL  J.  W., 

Shepley,  William,          Bratton,  William, 

Il.irvill.  B.  F,               Hall,  Edward, 

Litliral,  Isaac.                  Grimm,    Napoleon. 

Hutchinson,  J.  <;..         Hill,  F.  M., 

Jobson,  John,               Karr,  ('.  .1., 

For  a  history  of  the  61st  Illinois  Inft. 

Karr,  Hugh,                  King,  William, 

Rig.,   see  history  of  Greene  county,  in 

Robinson,  J.  E.,            Leavitt,  Samuel, 

this  volume,  where  it  is  given  in  full, 

Lippert,  Henry,             Lee.  William. 

having   been    raised  and   organized   at 

Miller.  J.  P..                   Miller,  W.  J., 

Carrollton,  that  county,  in  1862. 

Minor,  Henry.                Medford,  Jackson, 

Murphy,  Braxton,         McQuiddy,  James, 

SIXTY-SECOND  INFANTRY. 

Montgomery,  Ezekiel,  Oberdeike,  ('.  II., 

(  OMPANT  ('. 

Richey,  John,                Sapp,  James, 

McClure,  Samuel,           Pollock,  John, 

Scott,  James,                  Smith.  Samuel. 

SIXTY-SIXTH  INFANTRY. 

Schooley,  James.           Schultz,  Albert. 

COMPANY  <;. 

stilhvell.  Leander,        Timmons,  Jasper, 

Sutton.  L.  M.,               Asher,  W.  R„ 

smith.  W.  C,                 Timmons,  Ephraim, 

Brown.  William.            Cundiff,  J.  L.. 

Wallace.  E.  W,              Worthey,  William, 

Frisby,  George,              Marshall,  Charles, 

Burns,  Jonathan,          Burgess.  W.  B.,  Sr., 

Nicodemus,  John,          Smith.  Charles. 

Burgess.  W.  IS. .Jr..       Banfield,  John, 

Beeby.  William.             Lovely.  I!.  A.. 

Banfield,  William,          Barrows.  Ackron. 

Lynum.  S.  W..                Marshall,  I).  E.. 

Chapman,  L.  N.,            Duggan,  John. 

Marshall.  W.  11..             Parker,  Joel. 

Dougherty.  James,        Fowler,  William  S., 

Peter,  G.  B.,                  Peter,  W.  M., 

Gilbert,  David,              Goss,  A.  J., 

St.  Clair.  J.  W..              Tally.  II.  1). 

Golden,  Michael.            Hill.  J.  J.. 

SEVE N T  Y-s E( !( > N  1 1  IN F ANTR Y. 

Hull.  Q.  A..                    [nards,  silas. 

COMPANY  I>. 

Powell,  Joel,                  Rowden,  Daniel, 

Hall.  W.  L., 

Ralston.  S.  D. 

NINETY-SIAEXTII  INFANTRY. 

COMPANY    (i. 

COMPANY  G. 

Second   Lieutenant: 

Bell,  J.  B.,                        Richer.  Samuel. 

Powell,  John. 

COMPANY  II. 

Privates: 

Second  Lieutenants: 

Barber,  W.  A.,               Blake,  G.  F., 

McNeil.  L.  C,                 Martin,  W.  L., 

Fickell,  F.  M.,               Kelch,  Charles, 

Sergeants: 

Powell.  John.                Johnessee.  S.  M., 

Scott.  H.  B.,                  Carr,  Robert, 

Quigley,  W.  L.,             Sturman,  L.  R., 

( lorporals: 

Scroggins,  G.  L.,           Turpin,  <i.  W., 

Monk.  John.                     Doyle.  Michael. 

Lofton,  J.  II..                 Powell.  John. 

White,  John,                 Pembroke.  T.  C, 

Stephenson.  Leroy,        Turpin,  J.  W., 

Fitzpatrick.  Patrick,     McCuUom,  Henry, 

Briscoe.  Aaron.             Grimm,  John, 

Musician: 

Grasley,  Simon,             Jones.  X.  II., 

Powers.  Thomas, 

Lofton,  John,               Roundtree,S.  R., 

Wagoner: 

Withrow,  William. 

1  Hack  well.  Thomas, 

Privates: 

nUII'ANY    II. 

Brooks,  Frank,               Burnines,  Jasper, 

Campbell,  Alexander,    Palkner,  Joseph, 

Curry.  Jeremiah,           Cummings,  John, 

Grotts,  G.  F.,                   Lyons.  Robert, 

Crocker,  Frank,             Draper,  (ieorge. 

Pruitt,  Aaron,                Kichey,  S.  M.. 

Dowdy.  Martin.             Fitzpatrick,  Michael, 

Turnpaw,  (i.  W.,          Talbert,  William. 

Fuller.  William.              Guilor,  Michael. 

Blakely,  Charles,          Hollen,  Joseph, 

Hughes,  Peter,               Haig,  Thomas, 

HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


249 


Hughes,  J.  I)., 
Lacker,  Randolph, 
Monk,  William, 
Perry,  Charles. 
Reid.  William, 
Smith,  Aaron, 
Watson.  Charles, 
Woods,  William. 
Williams,  William, 
Crissip,  James, 
Kramer,  August, 


Jackson,  G.  II., 
Monk,  Henry, 
Monk,  (1.  W, 
Perry,  Oliver. 
Richer,  Samuel, 
Tucker,  Ephraim, 
AVoods,  Martin, 
Williams,  James, 
Berlien,  John, 
Ilaiina,  T.  J., 
Murphy,  John, 


Mason,  E.  B. 
COMPANY  I. 

Carney,  Edward,  Davis,  C.  M.. 

Edwards,  George,  Grosjean,  Francis, 

Hall,  George,  Osboni,  X.  S., 

Pope,  Richard, 

COMPANY  K. 

second  Lieutenants: 
Orem,  S.  B.,  Fisher,  John, 

Sergeants: 
Orem,  S.  B.,  Francis,  James, 

Palmer,  L.  II.,  Barnhart,  II.  J., 

Lowe,  E.  D., 
Corporals: 
Ruland,  Charles,  Fisher,  John. 

Massey,  S.  L..  Burby,  Joel, 

Miller,  C.J,  Slaten,  J.  P., 

Wagoner: 
Noble,  George  L., 
l'rivates: 


Ballard.  Lovin, 
Bingham.  A.  W.. 
Buruine,  Jasper, 
Cockrell,  Jesse, 
Clark,  A.  J.. 
Carroll,  M.  B„ 
Connor,  L.  M., 
Dyke,  O.  E., 
Foibush,  'I'.  M., 
Giberson.  W.  H. 
Giberson,  Isaac, 
Harris,  H.  B. 
Ilartman.  Franklin, 
Hamaker,  J.  F., 
Loney,  David, 
Macoy  Elliott, 
Milford,  A.  .1.. 
Mayfold,  J.  II., 
Ogden,  F.  F., 


Hull,  II.  C, 
Bush,  C.  A.. 
Chaput,  J.  A., 

Curtis.  J.  T., 
Caslick,  John, 
<  'arsen,  A.  C, 
( 'lark.  T.  H., 
Fnnis,  James, 
Giberson,  H.  11. 
( iiberson,  R.  S" 
Globe,  John, 
Ilasselton,  Amos, 
IIuHin.  John, 
Kelly.  J.  A., 
Lassiter,  Lafayette, 
McRang,  James, 
Myers,  Henry, 
Nutt,  R.  A. 
Ogden,  J.  II., 


Fait,  John, 
Proe,  John, 
Sands.  J.  P.. 
Schultz.  Levi. 
Snyder.  J.  W.. 
Van  Home,  James. 
Williams.  1).  S.. 
Williams,  Nelson, 
Wade,  Wiley, 
Wiser,  ( '.  F., 
Whitloek,  J.  W., 
Court,  J.  K.  P. 
English.  Philip, 
McBride,  Thomas. 
UN 
Brown,  Andrew, 
Davenport,  John, 
MeConrock,  W., 


Palmer.  Thomas, 
Rowe,  Z.  P., 
Selby,  I.  X.. 
Snyder,  J.  A., 
Tullis.  L.  F. 
Wilson,  W.  S. 
Williams,  15.  F, 
Watty,  Jacob, 
White,  J.  W.. 
White.  J.  G., 
Worthy.  Osborn, 
VanPeit,  R.  W., 
Garrick,  Harrison. 
Stephens,  William. 

ASSIGNED. 

('lark,  Alec, 
Hunter,  James, 
White.  G.  W. 


NINETY-SEVENTH    ILLINOIS    INFANTRY. 

The  97th  111.  Inf.  Reg.,  was  organized 
at  Camp  Butler,  Sprindlield,  111.,  in 
Sept.,  1862,  and  was  mustered  into  the 
service  of  the  United  States  on  the  16th 
of  that  month,  with  the  following  regi- 
mental staff:  Friend  S.  Rutherford, 
colonel;  Lewis  D.  Martin,  lieutenant- 
colonel;  Stephen  W.  Horton,  major; 
Victor  Vifquain,  adjutant;  G.  C.  Cock- 
erel, quartermaster;  Samuel  Willard, 
surgeon,  and  W.  M.  Baker,  chaplain. 

On  the  3d  of  October  it  started  for 
Cincinnati, 0.,  and  from  there  it  marched 
to  Nicholasville,  Ky.,  where  it  went 
into  camp,  and  remained  drilling  and 
doing  guard  and  police  duty,  until  Nov. 
10,  when  it  was  assigned  to  the  division 
under  the  command  of  Gen.  A.J.  Smith, 
and  moved  to  Louisville,  arriving  in  that 
city,  on  the  15th.  On  the  17th  in  em- 
barked on  transports,  and  started  for 
Memphis.  Tenn.,  and  on  arrival,  went 
into  camp,  Nov.  26.  Here  it  was  as- 
signed to  the  2d  brigade,  10th  division, 
13th  army  corps,  under  the  command  of 
Maj.-Gen.  John  A.  McClernand.      This 


250 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


force  left  Memphis,  Dec.  20,  and  landed 
near  Walnut  Hill,  onthe  Yazoo  river  and 
occupied  a  position  on  the  extreme  left 
during  the  battle  of  Chickasaw  Bayou, 
but  fortunately  were  not  brought  into 
the  assaulting  column.  This  was  an  im- 
potent and  fruitless  attack  on  the  most 
superb  fortifications  of  the  south.  The 
sluggish  waters  of  the  bayou  covered  the 
entire  rebel  front,  behind  which  rose  the 
lofty  bluffs  of  the  Yazoo.  Here  the  labor 
of  thousands  of  slaves  had  been  devoted 
to  the  complete  fortifications  of  the  line 
for  months,  until  it  was  perfectly  im- 
pregnable to  the  simple  assault,  yet 
General  Sherman  dared  the  awful  hazard 
of  the  battle,  and  hurled  column  after 
column  of  infantry  upon  them  in  sim- 
ple, useless  slaughter.  In  obedience  to 
orders,  the  men  plunged  into  the  bayou, 
where  both  banks  were  covered  by  tan- 
gled abatis,  and  where  the  bayou  pre- 
sents a  quicksand  bed300feet  wide, con- 
taining water  fifteen  feet  wide  and  three 
feet  deep.  The  rebel  rifle  pits  beyond 
were  filled  with  sharpshooters,  wdiose 
every  bullet  drew  blood;  his  gunners 
had  the  range  of  the  ford,  such  as  it 
was,  and  poured  grape  and  canister  into 
their  dauntless  but  rapidly  decimated 
ranks.  Toiling  like  heroes, they  essayed 
to  stem  the  storm  until  an  order  was 
received  to  fall  back.  It  was  raining  all 
the  time,  and  stung  by  the  consciousness 
that  they  had  fruitlessly  thrown  away 
many  valuable  lives,  they  retired  sul- 
lenly from  the  contest.  During  the 
rainy  night  which  followed  the  battle, 
the  men  of  the  97th  stood  or  lay  without 
fire,  in  the  swamp  bordering  the  exe- 
crated bayou,  but  next  morning  they 
were  embarked  and  returned  to  Milli- 
ken's  Bend.     On  the    10th  and   11th  of 


Jan.,  1863,  they  took  part  in  the  reduc- 
tion of  Arkansas  Post, or  Fort  Hindman, 
as  it  is  sometimes  called,  where  they, 
as  usual,  displayed  their  high  courage 
and  valor. 

On  the  15th  of  Jan.  the  regiment 
moved  down  the  river  to  Young's  Point, 
where  it  remained  until  March  6,  when 
it  returned  to  Milliken's  Bend,  and  on 
15th  of  April,  marched  to  Grand  Gulf 
On  the  1st  of  May  it,  together  with  the 
other  troops,  was  engaged  at  Port  Gib- 
son, Miss.,  and  on  the  16th,  at  Champ- 
pion  Hills,  where  it  did  good  work. 
The  regiment  arrived  in  the  rear  of 
Vicksburg  on  the  19th  of  May,  and  par- 
ticipated in  the  siege  of  that  place  until 
its  capitulation,  July  4, 1863.  Scarcely 
had  the  confederate  colors  been  hauled 
down  on  this  stronghold,  than  General 
Sherman  started  for  Jackson,  Miss., 
where  Joe  Johnston  was  securely  forti- 
fied, and  with  his  column  was  the  97th. 
It  participated  in  all  the  manoeuvers 
that  led  to  the  downfall  of  that  place, 
and  then  returned  to  Vicksburg,  where 
it  remained  until  Aug.  25,  when  it  em- 
barked for  New  Orleans,  and  went  into 
camp  at  Carrollton,  near  that  city,  on 
their  arrival  at  that  place  on  the  27th. 
The  regiment  was  mustered  out  of  ser- 
vice July  29,  1865,  at  Galveston,  Texas, 
and  arrived  at  Camp  Butler,  Springfield, 
111.,  Aug.  13,  1S65,  where  it  received  its 
discharge. 

NJXTY-NIXTII   INFANTRY. 

First  Assistant  Surgeon, 
Curtiss,  John  F. 

COMPANY  II. 

I. owe.  Edward,  Pennick,  Jeremiah, 

Penniek,  M.  M.,  Smith,  John  C, 

Smith,  Dennis,  Wedding,  ('.  II., 


ONE    HUNDRED    AND    TWENTY-SEC- 
OND INFANTRY. 

COMPANY  C. 

Second  Lieutenant: 
Chapman,  S.  L. 

Sergeant: 
Powell.  Asm. 

Corporal: 
Miles.  W.  W. 

Privates: 
Avers,  s.  A.,  Aster,  Sam, 

Bult,  William,  Bill,  M.  A., 

Cassey,  Daniel,  flowers.  <i.  H., 

Davis,  s.  P..  Evelanrl  Garrison, 

Egelhoff,  Philip,  Fitzgerald,  J.  W„ 

Miles,  .1.  D.  Myers,  W.  II., 

Matthews,  Elijah,  Phipps,  .1.  M., 

Ryan,  Samuel,  Spear.  W.  L., 

SegO,  I).  J.  Spencer.  A.  .!., 

Upton,  T.  J.,  Withrow,  .1.  II. 

Carll,  J.  D„  Dabbs,  Elias, 

Davis,  D.  15.,  Davenport,  Absalom, 

Davenport,  William,    Gertimer,  George, 
Jackson,  W.  L.,  Luft,  John, 

Osboru,  \V.  ('..  W'eman.II.  L, 

ONE    HUNDRED    AND    TWENTY-SECOND     IN- 
FANTRY. 

The  regiment  which  was  known  as 
the  122d  111.  Vol.  Inf.  was  organized 
at  Camp  Palmer,  Carlinville,  in  Au- 
gust, 1862.  The  officers  of  the  regi- 
ment were  as  follows:  Colonel,  John  J. 
Rinaker;  lieutenant-colonel,  James  F. 
Drish;  major,  J.  F.  Chapman;  H.  G. 
Kaplinger,  adjutant.  On  the  8th  of 
Oct.  the  regiment  moved  to  Colum- 
bus, Ky.,  and  from  thence  to  Trenton, 
Tenn.  On  Nov.  the  12th,  companies  A, 
D  and  F  moved  to  Humboldt,  that  state 
but  upon  the  18th  of  December,  the 
regiment  was  transported  to  Jackson,  to 
defend  that  place  against  Forrest.  They 
marched  in  pursuit  of  the  enemy  as  far 
as  Lexington,  Tenn.,  but  returned  to 
Jackson,  December  21.  In  the  mean- 
time, the  enemy,   under  General  For- 


rest, captured  the  town  of  Trenton,  to. 
gether  with  the  sick  in  the  hospital  at 
that  place,  among  whom  were  Major 
Chapman  and  60  men  of  the  122d  Illi- 
nois, on  hearing  which  the  balance  of 
the  regiment  set  out  in  pursuit  of  the 
enemy,  December  27th.  On  the  31st, 
was  engaged  at  Parker's  Cross-roads,  in 
connection  with  detachments  of  the 
39th  Iowa,  50th  Iml.  and  18th  111. 
Inf.  regiments,  and  captured  seven 
pieces  of  artillery  and  500  prisoner-. 
The  loss  of  the  122d  was  one  officer  ami 
22  privates  killed  ami  56  wounded.  Col- 
onel Rinaker  was  severely  wounded. 
On  the  17th  of  Feb.  1863,  the  regiment 
moved  to  Corinth,  and  on  the  loth  of 
April  from  Corinth,  and  on  the  25th  was 
engaged  at  Town  creek.  It  moved  to 
Saulsbury,  June  25th,  and  October  30th 
to  Iuka,  Colonel  Rinaker  commanding 
the  post  at  each  place.  It  did  efficient 
service,  in  this  line  of  duty,  the  summer 
of  1864,  companies  E,  H  and  K  defend- 
ing Paducah  against  the  assaults  of 
General  Forrest,  repelling  three  attacks 
on  Fort  Anderson.  June  26,  1864,  it 
was  transported  to  Memphis, Tenn.,  and 
was  assigned  to  the  1st  Brig.,  3d  Div., 
and  joined  to  the  command  of  Gen.  A. 
J.  Smith. 

On  the  14th  of  July  was  engaged  at 
Tupelo,  Mississippi,  and  met  with  the 
loss  of  Captain  Josiah  Burroughs  and 
nine  enlisted  men  killed  and  23  wound- 
ed, and  returned  to  Memphis,  arriving 
there  July  23.  It  was  also  engaged  in 
garrison  and  guard  duty  at  Holly 
Springs,  and  on  the  8th  of  Sept.  moved 
to  Cairo,  111.  and  the  12th  to  Jefferson 
barracks,  St.  Louis,  Mo.  It  was  a  par- 
ticipant in  the  campaign  in  Missouri,  of 
this  year,   after    General    Price.      The 


252 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


regiment  embarked  for  Nashville, 
Term.,  Nov.  24,  and  on  the  15th  and 
16th  of  Dec.  was  engaged  in  the  battle 
of  Nashville.  Hood,  who  had  swung 
around  Sherman's  advancing  army, 
threatened  Nashville,  and  Gen.  Thomas 
gathered  all  the  men  within  reach,  for 
the  defense  of  that  city,  to  him,  and 
among  them  the  122d  111. who  did  valiant 
service  upon  that  sanguinary  field.  On 
the  16th,  the  battle  raged  with  increas- 
ing fury,  until  Thomas  ordered  a  grand 
charge,  when  the  confederate  forces 
were  driven  out  of  their  intrenchments 
in  headlong  flight.  The  union  cavaly 
thundered  upon  their  heels  with  re- 
morseless energy,  the  infantry  follow- 
ing closely  behind.  Almost  the  entire 
rebel  army  was  dissolved  into  a  rabble 
of  demoralized  fugitives,  who,  at  last 
escaped  across  the  Tennessee.  The  war 
in  the  west,  so  far  as  great  movements 
were  concerned,  was  practically  at  an 
end,  but  the  gallant  regiment  whose 
name  graces  the  head  of  this  article 
was  not  through  with  its  days  of  bat- 
tle, for,  on  the  3d  of  April,  it  joined 
the  forces  before  Fort  Blakely  and  on 
the  9th  of  that  month  participated  in 
the  assault  upon  that  stronghold,  losing 
20  killed  and  wounded.  On  the  12th  it 
marched  to  Montgomery,  Ala.,  arriving 
there  on  the  26th,  where  it  remained 
until  the  latter  part  of  May.  June  4th, 
it  embarked  at  Providence  Landing,  and 
steamed  down  the  Alabama  river  to  Mo- 
bile, where  it  was  mustered  out  of  the 
service,  July  15. 

ONE      HUNDRED     TWENTY-FOURTH 
INFANTRY. 

COMPANY    C. 

First  Lieutenant: 
Terry,  John  W. 


Sergeants: 
Beatie,  N.  C,  White,  J.  J., 

Corporals: 
Goodman,  B.  F.,  Hegans,  Lafayette. 

Musician : 
Bartlett,  B.  E., 

Privates: 
Austin,  Frederick,        Barton,  Charles, 
Beck,  S.  E.,  Bartlett,  W.  II., 

Cadwallader,  Ell,  Crane.  Levi, 

Daggott,  H.  P,  Gaston,  William, 

Hesser,  W.  S..  Howell,  C.  H., 

Hughes,  Thomas,  Hughs,  Thornton, 

Johnson,  A.  C,  Motherly,  J.  C, 

Nelson,  John,  Phillips,  Nelson, 

Perrigs,  G.  W.,  Rutherford,  G.  W, 

Smith,  L.  N.,  Snivel,  James, 

Slaughter,  J.  H,  Truman,  Albert, 

Vance,  R.  C,  Walker,  W.  S., 

Brown,  M.  C.  Barley,  J.  C, 

Beck,  II.  W.,  Barton,  P.  S., 

Cadwallader,  J.  R.,        Kennedy,  J.  K.  P., 
Lucas,  J.  W,  Lamb,  Leroy, 

McDow,  J.  J.  II.,  Malott,  J.  S., 

Malone,  John,  McGee,  J.  H., 

Murphy,  Robert,  O'DoniU'll,  Jeremiah, 

Riley,  John,  Sisson,  II.  H, 

Stringham,  M.  E.,  Terry,  II.  C, 

Whitaker.  James,  Wilson,  J.  L. 

ONE   HUNDRED  AND  TWENTY-FOURTH  ILLI- 
NOIS  INFANTRY. 

This  regiment  was  organized  at  Camp 
Butler,  Springfield,  111.,  in  Sept.,  1862, 
with  the  following  regimental  officers : 
Thomas  J.  Sloan,  of  Chicago,  colonel; 
John  H.  Howe,  lieutenant-colonel;  R. 
P.  Pattison,  major;  and  William  E. 
Smith,  adjutant.  It  was  mustered  into 
the  service  of  the  United  States  by  Lieu- 
tenant DeCourcey,  Sept.  10.  On  the 
3d  of  Oct.  the  regiment  received  orders 
to  go  to  the  front,  and  leaving  Camp 
Butler,  moved  to  Jackson,  Tenn.,  where 
it  arrived  on  the  9th,  and  was  assigned 
a  place  in  the  3d  Brig.,  1st  Div.,  13th 
Army  Corps.      On  the  14th  of  Nov.  it 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


253 


moved  to  Lagrange,  and  on  the  28th 
drove  the  enemy  across  the  Tallahatchie 
river  and  advanced  to  the  Yacona  river. 
The  regiment  was  then  in  the  1st  Brig., 
Col.  John  E.  Smith;  3dDiv.,  Brig. -Gen. 
John  A.  Logan;  of  the  17th  Army  Corps, 
commanded  by  Maj.-Gen.  James  B.  Mc- 
pherson. 

On  the  13th  of  Feb.,  1863,  they  moved 
down  the  Mississippi  river  to  Lake 
Providence,  and  March  17  went  into 
camp  at  Berry's  landing.  On  the  18th 
of  April  the  regiment  moved  to  Milli- 
ken's  Bend,  and  on  the  25th  commenced 
w'ith  the  other  troops  the  campaign  that 
ended  in  the  surrender  of  Vicksburg. 
On  the  30th  of  April  it  took  part  in  the 
sanguinary  and  hotly  contested  battle  at 
Thompson's  Hill,  and  gained  imperish- 
able laurels.  In  the  engagement  at  Ray- 
mond, Jackson,  and  Champion  Hills, 
May  12,  14  and  16,  respectively,  during 
the  entire  seige  of  Vicksburg,  including 
the  assault  on  Fort  Hill,  they  performed 
a  heroic  part.  After  the  surrender  of 
that  redoubtable  place  they  rested  until 
August  31,  when  they  entered  upon  the 
campaign  to  Monroe,  La.,  and  thence  to 
Brownsville,  and  was  engaged  in  the  two 
days'  battle  at  the  latter  place,  on  the 
16th  and  17th  of  Oct.  It  went  into  camp 
at  Black  river  Nov.  7,  and  on  the  25th 
engaged  in  a  prize  drill  with  five  other 
regiments,  and  carried  off  the  palm.  At 
a  subsequent  contest  for  a  prize  banner 
the  124th  received  the  flag,  inscribed, 
"  Excelsior  regiment,  3d  Div.,  7th 
Corps,"  from  the  hands  of  Maj.-Gen. 
McPherson,  for  excelling  in  soldierly 
appearance,  discipline,  and  drill.  On 
the  3d  of  Feb.,  1864,  the  regiment  en- 
tered upon  the  famous  Meridian  expedi- 
tion, and  returned  to  Vicksburg  March4. 


It  was  engaged  at  Benton  on  May  7 
and  10,  returned  to  Vicksburg  on  the 
21st,  and  in  July,  moved  with  General 
Slocum  on  his  Jackson  campaign,  and 
was  engaged  in  the  sharp  fight  at  Jack- 
son Cross  Roads  the  5th  and  7th.  In 
October  it  was  in  the  campaign  to  White 
river  and  Memphis.  Remained  at 
Vicksburg  doing  guard  and  provost  duty 
until  Feb.  25,  1865,  when  it  removed  to 
New  Orleans.  March  12,  it  embarked 
for  Mobile,  moved  to  Dauphin  Island, 
and  up  Fish  river,  and  commenced  the 
siege  of  Spanish  Fort.  The  regiment 
was  the  extreme  left  of  the  investing 
line,  and,  with  one-half  deployed  as 
skirmishers,  drove  the  enemy  within 
their  fortifications.  The  regiment 
was  mustered  out,  at  Chicago,  Aug.  15. 
ONE  HUNDRED  THIRTY-THIRD  INF. 
First  Assistant  Surgeon: 
Folger,  II.  A.' 

COMPANY    II. 

First  Lieutenant: 

Hoffman,  Peter  A. 
Corporals: 
Stoner,  N.  <'..  Charney,  Michael, 

Dupy,  J.  F..  Roady,  Christian. 

Privates: 
Christopher,  15.  F..        Drury,  < '.  S.. 
Davidson,  C.  J.,  Dodge,  E.  A.. 

Everman,  W.  A.,  Eimis,  John, 

Elliott.  T.  P>..  Holowell,  W.  x„ 

Howell,  John,  McCurdy,  Joseph, 

McCumber,  Jasper,       Medley,  J.  L., 
Pease,  (i.  A..  Palmer,  \V.  E.. 

Rhoads,  T.  J.,  Simmonds,  J.  L., 

Tunstall.  John,  Wales,  C.  E., 

Wilson.  J.  D. 
ONE  HUNDRED  FORTY-  FOURTH  INF. 

COMPANY   A. 

Andrews,  J.  E.,  Bechtil,  J.  J., 

Craig,  Solomon,  Denny,.!.  1!..  Jr., 

Harrington,  Morris.      Ryall!  Alfred. 
Tully,  H.  C,  Waggoner,  J.  E. 

COMPANY  B. 

Austin,  George,  Bell,  Z.  T., 

Crabtree,  Edward,  Doyle,  Thomas. 

Fitzgerald,  Robert,  Harris,  H.  15., 

Hueston,  J.  L.,  Hueston,  C.  W., 

Hueston,  S.  \\\.  Jones,  Samuel, 

Nelson,  Andrew,  Porter,  Jackson, 

Howden.  W.  \V.,  Rowden,  J.  H.. 

Snedeker,  J.  S.,  Spangle,  Perry, 


COMI  ANY  I>. 

Bailey,  William.  Kendall,  W.  II., 


Reed,  J.  ('., 
Van  Pelt,  Clark, 
Fredenburg,  G.  IP. 
Proctor,  T.  0., 


Richard,  John, 
Bleumerfleld,  John, 
Guthrie,  J.  A., 
Proctor,  Benjamin, 


Trager,  William.    White,  T.  C,   Burritt,  T.  L. 

COMPANY    F. 

Boedy,  christian,  Buffington,  Colby, 


Brown.  Myron, 
Crowder,  J.  T.. 
Capp,  Joseph. 
Edrngton,  William, 
Punk,  J.  IP, 
Holmes.  William. 
Jones,  W.  \.. 
Manning,  John, 
Murphy,  A.  X.. 
Morse,  G.  L.. 
Pollard,  Isaac, 
Ratcliff,  G.  W„ 
Scroggins,  Henry, 
Sheff,  R.  J„ 


Borrjuer,  A.. 
Crowder,  W.  D., 

Crocker,  Denny, 
Fisher,  G.  S, 
Gilleland,T.  R.. 
Hart.  J.  F., 
Mott,  Asbury. 
.Murphy.  M.  A., 
Murphy,  W.  H.. 
<  I  Wal,  .lames, 
Parks,  John, 
Ryan,  William. 
Scerie,  John, 
Sunderland.  William. 


Sunderland. Williams.. Sison,  L.  H., 

Shields.  W.  P..  Scroggins,  Anderson, 

Tack,  C.  M.,  Wilkinson,  Thomas, 

White,  T.  P..  Weigel,  Henry, 

Ward,  John.  Dolson,  Stephen, 

Fizer,  Clinton.  Fizer,  .lohn. 

Furlong,  Martin.  House.  John, 

Jewett,  C.  A.,  Powrey,  James. 

COMPANY  G. 

Cope,  Leonard, 
Cope,  Martin, 
Dunsdon,  J.  M., 
Ford,  . I.  II., 
Gier,  John, 
Kinsella,  Martin, 
Moore,  .lames, 
McFain,  E.  A. 
Mi-Fain.  J   C„ 
Proctor,  .1.  M.G., 
1'itt,  A.  F., 
Handle,  J,  P., 
Shelley,  J.  J., 
Smith,  John, 
Slattery,  John, 
Wilson,  E.  E., 
Cope,  Thomas.       Ford.  G.  A.,       Mc(iee.  J.  W. 
COMPANY  II. 
Captain: 

PittTWilliam  E- 
Privates: 

Green,  Louis, 

<  treen,  Almarion, 
Hart!  y,  Samuel, 
McDow,  William, 

<  I'Xeil,  Michael. 
( (wen  James, 
Piggott,  G.  M„ 

Shaw,  W.  W., 
Sweeney,  Thomas, 
Tearney,  John, 


Bull,  C.  F., 
Close,  Samuel, 
Dandridge,  Robert, 
Emery,  <  harles, 
Granger,  W.  T., 
Giles,  Andrew, 
Lane,  W.  II., 
Moore,  W.  II.. 
Minard,  A.  K., 
Orr,  W. .).. 
Peters,  Henry, 
Hue.  W.  H„ 

Sunderland,  ]|.  L, 
Sharon,  William, 
Sunderland,  J.  W., 
shook.  Blaney, 


Avleanl.  T.  W., 
Gier,  J.  II.. 
Hand.  Shadrach, 
Litter.  John. 
Nicholas,  T.  s., 
O'Donnell,  John 
Pistole,  M.  K., 
Reed,  W.  A., 
Smith  C.  C, 
Travis,  G.  \\\. 


Vinson,  J.  E., 
Welsh,  William, 
Winger,  Henry, 
Caldwell,  S.T., 
Gibbs,  .lames, 
I 'it!.   V.T., 
Sandford,  Geo., 


Willis,  W.  A., 
Willis  Isaac, 
Briggs.  G.  P., 
Fdsall,  <  'lie, 
Nutt,  W.  J., 
Stillwell,  .lohn, 
Shaw,  S.  A., 


Sunderland.  .1.  \V. 
COMPANY   I. 

Captain: 
Moore,  J.  T>. 
Second  Lieutenant: 
Hutchinson,  W.  II. 
Privates: 
P.idwell,  L.  X.,  Burlew,  Noah, 

Battersbey,  David,        Carroll  Patrick, 
('rain,  James,  Crabtree,  J.  W.. 

Dobbs,  G.W.,  Dowdall,  W.  II., 

Gray,  Solomon,  Harvill,  B.  F„ 

Jennings,  Richard,       Lyles,  T.  \X ., 
Little,  S..    Lemkull.  W.  II.,    Miller.  Isaac 
Simpson.  J.  II.,    Ford,  S.  W..    Macumber,  J. 

ROLL    OF    HONOR. 

George  W.  Bicknerdied  Nov.  28,  1861. 

H.  W.  Phillips  was  killed  at  Alatoona 
Pass,  Ga.,  Oct.  5,  1864. 

Daniel  P.  Smutz,  was  killed  at  Shiloh, 
Tenn.;  April  6,  1862. 

John  Johnessee  died  Aug.  24,  1863. 

John  V.  Parker  died  July  21,  1862. 

N.  Ware,  killed,  April  6,  1882. 

Emory  Brewer  was  killed  at  Shiloh, 
Tenn.,  April  6,  1862. 

Edward  Brewer  died  Dec.  22,  1861. 

Herman  Heberick  was  killed  at 
Shiloh,  Tenn.,  April  6,  1861. 

John  Smith  died  Aug.  18,  1863. 

William  D.  Wadlingtondied  at  Mound 
City,  Oct.  30,  1861. 

William  D.  Bell  died  at  home,  Nov. 
10,  1S63,  from  wounds. 

William  L.  Green  died  July  2,    1864. 

W.  Trimble  died,  wounds,Nov.21,  '61. 

George  Ult  was  killed  at  Kenesaw 
Mountain,  June  27,  1864. 

Sergeant  George  W.  Bray  den  died  at 
Bridgeport,  Aug.  25,  1863. 

Andrew  J.  Johnson  was  killed  at 
Stone  River,  Dec.  31,  1862. 

Henry  Melntire  died  of  wounds  at 
Benton  Barracks,  April  14,  1864. 

Chas.  F.  Daudridge  was  left  wounded 
on  the  battlefield  of  Chickamauga,  Sept. 
20,  1863.  Benjamin  Strickland  was  killed 
at  Grand  Junction,  Jan.  18,  1863. 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


255 


William  H.  McCoy  died  at  Pittsburg 
Landing,  April  6,  1862. 

James  M.  Shaw  died  at  Little  Rock, 
May  56,  1864. 

Captain  Warren  Ihrie  died  Sept.  9, 
1862. 

Robert  M.  Allen,  left  wounded  on  the 
field  at  Shiloh,  April  6,  1862. 

John  W.  Bates  died  at  St.  Louis,  May 
15,  1862. 

John  H.  Cyter  died  at  Duvall's  Bluff, 
Sept.  2,  1863. 

John  Francis  died  at  St.  Louis,  Mo., 
March  14,  1862. 

Julius  S.  Goff  died  at  St.  Louis,  Mo., 
March  14,  1862. 

Edward  C.  Gallagher  was  killed  at 
Shiloh,  April  6,  1862. 

Nelson  Hegans  died  at  Savannah, 
April  12,  1862,  of  wounds. 

John  Martin  died  at  Snyder's  Bluff, 
Miss.,  July  25,  1863. 

Sergeant  Benjamin  F.  Miner  died  at 
Memphis,  Feb.  1,  1864. 

Corporal  Leonard  Martin  was  killed 
at  the  battle  of  Shiloh,  April  6,  1862. 

Joseph  Smith  died  from  wounds  re- 
ceived at  Shiloh,  April  6,  1862. 

Samuel  P.  Erwin  died  at  St.  Louis, 
Mo.,  May  12,  1862. 

Benjamin  H.  Pritcball  died  at  Pitts- 
burg Landing,  Tenn.,  May  8,  1862. 

John  F.  Scroggins  died  at  Franklin, 
Tenn.,  Aug.  6,  1865. 

Frank  J.  Albert  was  killed  at  Pitts- 
burg Landing,  April  6,  1862. 

Benjamin  F.  Austin  died  at  Pittsburg 
Landing,  April  30,  1862. 

Moses  B.  Corbin  was  killed  at  Shiloh, 
Tenn.,  April  6,  1862. 

James  M.  Carroll  was  killed  April  6, 
1862,  at  Shiloh. 

Corporal    Hiram    Halliday    died    at 


Macon,  Ga.,  Aug.  14,  1862,  while  a 
prisoner  of  war. 

Andrew  J.  Harris,  reported  dead. 

John  Jobson  died  July  25,  1863. 

Samuel  Leavitt  died  at  Mound  City, 
111.,  May  10,  1862. 

Joel  P.  Miller  died  at  St.  Louis,  Mo. 

Braxton  Murphy  was  missing  at 
Pittsburg  Landing;  Tenn.,  and  was  re- 
ported dead. 

Ezekiel  Montgomery  died  Feb.  3,1862. 

Samuel  Smith  died  at  St.  Louis,  Mo., 
April  26,  1862. 

James  Schooley  died  of  wounds,  April 
30,  1862. 

James  Dougherty  died  at  Duvall's 
Bluff,  Miss.,  Sept.  22,  1864. 

Daniel  Rawden  died  while  in  the 
service. 

Charles  Kelch  died  while  a  prisoner 
of  war. 

William  L.  Quigley  died  at  Hamburg, 
Tenn. 

William  A.  Rowden  died  at  Paducah, 
Ky.,  Feb.  8,  1865. 

Leroy  Stephenson  died  at  Murfrees- 
boro,  Tenn.,  March  29,  1865. 

Noah  W.  Jones  died  at  Owl  Creek, 
Tenn.,  June  1,  1863. 

Alexander  Campbell  died  at  the  hos- 
pital of  the  Good  Samaritan,  April  3, 
1862. 

Robert  Lyons  was  reported  dead. 

Aaron  Pruitt  was  killed  at  Shiloh, 
April  6,  1862. 

Corporal  George  W.  Turnpaw  died 
while  in  the  service. 

William  Beeby  died  at  Piasa  of  wounds 
Sept.  4,  1864. 

William  M.  Peter  died  at  Newbern, 
X.  C,  April  9,1864. 

James  \V.  St.  Clair  died  at  Louisville, 
Ky.,  July  14,  1864. 


256 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


William   L.  Hall  died  at  Columbus 
Ky.,  Sept.  28,  1862. 

George  Draper  was  killed  accident- 
ally, Nov.  1,  1863. 

William  Reid  was  accidentally  killed 
Nov.  1,  1863. 

Charles  Watson  died  at  home  Oct.  8, 
1862. 

William  Woods  was  accidentally  killed 
Nov.  1,  1863. 

John  Berlien  was  killed  at  Fort  Blake- 
ley,  Ala.,  April  9,  1865. 

James  Crissip  died  at  Morganzia  Bend, 
La.,  Oct.  6,  1864. 

Edward  Carney  died  at  Morganzia 
Bend,  La.,  Aug.  3,  1864. 

Newton  S.  Osborn  was  killed  acci- 
dentally, Nov.  1,  1863. 

Edwin  D.  Lowe  was  killed  April  9, 
1865,  while  planting  the  colors  on  Fort 
Blakeley,  Ala. 

Christopher  J.  Miller  died  while  in 
the  service. 

John  P.  Slaten  was  accidentally  killed 
Nov.  1,  1863. 

Andrew  J.  Clark  died  March  23,  1863. 

Thomas  H.  Clark  died  March  15, 1863. 

James  Enos  died  Aug.  15,  1863. 

Henry  H.  Giberson,  died  Feb.  15, 
1863. 

William  H.  Giberson  died  Jan.  23, 
1863. 

Lafayette  Lassiter  died  April  6,  1863. 

Elliott  Macoy  died  Feb.  8,  1863. 

James  McRang  died  Feb.  8,  1863. 

James  H.  Manyfold  died  of  wounds 
July  28,  1863. 

Isaac  N.  Selby  died  Jan.  23, 1863. 

Benjamin  F.  Williams  died  Feb.  14, 
1863. 

Jacob  Walty  died  March  23,  1863. 

Osborn  Worthy  died  April  3,  1863. 

J.  K.  P.  Court  died  Feb.  13,  1863. 


R.  W.  VanPelt  was  killed  at  Fort 
Blakeley,  Ala,,  April  9,  1865. 

Andrew  Brown  died  at  Camp  Butler, 
Springfield,  111.,  March  10,  1864. 

Sergeant  Asa  Powell  died  in  Ander- 
sonville  prison,  Ga.,  Aug.  15,  1864. 

Daniel  Cassey  died  at  Eastport,  Miss., 
Jan.  26,  1865. 

Garrison  Eveland  died  at  Memphis, 
Tenn.,  Nov.  5,  1862. 

Philip  Egelhoff  died  of  wounds  Jan. 
1,1863. 

Samuel  Ryan  died  Sept.  29,  1862. 

John  H.  Withrow  died  at  Trenton, 
Tenn.,  Jan.  31,  1863. 

William  L.  Jackson  died  at  Trenton, 
Tenn.,  Nov.  15,  1862. 

Frederick  Austin  died  at  Detroit, 
Mich.,  Sept.  8,  1863. 

Charles  Barton  died  at  Lake  Provi- 
dence, La.,  March  10,  1863. 

William  Gaston  died  at  Vicksburg, 
Miss.,  Sept.  27,  1864. 

Thornton  Hughs  died  at  Memphis, 
Tenn.,  July  14,  1863. 

J.  C.  Motherly,  died  at  Laclede,  Mo. 
Sept.  15,  1863. 

Nelson  Phillips  died  of  wounds,  June 
28,  1863. 

R.  C.  Vance  was  killed  at  Vicksburg, 
June  26,  1863. 

Christian  Boedy  died  at  Alton,  Ills., 
March  27,  1865. 

William  Sunderland  died  at  Plain- 
view,  Ills.,  Jan.  22,  1865. 

Almarion  Green  died  at  Alton,  Ills., 
July  14,  1865. 

Thomas  S.  Nicholas  died  at  Alton, 
Ills.,  Jan.  12,  1865. 

John  E.  Vinson  died  atFieldon,  Ills., 
Dec.  2,  1864, 

James  Gibbs  died  at  Alton,  Ills., 
Feb.  1,  1865. 


CHAPTER     XVII. 


ELSAH  TOWNSHIP. 


The  above  named  township  lies  in  the 
southern  part  of  the  county.  It  does 
not  comprise  a  full  congressional  town- 
ship, a  considerable  part  being  cut  off 
by  the  Mississippi  river,  which  bounds 
it  on  the  south.  On  the  east  it  is 
bounded  by  Madison  county,  with  Mis- 
sissippi township  on  the  north  and 
Quarry  township  on  the  west.  The 
township  is  hilly  and  broken,  and  along 
the  Mississippi  river  is  found  many 
high  and  picturesque  bluffs,  from  which 
a  fine  view  of  the  surrounding  country 
is  commanded.  Among  the  more  prom- 
inent of  these  is  Notch  Cliff,  upon 
which  is  the  residence  of  Mrs.  Lucy  V. 
S.  Ames.  The  Piasa  creek  enters  the 
eastern  part  of  the  township  on  Sec.  24, 
and  in  its  meandering  and  zigzag  course 
flows  through  sections  13,  14,  23  and  24, 
emptying  into  the  Mississippi  river  on 
the  fractional  section  25.  There  are 
several  other  small  creeks  or  streamlets, 
which  furnish  an  abundance  of  water 
for  all  practical  purposes. 

EARLY    SETTLEMENT. 

The  first  settlement  in  what  is  now 
Elsah  township  is  generally  believed  to 
have  been  made  by  William  Bates,  and 
he  was  undoubtedly  one  of  the  first  per- 
manent settlers.  He  came  to  this 
county  in  1817,  and  took  up  his  location 
in  what  is  now  Elsah  township.  He 
erected  his  cabin  on  section  25,  about  a 


quarter  of  a  mile  from  the  Piasa  creek, 
on  land  which  now  belongs  to  the  widow 
of  John  Locke.  He  was  a  native  of 
South  Carolina,  and  on  coming  to  Illi- 
nois stopped,  for  a  time,  at  the  block 
house  between  Edwardsville  and  St. 
Louis,  and  thence  to  this  county,  as 
aforesaid.  He  was  married  when  he 
came  here.  One  of  his  daughters  mar- 
ried James  Redden;  one  married  Abel 
Moore,  whose  two  children  were  killed 
by  the  Indians  at  the  Wood  river  mas- 
sacre; another  daughter  married  Josiah 
Askew.  Bates  buried  three  wives 
in  this  county,  and  he  was  married 
five  times.  Some  persons  were  condol- 
ing with  him  on  the  loss  of  a  wife,  and 
the  necessity  of  his  thereafter  living 
alone.  Bates  said,  "Oh,  I  could  easily 
get  another,  if  I  just  had  time  to  go  out 
and  hunt  one."  Bates  was  a  very  small 
man,  and  was  known  among  the  early 
settlers  as  being  the  most  diminutive 
among  them.  He  sold  out  his  place  to 
John  Bostwick  and  others,  about  1835, 
who  laid  out  thereon  the  town  of  Ran- 
dolph, and  he  moved  away  to  the  farm 
of  his  son-in-law,  Abel  Moore,  about 
two  miles  northeast  of  Shurtleff  Col- 
lege, at  Upper  Alton,  where  he  after- 
ward died. 

A  man  by  the  name  of  Watson  ef- 
fected a  settlement  in  the  eastern  part 
of  the  township  about  the  year  1818, 
accompanied     by    his     son,    Matthew. 


None  of  the  family  are  living  at  present 
and  it  is  not  known  what  became  of 
these  pioneers. 

One  of  the  few  settlers  of  1818  was 
Edward  Carroll,  of  whom  not  a  great 
deal  is  remembered  among  the  early  set- 
tlers, as  he  died  within  a  few  years  after 
coming  to  the  county  and  when  the  set- 
tlement of  the.county  was  in  a  compara- 
tively very  crude  condition.  Descend- 
ents  of  his  have,  however,  been  identi- 
fied with  the  county  and  vicinity  for  a 
space  of  time  equaling  that  of  a  long 
lifetime,  and  two  of  his  three  children 
are  living  at  this  writing.  He  was  born 
in  Kilkenny,  Ireland,  in  1780.  He  was 
reared  in  his  native  country,  and  there 
learned  a  trade,  that  of  tanner  and  cur- 
rier. Being  in  Ireland  at  the  time  of 
the  rebellion  of  1798,  he  was  engaged  on 
the  patriot  side  in  that  struggle.  In 
1801  he  emigrated  to  America,  landing 
at  the  port  of  New  York.  From  there 
he  went  to  New  Jersey,  locating  in  Sus- 
sex county,  near  New  Town,  where  he 
worked  at  his  trade.  While  working 
there  he  was  married  to  Mary  Wright,  a 
niece  of  Gen.  Greene,  of  Revolutionary 
fame.  Her  father  also  served  on  the 
side  of  the  colonists  all  through  that 
memorable  struggle.  After  his  mar- 
riage Edward  started  in  business  for 
himself,  sinking  a  tan-yard  and  engag- 
ing quite  extensively  in  the  manufacture 
of  leather.  He  continued  the  business 
with  profit  until,  his  health  failing,  he 
determined  to  sell  out  and  travel.  He 
finally  brought  up  in  Stark  county,  0. 
This  was  before  the  last  war  with  Great 
Britain,  and  that  part  of  Ohio  was  then 
a  howling  wilderness,  and  the  Indians 
who  infested  that  vicinity  were  then  on 
the    rampage.     All  through  the  war  of 


1812  the  family  lived  there,  and  the  tri- 
als there  undergone  by  them  may  read- 
ily be  understood  by  a  perusal  of  the 
history  of  the  times. 

Having  determined  to  penetrate 
further  into  the  western  wilds,  in  1817, 
Edward  left  his  family  in  Ohio,  and 
with  a  brother-in-law,  James  Moffitt, 
came  out  to  the  vicinage  of  the  Missis- 
sippi river.  Arriving  at  the  Whiteside's 
settlement,  Gen.  Whiteside,  who  was 
himself  contemplating  atrip,  offered  to 
go  with  them  on  a  tour  of  the  country 
further  north.  They  traveled  through 
Madison  and  what  are  now  Jersey  and 
Greene  counties,  and  were  as  far  as  the 
neighborhood  of  the  present  city  of 
Springfield,  thus  getting  a  pretty  good 
idea  of  the  advantages  for  settlement 
offered  by  different  regions  on  the 
route.  The  result  of  the  trip  seems  to 
have  determined  them  in  favor  of  what 
is  now  Jersey  county,  for  the  brothers- 
in-law  returned,  as  they  had  come,  on 
horseback,  to  Ohio,  and  began  prepara- 
tions for  moving  their  families  out  in 
the  spring  following.  The  last  traces 
of  winter  had  hardly  vanished  in  the 
lap  of  spring  ere  Edward,  mounting  a 
hardy  steed,  was  once  more  on  his  way 
across  tha  trackless  route  of  alternating 
prairie  and  timber,  bound  for  his  new 
Eldorado.  The  family,  again  left  he- 
hind,  were  to  take  the  river  route,  and 
under  the  guidance  of  Moffitt,  were  to 
find  the  spot  selected,  where  Edward 
was  to  have  a  cabin  ready  for  occupancy. 
That  spring  he  labored  in  the  wilder- 
ness, and  on  the  arrival  of  the  family, 
on  the  17th  day  of  July,  1818,  he  was 
found  alone  at  the  new  home,  with 
everything  ready  for  occupancy.  He 
had  two  log  houses  and  a  stable   of  the 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


259 


same  material  built,  about  the  center  of 
of  section  23,  in  what  is  now  Elsah 
township.  He  commenced  to  improve 
this  place,  but  thinking  the  other  side 
of  Mill  creek  better  suited  for  a  place  of 
residence,  he  went  over  there  and  built 
a  two-story  hewed  log  house,  moving 
his  family  into  it  in  the  summer  of 
1819.  That  same  spring  he  had  sunk  a 
tan-pit  on  the  place,  having  a  number 
of  French  workmen  from  Portage  to 
help  in  its  construction.  This  work 
was  never  pushed  to  completion  accord- 
ing to  the  plan  he  had  adopted,  though 
considerable  leather  was  tanned  there, 
considering  the  extreme  newness  of  the 
country  for  any  enterprise  of  this  kind. 
Edward  died  on  the  14th  day  of  June, 
1823.  They  took  his  body  across  the  river 
and  he  was  interred  at  Portage,  there 
being  then  no  regular  place  of  burial  on 
this  side  of  the  Mississippi,  in  that  vi- 
cinity. He  had  served  on  the  first 
petit  jury  of  Greene  county,  in  1822, 
(Jersey  and  Greene  being  then  one 
county),  and  at  that  term  of  court  was 
one  of  the  jury  in  the  notorious  Dixon 
robbery  case,  which  occurred  within  the 
present  limits  of  Jersey  county.  Mrs. 
Edward  Carroll  died  near  Otterville, 
on  the  24th  of  Feb.,  1852,  and  is  buried 
in  the  family  graveyard,  which  lies  on 
the  John  Dougherty  farm.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Edward  Carroll  were  the  parents 
of  three  children.  The  eldest,  Cather- 
ine, born  in  Sussex  county,  N.  J.,  in 
1805,  was  married  in  the  1823  to  Sam- 
uel Lofton,  and  is  now  deceased,  her 
only  surviving  child  being  Mary  Agnes, 
widow  of  Ephraim  Fredenburg. 

Charles  Wright  Carroll,  the  second 
child  in  order  of  age,  of  Edward  Car- 
roll, was  born  in   Stark   county,   Ohio, 


on  the  16th  day  of  Aug.,  1815.  He 
came  to  this  county  with  his  parents  in 
1818,  and  was  reared  here.  He  was 
married  in  Alton,  July  20,  1863,  to 
Bradley,  a  native  of  Maryland,  and 
daughter  of  Henry  Bradley.  He  is 
now  living  in  Otterville,  and  is  one  of 
the  few  early  pioneers  still  surviving, 
having  lived  within  her  borders  longer 
than  Illinois  has  been  a  state.  Thomas 
Edward  Carroll,  the  youngest  of  the 
three  children  of  Edward  Carroll,  and 
the  second  white  child  born  in  what  is 
now  Jersey  county,  was  born  in  what  is 
now  Elsah  township,  Jersey  county, 
at  his  parents'  home,  on  Sec.  23,  on  the 
2d  day  of  Feb.,  1820.  He  married 
Bridget  Fitzgerald,  and  the  couple,  with 
their  children  live  in  Macoupin  county, 
not  far  from  Litchfield,  the  metropolis 
of  Montgomery  county. 

James  Mofhtt  also  came  out  with  the 
Carroll  family.  He  had  been  out  with 
Edward  Carroll,  in  1817,  on  his  trip  of 
exploration. 

John  Carroll  and  family,  a  brother  of 
Edward,  settled  on  the  farm  owned  by 
James  Seagraves,  in  1819.  He  was  a 
native  of  Ireland,  but  came  to  this 
township  from  Ohio.  He  resided  here 
until  his  death,  which  occurred  in  Jan., 
1837,  and  his  wife  followed  him  in  Feb., 
1844.  Out  of  a  family  of  ten,  all  are 
dead  at  present  except  one  daughter — 
Mary — who  is  now  the  widow  of  Thomas 
Cummings,  and  resides  in  Mississippi 
township. 

Isaac  Terry  came  in  1830,  locating  in 
Elsah  township.  He  was  born  in  Han- 
cock county,  Ya.,  in  1800.  He  died 
here  in  1871.  "His  son  James  C,  now 
lives  in  the  township,  and  is  one  of  its 
best  men. 


260 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


REPRESENTATIVE    PEOPLE. 

Among  the  people  of  Elsah  who 
reflect  credit  upon  that  section  of  the 
county,  for  their  intelligence,  culture 
and  praiseworthy  enterprise,  are  the  fol- 
lowing gentlemen,  whose  sketches  are 
given  in  this  connection  : 

George  Piggott,  a  well  known  and 
prosperous  farmer  of  Elsah  township, 
is  a  native  of  Jersey  county,  111.,  born 
near  Newbern.  He  remained  with  his 
parents  till  21  years  of  age,  then  worked 
out,  at  farming,  in  different  places  until 
the  fall  of  1864.  At  that  date  he  en- 
listed in  the  144th  Reg.  of  111.  Inft,, 
becoming  a  member  of  Co.  H.,  com- 
manded by  Capt.  Pitt.  He  served  until 
July,  1865,  when  he  was  mustered  out 
at  Springfield,  111.,  and  returned  to 
Jersey  county.  In  1866,  he  was  mar- 
ried to  Hannah  M.  Snider,  who  was 
born  April  15,  1840.  They  have  had 
eight  children — James  H.,  born  Nov. 
11,  1866;  Elnora  M.,  born  April  26, 
1869;  Ulysses  L.,  born  Feb.  18,  1871; 
Hetty  J.',  born  Nov.  13,  1877;  Min- 
nie L.,  born  Sept.  20,  1882;  Lelie  B. 
and  Lula  D.,  twins,  born  Aug.  22,  1873; 
Lelie  B.,  died  Sept.  21,  1877,  and  Lulu 
D.,  Oct.  15,  1873;  Arvilla  E.,  born  May 
2,  1875,  and  died  Nov.  21,  1882.  Mr. 
Piggott  owns  114  acres  of  valuable  land 
located  on  sections  5,  6,  9  and  11,  Elsah 
township,  and  has  comfortable  improve- 
ments. He  is  a  member  of  the  I.  0. 
O.  F.,  and  of  the  G.  A.  R.  post,  No. 
206,  of  Elsah.  He  is  a  republican  poli- 
tically. 

Jacob  Kesler,  a  leading  farmer  of 
Elsah  township,  was  born  in  Cincin- 
nati, Ohio,  Sept.  10,  1841.  He  resided 
with  his  parents  until  18  years  of  age. 
In  1860,  he  went  to  St.  Charles  county, 


Mo.,  where  he  remained  for  a  time, 
then  went  to  St.  Joseph,  thence  to  Kan- 
sas City,  after  which  he  returned  to  Cin- 
cinnati, where  he  continued  till  1870. 
During  this  period  he  spent  three  years 
in  the  army,  enlisting  in  Co.  K,  of  the 
33d  Reg.  of  Mo.  Vol.  He  was  mus- 
tered out  at  Benton  Barracks,  St.  Louis, 
in  1865.  Jan.  18,  1872,  he  was  married 
at  St.  Charles,  Mo.,  to  Rebecca  Hansel, 
a  daughter  of  Richard  and  Lydia 
(Plumber)  Hansel.  She  was  born  April 
13,  1849.  Four  children  have  been 
born  to  them — Mark  H.,  born  April  3, 
1873,"  and  died  July  28,  1874;  George 
W.,  born  June  11,  1875,  and  died  March 
13,  1877;  Clifford,  born  May  2,  1878, 
and  one  who  died  at  a  very  early  age. 
Mr.  Kesler  owns  a  fine  farm,  compris- 
ing 120  acres.  He  has  a  commodious 
and  substantial  brick  residence,  a  frame 
barn  and  other  farm  buildings,  all  in 
good  repair,  and  is  an  enterprising  and 
successful  farmer.  He  is  a  member  of 
the  Masonic  fraternity,  also  of  the  K. 
of  P.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Kesler  are  mem- 
bers of  the  Presbyterian  church. 

William  Roades,  a  farmer  of  Elsah 
township,  was  born  in  Virginia,  Sept. 
17,  1811,  and  is  a  son  of  Henry  and 
Mary  (James)  Roades.  He  resided 
with  his  parents  until  22  years  old,  when 
he  went  to  Kentucky,  where  he  was 
married  to  Sarah  E.  Rolston,  who  died 
in  1843.  By  this  union  there  were  three 
children,  two  of  whom  died  in  infancy; 
one  daughter,  Elizabeth  F.,  born  in  1835, 
wife  of  C.  D.  Howard;  she  died  Sept.  23, 
1885.  Mr.  Roades  was  married  to 
Elizabeth  Swan,  April  20,  1844,  by 
whom  he  had  six  children,  three  of 
whom  are  now  living — Martha  J.,  born 
in  1845,  now  the  wife  of  James  N.  Fran- 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


261 


cis;  William  H.,  born  in  1846,  now 
married  to  Hannah  A.  Bougher,  and 
Ann  E.,  born  in  1849,  now  the  wife  of 
George  \V.  Smith;  George  L.,  born  Aug. 
30,  1854,  died  Sept.  7,  185,5;  Lucy  V  .; 
born  July  24,  1856,  died  Nov.  27,  1880, 
and  Alice,  born  Oct.  11,  1858,  died  in 
1865.  Mrs.  Roades  died  in  Jan.,  1876, 
and  Mr. Roades  was  married  the  third 
time  to  Nettie  B.  Anderson.  He  had  by 
this  marriage,  three  children — Charles 
C,  born  April  20,  1879;  Alfred  R.,  born 
March  5,  1881,  and  Rebba  R..born  Feb. 
19,  1883,  and  died  July  22,  1884.— Mr. 
Roades  has  a  finely  improved  farm, 
comprising  180  acres.  His  residence  is 
of  brick,  and  is  commodious  and  sub- 
stantial. This  place  is  located  on  sec- 
tions 7  and  8,  of  Elsah  township,  is 
pleasantly  situated  and  highly  desirable. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Roades  are  members  of 
the  M.  E.  church.  He  is  a  supporter  of 
the  prohibition  party. 

John  Bradford  Crawford,  a  farmer  in 
Elsah  township,  was  born  in  Sumner 
county,  Tenn.,  on  the  3d  of  June,  in 
the  year  of  1835.  When  he  was  three 
years  old  he  went  with  his  parents  to 
Dallas  county,  Mo.,  where  they  lived 
till  1848,  when  they  went  to  Farmington, 
St.  Francis  county,  Mo.  In  1851  he  and 
his  father  went  to  California,  and  after 
staying  six  months  there,  he  came  back 
to  the  state  of  Tennessee,  where' he 
stayed  with  his  grandmother  Crawford 
about  six  months.  He  then  went  back 
tn  Farmington,  Mo.,  for  a  short  time, 
and  from  there  he  went  to  Crawford 
county,  in  the  same  state.  In  Oct.  of 
1853,  he  moved  from  there  to  Jersey 
county,  111.,  locating  in  Elsah  township. 
He  was  married  to  LucindaM.  Anderson, 
at  Grafton,   111.,   on  the   11th  of  May, 


1854,  by  'Squire  John  Slaten.  She  was 
the  daughter  of  John  and  Lucinda 
(Black)  Anderson.  They  have  had  12 
children,  seven  of  whom  are  living. 
These  are  John  L.,  Syrintha  A.,  Eliza 
J.,  Leonora,  William  W.,  Elizabeth  and 
Charles  H. 

Jacob  Rister  resides  upon  section  10, 
Elsah  township,  where  he  owns  a  farm 
comprising  80  acres  of  the  southwest 
quarter.  He  has  50  acres  in  cultivation, 
a  good  frame  house  and  other  comfort- 
able improvements.  Mr.  Rister  was 
born  in  Germany,  April  13,  1826.  In 
1859,  he  emigrated  to  America,  and 
landed  at  New  Orleans,  La.,  where  he 
remained  two  months,  then  went  to  St. 
Louis,  and  thence  to  Morgan  county, 
111.  From  there  he  returned  to  St. 
Louis,  remaining  in  that  city  three 
years,  engaged  in  various  occupations. 
He  removed  from  St.  Louis  to  Jersey 
county,  which  has  since  been  his  home. 
He  was  married  during  the  year  1853, 
to  Christine  Vernon,  who  was  born 
Jan.  5,  1827,  and  is  a  daughter  of  Dan- 
iel and  Frederica  Vernon.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Bister  have  had  seven  children, 
among  whom  are  William,  born  Nov.  8, 
1856;  Thomas,  born  May  12,  1861; 
Christina,  born  April  19,  1863;  Mary, 
born  Feb.  11,  1865;  and  Henry,  born 
Dec.  11,  1867.  Mr.  Rister  was  in  the 
army  a  few  months,  during  the  year 
1S65,  enlisting  in  Co.  B,  of  the  154th 
111.  Inft.  He  was  mustered  out  of  the 
service  at  Camp  Butler,  Springfield,  111. 
He  is  now  a  member  of  the  G.  A.  R. 
post,  No.  206,  of  Elsah. 

EHUCATIONAL. 

Among  the  early  schools  of  the  town- 
ship was  one  taught  by  Hannah  Piggott 


262 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


about  the  year  1S45,  in  a  log  cabin  on 
section  16.  She  is  at  present  a  resident 
of  the  village  of  Elsah,  and  the  widow 
of  Joseph  Lane. 

School  district  No.  1  has  a  school 
house  located  near  the  center  of  section 
2.  It  is  a  frame  building,  20x40  feet  in 
size,  and  was  erected  at  a  cost  of  about 
$700.  John  Busliy  taught  the  first  term 
of  school  in  this  building.  The  first 
board  of  directors  were :  Joseph  Chap- 
pel,  George  Spangle,  and  Augustus 
Bingham.  The  present  directors  of  the 
district  are:  Barnard  Kelley,  J  Winger, 
and  Alexander  Chappee.  Abel  Stanhope 
teaches  the  school  at  present. 

Abel  H.  Stanhope,  son  of  Abraham 
and  Caroline  (Smith)  Stanhope,  was 
born  in  Mercer  county,  N.  J.,  May  17, 
1846.  Abraham  Stanhope  was  a  native 
of  the  same  state,  born  April  22,  1810, 
and  died  near  Godfrey.  111.,  in  1879. 
His  wife,  Caroline,  was  born  in  Devon- 
shire, Eng.,  Aug.  9,  1816,  and  died 
Jan.  25,  1877.  The  subject  of  this 
sketch  resided  with  his  parents  until  21 
years  of  age,  assisting  his  father  upon 
the  farm  which  was  their  home.  On 
leaving  home  he  hired  out  as  a  farm 
hand.  In  the  year  1868  he  was  em- 
ployed by  C.  C.  Cumings,  of  Delhi, 
111.,  and  in  the  fall  of  that  year,  on  the 
day  of  Gen.  Grant's  first  election  to  the 
presidency,  went  to  Godfrey,  Madison 
county,  which  was  then  the  residence 
of  his  parents,  to  cast  his  first  vote  for  a 
president.  On  his  return  from  that 
place  to  Delhi,  he  was  accidentally 
thrown  from  the  cars  and  his  left  arm 
was  so  badly  crushed  that  amputation 
became  necessary  in  order  to  save  his 
life.  He  was  taken,  at  the  time  of  the 
accident,    to   the    residence   of    M.    V. 


Hamilton,  of  Delhi,  where  he  remained 
eight  weeks.  He  then  went  to  his  home 
in  Godfrey  and  as  soon  as  his  health 
would  permit  commenced  fitting  him- 
self for  the  profession  of  teaching, 
which  he  now  follows.  He  was  then 
barely  able  to  read  and  write,  and  en- 
tered the  grammar  department  of  the 
model  school,  connected  with  the  Nor- 
mal University  at  Normal,  111.  He 
remained  one  year  in  that  department, 
then  entered  the  Normal,  where  he  was 
a  student  two  terms.  Then,  on  account 
of  a  severe  attack  of  lung  fever,  he  was 
compelled  to  abandon  his  studies  for  a 
time.  After  recovering  his  health,  he 
engaged  in  teaching  school  near 
Brighton,  in  Jersey  county,  where  he 
continued  one  year,  then  returned  to  the 
Normal  University  and  remained  two 
years,  since  which  he  has  followed 
teaching  in  Jersey  and  adjoining  coun- 
ties. Mr.  Stanhope  is  thoroughly  qual- 
ified, both  by  nature  and  education,  for 
his  responsible  work,  and  as  a  teacher 
is  popular  and  successful. 

The  Locke  school  house,  in  district 
No.  4,  was  built  in  1872,  at  a  cost  of 
$S00.  It  is  situated  on  the  southwest 
quarter  of  section  11,  and  is  18x36  feet 
in  size. 

The  building  in  district  No.  5,  also 
known  as  White  Oak,  was  erected  in 
1877  at  a  cost  of  $500,  which  also  in- 
cluded the  lot  of  three-quarters  of  an 
acre  upon  which  the  building  stands, 
the  latter  being  22x26  feet  in  size.  The 
first  term  of  school  was  taught  by  Al- 
bert Barwise,  and  the  first  board  of 
directors  were  George  Spangle,  Chris- 
tian Besterfeldt  and  George  Piggott. 
Richard  Keiley  teaches  the  school  at 
present  and  the  present   directors   are 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


263 


William     Knapp,    R.    M.    Smith    and 
George  Piggott. 

The  school  house  located  on  the 
southeast  quarter  of  the  southeast  quar- 
ter of  section  13,  and  known  as  Pleasant 
Grove,  was  huilt  in  1875.  It  is  20x28 
feet  in  size  and  was  completed  at  a  cost 
of  $900.  The  first  teacher  was  Walter 
Maxie.  The  first  hoard  of  directors  of 
the  district  were  T.  F.  Slaten,  Jasper 
Terry  and  A.  F.  Swan.  Those  serving 
as  present  directors  are  B.  F.  Slaten, 
Jasper  Terry  and  George  Spangle. 
Lizzie  Leak  is  the  present  teacher  The 
school  has  an  average  attendance  of 
about  28. 

FIRST    ITEMS. 

The  first  white  child  born  in  what  is 
now  Elsah  township,  was  Thomas 
Edward  Carroll,  son  of  Edward  and 
Mary  (Wright)  Carroll.  This  was  also 
the  second  birth  in  the  county,  he  being 
born  on  the  2d  day  of  Feb.,  1820.  He  is 
now  living  in  Macoupin  county. 

The  first  death  was  that  of  Thomas 
Carroll.  He  came  up  from  St.  Louis  to 
stop  with  his  brother,  Edward.  He  had 
been  there  but  a  little  over  a  month 
when  his  death  occurred,  in  July  or 
August,  1819.  His  body  was  taken  down 
to  St.  Louis  in  a  skiff,  and  there  in- 
terred. 

William  Bates  planted  the  first  corn, 
in  1817,  and  also  built  the  first  house. 

The  first  marriage  was  that  of  Josiab 
T.  Askew  and  Miss  Hannah  Bates,  in 
1821. 

Joseph  Bassey  was  the  first  justice  of 
the  peace,  who  was  elected  or  appointed 
in  1822. 

ELSAH. 

The  land  on  which  is  situated  the 
town  of  Elsah,  or  Jersey    Landing,  was 


originally  entered  by  James  Mason,  and 
occupies  the  northwest  quarter  of  sec- 
tion 20.  It  afterwards  came  into  the 
possession  of  William  H.  Allen,  of 
Grafton,  who  disposed  of  it  to  James 
Semple,  formerly  United  States  senator 
and  minister  to  Bogota.  Mr.  Semple 
subsequently  laid  out  the  town  of  Jersey 
Landing,  which  was  surveyed  March  7, 
1853.  He  opened  a  road  up  Askew 
Hollow,  so  called  from  Josiab  T.  Askew, 
who  had  an  extensive  sugar  camp  in 
the  hollow,  about  half  a  mile  distant 
from  the  river.  Shortly  after  the  lay- 
ing out  of  the  town,  a  landing  was  es- 
tablished and  called  Jersey  Landing. 
On  the  establishment  of  the  postoffice, 
it  was  called  Elsah,  which  name  it  still 
retains,  though  the  town  has  popularly 
been  known  as  Jersey  Landing. 

The  town  of  Elsah  is  built  mostly  in 
a  hollow  and  extends  back  in  the  neigh- 
borhood of  a  mile  from  the  Mississippi 
river.  The  houses  are  mostly  substan- 
tially built  of  brick  or  stone,  and  are  of 
a  better  class  than  is  usual  in  towns  of 
its  size.  A  magnificent  view  is  offered 
from  the  bluffs  adjoining,  which  are 
about  MOO  feet  in  height  at  this  point. 
Just  below  the  town  is  Notch  Cliff,  the 
palatial  residence  of  Mrs.  Ames,  a 
daughter  of  the  late  Hon.  James  Sem- 
ple, from  which  a  most  charming  and 
extensive  prospect  of  romantic  scenery 
cin  bo  obtained.  Before  the  construc- 
tion of  railroads,  a  large  business  was 
done  at  Elsah  in  the  shipment  of  grain. 
It  is  said  that  for  a  period  extending 
from  1853  to  1856,  it  was  one  of  the 
largest  shipping  points  for  grain  along 
the  Mississippi.  Messrs.  Onetto  & 
Brock  acted  as  shippers.  During  the 
grain  season,  in  the  years  noted  above, 


264 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


the  firm  never  received  less  than  500 
bushels  per  day,  principally  corn,  and 
from  this  amount  ranged  up  to  3,000 
bushels.  The  large  trade  in  grain  made 
the  business  of  selling  goods  brisk  dur- 
that  period,  and  it  was  no  uncommon 
circumstance  for  the  sales  of  Brock  & 
Onetto  to  amount  to  $500  per  day,  a 
heavy  business  in  those  times. 

BUSINESS    INTERESTS. 

J.  M.  Giberson  engaged  in  the  gen- 
eral merchandise  business,  in  1870,  at 
which  time  he  erected  the  present  store 
room,  which  is  40x70  feet  in  size.  The 
building  is  two  stories  high,  the  second 
story  being  occupied  as  a  hotel  by  I.  N. 
Piggott,  which  contains  14  sleeping 
apartments. 

James  M.  Giberson,  one  of  the  lead- 
ing merchants  of  Elsah,  is  a  son  of 
Jacob  C.  and  Mary  (Burleigh)  Giberson, 
and  one  of  a  family  of  seven  children, 
six  of  whom  are  now  living.  James  M. 
Giberson  was  born  seven  miles  south  of 
Jerseyville,  111.,  Jan.  30,  1848,  and  re- 
sided with  his  parents  in  that  vicinity 
until  1865.  At  that  time  he  left  home 
to  attend  Bryant  &  Stratton's  Commer- 
cial College,  from  which  institution  he 
graduated  Dec.  19  of  the  same  year. 
The  following  summer  he  engaged  as 
bookkeeper  for  E.  Briggs,  at  East  New- 
bern,  near  his  old  home.  He  continued 
in  Mr.  Briggs' employ  four  months,  then 
engaged  in  farming  in  Macoupin  county. 
In  July  he  disposed  of  his  crop  and  went 
to  trading  in  horses  and  land,  working 
occasionally  at  carpentering.  In  July, 
1868,  he  engaged  in  threshing  in  Macou- 
pin county.  The  following  winter  he 
attended  school  in  St.  Louis,  and  in  the 
spring  of  1869  went  to  Audrain  county, 


Mo.,  where  he  followed  farming  one 
season,  returning  in  the  fall  to  Jersey 
county  and  again  engaged  in  threshing. 
Soon  after  he  sold  his  outfit  and  em- 
barked in  mercantile  trade,  in  company 
with  W.  W.  Gilham,  at  East  Newbern. 
In  March,  1870,  he  moved  his  stock  of 
goods  to  Louisiana,  Mo.,  where  the  fol- 
lowing May  he  closed  out  his  goods  and 
engaged  in  farming  in  Audrain  county. 
He  returned  to  Jersey  county  in  July, 
1871,  having  disposed  of  his  interests  in 
Missouri,  and  purchased  a  portion  of 
the  old  homestead  on  Round  Prairie, 
where  he  resided  till  March,  1873.  At 
that  date  he  moved  to  Elsah  and  engaged 
in  merchandising.  In  Dec,  1874,  he 
shipped  his  stock  of  goods  to  Aberdeen, 
Miss.,  and  spent  1875  and  a  part  of  1876 
in  that  state.  He  engaged  while  there 
in  farming,  milling,  ginning  cotton,  mer- 
chandising and  trading.  November  8, 
1876,  he  returned  to  Elsah,  Jersey 
Co.,  and,  in  partnership  with  his  brother, 
E.  C.  Giberson,  engaged  in  mercantile 
trade.  In  the  spring  of  1877  another 
brother,  J.  J.  Giberson,  was  admitted 
into  the  firm.  In  August,  1878,  James 
M.  Giberson  purchased  his  partners'  in- 
terests and  has  since  that  time  carried  on 
business  alone.  He  has  an  extensive 
trade  and  is  highly  prosperous.  He  is 
the  owner  of  the  store  building  which 
he  occupies,  four  dwelling  houses,  a 
stock  farm  located  one-half  mile  from 
Elsah,  and  real  estate  in  Kansas.  Sept. 
4,  1870,  Mr.  Giberson  was  married  to 
Irene  Collins,  a  native  of  Keokuk, 
Iowa.  They  have  two  children — Herbert 
G.  and  James  A.,  the  former  born  at 
East  Newbern,  April  29,  1872,  and  the 
latter  at  Elsah,  March  3,  1882.  Mr. 
Giberson  is  a  member  of  the  I.  O.  O.  F. 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


265 


The  general  merchandise  store  of  A.H. 
Stephany  was  established  by  his  father, 
M.  Stephany,  deceased,  in  1870,  who 
purchased  the  building  of  Richard 
Fuller, at  that  time.  Mr.  Stephany  car- 
ries a  complete  stock  of  general  mer- 
chandise and  groceries,  and  is  doing  a 
good  business. 

A.  H.  Stephany  is  a  son  of  Martin 
Stephany,  a  native  of  Germany,  who 
was  born  June  24,  1824.  Martin  was 
the  third  of  a  family  of  five  children, 
and  in  his  youth  learned  the  tailor's 
trade.  He  then  went  to  Switzerland, 
where  he  remained  until  1849.  In  that 
year  he  immigrated  to  America,  and 
proceeded  immediately  to  the  city  of 
St.  Louis,  where  he  arrived  May  11th  of 
that  year.  On  the  28th  day  of  the  same 
month  he  was  married  to  Elizabeth 
Steinman,  a  native  of  Switzerland.  Five 
children  were  born  to  them,  three  of 
whom  are  now  living.  They  continued 
to  reside  in  St.  Louis  until  October, 
1855,  at  which  time  they  removed  to 
Elsah,  then  known  as  Jersey  Landing- 
Here,  in  18(50,  he  engaged  in  mercantile 
business,  which  he  carried  on  success- 
fully until  the  time  of  his  death,  July  12, 
1879.  The  subject  of  this  sketch,  A. 
H.  Stephany,  was  born  in  St.  Louis, 
Oct.  23,  1852.  He  came  with  his  par- 
ents to  Elsah,  where  he  has  since  re- 
sided, being  here  reared  to  a  mercantile 
life.  He  is  unmarried,  and  now  resides 
with  his  widowed  mother.  He  is  suc- 
cessful in  business,  and  a  prominent 
and  honored  citizen.  He  is  a  member 
.  of  the  Masonic  lodge  of  Grafton,  the 
I.  O.  0.  F.,  and  the  K.  of  P.,  of  Elsah. 
He  has  held  the  office  of  village  clerk 
four  years  and  collector  two  years,  and 
is  a  consistent  Lutheran. 


The  building  now  occupied  by  B.  L. 
Mott  as  a  drug  and  variety  store,  was 
purchased  by  him  in  18(52,  of  James 
Semple.  It  is  a  one  story  stone  affair, 
20x30  feet  in  size,  with  basement,  ami 
was  erected  in  1856  by  James  G.  Swan. 

Mrs.  C.  Haas  is  engaged  in  the  sale 
of  groceries  and  provisions,  in  a  build- 
ing which  she  rents  of  her  daughter 
Effie.  She  commenced  business  in 
1862. 

The  grocery  and  provision  business 
is  also  represented  at  Elsah  by  L.  H. 
Vanderslice. 

J.  0.  Richie  is  the  proprietor  of  the 
only  meat  market  in  the  place  at 
present. 

John  G.  Brown  operates  a  wagon  and 
blacksmith  shop  combined,  which  he 
rebuilt  in  1884.  It  was  formerly  owned 
and  used  by  D.  T.  Tonkinson  as  a 
blacksmith  shop.  The  business  is 
valued  at  present  at  S600. 

John  G.  Brown,  blacksmith,  of  Elsah, 
is  the  seventh  of  a"  family  of  nine 
children.  At  the  age  of  17  years  he 
left  home  and  went  to  work  for  himself 
at  blacksmithing,  having  previously 
served  an  apprenticeship  of  three  years 
with  Theodore  Burnett,  in  Girard,  Ma- 
coupin county,  111.  He  first  opened  a 
shop  in  Raymond,  Montgomery  county, 
111  ,  where  he  continued  one  year;  then 
went  to  Ohio  and  worked  one  year  in  a 
shoeing  shop  at  Middletown;  thence  to 
Dayton,  O.;  and,  about  one  year  later, 
to  Missouri,  where  he  was  employed 
for  six  months  in  building  trestle  work 
on  a  railroad.  He  then  went  to  Louisi- 
ana, in  the  same  state,  and  there  fol- 
lowed horse  shoeing  a  few  months,  after 
which  he  returned  to  Illinois,  and 
worked    at    his  trade    in    Greene   Co., 


266 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


where  he  carried  on  a  general  repairing 
establishment.  During  his  residence 
there  he  was  married  to  Vina  Pennell, 
Nov.  20,  1877.  He  removed  to  Elsah, 
Jersey  county.  He  is  a  skilled  work- 
man at  his  trade.  In  addition  to  black- 
smithing  he  runs  a  general  repairing 
establishment  for  wagons,  buggies,  &c. 
He  is  also  an  experienced  veterinary 
surgeon,  and  practices  that  profession 
in  connection  with  his  other  business. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Brown  have  had  three 
children  born  to  them — Nellie,  Emma 
and  Amanda. 

There  are  two  cooper-shops  in  the 
village  of  Elsah,  owned  and  operated 
respectively  by  X.  Schneider  and  Louis 
Keller. 

Michael  Huss  is  engaged  in  making 
boots  and  shoes,  and  also  the  repairing 
of  the  same.  He  also  keeps  a  stock  for 
retail  purposes. 

McNair  Bros,  established  their  pres- 
ent business  in  the  spring  of  1884.  They 
have  a  machine  shop  for  repairing  of 
all  kinds,  and  have  also  a  feed  mill  in 
connection.  The  machinery  is  operated 
by  a  ten-horse  power  engine.  Their 
building  is  22x30  feet  in  size,  with  a 
wing  16x32. 

J.  B.  Reintges,  wheelright,  erected  his 
present  building,  and  commenced  busi- 
ness in  1878.  He  does  all  kinds  of 
woodwork,  carriage  and  wagon  making 
and  repairing,  and  is  also  engaged  in 
the  sale  of  farm  machinery.  His  busi- 
ness structure  is  20x34  feet  in  ground 
area,  and  is  three  stories  in  height. 

John  B.  Reintges,  the  first  white  child 
born  in  the  village  of  Elsah,  is  the  son 
of  Peter  Reintges,  who  came  to  Elsah 
township  in  1852.  Peter  Reintges  was 
born  in  Dollendorf,  Germany,  Jan.    13, 


1813.  He  was  a  stone  mason  by  trade. 
In  1852  he  immigrated  to  America,  and 
went  first  to  Wisconsin,  where  he  re- 
mained a  short  time,  then  to  Elsah,  as 
before  stated.  He  died  here  in  1863. 
His  widow,  Mrs.  Eva  M.  Reintges,  was 
married,  in  1864,  to  Christian  A.  Loehr, 
a  prominent  citizen  of  Elsah.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Peter  Reintges  had  six  chil- 
dren born  to  them,  three  of  whom  are 
now  living — John  B.,  Louisa  A.  E.  and 
Jacob.  Theresa  wife  of  D.J.  Murphy, 
is^deceasecL  and  two  died  in  infancy. 
John  B.  Reintges,  the  subject  of  this 
sketch,  was  reared  and  educated  in  his 
native  township,  and  in  his  youth 
learned  the  trade  of  wheelwright, which 
he  still  follows.  He  was  married  Nov. 
19,  1878,  to  Annie  O'Hare.  They  have 
two  children,  Lizzeta  and  Eva.  Mr. 
Reintges  is  a  public-spirited  citizen.  He 
has  held  the  office  of  constable  four 
years,  has  been  school  director  three 
years,  and  is  at  present  serving  as  as- 
sessor of  Elsah  township.  He  is  a 
member  of  the  Catholic  church.  He 
was,  in  honor  of  having  been  the  first 
first  white  child  born  in  Elsah,  pre- 
sented by  Hon.  James  Semple  with  a 
lot  50x75  feet  in  dimensions,  located  in 
the  village  of  Elsah. 

Christian  A.  Loehr,  mentioned  above, 
was  born  in  Hanover,  Germany, 
April  14,  1832,  and  came  to  Jersey 
county  in  1857.  He  was  first  married 
to  Christine  Schrier,  in  September,  1861. 
She  died  in  January,  1864.  Three  chil- 
dren were  born  to  them,  one  of  whom 
is  now  living— Lizzeta.  Mr.  Loehr  has 
been  engaged  in  mercantile  trade,  but 
is  now  retired.  He  has  been  a  member 
of  the  village  board  three  terms,  and  is 
at  the  present  time  school  director.    He 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


267 


is  a  member  of  the  Lutheran  church 
and  his  wife  of  the  Catholic  church. 

The  tonsorial  business  is  represented 
by  Louis  Bapst,  who  is  located  here, 
and  established  his  shop,  in  1885. 

There  are  two  saloons  in  the  village, 
operated  respectively  by  Cosmos  Keller 
and  William  H.  McDowell. 


The  first  building  on  the  present  site 
of  the  Riverside  hotel*,  was  a  log  cahin 
built  by  Addison  Greene,  «n  1847.  It 
was  afterward  remodeled  and  a  frame 
addition  erected,  and  about  the  year 
1853  purchased  by  Brock  and  Onetto. 
In  1866,  Cosmos  Keller,  Sr.,  purchased 
the  building,  adding  a  frame  structure, 
two  stories  high.  At  the  time  of  his 
death,  April  9,  1880,  the  property 
passed  into  the  hands  of  his  children, 
Cosmos  and  Emma,  who  still  operate  it 
as  a  hotel. 

Cosmos  Keller,  proprietor  of  a  hotel 
and  saloon  at  Elsah,  was  born  near 
Elsah,  Jersey  county,  111.,  Sept.  27, 
1859.  He  is  a  son  of  Cosmos,,  Sr.,  and 
Dorothea  Keller.  Cosmos  Keller,  Sr.. 
was  born  March  11,  1832,  in  Alsace, 
then  a  province  of  France,  and  resided 
in  his  native  country  until  1856,  when 
he  came  to  America,  and  located,  in 
March,  1857,  at  Elsah,  Jersey  county, 
111.  In  1856  he  was  married  to  Dorothea 
Behrens,  who  died  Jan.  12,  1877.  In 
July  of  the  same  year,  he  was  married 
to  Mrs.  Bertha  Feurherd.  He  has  had 
three  children,  two  of  whom  are  living 
— Cosmos  and  Emma,  the  latter,  born 
in  1863.  The  family  are  believers  in 
the  Roman  Catholic  religion.  Cosmos, 
Jr.,  is  at  present,  township  collector, 
which  office  he  has  held  for  five   succes- 


sive years.  He  has  also  held  the  office 
of  village  clerk,  one  term.  He  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  I.  0.  O.  F.  lodge,  No.  269,  of 
Elsah,  in  which  he  holds  the  office  of 
P.  G.  He  belongs,  also,  to  the  K.  P. 
lodge,  No.  106,  of  Elsah.  In  the  latter 
organization  he  has  served  three  terms 
as  secretary. 

A  hotel  is  also  run  by  Isaac  N.  Pig- 
gott,  which  is  first-class  in  all  its  ap- 
pointments. Neatness  and  cleanliness 
are  the  mottoes  of  the  house,  and  a  fair 
patronage  is  the  result.  The  building 
is  a  large,  two  story  frame  structure, 
with  a  store  in  the  first  floor. 

STILL  HOUSE  AND  CRIST  MILL. 

In  the  spring  of  1856,  Knapp,  Good- 
rich &  Co.,  of  Jerseyville,  built  a  large 
stone  building,  40x200  feet  in  ground 
area  and  three  and  a  half  stories  high, 
which  they  operated  as  a  distillery  and 
a  flouring  mill.  It  was  equipped  with 
the  necessary  machinery  and  had  five 
run  of  buhrs,  the  distilling  department 
having  a  capacity  of  1,200  bushels  per 
day.  The  mill  and  distillery  was  in 
operation  until  May  5,  1870,  when  the 
institution  was  destroyed  by  fire.  The 
walls  are  still  standing  and  at  present 
are  the  property  of  the  W.,  St.  L.  &  P. 
railroad  company.  It  was  erected  at  a 
cost  of  $65,000,  and  from  the  date  of  its 
completion  the  town  began  to  improve 
and  expand. 

ELSAH    FISHERY. 

One  of  the  leading  industries  of  the 
town  of  Elsah,  and,  indeed,  of  this 
whole  section  of  the  country,  is  the 
fishery  of  Isaac  Houpt.  This  gentle- 
man commenced  the  business  as  early 
as  1866,  in  a  comparatively  small  way, 


268 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUN  f  Y. 


and  has,  by  attention  to  it,  developed  it 
to  an  extraordinary  dimension.  He 
has  some  sixty  or  seventy  nets,  and 
two  large  seines  and  five  fishing  boats, 
which  he  uses  in  the  business,  and  finds 
employment  for  quite  a  number  of 
hands.  All  kinds  of  edible  fish,  among 
which  are  white,  black  and  calico  bass, 
pike,  pickerel,  catfish,  perch,  buffalo 
and  red-horse,  are  gathered  from  the 
bosom  of  the  mighty  "father  of  waters" 
and  prepared  for  the  market.  Tons  of 
the  finny  tribe  are  gathered  in  and  for- 
warded to  St.  Louis  and  other  points, 
and  disposed  of  to  the  benefit  and  profit 
of  the  enterprising  proprietor  of  this 
industry,  who  is  the  largest  and  most 
successful  fishery  operator  in  this 
county,  or,  in  fact,  in  all  this  region. 
He  is  able,  honest  and  industrious,  and 
deserves  the  good  fortune  brought  about 
by  his  ability  and  enterprise. 

SPRINGS. 

Two  fine  springs  of  living  water  are 
among  the  attractions  of  Elsah.  One 
of  them  is  known  as  Fountain  Square 
spring.  They  were  noticed  at  the  time 
of  the  first  settlement  of  the  town,  and 
since  then  have  never,  at  any  time, 
ceased  to  flow.  Quite  a  respectable 
sized  stream  of  water  flows  from  each 
one,  and  the  water  is  used  by  the  people 
of  their  vicinity  in  preference  to  well 
water. 

.OTHER    PROMINENT    CITIZENS. 

James  E.  Starr  was  born  in  New  York, 
Sept,  21,  1813.  When  about  16  years  of 
age  he  was  taken  by  a  maternal  uncle  to 
Georgia,  as  an  assistant  in  a  store.  He 
remained  with  him  until  Sept.,  1833, 
when,  learning  of  the  death  of  his  father, 
at  Alton,  111.,  he  returned  home,  reach- 


ing Alton  in  November  of  that  year. 
Here  he  pursued  his  avocation  as  clerk 
and  merchant  for  several  years.  In  1843 
and  1814  he  was  employed  as  clerk  on  the 
river  in  the  Alton  and  St.  Louis  trade, 
leaving  it  to  take  the  position  of  United 
States  deputy  marshal.  In  1845  he  took 
command  of  a  steamer,  and  finally  quit 
the  river  in  1847.  In  Oct.,  1846,  he  was 
married  to  Sabra  B.  Ellis,  at  Burlington, 
Iowa.  On  the  opening  of  the  Alton  and 
Sangamon  railroad  (now  Chicago  and 
Alton)  he  was  appointed  general  ticket 
agent  of  the  road,  which  position  he 
held  for  several  years.  On  the  breaking 
out  of  the  war  he  was  residing  in  Alton 
with  his  family,  but  in  the  spring  of  1862 
he  moved  to  Jersey  county,  where  he 
has  since  resided.  The  farm  is  located 
on  Sees.  21  and  22,  T.  6  n.,  R.  11  w.,  and 
has  been  largely  devoted  to  horticulture. 
Mr.  Starr  was  one  of  the  founders  of  the 
State  Horticultural  Society,  of  which  he 
was  at  one  time  president.  He  was  one 
of  the  first  admitted  to  membersbip  in 
the  I.  0.  0.  F.,  Aug.  11,  1836,  and  has 
filled  the  positions  of  treasurer,  secre- 
tary, grand  master,  and  grand  represent- 
ative. 

Rev.  Luther  E.  Cole,  of  Elsah,  was 
born  in  Halliston,  Massachusetts,  Oct. 
9,  1847.  In  1855  lie  came  to  the  state 
of  Illinois,  where  he  grew  to  manhood, 
fitting  himself  for  a  ministerial  career. 
He  was  licensed  to  preach  May  19, 
1881,  by  the  Alton  District  Conference 
of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church, 
which  met  at  Brighton,  111.,  Aug.  31,  of 
the  same  year,  he  joined  the  Southern 
Illinois  Conference,  held  at  Greenville, 
Bond  county,  Bishop  J.  F.  Hurst 
officiating,  and  was  appointed  to  the 
Elsah    circuit.     He    was    ordained    and 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


2G9 


ordered  deacon  by  Bishop  Thomas  Bow- 
man, of  Belleville,  111.,  Sept.  24,  1883. 
At  the  session  of  conference  held  at 
Fairfield,  111.,  Sept.  24,  1884,  he  was 
returned  to  the  Elsah  circuit.  At  that 
session  the  circuits  of  Elsah,  Grafton, 
and  all  of  the  territory  in  Jersey 
ci  unity  lying  south  of  a  line  from  Delhi 
to  Fulton,  were  united,  forming  one 
circuit,  of  which  he  was  appointed  pas- 
tor in  charge,  and  which  field  he  at 
present  occupies.  Rev.  Luther  Cole  is 
a  man  of  much  zeal  and  ability  and  is 
an  earnest  and  faithful  worker  in  the 
cause  of  the  Master.    ■ 

R.  C.  Chidister,  son  of  William  and 
Amanda  I  Willbanks)  Chidister,  was 
born  in  Elsah  township,  Jersey  count}-, 
June  29,  1858.  William  Chidister  was 
born  in  Licking  county,  0.,  Oct.  14, 1818, 
and  died  in  this  county,  Feb.  14,  1881. 
Amanda  Chidister  was  born  in  Ken- 
tucky,  in  Aug.,  1843,  and  died  here, 
Feb.  12,  1883.  Both  are  buried  in  the 
Salem  cemetery.  The  subject  of  this 
sketch  is  the  second  of  a  family  of  six 
children,  and  resided  with  his  parents 
until  24  years  of  age.  He  then  engaged 
in  farming  for  himself  in  Elsah  town- 
ship, where  he  still  lives.  He  is  a 
republican  in  politics. 

Abraham Worthey,  retired  farmer, was 
born  in  Franklin  county,  Ga.,  Nov.  11, 
1818.  When  about  three  years  of  age  he 
left  that  state,  removing  with  his  par- 
ents to  Smith  county,  Tenn.,  where  he 
remained  till  he  was  19  years  old.  Oct. 
20,  1839,  he  was  united  in  marriage  with 
Sarah  Craig,  daughter  of  James  and 
Susanna  (Burchett)  Craig.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Worthey  have  had  17  children  born 
to  them — Mary  Ann,  wife  of  Charles 
Harland,  of  Mississippi  township;   Wil- 


liam H.,  living  in  Alton,  111;  John  W ., 
married  to  Lucy  Finch,  living  in  Mis- 
souri; Sarah,  widow  of  John  Connor; 
Susanna,  wife  of  Aaron  Reed,  of  Elsah 
township  ;  Martha,  wife  of  George 
Miers,  of  Macoupin  county,  111.;  Eliza- 
beth, wife  of  John  Reed,  also  of  Macou- 
pin county;  Addie,  who  resides  with 
her  sister,  Mrs.  Miers;  Abraham,  Jr., 
living  on  section  6,  Elsah  township, 
married  to  Mary  Dougherty;  Julia,  wife 
of  William  Johnson;  Eva, wife  of  Wesley 
Johnson,  of  Elsah  township;  James  M., 
Eliza  Ann,  Thomas  B.,  and  Jasper  N. 
are  deceased,  and  three  died  in  infancy. 
Mr.  Worthey  owns  a  valuable  farm  of 
120  acres,  located  on  section  6,  Elsah 
township,  which  is  well  improved,  also 
residence  property  in  the  village  of 
Elsah,  where  he  now  lives.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Worthey  are  members  of  the  Pres- 
byterian church.  He  belongs  to  the 
Grafton  lodge  of  the  Masonic  fraternity, 
and  to  the  I.  0.  0.  F,  lodge,  No.  369, 
of  Elsah. 

Isaac  Newton  Piggott,  was  born  in 
"Piggott's  Fort,"  in  Monroe  county, 
111.,  in  Nov.,  1793.  His  .father,  Capt. 
James  Piggott,  was  a  native  of  the  state 
of  Connecticut,  and  in  early  life  was  a 
sea-faring  man.  He  is  reputed  to  have 
been  one  of  the  party  who  blew  up  a 
British  gunboat  just  preceding  the 
Revolution.  The  British  Crown  offered 
500  guineas  reward  for  each  of  the  parties 
concerned,  but  failed  to  capture  them. 
He  next  appears  with  acommisssion,  as 
captain  of  a  Pennsylvania  company  of 
troops,  early  in  the  war.  He  was  at 
Valley  Forge,  during  that  memorable 
winter,  when  Gen.  George  Rogers 
Clarke  was  fitting  out  his  western  expe- 
dition to  subdue  the  great  Northwestern 


territory.  Capt.  Piggott  tendered  his 
resignation  in  the  Continental  army, 
giving  as  reasons  therefor,  "that  his 
family  had  then  (1778)  already  gone 
west,  to  Fort  Duquesne,  now  Pittsburgh, 
Penn.;  that  he  wished  to  join  Clark's 
expedition,  and  go  to  the  Northwest 
territory."  In  accepting  his  resignation, 
Gen.  Washington  received  the  same  for 
the  reasons  therein  stated.  Capt.  Pig- 
gott came  west  with  Clark's  expedition 
and  shared  in  the  perils  and  privations 
incident  thereto.  He  remained  for 
some  years  at  Kaskaskia,  where  his 
family  soon  joined  him.  He  next  built 
a  fort  or  block-house,  in  the  American 
Bottom,  in  Monroe  county,  which  was 
known  as  Piggott's  Fort,  as  a  protection 
for  the  early  settlers  against  the  hostile 
Indians.  He  established  the  first  ferry 
at  8t.  Louis,  which  is  now  known  as  the 
Wiggins  ferry.  He  moved  to  what  is 
now  a  part  of  East  St.  Louis,  111.,  at  his 
ferry,  where  he  died  in  Dec,  1799.  At 
the  time  of  his  decease,  he  was  presiding 
judge  of  the  court  of  St.  Clair  county, 
111.,  then  held  at  Cahokia,  then  the 
county  seat  of  that  county.  Isaac  N.  Pig- 
gott was  left  an  orphan,  at  seven  years 
of  age.  In  1803,  his  mother  re-married 
and  moved  across  the  river,  to  the  terri- 
tory of  Upper  Louisiana,  and  settled  in 
St.  Louis  county,  where  Isaac  N.  was 
principally  brought  up,  on  a  farm.  His 
opportunity  for  education  was  very 
limited.  We  find  him  in  the  war  of  1812, 
for  which  service,  his  widow  drew  a 
pension  until  her  decease,  in  1881.  In 
1821,  we  find  him  a  Methodist  minister, 
stationed  at  the  First  M.  E.  church,  in 
St.  Louis.  At  the  western  conference 
of  the  M.  E.  church,  held  in  Oct.,  1822, 
at  St.  Louis,  he  was  sent  to  the  Missis- 


sippi circuit,  comprising  Pike,  Adams, 
Schuyler,  Brown,  Scott,  Greene,  and 
part  of  Morgan  counties,  111.  In  Dec. 
1822,  he  moved  with  his  family  to 
Greene  county,  and  settled  near  Wood- 
ville,  northwest  of  Kane,  from  whence 
he  went  around  a  four  week's  circuit  on 
horseback,  going  northwest  as  far  as 
Quincy.  The  settlements  at  that  early 
day  were  sparse  and  far  between,  no 
bridges,  very  dim  roads,  but  early  set- 
tlers were  proverbial  for  their  hospital- 
ity to  all,  and  especially  to  the  early 
itinerant  preacher.  He  virtually  estab- 
lished Methodism  in  this  district,  being 
the  first  itinerant  minister  regularly  sent 
to  this  part  of  the  state.  He  was  ordained 
a  deacon  by  Bishop  McKendree,  at  the 
St.  Louis  conference,  and  was  afterwards 
ordained  by  Bishop  R.  R.  Roberts,  at 
Padfield,  in  St.  Clair  county,  111.,  in 
1824,  as  evidenced  by  the  parchments 
signed  by  the  bishop,  and  now  in  the 
hands  of  one  of  his  daughters,  Mary  J. 
Brock,  of  Jerseyville,  111.  About  the 
year  1825,  from  failing  health,  Isaac  N. 
Piggott  located  from  the  itinerancy,  and 
sought  other  occupation.  He  remained 
a  member  of  the  M.  E.  church  until  his 
decease,  in  1874.  He  was  the  first  post- 
master in  the  limits  of  Jersey  county, 
the  office  being  at  Eminence.  He  after- 
wards had  the  postoffice  removed  to 
Newbern,  where  he  was  again  post- 
master. He  removed  from  Jersey  county 
to  St.  Louis,  Mo.,  in  1859,  where  he 
died  Feb.  11,  1874,  in  his  81st  year.  He 
was  a  fine  conversationalist,  a  fluent 
speaker,  a  versatile  writer;  and  a  man 
well  posted  on  almost  any  subject.  He 
could  apparently  turn  his  attention 
equally  well  to  theology,  medicine,  or 
the  law,  being  proficient  in  each. 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


271 


Hiram  T.  Keyser  was  born  in  the 
state  of  Kentucky,  on  the  24th  of  De- 
cember, in  the  year  of  1826.  He  lived 
with  his  parents  until  he  was  20  years 
old.  In  1852  he  came  to  Illinois,  stop- 
ping at  Alton,  where  he  staid  four 
years,  working  at  his  trade,  which  is 
that  of  brick  and  stone  mason  and 
plasterer.  In  the  year  1856  he  came  to 
Elsah,  and  has  lived  there  or  in  that 
vicinity  up  to  the  present  time.  On  the 
5th  day  of  September,  in  the  year  1855, 
he  was  married  to  Mary  Ann  Myers, 
daughter  of  Samuel  Myers.  They  have 
had  five  children,  namely — John  H., 
Charles  H.,  Mary  Elizabeth,  Victor  and 
Harry.  Mr.  Keyser  has  served  as 
trustee  of  the  village  of  Elsah  for  four 
years.  He  still  continues  at  his  trade 
which  he  has  been  working  at  nearly  40 
years.  Himself  and  wife  are  members 
of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church.  In 
politics  he  is  a  democrat. 

William  G.  Onetto,  blacksmith  and 
engineer,  came  to  Jersey  county  in  1836, 
and  for  a  time  followed  various  occupa- 
tions to  gain  a  livelihood.  In  1853  he 
moved  to  the  village  of  Elsah,  where  he 
now  resides,  and  which  then  contained 
but  three  houses.  He  was  born  April 
8,  1825,  and  married  in  1843,  to  Mary 
Ann  Massey,  daughter  of  William  and 
Magdeline  (Metz)  Massey.  She  was 
born  in  St.  Louis  and  died  in  1870. 
They  had  two  children — Elizabeth  and 
Anthony,  both  of  whom  died  in  infancy. 
Mr.  Onetto  was  again  married  to  Mrs. 
Sinclair,  widow  of  William  Sinclair. 
He  is  a  member  of  Masonic  fraternity, 
the  I.  O.  0.  F.,  and  the  Knights  of 
Pythias.  He  is  a  democrat  politically, 
and  with  his  wife,  a  member  of  the 
Methodist   Episcopal   church  of  Elsah. 


Mr.  Onetto  is  one  of  the  earliest  settlerst 
of  the  village  of  Elsah,  and  a  highly 
esteemed  citizen. 

Leander  C.  Carrico,  a  cooper  in  Elsah, 
was  born  on  the  10th  day  of  October,  in 
the  year  1848,  near  Kane,  Greene 
county,  111.  He  lived  with  his  parents 
until  he  was  nearly  16  years  old,  when 
he  enlisted  in  Co.  D,  1st  Reg.,  Missouri 
cavalry  volunteers.  He  went  into  ser- 
vice on  the  22d  of  July,  1864,  and  was 
mustered  out  at  Benton  Barracks,  Mq., 
on  the  18th  of  September,  1865.  He 
participated  in  the  following  battles  or 
skirmishes:  At  Mount  Elba,  Ark., 
and  at  Mt.  Elba  Ferry  and  Princeton, 
and  the  second  assault  at  Pine  Bluff  and 
Brownsville.  On  the  3d  day  of  Feb., 
in  the  year  1869,  he  was  married  to 
Annie  Reynolds.  One  child  was  born 
to  them — Ledora  C,  born  on  the  9th 
of  Dec,  1869.  She  is  living  with  her 
grandparents  at  Shipman,  111.  On  the 
1st  of  Aug.,  1878,  Mr.  Carrico  was  mar- 
ried again  to  Mrs.  Mary  M.  Davis, 
widow  of  Hasten  Davis.  They  have 
had  two  children — Mary  E.,  born  June 
20,  1880;  died  Aug.  14, 1880;  and  Horace 
G.,  born  Dec.  26,  1881.  Mr.  Carrico 
has  been  in  17  different  states  and  ter- 
ritories, seeing  a  great  deal  of  the  coun- 
try. He  belongs  to  the  Baptist  church, 
is  a  member  of  Rutherford  Post,  No. 
206,  G.  A.  R.,  of  which  he  is  now  com- 
mander, and  has  been  officer  of  the  day 
two  terms  previous  to  this.  His  parents 
were  both  natives  of  Illinois,  but  were 
of  French  and  English  descent.  Her 
parents  were  of  French  descent.  His 
father,  Thomas  C.  Carrico,  was  born 
Dec.  21,  1825,  in  Greene  county,  111. 
He  enlisted  at  Virdenin  Co.  G,  122d  111. 
Inft.,  on  the    13th  of  Aug.,    1862.     He 


died  in  the  hospital  at  Corinth,  Miss., 
on  the  14th  of  March,  1863,  and  was 
brought  home  to  Virden,  where  he  was 
buried.  His  mother  is  still  living,  and 
is  now  the  wife  of  Daniel  Bettis,  and 
resides  in  this  county. 

POSTOFFICE. 

The  postoffice  at  Elsah  was  established 
in  1852,  and  James  Semple  commis- 
sioned postmaster.  The  present  incum- 
bent is  James  Francis.  Prior  to  this 
time,  however,  and  about  the  year  1830 
a  postoffice  was  established  at  a  place 
called  Eminence,  two  miles  below  Elsah. 
Newton  Piggott  was  the  postmaster. 

MUNICIPAL. 

Elsah  was  organized  and  incorporated 
as  a  village  in  1872.  The  following 
were  the  first  officers  :  William  P.  War- 
ren, president;  W.  A.  McNair,  clerk;  J. 
R.  Whipple,  Christ.  Loehr,  Isaac 
Newton  Piggott,  and  Thomas  Hansel, 
trustees.  The  present  officers  are  the  fol- 
lowing named  gentlemen:  George  F. 
Lane,  president;  W.  B.  Starr,  clerk;  T. 
F.  Hansel,  treasurer;  James  Fuller, 
street  commissioner;  William  Tonkin- 
son,  constable;  W .  P.  Warren,  X. 
Schneider,  J.  G.  Brown,  R.  B.  Leak, 
and  E.  M.  Pinney,  trustees. 

ELSAH  PUBLIC    SCHOOL. 

The  present  school  building  was 
erected  in  the  year  1857  by  the  late  Gen. 
James  Semple,  who  was  a  great  friend 
of  education.  The  building  is  a  large 
stone  structure,  two  stories  high,  and  is 
24x36  feet.  The  cost  at  that  time  was 
$2,833.  After  the  district  was  formed 
the  building  was  purchased  from  Gen. 
Semple  by  the  board  of  directors.     The 


present  teachers  are  Miss  Minnie  E. 
Lane,  principal,  and  Miss  Rosa  V. 
Stroud,  in  the  lower  department.  The 
school  is  considered  to  be  in  a  flourish- 
ing condition,  and  with  the  present 
board  of  education  will  so  continue. 

CORNET  BAND. 

Notch  Cliff  cornet  band  was  organized 
in  1879  with  the  following  members: 
Jacob  Spatz,  Eb  clarionet;  Jacob  C. 
Reintges,  solo  cornet;  Edward  Reed, 
Bb;  J.  B.  Reintges,  first  alto;  J.  Dean, 
second  alto;  William  Besterfeldt,  bari- 
tone; Edward  Besterfeldt,  Eb  tuba;  H. 
Howard,  bass  drum;  Cosmos  Keller, 
snare  drum.  The  first  president  of  the 
organization  was  William  Besterfeldt. 

TOWN    HALL. 

A  town  hall  for  public  meetings  of 
all  kinds  was  erected  in  1884,  and  is 
now  owned  by  Dr.  B.  F.  Farley.  It  is 
a  one-story  frame  structure,  30x50  feet 
in  dimensions,  and  was  completed  at  a 
cost  of  about  $1,000. 

ELSAH    ROLLER    MILLS. 

This  flouring  institution  was  con- 
structed in  1878  by  McAdams  and  Bley- 
ler  and  is  40x80  feet  in  ground  area, 
three  stories  and  a  half  high,  with  an 
engine  room  30x35  feet  in  size.  The 
machinery  and  fixtures  were  removed 
from  Newbern,  the  engine  being  50- 
horse  power.  The  above  named  firm 
run  the  mill  about  one  year,  when  it 
was  purchased  by  Enos  J.  Doron,  in 
Feb.,  1879,  who  still  owns  and  operates 
the  same  successfully.  When  the  mill 
was  first  erected  it  was  a  buhr  affair, 
but  in  the  fall  of  1882  it  was  remodeled 
by  Mr.  Doron  to  the  roller  system.  The 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


273 


mill  has  a  capacity  of  200  barrels  of 
flour  per  day,  and  is  so  situated  that  its 
shipping  advantages  are  unsurpassed 
either  by  rail  or  water.  It  is  in  good 
repair,  and  is  valued  at  $30,000.  The 
mill  proper  was  originally  erected  for 
an  elevator  and  ware  house  in  1861,  by 
a  man  named  Pegram,  of  St.  Louis, 
who  was  among  the  principal  grain  deal- 
ers of  that  city,  at  that  time,  and  was 
provided  with  all  the  requirements  of  a 
first-class  ware  house. 

Kiios  T.  Doron.  the  proprietor  of  the 
Elsah  Roller  Mills,  Jersey  county.  111., 
was  bom  near  the  city  of  Philadelphia, 
in  the  state  of  Pennsylvania,  Sept.  17, 
1830.  His  early  life  was  spent  in  his 
native  state.  In  1S48  he  engaged  as 
clerk  in  a  wholesale  hosiery  establish- 
ment in  Philadelphia,  and  in  1S5S,  be- 
came a  partner  in  the  same  firm.  He 
continued  there  in  business  until  Jan. 
1.  1871,  when  be  retired  from  mercan- 
tile life.  In  1879  he  came  to  the  village 
of  Elsah  and  purchased  the  flouring 
mill,  which  in  1882  he  remodeled. 
and  added  new  machinery,  increasing 
its  capacity  to  200  barrels  per 
day.  Mr.  Doron  was  united  in  mar- 
riage Feb.  8,  1859,  with  Huldah  H. 
Bedell,  of  Rochester,  X.  Y.  They  had 
two  children — Charlie  B.,  bom  May  28, 
1860,  and  John  B.,  bom  June  •".(»,  1NG4. 
The  latter  died  April  23,  1866.  Mrs. 
Doron  died  in  Germantown,  Penn., 
May  20,  1*7-"..  Mr.  Doron  is  a  republi- 
can in  politics,  and  an  upright  ami 
worthy  citizen,  as  well  as  an  enterpris- 
ing business  man. 

SOCIETIES. 

Elsah  Lodge  No.  269,  I.  O.  O.  F., 
was    instituted    in     1859.     Among    the 


charter  members  were  John  H.  Onetto, 
Addison  Greene  and  Jacob  Lurton.  The 
lodge  has  had  a  prosperous  existence, 
and  is  well  fixed  financially.  Thev  own 
the  building  in  which  their  hall  is 
situated,  and  rent  a  portion  to  the  K.  of 
P.  and  (i.  A.  R.  societies.  The  mem- 
bership is  about  40.  Being  the  first 
lodge  in  the  south  end  of  the  county,  it 
has  been  a  mother  lodge,  three  other 
lodges  having  drawn  membership  from 
her. 

Black  Cross  Lodge,  Xo.  106,  K.  of  P., 
was  instituted  June  13,  1882,  with  17 
charter  members.  The  following  were 
the  first  officers  of  the  lodge  :     Thomas 

F.  Hansel,  P.  C;  William  H.  Bleyler, 
C.  C.j  William  G.  Onetto,  V.  C;  Jacob 
Kesler,  P.;  X.  Schneider,  M.  of  E.; 
Nathaniel  Greene,  M.  of  F.;  Fred.  W. 
White,  M.  at  A.;  Tony  A.  Brock,  K.  of 
R.  and  S.;  John  X.  Warren,  I.  G.;  Jacob 
C.  Reintges,  O.  G.  Those  serving  the 
lodge  at  present  in  an  official  position 
arc  Nathaniel  Greene,  P.  C;  Charles  B. 
Doron,  C.C.;  Edward  M.  Pinney,  V.  <'.; 
X.  Schneider,  P.;  C.  Loehr,  M.  of  E.; 
A.  H.  Stephany,  M.  of  F.;  John  X. 
Warren,  M.  at  A,:  Fred.  W.  White,  K. 
of  R.  and  S.;  Cosmos  Keller,  I.  G.; 
William  G.  Onetto,  O.  G.  The  present 
membership  numbers  22.  The  lodge, 
though  small  in  number,  has  been  active 
and  interesting  since  its  institution  to  all 
connected  with  it. 

Rutherford  Post,  Xo.  206,  G.  A.  R., 
was   organized  April   11,   1883,  by  John 

G.  Mack.  The  first  officers  of  the  post 
were  as  follows:  E.  M.  Pinney,  C;  B. 
F.  Slaten,  S.  V.  C;  Lewis  Keller,  J.  V. 
C;  William  H.  McDow,  Q.  M.;  William 
Marshaw,  Chap.;  L.  C.  Carrieo,  O.  D.; 
X.  Hartley,   O.  G.;  J.  K.  Francis,  Adjt.; 


-**■— 


274 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


Adam  Lightner,  Q.  S.;  Myron  Hansell, 
Surg.  The  membership  at  present  num- 
bers 62.  The  post  rents  the  hall  of  the 
I.  0.  O.  F.  fraternity  in  which  to  hold 
their  meetings.  The  present  officers  of 
the  society  are  L.  C.  Carrico,  C;  J.  A. 
Chappee,  S.  V.  C;  Lewis  Keller,  J.  V. 
C.j  E.  M.  Pinney,  Q.  M.j  W.  D.  Col- 
lins, 0.  D.;  J.  A.  Dabbs,  0.  G.j  Perry 
Spangle,  Chap.;  P.  W.  Dougherty, 
Adjt.j  I.  M.  Free,  Surg.;  T.  A.  Palmer, 
Q.  S.     The  charter  members  of  the  or- 


ganization were  E.  M.  Pinney,  Lewis 
Keller,  A.  F.  Swan,  Adam  Lightner,  W. 
D.  Collins,  Terry  Spangle,  B.  F.  Slaten, 
L.  C.  Carrico,  W.  H.  McDow,  William 
Burgess,  William  Deymond,  Myron  Han- 
sel, P.  W.  Dougherty,  J.  K.  Francis, 
William  Marshaw,  George  Piggott,  N. 
Hartley,  William  Gillham. 

ITEM. 

The  first  white  child  born  in  the  vil- 
lage of  Elsah  was  John  B.  Reintges.  The 
date  of  his  birth  was  June  8,  1853. 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 


OTTER  CREEK  TOWNSHIP 

This  sub-division  of  Jersey  county  is 
bounded  on  the  north  by  English,  on 
the  east  by  Mississippi,  on  the  south  by 
Quarry,  and  on  the  west  by  Rosedale. 
The  township  is  well  wooded,  the  prin- 
cipal prairie  land  being  found  in  the 
eastern  part  and  in  the  south  row  of 
sections.  Otter  Creek,  with  its  two 
forks,  North  and  South  Otter,  run 
through  this  township.  North  Otter 
comes  in  from  English  about  the  center 
of  the  east  line  of  section  12,  and  South 
Otter  creek  comes  in  from  Quarry  about 
the  center  of  the  south  line  of  section 
36.  The  two  effect  a  junction  on  section 
8,  and  thenceforward  pass  onward 
as  one  stream — the  main  Otter  creek, 
flowing  out  of  the  township,  and  pass- 
ing into  Rosedale,  at  the  line  between 
sections  6  and  7.  These  streams,  with 
their  numerous  little  tributaries,  serve 
to  furnish  an  abundant  supply  of  water 
for  stock  and  agricultural  purposes,  and 


giving  ample  drainage  facilities.  Con- 
siderable attention  is  given  to  stock- 
raising  in  this  township,  a  number  of 
the  farmers  taking  an  interest  in  the  im- 
provement of  their  live  stock.  The 
eastern  part  of  the  township  has  the 
best  farm  land,  and  generally  the  best 
improved,  though  there  are  a  number 
of  good  places  in  the  west  and  south 
parts. 

The  village  of  Otterville  lies  on  sec- 
tion 11,  and  affords  a  number  of  busi- 
ness enterprises  for  the  accommodation 
of  the  citizens  of  the  township.  There 
is  no  railroad  running  through  it,  though 
all  parts  are  within  easy  access  of  rail- 
road points.  There  is  some  hilly  coun- 
try in  the  township,  but  very  little 
indeed  that  would  resist  efforts  at  culti- 
vation. 

EARLY   SETTLERS. 

The  first  permanent  settler  within  the 
bounds   of    what    now    constitutes    the 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


275 


township  of  Otter  creek  was  Joseph 
White,  a  native  of  South  Carolina,  but 
who  came  to  this  county  from  Kentucky, 
in  1821  or  1822.  His  two  grand-sons, 
Daniel  P.  and  John  L.,  are  both  resi- 
dents of  the  townships. 

Daniel  P.  White  is  a  son  of  Joab  and 
Maria  (Randall)  White,  and  was  born 
in  what  is  now  Jersey  county,  in  1834. 
He  was  here  reared,  and  in  1855  was 
married  to  Mary  M.  Terry,  a  native  of 
this  county,  who  died  in  1872.  In  1874 
1h-  was  married  to  Sarah  V.  Moss,  who 
was  also  born  in  Jersey  county.  She 
died  in  1876,  and  in  1882  Mr.  White 
was  married  to  Mrs.  Mary  J.  (Turner) 
White,  widow  of  Louis  White,  of  Mis- 
sissippi township.  Mr.  White  has 
always  been  a  resident  of  this  county, 
and  always  followed  farming.  He  is 
the  owner  of  a  valuable  and  well  im- 
proved farm,  comprising  80  acres.  He 
is  a  republican  in  politics,  and  an  enter- 
prising and  worthy  citizen. 

John  L.  White  was  born  in  Jersey 
(then  Greene)  county,  Aug.  2, 1823.  His 
father.  Joab  White,  was  born  in  South 
Carolina,  and  his  mother,  Jane  (Lofton) 
White,  in  Kentucky.  John  L.  White  is 
the  oldest  man,  with  one  exception, 
born,  raised  and  now  residing  in  the 
territory  comprising  Greene  and  Jersey 
counties.  He  was  reared  here,  and  in 
1843  was  married  to  Martha  L.  Sansom, 
a  native  of  Ohio.  Three  sons  were 
born  to  them — James  J.,  born  in  1845, 
now  living  in  Kansas;  Lewis  A.,  who 
died  in  1880,  and  Charles  Henry,  now 
living  in  Mississippi  township.  Mrs. 
White  died  Feb.  14,  1851.  Mr.  White 
was  again  married,  Oct.  4,  1851,  to  Rosa 
J.  White,  a  native  of  Jersey  county.  By 
this  union,  there  were  four  daughters, 


three  of  whom  are  living — Susan,  wife 
of  John  T.  Wagoner,  of  Otter  Creek 
township;  Mary  Jane,  wife  of  James  P. 
Acbford,  of  this  township,  and  Fannie 
Evelyn,  living  with  her  parents. 
Josephine  died  in  1857. 

Thomas  White,  in  1824,  located  east 
of  Otterville,  wThere  he  lived  for  many 
years. 

Samuel  Lofton,  the  same  year,  made 
a  settlement  in  this  township,  on  sec- 
tion 14,  where  he  resided  for  a  long 
time.  He  came  from  Madison  county 
to  this  township,  where  he  subsequently 
died. 

James  Dabbs  settled  on  section  9,  in 
this  township,  in  the  spring  of  1826. 
He  was  a  native  of  South  Carolina,  and 
was  married  in  that  state,  in  1802.  Sev- 
eral years  after  that  event  they  emi- 
grated to  Barren  county,  Ky.,  where 
they  resided  until  1819,  when  they 
removed  to  the  vicinity  of  Wood  river, 
Madison  county,  111.,  from  which  place 
they  came  here,  as  above  stated.  Jesse 
Dabbs,  a  son,  was  a  resident  of  the 
county  until  1875,  when  he  died.  James 
Dabbs  and  his  wife,  Mary,  were  worthy 
members  of  the  pioneer  Viand.  He  died 
a  resident  of  the  county,  Dec.  19,  1841, 
his  wife  living  until  Sept.  8,  1852. 

Samuel  Dabbs,  a  native  of  South  Car- 
olina, made  a  settlement  on  section  8, 
in  this  township,  about  the  year  1826. 
His  son,  W.  W.  Dabbs,  is  a  resident  of 
the  township  still,  living  near  the  old 
homestead. 

W.  W.  Dabbs  is  a  son  of  Samuel  and 
Mary  (Linkj  Dabbs,  who  were  pioneers 
of  Jersey  county.  Samuel  Dabbs  was  a 
native  of  Kentucky,  and  his  wife  of 
Tennessee.  They  came  to  Illinois  in 
1805,  and  to  what  is  now  Jersey  county, 


276 


HISTORY  OP  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


in  1826,  settling  upon  Sec  8,  Otter  Creek 
township,  which  was  the  birth-place  of 
the  subject  of  this  sketch.  He  was  born 
on  the  8th  day  of  June,  1836.  He  ob- 
tained his  education  in  the  common 
schools  of  that  township,  and  there 
grew  to  manhood.  Nov.  5,  1855,  he  was 
married  to  Catherine  Worthey,  a  na- 
tive of  Tennessee.  Nine  children  were 
born  to  them — John  M.,  George  F., 
Lindley,  Hattie  E.,  Margaret  E„  Emma 
E..  Nellie  Jane,  Oscar  and  Mary  E. 
Mr.  Dabbs  owns  a  large  farm,  com- 
prising 534  acres,  and  follows  farming. 
He  was  engaged  in  a  meat  market  13 
years.  Politically  Mr.  Dabbs  is  a  re- 
publican, having  voted  with  that  party 
since  its  organization.  He  has  held  the 
office  of  school  director  and  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  A.  F.  &  A.  M.  Samuel 
Dabbs  died  Dec.  12,  1853,  and  his 
widow,  Mrs.  Mary  Dabbs,  Sept.  12, 
1855.  Both  are  buried  in  the  old  ceme- 
tery at  Otterville. 

The  first  settlement  on  what  is  called 
Otter  Creek  Prairie  was  made  in  1827 
by  Josiah  White.  He  also  built  the 
first  house  on  the  prairie,  on  the  farm 
now  owned  by  JohnSisson.  He  died  in 
this  township.  He  was  a  son  of  Joseph 
White,  one  of  the  early  settlers  of  Lof- 
ton's Prairie. 

Jesse  White,  deceased,  was  born  in 
Madison  county,  111.,  in  1807.  His 
father,  Joseph  White  was  a  native  of 
South  Carolina,  and  his  mother  Eliza- 
beth (Self)  White,  of  Georgia.  They 
came  to  this  state  in  1805  and  settled  in 
Madison  county,  near  Edwardsville,  in 
1818.  They  moved  to  Jersey  county 
and  lived  there  four  years,  then  removed 
to  Greene  county,  and  settled  near 
where  the  town   of  Kane   now    stands. 


In  1838  they  removed  to  Otter  Creek 
township,  where  Joseph  White  built  a 
grist  mill  on  Otter  creek,  south  of  the 
present  town  of  Otterville.  He  operated 
the  mill  and  continued  to  reside  here 
until  his  death,  which  occurred  in  1840. 
He  had  six  sons — Joab,  who  settled  in 
Mississippi  township;  Josiah,  who  set- 
tled in  Otter  Creek;  Jesse,  subject  of 
this  sketch,  who  settled  two  miles  west 
of  Kane,  in  Greene  county;  Joseph, 
who  also  settled  near  Kane;  Stephen, 
who  settled  near  the  same  place,  and 
Jehu,  who  settled  in  Greene  county. 
Jesse  White  was  married  in  1827  to  Ta- 
bitha  Carrico,  a  native  of  Mason  county, 
Ky.  They  had  six  children  born  to 
them,  two  of  whom  died  in  infancy. 
Those  who  lived  to  maturity  were — 
Nancy,  deceased,  wife  of  J.  G.  Harper, 
of  Greene  county;  Lewis,  now  living  in 
Otterville;  Baalam,  of  Greene  county, 
and  Ira,  also  of  Greene  county.  Mr. 
White  died  in  1873  in  Otterville.  He 
was  a  consistent  member  of  the  Cum- 
berland Presbyterian  church.  His  wife 
is  a  member  also.  She  is  now  living 
with  her  son  Lewis,  in  Otterville. 

Lewis  White,  son  of  Jesse  and  Ta- 
bitha  White,  was  born  in  Greene  county, 
near  Kane,  in  Oct.  1831.  He  remained 
in  that  county,  on  a  farm,  until  1873, 
when  he  moved  to  a  place  two  miles 
east  of  Carrollton,  where  he  lived  five 
years.  At  the  expiration  of  that  time 
he  removed  to  Jersey  county,  locating 
three  miles  east  of  the  city  of  Jersey- 
ville.  He  then  moved  to  Missouri. 
One  year  later  he  came  back  to  this 
county,  and  settled  where  he  now  lives, 
in  Otterville.  He  is  by  trade  a  wagon 
maker.  Mr.  White  was  married  in 
Oct.  1856,  to  Lucinda  A.  Cook,  a  native 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


277 


of  Tennessee.  Seven  children  were 
burn  to  them,  three  of  whom  are  liv- 
ing— John  H.,  Charles  M.,  and  Justus 
V.  Four  children  died  in  infancy. 
Mrs.  White  died  Feb.  1,  1861,  in  Mis- 
souri. Mr.  White  is  a  member  of  the 
A.  F.  &  A.  M.,  a  skilled  workman  at 
his  trade,  and  an  esteemed  citizen. 

Gregg  McDanel  and  his  wife  settled  in 
Otter  Creek  township  in  the  fall  of  1828, 
on  Sec  7,  where  he  lived  for  many  years. 
He  constructed  a  dam  and  mill  for  saw- 
ing lumber  on  Otter  creek  in  1828,  and 
two  years  later  a  mill  for  grinding  corn. 
Mr.  McDanel  came  here  from  Madison 
county,  and  died  in  Sept.,  1859,  leaving 
a  large  landed  estate.  His  wife,  Rachel 
(Cooper)  McDanel,  died  May,  1861. 
Gregg  McDanel  built  a  large  flouring 
mill  at  Upper  Grafton,  in  1857,  through 
the  persuasion  of  Henry  Shaff,  a  young 
miller,  which  proved  a  disastrous  fail- 
ure. His  son,  Charles  McDanel,  resides 
on  the  old  homestead. 

Charles  McDanel  is"  a  son  of  Gregg 
and  Rachel  (Cooper)  McDanel,  who  set- 
tled in  Madison  county  in  1820.  They 
removed  to  Jersey  county  in  1828,  locat- 
ing on  Sec.  7,  Otter  Creek  township, 
where  Charles  now  resides.  Gregg  Mc- 
Danel died  in  Sept.,  1859,  and  his  wife 
in  May,  1861.  Both  are  buried  in  the 
Noble  cemetery.  Charles  McDanel  was 
born  in  Madison  county,  111.,  in  1827, 
and  was  one  year  old  when  his  parents 
settled  in  this  count}'.  He  was  reared 
to  the  occupation  of  farming,  also  worked 
in  a  saw  and  grist  mill.  He  received  a 
good  education,  attending  the  district 
school  and  afterwards  Shurtleff  College, 
at  Upper  Alton.  In  November,  1865,  he 
was  married  to  Amanda  Dabbs,  who  was 
born  in  Otter  Creek  township.     Mr.  and 


Mrs.  McDanel  are  the  parents  of  eight 
children — Sarah  Leonora,  Rachel  A., 
Charles  G.,  Georgiana,  Ada  Maria, 
Mark  L.,  William  R.,  and  Grace 
Adella.  Mr.  McDanel  is  one  of  the 
most  extensive  land  owners  in  Jersey 
county,  having  1,400  acres,  and  carries 
on  general  farming.  He  is  a  member  of 
the  A.  F.  A-  A.  M.  Mr.  McDanel  has 
spent  almost  his  entire  life  in  this  town- 
ship, and  has  witnessed  its  development. 
He  has  contributed  his  full  share  toward 
effecting  the  transformation  from  a  scene 
of  natural  wildness  to  a  country  of  com- 
fortable homes  and  a  land  teeming  with 
wealth  and  material  prosperity.  These 
solid  comforts  of  life  have  been  secured 
by  the  industry  and  sacrifice  of  those 
early  settlers,  and  among  them  Mr.  Mc- 
Danel is  now  in  the  enjoyment  of  an 
abundant  competency  and  can  spend  his 
remaining  years  in  peace  and  happiness. 

Jasper  M.  Terry  was  a.  settler  of  the 
year  of  1828,  on  section  24.  A  sketch 
of  this  gentleman  appears  in  the 
National,  State  and  County  Representa- 
tion chapter. 

Henry  Clay  Terry,  son  of  Jasper  M. 
and  Mary  A.  (Wagoner)  Terry,  was 
born  in  Otter  Creek  township,  Sept.  25, 
1845.  He  was  brought  up  on  a  farm  in 
this  township,  and  attended  the  district 
schools  of  the  neighborhood.  In  1864, 
be  enlisted  in  the  124th  Inf.,  and  served 
in  that  regiment  until  July,  I860.  He 
was  then  transferred  to  Co.  C,  of  the -"..'Id 
111.  Regt.,  and  served  until  Nov.  of  the 
same  year.  He  took  part  in  the  battles 
of  Benton,  Yazoo,  and  Spanish  Fort, 
returning  home  Dec.  7,  that  winter,  he 
attended  school  in  Otterville,  ami  the 
following  year,  became  a  student  at 
Shurtleff  College,  where   he   continued 


278 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


one  year,  then  went,  in  the  winter  of 
1867-8  to  the  Commercial  College,  at 
Poughkeepsie,  N.  Y.  In  the  spring  of 
1870,  he  returned  to  Otterville,  and  en- 
gaged in  the  milling  business,  in  com- 
pany with  H.  E.  Dougherty;  this  part- 
nership lasted  until  July,  1873.  Mr. 
Terry  then  went  to  Christian  county, 
and  bought  a  farm  near  Rosamond,  on 
which  he  lived  till  Jan.,  1875,  at  which 
date  he  sold  it  and  removed  to  Jersey- 
ville,  where  he  lived  one  year.  He  re- 
moved from  Jerseyville  to  his  present 
residence,  on  section  24,  Otter  Creek 
township,  formerly  the  farm  of  his 
father.  It  comprises  160  acres,  and  is  in 
a  high  state  of  cultivation,  and  well  im- 
proved. His  business  is  general  farm- 
ing. Mr.  Terry  was  married  Sept.  28, 
1870,  to  Mary  Cadwalader  of  Otterville, 
Jersey  county,  111.  Tiny  have  three 
children — Addie  May,  born  Aug.  18, 
1871;  Charles  H.,  born  Oct.  28,  1873, 
and  Lora  F.,  born  Oct.  23,  1876.  Mr. 
Terry  belongs  to  the  A.  F.  &  A.  M.,and 
also  to  the  G.  A.  R.  He  is  one  of  the 
directors  of  the  board  of  agriculture,  of 
Jersey  county.  He  is  the  only  one  of 
his  father's  family  now  living  in  Jersey 
county, 

On  the  18th  of  March,  182!),  Tarlton 
F.  Brock  settled  on  the  northeast  quar- 
ter of  section  25,  in  this  township.  He 
was  born  July  16,  1802,  in  Franklin 
county,  Va.  His  ancestors,  who  were 
originally  from  England,  had  resided 
there  for  several  generations.  He  em- 
igrated with  his  father's  family  to  the 
Missouri  territory  in  the  fall  of  1818, 
and  settled  in  Franklin  county,  about 
60  miles  west  of  St.  Louis,  from  whence 
he  removed  to  the  present  limits  of 
Greene   county,    111.,    in    1825.     March 


20,  1829,  he  located  on  Otter  Creek 
prairie,  on  Sec.  25,  T.  7,  R.  12,  where 
he  remained  until  his  death,  Nov.  6, 
1876.  He  was  a  life-long  Methodist  in 
his  church  relations,  being  a  member  of 
the  quarterly  conference  for  nearly,  or 
quite,  50  years.  The  writer,  his  son, 
well  remembers  the  pioneer  Methodist 
preachers  who  where  always  welcome 
at  his  father's  house — John  T.  Johnson, 
Hadley,  John  Dew,  Deneen,  Phelps, 
Cartwright,  Akers,  Barger,  Robbins, 
Heath,  Wollard,  Peters,  Anderson,  the 
( 'orringtons,  Norman  Allyn,  the  gifted 
C.  W.  Lewis,  and  many  others.  T.  F. 
Brock  was  the  first  postmaster  at  Otter 
Creek,  being  the  second  postoffice  in 
the  county.  He  was  a  strong  advocate 
of  education,  temperance  and  Sunday 
schools. 

Dr.  Silas  Hamilton  came  to  Otter 
Creek  township  in  the  spring  of  1830. 
He  was  born  in  Tinmouth,  Vt.  His 
father,  Captain  Nathaniel  Hamilton, 
commanded  a  company  of  Green  Moun- 
tain boys,  in  the  Revolutionary  war. 
The  family  afterwards  made  a  settle- 
ment in  Ohio,  and  finally  he  removed 
to  Monroe  county,  111.  Dr.  Hamilton 
was  an  accomplished  physician,  and  be- 
fore coming  to  this  country,  had  been 
practicing  in  Mississippi,  back  of 
Natchez.  He  bore  a  high  reputation 
while  he  lived  in  this  county,  and  if  his 
life  had  been  longer  spared,  he  would 
undoubtedly  have  risen  to  a  high  place 
here.  Dr.  Hamilton  was  the  owner  of 
a  considerable  number  of  slaves,  whom, 
in  his  lifetime,  he  liberated.  After  his 
death,  a  fine  monument  of  Italian  mar- 
ble, which  still  stands,  was  erected  to 
his  memory  at  Otterville.  This  monu- 
ment  bears   the   following  inscription: 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


279 


"To  the  memory  of  Dr.  Silas  Hamilton, 
his  former  master,  born  at  Tinmouth, 
Vt.,  May  19,  1775;  died  at  Otterville, 
Nov.  19,  1834;  having  in  his  lifetime 
given  freedom  to  28  slaves,  and  at  his 
death  bequeathed  $4,000  for  the  erection 
and  endowment  of  the  Hamilton  Prima- 
ry School."  There  is  also  an  inscrip- 
tion stating  that  the  monument  was 
"erected  by  George  Washington, 
born  in  Virginia,  a  slave,  died  at 
Otterville,  111.,  April  18,  1864,  a  chris- 
tian freeman."  The  school  building 
erected  by  the  doctor,  and  spoken  of  in 
the  first  inscription,  is  a  stone  structure, 
and  is  even  yet  a  handsome  appearing 
edifice. 

William  Hamilton,  a  brother  of  Dr. 
Silas  Hamilton,  made  a  settlement  on 
section  13,  of  this  township,  in  1830. 
He  was  from  the  state  of  Vermont,  and 
losing  his  wife  in  1828,  he  with  his  three 
sons  immigrated  to  this  state  in  1830, 
and  located  upon  the  northeast  quarter 
of  the  section,  where  he  lived  the  re- 
mainder of  his  life.  He  was  an  active, 
energetic  man,  and  highly  esteemed  by 
all.  He  died  at  the  residence  of  Jephtha 
Dixon,  in  Calhoun  county,  July  22, 
1S49. 

William  McDow  came  to  Otter  Creek 
township,  in  the  fall  of  1830,  and  set- 
tled where  he  now  resides. 

William  McDow,  son  of  John  and 
Margaret  (Gilham)  McDow, was  born  in 
Madison  county,  111.,  Feb.  2,  1808.  His 
parents  were  natives  of  North  Carolina. 
In  1809,  his  father  moved  his  family  to 
a  farm,  near  St.  Luois,  where  they  lived 
till  1815.  In  that  year  they  moved  to 
Boone  county,  Mo.,  where  they  lived 
nine  years,  and  then  returned  to  Illinois, 
locating  in  Jersey    county,    near   New- 


bern.  William  resided  here  with  his 
parents  until  the  fall  of  1830,  when  he 
removed  to  Otter  Creek  township,  and 
bought  160  acres  of  government  land, 
for  which  he  paid  $1.25  per  acre. 
He  built  a  log  house  the  same  year,  in 
which  he  lived  about  30  years.  He  now 
has  a  well  improved  place,  with  a  good 
frame  house  and  barn.  He  was  married 
April  11,  1830,  to  Delilah  Wagoner, 
daughter  of  David  Wagoner.  She  was 
born  in  Virginia-,-  in  1808.  They  have 
had  eight  children,  seven  of  whom  are 
now  living — Marion,  living  in  Otterville; 
Ellen,  wife  of  Charles  Shelton  Roads, of 
Macoupin  county;  Margaret,  living  with 
her  parents;  Mary,  wife  of  Ziba  Noble, 
Quarry  township;  William  H.,  of  Alton: 
Josephine,  wife  of  Lawrence  Green,  of 
Kansas  City,  Mo.,  and  Allie,  living  at 
home  with  her  parents.  Mr.  McDow's 
farm  contains  278  acres,  which  he  rents, 
but  still  resides  upon  the  place. 

Marion  McDow  has  resided  in  the 
township  over  half  a  century,  having 
been  born  here  in  1830.  He  is  a  son  of 
William  McDow. 

James  Derrick  settled  where  Samuel 
Dougherty  now  lives  in  1830.  That  loca- 
tion was  on  Sec.  14.  That  same  year 
all  the  family  had  the  bilious  fever,  and 
Mrs.  Derrick  took  an  overdose  of  lauda- 
num and  died.  Derrick  knocked  around 
about  a  year,  married  a  widow  named 
Hurd,  and  moved  to  Missouri.  He  was 
driven  out  of  there  by  bushwhackers 
during  the  war.  He  returned  to  Mis- 
souri after  the  rebellion  was  over. 

Solomon  Dixon  came  in  the  spring  of 
1830,  and  located  on  the  place  where 
William  Dougherty  now  resides.  He 
died  in  1831,  and  his  widow  sold  the  im- 
provement to  Thomas   Hamilton.     The 


280 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


widow  and  her  family  then  removed  to 
Macoupin  county.  Dixon  was  a  native 
of  Tennessee. 

Among  the  other  settlers  of  this  year, 

1830,  were  the  following  :  Maurice  Arm- 
strong, on  Sec.  13;  Elijah  Brown,  Sec. 
12,  and  James  Hinson.  Maurice  Arm- 
strong soon  sold  out,  removing  to  the 
neighborhood  of  Fieldon,  from  whence 
he  removed  to  Montgomery  county. 

Thomas  H.  Hamilton  came  in  the 
spring  of  1831,  and  bought  the  improve- 
ment made  by  Solomon  Dixon,  buying 
from  the  latter's  widow.  He  came  to 
Illinois,  from  Ohio,  in  1818,  and  located 
in  Monroe,  county.     On  the  9th  of  May, 

1831,  he  came  to  Jersey  county.  He 
was  a  carpenter  by  trade.  He  died  in 
the  fall  of  1844,  leaving  tbree  sons — 
Nathaniel,  Dr.  J.  0.,  and  Rev.  B.  B. 

With  him  came  Daniel  H.  Hamilton, 
who  also  entered  land  on  section  14. 
These  were  both  brothers  of  Dr.  Silas 
Hamilton. 

Jay  M.  Hurd,  whose  sketch  occurs 
elsewhere,  was  a  settler  of  1831.  He 
came  here  the  year  previous,  with  his 
uncle,  Dr.  Hamilton,  but,  being  taken 
sick,  returned  to  his  eastern  home,  but 
the  following  spring  came  back.  With 
him  came  his  parents,  Ezra  and  Polly 
H.  Hurd,  but  they  died  soon  after. 

James  F.  Terry  and  Ezekiel  Chance 
were  also  settlers  of  the  year  1831,  the 
former  locating  upon  section  24. 

William  Dougharty,  Sr.,  came  in  Sep- 
tember, 1832,  and  located  on  the  farm 
now  owned  by  his  eldest  son — John  G. 

John  G.  Dougherty  has  been  a  resi- 
dent of  Otter  Creek  township  since 
ls:','_>,  having  come  here  with  his  parents 
in  September,  of  that  year.  He  was 
born  in  Adams  county,  Miss.,  in  1820, 


and  is  a  son  of  William  and  Janet 
(Fowler)  Dougherty,  the  former  a  native 
South  Carolina,  and  the  latter  of  New 
York.  The  subject  of  this  sketch  has 
always  followed  farming.  He  now 
owns  a  fine  farm  comprising  656  acres, 
with  splendid  improvements.  He  was 
married,  in  1845,  to  Susan  Millross,  a 
native  of  Scotland.  They  are  the  pa- 
rents of  eight  children,  six  of  whom 
are  living — Louisa,  wife  of  J.  C.  Cad- 
walader,  of  this  township;  George  H., 
living  at  home;  William,  living  in  this 
township;  Irene,  wife  of  C.  A.  L. 
Reed,  M.  D.,  of  Hamilton,  0.;  Leon- 
ora, wife  of  Milton  Noble,  of  this  town- 
ship; and  John,  living  at  home  with 
his  parents.  Julius  died  in  1849,  and 
Anna  in  1881.  Mr.  Dougherty's  father, 
William,  died  in  1833,  and  his  mother, 
in  1862. 

Henry  Noble,  a  native  of  Maryland, 
but  a  long  time  resident  of  the  state  of 
Mississippi,  came  to  Jersey  county  in 
1833,  landing  at  Grafton  on  the  3d  of 
April.  He  immediately  purchased 
some  400  acres  of  land  on  section  10 
and  15,  in  this  township,  and  settled 
down  to  the  hard  life  of  a  pioneer.  Mr. 
Noble  was  married  in  the  state  of  Mis- 
sissippi to  Mary  Swayze,  a  native  of 
New  Jersey,  He  was  the  father  of 
quite  a  family  of  children,  some  of 
whom  have  risen  to  considerable  dis- 
tinction— Reuben,  having  been  until 
lately  the  judge  of  the  5th  judicial  dis- 
trict of  Iowa;  Caleb,  associate  justice 
of  this  county,  and  others.  Mr.  Noble 
was  noted  throughout  this  county  as  a 
man  of  the  strictest  integrity  and  ster- 
ling worth.  He  died  in  July,  1852,  at 
his  place  near  Otterville. 

Caleb  Noble  came  with  his  parents  in 


1833.  He  was  born  in  Adams  county, 
Miss.,  in  1817.  He  was  married  in 
1840  to  Electa  Gillhani,  a  native  of  Illi- 
nois.    She  died  in  1852. 

William  Noble  came  to  Otter  Creek 
township  in  1833,  he  being  then  six 
years  old.  He  was  born  in  Adams 
county,  Mississippi,  in  1827.  His  par- 
ents, Henry  and  Nancy  Ann  (Curry) 
Noble,  resided  in  this  township  from 
from  1833  until  their  death,  his  father 
dying  in  1852  and  his  mother  in  1850. 
William  H.  was  brought  up  on  a  farm 
and  has  always  followed  agricultural 
pursuits.  He  was  married,  on  the  4th 
of  March,  1849,  to  Thirza  Chappell,  a 
native  of  England.  They  are  the  parents 
of  six  children— Israel  C,  of  Otter  Creek 
township,  Emma  M.,  wife  of  Theodore 
Dodson  of  Jerseyville,  111.;  William 
H.,  of  this  township;  Milton  B.,  of  this 
township;  James  R.  and  Jesse  C,  living 
with  their  parents.  Mr.  Noble  owns 
218  acres  of  land  on  sections  14  and  15, 
200  on  section  10,  and  40  on  section  9, 
of  Otter  Creek  township.  His  residence 
is  one  of  the  oldest  frame  houses  in  Jer- 
sey county.  He  carries  on  general 
farming.  Mr.  Noble  and  all  of  his 
family  are  members  of  the  Presbyterian 
church. 

Samuel  J.  M.  Dougherty  settled 
where  he  now  lives  in  Otter  Creek  town- 
ship, in  1845,  since  which  this  has  been 
his  home.  He  was  born  in  the  state  of 
Mississippi,  in  1810.  His  parents, 
James  and  Arkada  (Varnada)  Dougher- 
ty, were  natives  of  South  Carolina,  who 
came  to  Jersey  county  in  1834,  and  set- 
tled where  Samuel  now  lives,  in  this 
township.  Here  James  Dougherty  died 
in  1843.  The  subject  of  this  sketch  was 
married  in  1846  to  Elizabeth  Cook,  who 


— 


was  born  in  Mississippi,  and  came  with 
her  parents  to  this  state  in  18.'->5.  Mr. 
Dougherty  owns  a  fine  farm,  comprising 
275  acres  of  land,  all  improved,  and  is 
engaged  in  general  farming.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Dougherty  are  the  parents  of  four 
children,  two  of  whom  are  living — 
Joseph  C,  of  this  township,  and  Mary 
A.  James  H.  died  while  in  the  service 
of  his  country,  during  the  war  of  the  Re- 
bellion. He  was  a  member  of  Co.  C,  of 
the  61st  111.  Inft.  Alexander  F.  died 
at  the  age  of  four  years.  Mr.  Dougherty 
and  his  family  are  members  of  the 
M.  E.  Church.  He  is  a  republican  po- 
litically, and  was  formerly  a  whig.  Al- 
though advanced  in  years  he  is  still 
vigorous  and  hearty,  and  a  well  inform- 
ed, intelligent  gentleman. 

Jeremiah  O.  Stillwell.  was  born  in 
Haywood  county,  X.  C,  July  28,  181  1. 
He  came  to  Illinois  in  1834,  and  located 
in  what  is  now  Jersey  county,  on  the 
northeast  quarter  of  Sec.  27,  T.  7,  R.  12, 
about  two  miles  southwest  of  the  place 
where  the  village  of  Otterville  is  now 
located.  He  was  married  Dec.  14,  1837, 
to  Ann  Eliza  White,  who  was  born  Oct. 
1,  1821,  in  Chatham  county.  X.  C,  and 
who  came  to  Illinois  with  her  parents 
about  the  same  time  Mr.  Stillwell  did. 
There  were  born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Still- 
well 13  children,  of  whom  only  six  are 
now  living — five  sons,  Virgil,  Leander, 
Reuben,  Logan,  Ernest,  and  a  daughter, 
Louisa.  Mr.  Stillwell  resided  on  the 
old  homestead  until  1881,  when  he  sold 
out  and  moved  to  Anderson  county, 
Kan.,  where  he  now  resides,  engaged  in 
farming  and  stock-raising.  Politically, 
Mr.  Stillwell  was  an  old-line  whig,  but 
on  the  dissolution  of  that  party,  he 
allied  himself,  in  1854,  with  the  repub- 


284 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


lican  party,  with  which  he  has  ever 
since  voted  and  acted. 

Leander  Stillwell,  son  of  Jeremiah  0. 
and  Ann  Eliza  (White)  Stillwell,  was 
born  in  Otter  Creek  precinct,  Jersey 
county,  111.,  Sept.  16,1843.  He  received 
a  limited  common  school  education,  at 
the  old  Stone  school  house,  in  Otter- 
ville.  On  Jan.  7,  1862,  he  enlisted  as  a 
private  in  Co.  D,  61st  111.  Inf.,  and  in 
Feb.,  1864,  re-enlisted  as  a  veteran  vol- 
unteer in  the  same  company  and  regi- 
ment, and  served  to  the  end  of  the  war, 
being  mustered  out  as  1st  lieutenant, 
and  having  served  continuously  nearly 
four  years.  At  the  close  of  the  war,  he 
studied  law  at  the  Albany  law  school, 
and  was  admitted  to   the  bar   in    Dec, 

1867.  He  immigrated  to  Kansas,  in  May, 

1868,  locating  at  Erie,  Neosho  county, 
where  he  engaged  in  the  practice  of 
law.  He  was  married  in  1872  to  Miss 
Anna  L.  Stauber.  He  was  elected  to  the 
lower  house  of  the  Kansas  legislature  in 
1876,  and  in  1883,  was  elected  judge  of 
the  seventh  judicial  district,  consisting 
of  the  counties  of  Allen,  Neosho,  Wilson 
and  Woodson,  which  position  he  now 
holds.    Politically,  he  is  a  republican. 

Ephraim  Fredenburg  settled  in  Otter 
Creek  township  in  1837.  He  was  born 
in  Toronto,  Canada,  in  1817,  his  parents 
being  Aaron  and  Mary  (Routledge)  Fre- 
denburg. His  early  life  was  spent  in 
his  native  country,  where,  in  his  youth, 
he  learned  the  carpenter  trade.  In 
1837,  he  came  to  Jersey  county,  111., 
and  settled  in  Otter  Creek  township, 
where  he  continued  to  reside  until  his 
death,  which  occurred  in  January,  1880. 
He  owned  a  farm  of  40  acres.  He  was 
married  in  1844  to  Mary  A.  Lofton,  who 
was  born  in  this  county.     Six  children 


were  born  to  them — Charles  H.,  now 
living  in  Grafton;  Catharine,  wife  of 
Charles  Blish,  of  Jerseyville;  Eliza- 
beth J.,  wife  of  R.  R.  Nugent,  of  Graf- 
ton; Caroline  C,  wife  of  Thomas  J. 
Cannada.  of  Otterville;  Delevan,  living 
at  home;  and  Celinda,  wife  of  Frank 
Calhoun,  of  Otterville.  Their  son, 
Charles  H.,  served  one  year  in  the 
army,  during  the  war  of  the  Rebellion. 
Mrs.  Fredenburg  is  a  member  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  church. 

OTHER  PROMINENT  CITIZENS. 

Reuben  T.  Worthey,  son  of  George 
and  Lucy  (Ivins)  Worthey.  was  born  in 
East  Tennessee,  in  1828.  In  Aug.  1846, 
he  came  to  Jersey  county,  111.,  settled 
in  Otter  Creek  township,  and  engaged 
in  farming.  He  has  been  a  resident 
here  since  that  time  and  now  owns  a  fine 
farm  of  120  acres.  He  was  married  in 
June,  1860,  to  Mary  E.  Miner,  a  native 
of  this  county.  They  are  the  parents 
of  11  children,  10  of  whom  are  living — 
Toney  Newton,  Josephine,  Daniel  Ben- 
ton, Aaron,  Louis,  Nathaniel,  Louisa, 
Jennette,  Christopher,  Harry  A.,  and 
Lucy.  Alice  is  deceased.  Mr.  Worthey 
carries  on  general  farming.  He  is  at 
present  school  director  of  this  district. 

John  W.  Sisson,  one  of  the  leading 
farmers  of  Otter  Creek  township,  is  a 
native  of  Virginia,  born  March  7,  1813. 
He  is  a  son  of  Abner  and  Susanna 
(Hardy)  Sisson,  both  natives  of  Vir- 
ginia. In  the  fall  of  1S20  they  removed 
from  Virginia  to  Jefferson  county,  Ky. 
John  W.  came  to  the  state  of  Illinois  in 
May,  1837,  and  settled  in  Macoupin 
county,  where  he  lived  until  1850,  then 
moved  to  Jersey  county  and  located 
where  he  now  resides,  on  Sec.  13,  Otter 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


285 


Creek  township.  He  owns  a  well  im- 
proved farm,  comprising  295  acres.  His 
residence  is  a  handsome  structure, 
erected  at  a  cost  of  §8,0(10.  His  barn 
and  other  farm  buildings  are  of  a  corre- 
sponding description.  Mr.  Sisson  was 
married  in  Feb.,  1843,  to  Martha  J. 
Eaton,  a  native  of  Kentucky.  They  are 
the  parents  of  eight  children — Susan  S., 
wife  of  Charles  Stephenson,  of  Nebraska; 
Henry  Hardy,  now  in  Nebraska;  John 
Franklin,  living  in  Logan  county,  111.; 
Louisa  Maria,  wife  of  Shepherd  Bell,  of 
Nebraska;  Emma  Cordelia,  wife  of  Is- 
rael Noble,  of  Jersey  county;  Jessie 
May,  living  with  her  parents;  Cyrus 
Ausbury  and  Olive  Augusta,  also  living 
at  home.  He  is  engaged  in  general 
farming.  He  came  here  in  very  limited 
circumstances,  and  his  present  highly 
prosperous  condition  is  due  entirely  to 
his  own  industry  and  wise  management. 
Thomas  Edsall,  son  of  Coe  and  Li- 
dice H.  (Perry)  Edsall,  was  born  in 
Jersey  county,  in  1841.  Coe  Edsall 
was  a  native  of  New  York,  and  his  wife 
of  Tennessee.  The  subject  of  this 
sketch  grew  to  manhood  in  this  county. 
During  the  war  of  the  Rebellion  he 
served  ten  months  as  a  member  of  Co. 
E,  of  the  9th  111.  Cav.  He  has  always 
followed  the  occupation  of  farming  and 
now  owns  a  good  farm  of  120  acres  in 
Otter  Creek  township.  He  was  mar- 
ried in  1884  to  Eliza  A.  Myers,  a  native 
of  Reynolds  county,  Mo.  She  is  a 
daughter  of  Lorenzo  D.  and  Angeline 
(Legate)  Myers.  Mrs.  Angeline  Myers 
was  born  in  1820  and  died  in  the  year 
1881.  She  was  an  old  settler  of  Jersey 
county,  was  well  known  and  highly  re- 
spected. Mr.  Edsall  has  served  two 
terms  as  road  commissioner,  and  is  a 


highly  respected  citizen  of  this  town- 
ship. 

Charles  R.  Kirchner.  a  farmer  of  Otter 
Creek  township,  is  a  son  of  George  C. 
and  Elizabeth  (Thurston)  Kirchner,  na- 
tives of  Prussia,  who  came  to  America 
in  1825.  Charles  R.  was  born  in  Jersey 
county  in  1850.  He  here  grew  to  man- 
hood, receiving  his  education  in  the  dis- 
trict  schools  of  English  township  and 
the  graded  schools  of  Jersey ville.  In 
1870  he  was  married  to  Charlotte  Hin- 
son,  a  native  of  this  county.  They  have 
three  children — Lula  Bell,  Harry  Wes- 
ley, and  Delia  Leo.  Mr.  Kirchner  owns 
a  farm  of  120  acres,  located  on  Sec.  15. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Kirchner  are  membersof 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  church.  George 
C.  Kirchner  improved  one  of  the  first 
farms  in  English  township,  located  on 
Sees.  31  and  32.  George  Kirchner  died 
Dec.  11,  1881,  and  his  wife,  Elizabeth,  in 
the  fall  of  1865.  Both  are  buried  in  the 
Jerseyville  cemetery. 

Samuel  C.  Ellis  was  born  in  East 
Tennessee  in  1824.  His  parents  were 
Elijah  and  Amanda  (Cox)  Ellis,  the 
former  a  native  of  Tennessee,  and  the 
latter  of  Pennsylvania.  When  Samuel 
was  quite  young  his  parents  moved  to 
Pennsylvania,  thence  to  Ohio,  where 
his  mother  died  August  6,  1826,  and  his 
father  in  1835.  After  his  father's  death 
he  went  back  to  Pennsylvania,  where  he 
remained  until  1841.  He  then  returned 
to  Ohio,  and,  in  the  spring  of  1846,  en- 
listed in  the  Mexican  war,  joining  Co. 
G,  2d  Ohio  Regt.  He  was  in  the  ser- 
vice two  years,  after  which  he  came  to 
this  state,  and  settled  in  Quarry  town- 
ship, Jersey  county.  He  followed  farm- 
ing there  until  1872,  then  removed  to 
Otter  ville,  and.has  lived  in  this  neigh- 


286 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUN  TY. 


borhood  ever  since.  In  1850  he  was 
married  to  Mary  M.  Edsall,  who  was 
born  in  Pennsylvania.  They  have  had 
two  children — Linda  Maria,  who  died 
June  14,  1860,  aged  nine  years,  and  Ida 
Jane,  wife  of  J.  N.  Noble,  of  Quarry 
township.  Mr.  Ellis  owns  a  farm  of  80 
acres.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Masonic 
fraternity  and  an  Odd  Fellow.  Mrs. 
Ellis  is  a  member  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  church. 

John  T.  Swan,  a  farmer  of  this  county, 
was  born  in  1823,  in  St.  Clair  county, 
111.  He  is  a  son  of  Francis  and  Eliza- 
beth (Chambers)  Swan,  the  former  a 
native  of  Kentucky,  and  the  latter  of 
Virginia.  He  came  to  this  country  in 
1826  with  his  parents,  and  settled  two 
miles  west  of  Carrollton,  Greene  county. 
He  there  lived  until  he  was  about  ten 
years  old,  when  they  moved  to  Missis- 
sippi township,  this  county,  and  lived 
there  15  years.  They  then  moved  to 
Sec.  25,  Otter  Creek  township,  which 
has  since  been  his  home,  and  where  he 
now  owns  80  acres  of  good  land. 
He  was  married  in  1856  to  Melissa  Fell, 
a  native  of  this  state.  They  have  two 
children — Laura,  wife  of  0.  S.  David- 
son, of  Virden,  111.,  and  Mary,  wife  of 
Silas  Spangle,  of  this  township.  Mr. 
Swan  is  a  member  of  the  M.  E.  Church. 
He  takes  a  considerable  interest  in  pub- 
lic affairs,  and  has  been  town  trustee. 
His  mother  died  in  1844,  and  his  father 
in  1846,  and  both  were  buried  in  Salem 
church  cemetery. 

Henry  S.  Rogers,  a  prominent  farmer 
of  Otter  Creek  township,  is  a  native  of 
Scioto  county,  Ohio,  born  in  the  year 
1821.  His  father,  Elias  P.  Rogers,  was 
born  on  Long  Island,  N.  Y.,  and  his 
mother,  Susanna  (Spangle)   Rogers,  in 


Pennsylvania.  Henry  S.  Rogers  came 
to  Illinois  in  1840,  locating  in  St.  Clair 
county.  Eight  months  later  he  removed 
to  Jersey  county  and  settled  in  Jersey- 
ville  township,  where  he  lived  four 
years.  He  moved  to  a  farm  on  the 
Illinois  river  bottom,  upon  which  he 
lived  two  years  and  kept  the  farm,  then 
went  to  Monroe  county,  111.,  and  re- 
mained one  year,  " then  returned  to 
Jersey  county,  lived  here  four  years, 
and  removed  to  Johnson  county,  Ind., 
where  for  two  years  he  was  proprietor 
of  a  paper  called  the  Franklin  Jeffergim- 
ian.  At  the  expiration  of  that  time,  he 
came  back  to  Jersey  county  and  staid 
five  years  engaged  in  blacksmithing, 
then  went»to  Montgomery  county,  111., 
and  there  followed  fanning  eighteen 
months,  after  which  he  purchased  the 
farm  in  this  county,  upon  which  he  now 
resides.  It  is  located  in  Otter  Creek 
township,  and  comprises  340  acres.  Mr. 
Rogers  was  married  in  1844,  to  Rachel 
Vanausdall,  a  native  of  Ohio.  Eight 
children  were  born  to  them — Austin  J., 
born  in  1847,  and  died  in  1879;  Desde- 
mona,  born  in  1849,  and  died  in  1865; 
Margaret  H.,  born  in  1860,  and  died  in 
1865;  Cornelius  W.,  born  in  1854,  now 
living  at  home;  Mary  E.,  born  in  1851, 
now  the  wife  of  T.  A.  Davis,  of  Win- 
chester, 111.;  John  V.,  born  in  1857, 
living  at  home;  Teresa  C,  born  in  1863, 
now  the  wife  of  Seth  Fisk,  of  this 
county,  and  Rowena  Maud,  born  in  1865, 
living  at  home.  Mrs.  Rogers  died  in 
1879,  and  was  buried  in  the  Noble  cem- 
etery, near  Otterville.  Mr.  Rogers  is  a 
member  of  the  I.  0.  O.  F.,  and  has  for 
the  past  forty  years,  held  connec- 
tion with  the  Baptist  church.  He  is  at 
present  serving  as  township  trustee. 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


287 


Noah  T.  Rogers  settled  where  he  now 
resides,  on  section  11,  Otter  Creek  town- 
ship, in  1846.  He  is  a  son  of  Elias  P. 
and  Susanna  (Spangle)  Rogers,  and  was 
born  in  Scioto  county,  0.,  in  1824.  He 
was  married  in  1849  to  Sarah  McDaniel, 
a  native  of  Illinois.  By  this  union 
there  were  seven  children,  six  of  whom 
are  living — Sarah  A.,  William  C,  Viola 
V.,  Maria  L.,  Dora  J.,  and  Ada.  He 
owns  198}  acres  of  land.  Mrs.  Rogers 
also  owns  180  acres  in  this  county,  and 
240  acres  in  Madison  county.  Mr.  Rog- 
ers is  a  justice  of  the  peace  and  a  town- 
ship supervisor,  having  held  both  offices 
for  a  number  of  years.  He  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  I.  0.  0.  F.,  also  of  the  A.  F. 
and  A.  M. 

Hiram  White  a  farmer  of  Otter  Creek 
township,  was  born  in  Clinton  county, 
111.,  Dec.  16,  1843.  He  is  a  son  of 
Thomas  and  Rebecca  White,  who  came 
to  Jersey  county  in  1845,  and  settled  on 
section  20,  Otter  Creek  township,  where 
Hiram  White  now  lives.  Thos.  White 
died  in  1850  and  his  wife,  Rebecca  in 
1884.  Hiram  White  was  married  in 
18(58,  to  Julia  Hill,  a  native  of  Georgia. 
They  have  three  children — Nettie  De- 
light, Iva  Nellie  and  Elda  May.  Mr. 
White  served  five  months  in  the  army 
during  the  war  of  the  Rebellion,  enlist- 
ing in  the  27th  111.  Inf.  He  was  dis- 
charged for  disability  and  returned  home 
He  owns  80  acres  of  valuable  land  and 
is  engaged  in  general  farming.  He  is  a 
member  of  the  I.  O.  0.  F. 

Andrew  Spangle,  of  Otter  Creek  town- 
ship, was  born  in  Ohio  in  1818,  and  is  a 
son  of  Jacob  and  Sarah  (Johnson)  Span- 
gle, natives  of  the  same  state.  In  the 
year  1832  he  came  to  Jersey  county,  and 
settled  on  the  place  where  he  now  re- 


sides. He  has  200  acres  of  well  im- 
proved land,  and  is  engaged  in  general 
farming.  In  1846  he  was  united  in  mar- 
riage with  Susan  Hughes,  who  was  born 
in  Ohio.  They  reared  a  family  of  eight 
children — Ellen,  who  was  married  to 
Linus  Humiston,  and  died  in  1879;  Silas, 
living  in  this  township;  Louis,  at  home, 
George,  living  in  Mississippi  township; 
Julia,  at  home;  Albert,  living  in  this 
township;  Emma,  wife  of  James  Bot- 
kin,  and  Jasper,  of  English  township. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Spangle  are  members  of 
the  Baptist  church. 

Isaac  Kennedy  was  born  in  Hen- 
dricks county,  Ind.,  April  10,  1838,  his 
parents  being  Levi  and  Elizabeth 
(Smith)  Kennedy,  both  natives  of  Ken- 
tucky. Isaac  came  to  this  county  in 
1854,  and  settled  in  Quarry  township 
remaining  there  two  years.  He  then 
moved  to  Christian  county,  but  after  a 
few  months,  returned  to  Jersey  county 
and  located  in  Otter  Creek  township, 
where  he  has  since  resided.  He  was 
married  on  the  27th  day  of  May,  1850, 
to  Elizabeth  Davis,  a  native  of  Indiana. 
They  are  the  parents  of  two  children — 
Isaac  Newton,  of  Otterville,  and  Jesse, 
living  at  home.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Kennedy 
are  members  of  the  Baptist  Church. 

Louis  Albrecht  was  born  in  Germany 
in  1834,  and  is  a  son  of  Ignatius  and 
Victoria  (Tischler)  Albrecht.  both  na- 
tives of  Germany.  He  came  to  the 
United  States  in  1867,  and  located  first 
at  Memphis,  Tenn.,  where  he  remained 
six  months,  then  went  to  Iowa,  thence, 
soon  after,  to  Missouri.  Three  months 
later  he  came  to  Illinois,  and  stopped 
three  months  in  Brighton,  after  which 
he  came  to  Jersey  county,  locating  at 
Grafton,  where  he  resided  one  year.   At 


L'SS 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


the  expiration  of  that  time  he  moved  to 
a  farm  near  Grafton,  where  he  spent 
four  years,  taking  care  of  a  vineyard. 
In  1872  he  rented  a  farm  in  Otter  Creek 
township,  and  in  1876  moved  to  the 
farm  where  he  now  lives.  He  rented 
the  same  for  a  period  of  five  years,  but 
at  the  end  of  two  years  purchased  the 
place.  It  is  located  on  Sec.  34,  and 
comprises  119  acres  of  valuable  and  well 
improved  land.  He  was  married  in 
1865,  to  Elizabeth  Willmann,  a  native 
of  Germany.  Three  children  have  been 
born  to  them — John  Michael,  Joseph 
Louis,  and  Maggie  Elizabeth,  all  attend- 
ing the  district  school.  Mr.  Albrecht, 
before  coming  to  this  country,  served 
nine  years  in  the  German  army.  He 
was  also  a  conductor  on  a  railroad  in 
that  country,  and  kept  a  store  there  two 
years.  He  is  at  present  serving  as 
school  director. 

James  P.  Moss,  a  farmer  of  Otter 
Creek  township,  was  born  in  Jefferson 
county,  111.,  in  1825,  being  a  son  of  Ran- 
som and  Anna  (Johnson)  Moss,  both  of 
whom  were  native  Virginians,  and  came 
to  this  state  in  1818,  settling  in  the 
county  where  James  was  born,  near  Mt. 
Vernon.  His  father  there  died  in  1835, 
and  his  mother  still  lives  in  that  county. 
The  subject  of  this  sketch  came  to  this 
county  in  1849,  locating  first  in  Graf- 
ton, and  there  remained  one  winter.  He 
then  came  to  this  township,  and  located 
on  Sec.  25,  and  rented  a  farm,  which 
subsequently  he  purchased  and  where 
he  now  lives.  He  was  married  in  1846 
to  Martha  Brock,  a  native  of  this  county. 
By  that  union  were  nine  children,  only 
two  of  whom — Samantha  J.  and  James 
C. — are  now  living.  His  first  wife  died 
Jan.  2,  1864,  and  July  27  of  the  follow- 


ing year  he  was  married  to  Lucinda  C. 
Slaten,  a  native  of  this  county.  By  this 
marriage  were  six  children — Neenah, 
Nettie  D.,  Fannie  R.,  Ruth,  Harmon 
W.,  and  Carrie.  Mr.  Moss  takes  a  com- 
mendable interest  in  public  affairs,  and 
has  been  school  director  and  trustee. 
He  has  always  made  farming  a  business 
and  now  owns  200  acres  of  land. 

James  C.  Moss,  son  of  James  F.  and 
Martha  ( Brock)  Moss,  was  born  in  Jersey 
county  in  the  year  1858.  His  early  life 
was  spent  here  and  his  education  ob- 
tained in  the  district  schools  of  this 
neighborhood.  In  1877  he  was  united 
in  marriage  with  Alma  C.  Hinman, 
who  was  born  in  Jefferson  county,  111. 
They  are  the  parents  of  one  child — Fred- 
die, aged  two  years.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Moss  are  members  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  church,  in  which  they  take  an 
active  interest.  Mr.  Moss  is  superin- 
tendent of  the  Sunday  school  and  in  that 
capacity  is  well  liked  and  highly  useful. 

Daniel  Newberry  came  to  Jersey 
county  in  1856,  locating  then  in  Otter 
Creek  township.  He  was  born  in  New 
Jersey,  in  1806,  his  parents  being  Daniel 
and  Elizabeth  (Smallwood)  Newberry, 
both  natives  of  New  Jersey.  Daniel 
Newberry  was  married  in  1827,  to  Eliza- 
beth Jones,  a  native  of  Clermont  county, 
Ohio.  Nine  children  were  born  to  them, 
two  of  whom  are  now  living — Louisa, 
wife  of  J.  W.  Lane,  of  this  township; 
and  Hamilton  D.,  now  living  in  Mont- 
gomery county,  111..  Mr.  Newberry 
has  a  farm  of  80  acres,  and  has  always 
been  a  farmer.  Both  he  and  his  wife 
are  consistent  members  of  the  M.  E. 
church. 

Marion  McDow  was  born  in  Jersey 
county  in  the  year  1830,  and  is   a  son 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY 


289 


of  William  and  Delilah  (Waggoner) 
McDow.  The  subject  of  this  sketch  has 
spent  most  of  his  life  in  Otter  Creek 
township,  where  he  now  lives.  He  was 
married  in  1862,  to  Melissa  Rogers,  a 
native  of  Otter  Creek  township.  In 
1853  he  went  to  California,  remaining 
there  until  1861,  engaged  in  blaeksmith- 
ing.  He  then  returned  to  Jersey  county. 
He  owns  120  acres  of  land  and  town 
property,  consisting  of  a  residence  and 
five  lots.  He  has  served  as  township 
assessor,  two  terms. 

Henry  T.  Miller  was  born  in  the 
kingdom  of  Hanover,  Germany,  in  the 
year  1838,  and  is  the  son  of  Henry  and 
Charlotte  (Hincey)  Miller,  natives  of 
that  country.  The  subject  of  this 
sketch  came  to  America  in  the  year  1848, 
and  settled  in  St.  Louis,  Mo.,  where  he 
learned  the  trade  of  turner,  with  the 
firm  of  Woodburn  &  Scott,  where  he 
worked  fifteen  years.  He  then  went  to 
Calhoun  county,  111.,  and  was  a  resident 
of  that  county  five  years,  after  which  he 
moved  to  Clark  county,  Mo.  One  year 
later  he  came  to  Jersey  county  and 
settled  in  T.  7,  R.  12,  Sec.  36,  where  he 
still  lives.  He  owns  a  farm  of  80  acres 
and  carries  on  general  farming.  In 
1862,  Mr.  Miller  was  married  to  Melvina 
M.  Miller,  a  native  of  Ohio.  Four 
children  have  blessed  their  union — 
Scena,  wife  of  Phillip  Maxwell,  of 
Burden,  Kan.;  Fannie  Bell,  wife  of  Sam- 
uel S.  Leppler,  of  Burden,  Kan.;  Susie, 
wife  of  Edward  W.  Maxwell,  of  this 
township;  and  Thomas  Henry,  at  home. 
Mr.  Miller  has  been  school  director  of 
his  district  four  years.  His  father, 
Henry  Miller,  died  in  St.  Louis,  in  1874, 
and  his  mother  now  lives  in  Calhoun 
county. 


James  Shortal  is  a  native  of  Kil- 
kenny, Ireland,  born  June  15, 1815.  He 
is  a  son  of  Robert  and  Bridget  (Griffin) 
Shortal.  In  1847,  James  Shortal  emi- 
grated to  America,  landing  in  New  York 
city,  where  he  resided  12  years.  In 
March,  1865,  he  moved  to  Jersey  county, 
111.,  settling  in  Otter  Creek  town- 
ship, where  he  now  owns  a  valuable 
and  well  improved  farm,  containing  2771 
acres  of  land.  He  has  a  commodious 
and  comfortable  residence,  erected  at  a 
cost  of  $2,500.  He  began  life  without 
financial  capital,  and  has  accumulated 
his  property  unaided.  He  carries  on 
general  farming.  He  was  married,  in 
1849,  to  Mary  Sangford,  also  a  native  of 
Kilkenny,  Ireland.  Six  children  were 
born  to  them,  only  one  of  whom  is  now- 
living — Samuel,  who  resides  upon  the 
farm  with  his  father.  Bridget  was  mar- 
ried to  James  O'Neal,  who  died  in  1877. 
Sbe  died  Feb.  2,  1871),  in  Colorado. 
Robert  died  Sept.  20, 1882,  in  this  county 
Margaret  died  in  1858.  Mary  died  in 
1859,  and  Ellen  in  1861.  The  three  last 
named  are  buried  in  Bordentown,  New 
Jersey.  Mr.  Shortal  and  his  family  are 
members  of  the  Catholic  church.  He 
has  five  grandchildren  living  with  him, 
all  of  whom  attend  the  district  school. 
Edward  D.  Howard,  a  farmer  of  Otter 
Creek  township,  is  a  son  of  Beal  and 
Ann  R.  Howard,  both  natives  of  Fair- 
fax county,  Va.  They  emigrated  to  Illi- 
nois in  1829,  and  settled  at  Alton, 
where  Edward  was  born  in  1843.  When 
he  was  eight  years  old  he  removed  with 
his  parents,  to  a  farm  four  miles  north 
of  Alton,  upon  which  they  lived  until 
the  fall  of  1868.  He  then  went  to 
Montgomery  county,  and  remained  un- 
til 1875.     In  that  year  he  came  to  Otter 


Creek  township,  where  he  has  since 
resided.  In  Oct.  1882,  he  went  to  New 
Mexico,  with  the  intention  of  making 
that  his  home,  but  not  being  pleased 
with  the  country,  returned  after  a  few 
months.  He  was  married  April  9,  1868, 
to  Emma  M.  Terry,  of  this  township, 
and  by  this  union  had  five  children — 
Jasper  E.,  Thomas  Henry,  Anna,  Eva, 
and  Cartney  Leroy.  Mr.  Howard  owns 
a  good  farm  containing  150  acres,  all 
under  cultivation  and  well  improved. 
He  carries  on  general  farming.  His 
father,  Beal  Howard,  died  in  1874,  and 
his  mother  in  1861. 

Jesse  K.  Cadwalader  is  a  son  of 
John  and  Mary  (Branson)  Cadwalader. 
and  was  born  in  1846,  in  Fulton  county, 
111.  He  remained  with  his  parents,  on 
a  farm,  in  that  county  till  April,  1858, 
then  came  to  Jersey  county  and  settled 
in  Otter  Creek  township.  After  coming 
here  he  attended  one  year  (1866)  at 
ShurtlefF  college,  at  Upper  Alton,  then 
returned  to  the  farm,  on  Sec.  12,  where 
he  now  resides.  In  March,  1864,  he  en- 
listed in  the  124th  111.  Inf.,  and  served 
until  June  13,  1865.  He  participated  in 
the  siege  of  Mobile,  Ala.  In  Sept., 
1871,  was  married  to  Louisa  M.  Dough- 
erty, daughter  of  John  S.  Dougherty,  of 
Otter  Creek  township.  They  are  the 
parents  of  one  child — Mamie  D.  Mr. 
Cadwalader  owns  270  acres  of  land,  all 
of  which  is  improved  except  30  acres  of 
timber;  also,  a  residence  in  Jerseyville. 
He  makes  a  business  of  stock-raising, 
paying  particular  attention  to  short-horn 
cattle.  Mr.  Cadwalader  and  his  family 
are  members  of  the  Methodist  Episco- 
pal church.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
Masonic  fraternity,  and  has  held  the 
office  of  township  supervisor  two  years. 


John  Cadwalader  was  born  in  Harrison 
county,  Ohio,  Feb.  29,  1812,  and  died 
Nov.  24,  1880.  His  wife,  Mary  (Bran- 
son) Cadwalader,  was  born  in  1818,  and 
is  now  living  in  Jerseyville. 

Adrastus  Calhoun  came  to  Jersey 
county  in  1833,  accompanying  his 
parents,  Solomon  and  Rhoda  (Walker) 
Calhoun.  They  settled  near  the  site  of 
the  present  city  of  Jerseyville.  Solo- 
mon Calhoun  was  a  native  of  New 
Hampshire,  and  his  wife  of  Massachu- 
setts. They  remained  residents  of 
Jersey  county  until  their  death.  Solo- 
mon Calhoun  died  near  Jerseyville  in 
1869.  His  widow  survived  until  Jan., 
1882.  Both  are  buried  in  the  Jersey- 
ville cemetery.  The  subject  of  this 
sketch  was  born  in  Vermont  in  1828, 
and  was  five  years  of  age  when  he  came  to 
this  county,  which  has  ever  since  been 
his  home.  He  was  educated  in  the  pub- 
lic schools  of  this  county,  and  in  1859, 
married  to  Emeline  Moore,  who  was  born 
in  this  county.  Mr.  Calhoun  has  a  fine 
farm  ot  260  acres,  with  a  handsome  and 
commodious  residence.  He  is  engaged 
in  general  fanning.  He  is  the  present 
assessor  of  Otter  Creek  township,  and  a 
member  of  the  Masonic  fraternity.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Calhoun  have  six  children — 
Frank,  living  near  Otterville;  Charles, 
in  Belleville,  111.;  Caleb,  James, Joseph 
and  Frederick,  living  with  their  parents. 
Mr.  Calhoun  has  in  his  possession  a  gun 
which  was  carried  through  the  Revolu- 
tionary war  by  his  grandfather,  who 
was  a  soldier  in  the  British  army,  but 
who  deserted  to  join  the  colonists. 

Isaac  T.  Patton  was  born  in  Tennes- 
see in  the  year  1828,  and  is  a  son  of 
Josiah  and  Julia  (Coile)  Patton,  the  for- 
mer a  native  of  Tennessee,  and  the  lat- 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


291 


ter  of  South  Carolina.  In  1831,  the 
family  removed  to  Illinois,  and  settled 
in  Bond  county,  where  Isaac  remained 
until  1854.  In  that  year  he  came  to 
Jersey  county,  locating  there  on  the 
place  where  he  now  resides,  on  section 
34,  Otter  Creek  township.  He  owns  71 
acres  of  valuable  land,  and  is  engaged 
in  farming.  In  1850  he  was  married  to 
Jane  Wilkinson,  a  native  of  Kentucky, 
and  by  this  union,  has  seven  children — 
Sylvester,  living  in  this  township;  John, 
in  Jerseyville;  Alice,  now  married,  and 
living  in  this  township;  Nancy,  wife  of 
John  Lethler,  also  of  this  township; 
Rhoda,  Freddie  and  Lula,  living  with 
their  parents.  Mr.  Patton  and  wife  are 
members  of  the  Baptist  church,  in  which 
he  is  a  deacon.  He  has  held  the  office 
of  school  director,  and  is  a  highly 
respected  citizen. 

Thomas  W.  Anderson,  son  of  Thomas 
and  Isabel  (Barton)  Anderson,  was  born 
in  Warren  county,  Ohio,  Feb.  15,  1830. 
His  parents  were  natives  of  the  state  of 
Pennsylvania.  Thomas  W.  Anderson 
came  to  this  county  in  1852,  coming  all 
the  way  from  Ohio  on  horseback.  He 
arrived  in  Jerseyville  on  the  evening  of 
the  day  that  Franklin  Pierce  was  elected 
president  of  the  United  States.  He  set- 
tled then  in  this  township,  where  he  has 
since  resided.  He  owns  80  acres  of  well 
improved  land,  and  in  addition  to  farm- 
ing, buys  produce  which  lie  ships  to  St. 
Louis.  Mr.  Anderson  was  married  July 
25, 1861,  to  Mary  Ann  Austin,  a  native 
of  Wayne  county,  111.  Seven  children 
have  been  born  to  them,  five  of  whom 
are  living — Rebecca  Isabel,  horn  in  1N66; 
Will i;i in  Watson,  born  in  1868;  Jasper 
Newton,  born  in  1870;  Lydia  Ann,  and 
John  T.     Two  sons,  Robert  Benjamin, 


died  July  19,  1863,  and  Charles,  died 
in  1865.  Mr.  Anderson  is  a  member 
of  the  A.  F.  and  A.  M.  His  father, 
Thomas  Anderson,  died  in  1866,  and  his 
mother,  Mrs.  Isabel  Anderson,  in  1864. 

Henry  L.  Slaten  is  a  son  of  George 
W.  and  Clementine  Slaten,  the  former, 
a  native  of  Georgia,  and  the  latter,  of 
North  Carolina.  Henry  L.  was  born  in 
Jersey  county,  in  1842,  where  he  was 
reared  upon  a  farm.  In  1868  he  was 
married  to  Jane  Kulison,  also  a  native 
Jersey  county.  They  have  three  child- 
ren living — Ehnira  P.,  Rollie  R.  and 
Zettie  May.  Mr.  Slaten  owns  a  well 
cultivated  farm  comprising  120  acres. 
II is  improvements  are  of  the  best  class. 
He  is  a  member  of  the  A.  F.  &  A.  M. 
April  20,  1861,  Mr.  Slaten  enlisted  in 
the  14th  111.  Inf.,  and  served  two 
months,  then  returned  home  and  re- 
mained until  the  fall  of  the  same  year, 
when  he  again  enlisted  in  the  61st  111. 
Reg.,  and  served  until  Dec.  25,  1865. 
He  participated  in  the  battles  of  Shiloh, 
Corinth,  Vicksburg,  Little  Rock  and 
others. 

John  T.Waggoner  was  born  in  Greene 
county,  111.,  in  1850,  being  a  son  of  John 
D.  and  Phoebe  Waggoner.  His  father 
was  born  in  Kentucky,  and  his  mother 
in  this  county.  He  received  his  educa- 
tion in  the  district  schools  of  Jersey 
and  Greene  counties.  He  began  farm- 
ing at  an  early  age,  and  is  still  engaged 
in  that  business.  He  was  married  in 
the  month  of  March,  in  the  year  1878,  to 
Susie  R.  White,  daughter  of  John  L. 
White.  She  was  born  in  Greene  county. 
They  have  but  one  child — Lacy  Earl. 
At  the  last  school  election  he  was  elected 
to  fill  the  office  of  director,  in  that  dis- 
trict. 


292 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


CEMETERY. 

The  Otterville  cemetery  is  located  on 
the  northwest  quarter  of  Sec.  14,  on 
land  lying  within  the  corporation 
limits.  It  was  formerly  called  the 
Noble  cemetery,  being  on  land  belong- 
ing to  William  Noble.  The  first  inter- 
ment made  there  was  that  of  the  mortal 
remains  of  Daniel  White,  oldest  child 
of  Josiah  White,  who  died  in  the  fall  of 
1829.  This  was  also  the  first  burial  in 
the  township.  The  plot  of  Otterville 
cemetery  was  filed  for  record  May  28, 
1877. 

RELIGIOUS. 

Antioch  Baptist  church  is  located  on 
the  northeast  corner  of  the  southeast 
quarter  of  Sec.  36.  It  is  the  only  church 
in  the  township  outside  of  Otterville. 

EDUCATIONAL. 

The  first  school  taught  within  the  lim- 
its of  what  now  constitutes  Otter  Creek 
township,  was  presided  over  by  Mrs. 
Caroline  Ripson.  It  was  opened  in  the 
summer  of  1832,  in  the  cabin  built  for 
Ezra  Hurd,  who  had  died  the  fall  before. 
The  district  is  now  in  good  shape,  most 
of  the  schoolhouses  being  commodious 
and  neat  structures,  and  well  kept  up. 
An  excellent  standard  of  tutors  is  held 
and  the  teachers  are  quite  up  to  the 
mark,  in  all  respects. 

The  first  school  house  in  the  Pleasant 
Grove  district  was  erected  in  1870,  and 
was  16x20  feet  in  size.  The  first  teacher 
was  Mary  Jane  Slaten.  The  present 
building  was  put  up  in  1875.  It  is  16x24 
feet  in  size,  and  cost  $300.  The  first 
teacher  was  Alice  Hughes.  Mrs.  Kate 
B.  Owens  is  the  present  teacher. 

Grant  school  house  in  district  No.  2. 
was  erected  in  1883.    It  cost  $450.    Kate 


McKinstry  taught  the  first  term  of 
school  in  this  building. 

The  school  building  in  district  No.  3, 
known  as  Buckeye  school  house,  was 
erected  in  1880,  by  John  C.  Lewis,  con- 
tractor. The  building  is  20x36  feet  in 
size,  and  cost  $500.  The  enrollment  in 
this  school  is  35.  The  teacher  is  Ned 
Yerkes. 

Liberty  school  house,  in  district  No. 
4,  was  built  in  1885,  at  a  cost  of  $500. 
In  size  it  is  20x36  feet.  The  enrollment 
is  20. 

Shiloh  school  house  was  built  in  1872. 
It  is  a  frame  building  22x32  feet  in  size, 
and  cost  $1,200.  There  is  an  enrollment 
of  75  in  this  school,  with  an  average  at- 
tendance of  40.  S.  T.  Cannedy  is  the 
present  teacher. 

FIRST    ITEMS. 

The  first  death  was  Daniel,  son  of 
Josiah  White,  born  in  1828. 

The  first  marriage  was  that  of  Wil- 
liam McDow  and  Delilah  Waggoner,  in 
the  spring  of  1830.  The  ceremony  was 
performed  by  Rev.  Joseph  Basey,  a 
Methodist  minister,  on  the  farm  now 
owned  by  Edward  Howard. 

Josiah  White's  oldest  child,  Daniel, 
died  in  the  fall  of  1829,  and  was 
buried  in  what  was  known  as 
the  Noble  cemetery,  now  the  Otter- 
ville cemetery.  This  was  the  first  death 
in  the  township,  and  the  body  was  the 
first  interred  in  that  cemetery. 

The  first  grist  mill  in  the  county  run 
by  water  power,  was  erected  by  Gregg 
McDanel  in  1828,  and  was  located  in 
Otter  Creek  township,  on  section  7,  on 
the  south  bank  of  Otter  creek.  It  was 
built  in  1830.  A  saw  mill  had  been 
built  by  the  same  party,  in  1828,  on  the 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


293 


opposite  side  of  the  creek.  The  dam  was 
afterwards  washed  away,  and  both  mills 
went  down. 

The  first  justice  of  the  peace  was  Gil- 
bert Douglas,  Sr.,  elected  in  1824.  His 
son  is  a  resident  of  Des   Moines,  Iowa. 

The  first  constable  was  Jay  Montgom- 
ery Hurd,  elected  in  1833. 

The  first  resident  physician  was  Dr. 
Silas  Hamilton,  who  located  here  in 
1830. 

The  first  school  was  taught  by  Mrs. 
Caroline  Ripson,  in  the  summer  of 
1832. 

The  first  store  in  the  township  was 
opened  at  the  forks  of  Otter  creek,  in 
1832,  by  Woodberry  Massey,  who  met 
with  such  a  tragic  fate,  three  years  after- 
wards, at  the  Dubuque  lead  mines. 

VILLAGE  OF  OTTERVILLE. 

This  is  one  of  the  oldest  towns  in 
Jersey  county.  It  is  located  on  section 
14,  the  principal  part  being  on  the  west 
half  of  that  section.  It  was  surveyed 
and  platted  by  Geo.  I.  Foster,  county 
surveyor,  Oct.  6,  1866,  and  the  plat  was 
filed  for  record  August  14,  1867,  although 
the  place  is,  really,  many  years  older 
than  that  would  seem  to  indicate. 

Its  early  possession  of  good  educa- 
tional facilities  was  one  of  the  principal 
causes  of  the  building  up  of  the  town. 
Dr.  Silas  Hamilton,  who  died  in  Novem- 
ber, 1834,  left,  by  his  will,  $4,000  for  the 
purpose  of  education.  Of  this  sum 
$2,000  was  to  be  expended  in  the  erection 
of  a  school  building  on  a  site  which  had 
previously  been  selected  by  the  doctor 
himself.  This  building  was  to  be  large 
enough  to  be  used  for  a  place  of  worship. 
The  remaining  $2,000  was  set  apart  as 
an  endowment  fund  for  carrying  on  a 


primary  school.  Material  was  gotten 
onto  the  site  selected,  which  was  within 
the  present  limits  of  Otterville,  and  the 
executors  commenced  the  erection  of 
the  present  school  building  thereon  in 
the  summer  of  1835.  finishing  the  same 
season.  The  first  term  of  school  opened 
in  June,  1836,  and  was  sustained  in  part 
by  subscriptions,  and  partly  by  interest 
on  the  endowment  fund.  The  opening 
of  the  school  occasioned  the  settlement 
of  a  number  of  families  in  the  neighbor- 
hood to  enjoy  its  educational  advantages, 
and  this  was  the  nucleus  of  the  growth 
of  the  town. 

A  log  house  which  stood  on  what  is 
now  block  three,  was  occupied  by  a  man 
named  Chandler  previous  to  the  erection 
of  the  school  building. 

There  has  been  made  to  the  town  of 
Otterville  one  addition  since  the  laying 
out  of  the  place.  This  was  made  by 
Henry  E.  Dougherty,  and  was  surveyed 
and  platted  Aug.  14,  1867,  by  George  I. 
Foster,  county  surveyor.  The  plat  was 
recorded  in  the  office  of  the  clerk  of  the 
circuit  court,  Nov.  20,  1867. 

The  first  store  in  Otterville  was 
started  by  Joshua  Thompson,  in  1845. 
About  a  year  afterward  he  disposed  of 
it  to  Thornton  Hughes.  He  conducted 
the  business  two  years  and  then  sold  to 
B.  B.  Hamilton.  In  the  fall  of  1854  he 
sold  out  the  stock  to  William  Shephard, 
who  afterward  closed  out  the  goods. 

The  first  blacksmith  was  Thornton 
Hughes,  who  established  his  shop  about 
the  year  1846. 

A  wagon  shop  was  instituted  about 
the  same  time  by  John  D.  Waggoner, 
in  connection  with  Hughes'  blacksmith 
shop.  This  was  also  the  first  wagon 
shop  in  the  place. 


PRESENT    BUSINESS    INTERESTS. 

The  Otterville  Store  Company  com- 
menced doing  business  in  1885.  The 
business  is  managed  by  H.  L.  Giers. 
He  handles  a  general  stock  of  goods, 
comprising  dry  goods,  groceries,  hats 
and  caps,  boots  and  shoes,  queens  ware, 
glassware,  hardware,  notions,  cigars, 
tobacco,  etc.  The  building  is  of  frame 
construction,  the  main  portion  being 
24x55  feet  in  ground  area,  with  a  ware- 
house attached,  16x20  feet.  There  is 
also  an  office  room  attached,  which  is 
12x14  feet  in  size.  The  building  is  two 
stories  in  height,  the  upper  floor  being 
used  as  a  hall  by  the  Odd  Fellows  and 
Masons. 

H.  L.  Giers  is  a  son  of  Louis  and 
Louisa  (Rupp)  Giers,  natives  of  Ger- 
many, and  was  born  in  St.  Louis,  Mo., 
Oct.  28,  1851.  He  resided  with  his 
parents  in  St.  Louis,  where  he  attended 
school  until  he  was  11  years  of  age. 
At  that  time  he  came  to  Otterville, 
which  has  been  his  residence  the  greater 
portion  of  the  time  since.  He  was  for 
three  years  engaged  in  mercantile  busi- 
ness in  company  with  his  uncle,  Fred- 
erick Giers.  The  firm  then  became 
Giers  &  Barnes.  April  4,  1876,  H.  C. 
Giers  bought  the  business  of  that  firm 
and  continued  it  until  March,  1880, 
when  he  sold  out  to  L.  T.  Wagoner.  In 
January,  1883,  Mr.  Giers  rebuilt  the 
Otterville  mill,  which  he  operated 
six  months,  then  traded  the  same  to  C. 
C.  McMurphy  for  Kansas  lands,  which 
he  traded  for  a  water-power  flouring 
mill  at  East  Dubuque.  He  removed 
thither  and  engaged  in  running  the 
mill,  10  months,  when  it  was  burned.  He 
then  purchased  a  two-thirds  interest  in 
a  mill  at  Alta,  Iowa.,  where  he  lived  11 


months,  then  sold  out  and  returned  to 
Otterville  and  engaged  in  merchandising 
for  the  Otterville  Store  Company.  He 
was  united  in  marriage  June  9,  1883, 
with  Isabella  Montgomery,  of  Otter- 
ville. They  have  one  child,  Henry 
Webster,  aged  14  months.  Mr.  Giers 
held  the  office  of  postmaster  one  year 
(then  resigned)  and  assistant  postmaster 
for  eight  years.  He  was  township 
treasurer  one  year,  and  is  a  member  of 
the  A.  F.  and  A.  M. 

The  drug  store  of  Dr.  Williams  was 
established  by  him  Nov.  1,  1879.  He 
keeps  a  full  line  of  drugs  of  all  kinds, 
handles  patent  medicines,  druggists' 
sundries,  cigars,  fancy  goods,  paints, 
oils,  toilet  articles,  etc.  Prescriptions 
are  compounded  here  with  precision  and 
accuracy,  the  doctor  himself  being  a  fine 
physician,  and  his  assistant,  Mr.  Case, 
being  a  registered  pharmacist.  A  sketch 
of  Dr.  Williams  will  be  found  in  the 
Medical  chapter. 

The  wagon-making  and  general  repair 
shop  of  Lewis  White  was  established  in 
April,  1882.  The  shop  is  well  equipped 
for  doing  repairing  of  all  kinds  and  gen- 
eral blacksmithing. 

L.  T.  Waggoner,  postmaster,  is  also  a 
dealer  in  general  merchandise.  His 
building  is  a  one-story  frame,  24x70 feet 
in  size.  The  business  was  established 
by  him  in  1882.  The  postoffice  is  in  the 
same  building. 

W.  H.  Lehmkuhl,  blacksmith,  com- 
menced business  in  1878.  He  does  all 
kinds  of  general  blacksmithing,  repair 
and  wagon  work,  and  since  May,  1885, 
has  been  manufacturing  a  patent  fence, 
constructed  of  wire  and  slats,  which  is 
acquiring  considerable  popularity. 
W.  H.  Lehmkuhl  is  of  German  extrac- 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


205 


tion,  his  father,  W.  H.  Lehmkuhl,  being 
a  native  of  Germany.  His  mother, 
Elizabeth  (Grether)  Lehmkuhl, was  born 
in  Missouri.  The  subject  of  this  sketch 
was  born  in  St.  Louis  county,  Mo.,  in 
1848.  When  he  was  eight  years  of  age 
his  father  died,  after  which  he  went 
with  his  mother  to  St.  Charles,  Mo., 
where  they  remained  a  short  time,  then 
went  to  Cattleville,  Mo.,  thence,  soon 
after,  to  Grafton,  Jersey  county.  ,One 
year  later  they  removed  to  Otterville, 
where  he  still  resides.  Here  he  received 
a  fair  education,  and  at  the  age  of  16 
years  began  learning  the  blacksmith 
trade,  which  he  has  followed  the  greater 
portion  of  the  time  since.  In  186-4  he 
enlisted  in  the  144th  111.,  and  served 
until  the  close  of  the  war.  In  1870  he 
was  married  to  Elniira  Montgomery,  a 
native  of  Otterville.  They  have  three 
children —  William  Francis,  aged  14; 
John  Leo,  aged  8,  and  Preston  Mont- 
gomery, aged  5  years.  Mr.  Lehmkuhl 
was  elected  justice  of  the  peace,  hut 
resigned  after  serving  one  year.  He 
has  been  a  member  of  the  town  board 
two  terms.  He  is  the  owner  of  real 
estate,  including  residence  property  ami 
a  shop  in  Otterville. 


The  first  mill  in  Otterville  was  built 
in  1859,  by  H.  E.  Dougherty,  William 
McDow,  Ephraim  Hughes,  and  John  A. 
Campbell.  It  was  not  a  very  extensive 
establishment,  and  the  business  out- 
grew the  facilities.  A  change  was  made 
in  the  proprietorship,  H.  E.  Dougherty 
and  William  McDow  assuming  sole 
control.  Some  additions  were  made  to 
the  property,  at  the  conclusion  of  which 
Mr.  McDow  went  out  of  the  firm.      Mr. 


Dougherty  then  took  J.  M.  Terry  into 
partnership,  and  a  new  mill  was  erected. 
The  old  mill  building  was  then  used  as 
a  grain  warehouse.  The  cost  of  the 
new  plant  was  $28, IKK).  Additions  were 
subsequently  made  to  the  value  of 
£4,(KX).  The  new  mill  commenced  run- 
ning in  Aug.  1869.  Dougherty  after- 
wards assumed  exclusive  control  of  the 
mill,  which  he  ran  until  he  died.  It 
then  lay  idle  about  a  year,  and  was 
finally  sold  to  a  firm  composed  of  H. 
N.  Belt,  W.  E.  Carl  in  and  W.  H.  H. 
West.  The  business  was  conducted 
underthis  proprietorship  for  a  time,  and 
was  then  sold  to  B.  F.  Waggoner.  He 
ran  it  until  it  burned  down,  in  1879. 
The  property  was  insured  for  about  all 
that  it  was  then  worth.  A  temporary 
structure  in  which  to  continue  opera- 
tions was  soon  erected,  by  Humiston  & 
Co.,  who  afterwards  sold  it  to  a  firm 
from  Kansas,  named  Lee  &  Schofield, 
under  whose  management  it  again  fur- 
nished food  for  the  flames.  The  boilers 
still  remain  on  the  site  of  the  ruined 
mill,  they  now  belonging  to  Mr.  Hu- 
miston. 

Otterville  has  a  feed  mill  run  by 
steam.  It  was  put  up  in  1882,  by  A. 
H.  Humiston,  and  does  all  kinds  of 
custom  grinding.  Mr.  Humiston  also 
keeps  in  stock  feed  and  meal  of  all 
kinds,  which  he  handles  in  large  and 
small  quantities. 

Arthur  H.  Humiston,  son  of  Warren 
and  Elizabeth  (Starlin)  Humiston,  was 
born  in  Washington  county,  0.,  in  1856. 
When  he  was  six  months  old  his 
parents  removed  to  Jersey  county,  111., 
and  settled  in  Otter  Creek  township, 
where  he  has  resided  most  of  the  time 
since.     During  his  early  life  he  worked 


296 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


this  county,  he  lived  on  his  father's 
farm,  near  Otterville,  four  years,  then 
came  to  the  village,  where  he  has  ever 
since  resided.  In  1849  he  became  a 
christian,  making  a  public  profession  of 
religion.  In  1852,  after  fully  preparing 
himself,  he  commenced  preaching  the 
gospel.  In  1854  he  was  ordained  a 
minister  of  the  Baptist  church,  known 
as  the  Missionary  Baptist,  and  has  con- 
tinued to  preach  since  that  time.  In 
1842  he  was  married  to  Margaret  M. 
Biggers,  a  native  of  Kentucky.  By  this 
union  there  have  been  six  children — 
Francis  M.,  now  living  in  Jerseyville; 
Melvina,  wife  of  Uriah  Oberlin,  of  tins 
township;  Theodore,  living  in  Jersey- 
ville; Junius  A.,  of  East  St.  Louis; 
Mary  Belle,  wife  of  George  Hocking,  of 
Jacksonville,  111.;  Sarah  M.,  wife  of 
William  D.  Curtis,  of  Abilene,  Kan.; 
Mrs.  Dodson  died  Feb.  20,  1857.  The 
same  year,  Mr.  Dodson  was  again  mar- 
ried to  Mrs.  Nancy  Montgomery,  widow 
of  William  D.  Montgomery,  of  Otter- 
ville. By  this  marriage  there  are  four 
children — James  F.,  living  in  Abilene, 
Kan.;  Aaron,  Jr.,  at  Mendota,  111.; 
Irena,  wife  of  Edgar  Nutt,  of  Abilene, 
Kan.;  and  Kersey,  living  with  his  par- 
ents. The  second  Mrs.  Dodson  died  in 
1878.  Four  years  later  he  was  married 
to  Amy  Irene  Greer,  by  whom  he  has 
one  child —  Jennie  M.  Mr.  Dodson 
served  in  the  army  three  years  during 
the  war  of  the  Rebellion,  enlisting  in 
1862,  in  the  14th  111.  Cav.,  in  which  he 
acted  as  chaplain  during^the  last  six 
months  of  his  service.  He  saw  much 
active  service,  and  participated  in  many 
engagements.  In  the  fall  of  1865  he 
was  elected  justice  of  the  peace  of  this 
township,    in    which    capacity    he    has 


upon  his  father's  farm  and  attended  the 
district  school.  In  1873,  he  attended 
the  graded  school  at  Jerseyville  for  a 
term  of  five  months.  He  then  returned 
to  Otter  Creek  and  engaged  in  running 
a  derrick  used  in  erecting  stone  build- 
ings. He  assisted  in  building  the  school 
houses  at  Otterville  and  Grafton.  After 
a  time  he  located  on  a  farm  near  Otter- 
ville, where  he  remained  till  the  spring 
of  1882,  at  which  time  he  returned  to 
the  village,  and  built  the  mill  of  the 
Jersey  Milling  Company.  After  carry- 
ing on  that  business  a  few  months  he 
sold  his  interest  in  the  business,  and 
the  following  spring  moved  to  Kansas, 
and  engaged  in  the  drug  business  at 
Abilene,  having  as  a  partner,  Dr.  Curtis. 
Nine  months  later  he  sold  out  and  came 
back  to  Otterville.  In  Dec,  1883,  he 
built  and  fitted  up  a  steam  feed  mill, 
which  he  operates  at  the  present  time. 
He  was  married  June  2,  1885,  to  Sarah 
Gulick,  a  native  of  Macoupin  county, 
111.  He  is  the  owner  of  real  estate,  in- 
cluding four  lots  and  mill  property  in 
Otterville.  Mr.  Humiston  is  a  member 
of  the  Methodist  church,  and  his  wife, 
of  the  Presbyterian  Church. 

Rev.  Aaron  Dodson  has  been  a  resi- 
dent of  Jersey  county  since  1840,  having 
removed  here  from  Greene  county  with 
his  parents,  in  that  year.  He  was  born 
in  St.  Louis  county,  Mo.,  Sept.  29, 
1822,  and  is  a  son  of  Fletcher  A.  and 
Margaret  (Toney)  Dodson,  the  former  a 
native  of  Kentucky,  and  the  latter  of 
Virginia.  In  1824,  they  settled  on  a 
farm  in  Greene  county,  111.,  near  where 
the  town  of  Kane  now  stands.  Aaron 
grew  to  manhood  on  the  farm,  and 
attended  the  district  school,  thus  obtain- 
ing a  fair  education.      After  coming  to 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


297 


served  until  the  present  time,  except 
one  year,  and  that  year  he  served  as 
assessor.  He  owns  40  acres  of  land, 
also  town  property.  As  a  preacher  Mr. 
Dodson  is  possessed  of  much  zeal  and 
ability,  and  has  been  successful  in  bring- 
ing many  to  a  knowledge  of  salvation. 
His  father  was  also  a  Baptist  minister 
and  school  teacher  over  40  years,  30  of 
which  was  spent  in  Missouri,  and  died 
in  1873. 

John  B.  Carroll,  son  of  Andrew  and 
Jane  (  Patton  )  Carroll,  was  born  in  Bond 
county,  111.,  in  the  year  1S44,  An- 
drew Carroll  died  in  1846.  His  widow 
is  now  living  in  Otterville.  John  B. 
was  brought  to  this  county  when  quite 
young,  and  here  reared,  receiving  his 
education  in  the  district  schools.  Feb. 
4,  1864,  he  enlisted  in  the  149th  111. 
Inf.,  Co.  G,  and  served  one  year.  He 
was  united  in  marriage  Dec.  7,  1875, 
with  Anna  M.  Porter,  a  native  of  Jer- 
sey county.  She  was  brought  up  by 
Rev.  James  Slaten,  of  Mississippi 
township.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Carroll  are 
the  parents  of  two  children — Achsah 
and  Beulah.  Mr.  Carroll  has  been  con- 
stable four  years,  and  still  holds  that 
office.  He  is  a  member  of  the  G.  A.  R. 
He  carries  on,  in  the  capacity  of  con- 
stable, quite  an  extensive  collection 
business,  also  engages  in  loan  and  real 
estate  business,  having  a  large  amount 
of  land  upon  his  list.  Mrs.  Carroll  is 
a  member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
church. 

Allen  M.  Yanausdall,  a  carpenter  and 
k  resident  of  Otter  Creek  township,  is 
among  the  old  settlers,  having  lived 
here  most  of  his  life.  He  was  born  in 
Monroe  county,  this  state,  Aug.  4,  1839, 
and  is  a  son  of  John  and   Mary  (Pegan) 


Yanausdall,  the  former  a  native  of 
Pennsylvania,  and  the  latter  of  Yir- 
ginia.  These  people  were  pioneers  and 
came  down  the  Ohio  river  on  a  flat  boat 
in  1812,  settling  near  Yincennes,  Ind. 
They  were  also  early  settlers  in  this 
state,  locating  near  Waterloo,  Monroe 
county,  as  early  as  1824.  Thus  they 
were  among  the  early  settlers  in  two 
states,  and  contributed  their  full  share 
toward  "opening  up"  a  new  country, 
and  setting  in  motion  a  series  of  events, 
which  subsequently  made  this  a  desir- 
able home  for  many  people.  They 
continued  to  live  near  Waterloo  until 
1846,  when  they  removed  to  Rosedale 
township,  Jersey  county,  and  remained 
four  years,  then  came  to  this  township 
where  they  both  di<?d.  His  father  was 
born  March  29,  1785,  and  died  Nov.  6, 
1S65,  in  the  80th  year  of  his  age.  His 
mother  died  April  7,  1872,  at  the  age  of 
76.  The  subject  of  this  sketch  here 
spent  his  youth  engaging  in  the  mul- 
tifarious duties  incident  to  farm  life, 
and  attending  school  until  19  years  old. 
Subsequently  he  owned  a  farm  of 
80  acres  and  engaged  in  farming  until  25 
years  of  age,  then  came  to  Otterville 
and  worked  at  the  carpenter's  trade 
with  Michael  Murray,  and  has  since 
been  engaged  in  that  business.  He  was 
married  May  6,  1860,  to  Agnes  Ann 
Hillman,  a  native  of  Iowa.  They  have 
five  children  living — Rose,  at  home; 
Mattie,  Lillie,  Millie  and  Ebert  Syl- 
vester. He  is  a  member  of  the  I.  O. 
O.  F. 

Charles  F.  Bull  has  been  a  resident  of 
Jersey  county  since  1862,  having  come 
here  in  May  of  that  year  and  settled 
near  Grafton,  on  the  Illinois  river  bot- 
tom.    He    remained  there   until    1868, 


298 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


when  he  moved  to  Otterville.     He  was 

horn  in  Worcester,  Mass..  in  1845.  He 
is  a  son  of  Horace  C.  and  Sarah  R. 
(Baker)  Bull,  the  former  born  at  West- 
field,  Vt.,  and  the  latter  at  Brattleboro, 
in  the  same  state.  Charles  lived  with 
his  parents  in  the  states  of  Connecticut 
and  Massachusetts  until  he  was  seven 
years  old.  They  then  moved  to  Cleve- 
land, Ohio,  and  two  years  later  to  Belle- 
ville, 111.,  where  they  remained  a  few 
months,  then  moved  to  St.  Louis.  They 
resided  in  that  city  two  years,  removing 
in  1857  to  St.  Charles  county,  Mo.  In 
the  fall  of  1861  they  moved  to  Calhoun 
county,  111.,  and  the  following  spring  to 
Jersey  county,  as  before  stated.  In  1864 
Charles  enlisted  in  the  144th  111.  Inf., 
and  served  one  ye!lr.  His  father  was 
also  in  the  army,  serving  three  years  as 
a  member  of  Co.  K,  of  the  97th  111.  Inf. 
Charles  was  married  April  10,  1883,  in 
Fairfield,  Ohio,  to  Mary  C.  Martin. 
They  are  the  parents  of  one  child,  Sarah 
Roxana.  In  1874  Mr.  Bull  went  to 
Clay  county,  Neb.,  and  took  a  home- 
stead of  160  acres,  and  remained  there, 
teaching  most  of  the  time  till  1879.  He 
then  went  to  Lebanon,  Ohio,  and  at- 
tended the  National  Normal  University 
until  the  fall  of  1882.  The  following 
winter  he  spent  in  the  southern  states, 
Georgia,  Alabama,  and  Tennessee,  re- 
turning to  Ohio  in  the  spring.  After 
marriage  he  went  south  to  Tennessee 
and  remained  until  August,  1883,  when 
he  returned  to  Jersey  county.  During 
the  winter  of  1883-4  he  taught  school  at 
Elsah,  and  the  next  winter  at  Black- 
jack school  house,  south  of  Jerseyville. 
In  April,  1885,  he  came  to  Otterville, 
where  he  at  present  resides.  He  owns 
a  house  and  two  lots  in  Otterville.     He 


is  a  teacher  by  profession,  for  which  he 
is  well  fitted  both  by  nature  and  educa- 
tion and  in  which  he  is  popular  and 
successful.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
Cumberland  Presbyterian  church,  with 
which  he  united  in  1869.  His  wife  holds 
connection  with  the  Protestant  Method- 
ist church.  He  has  always  been  an 
earnest  advocate  of  the  cause  of  temper- 
ance and  is  a  member  of  the  I.  0.  G.  T. 
He  belongs  also  to  the  A.  F.  &  A.  M., 
I.  0.  0.  F.,  and  the  G.  A.  R.  He  has 
traveled  considerably  in  Texas,  the  In- 
dian Territory,  and  several  states.  He 
has  learned  two  good  trades,  hence  will 
always  be  able  to  make  a  good  living. 

Silas  W.  Rogers  of  Otterville,  is  a  son 
of  William  and  Elizabeth  (Hamilton) 
Rogers,  and  was  born  near  this  town  in 
1849.  He  was  brought  up  on  a  farm  and 
educated  in  the  public  schools  of  Otter- 
ville. When  16  years  of  age  he  entered 
the  store  of  John  A.  Campbell,  with 
whom  he  continued  six  years.  He  then 
went  into  business  for  himself,  which 
he  carried  on  until  May  25,  1885.  He 
was  married  in  the  year  1871,  to  Hattie 
McKinstry,  a  native  of  Jersey  county. 
They  are  the  parents  of  three  children 
— Eddie,  Flora  and  John.  Mr.  Rogers 
was  postmaster  of  Otterville  six  years 
and  served  two  terms  upon  the  board  of 
supervisors,  immediately  after  township 
organization.  He  is  at  present  town- 
ship treasurer  and  treasurer  of  the 
Hamilton  fund.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
Masonic  fraternity,  also  of  the  I.  0. 
O.  F.  lodge  at  Otterville,  of  which  he 
was  the  first  member  initiated.  Mrs. 
Rogers  is  a  member  of  the  Baptist 
church.  While  in  business  here,  Mr 
Rogers  won  the  respect  and  esteem  of  a 
large  number  of  friends  and  patrons. 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


99 


Isaac  Newton  Kennedy  was  born  in 
Otter  Creek  township,  Jersey  county,  in 
the  year  1859.  His  parents,  Isaac  and 
Elizabeth  I  Davis)  Kennedy  are  still 
Living  in  the  township.  Both  are  na- 
tives of  Indiana.  Isaac  attended  school 
until  17  years  of  age,  thus  obtaining  a 
fair  education.  He  then  followed  farm- 
ing three  years.  At  the  expiration  of 
that  period,  he  went  to  Macoupin  county 
and  engaged  in  clerking  in  a  store  at 
Chesterfield.  He  continued  thus  em- 
ployed till  Jan.  1883,  at  which  time  he 
returned  to  Otterville  entering  the 
store  of  S.  W.  Rogers,  for  whom  he 
clerked  until  -May,  1885,  when  Mr.  Rog- 
ers sold  out  his  business.  Mr.  Ken- 
nedy was  married  Sept.  2,  1884,  to  Mary 
C.  Hall,  of  Chesterfield,  Macoupin 
c.muty,  111.  He  is  at  present  serving 
as  township  collector.  He  is  a  member 
of  the  I.  0.  0.  F.,  in  which  he  now 
holds  the  office  of  N.  G.,  being  re- 
elected to  the  same. 

Linus  Humiston,  of  Otter  Creek  town- 
ship, is  a  son  of  Jason  and  Margaret 
(McNeal)  Humiston,  the  former  a  na- 
tive of  Wallingford,  Conn.,  and  the  lat- 
ter, of  Morgan  town,  W.  Va.  Linus  was 
born  in  Washington  county,  <>.,  in  1825. 
He  remained  in  that  county  until  21 
years  of  age,  engaged  in  farming  and 
carpentering.  He  obtained  a  good  edu- 
cation in  the  public  schools,  and  taught 
school  one  term  of  four  months,  in  Ohio. 
In  Sept.,  1847,  he  came  to  Jersey  coun- 
ty and  settled  in  Otterville,  where  he 
has  ever  since  resided.  He  has  follow- 
ed teaching  school  and  carpentering. 
He  was  employed  about  10  years  as 
teacher  of  the  Otterville  school.  In 
Feb.,  1864,  he  enlisted  in  the  124th  111. 
Inf.,    and    served    till   July   17,    1865, 


when  he  was  transferred  to  the  33d  111. 
Reg.,  and  was  mustered  out  Dec  6. 
1SC>").  He  participated  in  the  following 
battles:  Benton,  Yazoo  City,  Clinton, 
Jackson  Cross  Roads,  Miss.,  and  Span- 
ish Fort,  Ala.  Mr.  Humiston  was  mar- 
ried in  1873,  to  Ellen  Spangle,  a  native 
of  this  county,  and  daughter  of  Andrew 
Spangle,  of  this  township.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Humiston  have  two  children — 
Andrew  Jason  and  Luther  Burton. 
Jason  Humiston,  father  of  the  subject 
of  this  sketch,  died  in  Ohio,  Nov.  20, 
1854,  and  his  wife,  Margaret,  March 
31,  1849,  in  the  same  state. 

Horace  K.  Barber  is  a  native  of  the 
"Green  Mountain  State,"  born  in  Wind- 
ham county  in  1829,  being  a  son  of  Calvin 
and  Polly  B.  (Hall)  Barber.  In  1852 
he  came  to  Jersey  county  and  settled  in 
Jerseyville,  where  he  resided  till  1870. 
In  that  year  he  moved  to  Otterville, 
which  has  since  been  his  home.  He 
has  followed  the  occupations  of  carpen- 
tering, coopering  and  brickmaking.  In 
1849  he  was  united  in  marriage  with 
Martha  E.  Reed,  also  a  native  of  Ver- 
mont. They  are  the  parents  of  seven 
children — Francis  Elliott,  who  died  May 
11,  1858,  aged  eight  years;  George 
Horace,  born  Aug.  6,  1851,  now  living 
in  Edgar,  Neb.:  Arthur,  who  died  March 
18,  bS54,  aged  eleven  months;  John 
A.,  born  Oct.  24,  1855,  now  living  in 
Carthage,  Mo.;  Frederick  Eugene,  who 
died  in  1876,  aged  18  years;  Lula  Winnie, 
who  died  in  1872,  aged  eight  years,  and 
Desdemona,  who  also  died  in  1872,  at 
the  age  of  six  years.  Mr.  Barber  enlisted 
in  1861,  in  the  14th  111.  Regt.,  and 
served  as  a  musician  in  Co.  F,  one  year. 
He  was  mustered  out  at  Corinth,  Miss., 
in  June,  1862.     In  Feb.   1865,  he  again 


300 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


enlisted  in  the  154th  111.  Inf.,  and  served 
seven  months  as  commissary-sergeant. 
Mr.  Barber  is  a  thorough  musician  and 
a  band  teacher. 

Thomas  A.  Case,  of  Otterville,  is  a 
son  of  John  B.  and  Ann  (Ross)  Case,  and 
was  bom  in  the  town  where  he  now  re- 
sides, Oct.  3,  1856.  He  attended  the 
graded  schools  of  Otterville  and  later,  a 
private  school,  thus  obtaining  a  good 
education,  and  at  the  age  of  20  years, 
began  teaching  in  a  district  school, 
which  he  continued  five  terms.  Since 
1880  he  has  clerked  in  the  drug  store  of 
Dr.  John  Williams,  during  the  sum- 
mer months,  and  followed  teaching  dur- 
ing the  winter.  In  1882  he  was  elected 
collector  of  Otter  Creek  township,  and 
filled  that  office  one  term.  He  is  a 
member  of  the  I.  0.  O.  F.,  in  which  he 
is  P.  G. 

SOCIETIES. 

Otterville  lodge,  No.  456,  I.  O.  O.  F., 
was  organized  on  the  10th  day  of  Oct., 
1871,  by  T.  B.  Needles,  G.  M.,  and  N. 
('.  Nason,  G.  S.,  with  the  following 
charter  members  :  Albert  Livingston, 
Jesse  Cockrell,  L.  H.  Palmer,  James  C. 
Buckles,  E.  N.  Yale,  John  Cooley, 
Richard  Chappell,  Joseph  Chambers  and 
Joseph  Marshaw.  The  first  officers 
were:  Albert  Livingston,  N.  G.;  Jesse 
Cockrell,  V.  G.;  John  Cooley,  R.  S.; 
Richard  Chappell,  Treas.  Since  then 
the  presiding  officers  have  been  as  fol- 
lows :  Jesse  Cockrell,  N.  T.  Rogers, 
James  C.  Buckles,  E.  J.  Hughes,  J.  C. 
Noble,  J.  E.  Hurd,  John  S.  Williams, 
H.  K.  Barber,  S.  W.  Rogers,  W.  H. 
Lehmkuhl,  J.  S.  Turner,  William  II. 
Cook,  W.  C.  Rogers,  A.  J.  Milford,  W. 
H.  Lehmkuhl,  J.  S.  Williams,  W.  A. 
Smith,   J.   A.   Flautt,   Vincent  Martin, 


S.  Hamilton,  Thomas  A.  Case,  Geo.  W. 
White,  J.  N.  Kennedy.  The  present 
officers  are  the  following  :  J.  N.  Ken- 
nedy, N.  G.;  W.  H.  Lehmkuhl  ,V.  G  .; 
Thomas  A.  Case,  S.;  W.  C.  Rogers, 
treasurer.  The  membership  of  the  lodge 
is  40  at  this  writing.  A  commendable 
degree  of  interest  is  manifested  by  the 
members,  and  the  lodge  may  be  said  to 
be  in  good  condition,  financially  and 
otherwise.  The  lodge  meets  every  Sat- 
urday evening. 

Otterville  lodge  No.  563,  A.  F.  &  A. 
M.,  was  organized  in  1868,  with  the  fol- 
lowing charter  members:  William  J. 
Hull,  O.  B.  Hamilton,  John  Lincogle, 
Rev.  Daniel  Bell,  William  Bell,  Lewis 
White  and  F.  A.  Claridge.  The  hall  in 
which  the  lodge  met  was  burned  in 
1881,  with  all  the  records,  so  that  little 
of  the  data  of  its  earlier  history  is  ob- 
tainable. The  lodge  was  re-organized 
Dec.  3,  1881,  with  the  following  officers: 
J.  C.  Noble,  W.  M.;  H.C.Terry,  S.  W.; 
L.  H.  Slaten,  J.  W.;  N.  T.  Rodgers,  S. 
D.;  J.  K.  Cadwallader,  J.  D.;  J.  F. 
Curtis,  secretary;  A.  Swantzmiller, 
tyler.  The  officers  for  1885  are:  J. 
K.  Cadwallader,  W.  M.;  J.  S.  Williams, 
8.  W.;  J.  A.  Flautt,  J.  W.;  J.  C.  Noble, 
Treas.;  S.  W.  Rodgers,  Sec.  The  pres- 
ent membership  is  now  28.  The  finan- 
cial condition  of  the  lodge  is  most  ex- 
cellent. Meetings  are  held  once  a 
month. 

BAND. 

Barber's  cornet  band  was  organized  on 
the  4th  day  of  Dec,  18S0,  by  H.  K.  Bar- 
ber, with  the  following  members  :  R. 
S.  Bell,  J.  A.  Barber,  Charles  W.  Noble, 
George  W.  Noble,  L.  T.  Waggoner,  and 
H.  K.  Barber.  Since  then  there  have 
been    some    changes    in     membership, 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


301 


though  the  number  remains  the  same. 
The  band  at  present  contains  the  follow- 
ing new  members  :  T.  Herman  Kirch- 
ner,  Caleb  C.  Calhoun,  W.  C.  Rogers. 
This  band  has  held  regular  meetings  for 
over  four  years,  and  under  the  efficient 
leadership  of  H.  K.  Barber,  who  is  also 
instructor,  they  have  made  good  prog- 
ress and  are  now  able  to  furnish  good 
music  when  called  upon. 

EDUCATIONAL. 

The  present  school  house  of  Otter- 
ville  was  built  in  1873  and  1874.  The 
building  in  size  is  28x66  feet  in  the  main 
portion,  with  an  annex  18x20.  It  is 
(•(instructed  of  stone,  is  two  stories  high, 
and  cost  $S,(HX).  The  first  term  of 
school  in  this  building  was  taught  by 
Mrs.    Hannah    H.    Devol   and    Frances 


Dibble.  The  school  year  consists  .if 
eight  months.  There  are  106  pupils  en- 
rolled, and  the  cost  of  maintaining  this 
institution  of  learning  is  $1,000  per 
year.  The  present  teachers  are  Will 
Hanly  and  Elizabeth  Godfrey. 

RELIGIOUS. 

The  Otterville  Presbyterian  church 
was  organized  March  19,  1885,  with  ten 
members. 

The  Otter  Creek  Baptist  church  was 
organized  in  June,  1855,  by  Revs.  B.  B. 
Hamilton,  D.  P.  French,  R.  C.  Keele, 
Aaron  Dodson,  and  Elder  John   Brown. 

Shiloh  M.  E.  church  was  built  in  IS.")',). 

A  full  history  of  these  religious  bod- 
ies is  given  in  the  chapter  devoted  to 
ecclesiastical  history. 


CHAPTER    XIX. 


QUARRY  TOWNSHIP. 


This  civil  sub-division  of  Jersey 
county  embraces  congressional  fractional 
T.  6  n.,  R,  12  and  13  w.,  and  is 
bounded  on  the  north  by  Rosedale  and 
Otter  Creek  townships,  on  the  east  by 
Elsah,  and  on  the  south  and  west  by  the 
Illinois  and  Mississippi  rivers.  This 
township  is  perhaps  most  worthy  of 
notice  on  account  of  the  outcropping  of 
the  Niagara  group  of  the  Lower  Silurian 
limestone,  which  is  quarried  so  exten- 
sively here,  and  which  gives  to  the  town- 
ship its  name  of  Quarry.  There  is  some 
good  farm  land  in  the  township,  but  the 
surface   of    the   country  is  generally  so 


rugged  and  uneven  that  a  large  part  of 
it  must  remain  untried  by  the  hand  and 
implements  of  the  agriculturist.  The 
town  of  Grafton,  in  the  south  part  of  the 
township,  which  stretches  along  the 
north  bank  of  the  Mississippi  river,  near 
the  mouth  of  the  Illinois,  affords  an 
excellent  trading  place,  as  well  as  post- 
office  facilities  to  the  citizens  of  the 
township.  There  are  several  small 
streams  running  through  the  township, 
flowing  into  the  Illinois  and  Mississippi 
rivers.  Long  lake  and  Deep  lake  pro- 
ject into  this  township  from  Rosedale, 
on  Sec.  5,  R.  13.     Gilbert  lake  lies  right 


302 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUIS  TY. 


alongside  the  Illinois  river,  on  Sees.  14 
and  15,  R.  13. 

Many  interesting  historical  items  have 
their  origin  in  this  township,  which  are 
duly  noticed  further  on  in  this  chapter, 
or  in  their  proper  place  in  the  general 
chapters. 

George  Finney  located  near  the  Illi- 
nois river,  in  the  south  part  of  what  is 
now  Quarry  township,  in  1819.  He  had 
been  a  soldier  in  the  regular  army,  and 
after  his  discharge,  in  St.  Louis,  came 
up.  and  made  the  settlement  mentioned. 
In  the  latter  part  of  the  year  1826,  he 
entered  land  on  Sec.  15,  T.  6,  R.  13,  and 
on  Sec.  8,  T.  6,  R.  12. 

Sanford  Hughes  also  located  in  what 
is  now  Quarry  township,  in  1819.  He 
had  been  a  companion-in-arms  of  Geo. 
Finney,  and  on  their  discharge,  at  St. 
Louis,  had  come  up,  and  located  on  the 
Illinois  river  bottom  land. 

David  Gilbert  and  John  Stafford  were 
also  settlers  of  1819,  locating,  with  their 
former  comrades  of  the  regular  service, 
Finney  and  Hughes,  on  the  bottom  land 
of  the  Illinois  river,  in  what  is  now 
Quarry  township. 

A  man  named  Babcock  settled  in  the 
southeastern  corner  of  what  is  now 
Quarry  township,  about  1819.  He  had 
been  a  soldier  in  the  war  of  1812.  Babb's 
Hollow  took  its  name  from  him.  Bab- 
cock died  at  this  place. 

A  man  named  Copeland  also  came  up 
with  the  four  mentioned,  and  settled  in 
the  south  part  of  Quarry  township.  He 
had  also  been  a  soldier  in  the  United 
States  service. 

William  D.  F.  Slaten  was  a  settler  of 
1829,  coming  in  March  of  that  year. 

William  D.  F.  Slaten,  one  of  the  ear- 
liest settlers  of  Jersey  county,  was  born 


in  Jackson  county,  Ga.,  in  1808.  He 
came  to  Illinois  in  1822,  locating  four 
miles  southwest  of  ( larrollton,  in  Greene 
county.  Seven  years  later  he  moved  to 
Quarry  township,  Jersey  county,  living 
here  until  1831,  when  he  returned  to 
Greene  county,  and  remained  two  years, 
then  moved  back  to  Quarry  township, 
and  after  two  years  (in  1835)  again  re- 
turned to  Greene  county.  In  1836  he 
came  back  to  Jersey  county,  where  he 
has  since  resided.  He  first  settled  on  a 
farm  in  Quarry  township,  but  remained 
there  only  a  short  time,  moving  to 
Grafton  the  same  year.  He  lived  at 
Grafton  about  six  years,  during  which 
time  he  held  the  offices  of  constable, 
collector  and  deputy  sheriff.  In  1842 
he  moved  to  section  36  of  Otter  Creek 
township,  where  he  lived  until  1848. 
In  the  fall  of  that  year  he  returned  to 
Grafton,  and  was  there  partner  in  a  gen- 
eral mercantile  business,  one  year. 
Then  he  removed  to  a  farm  two  miles 
northeast  of  Grafton,  which  was  his 
home  until  1852.  In  that  year  he  moved 
to  section  1,  Quarry  township,  remain- 
ing here  two  years,  then  again  returned 
to  Grafton,  but  soon  after  returned  to 
his  farm  on  section  1,  where  he  now 
resides.  He  was  married  in  Aug.,  1831, 
to  Irene  West,  born  in  Kentucky  in 
1817.  They  have  had  13  children  born 
to  them,  nine  of  whom  are  now  living. 
Mr.  Slaten  was  for  many  years  a  prom- 
inent and  leading  citizen  ofthis  county, 
and  is  now  held  in  much  esteem. 

Woodberry  Massey  settled  on  the 
present  site  of  Grafton  about  1830.  He 
afterwards  moved  to  Otter  Creek,  and 
opened  a  store. 

Nicholas  Kesling  came  to  what  is  now 
Quarry    township    in    1832.      He    was 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


;;'):: 


probably  the  first  German  settler  in  the 
township. 

Among  other  early  settlers  were  also, 
George  Pixley,  Joseph  Marshall,  Judah 
Warner  and  Joseph  Marsha  vv. 

OTHER    PROMINENT     PEOPLE. 

A.  N.  Thoromanisa  son  of  James  and 
Sophia  Thoroman,  and  was  born  in 
Ohio,  in  1848.  When  a  child  of  four 
years  he  was  brought  to  Jersey  county 
by  Thomas  Wedding,  who  settled  at 
Rosedale.  He  remained  with  Mr. 
Wedding  until  24  years  of  age,  working 
upon  a  farm.  In  1868  he  was  married 
to  Harriet  Richardson,  a  native  of  this 
county.  She  died  in  1869.  Jan.  25, 
1873,  he  was  married  to  Laura  F.  Brown, 
daughter  of  William  S.  and  Amanda 
Brown.  They  have  four  children — Al- 
pheus  \\\,  born  May  12,  1874;  Ollie, 
born  March  1,  1875;  Ruth  A.,  born  Feb. 
24,  1879;  Mamie,  born  J.uly  29, 1882,  and 
died  Oct.  6,  1883;  and  Spalding  M., 
born  April  24,  1885.  Mamie  is  buried 
in  Hartford  cemetery.  Mr.  Thoroman 
owns  40  acres  of  land,  and  carries  on 
general  farming.  He  is  a  member  of 
the  Christian  church,  and  his  wife  of 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  church. 

Seth  Burris,  an  enterprising  farmer  of 
Jersey  county,  came  here  in  1856,  and 
settled  on  Coon  creek,  where  he  lived 
four  years.  He  then  removed  to  his 
present  location,  on  section  2,  Quarry 
township.  He  owns  a  valuable  and  well 
improved  farm,  comprising  120  acres, 
55  of  which  is  improved,  and  65  wood- 
land. Seth  Burris  was  born  in  the  state 
of  Kentucky  in  1827,  and  is  a  son  of  Job 
and  Sarah  (Hendricks)  Burris,  both  of 
whom  died  in  Madison  county,  111.  He 
was  married,  Oct.  24,   1850,   to    Rhoda 


Whitlock,  a  native  of  Jersey  county. 
Five  of  their  children  are  living — Ben- 
jamin, who  lives  in  Kansas;  John,  in 
Minnesota;  Margaret  E.,  wife  of  Henry 
A.  Kruger,  of  York,  Neb.;  Henry 
Grantus,  married,  and  living  at  York, 
Neb.;  and  Charles  Perry,  livingat  home. 
Mrs.  Burris  died  in  in  1S77,  and  mi  the 
16th  of  October,  1878,  Mr.  Burris  was 
married  to  Sarah  Jane  Keyser,  a  native 
of  Kentucky.  Mr.  Burris  opposes  the 
manufacture  and  sale  of  liquors,  oleo- 
margarine, butterine,  glucose,  and  all 
such  articles,  and  always  votes  against 
such  when  the  opportunity  offers. 

Spalding  E.  Brown  came  to  Jersey 
county  when  cpuite  young,  accompany- 
ing his  parents,  William  S.  and  Amanda 
(Durandj  Brown.  They  settled  at 
Grafton.  Spalding  E.  Brown  was  born 
in  DuPage  county,  111.,  in  1849.  He 
received  a  good  education,  attending 
the  district  schools  of  Grafton,  and  later 
a  select  school  taught  by  Prof.  Atchison, 
of  Chicago,  under  whose  tuition  he  con- 
tinued six  months.  lie  afterwards  at- 
tended another  select  school  at  Fideli- 
ty, fully  preparing  himself  for  the  im- 
portant work  of  teaching,  which  he  be- 
gan at  Deer  Plain,  Calhoun  county,  111., 
teaching  there  two  terms  of  six  months 
each.  Since  then  lie  has  taught  one 
term  at  Union  school;  the  same  at 
Snow  school  house,  during  which  the 
building  was  destroyed  by  fire,  in  the 
middle  of  the  six  months  term;  one 
term  at  Teneriffe  school;  the  same  at 
Rosedale,  Farmer's  school  house,  Ger- 
man school  house,  Washington  and 
Pleasant  Cove  schools.  He  has,  most 
of  the  time,  followed  teaching  during 
the  winter  and  farming  in  the  summer 
seasons.     He  was  married  Feb.  1,  1873, 


304 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


to  Anna  M.  Journey,  •  daughter  of 
Samuel  Journey,  of  this  county.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Brown  are  the  parents  of  one 
child — Carrie  E.  Mr.  Brown  has  served 
as  road  supervisor  one  term.  He  is  a 
member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
church,  also  of  the  Masonic  fraternity. 
He  is  the  owner  of  a  farm  of  90  acres, 
located  in  Quarry  township.  His 
parents  now  reside  in  Fieldon,  Rose- 
dale  township,  in  this  county. 

Samuel  P.  Dinsmoor,  a  prominent 
aad  leading  farmer  of  Quarry  township, 
is  of  Scotch,  English  and  French  extrac- 
tion. He  is  the  seventh  from  John 
Dinsmoor,  who  went  from  Scotland  to 
Ireland,  and  settled  in  the  county  of 
Antrim,  and  the  sixth  from  John,  who 
came  to  America  in  1720,  and  settled  in 
what  is  now  Windham,  N.  H.  He  is 
the  eighth  from  George  Little,  who  came 
from  England  in  1840,  and  settled  in 
Newbury,  Mass.  His  father's  mother 
was  a  Little.  His  mother's  father's 
father  was  a  Frenchman,  and  lived  in 
Canada.  His  mother's  mother  was  a 
Cleveland,  and  he  is  the  ninth  genera- 
tion from  Moses  Cleveland,  the  emi- 
grant, and  sixth  cousin  to  President 
Grover  Cleveland.  He  has  the  geneal- 
ogies of  the  Dinsmoor,  Little  and  Cleve- 
land families.  His  father,  William  A. 
Dinsmoor,  was  born  in  Chester,  New 
Hampshire,  Oct.  3, 1814,  and  married  to 
Laodicea  Tubbs.  The  latter  is  now  liv- 
ingin  Coolville,  Ohio.  William  A.  Dins- 
liiiini  died  in  that  state  Sept.  6,  1884. 
The  subject  of  this  sketch  was  born  in 
Athens  county,  Ohio,  March  8,  1843,  and 
reared  upon  a  farm  near  Coolville,  where 
he  attended  school.  When  the  civil 
war  broke  out,  he  enlisted  in  the  HGth 
Ohio  Vol.  Inf.,  and  served  three  years, 


participating  in  18  battles,  among  which 
were:  Moorefield,  Jan.  3,  1863;  Win- 
chester, June  12,  13  and  14,  1863;  Pied- 
mont, June  5,   1864;    Lynchburg,  June 

18,  1864;  Occoquan,  Sept.  19;  Fisher's 
Hill,  Sept.  22,  1864;  Cedar  Creek,  Oct. 

19,  1864;  Hatch's  Run,  March  31,  1865; 
Ft.  Gregg,  April  2,  1865;  Farmville, 
April  6and7, 1865;  and  surrender  of  Lee 
at  Appomattox  Court  House,  April  9, 
1865.  He  returned  from  the  army  to 
his  home  in  Ohio,  where  he  remained, 
engaged  in  farming,  one  year,  then  came 
to  Illinois  in  the  fall  of  1866,  and  spent 
three  months  in  Bond  county,  after 
which  he  became  a  resident  of  this 
county,  where  he  has  since  lived.  He 
first  settled  at  Rosedale,  and  during  the 
winter  of  1869  and  1870,  taught  school 
at  the  Williams'  school  house.  He  con- 
tinued teaching  five  terms.  Aug.  24, 
1870,  he  was  married  to  Mrs.  Frances 
(Barlow)  Journey,  widow  of  Samuel 
Journey,  and  daughter  of  Martin  B. 
Barlow,  of  Kentucky.  By  this  union 
there  are  five  children — Charles  A., 
James  F.,  Samuel  A.,  Thomas  B.,  and 
Laura  E.  Mrs.  Dinsmoor  had  four  chil- 
dren by  her  former  marriage,  three  of 
whom  are  living — William  H.  Journey, 
Alice  M.  Journey,  Addie  L.  Journey, 
who  died  in  April,  1881,  and  Carrie  M. 
Journey.  Mr.  Dinsmoor  owns  341  acres 
of  land,  150  of  which  is  bottom  land. 
His  business  is  general  farming.  He  is 
a  member  of  the  A.  F.  &  A.  M.,  and 
has  been  school  trustee  six  years.  Pre- 
vious to  the  death  of  Mr.  Dinsmoor's 
father,  in  1884,  a  death  had  not  occurred 
in  the  family  for  38  years,  the  last  one 
being  that  of  his  eldest  brother,  in  1846. 
Mr.  Dinsmoor  is  a  gentleman  of  superior 
intelligence,  and  an  honored  citizen. 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


30c 


Enoch  W.  Wallace,  of  Quarry  town- 
ship, is  a  veteran  of  two  wars,  having 
served  in  the  war  with  Mexico,  in  1S46, 
as  a  member  of  the  3d  U.  S.  Dragoons, 
continuing  in  the  service  until  the  close 
of  the  war,  and  in  1861,  enlisted  in  Co. 
D,  of  the  61st  111.  Inf.,  and  served 
three  years  and  three  months,  in  the 
war  of  the  Rebellion.  He  enlisted  as 
orderly  sergeant,  serving  in  that  capac- 
ity till  Sept.  3,  1862,  when  he  was  pro- 
moted to  the  rank  of  second  lieutenant. 
He  resigned  his  commission  in  Febru- 
ary, 1865,  and  during  the  last  month  of 
his  service  acted  as  captain  of  Co.  A, 
of  the  same  regiment.  He  participated 
in  engagements  at  Shiloh,  Murfrees- 
boro,  Vicksburg,  Little  Rock,  Frank- 
lin, Nashville,  and  other  points,  and 
was  a  gallant  soldier,  never  shrinking 
from  duty  and  always  at  his  post.  Mr. 
Wallace  was  born  in  Davis  county,  Ind., 
in  the  year  1830.  He  is  a  son  of  Cole- 
man C.  and  Sarah  (Chapman)  Wallace, 
the  former  a  native  of  Indiana,  who 
died  in  that  State;  the  latter  is  still  liv- 
ing there.  Enoch  was  brought  up  on  a 
farm  and  remained  with  his  parents  in 
Indiana  until  the  date  of  his  enlistment 
in  the  Mexican  war.  At  the  close  of 
the  war  he  came  to  Jersey  county,  ar- 
riving at  Andrews'  Landing,  three- 
fourths  of  a  mile  above  the  mouth  of 
the  Illinois  river.  He  settled  at  that 
time  near  Otterville,  where  he  lived  one 
year,  then  moved  to  Graham  Hollow, 
and  remained  until  the  spring  of  1852. 
He  then  purchased  a  farm  three  miles 
north  of  Grafton,  on  which  he  resided 
a  short  time,  removing  from  thence  to 
Otter  Creek.  In  1855  he  removed  to 
Christian  county,  and  in  1857  returned 
to  this  county  and  located  near  Grafton, 


and  has  since  that  time  been  a  resi- 
dent of  this  vicinity.  He  was  married 
in  Feb.  1849,  to  Julia  A.  Bray,  daughter 
of  Isaac  Bray,  of  Quarry  township. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Wallace  are  the  parents 
of  nine  children — Eli  M.,  living  on  a 
farm  near  Grafton;  Elijah  S.,  in  Graf- 
ton; William  T.,  engaged  in  farming  in 
this  township;  Rosa  S.,  wife  of  Rupert. 
Claridge,  editor  of  the  Stockman,  at  San 
Antonio,  Tex.;  Alford  J.,  living  in 
Grafton;  Alice  J.,  wife  of  William  Hol- 
brook,  of  Macoupin  county;  Enoch  \\\, 
Perry  A.,  and  I.  Newton,  living  at 
home  with  their  parents.  Mr.  Wallace 
owns  a  good  farm  of  80  acres,  and  is  a 
member  of  the  G.  A.  R. 

William  Williams  (deceased),  an  early 
settler  and  wealthy  farmer  of  Quarry 
township,  was  born  in  Scioto  county, 
Ohio,  and  was  a  son  of  Robert  Williams. 
He  came  to  Jersey  county  in  1835  and 
settled  at  Camden,  where  he  lived  three 
years  and  then  removed  to  a  farm  eight 
miles  west  of  that  place.  He  resided 
here  until  his  death,  which  occurred  in 
1868.  He  was  the  owner  of  1,000  acres 
of  land.  He  was  married  in  1836  to 
Sidney  Darnell,  who  was  born  in  Ken- 
tucky. Three  of  their  children  are  now 
living — Nelson,  William  and  Elvira, 
wife  of  Martin  Fox,  of  Grafton.  Nelson 
Williams,  eldest  son  of  William  and 
Sidney  (Darnell)  Williams,  was  born  in 
Jersey  county  in  1810.  He  was  brought 
up  and  educated  in  this  county.  In 
1862  he  was  married  to  Adaline  Stafford, 
daughter  of  John  Stafford,  of  this 
county.  They  are  the  parents  of  five 
children — Lula  May,  Ollie  Bird,  Ivy 
Myrtle,  Grace  V.,  and  Elva  L.  In  1878 
Mr.  Williams  went  to  Pawnee  county, 
Kan.,  and  settled  on  a  homestead  which 


306 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


he  improved  and  lived  upon  one  year. 
He  returned  to  Jersey  county  in  the 
fall  of  1SS1  and  rented  the  farm  of 
Thomas  Thompson,  seven  miles  west  of 
Grafton,  where  he  now  resides.  Mr. 
Williams  -was  in  the  army  three  years 
during  the  war  of  the  Rebellion,  enlist- 
ing in  1862  in  the  97th  111.  Inf.  He  par- 
ticipated in  the  battles  of  Arkansas  Post, 
Vicksburg, Port  Gibson, Champion  Hills, 
siege  of  Blakeley,  Chickasaw  Bluff, 
Black  River  Bridge  and  siege  of  Jackson. 

J.  N.  Noble,  son  of  George  and  Sarah 
I  Swan )  Noble,  was  born  in  Quarry  town- 
ship in  1849.  His  childhood  and  youth 
were  spent  on  the  farm  where  he  now 
lives.  In  1869  he  went  to  California 
and  remained  14  months,  during  which 
time  he  was  engaged  in  farming.  In 
1872  he  was  married  to  Ida  Ellis,  a  na- 
tive of  this  county.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Noble 
have  three  children — George  E.,  Clar- 
ence, and  Ida  May.  Mr.  Noble  owns 
63  acres  of  land  and  carries  on  general 
farming.  He  is  a  member  of  the  I.  O. 
0.  F.  His  father,  George  Noble,  died 
in  Quarry  township  in  1856,  and  is  buried 
near  Otterville.  His  mother,  Sarah 
Noble,  died  in  1862,  and  is  buried  at  the 
same  place. 

Antoine  DeFossa  is  a  native  of  Can- 
ada, and  a  son  of  Spray  and  Rojenia 
DeFossa,  both  natives  of  Canada.  He 
was  born  in  the  year  1832,  and  in  his 
youth  worked  upon  a  farm.  At  the  age 
of  20  years  he  went  to  Monticello,  Can- 
ada, to  learn  the  baker's  trade,  at  which 
he  worked  three  years.  He  then  went 
to  St.  Paul,  Minn.,  where  he  spent  18 
months,  then  engaged  as  cook  on  board 
a  steamboat,  following  that  occupation 
three  months,  after  which  he  came  to 
Jersey    county.       Here   he   worked    at 


chopping  wood  and  various  employ- 
ments until  1861,  when  he  moved  to 
Grafton,  where  he  worked  by  the  day 
about  15  years.  He  then  moved  to  the 
farm  of  Henry  Eastman,  on  which  he 
still  lives.  He  was  married  in  1858  to 
Eliza  Jane  Vanantrop,  who  was  born  in 
Tennessee.  They  have  three  children 
— Josephine,  Catherine  and  Charles. 
Mr.  DeFossa  is  at  present  serving  as 
school  director.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
Masonic  fraternity,  also  of  the  I.  0.  O. 
F.,  and  as  a  citizen  is  highly  esteemed. 
Charles  M.  Chase  owns  and  resides 
upon  a  farm  of  200  acres,  located  on 
section  12,  Quarry  township,  where  he 
settled  in  1871.  He  was  born  in  Meigs 
county,  O.,  in  1828,  and  is  a  son  of 
Charles  C.  and  Mary  P.  (Holt)  Chase; 
the  former  a  native  of  Maine,  and  the 
latter  of  Canada.  Charles  M.  lived 
upon  a  farm  with  his  parents  until 
1851.  In  that  year  he  went  to  Califor- 
nia and  remained  one  year,  engaged  in 
a  sawmill,  then  returned  east  to  Ohio, 
where  he  lived  one  year.  He  next 
went  to  Iowa,  and  two  years  later  to 
Kansas.  He  remained  there  one  year, 
after  which  he  went  to  Catlettsburg, 
Ky.,  there  engaging  in  the  drug  busi- 
ness, continuing  the  same  three  years; 
then  removed  to  Clark  county,  111.,  in 
the  spring  of  1862,  and  there  followed 
farming  until  1871.  Mr.  Chase  was 
married  in  1859,  to  Melinda  McKee,  a 
native  of  Lyons  county,  0.  They  have 
one  child — Frank  M.,  who  now  lives 
with  his  parents.  Mr.  Chase  is  a  mem- 
ber of  Masonic  order.  Charles  C.  Chase, 
father  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  died 
in  Rutland,  0.,  in  1857.  His  widow, 
Mrs.  Mary  (Holt)  Chase,  survived  until 
1882,  when  she  died  at  the  same  place. 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


;;<i7 


Daniel  Davis  is  a  son  of  John  and 
Elizabeth  (Green)  Davis,  and  was  born 
Jan.  8,  1815,  in  Kentucky.  His  parents 
died  in  Ohio;  his  mother,  in  1820,  and 
his  father  in  1835.  Daniel  was  brought 
up  on  a  farm,  and,  in  his  youth,  went  to 
Cincinnati,  where  he  learned  the  car- 
penter's trade,  and  resided  25  years. 
He  then  removed  to  Lewis  county,  Ky., 
and,  a  few  years  later,  to  Henderson 
county,  of  the  same  state.  He  remained 
12  years  in  the  latter  county,  after  which 
he  went  to  Quincy,  111.,  and  two  years 
later,  came  to  Jersey  county,  and  settled 
at  Grafton,  where  he  now  lives.  He  is 
engaged  in  skiff-building  and  fishing. 
He  ships  to  St.  Louis,  annually,  about 
$800  worth  of  fish.  Mr.  Davis  was  mar- 
ried in  1838,  to  Sarah  Jane  Garrett,  a 
native  of  Ohio.  They  are  the  parents 
of  four  children — Franklin  B.,  now  liv- 
ing in  Arkansas;  Thomas  J.,  in  Little 
Rock,  Ark.;  Mary  E.,  wife  ot  Benjamin 
Suttlis,  of  Grafton;  and  Missouri  Anna, 
wife  of  Sidney  Noble,  of  Quarry  town- 
ship. Mrs.  Davis  is  a  member  of  the 
M.  E.  church. 

John  Hart,  deceased,  was  a  native  of 
Pulaski  county,  Ky.,  and  a  son  of  Berry 
and  Nancy  (Blankinship)  Hart,  both  of 
whom  were  natives  of  Kentu  jky.  John 
was  reared  in  that  state,  and  in  1855 
went  to  Iowa,  where  he  remained  a  few 
months.  In  June  of  the  same  year  he 
came  to  Jersey  county  and  settled  on 
Sec.  33,  Otter  Creek  township.  He  re- 
moved to  Quarry  township,  where  he 
resided  until  his  decease.  He  was  mar- 
ried in  1852  to  Lucinda  Berry,  who  was 
born  in  Lincoln  county,  Ky.  Nine  chil- 
dren were  born  to  them,  seven  of  whom 
are  still  living — John  M.,  of  Jersey 
county;    Lucy,    wife   of    Frank    Miller, 


now  livingin  Kansas;  James  H.,  Thomas 
A.,  Ernest  B.,  George M .,  and Mollie  L. 
Those  deceased  were  Margaret  C.,wife  of 
Henry  Noble,  of  this  county,  and  Lillie, 
who  died  in  1867.  On  the  15th  of  March, 
1883,  Mr.  Hart  and  one  of  his  sons, 
while  returning  from  Jerseyville  to  their 
home  in  this  township,  had  their  car- 
riage upset  in  driving  around  a  corner. 
Mr.  Hart  was  thrown  out  and  received 
internal  injuries,  which  proved  to  be  the 
cause  of  his  death  on  June  29  of  the 
same  year.  He  was  a  man  universally 
beloved  and  was  well  deserving  of  the 
high  esteem  in  which  he  was  held 
throughout  the  entire  community.  His 
loss  fell  heavily,  not  only  upon 
his  family,  but  also  upon  all  with 
whom  he  had  business  or  social  rela- 
tions. He  was  a  loving  and  indulgent 
husband  and  father,  a  kind  neighbor 
and  a  Christian  gentleman.  His  remains 
were  laid  to  rest  in  the  family  cemetery, 
lie  began  life  in  humble  circumstances, 
and  died  possessed  of  a  comfortable  for- 
tune, leaving  his   family   provided   for. 

Oliver  Dare  is  a  native  of  Pennsyl- 
vania, where  he  was  born  in  1832,  being 
a  son  of  James  and  Rebecca  (Richey) 
Dare,  natives  of  Pennsylvania.  He 
came  to  this  state  in  1867  and  settled  in 
Calhoun  county,  and  five  years  later 
became  a  resident  of  this  county,  which 
has  since  been  his  home.  When  hi' 
was  but  two  years  old  he  was  taken  by 
his  parents  to  the  state  of  New  Jersey, 
where  the}'  lived  22  years.  He  was 
married  in  1850  to  Rebecca  Hartman, 
of  New  Jersey.  His  father  died  in  Cal- 
houn county  in  1871.  His  mother  died 
in  New  Jersey  in  IS  is. 

Ziba  Noble,  a  well  known  farmer  of 
Quarry  township,  is  a  son  of  George  A. 


308 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


and  Sarah  (Swan)  Noble.  George  Noble 
was  born  in  Mississippi  in  the  year 
1800.  His  wife  was  born  at  Fort  Co- 
lumbus, 111.,  in  1811.  The  subject  of 
this  sketch  is  a  native  of  Quarry  town- 
ship, born  in  November,  1838.  His 
early  life  was  spent  upon  a  farm  in  his 
native  township.  In  1860  he  went  to 
California,  and  there  remained,  engaged 
in  mining,  seven  and  a  half  years.  While 
there  he  was  quite  successful,  and  suc- 
ceeded in  accumulating  a  competency. 
He  returned  to  Quarry  township  in  1867, 
and  settled  upon  the  farm  where  he  now 
lives,  which  contains  100  acres  of  well 
improved  land,  located  on  section  1. 
Mr.  Noble  was  married  in  March,  1870, 
to  Mary  McDow,  a  native  of  Jersey 
county,  and  daughter  of  William  Mc- 
Dow, of  Otter  Creek  township.  They 
have  one  child — Inez.  Mr.  Noble  holds 
the  office  of  commissioner  of  highways 
of  Quarry  township. 

GRAFTON. 

Grafton  is  located  in  the  southern 
part  of  the  county,  in  Quarry  township, 
on  the  Mississippi  river.  The  first  set- 
tlement was  made  by  James  Mason,  in 
1832,  who  built  four  split-log  cabins  and 
afterward  named  the  town  in  honor  of 
his  native  place.  Charles  Chapman 
also  erected  a  cabin  during  _  that  year. 
Shortly  afterward  Paris  Mason  put  up  a 
frame  structure,  which  he  occupied  as  a 
general  store,  the  first  in  the  settle- 
ment. This  building  has  since  been 
remodeled  and  forms  a  part  of  W.  H. 
Allen's  residence.  Abijah  Whiting, 
John  Keys  and  Brook  Stafford  were 
also  among  the  first  settlers. 

The  town  was  surveyed  April  15, 
1836,    and   at   that  time  displayed  un- 


usual signs  of  prosperity  and  it  was  fully 
believed  that  a  large  and  prosperous 
city  would  be  built.  The  town  was  laid 
out  by  Paris  and  Sarah  Mason,  admin- 
istrators of  the  estate  of  James  Mason. 
The  first  sale  of  lots  occurred  in  1836, 
and  were  disposed  of  at  from  $50  to 
$100.  The  second  sale  took  place  in 
1837.  This  was  at  a  time  when  specu- 
lation was  running  wild  throughout  the 
state;  new  towns  were  being  laid  out  by 
the  score  and  every  speculator  saw  a 
fortune  within  his  grasp.  Grafton 
shared  in  the  excitement,  and  lots  rose 
to  fabulous  figures — the  auctioneer 
easily  disposing  of  them  at  sums  rang- 
ing in  amount  from  $400  to  $1,500.  Lots 
back  of  the  town  on  the  bluffs,  on  land 
now  of  little  value,  changed  hands  at 
good,  round  figures;  and  below  the 
town  the  Chicago  addition  was  projected 
on  the  bluffs,  covering  a  site  which  has 
since  been  almost  as  destitute  of  streets 
and  buildings  as  it  was  the  day  Mar- 
quette sailed  down  the  Mississippi  on 
his  first  voyage  of  discovery.  The 
crash  of  1837  came;  banks  broke,  spec- 
ulators failed,  and  lots  fell  rapidly  to 
prices  inconsiderable  in  comparison 
with  their  former  valuation.  The  first 
houses  were  built  in  what  is  still  the 
business  portion  of  the  town,  the  16th 
(the  school)  section  at  that  period  not 
being  open  for  settlement.  On  the  16th 
section  being  thrown  into  the  market, 
the  town  extended  farther  in  that  di- 
rection, and  now  its  length  along  the 
river  is  more  than  two  miles. 

The  second  store  in  the  place  was 
erected  soon  after  that  of  Paris  Mason. 
John  Keys  was  the  proprietor,  and  he 
carried  on  the  general  merchandise 
trade,  also  dealing  in  grain  and  pork. 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


309 


John  Armstrong  also  opened  a  gen- 
eral merchandise  store  in  1836. 

In  the  same  year  two  other  similar 
establishments  were  started — those  of 
W.  B.  Denby,  and  Lawson  &  Lucas. 

All  these,  save  Keys,  felt  the  effects 
of  the  trade  depression  of  1837-38  to 
such  an  extent  that  they  were  com- 
pelled to  close  their  doors. 

Brook  Stafford  established  a  black- 
smith shop  in  Grafton  in  1836.  He  was 
the  first  in  that  line  in  the  place. 

PRESENT  BUSINESS. 

Carl  Albert  engaged  in  the  sale  of 
general  merchandise  Sept.  1,  1884,  in 
Upper  Grafton.  The  building  is  con- 
structed of  brick,  25x50  feet  in  dimen- 
sions, two  stories  high. 

Carl  Albert,  merchant  at  Grafton,  was 
born  in  Germany  in  1848.  He  grew  to 
manhood  in  his  native  country,  where 
he  received  a  liberal  education,  graduat- 
ing from  Hamburg  College  in  1867.  He 
then  went  into  the  army,  from  which 
he  was  discharged  on  account  of  disa- 
bility. In  1882  he  came  to  America 
and  settled,  then,  at  Grafton,  Jersey 
county,  111.  Here  he  was  engaged  as 
teacher  of  the  German  language  two 
years;  then,  in  1884,  opened  a  store  of 
general  merchandise,  which  he  still 
carries  on,  and  is  doing  a  thriving  busi- 
ness. Mr.  Albeit  was  married  June  5, 
1883,  to  Rosa  Freiman,  who  was  born 
in  Grafton.  They  have  one  child — 
Barbara,  born  Dec.  12,  1883.  Mr. 
Albert's  father,  Andreas  Albert,  was 
born  in  Germany,  and  now  resides  here, 
with  him.  His  mother,  Mrs.  Laura 
Albert,  also  a  native  of  Germany,  died 
at  Hamburg,  in  that  country,  in  1871. 

The  general  merchandise  business  of 


H.  E.  Brinton  was  established  by  M. 
Grady  &  Co.  in  1869,  who  were  suc- 
ceeded by  W.  S.  Brinton  &  Co.  in  1*74. 
In  the  early  part  of  1885  it  was  trans- 
ferred to  H.  E.  Brinton. 

C.  P.  Stafford  has  been  engaged  in  the 
sale  of  general  merchandise  since  1883. 
The  store  room  in  which  he  does  busi- 
ness is  50x70  feet  in  size,  constructed  of 
brick,  and  two  stories  high. 

Christopher  P.  Stafford,  a  leading 
merchant  of  Grafton  and  a  prominent 
citizen  of  Jersey  county,  is  a  son  of 
Brook  and  Mary  A.  (Hilliard)  Stafford. 
He  was  born  in  the  city  of  Philadelphia 
in  1831,  and  removed  with  his  parents 
to  this  county  in  1836.  Here  he  received 
his  education,  and  in  his  youth  learned 
the  harness-maker's  trade,  which  he 
followed  12  years.  He  then  engaged  in 
merchandising,  and  has  continued  in 
that  business  since.  He  was  married  in 
1850  to  Charlotte  Roe,  a  native  of  Ire- 
land. Three  children  were  born  to 
them — Alice,  deceased  wife  of  Lewis 
Slaten,  of  Grafton;  George,  who  died  in 
infancy;  and  Bell,  who  is  now  a  teacher 
in  the  graded  school  at  Grafton.  Mrs. 
Stafford  died  in  April,  1858.  Feb.  29, 
1860,  Mr.  Stafford  was  married  to  Ange- 
line  Amburg,  a  native  of  this  county. 
By  this  marriage  there  were  seven  chil- 
dren— Delia,  now  assistant  postmistress 
at  Grafton;  Christopher  P.,  who  is  now 
in  Texas,  engaged  in  the  office  of  the 
Texas  Stuck  Journal;  John  ML,  in  the  store 
with  his  father;  James  II.,  Fred  Smith 
and  Harry  E.  Sadie  died  in  infancy. 
.Mr.  Stafford  served  as  justice  of  the 
peace  24  years,  beginning  in  1853.  In 
1881  he  was  elected  a  member  of  the 
county  board,  which  office  he  has  held 
continuously  since  that  time.     He  is  at 


110 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


present  serving  his  fourth  term  in  that 
capacity.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Ma- 
sonic fraternity,  and  of  the  I.  0.  0.  F. 

Dr.  J.  Tidball  is  engaged  in  the  sale 
of  drugs,  paints,  oils,  etc.,  which  he  es- 
tablished in  1.881.  He  has  also  been 
practicing  medicine  since  1876. 

The  drug  and  book  store,  managed  by 
W.  R.  Hewitt,  on  lower  Main  street, 
w;is  established  by  Dr.  Harriott  in  1870. 
He  was  succeeded  by  C.  W.  Lund  in  1875, 
who  ran  it  until  his  death  in  the  fall  of 
1878,  since  which  time  it  has  been  owned 
and  operated  by  Mrs.  M.  E.  Lund.  The 
building  is  25x40  feet  in  size,  and  is 
constructed  of  stone. 

Charles  Walker  Lund,  (deceased,) 
wos  born  in  Barry,  Pike  county,  111., 
Oct.  22,  1841.  His  parents  were  Wil- 
liam and  Elizabeth  Lund.  Charles  W. 
Lund  came  to  Jersey  county  in  April, 
1S7.">,  and  settled  in  Grafton,  where  he 
engaged  in  the  drug  business,  continuing 
the  same  until  his  death,  which  occur- 
red Nov.  6,  1878.  He  was  married  Oct. 
'27,  1863,  to  Mary  Ellen  Hewitt,  a  native 
of  England.  They  had  five  children, 
three  of  whom  are  living — Mary  Eliza- 
beth, wife  of  H.  E.  Budicell,  of  Rush 
Centre,  Kan.,  Anna  Viola  and  George 
Curtis.  Those  deceased  are — Joseph  II., 
who  died  June  15,  1874,  and  Alma  May, 
who  died  Aug.  13,  1877.  Mr.  Lund  was 
a  member  of  the  I.  O.  O.  F..  and  is 
buried  in  the  Odd  Fellows'  cemetery  ;it 
Grafton. 

William  R.  Hewitt  was  born  in  the 
city  of  Alton  in  1857.  His  parents,  Jo- 
seph and  Hannah  (Read)  Hewitt,  were 
natives  of  England,  who  came  to  Amer- 
ica in  1849  and  settled  at  Alton.  Wil- 
liam R.  received  a  good  education,  at- 
tending the   graded   schools  of  Alton, 


and  later  Shurtleff  College,  at  Upper 
Alton,  taking  a  commercial  course.  In 
1877  he  came  to  Grafton  and  entered  the 
drug  store  of  his  brother-in-law,  C.  W. 
Lund,  who  died  in  1878.  Since  that 
time  Mr.  Hewitt  has  carried  on  the  busi- 
ness, and  is  now  enjoying  a  thriving 
trade.  As  a  business  man  he  is  popu- 
lar and  successful.  He  has  been  a  mem- 
ber of  the  town  board  one  year,  and 
served  as  township  clerk  two  years.  He 
belongs  to  the  I.  0.  O.  F. 

Among  the  leading  firms  of  Grafton  is 
that  of  Allen  &  Rippley,  dealers  in 
hardware,  stoves  and  furniture.  The 
members  of  the  firm  are  W.  H.  Allen, 
Jr.,  and  Frank  Rippley.  They  are 
doing  a  fine  business  in  these  lines,  and 
carry  a  stock  of  tinware,  cutlery,  guns, 
pistols,  ammunition,  fishing  tackle,  pic- 
tures, frames  in  addition,  and  do  the 
principal  business  in  tin  roofing.  The 
business  was  established  Aug.  1,  1881. 
Their  building  is  23x70  feet,  two  stories 
high,  and  is  constructed  of  stone. 

Frank  Rippley,  of  the  firm  of  Allen  & 
Rippley,  is  the  son  of  George  and  Helen 
(Sume)  Rippley,  natives  of  Baden,  Ger- 
many. Frank  Rippley  was  born  in 
Booneville,  Mo.,  Dec.  15,  1857.  He 
went  to  -St.  Louis  Sept.  15,  1873,  and 
learned  the  tinner's  trade.  He  came  to 
Grafton,  111.,  Oct.  3,  1876,  and  worked 
for  Brook  Stafford  at  the  tinner's  trade 
until  Feb.  4,  1878,  when  he  bought  the 
stove  and  tin  business  of  B.  Stafford, 
and  continued  the  business  for  himself. 
Aug.  1,  1881,  William  H.  Allen,  Jr., 
bought  an  interest  in  the  business,  and 
became  a  partner.  They  then  moved  in 
a  large  building,  and  opened  a  general 
store,  consisting  of  hardware,  stoves, 
tinware,  furniture  and  house  furnishing 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


;;n 


goods  of  all  kinds,  and  have  continued 
the  business  up  to  the  present  time. 
They  keep  a  full  stock  of  goods  on 
hand  always,  and  bear  the  reputation  of 
being  one  of  the  best  and  most  accom- 
modating firms  in  Jersey  county. 

The  carriage  and  wagon  making  in- 
dustry is  represented  by  F.  Stinman, 
who  established  the  same  in  the  fall  of 
1868. 

BANK    OF    GRAFTON. 

This  monetary  institution  was  estab- 
lished in  October,  1869,  by  W.  11.  Allen 
and  E.  A.  Pinero,  and  was  operated  by 
them  as  a  private  concern  until  1878, 
when  W.  H.  Allen  succeeded  the  above 
named  firm.  On  the  5th  of  July,  1883, 
the  present  management  assumed  con- 
trol. The  directors  are  W.  H.  Allen, 
C.  P.  Stafford  and  E.  Meysenburg. 

Ernst  Meysenburg,  cashier  of  the 
Grafton  bank,  was  born  in  Rhine  prov- 
ince, Prussia,  and  is  a  son  of  F.  W .  and 
Johannah  (Schniitz)  Meysenburg;  tin' 
latter  died  in  Germany,  in  1853,  and  the 
former  came  to  America  in  1857,  and 
settled  in  St.  Louis,  where  he  died  10 
years  later.  The  subject  of  this  sketch 
came  to  America  in  1855,  accompanying 
his  uncle,  Theodore  Kim  in,  who  had 
been  a  dry  goods  merchant  in  St.  Louis, 
until  1849;  the  latter  had  come  to  Amer- 
ica in  1835.  In  1855  he  returned  to 
Europe  for  a  visit,  and  on  coming  back 
to  St.  Louis,  brought  with  him,  Ernst, 
who  was  then  a  lad  of  13  years.  His 
uncle  had  settled  on  a  farm,  afterwards 
laid  out  by  him  and  called  Kimmswick, 
a  station  20  miles  below  St.  Louis,  on 
the  Iron  Mountain  railroad.  There 
Ernst  remained  two  years  on  a  farm. 
He  then  went  to  St.  Louis,  and  engaged 
as  clerk  in  a  wholesale  house.  The  firm 


by  whom  he  was  employed  failed  in 
1858,  and  he  returned  to  Kimmswick, 
ami  went  to  work  for  his  uncle,  opening 
a  store  of  general  merchandise.  In  the 
fall  of  1859,  he  went  to  St.  Louis,  and 
entered  the  employ  of  J*>seph  Gray,  a 
retail  hatter,  with  whom  he  continued 
until  the  fall  of  1860.  At  that  date  he 
went  to  Sulphur  Springs,  as  agent  for 
the  Iron  Mountain  railroad  company, 
and  the  Pilot  Knob  iron  company.  A 
few  months  later  he  enlisted  as  private 
in  Co.  E,  2d  Mo.  Cav.,  and  served  until 
1865,  the  latter  two  years  as  1st  sergeant. 
He  then  went  to  work  in  a  wholesale 
hat  establishment  in  St.  Louis,  continu- 
ing there  two  years,  after  which  he 
formed  a  partnership  with  Henry  East- 
man, and  engaged  in  general  merchan- 
dising at  Grafton,  Jersey  county,  111. 
This  partnership  continued  four  years, 
when  B.  J.  Smith  took  the  place  of  Mr. 
Eastman,  the  firm  becoming  Meysen- 
burg A  Smith.  In  1876,  C.  P.  Stafford 
became  a  partner  in  the  firm,  which  re- 
mained unchanged  until  1879,  then  Mr. 
Smith  retired,  the  firm  becoming  Mey- 
senburg &  Stafford.  In  August,  1883, 
Mr.  Meysenburg  disposed  of  his  mer- 
cantile interests,  to  assume  the  position 
which  he  now  occupies,  as  cashier  of 
the  bank.  He  was  married  in  Grafton, 
Oct.  7,  1869,  to  Mary  H.  Fichner, 
daughter  of  of  James  Fichner,  of  Graf- 
ton. She  was  born  at  Wheeling,  Va. 
They  are  the  parents  of  four  children — 
Fannie,  Nannie,  Edith  and  Clara.  Mr. 
Meysenburg  has  served  two  years  upon 
the  board  of  supervisors,  and  has  been 
school  trustee,  and  president  of  the  town 
board,  two  terms.  He  is  the  owner  of  a 
comfortable  residence  in  Grafton,  and  is 
interested    in    the    Grafton    bank     and 


312 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


quarries.      He  is  a  member  of  the  I.  0. 
O.  F. 

HOTELS. 

The  Valley  House  was  established  in 
1871  by  W.  S.  Dempsey.  At  that  time 
the  building*  was  a  two-story  frame 
structure,  30x40  feet  in  size.  In  1873 
the  building  was  torn  down  and  rebuilt. 
It  is  now  a  two-story  frame,  50x75  feet 
in  dimensions,  and  contains  about  20 
sleeping  rooms.  It  is  a  well  kept  house 
and  is  situated  on  Main  street,  in  the 
business  part  of  the  town. 

William  S.  Dempsey,  of  Grafton,  was 
born  in  the  northern  part  of  Ireland,  in 
1844,  and  is  a  son  of  Hugh  and  Sarah 
(Agnew)  Dempsey,  natives  of  Ireland. 
In  1846  William  immigrated  with  his 
parents  to  America,  and  settled  in  East- 
ern Pennsylvania,  and  in  1852  removed 
to  the  city  of  Philadelphia.  There  they 
remained  two  years,  then  came  to  Jer- 
sey county  and  located  at  Grafton,  where 
William  S.  has  resided  the  greater  part 
of  the  time  since.  In  1868  he  opened  a 
saloon,  and  in  1871  built  the  Valley 
House  and  began  keeping  hotel,  which 
he  still  continues.  In  1864  he  drove  an 
ox  team  across  the  plains  to  Virginia 
City,  Nevada.  In  the  fall  of  the 
same  year  he  drove  the  first  team  ever 
driven  down  Prickly  Pear  Valley,  and 
camped  in  "Last  Chance"  gulch,  where 
Helena  is  now  located.  His  brother, 
James  A.  Dempsey,  was  at  that  time 
employed  by  the  government  as  inter- 
preter on  the  Snake  River  Indian  reser- 
vation. James  A.  Dempsey  was  massa- 
cred by  the  Indians  in  Idaho,  in  June, 
1874.  William  remained  in  Montana 
three  years,  then  returned  home,  via  the 
Missouri  river,  with  a  party  of  52  men, 
on    board    the    Mackinaw,    arriving   at 


(1  rafton  in  the  fall  of  1867.  Mr.  Dempsey 
was  married  in  1871,  to  Jane  Brower, 
daughter  of  William  and  Lucy  Brower, 
of  Ulster  county,  N.  Y.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Dempsey  have  three  children — W. 
H.,  Gideon,  and  Christina.  His  father, 
Hugh  Dempsey,  died  in  1855,  and  was 
buried  in  St.  Patrick's  cemetery  in  Phil- 
adelphia. His  remains  were  in  1874, 
removed  to  the  Catholic  cemetery  at 
Jerseyville.  Mrs.  Sarah  Dempsey  died 
in  1872,  and  was  buried  in  Jerseyville. 

The  Ruebel  Hotel  is  a  fine  three-story 
brick  structure,  with  stone  foundation, 
76x71  feet  in  ground  area,  and  is  oper- 
ated by  its  founder,  Michael  Ruebel. 
It  contains  32  rooms,  in  addition  to  the 
parlor,  office,  billiard,  store  and  dining 
rooms,  the  latter  being  28x38  feet  in 
dimensions.  There  is  also  a  kitchen 
20x20  feet  in  size.  The  structure  was 
commenced  during  the  winter  of  1884, 
and  when  completed  will  cost  about 
$7,000,  being  the  finest  and  largest  hotel 
in  Jersey  county.  A  fine  view  of  the 
Mississippi  river  is  had  from  two  veran- 
das, parlor  and  several  sleeping  apart- 
ments. The  hotel  is  convenient  to  bus- 
iness, newly  furnished,  and  is  also  to  be 
supplied  with  fire  escapes  upon  com- 
pletion. It  is  well  kept  by  Mr.  Ruebel, 
who  provides  abundantly  for  the  com- 
fort and  convenience  of  his  guests. 

Michael  Ruebel,  son  of  Peter  and 
Barbara  (Hoffman)  Ruebel,  is  a  native 
of  Bavaria,  Germany,  born  in  the  year 
1834.  When  16  years  old  he  came  to 
America  and  settled  at  Green  point, 
Long  Island,  where  he  remained  18 
months;  then  went  to  Zanesville,  O., 
and,  eight  months  later,  to  St.  Louis, 
Mo.  He  resided  in  St.  Louis  till  the 
spring  of  1863,  at  which   time  he  came 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


313 


to  Grafton.  Here  he  worked  three 
years  at  the  cooper's  trade,  then  engag- 
ed in  keeping  saloon.  In  1879  he  began 
keeping  a  hotel,  which  he  still  con- 
tinues. In  1S55  he  was  united  in  mar- 
riage with  Margaret  Maurer,  daughter 
of  Leonard  Maurer,  of  St.  Louis. 
Eight  children  have  been  born  to  them, 
five  of  whom  are  living — Michael, 
George,  Charles,  Louisa,  and  Sherman. 
Christian  died  at  the  age  of  six  years, 
and  two  died  in  infancy.  Mr.  Ruebel 
served  four  months  in  the  army,  during 
the  war  of  the  Rebellion.  He  is  a  re- 
publican in  politics,  and  has  been  school 
trustee  three  terms.  He  owns  20  acres 
of  land,  and  hotel  property,  a  saloon, 
residence  and  two  lots  in  Grafton.  Mr. 
Ruebcl's  parents  are  deceased,  his 
mother  having  died  in  Germany,  in 
1856,  and  his  father,  in  Ohio,  in  1867. 

The  Grafton  House  is  operated  by 
Martin  Flanigan,  who  commenced 
business  in  1869.  The  house  at  that 
time  was  a  two-story  frame,  12x24  feet 
in  size.  In  1872  he  remodeled  the 
building  and  enlarged  it  to  24x38  feet, 
and  as  his  business  demanded  larger 
accommodations  still,  he  accordingly 
built  an  addition  in  1883,  26x38  feet  in 
dimensions.  At  present  the  house  con- 
tains 22  sleeping  apartments.  Mr. 
Flanigan  also  operates  a  livery  and 
feed  stable  in  connection  with  the 
hotel. 

Martin  Flanigan,  proprietor  of  a  hotel 
and  saloon  at  Grafton,  was  born  in 
county  Limerick,  Ireland,  in  1841,  and 
is  a  son  of  James  and  Jane  (Kane) 
Flanigan,  both  natives  of  Ireland.  At 
or  about  the  age  of  20  years,  Mar- 
tin came  to  America  and  settled  in 
Washington,  D.  C,  where  he  remained 


till  the  spring  of  1866.  He  then  re- 
moved to  St.  Louis  and  remained  in 
that  city  until  1869,  at  which  time  he 
came  to  Grafton,  and  engaged  in  his 
present  business.  Mr.  Flanigan  was 
married  in  1862  to  Mary  C.  Eight 
children  have  been  born  to  them,  five 
of  whom  are  living— Jane,  wife  of  Mr. 
Fitzgibbons,  of  Grafton;  John.  Mary 
A.,  Margaret  T.,  and  Martin  J.  Those 
deceased  were— Catherine,  Catherine 
Helen,  and  Johanna.  They  are  buried 
in  the  Catholic  cemetery.  Mr.  Flani- 
gan owns  his  business  property  and  a 
residence  in  the  town  of  Grafton,  and 
is  in  prosperous  circumstances.  He 
and  his  wife  are  members  of  the  Catho- 
lic church.  His  mother,  Mrs.  Jane 
Flanigan,  died  in  Ireland  in  1863.  His 
father,  James  Flanigan,  died  in  the 
city  of  Philadelphia  in  1883. 

John  A.  McClintock,  jeweler  at  Graf- 
ton, came  to  this  town  and  established 
his  present  business  in  1874.  He  was 
born  in  St  Clair  county,  111.,  in  1845, 
and  is  a  son  of  James  McClintock,  a 
native  of  Bourbon  county,  Ky.  His 
mother  was  formerly  a  Miss  Glass,  of 
St.  Clair  county,  111.  John  resided  in 
bis  native  county  until  1851,  then  with 
his  parents  removed  to  Hancock  county, 
of  the  same  state.  In  1863  he  went  to 
Quincy,  111.,  and  there  learned  the 
jeweler's  trade  with  E.  B.  Tobin.  Mr. 
McClintock  thoroughly  understands  his 
business,  and  has  a  thriving  trade.  In 
April,  1882,  he  established  the  News  and 
still  owns  the  office,  although  it  is  under 
the  editorial  control  of  C.  P.  Edeall. 

Among  the  mechanics  of  Grafton,  is 
R.  R.  Nugent,  the  cooper,  who  is  an 
excellent  workman  in  his  line,  and  has 
a  good  patronage. 


314 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


R.  R.  Nugent  came  to  Graft  on  from 
Williamstown,  West  Virginia,  in  the 
spring  of  1865,  since  which  time  he  has 
been  a  resident  here.  He  was  born  in 
( >hio,  in  1833.  and  is  a  son  of  David  and 
Margaret  J.  (Eccles)  Nugent,  both 
natives  of  Pennsylvania.  He  resided  in 
( Ihio  until  he  was  '28  years  of  age,  there 
learning  the  cooper's  trade.  He  then 
went  to  Williamstown,  Va.,  where  he 
remained  until  the  date  at  which  he 
came  to  Grafton,  and  engaged  there  at 
his  trade.  Since  coining  here  he  has 
followed  the  same  occupation  princi- 
pally. He  was  married  Dec.  6,  1863, 
in  Williamstown,  to  Mary  C.  West,  a 
native  of  West  Virginia.  She  died  Dec. 
6,  1864,  just  one  year  from  the  date  of 
her  marriage.  Nov.  27,  1881,  Mr. 
Nugent  was  married  to  Mrs.  Elizabeth 
J.  Grubb,  widow  of  George  Grubb,  of 
Otterville,  111.  There  is  one  child  by 
this  marriage — Leslie  Milton.  Mr. 
Nugent  is  a  member  of  the  Christian 
church,  and  his  wife  of  the  M.  E.  church. 
His  mother,  Mrs.  Margaret  J.  Nugent, 
died  in  Grafton,  Oct  6,  1865,  and  was 
buried  in  the  old  cemetery.  His  father, 
David  Nugent,  is  living,  and  resides 
with  him  at  Grafton. 

Andrew  Young,  the  barber,  of  Graf- 
ton, was  born  in  Prussia.  Pel).  10,  1847, 
and  is  the  youngest  of  the  five  sons  of 
Anthony  Young.  The  latter  was  born 
in  Prussia,  Jan.  1,  1812.  In  1852,  An- 
drew came  with  his  parents  to  America, 
landed  at  New  Orleans,  thence  went  to 
Pomeroy,  Ohio,  where  he  remained 
until  1867.  He  then  went  to  Cincinnati, 
having  acquired  the  tonsorial  art  while 
living  at  Pomeroy.  He  followed  that 
business  until  January,  1865,  when  he 
enlisted  in  the  187th  Ohio  Vol.  Inf.    He 


served  three  months,  participating  in 
the  skirmish  of  Resacca.  He  was 
mustered  out  at  Macon,  Ga.,  in  Dec, 
1865,  and  returned  to  Cincinnati,  where 
he  followed  his  former  occupation  until 
1870.  At  that  time  he  engaged  as  bar- 
ber on  board  the  steamer  "Northwest- 
ern." He  was  employed  in  that  capac- 
ity until  the  fall  of  the  same  year,  when 
he  came  to  Grafton,  Jersey  county,  111., 
where  he  has  since  resided.  Mr.  Young 
was  married  to  Jane  Redd,  Feb.  17, 
1874.  She  was  born  in  1854,  and  died 
Feb.  7,  1882.  Mr.  Young  is  a  member 
of  the  I.  0.  0.  F.  lodge,  No.  449,  of 
Grafton,  and,  politically,  is  a  repub- 
lican. 

POSTOFFICE. 

The  postoffice  at  Grafton  was  estab- 
lished in  1834,  and  Paris  Mason  was 
commissioned  postmaster,  who  held 
that  position  until  his  death,  in  1851. 
The  succession  of  postmasters  since  Mr. 
Mason  are  as  follows:  W.  H.  Allen, 
E.  Brinton,  S.  Farrington  and  G.  M. 
Slaten.  the  present  incumbent,  who  was 
appointed  in  Jan.,  1883.  It  was  made 
a  money  order  office  in  July,  1883. 
Mail  is  received  daily  from  Jerseyville 
by  stage.  There  is  also  mail  three 
times  a  week  each  way  by  rail. 

George  Newton  Slaten,  one  of  the 
business  men  of  Grafton,  is  a  son  of 
John  W.  and  Ann  (Piggott)  Slaten. 
John  W.  Slaten  was  born  in  Georgia, 
and  his  wife,  Ann,  in  Missouri.  George 
N.  was  born  in  Jersey  county,  Oct.  6, 
1844,  and  remained  with  his  parents 
until  21  years  of  age.  He  received  a 
good  education,  attending  the  district 
schools,  and,  later,  Lebanon  College. 
In  1871  lie  went  west,  and  spent  two 
years  in  the  states  of  Texas  and  Nebraska 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


317 


returning  in  1873.  The  same  year  he 
was  elected  constable,  and  served  in 
that  capacity  eight  years.  In  1878  he 
was  elected  to  the  office  of  collector, 
which  he  filled  seven  years,  and  is  now 
the  present  incumbent.  In  1883  he  was 
appointed  postmaster  at  Grafton.  He 
opened  the  lumber  yard,  which  he  now 
carries  on,  in  1877.  He  is  the  owner 
of  700  acres  of  rough  land  in  Jersey 
county,  220  acres  of  which  is  in  cultiva- 
tion, the  remainder  in  pasture.  Mr. 
Slaten  is  clerk  of  the  board  of  school 
directors;  also  clerk  and  treasurer  of 
the  town  of  Grafton.  He  is  a  member 
of  the  I.  0.  O.  F.,  and  permanent  secre- 
tary of  Silurian  Lodge,  No.  44'.),  of  such 
order. 

REPRESENTATIVE  MEN.. 

The  following  will  give  the  readers  an 
idea  of  the  class  of  citizens  who  give  to 
Grafton  its  name,  for  enterprise  and  in- 
telligence: 

Rev.  John  T.  Huffman  was  born  near 
Paris,  Edgar  county,  111.,  in  1S47,  and  is 
a  son  of  James  and  Phebe  (Tiffin)  Huff- 
man, the  former,  a  native  of  Virginia, 
and  the  latter,  of  Ohio.  At  the  age  of 
20  years,  John  entered  McKendree  Col- 
lege, and  was  for  a  part  of  two  years  a 
student  in  that  institution.  He  then 
spent  one  year  in  traveling  in  the  east. 
In  1870  he  was  licensed  to  preach  by 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Conference, 
and  entered  upon  his  duties  in  Mont- 
gomery county,  111.  He  preached  10 
years  in  this  state,  then  went  to  Arkan- 
sas, and  joined  the  Little  Rock  Confer- 
ence.  Six  months  later  he  was  trans- 
ferred to  the  Arkansas  Conference,  and 
continued  to  preach  there  a  few  months, 
when,  on  account  of  the  ill  health  of  his 
family,  he    returned  to    Illinois.     Here 


he  labored  with  the  Free  Methodist 
Conference  of  Illinois,  two  years.  At 
the  expiration  of  that  period  he  became 
connected  with  the  Southern  Illinois 
Conference,  and  began  his  labors  at 
Grafton,  where  he  now  preaches.  Mr. 
Huffman  is  an  able  and  talented  preach- 
er, and  a  faithful  and  successful  worker 
in  the  vineyard  of  the  Master.  He  was 
united  in  marriage,  in  1870,  with  Rosa 
Bell  Potter,  of  Grand  Rapids,  Mich., 
who  died  in  1871.  They  had  one  child, 
who  died  in  infancy.  Mr.  Huffman  was 
again  married  Aug.  9,  1875.  to  Elizabeth 
Funston,  of  Livingston,  111.  She  died 
Dec.  9,  of  the  same  year.  Nov.  23,  1S7(>, 
he  was  married  to  Rosa  Lane,  of  Staun- 
ton, 111.  By  this  union  there  were  four 
children,  three  of  whom  are  now  living 
— Nellie  B.,  Phebe  Maud,  and  Lucy  C. 
Sarah  A.  died  in  infancy.  Mr.  Huff- 
man's father  died  at  Memphis,  Tenn., 
in  1864,  while  in  the  service  of  his 
country.     His  mother  is  still  living. 

Silas  Farrington  was  born  Dee.  26, 
lso:;,  at  Belchertown,  Mass.  At  the  age 
of  14  years  he  entered  a  cotton  null,  and 
spent  two  years  in  learning  to  operate 
the  machinery,  then  engaged  as  a 
spinner.  After  one  year  he  was  placed 
in  charge  of  the  spinning  room,  as  over- 
seer, which  position  he  occupied  four 
years.  He  then  went  to  Dorchester,  six 
miles  from  Boston,  where  he  learned  the 
carpenter's  trade,  working  one  and  a 
half  years,  for  which  he  received  the 
sum  of  $150.  He  became  in  that  time 
a  skilled  workman,  and  then  com- 
manded the  highest  wages.  In  1825  he 
went  to  Roxbury,  Mass.,  where  he 
resided  11  years,  engaged  in  working 
for  different  parties.  He  was  there 
married,  in  1828,  to  Elizabeth  Kelly.   In 


;;is 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


the  fall  of  1836  he  moved  to  Bloomfield, 
Conn.,  four  and  a  half  miles  from  the 
city  of  Hartford,  where  he  purchased  a 
farm,  and  carried  on  farming  in  connec- 
tion with  working  at  his  trade,  at  which 
he  had  constant  employment.  He  con- 
tinued there  four  years,  then  moved  to 
Hartford,  built  a  residence  and  lived  in 
that  city  14  years.  In  the  winter  of 
1852-3  he  went  to  Washington,  D.  C, 
and  remained  eight  months,  employed 
by  the  Washington  Stone  Company 
upon  the  Washington  monument.  In 
1854  he  moved  to  Trenton,  N.  J.,  where 
he  built  a  residence.  Mrs.  Farrington 
died  at  Trenton,  Feb.  5,  1855.  The  fol- 
lowing October,  Mr.  Farrington  re- 
moved to  St.  Louis,  Mo.,  and  three 
years  later,  came  to  Grafton,  Jersey 
county,  and  opened  the  first  stone 
quarry  ever  opened  at  that  point.  He 
quarried  the  stone  used  in  the  construc- 
tion of  the  bridges  at  St.  Louis,  Quincy 
and  Meredosia,  also  of  the  first  Lindell 
hotel  of  St.  Louis.  He  continued  this 
business  till  187(1,  when  he  was  ap- 
pointed postmaster  at  Grafton,  which 
position  he  held  seven  years,  during 
which  he  was  engaged  in  the  furniture 
business.  The  latter  he  sold  in  1883, 
since  which  he  has  run  a  repair  shop, 
repairing  furniture.  Mr.  Farrington 
was  married  in  1856  to  Frances  Marten, 
who  died  at  Grafton,  July  17,  1873,  and 
Dec.  24,  1875,  he  was  married  to  Eliza- 
beth Johnston.  He  had  by  his  first 
marriage,  two  children,  one  of  whom, 
Silas,  Jr.,  is  now  a  minister  of  the  Uni- 
tarian church,  engaged  in  preaching  at 
Manchester,  Eng.  Mr.  Farrington  is  a 
member  of  the  Universalist  church, 
also  of  Charter  Oak  lodge,  I.  0.  O.  F., 
at  Hartford,  Conn.,  and  of  the  encamp- 


ment. He  is  a  man  of  sterling  qualities 
and  enjoys  the  confidence  and  respect 
of  the  entire  community. 

Brook  Stafford,  a  wealthy  and  prom- 
inent citizen  of  Grafton,  settled  here  in 
the  spring  of  1836  and  engaged  in  black- 
smithing,  being  the  first  to  engage  in 
that  business  in  Grafton.  He  was  born 
in  New  Jersey,  Dec.  10,  1808,  and  is  a 
son  of  David  and  Sylvia  (Eaton  |  Stafford. 
Brook  Stafford  was  married  in  1826,  to 
Mary  Ann  Hilliard,  a  native  of  Philadel- 
phia, and  by  this  union  had  seven 
children — David  C,  living  in  Grafton; 
Christopher  P.,  also  in  Grafton;  Israel, 
who  died  in  1855;  Mary  J.,  wife  of  George 
Thomas,  of  Grafton;  Elizabeth,  wife  of 
M.  Jones,  of  Grafton;  Sarah  L.,  wife  of 
John  Brown,  of  this  county;  and  Brook, 
who  died  in  Leadville,  Col.,  in  1881. 
Mrs.  Stafford  died  in  1850.  Two  years 
later  Mr.  Stafford  was  married  to  Arty 
Ballard,  of  Jersey  county.  She  died  in 
1853,  and  the  following  year  he  was  mar- 
ried to  Nancy  Parker,  of  Greene  county. 
By  this  marriage  there  were  two  child- 
ren— Ida  Blanche,  now  wife  of  Samuel 
Leggett,  of  Jersey  county,  and  John  P. 
In  1869  Mr.  Stafford  was  again  bereaved 
by  the  death  of  his  wife,  and  in  1871  he 
was  married  to  Mrs.  Maria  Leper,  widow 
of  William  Leper,  of  Greene  county.  By 
this  last  union  there  is  one  child — Lena 
May.  Mr.  Stafford  owns  500  acres  of 
land,  also  residence  and  business  prop- 
erty in  Grafton.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
M.  E.  church  and  of  the  Masonic  fra- 
ternity. For  25  years  he  has  served  as 
justice  of  the  peace,  and  is  a  highly 
respected  and  useful  citizen. 

James  Mason,  deceased,  one  of  the 
earliest  settlers  of  Grafton,  Jersey 
county,    111.,    was     born     at    Grafton, 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


319 


Mass.,  in  July,  1783,  and  died  in  St. 
Louis  July  5,  1834.  When  a  young 
man  he  went  to  Portsmouth,  N.  H., 
and  after  two  or  three  years,  went  to 
sea.  being  engaged  in  trade  with  the 
West  Indies  for  a  number  of  years. 
He  then  went  to  New  York  city  and 
became  a  partner  in  the  wholesale  gro- 
cery firm  of  Hancock  &  .Mason.  The 
firm  subsequently  failed,  and  Mr. 
Mason  came  west,  locating  at  Edwards- 
ville,  Madison  county,  111.,  where  he 
engaged  in  the  real  estate  business.  He 
was  one  of  the  prominent  men  of  this 
vicinity,  and  assisted  in  laying  out  the 
city  of  Springfield.  He  was  married 
Aug.  15,  1818,  in  St.  Louis,  to  Sarah 
Von  I'bul.  a  sister  of  Henry  Von  Phul, 
who,  at  the  time  of  his  death,  was  the 
oldest  merchant  in  St.  Louis,  being  up- 
wards of  90  years.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Ma- 
son were  the  parents  of  one  child — 
Martha  M.,  now  the  wife  of  William  H. 
Allen,  of  Grafton.  Mrs.  Mason  died 
Sept.  18,  1867,  at  the  home  of  her 
daughter,  in  Grafton. 

William  Murphy,  son  of  Jesse  and 
Ellen  (Mathews)  Murphy,  was  born  in 
the  state  of  Ohio,  in  1830.  He  resided 
in  his  native  state  until  Sept.,  1857,  at 
which  time  he  came  to  Jersey  county 
and  engaged  in  farming  in  Quarry  town- 
ship. In  Feb.,  18G4,  he  enlisted  in  the 
service  of  his  country,  and  served  18 
months;  then,  at  the  close  of  the  war, 
returned  to  Jersey  county,  and  resumed 
farming.  He  continued  that  occupation 
until  1882,  when,  on  account  of  failing 
health,  he  retired  from  active  labor  and 
moved  to  Grafton,  where  he  now  lives. 
He  was  married  in  1857,  to  Cynthia 
Lawrence,  a  native  of  Ohio,  and  by  this 
union  had  seven  children — William  T., 


who  now  resides  on  a  farm  in  this 
county;  Rachel  E.,  Miner  E.,  Carrie 
M.,  James  M.,  Eary  N.  and  Jesse  A. 
April  22,  1879,  Mrs.  Murphy  died,  and 
in  1884,  Mr.  Murphy  was  married  to 
Celia  Myers,  a  native  of  Indiana.  Mr. 
Murphy  owns  residence  property  in 
the  village  of  Grafton,  and  on  account 
of  disability,  contracted  while  in  the 
army,  draws  a  pension  from  the  govern- 
ment. He  has  served  three  years  as 
school  director  and  is  a  highly  respected 
citizen. 

William  S.  Brinton,  a  retired  merchant 
of  Grafton,  was  born  in  Chester  county, 
Pennsylvania,  in  1885.  He  came  to 
Jersey  county  in  1858,  and  located  at 
Newbern.  Three  years  later  he  moved  to 
Grafton,  where  be  has  since  been  a  res- 
ident. For  the  first  eight  years  of  his 
residence  here,  he  was  employed  in 
teaching  school.  He  then  entered  the 
store  of  Grady  &  Co.  as  clerk,  with 
whom  he  remained  until  1874.  At  that 
time  he  purchased  their  stock  of  goods, 
and  engaged  in  merchandising,  which 
he  continued  until  18X5,  when  he  retired 
from  the  business.  He  was  married,  in 
the  year  1860,  to  Miss  E.  J.  Spaulding, 
daughter  of  Richard  Spaulding,  of  this 
county.  They  have  four  children — 
Harry  E.,  Eftie  May,  William  R.  and 
Alford.  Mr.  Brinton  is  a  member  and 
an  earnest  worker  of  the  M.  E.  church, 
and  has  been  for  three  years  superin- 
tendent of  the  Sunday  school.  Mis. 
Brinton  is  also  a  member  of  that  church . 
He  has  held  the  office  of  marshal  two 
years,  and  school  director  10  years. 
He  is  a  member  of  the  A.  F.  &  A.  M., 
and  the  I.  O.  O.  F. 

William  I.  Bray  is  a  son  of  Isaac  and 
Rosanna    (White)    Bray.       Isaac    Bray 


320 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUN  IT. 


came  to  Jersey  county  in  1831,  and  lo- 
cated two  miles  northeast  of  Grafton, 
where  he  improved  a  #  farm.  He  was 
born  in  North  Carolina,  in  1792,  and 
married  to  Rosanna  White,  who  was 
born  in  the  same  state  in  1822.  Isaac 
Bray  died  in  this  county,  in  1872,  and 
is  buried  in  the  Odd  Fellows'  cemetery, 
mar  Grafton.  His  wife  survived  until 
1876,  when  she  died,  and  was  laid  to 
rest  beside  her  husband.  They  were 
consistent  members  of  the  Baptist 
church.  Isaac  Bray  was  one  of  the 
earliest  settlers  of  Jersey  county,  and 
assisted  in  laying  out  the  town  of  Graf- 
ton. The  subject  of  this  sketch,  Wil- 
liam J.  Bray,  was  born  in  Jersey  county 
in  the  year  1840.  His  early  life  was 
spent  upon  his  father's  farm.  He  at- 
tended the  district  school,  and  obtained 
a  fair  education.  In  1861  he  was  mar- 
ried to  Eliza  J.  Slaten,  daughter  of  W. 
D.  F.  Slaten,  of  this  township.  She  was 
born  here  in  1843.  By  this  marriage 
there  are  three  children — Henry,  born 
Dec.  5,  1863;  Ziba,  born  Nov.  30,  1866, 
and  Rowena,  born  Jan.  5,  1870.  Mr. 
Bray  lives  in  Grafton,  where  he  owns 
residence  property.  He  at  present, 
holds  the  office  of  township  assessor. 
He  is  a  member  of  the  I.  0.  O.  F.,  and 
a  public  spirited  citizen. 

Nathan  T.  Veach,  of  Grafton,  is  a  son 
of  William  and  Ruth  (Burris)  Veach. 
He  was  born  in  Scioto  county,  O.,  in 
1824,  and  there  reared  upon  a  farm. 
When  22  years  old  he  began  lumbering 
ami  rafting  on  the  Ohio  river,  and  con- 
tinued that  occupation  until  1861.  He 
then  enlisted  in  the  service  of  his  coun- 
try, joining  the  56th  Ohio  Reg.,'  in 
which  he  served  one  year.  He  was 
discharged  on  account  of  disability  and 


returned  home.  Among  the  engage- 
ments in  which  he  participated  were 
those  at  Fort  Donelson,  Shiloh  and 
Corinth.  He  came  to  Grafton  in  1868 
and  for  six  years  followed  the  business 
of  stone  cutting.  Since  that  time  he 
has  been  engaged  in  fishing,  shipping 
from  $700  to  $1,200  worth  of  fish  to  St. 
Louis  annually.  He  was  married  in 
1846,  to  Elizabeth  Bryson,  a  native  of 
Kentucky.  By  this  union  there  were 
four  children — Mary  L.,  wife  of  Jacob 
Wise,  of  Ohio;  Australia,  wife  of  Wm. 
Peck,  of  the  same  state;  Wm.  Thomas, 
now  living  in  Texas,  and  Ruth,  wife  of 
Hiram  MeMear,  of  this  county.  Mrs. 
Veach  died  in  1856.  Mr.  Veach  was 
again  married  hi  1867,  to  Mary  Douglas, 
a  native  of  Massachusetts.  They  have 
one  child,  Charles  F.,  who  now  resides 
with  his  parents.  Mr.  Veach  has  been 
a  member  of  the  town  board  five  years, 
and  president  of  the  same  one  year.  He 
is  a  republican  in  politics. 

ARMORY    HALL. 

This  hall  is  a  large  and  handsome 
room  in  the  upper  story  of  the  massive 
stone  building  erected  in  1869  by  the 
Grafton  Stone  it  Transportation  Co.,  at 
a  cost  of  $14,000.  The  hall  is  30x70 
feet  in  dimensions,  and  is  used  for  all 
public  purposes. 

SOCIETIES. 

The  first  meeting  for  the  organization 
of  the  lodge  of  A.  F.  &  A.  M.  was  held 
at  the  residence  of  J.  L.  Beirne,  Beirne- 
ville,  Jan.  7,  1860,  and  was  organized  as 
Full  Moon  lodge,  No.  341.  During  that 
year  the  lodge  was  removed  to  Grafton, 
and  first  met  over  the  store  of  Jacob 
Godfrey.  The  charter  members  of  the 
society  were:      J.  L.  Beirne,   Hezekiah 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY 


321 


Funk,  T.  K.  Phipps,  L.  W.  Bethel, 
J.  II.  Hadley,  D.  M.  Highfill,  John 
Piper,  G.  L.  Smith,  M.  B,  Hadley, 
Freeman  Sweet  and  William  Williams. 
The  organization  was  effected  by  Hon. 
A.  H.  Burke,  G.  M.;  F.  M.  Blair,  D. 
G.  M.;  A.  T.  Kuykendall,  S.G.W.;and 
S.  ('.  Saler,  J.  G.  W.  The  first  officers 
installed  were:  J.  L.  Beirne,  W.  M.; 
Hezekiah  Funk,  S.  W..  T.  K.  Phipps, 
J.  W .  The  present  officers  of  the  lodge 
are  as  follows:  \Y.  S.  Brinton,  W.  M.; 
Jasper  Tidball,  S.  W.;  J.  Larbey,  J.  W.; 
C.  P.  Stafford,  treas.;  C.  Brainard,  sec: 
L.  Foster,  S.  D.;  F.  Stinman,  J.  D.;  H. 
Backster,  tyler.  Those  who  haveserved 
as  masters  of  the  lodge  since  its  organ- 
ization are:  J.  L.  Beirne,  Hezekiah 
Funk,  James  Darby,  C.  P.  Stafford, 
Jacoh  Godfrey,  J.  T.  Simms,  Charles 
Brainard,  Brook  Stafford,  Jr.,  Albert 
Ratzal,  Hiram  Heath  and  W.  S.  Brin- 
ton. The  present  membership  of  the 
lodge  numbers  about  55  in  good  stand- 
ing. The  financial  condition  of  the 
lodge  is  also  excellent. 

Silurian  lodge,  No.  449,  I.  0.  0.  F., 
was  organized  in  April,  1871,  by  I).  P. 
G.  M.  James  Starr.  The  date  of  the 
charter  is  Oct.  8,  1872,  upon  which  are 
the  following  charter  member — James 
R.  Bell,  C.  J.  Lyons,  C.  P.  Stafford, 
William  H.  Allen,  James  Nelson,  W. 
S.  Brinton,  R.  I).  Sudduth,  F.  Stein- 
man,  W.  C.  Curry,  and  L.  Foster.  The 
first  officers  were  James  R.  Bell,  X.  <>.: 
C.  J.  Lyons,  V.  G.;  C.  1'.  Stafford,  sec- 
retary; W.  II.  Allen,  treasurer.  Those 
who  have  held  the  office  of  N.  G.  since 
the  organization  of  the  lodge  are  W.  S. 
Brinton,  C.  J.  Lyons,  S.  Parrington, 
C.  P.  Stafford,  Ernest  Meysenburg,  F. 
Steinman,  A.  Young,  W.  H.   Allen,  B. 


Stafford,  T.  A.  Reams,  C.  W.  Lund, 
H.  C.  Allen,  M.  Ruebel,  Thomas  Robin- 
son, Ziba  Noble,  William  I.  Bray,  E. 
Brinton,  J.  Closson,  William  R.  Huitt, 
Thomas  M.  Calloway,  The  present 
officers  are:  George  Ratcliff,  X.  <:.: 
Harry  Willison,  V.  G.;  C.  P.  Stafford, 
It.  S.;  C.  M.  Slaten,  P.  S.  The  present 
condition  of  the  lodge  is  flourishing, 
with  a  membership  of  41  in  good  stand- 
ing. They  have  leased  a  neat  ami  com- 
fortable hall,  in  connection  with  the 
Masonic  lodge,  in  which  to  hold  their 
meetings,  the  lease  extending  over  a 
period  of  10  years. 

Grafton  Encampment,  No.  131,  I.  0. 
0.  F.,  was  organized  Jan.  10,  1872.  by 
E.  A.  Casey  of  Jersey ville,  with  the 
following  charter  members:  E.  A.  I'i- 
nero,  T.  A.  Reaves,  C.  P.  Stafford,  -las. 
Nelson,  A.  H.  Barrett,  C.  J.  Lyons, 
W.  S.  Brinton.  The  first  officers  were 
E.  A.  Pinero,  C.  P.;  T.  A.  Reaves,  H. 
P.;  C.  P.  Stafford,  S.  W.  The  mem- 
bership at  present  numbers  17,  with  tin- 
following  officers  presiding:  M.  Ruebel, 
C.  P.;  John  Classen,  H.  P.:  Andrew 
young,  S.  \\\;  C.  P.  Stafford,  scribe; 
E.  Meysenburg,  treas.  The  camp  is  in 
a  flourishing  condition.  C.  P.  Stratford 
is  also  the  present  district  deputy. 

EDUCATIONAL. 

The  first  term  of  school  in  Grafton 
was  taught  by  a  man  named  Brock,  at 
an  early  day,  in  a  log  cabin  on  the  site 
of  the  present  school  building.  The 
next  term  of  school  was  taught  in  a 
building  24  feet  square,  which  is  now  a 
part  of  Lewis  Johnson's  residence.  In 
1838  a  frame  school  house  was  erected, 
which  was  18x24  feet  in  size.  This 
building    was    superseded    by   a    stone 


322 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


structure  erected  in  1858,  at  a  cost  of 
$4,500.  It  amply  served  the  town  for 
school  purposes  until  one  night  in  1870, 
when  it  was  burned  to  the  ground.  Not 
only  was  the  building  a  total  loss,  but  a 
valuable  library,  which  had  been  under 
process  of  collection  for  some  time, 
shared  the  fate  of  the  edifice  which  con- 
tained it.  The  school  books  in  the 
building  were  also  consumed. 

In  1874,  the  present  building  was 
erected  at  a  cost  of  $15,000,  the  contract 
being  let  to  N.  T.  Smith.  It  is  an  ele- 
gant structure,  built  of  the  celebrated 
Grafton  stone,  with  two  large  rooms  in 
the  first  and  two  in  the  second  story.  It 
is  a  graded  institution  and  furnishes  em- 
ployment for  four  teachers. 

The  first  principal  was  John  W.  C. 
Jones,  who  taught  two  years.  The  suc- 
cession  of  principals  and  time  they 
served  since  then,  areas  follows:  J. 
W.  Roberts,  one  year;  M.  J.  Hoffman, 
five  years;  W.  H.  Gregg,  one  year;  and 
the  present  principal,  Otis  D.  Leach. 
There  are  about  225  scholars  enrolled  in 
the  school,  and  $2,000  per  annum  is 
expended  in  the  maintenance  of  the 
same.  The  present  school  trustees  are 
the  following:  W.  D.  F.  Slaten,  M. 
Ruebel  and  Charles  Brainard.  The 
board  of  directors  are  James  M.  Allen, 
president  ;  George  N.  Slaten,  clerk,  and 
.1.  T.  Slaten. 

MILLS. 

The  flouring  mill  at  Grafton  was 
erected  in  1855,  by  W.  H.  Allen,  but  is 
now  operated  by  his  son,  James  M. 
Allen.  The  building  is  a  large  frame 
structure,  40x88  feet  in  ground  area.  It 
originally  had  three  run  of  buhrs,  with 
a  capacity  of  125  barrels  of  flour  per 
day.      It   is    operated   by    steam,    and 


the  machinery  is  the  patent  roller  pro- 
cess.    It  cost  about  $30,000. 

James  M.  Allen,  miller  at  Grafton,  is 
a  son  of  William  H.  and  Martha  M. 
(Mason)  Allen.  He  was  born  in  Jersey 
county,  in  the  year  1847,  and  was  reared 
here,  receiving  a  good  education.  He 
attended  the  district  schools,  and  later 
spent  two  years  at  the  Normal  Univer- 
sity, at  Bloomington,  111.  In  LSG4  he 
entered  the  mill  owned  by  his  father, 
and  learned  the  miller's  trade.  Four 
years  later  he  assumed  the  full  charge 
of  the  mill,  which  he  still  operates.  He 
was  united  in  marriage  in  1869,  with 
Alice  S.  Eaton,  daughter  of  C.  B. 
Eaton,  of  Jerseyville.  She  was  born  in 
the  state  of  New  York,  and  came  with 
her  parents  to  this  county  in  1864.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Allen  are  the  parents  of  five 
children — Rosalie,  Harry  E.,  Mason, 
Robert  Stewart  and  Arthur  Barrett. 
Mr.  Allen  has  been  a  member  of  the 
town  council  12  years,  three  years  of 
that  time  acting  as  president  of  the 
board. 

The  first  saw  mill  at  Grafton  was 
built  by  A.  W.  Caverly,  which  run  but 
a  short  time,  when  it  was  destroyed  by 
fire.  Before  the  year  1840,  and  pre- 
vious to  the  erection  of  Caverly's  mill, 
a  saw  mill  had  been  built  at  the  mouth 
of  the  Illinois  river,  and  wras  operated 
by  a  man  named  Crandall.  In  1845  one 
was  built  at  Grafton,  by  W.  H.  Allen, 
which  was  operated  for  some  12  years; 
and  was  afterwards  torn  down. 

stone  quarries: 

The  stone  quarries  adjoining  the 
town  are  the  richest  and  most  extensive 
of  Grafton's  resources.  These  quarries 
were  worked  for  local  purposes  from  the 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


82:! 


flate  df  the  first  settlement  of  the  town, 
and  small  quantities  were  shipped  sub- 
sequently to  Alton.  About  the  year 
1856,  the  quarries  were  opened  on  a 
lamer  scale  by  Silas  Farrington  and 
John  Loler.  The  excellence  of  the  stone 
and  the  importance  of  the  quarries  had 
already  attracted  the  attention  of  Giles 
F.  Filley,  of  St.  Louis,  and  through  his 
influence  the  stone  was  brought  into 
public  notice  and  use.  The  first  that 
the  quarries  were  worked  to  any  con- 
siderable extent,  was  in  getting  out  the 
stone  for  the  old  Lindell  Hotel  in  St. 
Louis.  Since  that  time  the  stone  has 
come  into  general  use,  and  has  entered 
into  the  construction  of  a  large  number 
of  important  buildings  and  public  works, 
among  which  are  the  Quincy  bridge,  the 
St.  Charles  bridge,  the  great  bridge 
across  the  Mississippi,  at  St.  Louis,  and 
one  of  the  finest  government  buildings 
on  the  island,  at  Rock  Island. 

The  product  is  a  magnesian  limestone, 
and,  according  to  the  judgment  of  com- 
petent authorities,  possesses  the  best 
qualities  for  building  purposes  of  any 
stone  found  in  the  Mississippi  valley. 
It  was  thoroughly  tested  by  James  B. 
Lads,  previous  to  its  selection  for  use 
in  the  St.  Louis  bridge,  and  was  found 
to  be  of  the  highest  order  of  excellence. 
The  quarries  passed  into  the  hands  of 
the  Grafton  Stone  and  Transportation 
Co.,  and  are  now  owned  by  the  Grafton 
Quarry  Co.,  of  whom  James  Black, 
of  St.  Louis,  is  president,  and  John  S. 
Roper,  of  Alton,  is  secretary.  There 
are  two  other  quarries  beside  the  one 
operated  by  the  Grafton  Quarry  Co. 
During  the  years  1866  and  1867,  when 
the  quarries  were  worked  to  their 
greatest    extent,     the     men     employed 


reached  the  number  of  about  2,000.  At 
present  there  are  only  about  100  men 
employed. 

Charles  Brainerd,  superintendent  of 
the  Grafton  Quarry  Co.,  is  a  native 
of  Rome,  Oneida  county,  N.  Y.,  born 
Sept.  10,  1839.  He  is  a  son  of  J.  B. 
and  Laura  (Gates)  Brainerd.  He  re- 
mained with  his  parents  in  Rome 
until  1854,  when  he  went  to  Saratoga. 
county,  X.  Y.,  where  he  lived  until  the 
war  broke  out.  He  then,  in  1861,  en- 
listed in  the  loth  N.  Y.  Engineers,  and 
served  three  years,  participating  in  the 
Peninsula  campaign,  engagements  at 
Manassas,  Fredericksburg,  and  other 
points.  He  was  with  the  Army  of  the 
Potomac,  and  acted  as  chief  clerk  in 
the  commissary  department  of  the  Eng- 
lish Brigade.  After  the  war  he  returned 
to  Rome,  N.  Y.,  and  remained  four 
months,  at  the  expiration  of  which 
time  he  came  to  Grafton  ami  assumed 
his  present  position  as  manager  of  the 
quarry  company.  He  is  also  a  stock- 
holder in  the  company.  Mr.  Brainerd 
was  married  in  1870,  to  Hattie  A.  Ben- 
ner,  of  Waldoborough,  Maine,  daughter 
of  Edward  Benner,  a,  native  of  Maim'. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Brainerd  have  four  chil- 
dren— Laura  Josephine,  George  Car- 
rington,  Carl  Edward  and  Harold  Web- 
ster. Mr.  Brainerd  is  a  member  of  tin 
Masonic  fraternity.  His  father,  J.  B. 
Brainerd,  was  born  in  1804,  in  New 
York,  and  is  now  living  in  this  county, 
having  come  here  in  1881.  His  mother, 
Mrs.  Laura  Brainerd,  died  in  Rome, 
N.  Y.,  in  is:,:;. 

CEMETERY. 

The  Grafton  cemetery  is  located  some 
two  miles  north  of  town,  and  was  laid 
out  by  E.  Meysenburg,  N.  G.,  and  Em- 


324 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


mor  Brinton,  R.  S.,  of  Silurian  lodge 
No.  4411,  I.  ().  0.  P.,  July  23,  1873.  It 
was  surveyed  and  platted  by  Z.  E.  Freer, 
surveyor,  June  30,  of  that  year,  and  filed 
for  record  Aug.  20.  The  first  burial  was 
that  of  William  Godfrey,  July  12,  1873. 
The  burying  ground  is  nicely  located  on 
the  bluffs  north  of  the  Mississippi  river, 
and  is  quite  well  improved. 

FERRY    BOATS. 

Grafton  was  at  one  time  an  important 
point  for  crossing  the  river  for-  emigra- 
tion to  Missouri.  In  the  month  of  June, 
1833,  permission  was"  given  by  the 
Greene  county  court  to  Paris  Mason,  to 
establish  a  ferry.  This  first  ferry  was  a 
horse  boat,  and  was  subsequently  taken 
off,  and  an  ordinary  flat  boat  substituted, 
but  when  business  got  better  again,  the 
horse  boat  was  again  called  into  requisi- 
tion. 

Judge  "William  H.  Allen  established  a 
steam  ferry  in  1856,  and  it  was  conducted 
until  1862,  when  the  progress  of  the  war 
of  the  Rebellion  stopped  all  intercourse 
between  the  states  of  Illinois  and  Mis- 
souri at  this  point,  and  necessitated  the 
the  abandonment  of  the  boat,  since 
which  time  there  has  been  no  regular 
ferry. 

FIRST  ITEMS. 

The  first  house  was  built  by  James 
Mason,  in  1832. 

The  pioneer  merchant  was  Paris  Ma- 
son, who  erected  a  building  and  put  in 
a  general  stock,  in  1833. 


The  first  newspaper  in  the  county  was 
established  in  Grafton,  in  1836,  by 
John  Russell. 

The  first  church  was  built  in  1837, 
and  was  for  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
society.  The  building  was  a  frame  struc- 
ture, 36x40  feet  in  size. 

The  first  school  house  was  built  in 
1838,  and  was  a  frame  building,  18x24 
feet  in  dimensions. 

The  first  religious  services  were  held 
by  the  Methodist  Episcopal  society,  in 
1836,  in  a  warehouse  owned  by  John 
Keyes.  The  services  were  conducted 
by  Rev.  Mr.  Poole. 

The  second  religious  services  were 
conducted  by  Rev.  Weldon,  in  a  build- 
ing owned  by  Mr.  Whitcomb.  He  after- 
ward held  quite  a  revival,  in  the  spring 
of  1837,  there  being  about  40  converts. 

Paris  Mason  was  the  first  to  be  com- 
missioned postmaster  in  the  place. 

The  first  mill  was  built  in  1855,  by 
W.  H.  Allen,  and  was  40x88  feet  in 
size. 

CAMDEN. 

This  town  was  laid  out  by  George 
Finney,  on  the  southeast  quarter  of  Sec. 
8,  T.  6,  R.  12. 

The  place  was  expected,  by  its  foun- 
der, to  eventually  become  a  commercial 
emporium,  but  his  expectations  were 
never  realized,  and  there  is  very  little 
on  the  site  to  make  one  think  that  it 
was  ever  the  intention  to  build  a  town 
here. 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


>\-r, 


CHAPTER    XX. 


PIASA   TOWNSHIP 

Piasa  is  the  most  populous  agricul- 
tural township  in  Jersey  county.  It  is 
bounded  on  the  north  by  Fidelity  town- 
ship, on  the  east  by  Macoupin  county, 
on  the  south  by  Madison  county,  and 
on  the  west  by  Mississippi  township. 
Part  of  the  town  of  Brighton  lies  in  this 
township,  the  main  portion  being  in 
Macoupin  county.  The  Piasa  creek  in- 
tersects the  township  diagonally,  com- 
ing in  from  Fidelity  township  at  the 
north  line  of  section  2,  and  passing  into 
Madison  county  from  the  southwest 
corner  of  the  township.  A  fork  of  this 
creek  conies  in  from  Fidelity  township 
at  the  north  line  of  section  5,  ami  has 
its  junction  with  the  main  stream. 
about  the  center  of  the  west  half  of 
section  20.  The  Little  Piasa  enters 
from  Macoupin  county  on  the  southeast 
corner  of  section  12,  ami  passes  into 
Madison  county  from    the   center  of  the 


are.  for  the  most  part,  a  live  energetic 
pi  pi'-,  as  the  quality  of  the  improve- 
ments seen  on  so  many  of  the  farms, 
which  dot  tin-  country  in  this  township, 
will  show. 

EARLY    SETTLEMENT. 

John  Wilkeiis  was  the  pioneer  settler 
of  Piasa  township.  In  1818  he  took  up 
a  location  on  the  southwest  quarter  of 
section  31,  and  made  improvements.  He 
was  a  native  of  Maryland,  where  he  was 
reared.  Brought  up  to  sea  life,  he 
became  captain  of  an  ocean  vessel.  He 
commanded  on  ship-board  for  five  years, 
after  which  he  gave  up  his  seafaring 
life,  and  cam.'  out  to  Illinois.  He  was 
twice  married,  and  reared  a  large  family 
of  children,  all  now  deceased  save  three. 
He  had  made  a  number  of  improvements 
on  his  first  location,  on  section  .'11,  this 
township,  but  in  1824,  left  them,  and 
removed  to  section  IV),  near  Delhi, where 


south  line  of  section  ■',:',.  Two  lines  of  he  kept  a  stage  station,  and  a  tavern  for 
railroad  intersect  this  township.  The  the  accommodation  of  the  travelers.  For 
old  line  of  the  Chicago  &  Alton  passes      20  years  he  remained  at  this  place,   and 


through  sections  24,  2">,  36  and  35.  The 
J  i:  l.som  ll  lc  di\  Irian  intersects  sections 
18,  19,  30  and  32. 

The  village  of  Delhi  lies  in  the  south- 
west quarter  of  section  18.   Above  it  will 


then  went  to  Jerseyville  to  stop  for  a 
short  time  with  a  daughter,  Mrs.  Har- 
riet Silloway.  Thence  he  went  to  Paw 
Paw  Grove,  111.,  and  spent  his  remain- 
ing    days   with   another  daughter,    Mrs. 


be  seen  that  the  township  is  abundantly  Sarah  Baker. 
supplied  with    running  water  for  stock         Levi  McNeil  first  settled  in  this  county 

and   agricultural    purposes,    as   well  as  in  1825,  selecting  a  home  on  section  22, 

with    transportation     facilities    for    the  this  township.     lie   first   saw  the  light 

ready  marketing  of  all  the  surplus  pro-  amid    the  "old    granite    hills"    of   New 

ducts  of  its    inhabitants.     The  citizens  Hampshire,  but  came   here   from  Ohio. 


326 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


The  farm  which  he  settled  is  now  owned 
by  John  G.  Ortle.  He  lived  upon  this 
until  Jan.,  1852,  when  he  died.  He  was 
a  well-to-do  and  influential  citizen,  and 
was  highly  respected  and  well  thought 
of  by  his  many  friends  and  neighbors. 
He  surveyed  the  greater  part  of  this 
township  at  an  early  day,  although  not 
an  educated  surveyor.  He  reared  three 
sons,  two  of  whom  have  since  died.  The 
surviving  member  of  the  family,  Henry, 
new  resides  in  Weld  county,  Col. 

Nelson  R.  Lurton  settled  on  the  site 
of  the  town  of  Delhi  in  1827  or  '28,  and 
afterward  laid  out  that  place.  He  kept 
a  stage  station  and  tavern  there  for  a 
number  of  years,  and  as  it  was  situated 
on  the  stage  road,  a  large  business  was 
carried  on  there  during  those  days.  He 
was  the  first  postmaster  of  Delhi,  hold- 
ing that  position  until  1S44,  when  his 
death  occurred.  He  also  operated  a 
large  farm  in  that  vicinity,  and  it  is 
said  that  the  sale  of  his  personal  effects, 
after  his  demise,  was  one  of  the  largest 
in  the  county.  Mr.  Lurton  was  born 
in  Kentucky  in  1803,  where  he  was 
reared  and  educated.  He  attained  con- 
siderable of  a  fortune  in  the  lead  mines 
of  Galena ,  being  among  the  first  to  engage 
in  mining  at  that  place.  He  was  married 
to  Adeline  Sumner,  in  Missouri,  of 
which  state  she  was  a  native.  They 
had  a  family  of  seven  children,  only 
one  of  whom  is  now  living — Joseph, 
who  resides  on  the  old  homestead. 

A  carpenter  by  the  name  of  William 
Barnhardt,  also  settled  in  the  town  of 
Delhi  about  the  year  1830.  He  was 
one  of  the  first  carpenters  in  the  town, 
and  lived  there  until  his  death. 

James  15.  Pinckard  made  a  settlement 
on  Sec.  24,  in  the  early  part  of  1830,  he 


having  entered  the  land  in  January,  of 
that  year.  He  was  a  Virginian  by  birth, 
but  came  here  from  Ohio,  where  he  had 
resided  some  years.  He  was  widely  re- 
spected for  many  excellent  qualities  of 
head  and  heart. 

Joseph  Richardson  and  Samuel  Clarke 
came  to  this  township  in  1830,  and  set- 
tled upon  Sec.  14,  where  they  put  up 
dwellings  and  resided  some  time. 

John  Hart  made  a  settlement  in  Piasa 
township  during  the  year  1830.  He 
was  a  native  of  Tennessee. 

About  the  year  1830  Benjamin  Draper 
settled  on  the  place  now  owned  by 
Thomas  Edwards,  where  he  resided  for 
many  years.  He  came  from  the  state  of 
Tennessee  to  this  county  and  afterward 
went  to  Macoupin  county,  where  he 
subsequently  died. 

William  Hackney  settled  at  Delhi 
about  the  same  time  that  Draper  came, 
opening  up  a  blacksmith  shop,  which 
was  the  first  in  the  village  and  township. 
He  came  from  Troy,  N.  Y.  He  raised 
quite  a  family  of  children  and  during 
the  latter  years  of  his  life,  resided  with 
them.  He  died  at  the  residence  of  his 
daughter,  Mrs.  Margaret  Brown,  in  the 
village  of  Brighton. 

S.  T.  Kendall  settled  the  James 
Parish  farm  about  the  year  1830.  He 
was  a  native  of  Tennessee,  but  came 
here  from  Missouri,  being  married  to 
Catherine  Sumner  in  the  latter  state. 
In  1836  he  represented  Greene  county 
in  the  state  legislature,  Jersey  and 
Greene  being  one  county  at  that  time. 

George  and  David  Settleniier,  natives 
of  Pennsylvania,  came  from  Missouri  to 
this  township  in  1830,  settling  the  farm 
now  owned  by  Phineas  Eldredge.  They 
remained  until  1848,  when   they  sold  to 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY 


::27 


Mr.  Eldredge  and  removed  to  Oregon 
with  their  families,  where  they  now  re- 
side. Both  served  through  the  Black 
Hawk  war.  They  were  good  fanners, 
and  were  well  known  in  the  county. 

During  the  year  1830,  Bartholomew 
Downs  located  on  section  22.  He  was  a 
native  of  England,  and  had  lived  here  a 
number  of  years,  when  his  death  oc- 
curred. 

In  the  spring  of  1837,  .Tames  Howell 
settled  on  the  farm  now  owned  by 
Frank  Knapp,  on  section  33.  He  came 
from  Somerset  county,  N.  J.,  where 
he  was  horn  in  1774.  He  was  married 
in  1801,  to  Anna  De  Hart.  They  were 
the  parents  of  10  children,  only  one  of 
whom  is  living  in  this  part  of  the  coun- 
try. The  name  of  this  one  is  Isaac, 
who  lives  just  over  the  line,  in  Madison 
Bounty.  Howell  resided  here  until  his 
death,  which  occurred  in  a  peculiar 
manner,  Sept.  20,  1846.  He  set  fire  to 
a  dead  tree,  and  then  went  to  his  house. 
Soon  the  flames  sprang  to  a  great 
height,  and  fearing  that  the  falling 
brands  would  ignite  a  fence  near  by.  he 
went  out  to  protect  it.  The  exact  man- 
ner of  his  death  is  not  known,  but  when 
his  dead  body  was  found  his  breast  was 
badly  bruised  and  one  foot  had  been 
burned  oil'. 

Thomas  Marshall  came  to  Delhi  in 
1837,  where  he  resided  until  1*44,  when 
he  moved  upon  a  farm  on  section  30. 
He  lived  there  until  Aug.,  1881,  when 
he  removed  to  Jerseyville,  where  hi1 
now  resides.  He  was  born  in  Wilming- 
ton, Del.,  Nov.  21,  1814.  lie  was  mar- 
ried to  Agnes  McFarland.  They  were 
the  parents  of  one  child — Agnes. 

Robert  McFarland  came  in  1838,  and 
settled  on  section  30.     He  did  not  live 


there  much  of  his  time  at  lirst.  how- 
ever, as  he  was  then  following  railroad- 
ing. He  left  at  the  time  of  the  out- 
break of  the  Mexican  war,  serving 
through  the  same.  After  the  close  of 
that  war,  he  remained  in  Mexico  one 
year,  and  died  there,  in  July,  1848. 
His  widow  afterward  married  Thomas 
Marshall,  who  now  resides  in  Jersey- 
ville. 

TRoMINENT    CITIZENS. 

Andrew  Edwards  came  to  Piasa  in 
IS  I'.l.  and  during  that  season  raised  a 
crop.  In  October  of  that  year  he  moved 
to  section  19,  where  he  purchased  120 
acres  of  land  of  James  Hixson.  He 
continued  to  reside  there  until  his 
death,  which  occurred  June  4,  1867.  He 
was  born  May  11,  1808,  in  Mercer 
county,  Penn.,  and  moved  to  Scioto 
county,  <).,  when  11  years  of  age.  He 
was  a  son  of  David  Edwards,  whose 
wife  was  Catherine  George,  daughter  of 
Jacob  George,  of  Germany.  Andrew 
Edwards  married  Mary  Darlington,  a 
native  of  Scioto  county,  0.,  Dec.  24, 
1835.  They  continued  to  reside  in 
Ohio  till  1849.  They  had  four  chil- 
dren, all  natives  of  Scioto  county — 
Henry  D.,  Minerva,  wife  of  A.  Ran- 
dolph, of  Montgomery  county;  William 
H.,  and  George  W.,  living  in  Piasa. 
The  Edwai'ds  were  farmers  by  occupa- 
tion, but  Andrew  Edwards  was  a  "jack- 
at-all-trades"  and  a  very  industrious 
man.  lie  was  a  member  of  the  M.  E. 
church. 

Henry  D.  Edwards,  son  of  Andrew 
Edwards,  was  born  Feb.  24,  1837.  He 
was  educated  in  the  country  schools, 
and  subsequently  attendee!  McKendree 
college.  After  completing  his  educa- 
tion, he    followed  teaching  school  ami 


,",'_»S 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


surveying  for  six  or  seven  years  in  Jer- 
sey county.  He  made  bis  home  with 
his  parents  until  Nov.  9,  1872,  when  he 
was  married  to  Mary  Howeller.  He 
engaged,  the  same  year,  in  the  mercan- 
tile trade,  buying  a  store  and  goods  of 
E.  Tillotson,  in  Delhi.  In  1873  he  be- 
came associated  in  business  with  M.  V. 
'Hamilton,  with  whom  he  continued  in 
trade  until  1882.  He  then  sold  his 
interest  to  Mr.  Hamilton  and  has  since 
been  engaged  in  attending  to  his  duties 
as  station  agent,  having  heen  appointed 
in  1872.  Mr.  Edwards  owns  200  acres 
of  land  in  Piasa  township,  40  acres  in 
Mississippi  township,  and  a  residence 
in  Delhi.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Ma- 
sonic fraternity,  both  of  the  blue 
lodge  and  chapter,  of  Jerseyville,  also 
of  the  K.  of  H.  and  the  M.  E.  church. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Edwards  have  two  chil- 
dren— Frederick  M.,  born  Aug.  25,  1873, 
and  Jerome  Y,  born  May  20,  1875. 

John  Christian  Bauer,  a  native  of 
Germany,  was  born  May  21,  1843.  He 
remained  in  that  country  until  20  years 
of  age.  In  March,  1866,  he  embarked 
for  America  and  arrived  in  New  York 
city  on  Easter  Monday.  After  stopping 
a  few  days  in  New  York  he  proceeded 
west  to  Alton,  111.,  where  he  followed 
the  blacksmith  trade  two  years.  He 
then  went  to  Litchfield,  111.,  and  staid 
six  weeks  engaged  in  the  same  business, 
then  returned  to  Alton,  and  came  soon 
after  to  Piasa  township,  Jersey  county. 
Here  he  worked  for  a  time,  by  the 
month,  employed  by  Mr.  Robinson,  of 
whom  he  later  rented  land,  which  he 
cultivated  one  season.  He  then  rented 
the  farm  which  he  now  lives  upon,  of 
his  brother,  Philip  Bauer.  April  17, 
1878,  he  was  married  to  Isabella  Down, 


who  was  born  in  1848.  They  are  the 
parents  of  five  children-1— Isabella,  born 

F..|,.  28,  187-1;  Willie,  horn  Aug.  30,  1875; 
Annie,  born  June  17,  1878;  John,  born 
Oct.  4,  1879;  and  Alice,  born  Dec. 
13,  1881.  Mr.  Bauer  is  the  owner  of  two 
fine  stallions,  of  one-fourth  Norman 
stock,  one  being  a  bright  bay,  three 
years  old,  and  a  little  more  than  1(> 
hands  high;  the  other,  a  dapple  gray, 
seven  years  old,  and  17  hands  high.  Mr. 
Bauer  is  a  member  of  the  Lutheran 
church,  and  politically  a  democrat. 

George  Cairns  is  a  native  of  Scotland, 
born  July  1,  1820.  He  remained  in  his 
native  county  until  26  years  of  age,  there 
following  the  occupation  of  farming. 
He  then  went  to  England,  where  he 
lived  six  years,  working  for  a  wholesale 
merchant.  He  was  married  in  Scotland, 
in  1842,  to  Agnes  Fairbairn.  In  1852 
he  immigrated  to  America,  and  settled  in 
Zanesville,  Ohio,  where  he  remained  18 
months,  engaged  in  blacksmithing.  He 
then  removed  to  Alton,  111.,  where  for 
three  years  he  followed  mining,  then 
moved  to  Jersey  county,  this  being  in 
1857.  He  located  on  his  present  farm 
in  1860.  He  has  121  acres  of  land,  upon 
which  he  has  made  all  the  improve- 
ments, and  which  is  nicely  situated.  He 
has  a  coal  mine  on  his  place,  which  he 
works.  He  was  bereaved  by  the  death 
of  his  wife,  in  1881.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Cairns  have  had  13  children,  10  sons 
and  3  daughters.  Five  of  the  former 
and  two  of  the  latter  are  now  living, 
the  eldest  being  41  and  the  youngest  15 
years  of  age.  Mr.  Cairns  has  served  as 
justice  of  the  peace  of  this  township 
four  years,  and  at  present  holds  the 
office  of  township  trustee. 

Charles    Bruce   Bartlett   was  born   in 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


329 


Seneca  county,  O.,  in  Sept.,  1845. 
When  9  years  of  age  he  removed  with 
his  father  to  Jersey  county,  111.  After 
coming  here  he  attended  school  in  Jer- 
seyville  one  year,  after  which  he  lived 
with  his  father  upon  the  farm  known  as 
the  "old  Bartlett  farm,''  (on  which  he 
now  resides)  until  21  years  of  age.  He 
then  left  home,  attending  McKendree 
College,  Lebanon,  111.,  for  three  years; 
then  one  year  at  Michigan  University, 
where  he  studied  law.  While  there  he 
was  the  friend  and  room-mate  of  the 
Hon.  Henry  Seiter.  Being  obliged  to 
abandon  the  law  on  account  ofill-health, 
Mr.  Bartlett  has  divided  his  time  be- 
tween teaching  and  fanning.  He  has 
taught  at  Delhi  for  the  past  two  years, 
and  is  engaged  to  teach  in  the  same 
place  the  coming  term.  Mr.  Bartlett's 
father.  William  Bartlett,  was  horn  in 
Maine,  in  1802.  In  early  life  he  fol- 
lowed the  occupation  of  ship  carpenter, 
but  during  his  latter  years  was  engaged 
in  farming.  His  death  occurred  in  1876. 
His  widow,  wdio  is  still  living,  was  horn 
in  1819,  in  the  state  of  Ohio.  She  re- 
sides with  her  son,  the  subject  of  this 
sketch.  Mr.  Bartlett  has  held  the  office 
of  town  clerk  two  terms.  He  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  K.  of  H.,  Delhi  lodge  No. 
1129.  As  a  teacher  he  is  popular  and 
successful. 

William  H.  Bartlett  came  with  his 
parents  t'>  Jersey  county  in  is.r>3,  he 
being  then  13  years  of  age  He  ,vas 
horn  in  Seneca  county,  0.,  July  3,  1840. 
On  coming  to  this  county  the  family 
located  in  Jersey  ville,  where  they 
resided  one  year,  and  then  removed  to 
the  farm  in  I'iasa  township,  on  which 
William  II.  lives,  and  where  he  followed 
farming  until    loU2.     In    September    of 


that  year  he  enlisted  in  Co.  C,  of  the 
121th  111.  Inf.,  serving  as  musician. 
After  spending  six  weeks  at  Camp  But- 
ler, near  Springfield,  his  regiment  went 
south,  to  Memphis,  participating  in 
Grant's  campaign  against  Vieksburg. 
lie  took  part  in  the  engagements  of 
( lhampion  Hills,  Jackson  and  Raymond, 
arriving  at  Vieksburg,  May  1'.*,  1863. 
He  was  present  at  the  capture  of  Vieks- 
burg, on  the  4th  of  July,  and  subse- 
quently took  part  in  other  engagements. 
After  the  war  he  returned  home  and 
resumed  farming  upon  the  homestead 
farm,  which  has  been  his  residence 
since,  with  the  exception  of  two  years, 
during  which  lie  lived  two  miles  west  of 
his  present  place.  .Mi-,  and  Mrs.  Bart- 
lett have  four  children — Minnie,  burn 
Nov.  12,  1869;  William,  born  May  7, 
1871;  Ethel,  bum  April  8,  1S74,  and 
Albert,  bom  Sept.  7,  1875.  Mr.  Bart- 
lett was  highway  commissioner  three 
years,  and  at  present  holds  the  office  of 
supervisor.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
K.  of  H.,  Delhi  lodge,  No.  112'.). 

Frank  Schoeberle  was  burn  in  Bohe- 
mia, Austria,  ( let.  20,  1830.  He  remained 
in  his  native  country  until  1853,  then, 
to  avoid  being  drafted  into  military  ser- 
vice, he  came  to  America,  landing  in 
New  York  city  in  June  of  that  year, 
lie  proceeded  west  to  Milwaukee, Wis., 
thence,  soon  after,  to  Watertown,in  the 
same  state,  where  he  remained  two 
years,  engaged  in  farming  and  brick- 
making.  He  then  went  south  to  New 
Orleans,  his  object  being  to  learn  the 
French  language.  He  had,  during  the 
first  six  weeks  of  his  residence  in  this 
country,  obtained  a  practical  knowledge 
of  the  English  language.  He  staid  in 
New  Orleans  two  months, and  while  there 


330 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY 


was  sick  in  a  hospital  two  weeks.  On 
his  recovery  he  came  td  Illinois,  and 
stopped  in  Madison  county,  where  he 
followed  farming  two  years,  then  went 
to  Dubuque,  la.,  there  working  at  brick- 
making,  and  next  to  St.  Louis,  where 
he  was  married,  Nov.  9,  1858,  to  Annie 
Gaitman,  who  was  born  Oct.  12,  [834. 
He  remained  in  St.  Louis  15  months, 
then  moved  to  Mason  county,  111.,  and 
16  months  later  to  Jersey  county.  He 
located  on  section  34,  Piasa  township, 
purchasing  40  acres  of  land,  to  which  he 
hassince  added  40  more.  This  land  he 
improved  and  lived  upon  until  March, 
L884.  lie  then  sold  his  farm  and  moved 
to  Brighton,  where  he  purchased  resi- 
dence property,  and  now  makes  his 
home.  Mr.  Schoebcrle  is  a  republican 
politically.  He  has  held  the  office  of 
school  director  two  terms,  and  is  at 
present  assessor.  He  is  a  member  of 
the  Catholic  church,  while  his  wife 
holds  connection  with  the  German  Lu- 
theran. On  the  1st  of  July,  Mr.  Schoe- 
berle  started  on  a  trip  to  Germany,  and 
is,  at  the  time  of  this  writing,  enjoying 
a  delightful  time  there.  He  was  to  re- 
turn about  i  let.  1. 

Charles  P.  Long,  a  farmer  of  Piasa 
township,  was  horn  in  the  city  of  St. 
Louis,  Sept.  12,  1850.  His  early  life 
was  spent  in  that  city,  where  he  receiv- 
ed a  good  education.  In  1874  he  came 
to  Jersey  county  and  purchased  a  farm 
oil.:;  acres  in  Piasa  township,  to  which 
he  has  since  added  26  acres,  making 
altogether  89  acres,  on  which  he  now 
resides.  His  farm  is  in  a,  good  state  of 
cultivation  and  highly  productive.  Mr. 
Long  was  married  in  1874,  to  Ella 
Hording,  of  Detroit,  Mich.,  and  by  this 
union  has  five  sons— Charles  Sylvester, 


bom  Sept.  2(1,  187",;  Willard  D.,  born 
March  30,  1878;  Frederick  A.,  born 
I  )<t.  7,  1879;  Leonard,  bom  Jan.  7,  1882; 
and  Walter,  bom  Nov.  30,  1883.  Mr. 
Long  now  holds  the  office  of  justice  of 
the  peace,  school  director  and  road  com- 
missioner, having  held  the  first,  eight 
years,  the  second,  four  terms,  and  the 
last  a  few  months,  this  being  his  first 
term.  He  is  a  Catholic  in  religious  be- 
lief. His  farm  is  underlaid  with  a 
3-foot  vein  of  coal  of  excellent  quality. 
( leorge  Tunnard  isa  native  of  Lincoln- 
shire, England,  born  in  1835.  He  is  a 
son  of  John  and  Ann  (  Hidden  )  Tunnard. 
In  1853,  George  Tunnard  came  to  Amer- 
ica, and  settled  in  New  York,  where  he 
resided  18  years.  At  the  expiration  of 
thai  period,  he  removed  to  the  state  of 
Illinois,  locating  in  Piasa  township, 
Jersey  county,  which  has  since  been  his 
home,  and  where  he  now  owns  a  well 
improved  farm  of  110  acres.  He  was 
married,  in  18(14,  to  Elizabeth  Weaver, 
a  native  of  the  state  of  New  York.  Two 
children  have  been  bom  to  them — Sarah 
and  John.  Mr.  Tunnard  carries  on 
general  farming,  raising  grain  and  stock. 
He  is  a  member  of  the  Baptist  church. 
His  father,  John  Tunnard,  died  in  New 
York,  in  18.35,  and  his  mother,  Mrs. 
Ann  (Holden)  Tunnard,  in  the  same 
place,  in  1880. 

Charles  Stieren,  deceased,  was  bom 
in  Germany  in  the  year  1822,  and  was  a 
son  of  Charles  and  Anna  Stieren.  He 
resided  in  his  native  land  until  1857. 
In  the  fall  of  that  year  he  came  to 
America,  settling  upon  section  20,  Piasa 
township,  Jersey  county,  111.  He  was 
married  the  same  year  to  Elizabeth 
Stelta,  a  native  of  Germany.  Eight 
children  were  born  to  them — Frederick, 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


331 


Elizabeth,  wife  of  George  Springerman, 

of  Bunker  Hill,  111.;  William,  in  Jer- 
Beyville;  Joseph,  Charles,  Francis, 
Kate  ami  Lena.  Mr.  Stieren  died  in 
Nov.,  1883,  and  was  buried  in  the 
Brighton  cemetery.  His  widow  still 
resides  on  section  20,  Piasa  township, 
where  she  owns  4d  acres  of  land.  Mr. 
Stieren  was  a  member  of  the  Catholic 
church.  Allot  Mrs.  Stieren's  children, 
except  Elizabeth  and  William,  reside 
witli  her  on  the  farm. 

Horace  Lindley  was  horn  in  Godfrey, 
Madison  county,  111.,  Aug.  18,  1853, 
being  a  son  of  William  and  Mary  Cath- 
erine Lindley.  The  former  was  born  in 
England  in  1808,  and  died  in  Madison 
county,  111.,  in  1870.  The  latter  was 
bom  in  Germany  in  1819,  and  is  still 
living.  The  subject  of  this  sketch  was 
reared  in  his  native  county,  where  he 
resided  until  1883.  In  that  year  he 
located  in  Piasa  township,  Jersey 
county,  where  he  now  lives.  He  owns 
260  acres  of  land,  and  is  engaged  in 
general  fanning.  Mr.  Lindley  was 
married  in  1884,  to  Tracy  Knapp,  who 
wa<  burn  July  24,  1867. 

John  Allen  Goodman  is  a  son  of 
James  R.  Goodman,  an  early  settler  of 
this  county.  The  latter  was  born  in 
1816.  His  wife,  the  mother  of  the  sub- 
ject of  this  sketch,  Mrs.  Frances  Good- 
man, was  born  in  1820,  and  is  still  liv- 
ing.    James  R.  Goodman    died  July  6, 

1862.    John  Allen  G Lman  was  born  in 

Piasa  township,  Jersey  county,  111., 
Dec.  25,  1851,  and  was  here  reared  upon 
a  farm.  June  21,  1*74,  be  was  united 
in  marriage  with  Abbie  Thomas.  They 
are  the  parents  of  six  children,  four 
daughters  ami  two  sons,  the  oldest 
being  ten  years  of  age.     Mr.    Goodman 


is  a  farmer,  owning  40  acres  of  land,  all 
under  good  cultivation.  He  is  engaged 
in  raising  corn  principally.  He  is  an 
enterprising  farmer  and  a  worthy  citizen. 

Frederick  Haag,  of  Piasa  township, 
was  born  in  Germany,  March  L':;.  1828. 
lie  was  reared  on  a  farm  in  that  country, 
where  he  remained  until  he  was  28  years 
of  age.  He  came  to  America  in  1856, 
landing  in  New  York  in  September  of 
that  year,  lie  then  went  to  Alton,  111., 
stopped  a  few  weeks,  after  which  be 
worked  at  a  place  about  three  miles 
from  Alton,  one  year,  receiving  -SI  per 
day.  At  the  expiration  of  that  time  he 
entered  a  brewery,  where  he  was  em- 
ployed three  and  a  half  years.  lie  then 
purchased  I"  acres  of  land  on  section 
28,  Piasa  township,  which  has  since 
been  his  home.  In  Dec,  1861,  be  was 
married  to  Lizzie  Keile,  who  was  born 
Jan.  24,  1842.  They  were  the  parents 
of  seven  children,  four  sons  ami  three 
daughters,  all  of  whom  are  living,  ex- 
cept one  son,  who  died  in  June,  1880, 
aged  four  months.  Mrs.  Haag  died 
the  17th  of  Feb..  1880.  Mr.  Haag  has  at 
different  times  added  to  his  real  estate, 
until  he  now  owns  1st;  acres  of  valuable 
land.  He  is  an  industrious  and  enter- 
prising farmer,  and  has  accumulated  all 
by  bis  own  industry.  He  is  a  member 
of  the  Evangelical  Lutheran  church. 

Herman  Oehler,  son  of  William  and 
Henrietta  (Darby)  Oehler,  was  born  in 
Prussia  in  1842.  In  1867  be  emigrated 
to  America,  and  settled  in  Brighton, 
Macoupin  county.  111.,  and  has  ever 
since  resided  in  Macoupin  and  Jersey 
counties.  lie  now  owns  92'  acres  of 
land,  and  is  engaged  in  farming.  In 
1869  Mr.  Oehler  was  married  to  Augusta. 
Brummer,  a  native  of  Germany.       Five 


children  were  born  to  them — Charles 
William,  Herman,  Louis  and  Mollie. 
Mrs.  Oehler  died  in   1881,  and   in   1883 

Mr.  Oehler  was  married  to  Louisa  Hit- 
terman,  who  was  horn  in  Prussia.  By 
this  union  there  is  one  child — Hattie. 
Mr.  Oehler  has  held  the  office  of  road 
commissioner.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
Mutual  Aid  society,  and,  with  Mrs. 
Oehler,  holds  connection  with  the  Lu- 
theran church. 

Mary  Agnes  Nugent,  formerly  Mary 
Harrington,  was  born  in  Manchester, 
Eng.,  in  1819.  At  the  age  of  20  years 
she  was  married  to  James  Nugent,  who 
was  born  in  Manchester  in  ISIS.  He  at 
the  time  of  his  marriage  was  an  over- 
seer in  a  cotton  factory,  in  1843  Mr. 
Nugent  immigrated  to  America  and  set- 
tled at  Albany,  X.  Y.,  where  he  learned 
the  stove  moulder's  trade,  and  where  in 
1845,  he  was  joined  by  his  wife,  who 
then  came  over  from  England.  They 
remained  eight  years  in  Albany  and 
Mi-.  Nugent  became  a  skilled  workman 
at  his  trade,  commanding  the  highest 
wages.  In  1851  they  moved  to  St. 
Louis,  Mo.,  where  he  followed  the  same 
business  until  1859.  He  then  came  to 
Jersey  county  and  purchased  60  acres 
of  land,  but  soon  after,  leaving  the 
farm  in  charge  of.  his  oldest  son,  Ed- 
ward, he  returned  to  St.  Louis  and  fol- 
lowed his  trade  in  that  city  five  or  six 
years,  returning  to  this  county  in  1864. 
He  died  here  in  1876,  upon  the  farm 
now  known  as  the  Nugent  place.  He 
left  a.  widow  ami  nine  children.  Ed- 
ward, the  eldest,  was  born  in  Manches- 
ter, Eng.,  in  is  II;  James  was  horn  in 
the  same  place  in  1843,  and  died  in  No- 
vember 1843;  Sarah  Ann,  burn  in 
Albany,  N.  Y.,  in   1846,  is  now  the  wife 


of  \V.  H.  Bartlett,  of  Jersey  county; 
Mary  Ellen,  born  in  Albany  in  1848,  is 
now  living  in  St.  Louis;  William  Jo- 
seph, born  in  Albany  in  1851;  James 
D.,  horn  in  St.  Louis,  in  1854;  Rupert 
Moseley,  born  in  St.  Louis  in  1866; 
Elizabeth  A.,  born  in  1858,  and  John 
Robert,  born  in  1860.  Of  these  chil- 
dren, William  .losei.h,  John  Robert  and 
Elizabeth  A.,  are  now  living  with  their 
mother  upon  the  homestead  farm  which 
contains  240  acres.  The  brothers,  Win, 
J.  and  John  R.  carry  on  the  farm, 
wheat-growing  being  their  principal  oc- 
cupation. They  also  raise  considerable 
stock,  and  are  enterprising  and  success- 
ful farmers. 

James  G.  Goodman  is  a  son  of  James 
I!,  and  Frances  (Fuller)  Goodman,  the 
former  a  native  of  Virginia  and  the  lat- 
ter of  Tennessee.  They  came  to  Jersey 
county  in  an  early  day,  and  were  here 
united  in  marriage,  in  the  year  1836. 
They  lived  two  years  on  section  10, 
Piasa  township,  then  removed  to  Madi- 
son county,  where  they  remained  until 
1842.  In  that  year  they  returned  to 
Piasa  township,  locating  on  the  west 
half  of  the  northeast  quarter  of  section 
29.  Here  Mr.  Goodman,  Sr.,  improved 
a  farm,  and  resided  until  his  death, 
which  occurred  July  6,  1862.  His  widow- 
still  survives,  and  is  now  living  with 
her  son,  John  A.  Goodman.  James  G. 
Goodman  was  born  and  brought  up  in 
Jersey  county.  Aug.  22,  1862,  he  was 
married  to  Martha  Davis,  a  native  of 
Macoupin  county.  He  settled  upon  the 
homestead  farm  which  lie  bought  in 
company  with  his  brother,  William  C. 
Goodman,  and  which  then  contained 
200  acres.  To  this  has  been  added  240 
acres,    the    farm    now    comprising   440 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


:;:;■; 


acres.  Mr.  Goodman,  in  addition  to 
farming,  is  engaged  in  threshing  and 
grinding  feed,  using  tor  that  purpose  an 
"American  Mill  Co."  steam  engine,  and 
does  quite  an  extensive  business  in  that 
line.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Goodman  have 
seven  children — Annie  L.,  Addie  M., 
Ira  E.,  Mary  E.,  George  A.,  Edward  E., 
and  Nellie  May.  Mr.  Goodman  served 
as  justice  of  the  peace  from  1880  to 
1884.  lie  is  a  member  of  the  I.  O.O.  F., 
Brighton  lodge  No.  :!(i(>. 

William  Chappell  is  a  native  of 
England,  horn  Jan.  28,  1816.  He  is  a 
son  of  Bartholomew  Chappell,  an  Eng- 
lish farmer.  They  immigrated  to  Amer- 
ica together,  in  the  year  1833,  landing 
in  New  York  city.  William  remained 
in  New  York  state,  living  in  Genesee 
county,  until  1837,  hut  his  father,  Bar- 
tholomew, came  direct  to  Jersey  coun- 
ty. 111.,  locating  in  Mississippi  town- 
ship, where  he  died  May  15,  1869. 
Bartholomew  Chappell  was  married  in 
England  to  Elizabeth  Bendlc,  who  died 
in  that  country,  leaving  six  children, 
three  sons  and  three  daughters — Wil- 
liam was  the  youngest  of  the  family. 
Mr.  Chappell  was  subsequently  mar- 
ried again,  and  had  by  his  second  mar- 
riage six  children.  William  Chappell, 
during  the  time  that  he  lived  in  New 
York,  worked  out  by  the  month  and 
managed  by  strict  economy  to  lay  by 
$100  of  his  earnings,  with  which,  on 
coming  to  Jersey  county,  in  1837,  he 
purchased  120  acres  of  land  in  Piasa 
township.   He  now  owns  610  acres,  with 

g 1    and     substantial    improvements. 

About  -Jt M >  acres  of  this  land  is  under 
cultivation,  and  the  remainder  in  pas- 
ture. April  1,  1840,  he  was  married  to 
-Mary    King,    who    died   soon  after  her 


marriage.  In  the  fall  of  1842  Mr. 
Chappell  was  married  to  Elizabeth 
Hooper,  and  bythis  union  has  four  sons 
—William  H.,  Charles  F.,  Chevalier  S., 
and  Chester  John.  Mr.  Chappell  began 
life  without  financial  capital,  and  has 
accumulated  his  large  property  by  his 
own  energy  and  industry.  He  is  now 
one  of  the  substantial  and  well-to-do 
farmers  of  Jersey  county. 

EDUCATIONAL. 

Diamond  district,  or  No.  3,  was  or- 
ganized in  the  summer  of  1883.  In  the 
fall  of  the  same  year,  a  school  building 
was  erected,  on  the  southeast  quarter 
of  section  30,  at  a  cost  of  about  $4iKl. 
Mary  Keeley  was  the  first  to  teach 
a  term  of  school  in  this  building.  The 
present  teacher  is  Florence  Compton. 

CEMETERY. 

The  first  cemetery  in  the  township 
was  that  which  is  located  on  section  l'.l, 
on  the  farm  now  owned  by  G.  W . 
Edwards.  The  first  burial  occurred  in 
1827,  and  was  that  of  the  body  of  Jacob 
Lurton,  Sr.  The  graveyard  has  some 
time  since  been  abandoned. 

FIRST    ITEMS. 

The  first  death  was  Elizabeth,  wife  of 
John  Wilkins. 

The  pioneer  school  was  taught  by  a 
daughter  of  Horace  Landon,  and  who 
afterwards  became  the  wife  of  Dr.  Snell. 
The  school  was  taught  in  a  room  of  a 
dwelling  house, which  was  only  partially 
completed,  in  the  summer  of  1837. 

The  first  cemetery  was  established  at 
an  early  day  on  section  19. 

There  are  seven  school  districts  in  the 
township,  and  two  union  districts. 


3.'!4 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


The  first  birth  in  Piasa  township  was 
a  son  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  John  Wilkins 
named  Frederick. 

The  board  of  school  trustees  at  pres- 
ent is  composed  of  the  following:  Geo. 
Cairns,  pres.;  Phineas  Eldredge,  treas.; 
Geo.  Weld  and  James  W.  Parish. 

The  permanent  school  fund  of  the 
township  now  amounts  to  $3,500. 

The  school  house  in  district  No.  1, 
was  built  in  1884,  at  a  cost  of  $600.  It 
is  a  frame  structure,  18x26  feet  in  size. 
George  North  was  the  first  teacher  in 
this  building.  A  school  house  was 
erected  within  the  borders  of  this  dis- 
trict in  1840.  It  served  the  district 
until  the  winter  of  1883-84,  when  it  was 
destroyed  by  fire.  The  present  teacher 
in  this  district  is  Miss  Hufford.  The 
directors  are:  James  Burke,  William 
Edwards  and  Godfried  Gotter. 

The  first  school  house  in  district  No. 
2,  was  erected  in  1840.  It  stood  on  the 
southwest  quarter  of  section  14.  It 
served  the  district  until  1856,  when  the 
present  edifice  was  erected,  at  a  cost  of 
about  $600.  It  is  located  on  the  north- 
west quarter  of  section  22,  and  is  18x28 
feet  in  dimensions.  Fannie  Davis 
taught  during  the  winter  of  1884-85. 
The  directors  are:  John  G.  Ortel,  George 
Springman  and  Charles  P.  Long. 

DELHI. 

The  first  settlement  and  building  with- 
in the  present  boundaries  of  Delhi,  was 
in  1831,  when  N.  R.  Lurton  came,  erect- 
ing a  double  log  cabin  on  the  west 
half  of  section  18.  The  first  store  was 
established  during  this  year,  but  no  fur- 
ther effort  was  made  to  establish  a  town 
until  about  the  year  1851,  when  other 
business  enterprises  were  attempted,  as 


noticed  further  on  in  this  chapter.  The 
town  was  laid  out  by  Sarah  A.  Lurton, 
Joseph  N.  Lurton,  Jacob  M.  Early,  Car- 
oline S.  Early,  William  A.  Scott  and 
Sarah  A.  Scott,  and  was  surveyed  and 
platted  by  George  I  Foster,  county  sur- 
veyor, May  5  and  6,  1868.  Delhi  is  lo- 
cated on  the  southwest  quarter  of  sec- 
tion 18,  and  is  on  the  Chicago  &  Alton 
railroad,  about  40  miles  north  of  St. 
Louis. 

The  first  store  at  Delhi  was  opened  by 
Dr.  McClosky,  in  1831.  He  continued 
the  business  but  a  short  time,  when  he 
closed  it  out. 

After  this  there  was  no  other  business 
established  until  1848,  when  Edward 
Tryon  opened  a  general  store.  His  wife 
managed  the  business,  and  he  taught 
school.  They  continued  some  time, 
when  the  stock  was  closed  out,  in  Octo- 
ber of  the  above  named  year. 

L.  C.  McNeil  put  in  a  stock  in  1854, 
and  a  year  later  sold  out  to  William  V. 
Eldredge,  who  operated  the  business 
about  a  year,  and  then  sold  to  William 
A.  Scott.  Scott  was  succeeded,  a  year 
afterward,  by  J.  N.  Lurton,  who  con- 
tinued the  business  about  13  months, 
when  he  was  succeeded  by  Elias  Tillot- 
son,  who  took  in  J.  L.  Compton  as 
partner.  The  latter  gentleman  disposed 
of  his  interest  afterwards  to  Tillotson, 
who  in  turn  sold  to  Albert  Hoyt,  and  he 
was  succeeded  by  Terrell  &  Clapp.  Two 
years  later  the  firm  name  was  changed 
to  Clapp  Bros.,  and  later  reverted  to 
Tillotson.  H.  D.  Edwards  afterwards 
bought  the  stock,  and  in  1873  consoli- 
dated with  M.  V.  Hamilton. 

A.  Myers  &  Co.,  engaged  in  business 
in  1868.  They  continued  one  year,  when 
they  removed  the  stock  to  Newbern. 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


335 


In  1850  John  Adamson  put  a  stock  of 
goods,  but  only  continued  a  short  time. 

A  saloon  was  opened  by  John  Gregory 
in  1872,  who  sold  out  to  Matthew  Wat- 
son in  1873.  In  1876  William  A.  Garry 
merged  the  business  into  a  drug  store, 
which  he  operated  until  1880,  when  the 
store  was  closed. 

In  1882,  H.  N  Ford  opened  a  grocery 
store.  In  October,  1884,  he  removed 
the  stock  to  McClusky. 

In  the  year  1857,  Messrs.  Hamil- 
ton &  Hixon  opened  a  meat  mar- 
ket,which  was  run  about  four  years.  It 
was  the  only  market  ever  in  the  place. 

The  first  blacksmith  shop  was  estab- 
lished 1836,  by  Wm.  Hackney.  He  con- 
tinued the  same  until  1875,  when  he 
closed  it  out,  being  too  old  to  work. 

Patrick  Duffy  opened  a  shop  in  1875, 
which  he  continued  until  1880. 

The  first  shoemaker  was  John  Hop- 
kins, who  established  a  shop  in  1851, 
He   remained   only  about  three  years. 

John  Smith  opened  a  shop  in  1875, 
and  remained  about  a  year. 

The  only  general  store  at  present  at 
Delhi  is  operated  by  M.  V.  Hamilton, 
who  purchased  the  same  of  W.  T.  Dow- 
dy, in  1865.  In  1873  he  erected  the 
present  store  building,  which  is  24x40 
feet  in  ground  area,  two  stories  high. 
He  carries  a  stock  of  about  $4,000. 

Martin  V.  Hamilton,  one  of  the  lead- 
ing business  men  of  Delhi,  was  born  in 
Hunterdon  county,  New  Jersev,  Dec. 
26,  1832.  His  parents,  John  G.  and 
Dorothy  (Crique)  Hamilton,  were  of 
Irish  extraction,  but  born  in  the  state  of 
New  York.  In  1836  the  family  removed 
to  Madison  county,  Illinois,  settling 
near  Godfrey,  on  a  farm,  where  Mrs. 
Hamilton  died,  in  1855.    John  G.  Ham- 


ilton died  in  Virden,  Macoupin  county. 
The  subject  of  this  sketch  came  to  Piasa 
township  in  1859,  since  which  time  he 
has  been  a  resident  here.  He  fvas  mar- 
ried, March  13,  1859,  to  Mary  J.  Lur- 
ton,  a  daughter  of  Jacob  Lurton.  She 
died  Feb.  29,  1876.  She  was  an  estimable 
lady,  and  a  member  of  the  Cumberland 
Presbyterian  church.  Nov.  6,  1878,  Mr. 
Hamilton  was  married  to  Lillie  Bell,  of 
Jerseyville,  and  by  this  union  has  two 
children — Mabel  and  Edith.  Mr.  Ham- 
ilton was  elected  supervisor  in  1880,  and 
served  until  the  spring  of  1885.  He  is 
a  member  of  the  Baptist  church,  also  of 
the  Masonic  fraternity  and  the  Knights 
of  Honor,  at  Jerseyville. 

John  Myers  opened  a  blacksmith 
shop  in  1878,  and  is  the  present  repre- 
sentative in  that  line. 

The  drug  business  is  represented  by 
Dr.  J.  F.  Gary  and  E.  D.  Griggs.  They 
also  a  carry  a  small  stock  of  confection- 
ery, tobacco,  etc.  They  engaged  in  this 
line  of  trade  in  March,  1885. 

William  Brumhead  is  engaged  in  mak- 
ing boots  and  shoes,  etc.,  and  also  in 
repairing  the  same.  He  came  to  Delhi 
in  1853,  learning  his  trade  with  John 
Hopkins. 

Another  representative  of  the  shoe- 
making  business  is  John  Snyder,  who 
entered  into  that  line  in  1884. 

POSTOFFICE. 

A  postoffice  was  established  at  Delhi 
in  1831,  and  N.  R.  Lurton  was  commis- 
sioned postmaster.  He  occupied  that 
position  until  his  death,  in  1S44,  though 
the  office  was  continued  in  his  name 
until  1847,  and  was  kept  by  Joseph 
Pennifield.  Since  that  time,  the  following 
has  been  the  succession  of  postmasters: 


336 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUN  TY. 


William  Hackney,  1847-50;  William 
Scott,  1850-62;  E.  Tillotson,  1862-66; 
M.  V.  Hamilton,  1866-69;  S.  B.  Clapp, 
1869-73;  H.  D.  Edwards,  1873-83;  H. 
N'.  Ford,  1883-84;  at  which  time  the 
present  incumbent,  E.  D.  Griggs,  was 
/appointed.  The  postoffice  is  kept  in  the 
store  of  M.  V.  Hamilton. 


In  1831  Nelson  R.  Lurton  erected  a 
building  in  Delhi  for  hotel  purposes, 
which  he  operated  until  1844,  when  his 
death  occurred.  His  widow  continued 
the  business  until  1846,  when  she  leased 
the  building  to  Mr.  Buff  on,  but  after- 
ward took  charge  of  it  again.  In  1848, 
William  Scott  became  landlord,  and  was 
succeeded  in  1852  by  William  Smith, 
who  conducted  the  house  until  1855, 
when  it  again  reverted  to  Scott,  who 
operated  it  until  1858,  when  it  was  dis- 
continued as  a  hotel,  and  became  a 
private  residence. 

A  hotel  was  opened  in  Delhi  about 
the  year  1857,  by  Harry  Spaulding.  He 
conducted  it  until  1869,  when  Elias 
Tillotson  took  charge.  In  1861  he  was 
succeeded  by  M.  V.  Hamilton.  James 
L.  Pennifield  became  its  landlord  in 
1866,  and  so  continued  for  two  years.  It 
then  ceased  to  be  a  hotel  and  was  used 
for  a  residence.  After  a  time,  Mrs. 
Myers  re-opened  it  as  a  hotel.  There 
were  hotel  accommodations  in  Delhi 
until  1880,  since  which  time  John  Kent 
and  James  Pennifield  have  kept  board- 
ers. M.  V.  Hamilton  now  provides  for 
the  transient  trade. 

EDUCATIONAL. 

The  first  school  at  Delhi  was  taught 
in  1838,  in  a  small    log   cabin,    16   feet 


square,  which  stood  within  the  present 
limits  of  the  village.  The  next  building 
was  erected  in  1840,  where  the  present 
school  house  now  stands.  It  was  a 
frame  structure,  and  was  used  until 
1866,  when  the  present  house  was  built. 
It  is  26x34  feet  in  size,  and  was  com- 
pleted at  a  cost  of  SI, 500.  John  Hender- 
son taught  the  first  term  of  school  in 
this  building.  Lena  Ross  is  the  teacher 
at  present.  The  board  of  directors  is 
composed  of  H.  D.  Edwards,  M.  V. 
Hamilton  and  Dr.  Gary. 

SOCIETIES. 

Delhi  lodge,  No.  1139,  K.  of  H.,  was 
organized  July  8,  1878,  by  John  W. 
Vinson,  of  Jerseyville.  The  charter 
members  of  the  society  were:  Henry  D. 
Edwards,  Spencer  Wyckoff,  C.  M.  Wil- 
son, M.  V.  Hamilton,  C.  G.  Cummings, 
William  O.  Langdon,  James  P.  Walker, 
Henry  B.  Rothweiler,  J.  F.Gary,  Ho- 
ratio M.  Ford.  The  first  officers  of  the 
organization  were:  Henry  D.  Edwards, 
D.;  J.  F.  Gary,  P.  D.;  C.  C.  Cum- 
mings, V.  D.;  James  Walker,  A.  D.; 
G.  M.  Wilson,  R.;  H.  N.  Ford,  F.  R.; 
M.  V.  Hamilton,  T.;  Dr.  W.  0.  Lang- 
don, C.;  Spencer  Wyckoff,  G.;  Henry 
Rothweiler,  Gn.;  Dr.  J.  F.  Gary.  M. 
E.;  W.  O.  Langdon,  M.  V.  Hamilton 
and  Spencer  Wyckoff,  trustees.  The 
present  officers  of  the  lodge  are  W.  H. 
Bartlett,  P.  D.;  Theodore  Oscar,  D.; 
John  Rue,  V.  D.;  John  Long,  A.  D.; 
J.  F.  Gary,  R,;  H.  D.  Edwards,  F.  R.; 
M.  V.  Hamilton,  T.;  D.  Sunderland, 
0.;  John  Myers,  G.;  J.  C.  Reid,  Gn.;  S. 
Wyckoff,  S.;  Dr.  J.  F.  Gary,  M.  E.; 
H.  McCloskey,  A.  J.  Evarts  and  H.  N. 
Ford,  trustees.  The  present  member- 
ship numbers  22.      They  meet  in  the 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


hall  owned  by   M.  V.  Hamilton,   where 
the  I.  0.  0.  F.  society  also  meet. 

Delhi  Lodge  No.  659,  I.  0.  O.  F., 
was  organized  in  1879,  and  its  charter 
bears  date  Nov.  19  of  that  year.  The 
charter  members  were:     Joseph  Cham- 


bers, William  Herring,  George  H.  Van 
Horn,  J.  S.  Powell,  E.  T.  Fran.-is,  Elon 
Cooke,  James  P.  Walker,  Arthur  M. 
DeBow  and  Darwin  Wales.  Hon.  Wal- 
ter E.  Carlin  conducted  the  organiza- 
tion. 


CHAPTER    XXI. 


ENGLISH   TOWNSHIP. 


The  civil  sub-division  of  Jersey 
county,  known  as  English  township 
embraces  all  of  congressional  T.  8 
north,  R.  12  west.  It  is  bounded  on 
the  north  by  Greene  county,  on  the 
east  by  Jersej  township,  on  the  south 
by  Otter  Creek,  and  on  the  west  by 
Richwood;  This  township  was  mostly 
timber  land,  but  is  now  well  cleared 
up  and  is  in  great  part  level  or  gently 
rolling.  Borer's  creek  has  its  origin  on 
section  20  and  21.  It  leaves  the  town- 
ship, on  its  northwestward  course,  from 
the  mirth  line  of  section  6,  thence 
passing  into  Greene  county.  It  is  the 
principal,  and  almost  the  only  water- 
course, so  that  there  is,  substantially, 
no  waste  land  in  the  township.  The 
community  is  composed  of  a  wide- 
awake, energetic  class  of  citizens,  and 
the  farms  to  be  seen  here  are  not  to  be 
excelled  anywhere  in  this  part  of  the 
state.  There  are  no  towns  within  its 
borders,  though  Fieldon  is  but  three- 
quarters  of  a  mile  from  the  west  line, 
and  Jerseyville  only  about  two  miles 
from  the  east  line,  thus  affording  post- 
office  and  market  facilities  within  easy 
access  of  all   the    citizens  of  the  town- 


ship. The  prairie  land  is  well  dotted 
with  artificial  groves,  almost  every  farm 
having  one,  serving  the  double  purpose 
of  shade  and  wind-break.  The  Jersey 
county  poor  farm  is  on  section  1(1,  in 
this  township.  There  is  quite  a  large 
German  settlement  here,  which  has 
aided  much  in  the  thorough  develop- 
ment of  the  land.  Considerable  stock- 
raising  is  carried  on,  and  some  in  fact, 
devote  almost  their  entire  attention  to 
this  branch  of  the  business. 

In  1817,  a  party  of  landseekers  came 
through  this  part  of  the  county  looking- 
for  a  home,  and  on  the  10th  of  June, 
1817,  two  of  their  number,  David  Stock- 
ton and  James  Whitesides,  made  a  set- 
tlement in  what  is  now  English  town- 
ship, on  section  25.  Stockton  remained 
but  a  short  time,  but  Whitesides  made 
two  different  improvements,  which  he 
sold  in  1821,  and  then  removed  to  Mor- 
gan county. 

Thomas  Lynn  located  on  section  '_'.">. 
in  what  is  now  English  township,  dur- 
ing the  year  1817.  In  1822  he  sold  out 
to  Philip  Grimes  and  removed  from  the 
the  township,  going  to  a  point  on  Coon 
creek,  in    Rosedale   township,  about   a 


quarter  of  a  mile  from  the  present  Rose- 
dale  postoffice.  He  and  his  brothers, 
Amos  and  Thomas,  were  chair-makers, 
and  with  the  rudest  machinery  imag- 
inable, they  could  turn  out  an  excellent 
chair  in  a  very  short  time. 

Philip  Grimes  came  to  Jersey  county 
in  1817,  and  erected  a  cabin  on  section 
2,  in  English  township.  In  the  spring 
of  1818,  he  moved  his  family  into  this 
house,  where  they  lived  until  1822, 
when  he  purchased  the  improvement  of 
Thomas  Lynn.  His  son,  Jarrett  T. 
(I rimes,  is  now  a  resident  of  Jersey 
township.  Philip  Grimes  was  a  native 
of  the  state  of  Tennessee,  and  served 
under  Gen.  Andrew  Jackson  at  the  bat- 
tle of  New  Orleans.  In  1815,  he  came 
to  Illinois.  He  was  an  active,  indus- 
trious man,  of  excellent  habits  and 
much  respected.     He  died  in  1851. 

James  Pruitt  located  on  section  24, 
English  township,  in  1824.  He  bought 
the  improvement  of  John  Thornton. 
He  sold  out  to  James  T.  Post,  in  1834, 
and  removed  to  a  place  on  Phill's  creek, 
in  Fidelity  township,  where  he  resided 
until  his  death.  He  was  the  father  of 
Amos  and  another  son,  who  went  to 
Arkansas. 

John  Grain,  a  native  of  North  Caro- 
lina, came  to  Illinois  from  Harrison 
county,  Tenn.,  in  1811,  and  settled  in 
St.  Clair  county.  He  was  married  while 
in  Tennessee  to  Heriba  Rumney,  in 
1806.  They  remained  in  the  last-men- 
tioned locality  until  1819,  when  they 
came  to  this  county  and  township,  set- 
tling on  section  10.  This  was  their  res- 
idence until  October,  1845,  when  he, 
with  his  wife,  emigrated  to  Texas,  where 
he  died  in  1855  and  his  wife  in  1867. 
Crain  was  a   plain-spoken  man,  some. 


what  rude  in  his  manners  in  his 
early  life,  especially  when  he  was 
drinking, but  was  a  substantial  citizen.  In 
his  later  years,  he  became  of  a  religious 
turn,  and  thenceforward  was  a  devoted 
member  of  the  church.  His  son,  Joel, 
became  a  minister  of  the  Gospel  in 
Texas,  but  is  now  deceased.  John 
Crain  had  three  sons— Joel,  James  L.  and 
Silas,  and  two  daughters. 

Major  Gershom  Patterson  made  a  set- 
tlement in  this  township  in  1820.  He 
was  a  native  of  Kentucky,  born  in  1796. 
His  parents  moved  to  Illinois  in  1797. 
He  was  married  in  1819  to  Eleanor 
Cooper,  by  whom  he  had  five  children. 
In  March,  1820,  he  removed  to  Jersey 
county,  and  on  the  5th  of  January,  1821, 
entered  a  body  of  land  in  this  township, 
and  immediately  started  to  improve  it. 
He  was  a  captain  in  the  Black  Hawk 
war,  and  was  afterwards  commissioned 
major  in  the  militia.  Mrs.  Patterson 
died  Nov.,  10,  1853,  and  on  the  24th  of 
Jan.,  1856,  the  major  again  married, 
this  time  Mrs.  Mary  Mabee.  At  the 
time  of  his  death,  which  occurred  Jan. 
10,  1857,  he  owned  1,800  acres  of  land. 
He  was  a  prominent  and  influential 
member  of  the  Protestant  Methodist 
church,  and  became  a  local  preacher. 
He  was  a  prominent  figure  in  his  day, 
and  a  successful  farmer. 

John  Thornton  came  to  this  locality 
as  early  as  1820,  and,  liking  the  looks 
of  the  country,  on  the  5th  of  Jan., 
1821,  entered  280  acres  of  land,  lying 
on  section  23  of  this  township.  Here 
he  made  his  home  until  1824,  when  it 
was  purchased  by  Mathew  Darr,  and 
then  he  removed  to  Richwoods  town- 
ship, west  of  the  village  of  Fieldon, 
where  he  passed  the  balance  of  his  life. 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


339 


John  Brown  came  to  the  county  of 
Jersey  in  1820,  and  having,  on  the  19th 
of  January,  1821,  entered  a  tract  of 
80  acres  of  land  in  this  township,  set- 
tled on  it.  Six  months  later  he  entered 
an  additional  80  acres.  Both  of  these 
pieces  were  on  section  25.  He  was  a 
native  of  South  Carolina,  born  in  Pen- 
dleton county,  in  1790.  His  father  re- 
moved with  his  family  to  Georgia,  and 
in  1802,  to  the  French  territory  of  Lou- 
isiana. In  1813,  John  volunteered  in 
the  United  States  Rangers,  and  served 
until  the  close  of  the  war.  He  died 
while  a  resident  of  the  county,  about 
is::;. 

Jehu  Brown,  a  native  of  South  Caro- 
lina, came  to  this  county  about  the  year 
1820,  from  Florissant,  Mo.,  and  being 
in  affluent  circumstances,  rode  down  to 
Edwardsville,  and  on  the  5th  of  Janu- 
ary, 1821,  at  the  land  office  there,  en- 
tered some  880  acres  of  land,  lying  on 
sections  1  and  2  of  this  township. 
Philip  Grimes  had  part  of  this  land 
under  cultivation,  but  Brown  paid  him 
$300  for  his  improvements,  and  he  va- 
cated. Brown  served  as  probate  judge 
cf  Greene  county,  while  this  was  a  part 
of  that  county,  and  was  well  known  as 
Judge  Brown.     He  died  here  in  1835. 

Abiram  McKinney  came  to  English 
township  in  the  fall  of  1821,  although 
he  had  come  to  the  county  a  year  ear- 
lier. He  entered  the  southeast  quarter 
of  section  23,  of  this  township,  in  Octo- 
ber, 1821,  and  resided  there  until  the 
following  year,  when  he  removed  to  sec- 
tion 24,  this  same  townsnip.  He  was  a 
native  of  the  state  of  Virginia.  In  1818 
he  came  to  Illinois,  and  made  a  tempor- 
ary sojourn  in  Madison  county,  when  he 
came  here,  as  above   stated.       He  died 


while  a  resident  of  this  county,  in  April, 
1840.  He  was  the  father  of  James, 
Joseph,  Ann,  Mrs.  James  Rowden,  and 
Jacob,  all  of  whom  are  deceased  except 
Mrs.  Rowden. 

Silas  Grain  made  a  settlement  in  this 
township  during  the  year  1821.  He  en- 
tered 160  acres  of  land  on  section  15,  on 
the  21st  of  January,  of  that  year,  and 
commenced  to  open  it  up. 

Silas  Crain,  Sr.,  was  the  father  of 
John,  James  B.  and  Silas  Crain,  Jr. 
The  wife  of  William  Adair  was  another 
child  of  Silas  Crain,  Sr.  Thomas  Rob- 
erts' wife  was  another  daughter,  as  is 
Mrs.  Hester  Vaughn.  Silas  Crain,  Sr., 
was  a  well  known  and  much  respected 
gentleman,  and  lived  to  the  age  of 
nearly  100  years,  He  died  about  1844 
or  1845.  He  is  buried  in  the  Lax  cem- 
etery. He  settled  on  the  northeast 
quarter  of  section  15. 

Francis  Colean,  came  to  English 
township  in  1822,  and  on  the  2d  of 
April,  entered  the  west  half  of  the 
southwest  quarter  of  Sec.  13,  in  this 
township.  He  commenced  to  open  it 
up  and  make  a  farm.  Mr.  Colean  was 
of  French  and  English  descent,  and 
was  born  at  Cahokia,  then  in  the  terri- 
tory of  Illinois,  July  15,  1794.  He  was 
a  soldier  in  the  war  of  1812-15,  and  was 
with  General  Jackson  at  the  battle  of 
New  Orleans,  Jan.  8,  1815,  and  where 
he  was  slightly  wounded.  He  was  mar- 
ried in  1814,  to  Polly  Cox.  After  the 
war  he  settled  on  the  American  Bottom, 
where  he  resided  until  coming  to  this 
county.  On  the  breaking  out  of  the 
Black  Hawk  war,  he  enlisted  and  took 
part  in  several  campaigns  of  that  earl}' 
contest.  A  man  of  great  energy  and 
determination  of  character,  he  enjoyed 


340 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


the  respect  and  esteem  of  all  who  knew 
him.  He  died  at  his  residence,  Nov. 
19,  1846.  He  is  buried,  with  his  wife, 
in  the  old  Jerseyville  cemetery. 

Nelson  Colean,  (deceased),  formerly  a 
hading  farmer  of  Jersey  county,  was 
born  March  7,  1822,  being  a  son  of 
Francis  Colean.  Nov.  11,  1847,  he  was 
united  in  marriage  with  Sarah  J.  Wad- 
dle. They  were  the  parents  of  six 
children — Sarah  E.,  William  N.,  Charles 
H.,  James  R.,  Mary  E.  and  John  E. 
Of  these,  only  three  are  now  living — 
Sarah  E.,  James  R.  and  Mary  E.  Nel- 
son Colean  died  Aug.  9,  1880,  aged  58 
years.  He  was  a  successful  farmer,  and 
on  account  of  his  sterling  qualities,  was 
highly  esteemed  in  the  community 
where  he  resided.  He  was  a  consistent 
member  of  the  Baptist  church.  Mr. 
Colean  had  been,  for  15  years,  prior  to 
his  decease,  retired  from  active  business. 

Among  the  early  settlers  of  1823,  was 
John  Vaughn,  who  located  on  section 
14,  English  township.  He  was  quite  a 
prominent  man  in  the  county,  well 
known  for  his  energy  and  enterprise. 
He  was  married  to  Hester  Crain,  a 
daughter  of  Silas  Crain,  Sr.  They  raised 
a  family  of  13  children,  now  nearly  all 
deceased.  Mrs.  Vaughn  is  now  living 
with  members  of  her  family.  A  son, 
Eiastus,  lives  near  Girard.  Macoupin 
county,  and  a  daughter-in-law  lives  near 
Litchfield,  Montgomery  county.  Mr. 
Vaughn  died  at  the  old  homestead,  and 
is  buried  in  the  Lax  cemetery.  He  was 
an  active  member  of  the  Baptist  church. 

Mathew  Darr  came  west  in  1801,  and 
stopped  at  St.  Louis.  He  afterwards 
came  to  Illinois  and  settled  in  Madison 
county,  where  he  was  married.  He  was 
born  in  1785.    He  came  to  the  county  in 


1822,  but  settled,  at  first,  in  Richwoods 
township,  but  in  1824,  came  to  English 
township,  purchasing  the  John  Thorn- 
ton place.  He  was  a  very  successful 
farmer,  and  it  is  said  that  from  his  farm 
he  was  one  of  the  first  that  had  an  over- 
plus of  provisions  to  sell  to  new  and 
needy  settlers.  He  was  the  father  of  16 
children,  and  a  consistent  member  of 
the  Baptist  church.  In  1853,  he  was 
called  to  his  long  home,  and  left  a  large 
circle  of  mourning  friends.  He  was 
attached  to  the  milling  trade,  and  built 
two  mills  on  Sugar  creek.  He  also 
erected  a  horse-power  mill  in   his  yard. 

In  1827,  Lewis  Elliott,  Sr.,  settled  in 
what  is  known  as  the  Lynn  Bottom,  in 
English  township.  He  remained  there 
one  year,  and  then  removed  to  Macoupin 
county,  near  the  present  site  of  Medora. 
From  there  he  removed  to  Choteau's 
Island,  Madison  county,  and  thence  to 
Ruyle  township,  this  county,  in  1848. 

In  the  fall  of  1829  Samuel  Erwin  came 
to  what  is  now  Jersey  county  and  lo- 
cated on  Macoupin  creek. 

Samuel  Erwin,  an  old  settler  of  this 
county,  and  a  prominent  citizen  of  Eng- 
lish township,  was  born  in  Wilson 
county,  Tenn.,  June  19,  1811,  his  par- 
ents being  Samuel  and  Agnes  (Wear) 
Erwin.  The  former  isanative  of  South 
Carolina,  and  the  latter,  of  Scotland. 
His  early  life  was  spent  upon  a  farm, 
where  he  remained  until  24  years  old, 
with  his  parents.  In  1828  the  family 
came  to  Illinois  and  located  in  Jefferson 
county,  where  they  remained  two  years, 
then  came  to  this  county  (then  Greene) 
and  located  on  Macoupin  creek.  There 
he  remained  seven  years.  Mr.  Erwin 
was  among  the  pioneers  of  the  state, 
and  effected  a  settlement  where  every- 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


.341 


thing  was  in  a  state  of  natural  wildness, 
and  endured  the  privations  incident  to 
such  a  life  with  a  fortitude  ami  determi- 
nation known  to  hut  lew  persons.  He 
was  married  April  6,  l>>".r>,  to  Susanna 
Brown,  a  native  of  St.  Louis  county, 
Mo.  They  are  the  parents  of  eight 
children,  six  of  win  mi  are  now  living — 
Thomas  •!..  Lucy  V.,  Laura,  James  M., 
Mary  E.,  and  Douglas.  Those  deceased 
were  William  H.  ami  Hannah.  His 
wife  died  May  24,  1879,  and  was  buried 
in  Lebanon  cemetery.  Mr.  Erwin  has 
200 acres  of  land.  He  lias  for  30  years 
been  a  member  of  the  Lebanon  Baptist 
church. 

J.  D.  Erwin  is  a  Jersey  county  man, 
having  been  born  here  Aug.  •"..  1853, 
his  parents  being  Samuel  and  Susanna 
(Brown)  Erwin.  The  firmer  is  a  na- 
tive of  Tennessee,  ami  the  latter  of  Mis- 
souri. The  subject  of  this  sketch  was 
brought  up  on  a  farm,  and  lias  always 
been  at  home  with  his  parents.  His 
education  was  obtained  in  this  county, 
at  the  Jerseyville  schools,  two  years, 
and  afterwards  this  instruction  was  sup- 
plemented by  a  two  year's  course  at 
Shurtleff  college.  Upper  Alton.  He 
was  married  Oct.  23,  1879,  to  Rhoda 
Rowden,  daughter  of  James  and  Eliza- 
beth Rowden.  They  are  the  parents  of 
three  children — Jessie.  Louie  and  Susie. 
Mr.  Erwin  is  a  member  of  the  Lebanon 
I'.aptist  church.  He  cultivates  200 
acres  of  land  on  section  14,  is  a  l'ooiI 
farmer  and  an  enterprising  young  man. 

James  Rusk  came  to  what  is  now 
English  township  in  1829.  lie  was 
born    in    South   Carolina. 

Hugh  Husk,  deceased,  son  of  James 
andPriseilla  I  McDow)  Rusk,  was  of  Irish 
descent,  and    was    born    in  North    Caro- 


lina, March  15,  1816.  When  8  years  of 
age  he  came  with  his  parents  to  Illinois, 
and  located  in  what  is  now  English 
township,  where  the  greater  portion  of 
his  life  was  spent.  He  followed  tie' 
occupation  of  farming,  having  had  a 
farm  of  203  acres  left  him  from  his 
father's  estate.  He  was  married  to 
Ellen  Barr,  Feb.  14,  1841.  Five  chil- 
dren where  born  to  this  union,  of  whom 
two  arc  living — John  \Y.  and  Thomas 
J.  Those  dead  are — Nancy  E.,  wife  of 
L.  N.  Bridges;  Mary  P.,  and  Julia  A., 
wife  of  J.  Alter.  Mrs.  Rusk  died  in 
May.  1851.  In  Jan.,  1853,  Mr.  Rusk 
was  again  married,  to  Martha  (.'rain, 
daughter  of  Silas  and  Rhoda  Crain. 
They  had  eight  children  born  to  them, 
four  of  whom  are  dead — James  E.,  born 
Feb.  23,  1854,  died  in  Oct.,  1856;  Silas 
H.,  bom  March  :!,  1855,  died  in  Oct., 
1856;  Zachariah,  born  in  Dec,  1861, 
died  in  Nov.,  1863;  Charlotte  J.,  wife  of 
J.  Roberts,  born  Nov.  24,  1856,  died 
May -'III,  1875.  Those  living  are — Emily 
C,  born  April  9,  1860;  Ellen  D.,born 
May  in,  1863;  Minnie  N.,  and  Francis 
0.  They  also  brought  up  Charles  H. 
Bridges,  whom  they  adopted.  Mr. 
Rusk's  death  occurred  on  the  1st  day  of 
Dec.,  1881.  He  was  a  kind  and  indul- 
gent husband  and  father,  an  upright, 
honest  man.  and  a  good  citizen.  His 
loss  wa<  deeply  felt  by  his  family,  and 
by  all  who  knew  him.  Mrs.  Husk  now 
owns  80  acres  on  section  18,  where  she 
resides. 

Moses  Martin,  a  native  of  North  Car- 
olina, came  to  English  township  in  the 
early  part  of  1829,  ami  settled  upon 
Sec.  2G,  where  he  lived  for  some  time 
when  he  moved  to  Sec.  30  where  he 
died.     The  latter  event  occurred  in  1840. 


342 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


He  is  buried  on  the  farm  he  lived  on, 
on  the  "Black  Oak"  mound,  south  of 
the  Catholic  church.  He  was  known  as 
one  of  the  best  citizens,  and  was  much 
respected.  He  was  a  member  of  the 
Methodisl  church.  II  was  twice  mar- 
ried. His  last  wife  was  a  Mrs.  Beatty, 
of  Cincinnati.  His  son,  by  his  first 
marriage,  named  George,  is  now  living 
west  of  Jerseyville,  in  English  town- 
ship. 

George  Martin,  a  respected  citizen  of 
English  township,  was  born  in  St.  Louis 
county,  Mo.,  Dec  5,  1819,  being  a  son 
of  Moses  and  Elizabeth  (Carrico)  Mar- 
tin, the  former  a  native  of  North 
Carolina,  who  died  in  1840,  and  the 
latter  a  native  of  Kentucky.  In  1824, 
the  family  moved  to  what  is  now  Jersey 
county,  where  George  was  reared  upon 
a  farm  where  he  remained  until  he  at- 
tained his  majority.  He  followed  mill- 
ing at  Barnett's  mill  four  years,  then 
enlisted  in  the  Mexican  war  and  served 
one  year,  participating  in  the  hard 
fought  battle  of  Buena  Vista.  He  re- 
turned from  the  army  in  1847,  locating 
then  on  Sec.  35,  English  township, 
Jersey  county,  where  he  had  purchased 
40  acres  of  land.  This  land  was  heavily 
timbered  and  he  immediately  set  about 
clearing  it.  He  now  owns  100  acres  on 
Sees.  35  and  26,  which  is  all  cleared 
and  in  a  high  state  of  cultivation. 
Mr.  Martin  was  married  Aug.  15,  1839, 
to  Hannah  Biggers,  by  whom  he  had 
four  children,  only  one  of  whom  is  now 
living,  Gilbert.  Leonard  was  killed  at 
the  battle  of  Shiloh;  John  died  from 
sickness,  near  Vieksburg,  while  serving 
his  country,  and  Moses  died  in  infancy. 
Mrs.  Martin  died  Jan.  2,  1847,  aged  23 
years.     Dec.  31,  of  the  same  year,  Mr. 


Martin  was  married  to  Permelia  Hinson 
Beggs,  and  by  this  marriage  has  five 
children— Letha  J.,  born  Oct.  2,  1848, 
now  the  wife  of  Henry  Dabbs,  of  Eng- 
lish township;  Vincent  M.,  born  Dec. 
11,  1852;  Mary,  born  Feb.  23,  1855; 
Almenia,  born  in  18(30,  now  the 
wife  of  George  E.  Henson,  of  Otter 
Creek  township,  and  Elizabeth,  born 
May  1,  1862.  Mr.  Martin  has  worked 
hard  for  what  he  possesses  and  is  now 
enjoying  the  results  of  his  past  labor. 

Ezckiel  Chance  made  a  settlement 
within  the  limits  of  Jersey  county  in 
the  fall  of  1829.  He  was  born  in  Wayne 
county,  N.  C,  Dec.  10,  1798.  In  1804, 
his  father  moved  to  Virginia.  Ezekiel 
moved  to  Wayne  county,  Ky.,  in  1816, 
where  about  two  years  afterwards  he 
was  married  to  Mrs.  Ruth  Stuart  nee 
Peters.  In  1828,  his  wife  dying,  he  dis- 
posed of  his  property  in  Kentucky,  and 
came  to  Illinois,  locating  in  Madison 
county,  where  he  remained  one  year, 
then  came  here  as  above  stated,  and 
located  on  section  13,  Otter  Creek  town- 
ship. In  1831  he  settled  on  a  farm  on 
section  28,  this  township.  In  Dec, 
1831,  he  was  married  to  Elizabeth, 
daughter  of  Philip  and  Polly  Grimes. 
They  had  three  children,  all  now  de- 
ceased. He  is  now  numbered  with  the 
dead.  He  was  buried  on  the  old  home- 
stead, at  lis  own  request. 

John  Cope,  also,  settled  in  this  town- 
ship in  1829.  He  remained  at  that  loca- 
tion until  1846, when  he  removed  within 
the  present  corporation  limits  of  Jersey- 
ville, where  he  died  in  1850.  He  was  a 
Pennsylvanian  by  birth.  He  was  a 
quiet  citizen. 

Among  the  settlers  of  the  year  1830, 
in  this  locality,   was  Uriel   Grain,  who 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


343 


located  upon  a  farm  on  section  15.  He 
lived  on  the  southeast  quarter  of  that 
section  until  about  1835,  when  he  died. 
There  was  a  store  at  what  is  called 
the  Black  Oak  Mound,  in  1834.  (Jeorge 
Smith  ran  it.  He  had  been  here  some 
time  before  starting  the  store.  He  ran 
this  place  a  few  years,  until  the  town  of 
Saulsbury  was  started,  in  the  western 
part  of  the  county,  when  he  removed 
his  stock  overthere.  He  remained  there 
several  years,  and  then  went  to  the 
Platte  Purchase,  near  St.  Joseph,  Mo., 
where  he  still  engaged  in  merchandising, 
and  hecame  very  wealthy.  He  died  a 
few  years  ago. 

EDUCATIONAL. 

The  first  school  in  what  is  now  Eng- 
lish township  was  taught  by  Galen  Mc- 
Kinney,  in  a  little  log  house  on  section 
23,  abbut  1823.  Among  the  first  schol- 
ars were:  J.  T.  Grimes,  James,  Philip, 
Eleanor  and  Amanda  Darr,  Hester, 
Elizabeth  and  Lucinda  Grimes,  a  daugh- 
ter and  s<m  of  Harmon  Hatfield,  Harri- 
son and  Eliza  Colean,  and  Nathaniel 
Darneille.  Galen  McKinney,  the 
teacher,  went  back  to  Tennessee,  whence 
he  had  come. 

The  first  frame  school  building  in  dis- 
trict No.  1  was  erected  in  1850,  by  John 
Cowen  &  Son.  The  present  school 
house  was  built  in  1864.  It  is  20x28 
feet  in  ground  area.  The  average 
attendance  is  about  17.  The  district 
embraces  sections  11,  12,  13,  14,  and  the 
southeast  quarter  of  section  10. 

The  school  building  at  present  used 
in  district  No.  2  was  erected  in  1ST'.),  at 
a  cost  of  $550.  It  is  24x36  feet  in  size. 
The  first  teacher  in  this  building  was 
Jacob  Tuscher.  William  Myers  is  tin- 
present   pedagogue.       The    average  at- 


tendance is  about  22.  This  district 
embraces  the  west  halves  of  sections 
•")  and  8,  and  all  of  sections  6,  7,  17,  18, 
19  and  20.  The  first  school  house  in 
this  district  was  built  of  logs,  and  was 
called  the  Armstrong  school  house.  It 
was  built  about  1832,  on  the  southwest 
quarter  of  section  20.  The  ruins  of 
that  early  building  are  still  on  the  site. 
Its  use  was  discontinued  about  1849. 
School  was  then  held  in  a  small  house 
on  Thomas  Roberts'  farm,  on  the  north- 
east quarter  of  section  20.  About  two 
years  later,  a  building  was  erected  on 
the  northeast  quarter  of  section  8.  This 
served  until  the  present  building  was 
constructed. 

District  No.  3  embraces  sections  28, 
29,  30,  31,  32  and  33.  The  school  build- 
ing is  located  on  the  northwest  quarter 
of  section  32.  The  first  building  was  a 
log  house,  built  about  1840,  a  little  to 
the  south  of  the  present  edifice.  Among 
the  first  interested  in  this  school  were 
the  families  of  Christopher  and  John 
Kirchner,  F.  Heitzig,  a  potter,  and 
others.  The  present  building  was  con- 
structed about  1860. 

Included  in  district  No.  4,  are  all  of 
sections  4  and  9;  the  west  half  and  a 
part  of  the  east  half  of  section  3;  east  of 
sections  5  and  8,  and  the  west  half  of  the 
northeast  quarter  of  section  10. 

District  No.  5  embraces  all  of  the 
south  half,  the  northeast  quarter,  and  a 
part  of  the  northwest  quarter  of  section 
23;  the  west  half  of  24,  all  of  2-"),  26,  27 
and  34,  and  the  north  half  of  35  and 
36.  The  first  school  in  this  district  was 
held  in  a,  log  house  on  the  southeast 
quarter  of  section  25.  John  Sloan 
taught  the  first  school  here,  about  1830. 
The  next   teacher  was  Thomas   Richard- 


344 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


son.  A  log  school  house  was  built  on 
the  southeast  quarter  of  section  25. 
Thomas  Richardson  was  the  first  teacher 
there.  Sch  >ol  was  kept  there  until  1860, 
when  a  log  building  was  erected  on  the 
northwest  quarter  of  section  36.  In 
1869  a  building  was  erected  on  the 
northeast  quarter  of  section  26,  which 
has  since  been  remodeled  and  forms  the 
present  school  house. 

The  present  school  house  in  district 
No.  6  was  erected  in  1852,  at  a  cost  of 
about  $300.  Piatt  Schaffer  was  the  con- 
tractor. The  building  is  18x24  feet  in 
ground  dimensions.  An  average  attend- 
ance of  30  scholars  is  kept  by  this 
school.  The  district  embraces  all  of 
sections  15,  16,  21  and  22,  and  a  portion 
of  the  northwest  quarter  of  23. 

District  No.  7  had  its  first  school 
building  in  1856.  It  is  16x22  feet  in 
size,  and  was  constructed  by  Jesse 
White,  at  a  cost  of  about  $300.  Its 
average  attendance  is  15  pupils.  In- 
cluded in  this  district  are  sections  1  and 
2,  and  a  part  of  3. 

District  No.  8  embraces  the  south  half 
of  sections  35  and  36. 

CEMETERIES. 

The  first  person  buried  in  the  Salem 
cemetery  was  James  McGee,  who  died 
in  the  year  1854. 

In  the  Lax  cemetery  an  interment  was 
made  in  1830,  being  the  body  of  Silas 
('rain,  Sr. 

Brown's  cemetery  was  laid  out  by 
John  Brown.  It  was  for  a  time  a  pri- 
vate cemetery,  used  by  the  family.  Mr. 
Brown  afterwards  deeded  it  to  the 
county.  One  of  his  children  was  the 
first  person  buried  there. 

Grimes'  cemetery  is  the  name  of  an- 
other burying   place  in    English  town- 


ship. A  member  of  the  Grimes  family, 
a  child,  was  the  first  one  buried  in  this 
cemetery.  That  was  in  the  year  1828. 
This  cemetery  is  on  section  23. 

St.  Mary's  cemetery  is  the  burying 
ground  connected  with  the  Catholic 
church  of  the  same  name  in  English 
township. 

HISTORIC  ITEMS. 

The  first  white  child  born  in  what  is 
now  English  township,  was  J.  T. 
Grimes,  commonly  known  as  "Tram" 
Grimes.  He  was  born  in  January,  1820, 
and  his  father  was  Philip  Grimes  one  of 
the  early  settlers. 

The  pioneer  school  of  this  township 
was  taught  by  Galen  McKinney. 

Rev.  Jacob  Rhodes,  a  Baptist  divine 
preached  the  first  sermon. 

The  first  justice  of  the  peace  was  Cal- 
vin Pegee. 

RELIGIOUS. 

The  building  of  the  Lebanon  Baptist 
church  was  erected  in  1850.  The  first 
minister  was  Rev.  Jacob  Rhodes. 

St.  Mary's  Catholic  church  is  located 
on  section  30. 

Rev.  Frank  J.  Reinhart,  pastor  of  St. 
Mary's  church  (Catholic),  near  Fieldon, 
was  born  in  Germany,  April  20,  1834. 
He  is  a  son  of  Lawrence  and  Frances 
Reinhart,  also  natives  of  Germany. 
Father  Reinhart  was  reared  in  his  native 
country  and  received  a  liberal  educa- 
tion, becoming  fitted  for  a  priest.  He 
began  his  life  work  in  the  old  country, 
where  he  remained  till  1864.  In  that 
year  he  immigrated  to  the  United  States. 
Landing  at  New  York  he  proceeded 
westward  to  Alton,  and  thence  to 
Quincy,  where  he  had  charge  of  the 
German  Catholic  church  about  15  years. 
He  now  makes  his  home  at  Fieldon. 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


345 


PROMINENT     AND    INFLUENTIAL     CITIZENS. 

Among  the  more  enterprising  and  in- 
telligent citizens  of  the  county,  are 
many  residents  of  this  township.  We 
notice  the  must  of  them  in  this  connec- 
tion. 

Lloyd  T.  English,  a  farmer  of  English 
township,  is  a  native  of  this  county, 
and  was  born  March  8,  1848,  being  a 
son  of  John  N.  St.,  and  Elizabeth 
(Belt)  English.  Tho  former  is  a  native 
of  Kentucky,  and  the  latter  of  Illinois. 
The  subject  of  this  sketch  was  brought 
up  on  a  farm,  spending  his  youth  in  the 
various  duties  incident  to  such,  a  life, 
and  in  attending  the  common  schools  of 
the  county,  where  he  was  mostly  edu- 
cated, lie  was  married  April  •".,  1873, 
to  Sarah  E.  Goodman,  daughter  of 
David  and  Rebecca  Goodman.  They 
are  the  parents  of  two  children — Lizzie 
and  Robert  C.  His  wife  died  Feb.  15, 
1883.  Mr.  English  owns  280  acres  of 
land,  all  of  which  is  under  cultivation. 
His  place  is  well  improved  and  bears 
evidence  of  the  thrift  and  enterprise  of 
its  owner.  He  takes  a  ;ommendable 
interest  in  public  affairs,  ami  has  been 
highway  commissioner  and  is  supervisor. 
Horatio  N.  Belt,  Sr.,  was  horn  in 
Maryland,  in  1796.  his  father  being 
Francis  Thomas  licit.  When  H.  N.  was 
but  a  chihl,  his  parents  removed  to  Bed- 
ford county,  Va.,  where  our  subjed  was 
principally  reared.  When  1!)  years  of 
age,  lie  entered  the  service  of  the 
United  States  in  the  last  war  with  Great 
Britain,  and  served  under  Jackson,  in 
that  war.  lie  returned  to  Virginia  from 
the  army,  and  shortly  afterwards  tin- 
family  removed  to  the  state  of  Tennes 
see.  H.  N.  was  married  while  in  that 
state  to  Miss  Anderson.     By   that   mar- 


riage there  were  two  children — Francis 
T.,  who  adopted  steamboating  as  a  pro- 
fession, and  run  the  first  flatboat  on  the 
Illinois  river,  and  was  blown  up  on  the 
steamboat  Saluda,  at  Lexington,  Mo., 
with  ■".nil  others,  he  being  captain  of  the 
boat.  His  remains  were  sent  home  and 
buried  in  the  Lax  cemetery,  with  his 
wife,  where  his  son,  (ieorge,  erected  a 
handsome  monument  over  their  remains. 
The  other  child  died  in  infancy.  From 
Tennessee  the  family  moved  to  Illinois, 
locating  near  Troy,  Madison  county, 
where  the  father  of  II.  X.  died.  Thence 
II.  X.,  with  his  family,  removed  to  St. 
Louis,  in  1831.  Thence  he  removed  to 
Calhoun  county  in  Aug.,  1833.  In  Sept., 
is.;;;,  he  bought  an  improvement  in  Jer- 
sey county,  on  section  22,  Rosedale 
township.  There  he  remained  till  1835, 
when  he  removed  to  section  15,  English 
township,  where  he  remained  till  1854, 
when  he  removed  to  Fieldon,  where  he 
lived  until  his  death,  Jan.  8,  1870.  His 
second  wife  yet  survives  him.  Her  name 
was  Mary  J.  West.  She  was  also  a 
native  of  Virginia.  They  were  married 
in  St.  Clair  county,  in  the  spring  of 
1821.  By  this  marriage  there  were  11 
children— Elizabeth  X.,  wife  of  J.  X. 
English;  Lloyd  T.,  living  in  Xew  Or- 
leans, steamboating;  John  1L,  subject 
of  a  following  sketch;  Win.  Anderson, 
deceased;  Mary  Jane,  deceased;  Vinson 
\\'..  deceased, one  of  the  firm  of  Belt  & 
Bro.,  builders  of  tha  Union  mill,  in 
Fieldon;  he  died  in  1854,  and  is  buried 
at  Salem  cemetery;  James  1 1. ,  ex-sheriff 
of  the  county,  now  living  in  Bunker 
Hill:  Martha  Frances,  deceased;  H.  X. 
Belt,  Jr.,  now  a  banker  in  Bunker  Hill, 
111.;  (ieorge  W.,  deceased  in  infancy; 
Virginia,  wife  of  C.  S.  Olne}',  merchant 


346 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


of  Fieldon.  H.  N.  Belt,  Si\,  is  buried 
al  the  Salem  cemetery,  on  section  16, 
English  township,  on  the  farm  of  John 
H.  Belt, 

John  H.Beit,  one  of  the  early  settlers 
of  the  county,  and  a  prominent  citizen, 
was  horn  in  Madison  county,  111.,  March 
10,  1827;  his  parents  being  Horatio  N. 
and  Mary  (West)  Belt,  both  of  whom 
were  native  Virginians.  The  former 
died  Jan.  8,  1870,  at  his  residence  in 
Fieldon,  and  his  mother  yet  lives  at 
that  place,  at  the  advanced  age  of  80 
years.  John  H.  was  reared  on  a  farm, 
and  worked  for  his  father  until  19  years 
old.  He  then  went  to  Calhoun  county, 
and  was  there  engaged  in  agricultural 
pursuits  three  years,  then  moved  back 
to  this  county,  where  he  purchased  160 
acres  of  land,  and  lived  on  the  same.  In 
1854  he  moved  to  Fieldon,  and  built  the 
Eugenie  flouring  mill.  In  1864  he 
moved  back  to  his  farm,  bought  240 
acres  more  of  land,  which  has  since 
been  his  home.  Soon  after  moving  back 
he  completed  a  fine  two-story  resi- 
dence, of  brick  construction,  22x44, 
with  an  L  18x32,  having  all  the  modern 
improvements,  including  a  McPherson 
wrought  iron  furnace,  heating  the  house 
by  steam.  He  has  a  beautiful  home, 
and  is  now  in  the  enjoyment  of  a  com- 
petency fairly  won.  He  was  married, 
Oct.  pi,  1S47,  while  a  resident  of  Cal- 
houn county,  to  Matilda  Bramlett,  of 
Jersey  county,  daughter  of  Elkana  and 
Sarah  i  Lofton)  Bramlett.  Her  father 
was  a  native  of  Virginia,  and  her  mother 
of  Kentucky.  They  are  the  parents  of 
eight  children,  six  of  whom  are  living — 
William  ().,  Walter  S.,  Floyd  T.,  Hel- 
ena M.,  George  W .  and  John  11.  Those 
deceased  wen — Helena,  who  died  April 


12.  1856,  and  Isadora,  who  died  Aug.  15, 
1856.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Belt  are  members 
of  the  Cumberland  Presbyterian  church 
at  Fieldon,  of  which  society  he  is  the 
present  pastor.  He  owns  400  acres  of 
land,  and  has  considerable  property. 
Mrs.  Belt's  mother,  Sarah  Bramlett, 
makes  her  home  with  them.  She  is 
now  82  years  old,  and  has  been  a  con- 
sistent member  of  the  Cumberland  Pres- 
byterian church  for  50  years.  She  has 
been  afflicted  with  blindness  about  eight 
years.  Mr.  Belt's  father  built  one  of 
the  first  houses  at  Jerseyville,  in  1834, 
one  of  the  first  store  buildings,  and  the 
first  blacksmith  shop.  He  has  thus 
witnessed  the  development  of  this 
county,  and  been  an  important  factor  in 
transforming  it  from  a  state  of  natural 
wildness  to  a  desirable,  well  settled 
country,  teeming  with  wealth  and  pros- 
perity. 

Joseph  B.  Schroeder  was  born  in 
Portsmouth,  N.  H.,  Dec.  24,  1821.  He 
is  the  second  child  of  a  family  of  four 
children  of  Charles  H.  and  Hannah 
Schroeder,  who  were  both  natives  of 
Pennsylvania,  and  of  German  and 
English  descent.  In  1838  Mr.  S.  re- 
moved with  bis  family  to  St.  Louis,  and 
about  l!S4">  his  wife  died  in  that  city. 
He  survived  her  death  until  1S47.  Mr. 
Schroeder  served  in  the  war  of  1812, 
and  was  for  a  considerable  portion  of 
the  time  clerk  to  the  captain  of  the  rev- 
enue cutter  of  the  privateer  service. 
His  wife's  father,  Dr.  H.  V.  Carter,  was 
a  surgeon  in  the  army  during  the  Revo- 
tionary  contest.  Joseph  B.  was  edu- 
cated principally  in  the  schools  of  Del- 
aware county,  Penna.,  where  he  laid 
the  foundation  of  a  knowledge  of  the 
rudiments  of  a   common  school  educa- 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


347 


tion.  When  about  14  years  of  age  he 
became  an  apprentice  to  learn  the  coach 
making  trade.  In  the  fall  of  1840  he 
went  to  St.  Louis,  where  he  resided 
until  Jan.,  1841,  after  which  he  came  to 
Illinois,  landing  at  Grafton.  After  a 
stay  in  that  place  of  a  few  days,  he  rode 
over  to  Otter  Creek  prairie,  and  there 
formed  a  partnership  with  William 
Montgomery,  in  wagon  making.  This 
partnership  lasted  about  nine  months, 
when  he  carried  on  the  business  alone 
until  1S44.  On  the  Kith  of  May,  of  that 
year,  he  was  united  in  marriage  to 
Priscilla  Patterson,  daughter  of  Maj. 
Gershom  Patterson,  an  old  resident  of 
this  county,  who  was  born  in  Kentucky 
in  1796,  and  came  with  his  parents  to 
Illinois  the  year  following.  They  set- 
tled in  what  was  then  called  the  New 
Design,  at  which  place  his  father  died. 
His  mother  was  again  married  to  Wil- 
liam Dennis,  who  was  killed  by  the 
Indians,  thus  leaving  her  with  only  the 
support  of  young  Gershom.  After  he 
had  grown  to  manhood,  he  went  to 
Kentucky  and  brought  back  his  cousin, 
Eleanor  Cooper,  to  visit  his  mother, 
and  in  the  year  1819  they  were  united 
in  marriage.  By  this  union  he  had  five 
children,  one  of  whom  is  yet  living.  In 
March,  1820,  he  removed  with  his  fam- 
ily to  the  present  limits  of  Jersey 
county,  and  on  the  5th  of  Jan.,  1821, 
entered  a  body  of  land  and  immediately 
commenced  to  improve  the  same.  On 
the  breaking  out  of  the  Black  Hawk 
war  he  enlisted,  and  was  soon  afterward 
elected  captain.  He  proceeded  with  his 
men  to  join  the  army,  stationed  at 
Rock  Island,  and  after  the  treaty  was 
effected  and  the  army  disbanded,  he  re- 
turned   to    his    farm.     He  was  a    short 


time  after  commissioned  major  of 
militia  by  the  governor  of  Illinois. 
Maj.  Patterson  and  wife  were  both 
members  of  the  M.  E.  Church.  He  was 
a  man  of  the  old  style  of  hospitality, 
genial  and  courteous  to  all.  As  a  far- 
mer he  was  successful,  and  at  the  time 
of  his  death  owned  about  1,800  acres  of 
good  land  in  Jersey  and  Montgomery 
counties.  In  politics  he  was  a  whig. 
Mrs.  Patterson  died  at  their  home,  Nov. 
in.  1853,  and  on  Jan.  24,  1856,  the 
major  was  married  to  Mrs.  Mary 
Mabee.  Mr.  Patterson  died  Jan.  30, 
1857,  and  his  wife  survived  him  until 
Jan.  20,  1870.  Joseph  B.  Schroeder 
and  wife  have  had  five  children,  four  of 
whom  are  yet  living.  Their  eldest 
daughter  Nellie,  is  the  wife  of  L.  L. 
Hereford.  After  his  marriage  Mr.  S. 
settled  on  the  farm  where  he  now  re- 
sides, living  in  a  rude  log  cabin  which 
was  almost  surrounded  by  forest  trees, 
and  in  that  dreary  solitude  he  com- 
menced to  clear  a  farm.  Few  men  of 
our  day  would  have  the  pluck  to  go  out 
and  encounter  those  hardships,  but 
possessing  industry  and  energy,  he  was 
successful  in  the  accomplishment  of  his 
designs.  At  the  age  of  lti  Joseph  be- 
came a  member  of  the  Methodist  Church, 
his  wife  being  a  member  for  many 
years,  also.  Mr.  Schroeder's  first  vote 
for  president  was  cast  for  Henry  Clay, 
and  after  the  whig  party  was  disorgan- 
ized he  joined  the  ranks  of  the  democ- 
racy, to  which  he  has  ever  afterward 
strongly  adhered.  He  is  also  a  member 
of  the  Mystic  tie.  Quite  a  relic  of  the 
family  is  a  set  of  candle  sticks,  snuffers 
and  tray.  They  were  handled  down  to 
Mr.  Schroeder's  grandfather,  who  was 
almost  100  years  of  age    at  the  time  of 


348 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


his  death,  and  from  him  on  down  the 
line  of  human  progress,  until  the  year 
1845,  they  came  into  the  possession  of 
Mr.  Schroeder,  who  is  now  residing  on 

his  farm,  enjoying  the  fruits  of  a  well- 
spent  life. 

John  N.  English,  Jr.,  was  horn  in 
Jersey  county  ^eb.  19,  1852,  his  parents 
being  John  X.  and  Elizabeth  (Belt)  Eng- 
lish, the  former  a  native  of  Kentucky 
and  the  latter  of  Illinois.  He  was 
brought  up  on  a  farm,  and  remained 
with  his  parents  until  24  years  of  age. 
He  was  married  Jan.  27,  1876,  to  Fan- 
nie  1).  Henderson.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Eng- 
lish are  members  of  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal church  at  Jersey ville.  He  now 
owns  ISO  acres  of  land  all  under  cultiva- 
tion. He  is  an  enterprising  young  man 
takes  a  commendable  interest  in  public 
affairs  and  has  been  the  township  clerk 
for  the  pas!  five  years. 

Hubert  Sauer,  an  old  and  highly  res- 
pected citizens  of  English  township,  was 
born  in  Germany,  Dec.  27,  1807,  his  par- 
ents being  Mathias  and  Mary  (Stickler) 
Saner,  also  of  Germany.  Hubertgrew  to 
manhood  in  his  native  country,  and 
there;  in  bis  youth,  learned  the  carpen- 
ter's trade.  In  December,  1851,  he 
bade  farewell  to  his  Fatherland,  taking 
passage  at  Havre,  on  a  ship  bound  for 
New  Orleans.  Landing  in  that  city,  he 
proceeded  to  St.  Louis;  thence,  to 
Alton,  coming,  soon  after,  to  Jersey 
county.  In  1852  he  bought  80  acres  of 
land  in  English  township. upon  which  he 
lived  about  a  year;  then  sold,  ami  pur- 
chased another  80  acres  in  the  same 
township,  which  has  since  been  his 
home.  .Mr.  Sauer  has  been  three  times 
married,  first  in  1834,  to  Mary  Ulillah, 
by  whom  he  had  four  children — Hubert, 


Caroline,  Magdaline  and  Mary  I1.  Mrs. 
Sauer  died  in  1844,  and  Mr.  Saner  was 
married  to  Tracy  Mill,  who  died  in  1875. 
By  this  union  seven  children  were  born 
— Joseph,  married  to  Nettie  Meisner, 
and  now  living  in  Montgomery  county; 
August,  Charles,  Nettie,  Edward,  Fred- 
erick and  George.  Mr.  Sauer  was  mar- 
ried the  third  time.  He  has  been  an 
energetic  and  hard-working  man,  and  is 
now  in  comfortable  circumstances.  He 
is  a  member  of  the  Catholic  church. 

Peter  Drainer  was  born  in  the  city  of 
Cologne,  Germany,  March  23,  1S2;!,  and 
is  a  son  of  Peter  and  Mary  Drainer,  na- 
tives of  Germany.  He  grew  to  man- 
hood in  his  native  country,  and  was 
there  married  Jan.  12,  1852,  to  Ursula 
Pit,  daughter  of  George  Pit.  In  1854 
he  decided  to  immigrate  to  America  and 
took  passage  with  his  family,  on  board  of 
a  sailing  vessel  at  Antwerp,  on  the  loth 
of  April.  They  landed  in  New  Or- 
leans, where  they  remained  about  a  year, 
then  went  to  St.  Louis  where  he  worked 
at  brick  mason  work  eight  months.  He. 
had  learned  the  mason's  trade,  and 
followed  the  same  in  Germany,  previous 
to  coming  to  this  country.  In  the  fall 
of  1855  he  came  to  Jersey  county  and 
settled  at  Fieldon  where  he  worked  at 
his  trade  three  years.  At  the  expira- 
tion of  that  period  he  had  succeeded  in 
saving  enough  of  his  earnings  to  buy  a 
small  farm,  and  accordingly  purchased 
80  acres  of  land  on  Sec.  19,  of  English 
township,  to  which  he  removed,  and 
upon  which  he  has  ever  since  resided. 
lie  has  added  to  his  real  estate  until  he 
at  present  owns  240  acres.  In  1871  he 
erected  a  commodious  two-story  frame 
dwelling,  at  a  cost  of  $2,800.  It  is  sit- 
uated upon  a  slight  elevation  of  land, 


V 


CAf^h  0  ^flAJls/v^ 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


351 


and  everything  about  the  premises  in- 
dicates the  thrift  and  enterprise  of  the 
owner.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Drainer  have  had 
six  children  born  to  them — Theresa 
Helene,  now  the  wife  of  John  Woke,  of 
Fieldon;  Mary  Louisa,  died  in  Ger- 
many; Peter,  married  to  Anna  Bunsy, 
and  living  in  English  township;  Hugo, 
Peah  Desideria  and  Germanny  Pru- 
denty.  Mary  died  in  Germany.  Mr. 
Drainer  and  his  family  are  members  of 
the  Catholic  church.  Mrs.  Drainerdied 
in  1869,  and  was  laid  to  rest  in  St. 
Mary's  cemetery.  Mr.  Drainer  is  a 
democrat  politically,  and  has  held  the 
office  of  school  director  for  nine  years. 
John  Hetzel,  one  of  the  most  pros- 
perous and  influential  of  the  German 
citizens  of  English  township,  was  born 
May  23,  1826,  in  Germany,  his  parents 
being  Conrad  and  Josephine  (Schabel) 
Hetzel,  also  natives  of  Germany.  In 
1849  John  Hetzel  immigrated  to  the 
United  States,  taking  passage  on  board 
a  sailing  vessel,  the  Graftstroom,  at 
Rotterdam.  He  landed  at  New  York, 
and  from  there  went  to  Milwaukee, 
Wis.  He  had,  previous'  to  coming  to 
America,  learned  the  machinist's  trade, 
working  upon  locomotives  and  other 
machinery.  He  also  did  military  ser- 
vice in  that  country  two  years.  In  1855 
he  came  to  Jersey  county  and  settled  on 
Otter  creek,  where  he  remained  one 
year,  then  removed  to  section  18,  Eng- 
lish township,  where  he  purchased  40 
acres  of  land.  He  now  owns  320  acres 
in  this  section,  which  is  mostly  under 
cultivation.  In  1881  he  erected  a  hand- 
some and  commodious  residence,  costing 
$3,000.  His  other  improvements  are  of 
a  corresponding  description,  and  every- 
thing about  the    place   indicates   thrift 


and  prosperity.  Mr.  Hetzel  was  mar- 
ried in  March,  1851,  to  Henrietta  Aus- 
pach,  daughter  of  David  and  Mary 
(Reedy)  Auspach.  They  are  the  parents 
of  nine  children — Josephine  L.,  born 
Aug.  12,  1852;  George  F.,  born  Sept.  4, 
1855;  August  P.,  born  Aug.  13,  1857; 
Mary  E.  born  Sept,  18,  1861  ;  Cather- 
ine E.,  born  Oct.  12,  1861;  William 
H.,  born  Sept.  25,  1863;  Antoinette  H., 
b6rn  Feb.  20,  1868;  Emily  L.,  bom 
March  21,  1870,  and  John  E.,  born 
Feb.  6,  1873.  Mr.  Hetzel  is  politically 
a  republican  and  has  held  the  office  uf 
school  director  for  some  time. 

Frederick  Becker,  deceased,  son  of 
John  and  Christiana  (Tulla)  Becker, 
was  born  in  Germany,  Jan.  24,  1837. 
He  resided  in  his  native  country  until 
16  years  of  age;  then  in  1853,  took  pas- 
sage at  Bremen  on  board  a  ship  bound 
for  the  port  of  New  Orleans,  United 
States  of  America.  Soon  after  his  arri- 
val in  that  city  he  came  up  the  river  to 
St.  Louis,  and  thence  to  Jersey  county. 
He  remained  here  for  a  short  time  work- 
ing at  different  places,  then  went  to 
Upper  Alton  where  he  worked  four 
years  in  a  pottery.  In  1857  he  returned 
to  Germany  on  a  business  trip,  and 
while  there  was  taken  ill  and  obliged  to 
remain  for  about  one  year.  In  1858  he 
came  back  to  Jersey  county  and  worked 
for  several  years,  laying  by  his  earnings 
until  he  had  a  sum  sufficient  to  purchase 
80  acres  of  land,  to  which  he  then  re- 
moved and  which  was  his  home  until 
his  decease,  June  2,  1879.  His  remains 
were  laid  to  rest  in  St.  Mary's  cemetery. 
Hi'  was  married  April  12,  1864,  to  Wil- 
helmina  Tonsor,  daughter  of  Frank  and 
Mary  (Reesey)  Tonsor.  Seven  children 
were     born     to     them — Mary,     John, 


352 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


Charles,  Theodore,  Joseph,  Frank  and 
Henry.  Mrs.  Becker  and  her  family 
are  members  of  the  Catholic  church. 
She  has  200  acres  of  land  and  a  pleasant 
residence  desirably  located. 

Henry  Brockmeyer  was  born  in  Ger- 
many, June  8,  1825,  being  a  son  of  John 
F.  and  Elizabeth  (Groppel)  Brock- 
meyer, natives  of  Germany,  where  the 
latter  died  in  1838,  and  the  former  in 
1853.  Henry  immigrated  to  America 
the  same  year  in  which  his  father  died, 
landing  in  New  Orleans.  He  went  from 
thence  to  St.  Louis,  where  he  remained 
one  year.  In  the  fall  of  1854,  he  came 
to  Jersey  county,  and  settled  in  Rich- 
woods  township,  purchasing  40  acres  of 
land,  on  which  he  resided  10  years. 
He  then  sold  out  and  bought  40  acres  in 
English  township,  where  he  has  ever 
since  resided.  His  farm  is  located  on 
section  32,  and  is  in  good  cultivation. 
It  now  contains  290  acres.  Mr.  Brock- 
meyer was  married  in  Oct.,  1854,  to 
Ann  M.  Lechtermann,  and  by  this  union 
has  six  children — Mary,  now  the  wife  of 
Otha  Kirchner,  of  English  township; 
John,  married  to  Caroline  Hausholter, 
and  living  in  Otterville;  Henry,  Ann, 
Louisa  and  Otilda.  Mr.  Brockmeyer 
and  his  family  are  members  of  the  Ger- 
man Lutheran  church. 

S.  (i.  Downey  is  a  native  of  this 
county,  and  was  born  Sept.  24,  1835, 
his  parents  being  Uriah  and  Mary  (Gris- 
wold)  Downey.  He  was  brought  up  on 
a  farm,  remaining  with  his  parents  until 
their  death.  In  1874  he  went  to  Den- 
ver, Col.,  for  his  health,  where  he  re- 
mained about  three  months.  He  then 
relumed  to  the  old  homestead,  where  he 
has  since  lived.  Mr.  Downey  has  been 
twice  married,  first  to  Charlotte  Crane, 


in  1S70.  By  that  union  there  were  two 
children — Edwin  and  Pearl.  His  first 
wife  died  in  1874.  He  was  again  mar- 
ried, in  1875,  to  Elizabeth  J.  Miller, 
daughter  of  Christopher  Miller.  By 
this  union  there  are  five  children — Syl- 
vester, James,  Jessie,  Rosetta,  and  an 
infant  son,  not  yet  named.  Mr.  Downey 
owns  120  acres  of  land,  all  under  culti- 
vation, and  is  one  of  the  most  enter- 
prising of  English  township's  citizens. 
Politically,  he  adheres  to  the  Repub- 
lican party,  and  is  a  member  of  the  A. 
F.  &  A.  M.  of  Kane. 

John  F.  Wegmann,  teacher  of  the 
German  and  American  school  near 
Fieldon,  is  a  son  of  Herman  and  Rosa 
(Wille)  Wegmann,  natives  of  Germany. 
He  was  born  in  Jefferson  City,  Mo., 
Oct.  14,  1849.  He  obtained  his  educa- 
tion at  the  Christian  Brothers'  College 
in  St.  Louis,  graduating  at  that  institu- 
tion in  1867.  He  learned  the  printer's 
trade  in  Jefferson  City,  and  followed 
the  same  in  that  city  three  years.  In 
1882  he  came  to  Jersey  county  and  set- 
tled near  Fieldon,  since  which  he  has 
occupied  his  present  position.  He  is 
well  qualified  for  his  duties  and  as  a 
teacher  is  popular  and  successful.  He 
was  married,  July  1,  1884,  to  Josephine 
Timpe,  daughter  of  William  and  Theresa 
(Valile)  Timpe.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Weg- 
mann have  one  daughter — Mary. 

Peter  Mowen  came  to  Jersey  comity 
about  the  year  1852.  He  was  born  in 
Ireland,  Aug.  1,  1837,  and  is  a  son  of 
Arthur  and  Alice  Mowen,  both  of  whom 
died  when  Peter  was  very  young,  he 
being  left  in  the  care  of  an  uncle,  with 
whom  he  lived  eight  years,  and  was 
brought  up  on  a  farm.  In  1850  he  came 
to  America,  setting  sail  from  Liverpool, 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


353 


and  landing  in  New  Orleans,  where  he 
remained  about  one  and  a  half  years. 
He  then  came  to  this  county.  Here  he 
worked  for  different  parties  until  1863. 
In  August  of  that  year,  he  was  married 
to  Sarah  Chance,  widow  of  Andrew 
Chance,  and  daughter  of  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
J.  Hillman.  They  have  six  children — 
George,  Robert,  Delia,  Walter,  Cyrus 
and  Freddy.  Mr.  Mowen  owns  a  good 
farm,  comprising  140  acres,  and  is  en- 
gaged  in  general  farming.  Mrs.  Mowen 
died  in  February,  1884.  Mr.  Mowen 
lias  been  a  very  energetic  and  indus- 
trious man,  and  has  succeeded  in  accu- 
mulating a  comfortable  property. 

Anton  Hoelker  was  born  in  Germany, 
Jan.  30,  1830,  and  is  a  son  of  Deitrich 
and  Mary  (Hamost)  Hoelker.  He  re- 
sided in  his  native  country  until  he 
arrived  at  the  age  of  30  years;  then,  in 
1860,  emigrated  to  the  United  States, 
sailing  from  Bremen  and  landing  in  due 
time  at  New  Orleans.  He  proceeded 
thence  to  St.  Louis,  and  came  soon  after 
to  Jersey  county.  For  the  first  four 
years  after  his  arrival  here  he  worked 
out  by  the  month,  at  farming,  then 
rented  a  farm  which  he  cultivated  about 
five  years.  He  then  purchased  a  tract 
of  NO  acres  located  on  section  17,  Eng- 
lish township,  where  he  has  ever  since 
resided.  Mr.  Hoelker  has  been  twice 
married,  first  to  Catherine  Stark,  who 
died  in  1873,  leaving  three  children — 
Albert,  Anna,  now  the  wife  of  John 
Keller  of  St.  Louis,  and  Mary.  Mr. 
Hcelker  was  again  married.  All  of  the 
family  are  members  of  the  Catholic 
church.  He  is  an  industrious  and  enter- 
prising farmer  and  a  worthy  citizen. 
Before  coming  to  this  country,  Mr. 
H.  served  7  years  in  the  Prussian  army. 


Charles  Goetten  was  born  April  20, 
1825,  in  Germany,  being  a  son  of  An- 
thony and  Christina  (Cinch)  Goetten, 
also  natives  of  Germany.  The  former 
died  in  that  country,  but  the  latter  is 
yet  living  with  her  son,  Charles,  the 
subject  of  this  sketch.  She  is  now  up- 
wards of  90  years  of  age.  In  1854 
Charles  bade  farewell  to  his  native 
land,  and,  accompanied  by  his  mother, 
took  passage  on  a  sailing-vessel  at  Bre- 
men and  came  to  America,  landing  at 
New  Orleans;  thence,  proceeded  to  St. 
Louis,  from  whence  he  came  soon  after 
to  Jerseyville.  He  hired  out  one  fall 
and  summer,  then  purchased  120  acres 
of  land  on  sections  29  and  30,  of  Eng- 
lish township,  where  he  has  ever  since 
resided.  He  was  married  on  the  10th 
day  of  April,  1856,  to  Josephine  Bert- 
man,  daughter  of  Henry  Bertman.  They 
are  the  parents  of  four  children,  three 
of  whom  are  living — Henry,  Joseph 
and  Charles.  Frederick  is  deceased. 
Mr.  Goetten  and  family  are  members  of 
the  Catholic  church.  His  farm  now 
contains  187  acres,  and  is  in  a  high  state 
of  cultivation.  He  has  accumulated  his 
property  by  hard  labor,  and  is  an  intel- 
ligent and  worthy  citizen. 

James  Fleming  was  born  in  county 
Mayo,  Ireland,  in  the  year  1838,  being 
a  son  of  Patrick  and  Julia  (Clark)  Flem- 
ing, natives  of  Ireland.  James  was 
reared  in  that  country,  to  agricultural 
pursuits,  and  in  his  early  manhood 
came  to  the  United  States,  taking  pas- 
sage at  Liverpool,  on  board  the  steamer 
Constitution,  which  at  that  time  brought 
880  passengers  to  the  American  shore. 
Mr.  Fleming  located  first  in  Pennsyl- 
vania, where  he  remained  one  year, 
then  removed  to  New   York   state,  and 


354 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUN  TY. 


soon  after  to  Kentucky,  thence  to  Ohio, 
thence  to  Indiana,  coming  from  the  lat- 
ter state  to  Jersey  county,  Illinois.  He 
purchased,  on  his  arrival  here,  40  acres 
of  land  in  English  township,  where  he 
has  ever  since  resided.  In  1875  he 
huilt  a  large  frame  residence,  costing 
$1,500.  He  also  has  other  good  im- 
provements. He  was  married  in  18(53, 
to  Anna  Price,  but  was  previously  mar- 
ried. By  the  latter  union  10  children 
have  been  born — Julia,  Patrick  E., 
Anna,  Bridget,  Richard,  Katie,  Ella, 
James,  John,  and  Winifred.  Mr.  Flem- 
ing's farm  now  contains  160  acres  of 
land,  and  is  located  on  section  34.  He 
is  an  intelligent  and  thrifty  farmer.  All 
of  the  family  are  members  of  the  Cath- 
olic church. 

Gates  Hooper,  deceased,  was  born  in 
Germany  in  1822.  He  grew  to  manhood 
in  that  country,  there  learning  the 
the  cooper's  trade.  In  1845  he  came  to 
America,  and  first  stopped  in  St.  Louis, 
where  he  remained  a  short  time,  then 
came  to  Jerseyville,  where  he  followed 
the  cooper's  trade  for  a  time.  He  then 
purchased  20  acres  of  land,  to  which  he 
soon  afterwards  added  40  acres.  He  re- 
moved to  this  land,  residing  upon  the 
same  until  his  death.  He  was  married 
in  1842  to  Dora  Harkmaster,  daughter 
of  John  Harkmaster.  They  had  seven 
children,  five  of  whom  are  living — 
Dora,  George,  Henry,  Sophia  and  Frank. 
Mrs.  Hooper  is  now  married  to  Mr. 
Holla,  and  now  resides  in  English  town- 
ship, where  she  owns  60  acres  of  land. 
She  is  a  member  of  the  Cumberland 
Presbyterian  church  of  Fieldon.  Her 
deceased  husband  was  an  energetic, 
hard-working  man,  and  at  his  death  left 
his  family  in  comfortable  circumstances. 


His  loss  was  deeply  felt  by  his  family 
and  by  his  neighbors. 

John  H.  Goeman,  a  prosperous  citi- 
zen of  this  township,  is  a  son  of  John 
H.  and  Margaret  (Dougherty)  Goeman, 
natives  of  Germany.  The  subject  of 
this  sketch  was  born  in  that  country, 
April  4,  1829.  In  1857  he  came  to 
America  in  a  sailing  vessel,  embarking 
at  Bremen  and  landing  in  the  city  of 
New  York,  from  whence  he  went  to  St. 
Louis.  He  remained  there  a  short  time 
then  came  to  Jersey  county  and  bought 
80  acres  of  land  in  English  township. 
An  old  log  cabin  was  standing  upon  the 
place,  but  with  that  exception,  it  was 
unimproved.  He  now  owns  1000  acres 
upon  the  same  section  (10),  and  has  a 
fine  farm  with  substantial  improve- 
ments. He  was  married  in  Germany, 
in  1847,  to  Sophia  Ollarking,  daughter 
of  Henry  Ollarking.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Goeman  are  the  parents  of  four  child- 
ren-— Emma,  now  the  wife  of  William 
Woods,  of  Jerseyville;  Dena,  wife  of 
George  Hooper,  of  English  township; 
Sophia,  wife  of  Edward  Sauer,  of  Eng- 
lish township,  and  Henry.  Mr.  Goe- 
man is  a  man  of  intelligence  and 
enterprise,  and  a  useful  member  of 
society.  He  is,  with  his  wife,  a  mem- 
ber of  the  German  Lutheran  church  at 
Fieldon. 

John  Garrels  came  to  Jersey  county 
in  the  summer  of  1854,  and  located  at 
Jerseyville,  where  he  remained  11  years, 
engaged  in  working  at  the  shoemaker's 
trade.  In  1865  he  purchased  his  present 
farm, which  comprises  100  acres,  located 
in  English  township.  Mr.  Garrels  was 
born  in  Germany,  May  3,  1834,  his  par- 
ents being  John  and  Talka  (Jordan) 
Garrels,  natives  of  Germany.      In  1853, 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


35' 


he  took  passage  on  board  a  sailing  ves- 
sel bound  for  America,  and  landed  in 
New  Orleans.  He  proceeded  thence  to 
Alton,  where  he  remained  a  short  time, 
then  came  to  Jersey  county,  as  before 
stated.  He  learned  the  shoemaker's 
trade  in  his  native  country,  and  followed 
the  same  there  for  15  years.  He  was 
married  Jan.  14,  1859,  to  Lizzie  Fall, 
and  by  this  union  had  one  child — John, 
who  died  at  the  age  of  22  years.  Mrs. 
Garrels  died  in  1861,  and  Mr.  Garrels 
was  again  married  to  Margaret  Cooper, 
who  died  in  1864,  having  two  children, 
one  of  whom  is  living — Charles.  In 
1865  Mr.  Garrels  was  married  to  Mary 
Arnoldi,  by  whom  he  has  one  son — 
Henry.  Mr.  Garrels  is  a  prosperous 
and  enterprising  farmer,  and  a  good 
citizen. 

Anthony  Meisner  is  of  German  de- 
scent, being  a  son  of  Anthony  and  Cath- 
erine Meisner,  both  natives  of  Ger- 
many. The  subject  of  this  sketch  was 
born  in  Jersey  county,  111.,  Aug.  9, 
1853,  and  was  brought  up  on  his  father's, 
farm,  receiving  his  education  in  the 
country  schools.  He  has  always  fol- 
lowed farming,  and  now  owns  a  well 
cultivated  farm,  lecated  on  section  30, 
English  township,  comprising  100 acres. 
He  is  a  member  of  the  Catholic  church, 
an  enterprising  farmer,  and  a  good  citi- 
zen. Anthony  Meisner,  Sr.,  died  in 
1871.  His  widow,  Mrs.  Catharine  Meis- 
ner, is  yet  living,  and  resides  upon  the 
homestead  farm. 

James  L.  Seago,  a  farmer  and  promi- 
nent citizen  of  English  township,  was 
born  in  Jersey  county,  111.,  Jan.  7,  1837, 
his  parents  being  John  and  Mary  Ann 
(Campbell)  Seago,  natives  of  North  Car- 
olina.     His   father   died   in   Tennessee 


in  1869,  and  his  mother  in  this  township 
in  1879.  He  was  brought  up  on  a  farm, 
assisting  his  father  in  the  multifarious 
duties  incident  to  agricultural  life  until 
about  26  years  old.  In  the  fall  of  1865 
he  bought  40  acres  of  land  on  section  3, 
where  he  located  and  remained  one 
year.  He  then  purchased  80  acres  on 
section  8,  where  he  lived  two  years.  In 
1871  he  bought  60  acres  of  land  on  sec- 
tion 4,  subsequently  adding  20  acres, 
and  moved  on  to  it,  and  also  purchased 
a  saw-mill,  which  he  operated  eight 
years.  In  1884  he  built,  a  large,  two- 
story  frame  residence  costing  $3,000. 
He  was  married  Sept.  17,  1863,  to  Ach- 
sah  Carrico,  daughter  of  John  C.  and 
Winnie  Ann  Carrico.  They  are  tlie 
parents  of  four  children — Oscar,  Win- 
nie, George  and  Charlie.  Mr.  Seago 
now  owns  440  acres  of  land,  mostly 
under  cultivation.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Seago 
are  members  of  the  Baptist  church.  He 
takes  an  interest  in  public  affairs,  and 
has  held  the  office  of  township  trustee. 
Joseph  Hagen,  son  of  John  and 
Louisa  (Hunt)  Hagen,  is  a  native  of 
Germany,  where  he  was  born  July  22, 
184."..  His  early  life  was  spent  in  Ger- 
many. There,  in  his  youth,  he  learned 
the  cooper's  and  carpenter's  trades  and 
followed  the  same  until  1867,  when  he 
left  that  country  for  America,  taking 
passage  at  Bremen,  on  a  sailing  vessel 
and  landing  in  the  city  of  New  Orleans. 
He  went  directly  to  St.  Louis,  thence  to 
Alton,  where  he  remained  one  year,  dur- 
ing which  he  followed  the  cooper's 
trade.  He  then  came  to  Jersey  county, 
locating  in  English  township.  Here  he 
bought  60  acres  of  land,  upon  which  he 
built  a  house  and  has  since  made  this 
his  home.     August  8,  1873,  he  was  mar- 


356 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


vied  to  Catherine  Meisner  and  by  this 
union  have  five  children — Louisa,  Frank, 
Lemena,  Joseph  and  Henry.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Hagen  are  members  of  the  Catho- 
lic church.  He  is  an  industrious  and 
enterprising  farmer  and  a  good  citizen. 

Sigel  Schaaf,  an  enterprising  young 
tanner  of  English  township,  is  a  son  of 
Louis  and  Christina  (Youngfiood) 
Schaaf,  natives  of  Germany.  Sigel 
Schaaf  was  born  on  the  25th  day  of  Oct., 
1863,  in  Jersey  county,  111.,  and  was 
here  reared  upon  a  farm,  obtaining  his 
education  in  the  district  schools.  He 
resided  with  his  parents  until  March 
28,  1885,  w7hen  he  was  united  in  mar- 
riage with  Sophia  Harding,  daughter  of 
Michael  and  Mary  H.  Harding.  Mr. 
Schaaf  cultivates  about  100  acres  of 
land  and  is  an  intelligent  and  worthy 
citizen. 

John  Holten,  deceased,  was  born  in 
Germany,  Oct.  11,  1821.  In  1857  he 
came  to  America,  landing  at  New  Or- 
leans, where  he  remained  about  one 
year.  He  then  went  to  St.  Louis.  In 
1863  he  purchased  67  acres  of  land  in 
St.  Clair  county,  111.,  where  he  resided 
11  years.  He  died  March  6,  1871.  In 
April,  1856,  he  was  married  to  Charlotte 
Ikum,  daughter  of  Matz  Ikum.  Nine 
children  were  born  to  them,  six  of 
whom  are  now  living— Henry ,  married  to 
Josephine  Plongo,  and  living  in  French 
village  St. Clair  Co.,  111.;  Charles,  Frank, 
Lizzie,  Jule  and  Joseph  (twins).  After 
the  death  of  her  husband,  Mrs.  Holten 
sold  her  home  in  St.  Clair  county,  and 
removed  to  English  township,  Jersey 
county,  where  she  purchased  80  acres  of 
land  on  which  she  has  since  resided. 
She  now  owns  147  acres  of  land,  67 
acres  of  which  lies  in  St.  Clair  county. 


Mrs.  Holten  and  her  family  are  mem- 
bers of  the  Catholic  church. 

William  Rainey,  son  of  William  and 
Eliza  (Tobrytha)  Rainey,  is  a  native  of 
South  Carolina,  born  Oct.  26,  1834. 
William  Rainey,  Sr.,  died  Aug.  30, 
1870,  in  Tennessee.  His  widow  is  yet 
living,  and  resides  in  Hill  county,  Tex. 
The  subject  of  this  sketch  was  reared 
upon  a  farm,  remaining  with  his  parents 
until  he  attained  his  majority.  He  then 
went  to  Tippah  County,  Miss.,  where  he 
resided  three  years,  after  which  he  went 
to  Bethel,  Tenn.  During  his  residence 
there  he  enlisted  in  Co.  1, 11th  111.  Cav., 
and  served  three  years,  participating  in 
the  battles  of  Corinth,  Lexington,  Yieks- 
burg,  Tupelo,  and  Ft.  Blakeley.  At  the 
close  of  his  term  of  service,  he  came  to 
this  count}',  and  located  in  English 
township,  which  has  since  been  his 
home.  In  1877  he  took  a  trip  to  Texas, 
remaining  in  that  state  during  one  win- 
ter. Mr.  Rainey  was  married,  Nov.  25, 
1855,  to  Malinda  C.  Thompson,  daugh- 
ter of  Robert  and  Elizabeth  A.  Thomp- 
son. Seven  children  have  been  born  to 
them,  only  one  of  whom  is  living — 
Sarah  C.  He  is  the  owner  of  421  acres 
of  land  on  section  2.  He  is  a  member 
of  the  Masonic  fraternity,  and,  with  his 
wife  and  daughter,  holds  connection 
connection  with  the   Methodist  church. 

George  C.  Kirchner,  deceased,  settled 
in  Jersey  county  at  an  early  day,  having 
come  from  Germany  to  America  in  1835. 
He  was  born  in  Germany,  Jan.  16, 
1816,  and  was  17  years  old  when  he 
immigrated  to  this  country.  He  landed 
in  New  Orleans,  and  immediately  started 
for  St.  Louis,  but  on  account  of  the  river 
being  frozen  over,  was  six  months  in 
making  the  trip.      He  remained  in  St. 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


359 


cultivates  200  acres  of  land  on  section 
13.  Mr.  Powel  is  a  member  of  the  Sec- 
ond Presbyterian  church,  and  is  an  en- 
terprising young  man.  He  is  compe- 
tent to  fill  any  position  in  society,  and 
his  honesty  and  ability  cannot  fail  to  be 
appreciated  by  an  intelligent  commu- 
nity. 

C.  D.  Beach  was  born  in  Vermont, 
near  Burlington,  July  17,  1800,  his  par- 
ents being  Albert  and  Minerva  (Com- 
stock)  Beach,  also  natives  of  Vermont. 
The  subject  of  this  sketch  was  brought  up 
on  a  farm.  When  quite  young,  he  started 
out  for  himself,  and  coming  to  this 
state,  received  his  introduction  by  being 
put  off  a  steamboat  at  the  mouth  of 
Macoupin  slough.  The  fireman  kindly 
threw  him  a  firebrand,  with  which  be 
built  a  camp  fire,  and  there  spent  the 
night.  Under  such  circumstances,  es- 
pecially as  he  was  obliged  to  keep  a 
good  fire  to  keep  away  the  wolves,  he 
could  not  sleep  or  secure  much  rest. 
His  personal  property  consisted  of  a 
small  bundle  containing  a  few  shirts.  He 
was,  however,  an  energetic  youth  and 
soon  secured  a  position  teaching  school, 
which  business  he  followed  for  about  15 
years.  He  then  turned  his  attention 
exclusively  to  farming.  In  1831  he  built 
a  steam  saw-mill,  which  was  among  the 
first  in  the  county.  He  operated  the 
mill  about  one  year,  when  he  sold  out 
to  a  man  named  Cory.  He  then  pur- 
chased 150  acres  of  land  in  section  15, 
where  he  has  since  made  his  home.  He 
was  married  in  Aug. ,  1849,  to  Charlotte 
Vaughn,  daughter  of  John  and  Hester 
Vaughn.  By  that  union  there  were  three 
children — Chas.  L.,  Helen  and  Chas. 
His  wife  died  in  1868.  He  was  again 
married  in  Oct.,  1877,  to  Harriet  Miller. 


By  this  union  there  were  three  children 
— Don,  Walter  and  Harry.  Mr.  Beach 
now  owns  217  acres  of  land,  and  is  among 
the  old  settlers  of  this  county. 

Richard  Jewsbury  was  born  in  Eng- 
land, May  31,  1806.  He  came  to  this 
country  in  1836,  and  located  near  Jack- 
sonville, Morgan  county. 

Ebenezer  C.  Jewsbury  was  born  in 
Morgan  county,  March  8,  1838,  his  par- 
ents being  Richard  and  Ann  (Smith) 
Jewsbury,  both  of  whom  were  from 
London,  Eng.  Ebenezer  C.  was  brought 
up  on  a  farm.  His  mother  died  in  1847, 
and  he  remained  on  the  place  until  21 
years  old.  He  then  started  out  for  him- 
self, rented  a  farm,  and  followed  agri- 
culture until  1862,  when  he  enlisted  in 
the  army,  in  Co.  K,  101st  111.  Vol.  Inf., 
and  served  three  years.  He  participated 
in  many  battles  and  skirmishes,  among 
them  the  siege  of  Vicksburg,  Resaca, 
siege  of  Savannah,  Atlanta,  Peach  Tree 
creek,  Bentonville,  and  was  a  member 
of  the  force  that,  under  Sherman,  made 
the  great  march  to  the  sea.  Returning 
from  the  service,  he  went  again  to  the 
old  homestead,  in  Morgan  county,  and 
remained  two  years.  In  1868  he  came 
to  this  county,  and  located  on  sections 
10  and  15,  where  he  bought  146  acres  of 
land.  He  was  married,  Jan.  12,  1870, 
to  Martha  J.  Brown,  daughter  of  Joseph 
R.  and  Harriet  (  Downes)  Brown.  They 
are  the  parents  of  five  children — Joseph, 
R.,  Harriet  A.,  Charles  S.,  Maud  M.,  and 
Harry  C.  Mr.  Jewsbury  now  owns  166 
acres  of  land,  mostly  under  cultivation, 
except  40  acres,  which  is  timber.  He 
belongs  to  the  A.  F.  &  A.  M.,  and,  with 
his  wife,  is  a  member  of  the  Cumber- 
land Presbyterian  church.  He  has  held 
the  otlice  of  school  director,  trustee  and 


:!C,(  j 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


assessor,  and  is  prominently  identified 
with  the  public  matters  of  this  township. 

Andrew  J.  Rice,  a  prominent  farmer 
of  English  township,  was  horn  in 
Greene  county,  this  state,  March  27, 
1832,  his  parents  being  William  R.  and 
Cynthia  E.  (Wood)  Rice,  both  of  whom 
were  native  Kentuckians.  His  father 
died  in  Jan.,  1842,  and  his  mother  is 
yet  living  near  Woodville,  in  Greene 
county.  The  subject  of  this  sketch  was 
brought  up  on  a  farm,  and  remained  on 
the  old  homestead  until  15  years  old, 
then  worked  out  by  the  month  for  about 
one  year,  when  he  abandoned  farming 
and  learned  the  trade  of  blacksmith, 
which  business  he  followed  for  about 
nine  years,  working  in  different  places. 
In  18(50  he  purchased  80  acres  of  land 
on  section  15,  English  township,  which 
has  since  been  his  home.  In  1869  he 
added  materially  to  the  improvement  of 
his  place  by  the  erection,  on  a  good  loca- 
tion, of  a  substantial  and  commodious 
frame  house,  at  a  cost  of  about  $2, OCX). 
He  was  married  Sept.  23,  1858,  to 
Mary  E.  Short,  daughter  of  Alfred  and 
Susanna  Short.  They  are  the  parents 
of  five  children — Georgia,  Joseph  A., 
Harry  H.,  William  and  James  0.  Mr. 
Rice  now  owns  140  acres  of  land,  located 
on  sections  10  and  15,  where  he  is  en- 
gaged in  farming  and  stock-raising. 

William  Timpe  is  a  native  of  Ger- 
many, and  was  born  April  12,  1833,  his 
parents  being  Barney  and  Anna  (Muel- 
ler) Timpe,  both  of  whom  were  also 
natives  of  that  country.  In  1853  he 
bade  farewell  to  friends  and  fatherland, 
and  took  passage  on  a  sailing  vessel  at 
Bremen,  bound  for  New  Orleans,  U.  S. 
A.,  arriving  in  due  season.  He  went  to 
St.  Louis  and  thence  to  Alton,  where  he 


remained  four  years,  being  engaged  in 
farming.  In  1861  he  came  to  this 
county  and  located  in  English  town- 
ship, where  he  bought  225  acres  of  land. 
He  was  married  in  Aug.,  1855,  to  Tracy 
Fall,  daughter  of  Toney  Fall.  They 
are  the  parents  of  11  children — Joseph- 
ine, who  is  the  wife  of  John  Wagman, 
and  living  in  this  township;  Lizzie, 
John,  Tracy,  Frank,  Willie,  Joseph, 
Peter,  Anna,  Laura  and  Charles.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Timpe  and  family  are  mem- 
bers of  the  Catholic  church.  Mr. 
Timpe  is  a  thorough-going  and  success- 
ful farmer,  everything  about  his  place 
indicating  the  thrift  and  enterprise  of 
the  owner.  He  is  politically  a  demo- 
crat. Mr.  Timpe  is  now  living  with 
his  second  wife,  who  was  formerly 
Mary  Madaisie. 

William  Falkner  is  a  native  of  this 
state,  and  of  Madison  county.  He  was 
born  Feb.  12,  1822,  his  parents  being 
John  and  Sarah  A.  (Short)  Falkner, 
both  natives  of  Maryland.  His  father 
died  March  25,  1825,  and  hi's  mother 
March  23,  1853.  He  was  brought  up  a 
farmer,  and  remained  with  his  parents 
until  26  years  old,  and  until  their  death. 
In  1846  he  enlisted  in  the  army,  and 
served  one  year  during  the  Mexican  war. 
He  participated  in  the  noted  battle  of 
Buena  Vista.  In  1854  he  purchased  60 
acres  of  land  on  section  31,  where  he 
located  and  has  lived  since.  He  was 
married  Feb.  24,  1854,  to  Edna  A. 
Cooper,  daughter  of  Jonathan  and 
Eleanor  (English)  Cooper.  They  are 
the  parents  of  nine  children,  eight  of 
whom  are  now  (1885)  living — Sarah, 
who  was  married  to  Thomas  A.  Price, 
deceased,  now  living  at  home;  Caddie 
E.,  living  in  Jerseyville;  Mary  R.,  now 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


357 


Louis  for  a  time,  then  came  to  Jersey 
county,  where  he  resided  until  his  de- 
cease, Dec.  11,  1881.  At  the  time  of 
his  death  he  owned  365  acres  of  land, 
and  was  in  prosperous  circumstances. 
He  was  married  June  27,  1823,  to  Eliza- 
beth Thurston,  who  died  Sept.  13,  1865. 
They  had  12  children,  eight  of  whom  are 
now  living — George  B..  Gottfried,  Wil- 
liam W.,  Charles  R.,  Clarissa  C,  Valen- 
tine H.,  OthaO.,  L.  H.,  and  Ulysses 
C.  Nov.  1,  1871,  Mr.  Kirchner  was 
married  to  Maria  C.  Becker,  who  sur- 
vives him.  By  this  union  there  were 
four  children — William  H.,  Henry  L., 
Anna  and  Emelia.  Mrs.  Kirchner  now 
owns  85  acres  of  land,  and  assisted  by 
her  children,  carries  on  farming.  The 
family  are  all  members  of  the  German 
Lutheran  church  of  Fieldon. 

Francis  Middendorf,  son  of  John  H. 
and  Mary  E.  (Meyer)  Middendorf.  was 
born  in  Germany  on  the  28th  of  April, 
1832.  His  parents  were  also  natives  of 
Germany.  In  1855  Francis  came  to 
America,  accompanied  by  his  mother. 
Landing  at  New  Orleans  they  proceeded 
to  St.  Louis,  and  to  St.  Clair  county, 
111.,  where  he  remained  about  four 
months.  He  went  from  there  to  St. 
Charles  county,  Mo.,  following  farming 
and  working  in  a  nursery  six  months, 
after  which  he  returned  to  St.  Louis. 
Six  months  later  he  returned  to  St. 
Charles  county,  and  remained  about 
one  year,  then  again  went  to  St.  Clair 
county.  In  1862  he  came  to  Jersey 
county,  and  for  four  years  worked  out 
by  the  month.  At  the  end  of  that  time 
he  rented  a  farm  in  English  township, 
and  lived  upon  the  same  seven  years. 
He  then  purchased  120  acres  of  land  on 
section  19,  of  the  same  township-,  where 


he  has  since  lived.  He  was  married 
Aug.  22,  186&,  to  Magdala  Fairman, 
daughter  of  Deidrich  Fairman.  They 
are  the  parents  of  eight  children,  seven 
of  whom  are  living — Louisa,  Fritz, 
Katie,  Mary  A.,  Clara  E.,  Mary  Mena, 
and  Joseph  F.  One  daughter,  Mary,  is 
deceased.  Mrs.  Middendorf  is  amember 
of  the  Catholic  Church.  He  is  an  indus- 
trious man  and  has  secured  a  comfort- 
able home. 

Peter  Blaeser  was  born  in  Germany, 
Aug.  13,  1851,  being  a  son  of  Henry  and 
Agnes  (Reichard)  Blaeser,  also  natives 
of  Germany.  Peter  grew  to  manhood 
in  that  country,  and  when  quite  young 
learned  the  carpenter's  trade,  which  oc- 
cupation he  has  followed  most  of  the 
time  since.  On  attaining  his  majority 
he  entered  the  Prussian  army  and  served 
three  years.  In  1876  he  bade  farewell 
to  the  fatherland,  and  set  sail  for  Amer- 
ica, embarking  at  Bremen,  on  board  a 
steamer  bound  for  Baltimore,  where  he 
landed  in  due  time.  He  then  came 
west  to  Illinois,  settling  in  Putnam 
county,  where  he  worked  two  years, 
after  which  he  located  in  English  town- 
ship, Jersey  county,  where  he  has  since 
remained.  Mr.  Blaeser  was  married  on 
the  14th  of  Jan.,  1879,  to  Mary  Schmei- 
der,  daughter  of  John  and  Helena 
Schmeider.  They  have  two  children — 
Mary  and  Charles  J.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Blaeser  are  members  of  the  Catholic 
church. 

Milo  Landon,  a  prominent  resident  of 
English  township,  was  horn  in  what  is 
now  Jersey  county,  March  16,  1838,  his 
parents  being  Norton  and  Sarah  E. 
(Falkner)  Landon,  the  former  a  native 
of  New  York  and  the  latter  of  Pennsyl- 
vania.    His  father  is  now  living  in  Kan- 


358 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


sas.  His  mother  died  in  August,  1882. 
Milo  was  brought  up  on  a  farm  and  was 
employed  in  the  various  duties  incident 
to  an  agricultural  life  on  the  old  home- 
stead until  he  was  22  years  old.  He 
then  located  on  what  is  now  known  as 
the  Samuel  Hinson  farm.  Subsequently 
he  sought  a  location  in  Kansas  and  Mis- 
souri, but  finding  nothing  better  than 
Jersey  county,  he  returned  and  resumed 
farming  and  has  since  been  thus  em- 
ployed. He  was  married  May  20,  1860, 
to  Huldah  Hinson,  daughter  of  Samuel 
and  P^lizabeth  (Cope)  Hinson.  They 
are  the  parents  of  10  children,  eight  of 
whom  are  now  living — Charles,  who  is 
married  to  Lizzie  Reed  and  living  at 
home;  Sarah  E.,  Clara,  Edward,  Fred- 
erick, Stella,  Elsa  and  Frank.  Those 
deceased  were  Orson,  who  died  Jan.  3, 
1862,  and  David  who  died  Jan.  6.  1862. 
Mr.  Landon  owns  121  acres  of  land.  He 
belongs  to  the  A.  F.  &  A.  M.,  of Jersey- 
ville.  With  his  wife  he  is  a  member  of 
the  Cumberland  Presbyterian  church  at 
Otterville. 

Willis  Whitlow,  a  farmer  of  English 
township,  was  born  in  Greene  county, 
this  state,  Feb.  13,  1836,  his  parents 
being  Daniel  and  Fannie  Whitlow.  He 
was  brought  up  on  a  farm,  remaining  at 
home  with  his  parents  until  about  21 
years  old.  He  has  traveled  over  con- 
siderable country  since  that  time,  hop- 
ing to  find  some  place  more  agreeable 
to  his  tastes.  He  explored  in  Southern 
Kansas,  was  in  Brown  county,  la.,  at- 
tended the  World's  Fair,  at  New  Or- 
leans, and  went  down  to  the  Gulf  of 
Mexico.  In  September,  1859,  he  was 
married  to  Emeline  Moran,  daughter  of 
John  and  Polly  (Bush)  Moran.  They 
are  the  parents  of  six  children,  four  of 


whom  are  now  living — Hugh  L.,  Eliza- 
beth, Luella,  and  Ida.  His  wife  died 
Oct.  5;  1881,  of  lung  disease.  Mr.  Whit- 
low now  owns  198  acres  of  land,  and  is 
an  intelligent,  respected  citizen  of  this 
township. 

Edward  Allen,  a  citizen  of  English 
township,  is  a  native  of  Ireland,  and 
was  born  in  1849,  his  parents  being 
Richard  and  Margaret  (Sweeney)  Allen, 
both  of  whom  were  also  uatives  of  the 
Emerald  Isle.  His  parents  both  died 
in  their  native  country.  Edward  immi- 
grated to  this  country  in  1880.  He  took 
passage  at  Liverpool,  Eng.,  and  sailed 
to  Castle  Garden,  New  York,  thence  he 
came  to  Jerseyville  and  located  in  Eng- 
lish township.  Here  he  made  his  home 
about  two  years,  then  went  to  Gage  and 
Johnson  counties,  and  for  a  time  there 
followed  farming.  He  then  returned  to 
his  homestead  in  this  county,  which 
has  since  been  his  home.  He  was 
married  May  12,  1885,  to  Mary  Ryan. 
They  are  both  members  of  the  Catholic 
church  at  Jerseyville.  He  cultivates 
about  30  acres  of  land. 

James  P.  Powel  came  to  this  county 
at  the  time  of  his  birth,  which  occurred 
March  24,  18E6,  his  parents  being  O.  P. 
and  Sarah  (Russell)  Powel,  native  Ten- 
nesseans,  and  now  residents  of  this 
county.  The  subject  of  this  sketch  was 
brought  up  on  a  farm,  engaged  in  the 
various  duties  of  such  an  accupation, 
and,  thus  employed,  remained  with  his 
parents  until  28  years  old.  He  was  ed- 
ucated in  the  common  schools  of  the 
county,  which  instruction  was  subse- 
quently supplemented  by  two  terms  at 
the  Jacksonville  Business  College.  He 
was  married  June  18,  1885,  to  Kate 
Daniels,  daughter  of  J.  S.  Daniels.    He 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


3G1 


the  wife  of  Milo  Cope,  living  near  Ot- 
terville;  Edna  P.,  who  was  married  to 
William  Falkner,  now  living  in  Eng- 
lish township;  John  J.,  William  L., 
Elizabeth  S.  and  Charles  X.  The  one 
deceased  was  Mary  E.,  who  was 
married  to  John  Morris.  Mr.  Falkner 
owns  60  acres  of  land  on  section  36. 
He,  with  his  wife,  is  a  member  of  the 
Cumberland  Presbyterian  church  at 
Otterville.  He  is  a  highly  respected 
citizen  of  his  township,  and  would  be  a 
valuable  acquisition  to  any  community. 
John  G.  Erwin,  a  farmer  of  English 
township,  was  born  in  this  county,  Feb. 
1,  1841,  his  parents  being  William  and 
Hannah  (Brown)  Erwin,  the  former  a 
native  of  South  Carolina  and  the  latter 
of  Missouri.  His  father  was  born  in 
1808  and  his  mother  in  1811,  both  of 
whom  are  still  living  in  Girard,  Macou- 
pin county.  The  subject  of  this  sketch 
was  brought  up  on  a  farm,  and  received 
his  education  mainly  in  the  schools  of 
this  county.  He  attended  McKendree 
College,  at  Lebanon,  one  year,  but,  on 
account  of  sickness,  did  not  there  com- 
plete the  intended  course.  He  was 
married  Nov.  27.  1866,  to  Mary  Cock- 
rell,  daughter  of  George  and  Minerva 
(Darlington)  Cockrell.  They  are  the 
parents  of  four  children — Walter  E., 
Charles  W.,  Hattie  B.  and  Louis  Elmer. 
He  owns  80  acres  of  land,  all  under  cul- 
tivation. He  is  a  member  of  the  A.  F. 
and  A.  M.  and  R.  A.  M.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Erwin  are  members  of  the  Baptist 
chunh.  He  takes  a  commendable  in- 
terest in  public  affairs;  was  appointed 
school  treasurer  in  1871,  and  has  held 
that  office  ever  since.  In  1879-80-81 
he  was  supervisor,  and  his  interests 
seem  closely  identified  with   all   public 


matters  calculated  to  benefit  his  town- 
ship and  community. 

Louis  Vahle  was  born  in  Jersey 
county,  Illinois,  March  31,  1857,  being 
a  son  of  John  M.  and  Mary  (Harris) 
Vahle,  the  former  a  native  of  Germany 
and  the  latter  of  Illinois.  He  lived  with 
his  parents  upon  a  farm  until  he  attained 
his  majority,  being  educated  in  the  dis- 
tricts schools.  On  Nov.  21,  1878,  he  was 
united  in  marriage  with  Lena  Goetten, 
daughter  of  Casper  and  Christiana  Goat- 
ten.  They  are  the  parents  of  three 
children — Mary,  Christiana  and  Jose- 
phine. Mr.  Vahle  is  engaged  in  farm- 
ing, cultivating  120  acres  of  land.  He 
is  an  enterprising  and  thrifty  farmer  and 
a  good  citizen. 

Anthony  Vahle,  son  of  John  M.  and 
Mary  (Harris)  Vahle,  was  born  in  Jer- 
sey county,  Jan.  23,  1860.  He  was 
reared  upon  a  farm,  and  obtained  his 
education  in  the  district  school,  remain- 
ing with  his  parents  until  23  years  old. 
He  then  engaged  in  farming  for  himself, 
and  now  cultivates  120  acres  of  land. 
He  is  a  member  of  the  Catholic  Church 
and  a  much  respected  and  worthy 
young  man. 

John  Howell  is  a  native  of  this 
county,  where  he  was  born  July  24, 
1853.  His  parents,  Uriah  and  Elsie 
(Nevius)  Howell,  were  both  born  in  New 
■Jersey.  The  former  died  in  April, 
1884,  but  the  latter  is  still  living,  re- 
siding in  Jerseyville.  The  subject  of 
this  sketch  has  spent  the  greater  por- 
tion of  his  life  in  Jersey  county.  In 
his  youth  he  learned  the  carpenter 
trade,  and  followed  the  same  for  11 
years  in  this  county.  In  1873  he  went 
to  Nebraska  and  remained  a  year,  dur- 
ing which  he  worked  a  part  of  the  time, 


3(12 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


at  carpentering.  He  returned  home  in 
1874  and  continued  to  work  at  his  trade. 
In  the  winter  of  1881  he  purchased  80 
acres  of  land  on  section  24  of  English 
township,  which  has  been  his  residence 
since  that  time.  December  12,  1876,  he 
was  married  to  Greta  T.  Snell,  daugh- 
ter of  Asa  and  Emeline  Snell.  Four 
children  have  been  born  to  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Howell — Clarence,  Russell,  Min- 
nie and  Frederick.  Mr.  Howell  has 
his  farm  under  cultivation  and  is  an  in- 
dustrious and  enterprising  farmer. 

David  J.  Roach  was  born  in  county 
Limerick,  Ireland,  in  1834,  and  is  a  son 
of  Terrence  and  Margaret  (Slyne)  Roach, 
also  natives  of  the  "Emerald  Isle." 
The  former  died  in  September,  1871, 
the  latter  is  now  living  in  Jerseyville. 
David  was  reared  upon  a  farm,  and  re- 
mained with  his  parents  until  21  years 
of  age.  In  1849  he  left  his  native 
country,  taking  passage  at  Cork,  on 
board  a  small  steamer  bound  for  Liver- 
pool, where  he  embarked  for  America. 
He  landed  in  New  York  city,  and  went 
to  Chester,  Conn.,  where  he  resided 
about  seven  years,  engaged  in  the  liv- 
ery business,  also  worked  in  a  tannery. 
In  1856  he  went  to  East  Windsor,  Conn., 
and  engaged  in  railroading  five  years. 
Nov.  20,  1858,  he  was  married  to  Mary 
McGillicuddy,  daughter  of  Cornelius 
and  Nellie  (Joy)  McGillicuddy.  After 
marriage  he  resided  three  years  in  Con- 
necticut, and  in  the  fall  of  1861,  removed 
to  Illinois,  locating  at  Fidelity,  Jersey 
county,  where  he  remained  until  the 
spring  of  1883.  At  that  date  he  moved 
to  English  township,  where  he  now  re- 
sides. He  owns  a  farm  of  160  acres, 
located  on  sections  1  and  2,  all  of  which 
is    under    cultivation.     Mr.    and    Mrs. 


Roach  are  the  parents  of  nine  children 
William  T.,  Cornelius,  Dennis,  David 
P.,  Eugene,  Mary  E.,  Thomas  F.,  Leon- 
ard, and  Joseph  A.  Mr.  Roach  and  his 
family  are  members  of  the  Catholic 
church.  He  is  independent  in  politics, 
and  an  intelligent  and  worthy  citizen. 

Cornelius  Decker  came  to  Jersey 
county  in  1863,  locating  in  English 
township,  where  he  purchased  a  small 
tract  of  land.  He  has  continued  to  re- 
side here  until  the  present,  and  now 
owns  48  acres,  located  on  sections  26 
and  27.  Mr.  Decker  was  born  in  Hol- 
land in  the  year  1819,  and  is  a  son  of 
Frederick  and  Ellen  (Molan)  Decker, 
also  natives  of  Holland.  In  1845  the 
family  immigrated  to  America,  landing 
at  New  York  city.  They  settled  in 
Union  county,  N.  J.,  where  Cornelius 
remained  about  18  years,  then  removed 
to  this  county,  as  before  stated.  Aug. 
10,  1841,  he  was  married  to  Ellen 
Weirengan.  They  had  eight  children,  six 
whom  are  living — Frederick,  married 
to  Anna  Schneider,  now  living  in  New 
Jersey;  Hattie,  wife  of  Ulysses  Beck, 
also  living  in  New  Jersey;  Philip,  mar- 
ried to  Emeline  Copse,  living  in  Eng- 
lish township;  Harmon,  in  Missouri; 
William  and  John.  Mrs.  Decker  died 
June  23,  1884.  Mr.  Decker  and  his 
family  are  members  of  the  Methodist 
church.  He  is  a  worthy  and  much 
esteemed  citizen. 

William  B.  Burgess  was  born  in  Mad- 
ison county,  Tenn.,  on  the  9th  of  June, 
1834.  In  1836  he  came  to  Illinois,  ac- 
companying his  parents,  William  B. 
and  Matilda  (Brown)  Burgess.  They 
made  the  journey,  via  the  river,  from 
Memphis  to  St.  Louis;  thence,  to  Belle- 
ville,   111.,    where   they   resided    about 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


363 


12  years,  removing  then  to  Washington 
county.  Three  years  later  they  moved 
to  Madison  county,  where  they  lived 
till  1861.  The  subject  of  this  sketch 
was  reared  to  agricultural  pursuits  and 
staid  with  his  parents  until  19  years  old. 
His  mother  died  in  1857  and  his  father 
in  1862.  In  1860  he  went  to  Colorado 
and  spent  four  months,  near  Denver, 
after  which  he  returned  home,  and  en- 
listed Feb.  22,  1862,  in  Co.  D,  of  the 
61st  111.  Inf.  He  participated  in  many 
of  the  most  noted  engagements  of  the 
war,  and  was  honorably  discharged  at 
the  expiration  of  his  term  of  service. 
On  returning  from  the  army,  Mr.  Bur- 
gess came  to  Jersey  county  and  settled 
in  English  township.  He  has  been 
twice  married,  first  to  Susanna  Dil- 
linger,  who  died  May  5,  1857,  leaving 
two  children — Alonzo  S.  and  James  T. 
Mr.  Burgess  was  again  married  Aug. 
11,  1861,  to  Olive  J.  Smith,  and  by  this 
union  has  three  children — William  H., 
Charlotte  S.  and  Peachy  M.  He  is  a 
member  of  the  G.  A.  R.  post  of  Elsah, 
and  also  of  the  M.  E.  church  of  Kane. 
John  C.  Bridges  is  a  son  of  Enoch  and 
Nancy  (Rush)  Bridges,  and  was  born 
June  19,  1836.  Enoch  Bridges  was  born 
in  Missouri,  and  died  April  25,  1867. 
He  was  a  Baptist  minister,  and  by  trade 
a  mill-wright,  but  followed  farm- 
ing most  of  his  life.  He  took  part 
in  the  Black  Hawk  war,  during  which 
he  was  commissioned  colonel.  His  wife 
died  April  20,  1858.  John  C.  Bridges 
was  reared  upon  a  farm  in  Jersey  county, 
where  he  was  born,  and  resided  with 
his  parents  until  their  decease.  In  1860 
he  went  to  Eastern  Kansas  in  search  of 
a  location.  In  1865  he  went  with  a  com- 
pany of  others,  to  Arkansas,  and  there 


witnessed  the  burning  of  Salem,  by 
bushwhackers.  In  1871  he  took  another 
trip,  visiting  Nebraska,  where  he  re- 
mained a  short  time.  He  was  married, 
in  1860,  to  Emeline  Rowden,  daughter 
of  James  Rowden.  They  have  had  six 
children,  five  of  whom  are  living — ■ 
Henry  W.,  John  N.,  Mary  E.,  James 
E.  and  Hettie  E.  Cora  E.  is  deceased. 
In  1880  Mr.  Bridges  removed  with  his 
family  to  Pierce  City,  Mo.,  but  remained 
only  a  short  time,  returning  to  tins 
county.  In  the  fall  of  1880  he  went  to 
Colorado,  and  engaged  in  mining  four 
months,  after  which  he  returned  home. 
He  owns  75  acres  of  land,  and  is  engaged 
in  farming.  He  has  held  the  office  of 
county  treasurer,  also  the  township 
offices  of  constable  and  assessor,  hold- 
ing the  former  eight  years,  and  the  lat- 
tor  two  terms.  He  was  formerly  a  mem- 
ber  of  the  M.   E.   church,    and    of    the 

I.  O.  O.  F. 

John  Power  is  of  Irish  descent,  being 
a  son  of  Michael  and  Bridget  (Durney) 
Power,  natives  of  Ireland.  John  was 
born  June  1.  1860,  in  Jersey  county, 
and  here  reared  upon  a  farm,  receiving 
his  education  in  the  district  school. 
His  father  died  May  22,  1880,  but  his 
mother  is  still  living.  Mr.  Power  is  an 
industrious  and  thriving  young  farmer. 
He  owns  a  fine  farm  containing  220 
acres,  located  on  sections  21  and  22. 
He  is  a  member  of  the  Catholic  church. 

Otha  Kirchner  was  born  in  Jersey 
county,  Dec.  15,  1859,  his  parents  being 
George  C.  and  Elizabeth  (Thurston) 
Kirchner,  the  former  a  native  of  Ger- 
many, who  died   in   this   county,    Dec. 

II,  1881.  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Kirchner  was 
born  in  Illinois,  and  died  in  Jersey 
county  in    1866.      The   subject   of  this 


364 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


sketch  remained  with  his  parents  until 
their  decease.  After  the  death  of  his 
father  he  worked  out  one  year,  then  pur- 
chased 40  acres  on  section  35,  of  English 
township,  where  he  has  since  resided, 
He  has  all  of  his  land  in  cultivation. 
lie  was  married  July  27,  1882,  to  Mary 
Dawm,  daughter  of  Brockmer  Dawm. 
They  have  one  child  of  their  own,  and 
one  child  that  they  have  taken  to  raise. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Kirchner  are  members  of 
the  German  Lutheran  church. 

Joseph  Lenz  came  to  Jersey  county 
in  1S.57,  since  which  time  he  has  been  a 
resident  of  English  township.  He  was 
born  in  Germany,  July  10,  1831.  He 
was  reared  in  his  native  country,  and 
there,  in  his  youth,  learned  the  stone 
mason's  trade.  He  followed  it,  in  Ger- 
many, two  years.  In  1852  lie  came,  with 
his  father  to  America,  embarking  at 
Bremen  and  landing  at  New  Orleans, 
where  he  stopped  a  short  time,  then 
proceeded  to  St.  Louis,  thence  to  Alton, 
where  he  located  permanently,  and  re- 
mained five  years,  following  his  trade. 
He  removed  from  Alton  to  this  county 
in  1857.  He  purchased  at  that  time  80 
acres  of  land,  to  which  he  has  since 
added  until  he  now  has  128  acres.  He 
also  owns  a  lime  kiln  which  produces 
lime  of  the  best  quality.  He  was  mar- 
ried April  30,  1865,  to  Mary  Olbert, 
daughter  of  Michael  and  Catherine 
Olbert.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Lenz  are  the 
parents  of  ten  children,  eight  of  whom 
are  living — Catherine,  Anna,  Lizzie, 
Christiana,  Caroline,  Rosa,  Lena  ami 
Josephine.  Those  deceased  are— Mary, 
who  died  Nov.  3,  1867,  and  Joseph, 
who  died  Feb.  4,  1875.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Lenz  are  members  of  the  Catholic 
church.     He  is  a  democrat,  politically. 


Anthony  O'Maley  is  a  native  of  the 
Emerald  Isle,  born  in  county  Mayo,  in 
the  year  1823.  His  parents,  John  and 
Bridget  (Hines)  O'Maley  were  also 
natives  of  Ireland.  Anthony  was  reared 
on  a  farm  in  his  native  country  where 
he  remained  until  1851.  In  that  year 
be  came  to  the  United  States,  taking 
passage  on  board  a  sailing  vessel  at 
Liverpool  and  landing  in  New  York. 
He  went  from  there  west  to  St.  Louis, 
thence  to  Alton,  where  he  stopped  a 
short  time,  then  rented  land  in  Madison 
county,  on  which  he  resided  11  years. 
In  1S(')5  became  to  Jerse}r  county  and 
purchased  50  acres  of  bind  in  English 
township,  his  present  home.  He  was 
married  the  same  year,  to  Bridget  Ball 
They  have  five  children — Mary,  married 
to  Michael  Haggerty,  of  Greene  county; 
John,  Margaret,  Martin  and  Katie. 
Mr.  O'Maley  and  all  of  his  family  are 
members  of  the  Catholic  church. 

Henry  C.  Harmon  was  born  in  Greene 
county,  111.,  March  27,  1850,  his  par- 
ents being  John  B.  and  Abigail  (Bagby) 
Harmon,  the  former  a  native  of  Maine, 
and  the  latter  of  Virginia.  He  was 
brought  up  on  a  farm  and  remained 
with  his  father  until  21  years  old.  In 
1876  lie  bought  50  acres  of  land  on  sec- 
tion 9,  English  township.  He  was 
married  Oct.  17,  1871,  to  Mary  Red- 
dish, daughter  of  Jacob  and  Hannah 
Reddish.  They  are  the  parents  of  five 
children — Louisa,  Henrietta,  Stella, 
Nannie,  and  an  infant.  Mr.  Harmon 
now  owns  437  acres  of  land  mostly 
under  cultivation.  He  is  a  member  of 
the  A.F.  &  A.M.  lodge  No.  592,  Fieldon. 
He  is  a  young  enterprising  citizen  and 
a  valuable  acquisition  to  any  commu- 
nity. 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


365 


John  Madden  has  been  a  resident  of 
Jersey  county  since  July,  I860,  having 
come  here  at  that  date  from  St.  Louis. 
He  purchased,  then,  25  acres  of  land  on 
section  35,  English  township,  where  he 
has  since  made  his  home.  He  now  owns 
80  acres,  situated  on  sections  34  and  35. 
Mr.  Madden  is  a  native  of  Europe,  horn 
in  June,  1840,  and  a  son  of  Thomas  and 
Catherine  (Knight)  Madden.  He  was 
reared  on  a  farm  in  his  native  state.  In 
1851  he  took  passage  on  hoard  a  sailing 
vessel  at  Liverpool,  and  came  to  Amer- 
ica, landing  at  New  Orleans.  He  went 
from  that  city  to  Hollidayshurgh,  Penn- 
sylvania,  where  he  remained  18  months, 
then  went  south  and  worked  on  the 
levees  ahout  three  years,  after  which  he 
went  to  Cincinnati,  0.,  then  to  Wheel- 
ing, W.  Va., thence  to  Kentucky,  where 
he  worked  one  summer.  He  then  went 
to  Hannibal,  Mo.,  and  was  employed 
one  season  on  the  Hannibal  &  St.  Joe 
railroad,  going  from  there  to  St.  Louis, 
and  there  working  at  any  employment 
he  could  ohtain  until  the  date  of  his 
coming  to  this  county.  He  was  married 
in  1858  to  Ellen  Sheridan,  daughter  of 
Thomas  Sheridan.  Mr  and  Mrs.  Mad- 
den are  members  of  the  Catholic 
church. 

Douglas  Seago  is  a  native  of  this 
county,  and  was  born  Sept.  9,  1857,  his 
parents  being  John  and  Mary  Ann 
(Campbell)  Seago.  Douglas  was  reared 
on  a  farm,  remaining   with   his  parents 


until  he  was  about  18  years  old.  He 
then  worked  on  the  farm  for  various 
persons,  by  the  month.  In  1880  he 
went  to  Dallas  county,  Tex.,  and  re- 
mained about  six  months.  He  then  re- 
turned to  Illinois,  and  located  in  Greene 
county,  where  he  remained  about  seven 
months,  and  then  came  to  this  county 
and  purchased  40  acres  of  land  on  sec- 
tion 4,  English  township,  where  he  re- 
mained two  years,  and  then  sold  out. 
He  now  cultivates  40  acres  of  land  on 
section  10.  He  is  married,  his  wife  be- 
ing Hester  Ann  Reddish.  They  have 
been  blessed  with  three  children  — 
Thomas  J.,  Harry  E.  and  Herbert. 

John  Schreiber,  upon  section  27,  En- 
glish township,  is  a  native  of  Germany, 
born  Feb.  5,  1S35,  being  a  son  of  John 
anil  Mary  (Schlick)  Schreiber,  also  na- 
tives of  Germany.  He  resided  in  the 
land  of  his  birth  until  1874.  In  that 
year  he  came  to  America,  landing  at 
Baltimore,  and  came  immediately  west 
to  Illinois,  and  to  Jersey  county  by  way 
of  Alton.  He  stopped  first  at  Jersey- 
ville,  but  soon  after  purchased  and  re- 
moved to  his  present  place.  He  has 
41  acres  of  land,  and  is  an  industrious 
and  thrifty  farmer.  Mr.  Schreiber  was 
married,  first,  to  a  Miss  Begert,  who 
died  in  1875  leaving,  one  child — Lizzie. 
He  was  married  the  second  time  to 
Louisa  Kerchler.  He  is  a  member  of 
the  Catholic  church,  and  a  denu  crat 
politically. 


366 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


GHAPTRR    XXII. 


RICHWOODS  TOWNSHIP. 


This  township  is  by  far  the  most  ir- 
regular in  shape  of  any  in  the  county, 
its  northern  boundary  being  formed  by 
the  Macoupin  creek,  and  the  western 
boundary  by  the  same  stream  and  the 
Illinois  river.  On  the  east  lies  Eng- 
lish township,  and  on  the  south  Rose- 
dale.  Richwoods  is  tbe  most  north- 
westerly township,  Greene  county  ad- 
joining it  on  the  north  and  northwest, 
and  Calhoun  county  on  the  west.  Though 
the  surface  of  the  country  is  much 
broken,  and  there  is  considerable  tim- 
ber land,  yet  there  are  many  fine  farms 
in  this  township,  and  some  of  the  best 
citizens  in  the  county  among  its  agri- 
culturists. •  Besides  those  mentioned 
as  forming  portions  of  the  boundary, 
there  are  no  water-courses  in  the  town- 
ship, save  an  occasional  rivulet,  and  a 
few  gullies  which  contain  running 
water  only  in  seasons  of  rain.  In  the 
southwestern  portion  of  the  township 
is  McFain's  lake,  which  is  of  quite  re- 
spectable proportion.  It  lies  mainly  in 
sections  20,  29,  30  and  32,  with  a  pro- 
jecting arm  into  sections  17  and  8.  A 
small  portion  also  lies  in  section  19. 
Long  Pond  is  a  small  body  of  water,  too 
small  to  be  classed  as  a  lake,  which  lies 
in  section  18  and  19.  There  is  also  a 
small  lake  on  section  5.  The  bluff  in 
the  west  part  of  the  township  presents 
in  summer  a  fine  appearance,  with  its 
mossy  eminences,  and  tree-clad  acclivi- 
ties.    It  is  rather  a  succession  of  bluff's, 


than  a  single  bluff,  which  extend  the 
full  length  of  the  township  from  north 
to  south,  in  a  generally  straight  direc- 
tion. There  is  not  much  improved 
land  west  of  the  bluff,  save  that  closely 
adjoining.  The  town  of  Fieldon  lies  in 
the  southeastern  part  of  the  township. 
It  affords  a  market  for  many  of  the 
products  of  the  people.  Owing  to  the 
nature  of  the  soil,  the  excellent  drain- 
age facilities  afforded  by  nature,  and 
the  thrift  and  enterprise  of  a  large  ma- 
jority of  the  citizens  of  Richwoods 
township,  there  has  never  been  a  com- 
plete failure  in  crops  here,  and  it  is  but 
seldom  that  they  do  not  rank  with  the 
best  in  this  part  of  the  state. 

EARLY   SETTLEMENT. 

Daniel  McFain  came  in  1819,  and 
settled  about  3J  miles  west  of  Fieldon. 
McFain's  lake  received  its  name  from 
him,  he  settling  in  its  vicinity.  He 
came  from  Virginia,  but  was  a  Pennsyl. 
vanian  by  birth,  and  lived  here  until  his 
death,  which  occurred  about  the  year 
1830. 

John  Gunterman,  Sr.,  came  in  the 
spring  of  1819,  and  located  on  section  5. 
He  was  born  in  New  Jersey,  about  1752, 
and  emigrated  to  Hardin  county,  Ky., 
shortly  after  the  Revolutionary  war. 
There  his  son  John,  Jr.,  who  long 
lived  in  this  township,  was  born,  in 
1799.  In  the  fall  of  1818,  the  family 
removed  to  Madison  county,   and  from 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


367 


there  to  what  is  now  Jersey  county  in 
the  following  spring,  locating  on  section 
5,  Richwoods  township,  as  aforesaid, 
where  they  built  a  log  cabin.  John, 
Sr.,  died  in  1832,  his  wife  having  pre- 
ceded him  in  death.  One  of  his 
daughters  married  Uriah  Miller,  an- 
other early  settler  of  the  township. 
The  place  where  Mr.  Gunterman  set- 
tled is  now  owned  by  Jacob  Reddish. 

John  Smith  settled  on  section  8,  in 
1820  or  earlier.  In  1823,  he  removed  to 
Greene  county,  where  he  afterward 
died.  He  had  two  daughters,  one  of 
whom,  Druzilla,  married  John  Gunter- 
man, Jr. 

Luther  Calvin  made  a  settlement  in 
the  vicinitv  of  John  Smith,  during  1820. 

Joseph  and  William  Buck,  relatives 
of  John  Smith,  came  at  the  same  time 
as  the  latter,  and  settled  in  the  north- 
western part  of  the  township.  They  did 
not  remain  long  on  any  one  piece  of 
land,  but  were  constantly  on  the  move. 
They  both  had  families.  In  1823  they 
removed  to  Greene  county,  where  they 
died, 

John  Medford,  a  native  of  England, 
made  a  settlement  in  this  township,  in 
1820,  on  the  southeast  quarter  of  section 
8,  where  he  resided  for  many  years.  He 
entered  this  piece  of  land  in  Feb.,  1821. 
Hi  came  here  from  Cape  Girardeau,  Mo. 
He  died  in  this  township  in  1825.  He 
was  married  in  Maryland  to  Mary  Dean, 
by  whom  he  had  12  children — Betsy, 
Mary,  Margaret,  James,  Gibson,  Ed- 
mund, Sophia,  Robert  and  Marian. 
Sophia,  now  Mrs.  Zed.  Reddish,  is  the 
only  one  now  living. 

John  Stall  settled  on  section  3,  in  the 
fall  of  1820,  and  built  a  cabin  of  logs. 
He  intended  to  make  some  farming  im- 


provements here,  but  becoming  sick  ami 
discouraged,  he  went  over  on  to  the 
banks  of  the  Macoupin,  where  he  en- 
gaged in  cutting  logs,  and  rafting  them 
down  stream  to  St.  Louis.  The  cabin 
which  he  vacated,  on  section  3,  was 
taken  possession  of  by  the  Ward  family, 
in  the  summer  of  1821. 

Moses  Leeds  settled  on  section  17,  in 
1820,  and  entered  the  land  on  the  18th 
of  January,  1821.  He  resided  here 
until  1825,  when  he  sold  out  and  removed 
to  the  American  Bottom. 

Abirim  McKinney,  a  native  of  Virginia 
settled  on  the  Illinois  river  bottom,  in 
this  township,  in  1820.  He  remained 
here  until  1822,  when  he  removed  t.> 
section  24,  where  he  had  entered  land, 
and  where  he  lived  until  the  day  of  his 
death,  in  1840.  Mr.  McKinney  came  to 
Illinois  in  1818,  and  resided  in  Madison 
county  for  two  years  prior  to  coming 
here. 

Samuel  Gates  settled  the  Watson  farm, 
on  section  9,  about  the  year  1820.  He 
came  from  New  York,  of  which  state  he 
was  a  native,  his  wife  being  a  native  of 
Ohio.  In  1827  he  removed  to  Greene 
county,  locating  in  the  vicinity  of  Bluff- 
dale,  where  he  purchased  a  farm  from 
a  man  named  Brush.  His  wife  died 
about  the  year  1S28,  and  he  followed  her 
in  the  long  sleep,  in  1842. 

Jesse  Ward  settled  on  section  3  on 
the  28th  day  of  July,  1821.  He  took 
for  a  home  a  log  cabin  on  section  .">, 
which  had  been  occupied  by  John  Stall. 
Ward  was  born  in  North  Carolina  in 
1769,  and  was  a  son  of  Michael  and 
Patsey  (Terrill)  Ward.  He  was  mar- 
ried June  23,  1813,  to  Cynthia  Springs- 
ton.  They  were  the  parents  of  20  chil- 
dren,   all    of    whom    are    dead    except 


,",i;s 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


Moses,  who  now  lives  at  Fieldon.  He 
had  been  before  married,  to  Elizabeth 
McDaniel,  and  was  the  father  of  three 
children  by  that  marriage,  all  of  whom 
are  dead.  His  last  wife  died  in  1843. 
He  removed  from  North  Carolina  to 
Spencer  county,  Ind.,  at  an  early  day. 
Thence  he  came  to  this  county,  as 
aforesaid,  in  1821,  leaving  Spencer 
county,  Ind.,  on  the  14th  of  July.  He 
lived  at  his  first  location,  on  section  3, 
about  a  year,  and  then  removed  over 
near  the  Macoupin  creek,  on  section  5 
of  the  same  township.  A  year  or  more 
after  this  removal  he  was  compelled  to 
again  change  his  location,  by  the  rising 
of  the  waters,  to  his  first  location  on 
the  bluffs.  He  staid  there  about  a  year, 
and  then  rented  a  mill  in  Greene 
county,  on  the  Macoupin  creek.  About 
a  year  afterward  he  removed  to  Carroll- 
ton,  where  he  kept  hotel.  In  1826  he 
settled  on  the  place  ^where  Jerome 
Campbell  now  resides,  in  this  township. 
In  1829  he  removed  to  Greene  county, 
and  in  1833  purchased  a  farm  there. 
He  afterward  returned  to  Richwoods 
township,  this  county,  where  he  died, 
May  29,  1847. 

Moses  Ward  came  with  his  parents 
to  Richwoods  township,  in  1821.  He 
was  born  in  Spencer  county,  Ind., 
March  24,  1814.  He  has  spent  most  of 
his  life  in  this  township,  and  is  now  a 
resident  of  Fieldon.  He  was  married 
Nov.  -r),  1846,  to  Nancy  Eaton,  a  widow, 
and  daughter  of  Thomas  Van  Meter, 
born  Oct.  14,  1821.  They  are  the  par- 
ents of  five  children — Melvina,  wife  of 
Benjamin  F.  Scroggins,  of  this  town- 
ship; Delilah E.,  widow  of  William  II. 
Scroggins;  John  II.,  deceased;  Luther 
A.,  deceased;  Sarah  J.,  wife  of  Edman 


Cope.  Mr.  Ward,  though  advanced  in 
age,  is  in  good  health,  and  has  a  mem- 
ory very  retentive  of  early  incidents  in 
the  county's  history. 

Jesse  Watson  made  a  settlement  in 
the  township  in  1822,  on  the  Illinois 
River  bottom.  He  was  a  Pennsylvanian 
by  birth,  but  when  he  was  13  years  of 
age  his  parents  moved  to  Virginia.  In 
1816  Mr.  Watson  came  to  Illinois,  set- 
tling for  the  time  in  Wayne  county,  but 
in  1822  came  to  this  county.  He  resided 
here  until  January,  1838,  the  date  of 
his  death;  his  wife  had  preceded  him 
about  eight  years.  Mr.  Watson  had 
been  a  soldier  in  the  war  of  1812,  and 
in  the  Black  Hawk  war.  With  him 
came  his  son,  Sebastian,  then  a  child 
of  five  years. 

Matbew  Darr  came  to  this  county  in 
1822;  and  having  entered  some  land  on 
section  14,  of  this  township,  settled 
there.  He  remained  here  only  a  short 
time,  when  he  returned  to  the  Illinois 
River  bottom,  east  of  McFain's  Lake, 
but  in  1824  he  purchased  the  land 
owned  by  John  Thornton,  in  English 
township,  whither  lie  removed.  Here, 
by  industry  and  good  management,  he 
accumulated  considerable  property.  He 
died  while  a  resident  of  the  county. 

Uriah  Miller  came  to  this  township 
with  his  family  in  1828,  and  lived  here 
until  he  died,  about  1838.  He  had  set- 
tled in  Greene  county,  in  the  township 
adjoining  Richwoods,  in  1821,  with  his 
father,  John  A.  Miller,  who  died  there 
about  1842. 

Among  the  other  old  settlers  of  this 
part  of  the  township,  who  came  to  this 
county  prior  to  1830,  were  Thomas  En- 
glish, James  Price,  James  Welden, 
Thomas    Ferguson,     Stephen    Evelyn, 


V.  A.  Gibbs,  Jared  Cox,  Thomas  and 
James  Turner,  Jacob  Borer,  Mason 
Cockrell  and  Sanford  Beck.  The  exact 
date  of  the  coming  of  many  of  these  is 
not  obtainable. 

OTHERS    WORTHY    OF    MENTION. 

Many  people,  inhabitants  of  this  sec- 
tion of  the  country,  are  worthy  of  men- 
tion in  this  connection,  as  representa- 
tives of  that  intelligent  class  who  are 
making  Jersey  county  one  of  the  best  in 
this  portion  of  the  state. 

Benjamin  Franklin  Campbell  was  born 
in  Richwoods  township,  Jersey  county, 
on  the  20th  day  of  December,  1838,  his 
parents  being  James  and  Elizabeth 
(Pace)  Campbell.  His  father,  James 
Campbell,  was  horn  in  Knox  county, 
Tenn.,  and  was  there  reared  to  man- 
hood.  About  1828  he  came  to  this 
state,  and  located  finally  on  section  3, 
in  what  is  now  Richwoods  township. 
He  had  previously  farmed  on  Jersey  ville 
prairie  about  a  year,  from  where  he 
moved  to  the  place  above  mentioned, 
living  there  until  his  death,  on  the  29th 
of  February.  1842.  He  was  married  in 
Tennessee  to  Elizabeth  Pace,  a  native 
of  North  Carolina.  She  died  in  Febru- 
ary. 1865,  and  Was  buried  in  the  Red- 
dish cemetery,  as  was  also  Mr.  Camp- 
bell. They  were  the  parents  of  twelve 
children,  nine  of  whom  are  dead.  Thev 
are — Mary,  William,  Nancy  Emeline, 
Nathan,  James,  James  Elihu,  John  Wil- 
son, Phelinda  Jane,  and  Perry  Oliver. 
Those  living  are — Thomas  Jefferson, 
Elizabeth  Ann,  and  Benjamin  Franklin, 
the  Bubject  of  this  sketch.  Mr.  B.  F. 
Campbell  was  married,  Sept.  22,  1863, 
to  Sarah  Jane  Bacon,  a  native  of  Mis- 
souri,   and    daughter   of   John    Bacon. 


They  are  the  parents  of  eight  children, 
six  of  whom  are  living — Charles  Ed- 
ward, Nettie  Elizabeth,  Levi,  Hester, 
Lawrence  and  Dorson.  Those  deceased 
are — Sophronia,  died  Oct.  26,  1875,  aged 
1£  years;  Oscar,  died  Sept.  20,  1871, 
aged  nearly  three  years.  Mr.  Campbell 
has  50  acres  of  land  on  sections  :;  and  1. 
He  has  been  commissioner  of  highways 
for  three  years,  and  is  now  school  di- 
rector in  his  district.  He  has  been 
identified  with  the  township  and  county 
for  nearly  half  a  century,  and  is  one  of 
its  most  respected  citizens. 

Thomas  Jefferson  Campbell, a  wealthy 
and  enterprising  member  of  this  com- 
munity, was  born  on  the  3d  day  of  April, 
1833,  in  what  is  now  Richwoods  town- 
ship. Jersey  county,  it  then  being  in- 
cluded in  Greene  county.  His  parents 
were  James  and  Elizabeth  (Pace)  Camp- 
bell, his  father  a  native  of  Rowan  county, 
N.  ('.,  and  his  mother  of  Tennessee, 
being  born  near  Murfreesborough.  His 
father  was  married  to  Elizabeth  Pace, 
in  Tennessee,  and  they  moved  to  South 
Carolina.  In  the  year  1830  they  came 
to  Illinois,  and  first  located  at  Dyers, 
Jersey  county,  in  what  is  now  English 
township.  The  first  land  they  purchased 
was  2(H)  acres  on  section  34.  On  the 
29th  of  Jan.,  in  the  year  1843,  his  father 
died.  His  mother  died  in  the  year  1863. 
Thomas  worked  on  his  father's  farm 
until  he  was  21  years  of  age,  when  he 
bought  130  acres  of  land  on  sections  5, 
8  and  13, where  he  farmed  and  speculated 
together,  buying  and  selling  stock.  He 
was  thus  engaged  for  about  four  years, 
when  he  went  to  Pike's  Peak,  Idaho. 
but  so  many  were  returning  from  that 
territory  that  he  concluded  to  turn  back. 
This  he  did,  and  came  to  Jersey  county. 


370 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


where  he  bought  80  acres  of  land  on  the 
same  sections  named  before.  He  was 
married  on  the  8th  of  Nov.,  1859,  to 
Drusilla  Knott,  daughter  of  Samuel 
B.  and  Susan  Knott,  natives  of  Ohio. 
Mr.  Campbell  has  been  twice  married, 
his  present  wife  being  Louisa  Ann 
(Parker)  Dunham.  Both  are  members 
of  the  Christian  church.  He  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  A.  F.  &  A.  M,  of  Fieldon,  and 
was  school  director  for  a  number  of 
years.  Mr.  Campbell  has,  by  his  enter- 
prise, accumulated  a  vast  amount  of 
property.  He  now  owns  1,200  acres  of 
land,  350  acres  of  which  lies  in  the 
southwest  corner  of  Greene  county,  and 
is  all  well  improved.  He  is  one  of  the 
most  enterprising  citizens  of  Richwood 
township,  and  is  much  respected  by  all. 
Jerome  Campbell  was  born  on  the 
9th  of  Dec,  in  the  year  1861,  in  Rich- 
woods  township,  on  section  3.  He 
is  the  son  of  James  E.  and  Elizabeth 
i.Milton)  Campbell.  His  father  was 
born  on  the  21st  of  Dec,  1828,  in  Rowan 
county,  N.  C.  He  came  to  this  state 
with  his  parents  when  small,  and  set- 
tled on  the  place  now  owned  by  Jerome. 
He  died  Feb.  26,  1864.  Elizabeth 
was  born  in  Tennessee,  July  18,  1836, 
being  now  49  years  old,  and  resides  in 
Jerseyville.  Jerome  was  raised  on  a 
farm  until  he  was  17  years  of  age.  He 
then  entered  the  Jerseyville  high  school 
which  he  attended  for  three  years.  In 
1881  he  learned  the  butcher's  trade  in 
Jerseyville,  which  business  he  followed 
for  two  years,  except  during  the  winter 
months,  which  he  spent  in  attending 
school.  In  1883  he  returned  to  the 
farm,  where  his  time  has  been  since 
occupied.  Mr.  Campbell  now  owns  a 
firm  of  320  acres  of  good   land,  most  of 


which  is  under  cultivation,  and  all  of  it 
well  fenced  and  in  good  condition. 
During  the  present  year,  1885,  he  was 
elected  assessor  of  this  township.  Mr. 
Campbell  is  an  enterprising  citizen  of 
his  township,  and  is  well  liked  by  all 
who  know  him. 

Benjamin  Dunham  was  born  in  Berke- 
ley county,  Va.,  on  the  30th  day  of  Oct., 
in  the  year  1822.  He  is  the  son  of  Da-  . 
vid  and  Catherine  (Burkhammer)  Dun- 
ham. His  father  was  born  and  raised 
in  the  state  of  Virginia,  and  his  mother 
was  a  native  of  Pennsylvania.  Benja- 
min was  the  youngest  of  a  family  of  10 
children.  When  he  was  four  years  of 
age  his  parents  removed  to  Hamilton 
county,  Ohio,  locating  about  18  miles 
from  Cincinnati.  After  they  had  lived 
there  about  eight  years,  his  father  died. 
They  lived  in  Ohio  10  years,  and  then 
came  by  wagon  to  Illinois,  in  the  month 
of  October,  1836,  and  located  in  Macou- 
pin county,  northeast  of  Greenfield. 
While  living  there,  his  oldest  brother, 
Samuel,  who  had  consumption,  died 
during  that  winter.  Benjamin  and  his 
mother  remained  in  that  county  one 
year,  and  then  moved  to  English  town- 
ship, Jersey  county,  and  raised  one 
crop  on  the  farm  now  owned  by 
John  Garrel.  From  here,  Benjamin  and 
his  mother  moved  in  with  his  next  older 
brother,  Amos  Dunham,  and  lived  with 
him  until  Benjamin  purchased  40  acres 
of  land  from  Mr.  Eastwood,  about  the 
year  1844,  where  his  present  residence 
now  is.  Benjamin's  mother  lived  here 
with  him  until  her  death,  which  occur- 
red in  the  year  1853.  She  is  buried  in 
what  is  called  Armstrong  cemetery,  in 
English  township.  Benjamin  was  mar- 
ried  on  the  30th   day   of    Oct.,   in  the 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


371 


year  1850,  to  Ann  Eliza  Reddish,  born 
Jan.  10.  1831,  in  what  is  now  Jersey 
county.  She  is  the  daughter  of  Stephen 
and  Sallie  Reddish,  a  complete  history 
of  whom  will  appear  in  connection  with 
the  history  of  this  township.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Dunham  have  been  the  parents  of 
14  children,  11_  of  whom  are  living — 
Henry  C,  born  Aug.  30,  1851;  John, 
born  May  8,  1853,  died  March  18,  1873; 
Walker,  born  Aug.  2,  1854;  Juliette, 
born  Feb.  28,  1856;  Virginia  Ann,  born 
April  22,  1857,  died  June  24,  1869;  Ste- 
phen A.  Douglas,  born  June  11,  1858; 
Emmer,  born  Dec.  3.  1859;  Lloyd,  born 
March  30,  1861;  an  infant,  unnamed, 
born  Sept.  25,  1862,  died  May  3,  1863; 
Benjamin  F.,  born  Jan.  20,  1864;  Charles 
H.,  born  Feb.  6,  1866;  Oscar,  born  Oct. 
Hi,  1SC7:  Oliver  P.,  born  Nov.  18,  1869; 
Hattie  Belle,  born  Sept,  8,  1871.  Mr. 
Dunham's  farm  at  first  contained  40 
acres,  but  he  has  added  to  this  until  it 
now  contains  213  acres,  and  on  this  he 
built  a  new  residence  in  the  year  1884. 
He  raises  stock,  as  well  as  grain.  The 
extent  of  improvements  on  his  and 
neighboring  farms  may  be  seen  by  com- 
paring the  present  condition  with  what 
it  was  when  he  first  located  there.  It 
was  then  a  wild  country,  with  deer  and 
wild  game  to  be  found  in  abundance. 
He  has  seen  as  many  as  15  deer  at  one 
time,  and  has  killed  numbers  of  them. 
The  last  one  killed  in  this  neighborhood 
was  shot  by  him,  it  being  in  among  the 
sheep.  He  has  also  killed  great  num- 
ber of  wild  turkeys  and  other  choice 
species  of  game,  which  were  then  more 
plentiful  than  the  most  common  kinds 
now  are.  It  is  difficult  to  imagine  the 
changes  that  have  taken  place  in  that 
time,  but  Mr.  Dunham,  in  the  half-cen- 


tury that  he  has  spent  here,  has  wit- 
nessed its  transformation  from  a  wilder- 
ness to  a  continued  series  of  cultivated 
fields  and  the  homes  of  hundreds.  In 
those  early  days,  like  the  other  pio- 
neers, he  had  to  haul  his  grain  to  mill 
and  grind  it  himself,  with  his  own 
team. 

Elisha  Green,  deceased,  was  born  in 
the  state  of  Pennsylvania,  on  Feb. 
22,  in  the  year  1802.  He  came  to  Il- 
linois in  the  year  1834,  first  locating  in 
Woodford  county.  In  the  year  1853,  on 
the  3d  day  of  July,  he  was  married  to 
Hester  Ann  Shaw,  and  he  located  on  her 
farm  of  120  acres.  He  came  to  Jersey 
county  in  the  year  1854,  locating  on 
section  20.  On  the  13th  day  of  March, 
in  the  year  1878,  Mr.  Green  died,  leav- 
ing a  widow  and  seven  children  to 
mourn  his  loss.  The  children  arc — 
Eveline,  married  to  Henry  Arkebauer, 
now  living  in  Texas;  Nancy,  married  to 
Philip  Snell,  now  livinginScott  county, 
111.;  Ellen,  wife  of  James  Wedding, 
now  living  in  Rosedale  township;  Jen- 
nit',  wife  of  Henry  East,  living  in 
Texas;  Kate,  Perry,  and  Laura,  wife  of 
John  East,  living  in  Jersey  county. 
Mrs.  Green  owtis  80  acres  of  land 
where  she  resides,  most  of  which  is 
under  cultivation. 

William  Briggs  was  born  April  2, 
1839,  in  township  9,  Lincoln  precinct, 
Greene  county,  Illinois.  His  parents 
were  Asa  B.  and  Phelinda(Nott)  Briggs. 
His  father  was  a  native  of  New  York, 
and  his  mother  of  Ohio.  They  were 
married  in  Muskingum  county,  Ohio, 
where  they  lived  a  number  of  years  be- 
fore coming  to  Illinois.  William  was 
the  15th  in  a  family  of  16  children. 
When  he  had   reached  the   age  of  five 


372 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


years  his  parents  removed  from  Greene 
county  to  St.  Louis,  where  they  lived 
until  their  death,  his  lather  dying  in 
1849,  his  mother  in  1852.  At  the  age 
of  10  years,  William  left  home  and  went 
to  Morgan  county,  where  he  engaged  in 
farming  with  an  older  brother,  Tiffin 
Briggs,  until  1855,  when  he  came  to  Jer- 
sey county  and  located  on  section  3, 
in  Richwoods  township,  where  he  now 
resides  on  a  farm  of  90  acres.  He  was 
among  the  earliest  ones  to  enlist  in  the 
service  of  his  country,  under  the  union 
banners,  at  the  breaking  out  of  the  civil 
war.  A  company  was  formed  composed 
of  men  from  Greene,  Jersey  and  Cal- 
houn counties,  but  their  services  were 
not  accepted  by  the  government,  as  it 
was  thought  that  no  more  assistance 
would  be  needed.  They  were  deter- 
mined to  enter  the  service,  and  enlisted 
as  a  body  in  the  6th  Missouri  regiment, 
under  Col.  Bland,  at  St.  Louis.  They 
begun  service  in  Missouri  and  their  first 
fighting  was  done  at  Pilot  Knob.  From 
there  they  went  up  the  Missouri  river  to 
Jelferson  City,  thence  to  Tipton,  and 
were  in  the  famous  forced  march  of  Gen. 
Fremont  from  Tipton  to  Springfield. 
After  finishing  service  there,  they  went 
to  Shiloh,  and  then  to  Corinth,  which 
they  captured.  From  there  they  went 
to  Memphis,  Tennessee,  then  to  Chick- 
asaw Bayou,  where  the  regiment  lost  85 
men  in  10  minutes;  then  to  Arkansas 
Tost,  and  then  settled  down  to  the  siege 
of  Vicksburg,  where  our  subject  assisted 
in  making  the  famous  canal,  while  in 
charge  of  a  fatigue  squad.  He  was  in 
the  whole  siege  there  and  participated 
in  the  capture  of  the  city.  He  was  left 
in  charge  of  the  sick  of  his  regiment  for 
awhile  and  joined  it  later  at  Camp  Sher- 


man, on  Black  river.  They  came  up  the 
river  to  Memphis  and  marched  to  Chat- 
tanooga, where  they  participated  in  the 
celebrated  crossing  of  the  river  on  pon- 
toons, then  went  to  Knoxville  to  relieve 
General  Burnside.  They  wintered  at 
Bridgeport,  Alabama,  and  in  the  spring 
of  1864,  Mr.  Briggs  re-enlisted  and  came 
home  on  a  veteran  furlough.  After  60 
days  he  joined  Sherman  at  Dalton, 
Georgia,  and  from  that  point  was  with 
him  on  his  world-renowned  march  to  the 
sea,  participating  in  all  the  engagements. 
His  regiment  went  with  Sherman  up 
through  the  Carolinas  to  Washington, 
and  participated  in  the  last  grand  re- 
view of  Sherman's  army  at  the  National 
Capitol.  His  regiment  then  went  to 
Louisville,  Ky.,  thence  to  Little  Rock, 
Ark.,  where  they  were  discharged,  and 
afterwards  they  were  mustered  out  at 
St.  Louis,  only  30  men  being  left,  out  of 
the  110  who  enlisted.  Mr.  Briggs  was 
1st  lieutenant  of  Co.  E,  6th  regiment  of 
Missouri,  when  mustered  out.  He  had 
been  orderly  sergeant  from  the  end  of 
his  first  year's  service  until  the  time  of 
his  promotion.  At  the  close  of  the  war 
he  came  home,  and  in  1867  was  married 
to  Emily  Dunham,  daughter  of  Amos 
and  Mary  (Barr)  Dunham,  whose  his- 
tory will  be  found  elsewhere.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Briggs  have  five  children — Tiffin, 
Cora,  Jerome,  Jefferson  and  Alma. 

James  M.  Walsh  was  born  in  Calhoun 
county,  111.,  on  the  15th  day  of  Decem- 
ber, 1858.  He  is  a  son  of  James  and 
Mary  Ann  (Smith)  Walsh.  His  father 
is  a  native  of  Buffalo,  N.  Y.,  and  is  at 
present  living  at  Fieldon.  His  mother 
was  born  in  Calhoun  county.  She  died 
on  the  3d  day  of  October,  in  the  year 
1868,  and  was  buried  at  the   McDonald 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


37.5 


graveyard,  in  Calhoun  county.  When 
James  M.  was  about  six  years  old,  he 
came  with  his  parents  to  what  is  now 
called  Rosedale  township.  Several  years 
of  his  youth  were  spent  there,  and  in 
May,  1870,  he  went  with  his  father  and 
one  brother  to  Buffalo,  N.  Y.,  and  re- 
sided there  about  four  years.  While 
there  he  partially  learned  the  machin- 
ist's trade,  but  in  1874  he  came  back  to 
this  state,  and  he  has  resided  in  Rich- 
woods  township,  Jersey  county,  ever 
since  that  time.  He  was  married,  on 
the  6th  day  of  March,  1883,  to  Louie 
Reddish,  daughter  of  John  and  Mary 
Reddish.  They  have  one  child,  named 
Gertie.  There  are  160  acres  in  the  farm, 
of  which  our  subject  is  the  manager, 
and  proves  to  be  a  very  efficient  one. 

William  Baum  was  born  in  the  village 
of  Destel.  in  Minden  province,  Prussia, 
in  the  year  1832.  He  came  to  America 
when  a  young  man  of  20,  first  locating 
in  St.  Louis.  In  the  spring  of  1857,  he 
was  married  to  Annie  M.  Knost,  and  in 
the  year  1860  they  moved  to  the  Illinois 
bottom  and  began  farming.  He  lived 
here  a  short  while,  when,  becoming  dis- 
satisfied with  that  part  of  Illinois,  he 
moved  with  his  wife  and  two  children  to 
Jersey  county,  in  the  fall  of  1861.  Here 
he  began  the  laborious  task  of  making  a 
home  for  himself  under  the  bluffs,  four 
miles  west  of  Fieldon.  He  bought  80 
acres  of  land,  and  built  a  log  cabin  on 
it,  clearing  and  tilling  the  soil  with  one 
yoke  of  oxen.  In  the  winter  of  1870 
his  wife  died,  leaving  him  with  a  family 
of  live  children,  the  youngest  being  but 
three  years  old.  In  the  year  1871  Mr. 
Baum  was  again  united  in  marriage  to 
Elizabeth  Osthnes,  of  St.  Louis,  who 
survives  him.     She   is  the  daughter  of 


Frank  and  Katie  (Gollembach)  Osthnes. 
On  the  23d  of  Nov.,  in  the  year  1884, 
William  Baum  died  at  his  residence, 
four  miles  west  of  Fieldon,  being  in  the 
52d  year  of  his  age.  He  left  a  wife  and 
four  children — William,  Louis.  Fred 
and  Lizzie,  all  living  at  home,  to  mourn 
the  loss  of  a  kind  husband  and  loving 
father.  Mr.  Baum  was  a  faithful,  ener- 
getic man,  and  by  industry,  honesty  and 
economy  had  added  acre  by  acre,  until 
at  the  time  of  his  death  he  was  the 
owner  of  -Mi  1  acres  of  land,  and  a  large 
and  commodious  residence  had  taken 
place  of  the  log  cabin,  and  everything 
around  showed  happiness  and  prosper- 
ity. No  one  could  be  more  accommo- 
dating or  hospitable  to  bis  friends  than 
he,  and  the  genial  and  familiar  face  of 
"Billy7-  Baum,  as  he  was  called,  has 
been  sadly  missed  by  friends  and 
neighbors. 

William  Butt,  a  native  of  Prussia, 
was  born  on  the  29th  day  of  Jan.,  in 
the  year  18'54.  His  parents  were  Frank 
and  Mary  Maria  Butt,  natives  of  Ger- 
many. William  was  reared  on  a  farm, 
in  his  native  country,  working  around 
until  he  was  20  years  of  age.  In  the 
year  1853  he  decided  to  leave  his 
fatherland,  and  after  bidding  farewell 
to  friends,  took  passage  on  a  vessel 
bound  for  this  country.  He  landed  at 
Galveston,  Tex.,  where  he  remained  a 
short  time,  then  came  to  New  Orleans, 
ami  thence  to  St.  Louis,  where  he 
worked  on  a  railroad  about  three 
months.  In  the  spring  of  1857  he  came 
to  Jersey  county,  111.,  locating  on  Otter 
creek,  where  he  lived  four  years.  On 
the  14th  of  Aug.,  in  the  year  1862,  he 
enlisted  in  Co.  C,  122d  111.  Inf.  He 
was  in  all  the  principal  battles  in  which 


374 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


thai  regiment  engaged.  He  was  wound- 
ed at  Nashville,  Tenn.,  on  the  16th  of 
Dec.,  1864,  and  was  taken  to  the  Nash- 
ville hospital,  and  from  there  to  Jeffer- 
sonville,  Ind.,  where  he  lay  an  invalid 
about  three  months.  He  was  mustered 
out  on  the  20th  of  Aug.,  1865,  and  re- 
turned home,  and  on  the  28th  of  Jan., 
1866,  was  married  to  Lizzie  Nappert, 
daughter  of  Caspar  and  Margaret  Nap- 
pert.  Two  children  were  born  to 
them — Emma  M.  and  William  A.  Mr. 
Butt  has  been  twice  married;  the  second 
time  to  Selma  Berger,  daughter  of 
August  Berger.  By  this  union  they 
have  three  children — Paul,  Emilie  F. 
and  Olga  M.  In  1877  Mr.  Butt  pur- 
chased 4(1  aeres  of  land  in  Rosedale 
township;  on  section  1,  and  afterwards 
added  40  more  to  it.  He  now  owns  160 
acres,  having  bought  80  acres  in  Rich- 
wood  township,  section  86,  upon  which 
he  resides.  Mr.  Butt  belongs  to  the  G. 
A.  I!.  of  Kane.  He  is  well  respected 
by  all  his  neighbors. 

Nicholas  Heiderscheid  was  born  in 
the  province  of  Folschet,  Luxemburg, 
on  the  21st  day  of  Dec,  in  the  year 
1836,  his  parents  being  John  and  Kath- 
erine  (YA  'eber)  Heiderscheid.  His 
father  died  in  1845,  his  mother  in  1857, 
two  years  after  her  son's  departure 
from  home.  Nicholas  spent  nearly  20 
years  of  his  early  life  in  his  native 
country,  working  mostly  on  a  farm,  and 
about  six  months  at  the  shoemaker's 
trade.  In  1855,  he  bade  farewell  to 
friends  and  relatives  in  the  old  country, 
and  taking  passage  on  a  sailing  vessel 
at  Antwerp,  was  soon  on  his  way  to  the 
New  World.  After  an  ocean  voyage  of 
40  days,  he  arrived  at  New  York,  and 
after  remaining  there  one  day  he  set  out 


for  Chicago.  On  arriving  there  he  re- 
mained six  months,  farming  in  the 
vicinity  of  that  city.  From  there  he 
went  to  Calhoun  county,  where  he  en- 
gaged in  farming  for  about  three  years, 
then  came  to  Greene  county,  where  he 
remained  one  year,  and  finally  came  to 
Jersey  county,  locating  in  Rich  woods 
township,  where  he  has  since  remained. 
In  1876  he  bought  40acres  on  section  15, 
and  the  next  year  bought  40  more  on 
section  16.  He  was  married  on  the  24th 
day  of  Aug.,  in  the  year  1862,  to  Laura 
Thurston,  a  native  of  Calhoun  county, 
and  daughter  of  James  and  Annie  (Col- 
lard)  Thurston.  Her  father  died  in  the 
spring  of  1851.  Her  mother  now  lives 
two  miles  east  of  Jerseyville.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Heiderscheid  are  the  parents  of 
nine  children,  seven  of  whom  are  liv- 
ing— Henry,  Ida  A.,  John,  Carrie, 
Mary  Jane,  Clarence,  and  Jessie  Vic- 
tor, an  infant.  Elizabeth  died  Aug.  1, 
1878,  aged  13  years;  Nicholas,  an  in- 
fant, died  Dec.  28,  1877.  Mr.  Heider- 
scheid is  a  member  of  the  Catholic 
church,  in  which  religion  he  was  raised 
from  infancy. 

James  Cannon,  a  native  of  Ohio,  was 
born  on  the  13th  of  March,  1820.  His 
parents  were  Richard  and  Nancy 
(Thompson)  Cannon,  his  father  being  a 
native  of  Maryland,  his  mother  of  Penn- 
sylvania. James  was  reared  on  a  farm, 
working  for  his  father  until  he  was  2(1 
years  of  age.  He  came  to  this  state 
with  his  parents  in  the  fall  of  1831, 
they  locating  in  Peoria  county.  He 
lived  in  that  county  until  the  year  1848, 
when  he  came  to  Jersey  county,  and 
purchased  some  small  pieces  of  land  on 
section  4,  which  he  cultivated  until  the 
year  1863,  when  he  sold  out  that  land, 


and  moved  on  another  place  that  lie  had 
bought.  On  Nov.  20,  1SC>.  he  was  mar- 
ried to  Mary  F.  Pratt,  daughter  of  John 
and  Rebecca  (Woodrard)  Pratt.  One 
child  was  horn  to  them — Lucinda,  who 
married  William  Halscy,  and  lives  in 
Clinton,  la.  Mrs.  Cannon  died  in  L872, 
and  was  buried  at  Lacon,  Marshall 
county,  111.  Mr.  Cannon  has  held  sev- 
eral different  offices  in  this  township, 
and  is  an  old  and  well  respected  citizen 
of  this  community. 

William  Krueger.  a  wealthy  farmer 
in  this  township,  was  horn  in  Prussia, 
on  the  12th  day  of  June,  1833.  His  par- 
ents were  Charles  and  Mary  (Owens) 
Krueger.  His  father  died  in  Germany, 
in  the  year  1845,  at  the  age  of  about  51 
years.  His  mother  came  to  this  country, 
about  four  years  after  her  son.  William, 
came.  She  lived  near  Chicago  about 
two  years  with  her  son,  Charles.  He 
then  moved  to  Minnesota,  and  she  went 
with  him,  and  resided  there  until  her 
death,  in  the  spring  of  1871,  at  the  age 
of  mi  years.  In  the  year  ls">4,  our  sub- 
ject took  passage  in  a  vessel  hound  for 
Canada,  ami  after  a  voyage  of  four 
weeks,  he  landed  at  Quebec.  He  re- 
mained there  three  days,  then  went  to 
Montreal. when-  he  worked  on  the  canal 
for  about  a  month,  and  then  went  on  to 
Chicago,  where  he  went  to  work  for  the 
Illinois  Central  railroad  company  about, 
15  miles  from  the  city.  He  worked  there 
seven  weeks,  ami  then  went  to  making 
plank  fence  along  the  railroad,  near 
Kankakee,  where  lie  worked  a  couple  of 
months.  He  then  went  to  work  on  the 
canal  again,  during  the  summer,  about 
22  miles  from  Chicago,  and  in  the  win- 
ter he  chopped  wood.  He  was  thus  em- 
ployed for  nearly  four  years,    and  then 


came  down  to  Grafton,  with  a  yoke  of 
cattle,  and  commenced  farming  and 
hauling  cord  wood.  He  remained  there 
over  rive  years,  ami  then  came  to  Kich- 
woods  township,  where  he  had  bought 
land  about  a  month  before  that.  He 
located  on  200acres  which  he  had  bought 
on  sections  14  and  15,  his  house  being 
on  section  14.  and  on  this  place  he  still 
lives.  He  lias  added  to  this  until  now 
lie  has  a  splendid  farm  of  770  acres. 
His  time  is  devoted  not  only  to  the 
raising  of  grain,  hut  also  to  stock-raising, 
in  which  he  is  very  successful.  He  was 
married  in  Chicago,  on  the20th  of  June, 
1857,  to  Dora  Praell,a  native  of  Mech- 
lenlmrg,  Germany.  Nine  children  were 
horn  to  them,  six  of  whom  are  now  liv- 
ing— George,  Charles,  married  to  Lizzie 
Krouse,  and  living  in  Richwood  town- 
ship; William,  Henry,  Louis  and  Ma- 
tilda; Emma  died  at  the  age  of  one  ami 
a  half  years,  the  other  two  died  in  in- 
fancy. Mr.  Kreuger  and  wife  are  both 
members  of  the  Lutheran  church  at 
Fiehlon.  He  has  held  the  office. of  road 
commissioner  three  years,  and  that  of 
school  director  several  terms.  Mr. 
Kreuger  has  been  very  successful  since 
coming  to  this  country,  and  by  his  in- 
dustry has  succeeded  in  placing  his  fam- 
ily in  a  most  comfortable  situation. 

Allen  W.  Milem  was  born  in  Lee 
county,  Va.,  on  the  "29th  day  of  July, 
1846,  his  parents  being  William  W.  ami 
Barbara  (Warren)  Milem.  natives  of 
Virginia.  They  lived  on  a  farm  there, 
and  when  Allen  was  quite  young,  they 
moved  to  Indiana,  locating  near  Coats- 
ville,  where  they  farmed  about  four 
years.  They  then  bought  property  in 
the  village  of  Coatsville,  and  removed 
there.       When    Allen    was    18   years  of 


;;:<! 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


age,  he  came  to  Jersey  county,  111., 
where  he  worked  on  a  farm  near  Elsah 
about  two  years.  His  parents  then  re- 
moved to  this  state,  near  Jerseyville, 
and  he  went  to  live  with  them,  working 
part  of  the  time  for  his  father  and  part 
fur  himself.  In  1876  he  located  on  sec- 
tion 20,  Richwoods  township,  where  he 
rented  a  place,  and  farmed  for  awhile. 
In  the  fall  of  1884  he  purchased  40  acres 
of  land  on  section  20.  It  is  well  culti- 
vated, and  everything  in  good  condition. 
In  18(58  he  was  married  to  Mary  Cope, 
daughter  of  George  and  Lucinda  Cope. 
They  have  five  children — Laura  M., 
Charles  H.,  William,  Carrie  A.,  and 
Albert  M.  Mrs.  Milem  is  a  member  of 
the  Christian  church.  Mr.  Milem  is  a 
member  of  Fieldon  lodge  No.  592,  A.  F. 
&  A.  M.  He  is  at  present  holding  the 
office  of  school  director.  He  is  an  in- 
dustrious and  enterprising  man,  and  is 
one  of  the  township's  most  respected 
citizens. 

George  Krueger  was  born  near  Graf- 
ton, Jersey  county,  111.,  on  the  19th  day 
of  Feb.,  in  the  year  1860.  He  is  a  son 
of  William  and  Dora  (Prill)  Krueger, 
natives  of  the  old  country,  and  a  sketch 
of  whom  will  be  found  in  the  history  of 
this  township.  When  George  was  four 
years  of  age  his  parents  moved  to 
Richwoods  township,  where  they  lo- 
cated and  purchased  land  in  the  year 
1864.  He  received  his  education  in  the 
country  schools  of  this  township,  and 
has  employed  his  time  in  the  occupa- 
tion of  farming  from  the  time  he  was 
able  to  follow  a  plow,  up  to  the  present 
time. 

Mathias  Metzdorf,  a  native  of  Prussia, 
was  born  on  the  23d  day  of  Nov.,  in  the 
year  1826.     His  parents  were  Anthony 


and  Mary  (Burgch)  Metzdorf,  both  na- 
tives of  Prussia.  Mathias  remained 
with  his  father,  with  whom  he  farmed, 
until  he  was  26  years  old.  In  the  year 
1854,  after  bidding  farewell  to  home 
and  friends,  he  took  passage  at  Ant- 
werp, on  a  vessel  bound  for  America. 
In  due  time  he  landed  at  New  York, 
ami  from  there  came  to  Chicago,  where 
he  remained  a  tew  days  and  then  went 
to  the  state  of  Michigan,  where  he 
worked  in  the  pineries  about  three 
years.  From  there  he  came  to  Alton, 
and  then  went  to  Grafton,  where  he 
staid  three  years  working  at  first  one 
thing  and  then  another.  In  the  year 
1861,  he  enlisted  in  Co.  D,  24th  111.  Inf., 
and  served  three  years.  He  was  then 
employed  by  the  government  about  six 
months,  drawing  his  pay  at  St.  Louis. 
From  that  city  he  came  to  Jersey  coun- 
ty, where  he  bought  120  acres  of  land, 
which  he  now  owns.  In  the  year  1868 
he  was  married  to  Sophia  Baekhouse, 
daughter  of  William  Baekhouse,  Sr. 
To  this  union  six  children  were  born — 
George,  born  May  23,  1869,  died  Nov. 
23,  1871;  Anton j  born  Nov.  9,  1871; 
Anna,  born  Jan.  23,  1873,  and  died 
June  23,  1876;  Caroline,  born  Jan.  11, 
1876;  Kate,  born  April  8,  1879,  ami 
Prudy,  horn  June  15,  1882.  Mr.  Metz- 
dorf is  among  the  well-respected  citizens 
of  this  township. 

Frank  Kallal,  Sr.,  was  born  in  Aus- 
tria, in  the  month  of  Aug.  1814.  Nearly 
40  years  of  his  life  were  spent  in  his 
native  country,  and  he  there  learned 
the  shoemaker's  trade.  In  the  year 
1853  he  came  to  America,  sailing  in  a 
vessel  bound  for  New  Orleans.  On  ar- 
riving at  that  city  he  came  up  the  river 
to  St.   Louis,  where  he   worked  at  his 


trade  until  coining  to  Jersey  county, 
which  was  in  the  month  of  March,  1856. 
He  located  on  section  23,  in  Richwoods 
township,  where  he  engaged  in  farm- 
ing. While  living  in  Austria,  in  the 
year  1842,  he  was  married  to  Frances 
Kasemor,  a  native  of  Austria.  They 
were  the  parents  of  10  children,  seven 
of  whom  are  living — Joseph,  married  to 
Mary  Jillich,  living  in  English  town- 
ship; Frances,  wife  of  Michael  Parkos, 
living  in  Valley  county.  Neb.;  Mary, 
wife  of  Joseph  Hoist,  living  in  St. 
Louis;  Annie,  wife  of  John  Duban, 
living  in  Valley  county,  Neb.;  Frank, 
who  lives  here  and  attends  to  the  man- 
agement of  the  farm;  Louisa,  wife  of 
Benjamin  Beover,  residing  in  St.  Louis; 
John  C,  living  with  his  mother  in  St. 
Louis.  Frances,  a  daughter,  died  in 
Austria,  when  but  a  child.  Katie  and 
Lizzie  died  at  the  residence  in  this  town- 
ship. Mr.  Kallal  lived  on  his  farm 
here  until  the  time  of  his  death,  which 
occurred  on  the  26th  day  of  Nov.,  in 
the  year  1860.  He  was  buried  at  the 
Catholic  cemetery  in  English  township. 
The  family  are  all  members  of  the 
Catholic  church.  After  Mr.  Kallal's 
death,  his  widow  thought  to  retire  from 
farm  life,  and  in  the  month  of  May,  1880 
moved  to  St.  Louis,  where  she  now  re- 
rides  with  her  son  John.  Frank  Kallal, 
Jr..  was  horn  on  the  4th  day  of  Nov., 
in  the  year  1858,  on  the  place  where  his 
parents  located  when  coming  to  this 
county.  He  received  his  education 
partly  in  the  district  schools  here,  and 
partly  at  St.  John's  Bohemian  school, 
in  St.  Louis.  He  now  lives  here  and 
has  the  management  of  the  family 
property,  including  the  farm  of  320 
acres  in  Richwood's  township. 


George  Ottenhausen  has  been  a  resi- 
dent of  Jersey  county  since  the  year 
1874,  having  removed  here  from  St. 
Louis  at  that  date,  and  located  near 
Fieldon,  in  Richwoods  township,  when' 
he  now  lives.  Mr.  Ottenhausen  was 
born  in  Germany,  on  the  10th  of  Sept., 
1830.  In  his  youth  he  learned  the 
miller's  trade,  which  he  followed  in  the 
old  country  until  I860.  In  that  year  he 
came  to  the  United  States,  setting  sail 
at  Hamburg  and  landing  in  New  Or- 
leans. He  then  went  to  St.  Louis, 
residing  in  that  city  14  years,  at  the  ex- 
piration of  which  he  came  to  this 
county.  He  was  married  in  1860  to 
Augusta  Bochman,  daughter  of  Henry 
Bochman.  Eight  children  have  been 
born  to  them,  three  of  whom  are  now 
living — Julia,  Augusta  and  Lizzie. 

John  L.  Lofton  was  born  on  the  17th 
day  of  May,  in  the  year  1826,  in  Gal- 
latin county,  111.  He  is  the  son  of  John 
W.  and  Mary  (Baldwin)  Lofton.  His 
father  was  a  native  of  Georgia,  his 
mother  of  Kentucky.  His  father  died 
on  the  loth  day  of  Jan.,  1877,  and  his 
mother  on  the  9th  day  of  Aug.,  1870. 
John  L.  was  raised  on  a  farm,  where  he 
worked  for  his  father  until  21  years  of 
age.  He  then  worked  around  from 
place  to  place  for  about  four  years.  In 
the  year  1852  he  went  to  Volcano,  Cal., 
where  he  worked  in  the  gold  mines  an- 
other four  years.  He  then  returned 
home  and  staid  with  his  father  until 
about  the  year  1861).  On  the  1st  day  of 
April,  1866,  he  was  married  to  Mary 
Jain'  (Bentley)  Livens.  He  and  his 
wife  then  went  to  Lynn  county,  Kan., 
where  they  resided  three  years,  and 
then  moved  to  Crawford  county,  in  the 
same     state,     and    remained    there    five 


378 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


years,  his  wife  dying  there  on  the  30th 
day  of  Oct.,  in  the  year  1874.  He  then 
returned  home  and  staid  with  his  father 
until  the  latter's  death,  in  1877.  Mr. 
Lofton  is  the  father  of  five  children — 
Elizabeth,  Emily,  Charles  W.  and  John 
T.  (twins),  and  Mary  Jane.  His  wife's 
children  by  her  first  husband  are — Lucy 
Ann  and  Henrietta.  Mr.  Lofton  owns 
40  acres  of  land  on  section  36,  Rich- 
woods  township,  and  is  an  old  and  res- 
pected citizen.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
A.  F.  and  A.  M.,  and  is  also  a  member 
of  the  M.  E.  church. 

Mathias  D.  Fondel  was  born  in  Prussia 
on  the  8th  day  of  September,  1823,  his 
parents  being  Frank  and  Margaret 
(Schmatz)  Fondel,  natives  of  Prussia, 
where  both  have  since  died.  Mathias 
was  reared  there  to  farm  life.  At  the 
age  of  30  years,  he  made  up  his  mind  to 
leave  his  native  country,  so  he  bade 
farewell  to  relatives  and  friends,  and 
taking  passage  at  Antwerp,  was  soon  on 
his  way  to  the  New  World,  and  arrived 
at  the  port  of  New  Orleans  after  an 
ocean  voyage  of  eight  weeks.  He  staid 
in  that  city  and  vicinity  for  about  two 
months,  and  then  took  a  boat  for  St. 
Louis,  where  he  remained  several  weeks, 
and  then  came  up  to  Edwardsville,  Mad- 
ison county,  111.,  between  which  point 
and  St.  Louis  he  was  engaged  in  team- 
ing for  four  months.  He  then  came  to 
Jersey  county,  and  located  on  Coon 
creek,  remaining  there  three  years, 
when  he  bought  40  acres  on  section  15, 
and  commenced  farming  for  himself. 
Since  that  time  he  has  added  40  acres  to 
his  farm.  Mr.  Fondel  was  married  in 
this  county,  in  December,  1863,  to  Maria 
Wilson,  widow  of  William  Wilson,  and 
daughter  of  Noah  and  Lucinda  Willis. 


She  was  born  in  Lincoln  county,  Mo., 
where  her  father  died  April  16,  1858, 
and  where  her  mother  still  resides.  By 
this  marriage  there  are  four  children — 
Margaret;  Lucy  Ann,  wife  of  John 
Shaw,  who  lives  in  this  township;  Mary 
and  Elizabeth.  Mrs.  Fondel  was  the 
mother  of  one  child  by  her  first  mar- 
riage— Emily  Jane,  wife  of  Joseph 
Welch,  who  lives  in  Lincoln  county, 
Mo.  Mr.  Fondel  is  a  member  of  the 
Catholic  church,  while  his  wife  and 
her  daughter  Mary  are  members  of  the 
Christian  church. 

Edman  Cope  was  born  in  Jersey 
county,  111.,  on  the  25th  day  of  Nov.,  in 
the  year  1846.  His  parents  were  Joseph 
and  Martha  (Bullard)  Cope,  his  father 
being  a  native  of  Ohio,  and  his  mother 
anative  of  Kentucky.  Joseph  died  on  the 
9th  day  of  March,  in  the  year  1874;  Mar- 
tha died  on  the  28th  day  of  June,  in  the 
year  1862.  Edman  was  raised  on  alarm 
and  the  first  place  he  located  was  on 
the  old  Patterson  farm.  In  the  year 
1873  he  came  to  Richwoods  township, 
and  located  on  section  36,  where  he  has 
since  resided.  On  the  29th  day  of  May, 
in  the  year  1876,  he  was  married  to 
Sarah  Ward,  daughter  of  Moses  and 
Nancy  (Eaton)  Ward.  A  family  of 
five  children  have  been  born  to  them — 
Arwilda,  Gracie,  Martha,  Jerry  and 
Mardie. 

William  Hinson  was  born  in  Jersey 
county,  111.,  on  the  25th  day  of  Oct.,  in 
the  year  1838.  His  parents  were  Joel 
and  Millie  (Chillis)  Hinson,  both  being 
natives  of  Virginia.  William  was  raised 
on  a  farm,  his  father  being  a  farmer, 
and  with  him  he  worked  until  he  was 
30  years  of  age.  Mr.  Hinson  has  been 
twice    married,    his    first   wife    having 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


379 


been  Laura  Landdom.  In  the  year 
1869  he  was  married  to  Catherine  Falk- 
ner,  daughter  of  Joseph  and  Jane 
Falkner.  Two  children  were  born  to 
this  union — Jackson  and  Nellie.  In 
the  year  1873,  Mr.  Hinson  purchased 
40  acres  of  land  in  Richwood  township, 
on  section  21,  and  started  fanning  for 
himself,  where  he  has  since  continued 
an  industrious  and  respected  citizen. 

James  Allen  Spencer  was  born  on  the 
30th  day  of  January,  in  the  year  1834, 
in  what  was  then  Greene  county,  but  is 
now  Jersey  county.  He  was  the  son  of 
of  Reuben  and  Mary  (Lofton)  Spencer, 
both  deceased.  His  father  was  a  native 
of  Yirginia  and  died  here  in  the  fall  of 
1S44.  His  mother  was  a  native  of  Ken- 
tucky, she  died  here,  also,  in  the  sum- 
mer of  1851.  James  was  the  fifth  in  a 
family  of  eight  children.  He  lived  with 
his  parents  on  a  farm,  until  their  death, 
after  which  he  worked  around  at  one 
place  and  another  until  the  year  1855, 
when  he  and  his  brother-in-law  bought 
80  acres  of  land  together,  on  section  25. 
About  one  year  later  he  sold  out  there 
and  bought  40  acres  on  section  14,  and 
moved  to  that  place.  On  the 5th  day  of 
April,  in  the  year  1855,  he  was  united 
in  marriage  with  Sarah  Rowden, 
daughter  of  William  and  Mary  (Pruitt) 
Rowden.  They  are  the  parents  of  nine 
children,  seven  of  whom  are  living — 
Mary,  wife  of  George  Seago,  now  living 
in  English  township;  Ellen,  wife  of 
William  Beaman,  living  in  Kansas; 
William;  Frank  and  Kate,  twins;  Lucy 
and  Nellie,  twins.  Those  dead  are — 
Jeanette  and  Mariette.  Mr.  Spencer 
participated  in  the  civil  war,  having  en- 
listed in  Co.  C,  122d  111.  Inf.  He  served 
three  years,  going  through  several  h^rd 


battles.      lie    was    mustered    out   in   the 
month  of  June,  1K(>.">,  at  Mobile,  Ala,. 

L.  W.  Calame  is  a  native  of  Switzer- 
land, and  was  born  on  the  1st  day  of 
Dec,  in  the  year  18,35,  his  parents  being 
Lewis  F.  and  Eliza  (Parel)  Calame. 
They  are  natives  of  Switzerland,  and 
are  now  living  near  Alton,  Madison 
county,  111.  When  our  subject  was  10 
years  of  age  he  came  with  his  parents 
to  this  country,  where  they  located  as 
above  stated.  His  father  was  a  watch- 
maker, and  under  him  he  learned  the 
jewelry  business,  and  stayed  with  his 
father  until  he  was  21  years  of  age.  On 
starting  to  this  country  in  the  year  1848, 
they  had  sailed  from  Havre  de  Grace, 
and  landed  at  New  Orleans,  from  where 
they  came  up  the  Mississippi  to  Alton. 
In  the  year  1861  Mr.  Calame  enlisted  in 
Co.  D,  of  the  27th  111.  Inf.  The  first 
battle  he  engaged  in  was  at  Belmont, 
and  lie  was  then  in  all  the  principal 
battles  during  the  service.  He  was 
mustered  out  at  Springfield,  111.,  Sept. 
1864.  He  then  went  home  to  Alton, 
where  he  remained  one  year.  While  in 
tin' army  he  was  wounded  by  afragment 
of  a  shell,  at  Farmington,  Miss.,  and  is 
now  drawing  a  pension.  On  the  25th  of 
Dec,  1866,  he  was  united  in  marriage  to 
Sarah  Cole,  daughter  of  William  and 
Lydia  (Wiseman)  Cole.  They  are  the 
parents  of  seven  children — Lydia  E., 
Lizzie,  William  F.,  Nora,  Charles  E., 
Arthur  B.,  and  Elmer.  Mr.  Calame 
came  to  Richwoods  township  in  1867, 
and  purchased  40  acres  of  land  on  sec- 
tion 27,  where  he  has  since  resided. 

Isaac  M.  Moore  was  horn  on  the  2d 
day  of  Feb.,  in  the  year  1842,  near 
Waverly,  Pike  county,  0.,  his  parents 
being  Newton  S.  and  Elizabeth  (Brown) 


380 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


Moore.  Both  were  natives  of  Ohio. 
His  mother  died  there  in  the  year  1877, 
his  father  in  1883,  in  the  same  state 
Isaac  M.  was  raised  in  his  native  place, 
and  worked  on  his  father's  farm  up  to 
the  time  he  came  to  this  state.  He  left 
Ohio  in  the  year  1876,  and  came  to 
Jersey  county,  where  he  bought  320 
acres  of  land  on  section  8,  on  which  he 
located.  Mr.  Moore  has  so  prospered 
that  he  has  been  enabled  to  increase  his 
farm  until  it  now  contains  460  acres, 
one-half  of  which  is  under  cultivation, 
the  balance  being  in  timber.  Mr.  Moore 
is  one  of  Richwoods  township's  most 
enterprising  citizens,  and  by  His  in- 
dustry and  integrity  has  been  thus  far 
successful  in  life. 

Herman  Groppel,  a  native  of  Prussia, 
was  horn  on  the  13th  day  of  April,  1827. 
He  is  the  son  of  Herman  and  Charlot- 
ta  (Speckman)  Groppel.  In  fall  of  1840 
his  lather  died,  and  his  mother  four 
years  later.  Herman  was  the  third  in 
a  family  of  seven  children,  consisting 
of  three  boys  and  four  girls.  He  spent 
his  youth  on  a  farm  in  his  native  conn- 
try.  He  served  in  the  Prussian  army 
one  year,  and  then  returned  to  farm 
life.  In  the  year  1853  Herman  took 
passage  on  a  vessel  bound  from  Bremen 
to  New  Orleans,  where  he  arrived  after 
a  voyage  of  nine  weeks.  From  there 
In1  came  up  the  Mississippi  river  to  St. 
Louis,  staying  there  until  May  of  the 
following  year,  when  he  went  up  the 
Missouri  river  to  Lexington  and  engaged 
in  farming  for  two  years.  From  there 
he  came  to  Jersey  county,  111.,  and 
bought  40  aero  of  land  on  section  22, 
in  Richwoods  township,  on  which  he 
moved.  On  the  loth  of  April,  in  the 
year  1858,  he  was  married  to   Augusta 


Rudolph,  a  native  of  Prussia,  and 
daughter  of  Daniel  and  Francisca 
(Lohmuelleri  Rudolph.  Seven  children 
were  horn  to  them — Fred,  married  to 
Lena  Arbogast,  and  living  near  Otter- 
ville;  Edward,  married  to  Lena  Egelhoff, 
also  living  near Otterville;  Lena,  Henry, 
Willie,  Theodore  and  Louis.  Mr. 
Groppel  ami  family  are  members  of  the 
Lutheran  church.  He  has  been  an  in- 
dustrious and  energetic  worker,  and 
hence  lias  been  able  to  increase  his 
original  farm  of  40  acres  to  160  acres  at 
his  home  place  in  Richwoods  township, 
and  1433  acres  near  Otterville,  where 
his  sons  reside. 

James  Dunbar  was  born  in  Perry 
county.  Mo.,  on  the  18th  day  of  March, 
1842.  His  parents  were  John  and 
Nancy  (Porter;  Dunbar,  his  father  being 
a  native  of  North  Carolina,  his  mother 
a  native  of  Kentucky.  His  father  died 
in  the  year  1852.  James  remained  at 
home  until  his  father's  death,  when  he 
was  put  out  to  work  for  a  man  named 
William  Ringenton,  but  was  treated  so 
cruelly  that  he  ran  away  from  him  and 
came  to  Randolph  county,  111.,  where 
lie  worked  for  a  man  named  James 
Guinn  for  about  eight  years.  When  he 
arrived  at  the  age  of  is,  he  volunteered 
in  the  10th  111.  Inf.  He  was  mustered 
in  at  Cairo,  in  Co.  I,  and  his  regiment 
moved  to  Fort  Pillow.  From  there 
they  were  ordered  to  draw  off  and  re- 
inforce Grant  at  the  battle  of  Shiloh. 
James  was  in  the  siege  of  Corinth, 
skirmishing,  about  six  months.  On  the 
9th  of  Oct.,  1865,  he  was  mustered  out, 
when  he  went  to  St.  Charles  county, 
where  he  remained  until  1S70.  He  then 
went  to  Callaway  county,  Mo.,  remain- 
ing there  until   1878,  when  he  came  to 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


381 


Jersey  county  and  located  on  section  20, 
where  he  owns  a  farm  of  80  acres.  On 
the  24th  of  Feb.,  in  the  year  1879,  Mr. 
Dunbar  was  united  in  marriage  to  Mar- 
tha Jane  Thompson,  daughter  of  Wm., 
and  Martha  J.  Thompson.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Dunbar  are  the  parents  of  two  children, 
only  one  of  whom  is  living — George  W. 
The  one  deceased  was  named  John  W . 
Mr.  Dunbar  and  wife  are  members  of 
the  ( 'hristian  church. 

William  F.  II.  GerBon  was  born  near 
Tribine,  Germany,  on  the  10th  day  of 
July,  in  the  year  1842,  his  parents  being 
Fred  and  Charlotte  (Miller)  Gerson, 
natives  of  Germany.  His  father  died 
on  the  28th  of  March,  in  the  year,  1882. 
His  mother  is  still  living,  and  resides 
on  section  •">•'!.  in  Richwoods  township. 
In  the  year  1868, William  left  Germany, 
taking  passage  at  Hamburg,  and  sailed 
for  New  York,  where  he  landed  after 
about  a  two  weeks'  voyage.  From  there 
he  came  to  Chicago,  where  lie  remained 
two  years,  working  on  the  Chicago  & 
Vincennes  railroad.  He  then  went  to 
Danville,  Ind.,  and  worked  for  three 
months, going  from  there  to  Montgomery 
county,  in  the  same  state,  where  he 
staid  about  six  months.  He  then  went 
to  the  state  of  Missouri,  and  after  being 
there  a  year,  returned  to  Illinois,  locat- 
ing in  Jersey  county,  where  he  now 
owns  80  acres  of  land  on  section  28.  I  in 
the  6th  day  of  March,  in  the  year  1879, 
he  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Lizzie 
Luft,  daughter  of  John  Luft,  a  native  of 
Germany.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Gerson  are 
both  members  of  the  German  Lutheran 
church. 

Carl  Prill  was  horn  in  Prussia  on  the 
26th  day  of  November,  in  the  year  1843. 
He  is  the  son  of  John   and  Dora  (Dor- 


mand)  Prill,  both  natives  of  Germany. 
Carl  staid  at  home  with  his  parents 
until  he  was  16  years  of  age,  or  until  the 
death  of  his  father,  which  occurred  in 
the  year  1860.  He  then  went  to  work 
out  by  the  month,  which  he  continued 
doing  until  he  was  26  years  of  age.  In 
Oct.,  1869,  he  decided  to  leave  his  fath- 
erland, and  bidding  farewell  to  homo 
and  friends,  took  passage  at  Hamburg 
on  the  steamer  "Alamanar,"  bound  for 
New  York.  He  landed  there,  and  im- 
mediately started  west  by  railroad,  trav- 
eling until  he  reached  Illinois,  when  he 
came  to  Jerseyville,  reaching  there  on 
the  7th  of  Nov.,  1869.  He  worked  by 
the  month  for  about  five  years,  and  then 
rented  a  farm  of  120  acres,  and  went  to 
farming  for  himself.  Feb.  28,  1875,  he 
was  married  to  Caroline  Coel.  They 
are  the  parents  of  live  children — Mary, 
Lizzie,  Emma,  Caroline  and  Eda.  Mr. 
Prill  and  wife  are  members  of  the  Ger- 
man Lutheran  church  at  Fieldon.  He 
is  an  intelligent  and  industrious  farmer, 
and  consequently  a  successful  one. 

John  II.  Sapp  was  horn  on  the  loth 
day  of  May,  1857,  in  Richwoods  town- 
ship, Jersey  county,  111.  He  is  the  son 
of  .lames  and  Mary  (Smothers)  Sapp, 
who  are  natives  of  Bullitt  county,  Ky. 
They  emigrated  to  this  part  of  the 
country  in  the  year  1850.  When  quite 
a  small  hoy,  John  H.  started  out  in  the 
world  to  do  for  himself,  and  hired  to 
Mr.  Clark  with  whom  he  staid  about  two 
years.  He  got  tired  of  that  place,  and 
taking  a  notion  to  leave,  ran  off  from 
Mr.  Clark's,  and  went  to  Carrollton, 
where  he  went  to  work  for  a  living, 
staying  about  a  year.  He  is  now  living 
on  section  35  in  this  township.  ( >n  the 
19th  day  of  Feb.,   1S80,   Mr.   Sapp   was 


382 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


married  to  Mary  Burch,  a  native  of 
this  county,  and  daughter  of  George  and 
Jane  (Haruel)  Burch.  Two  children 
have  been  born  to  them,  only  one  of 
whom  is  now  living — James  Henry. 
The  one  that  died  was  named  Fillmore. 

George  W.  Edwards  was  born  in  Jer- 
seyville,  Jersey  county,  on  the  25th  day 
of  May,  1861.  He  is  a  son  of  William 
B.  and  Mary  E.  (Allen)  Edwards.  His 
father  was  born  in  the  state  of  New  Jer- 
sey, and  his  mother  in  New  York. 
George  W.  was  the  eighth  in  a  family 
of  13  children.  When  he  was  three  years 
ofage,  his  parents  moved  to  Riehwoods 
township,  and  located  on  section  35, 
where  the  family  has  since  resided. 
George  has  followed  the  occupation  of 
farming  ever  since  he  was  large  enough 
to  follow  the  plow.  His  education, 
which  was  very  limited,  was  received  in 
the  schools  of  his  district.  On  the  21st 
day  of  Sept.,  1881,  he  was  united  in 
marriage  with  Annie  Deuening,  the 
daughter  of  Fred  and  Mary  (Thurston) 
Deuening.  She  was  born  in  Calhoun 
count}',  but  came  with  her  parents  to 
this  county,  when  an  infant.  Two 
children  have  been  born  to  this  union. 
They  are  George  P.  and  Lloyd  Augustus. 

Henry  Wieghard  was  born  in  the 
kingdom  of  Hanover,  now  in  the  empire 
of  Germany,  on  the  28th  day  Jan.,  1823. 
He  was  reared  in  Brunswick,  learning 
at  first  the  brewer's  trade,  and  after- 
wards conducting  a  wholesale  manufac- 
turing business,  for  another  party,  for 
about  seven  years.  His  father  died 
when  he  was  about  8  years  old,  and  his 
mother  tin'  year  following.  About  two 
years  before  Mr.  Wieghard  came  to 
America,  the  partner  of  the  gentleman 
by  whom  he  was  employed  had  come  to 


this  country,  and  had  been    persuading 

him  to  come  also.  Accordingly,  in 
1851,  he  took  passage  in  a  sailing  vessel, 
and  after  a  voyage  of  nine  weeks,  which 
was  the  time  then  required  to  cross  the 
ocean,  he  landed  at  New  Orleans.  The 
water  in  the  Mississippi  river  was  then 
very  low,  so  that  he  had  to  stay  there 
until  the  following  spring  before  he 
could  come  up  to  St.  Louis.  He  went 
from  there  to  Marinetown,  where  his 
friend  was  staying,  and  after  remaining 
there  a  little  over  a  year,  he  went  to 
Edwardsville,  where  he  engaged  in 
farming  for  two  years.  He  then  came 
to  Fieldon,  Jersey  county,  in  the  fall  of 
1856;  remained  there  nearly  three  years, 
and  then  bought  80  acres  of  land  on 
section  23,  in  Riehwoods  township,  on 
which  he  moved.  By  enterprise  and 
good  management,  he  has  been  enabled 
to  add  to  it  from  time  to  time,  so  that 
now  he  has  a  farm  of  320  acres.  He 
was  married  in  Edwardsville,  on'  the 
25th  day  of  July,  1853,  to  Margaret 
Kroeder,  a  native  of  Germany.  They 
have  had  six  children,  five  of  whom  are 
now  living — J.  K.,  married  Charlotte 
Siemers,  lives  in  Fieldon;  William, 
married  Emma  Meyer,  April  17,  1884, 
lives  on  his  father's  place;  Henry,  Jr., 
Albert  and  Otilda.  at  home.  Edward 
died  Dec.  25,  1883,  aged  21  years.  He 
was  very  intelligent,  bright  boy,  and 
his  loss  was  keenly  felt  by  his  parents. 
He  was  self-educated  to  quite  a  high 
degree.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Wieghard  are 
members  of  the  Lutheran  church.  He 
has  held  the  office  of  school  director 
several  terms.  The  farm  and  its  sur- 
roundings show  him  to  be  an  indus- 
trious, thoughtful  farmer,  who  has  by 
so  being,  succeeded  well. 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


385 


Thomas  Johnson  was  born  on  the  24th 
of  July,  1847,  in  Rich  woods  township, 

Jersey  enmity.  111.  His  parents  were 
John  and  Sarah  Johnson.  His  father 
was  a  native  of  Kentucky,  but  removed 
from  that  state  to  Missouri,  where  he 
was  married.  Thomas  was  the  third  in 
a  family  of  eight  children.  When  he 
was  two  years  old,  they  moved  to  Wright 
county,  Mo.,  and  lived  there  two  years. 
They  then  moved  to  Richwoods  town- 
ship, this  county,  where  our  subject  has 
since  resided,  and  where  his  father  died, 
Jan.  14,  1871.  His  mother  died  there 
also  in  the  month  of  Nov.,  1869.  Thomas 
was  married.  July  2-">.  1869,  to  Sarah 
Cannon.  She  died  in  March,  1873.  He 
was  again  married,  March  18,  1879,  to 
Levies  Callahan,  daughter  of  George 
and  Harriet  Callahan.  Two  children 
have  been  born  to  them — George  Henry 
and  Hattie  Jane.  Mr.  Johnson  is  a  res- 
ident of  section  28,  and  has  been  identi- 
fied with  this  county  for  over  a  third  of 
a  century.  He  is  now  holding  the  office 
of  school  director. 

John  Fulks,  a  prosperous  farmer  of 
this  township,  was  born  in  Rutherford 
county,  Tenn.,  en  the  10th  day  of  July, 
1810.  He  is  a  son  of  Samuel  and  Levia 
(  Tennyson  )  Fulks,  who  lived  in  Tennes- 
see up  to  the  time  of  their  death.  Our 
subject  spent  all  of  his  youth  in  that 
state,  but  in  1839  he  left  there  and  came 
to  Illinois,  locating  in  Greene  county 
near  White  Hall.  He  remained  there  six 
years  and  then  removed  to  the  place 
where  he  now  resides,  in  Richwoods 
township,  Jersey  county.  While  living 
in  Tennessee,  in  1831,  he  was  married 
to  Zona  Pace.  She  died  at  his  resi- 
dence in  this  county.  Four  of  the 
children  that   were   born   to   this    union 


are  now  living — Martha,  married  Wil- 
liam Pritchard,  now  living  in  Kansas: 
Elihu  Samuel,  married  Laura  Harvel, 
(now  dead),  resides  in  Greene  county: 
Eliza,  married  William  Edwards,  and 
lives  in  Richwoods  township;  Lizzie, 
married  Joseph  Clark,  and  resides  at 
Carrollton;  Zerilda,  who  married  Will- 
iam Davis,  died  in  1884.  On  the  8th  day 
of  Jan.,  1S73,  Mr.  Fulks  was  again  mar- 
ried to  Lydia  Cole,  widow  of  William 
Cole,  and  daughter  of  William  and 
Charity  Wiseman  He  has  240  acres  of 
land  and  it  is  among  the  finest  on  Ma- 
coupin creek.  It  is  very  choice  rolling 
and  undulating  land,  there  being  none 
better  for  raising  wheat,  to  be  found  in 
the  state.  It  is  all  of  the  best  quality 
for  either  wheat  or  corn,  or  for  stock 
range.  About  150  acres  is  under  culti- 
vation and  about  40  more  can  be  easily 
cleared.  It  is  well  drained  by  small 
branches  of  the  Macoupin  creek,  and  no 
backwater  stands  on  the  place  at  any 
time  even  during  the  wettest  season. 
The  water  supply  is  good,  and  when 
neighboring  farmers  are  without  it.  they 
can  always  obtain  it  there.  There  are 
twro  apple  orchards,  one  being  of  winter 
apples.  Any  one  in  search  of  a  tine 
piece  of  farm  property  could  not  do 
better  than  at  Mr.  Fulk's. 

William  B.  Edwards  was  born  in 
Monmouth  county,  N.  J.,  on  the  21st  of 
April,  in  the  year  1824.  His  parent- 
were  Benjamin  and.  Ann  (Bailey)  Ed- 
wards. They  were  both  born  and 
raised  in  New  Jersey.  His  great  grand- 
father, William  Bailey,  was  the  well- 
known  General  Bailey,  of  the  Revolu- 
tionary war;  while  bis  grandfather, 
whose  name  was  also  William  Bailey, 
was   a   captain  of  the   patriot  army  that 


1 


3SG 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


fought  to  give  freedom  to  America. 
William  B.  spent  the  first  part  of  his 
life  in  his  native  state,  engaging  in 
farming  and  in  buying  and  selling 
horses  and  mules  on  the  New  York 
market.  In  the  year  1854,  he  removed 
from  New  Jersey  to  Warren  county,  O., 
where  lie  remained  six  months  and  then 
came  to  Jerseyville.  He  resided  there 
ten  years,  engaging  in  teaming  between 
there  and  Alton.  He  removed  from 
there  to  his  present  location,  on  section 
35,  in  the  northern  part  of  Richwoods 
township.  He  was  married  in  Mercer 
comity,  N.  J.,  on  the  14th  of  March, 
IMS,  to  Mary  Emer  Allen,  a  native  of 
New  York  state,  and  daughter  of  John 
Allen.  They  have  had  13  children, 
eight  of  whom  are  living — William  II., 
married  Eliza  Fultz,  and  lives  in  Greene 
county;  Mary  Ann,  married  William 
R.  Mulligan,  and  lives  in  Richwoods 
township;  John  Edward  married  Atlanta 
Cage,  and  lives  in  Crawford  county, 
Kan.;  Charles;  Ellen  married  Jules 
King,  and  now  lives  in  this  township; 
George  married  Annie  Devling,  and 
lives  in  this  township;  Katie  and  Lewis. 
Five  are  dead — Eddie,  Emeline,  and 
three  others  that  died  in  infancy.  Mr. 
Edwards'  father  died  ten  years  after  his 
son  came  out  here.  There  are  80  acres 
of  land  in  the  farm,  all  in  a  prosperous 
condition. 

Bernhardt  Wiist  was  born  in  the 
kingdom  of  Wurtemburg,  Germany,  on 
the  11th  day  of  May,  1826,  his  parents 
being  Crispin  and  Mary  (Meyer)  Wiist. 
His  mother  died  on  the  24th  of  June, 
184").  At  the  age  of  14  he  commenced 
learning  the  mason's  trade,  at  which  he 
worked  about  six  years,  and  then  served 
in   the   army    about    five   years.      After 


learning  his  trade,  he  traveled  through 
Germany  and  France,  working  in  the 
latter  country  five  summers.  After  com- 
pleting his  service  in  the  army,  he  took 
passage  at  Havre,  on  a  vessel  bound  for 
New  Orleans,  and  after  being  on  the 
ocean  nine  weeks,  arrived  at  the  Cres- 
cent city  on  the  15th  day  of  April,  1854. 
He  proceeded  up  the  Mississippi  river 
at  once,  stopping  at  Alton,  where  he 
remained  a  year,  working  at  his  trade. 
He  then  went  to  Grafton  and  worked  at 
his  trade  nine  years,  then  came  to  Rich- 
wood  township,  living  one  year  at  the 
Catholic  parsonage  near  Fieldon,  when 
he  bought  80  acres  of  land  on  section  14. 
He  cleared  this  land,  at  the  same  time 
working  at  his  trade,  which  he  continued 
doing  until  about  I860,  when  he  gave  it 
up  altogether,  and  has  ever  since  given 
his  attention  to  farming.  An  industrious 
and  thrift}'  farmer,  Mr.  Wiist  has  accu- 
mulated, until  he  now  has  a  farm  of  240 
acres,  and  it  is  a  fine  piece  of  property, 
surrounded  with  all  good  improvements. 
He  not  only  raises  grain,  but  also  some 
stock.  He  was  married  on  the  22d  of 
June,  1857,  to  Johanna  Hartman,  a 
native  of  Wurtemburg,  Germany,  and 
daughter  of  Ambrose  Hartman.  There 
has  been  11  children  born  to  them,  but 
only  four  are  now  living — Bernhard, 
married  Sophia  Walter,  lives  in  this 
township;  Michael,  Josephine  and  Wil- 
liam. Those  dead  arc — an  infant,  that 
died  in  Germany;  Joseph,  Peter, Charles, 
Mary,  Mary  and  Kate.  Mr.  Wiist  and 
family  are  members  of  the  Catholic 
church. 

Zeddock  Reddish  is  a  native  of  Ken- 
tucky, being  born  Sept.  14,  1817.  His 
father,  Joseph  Reddish,  was  a  native  of 
Virginia,  and  his  mother  of  Kentucky. 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


387 


Joseph  died,  and  his  widow  removed  to 
Richwoods  township,  Jersey  county, 
111.,  in  1827.  Zed.  is  now  a  resident  of 
the  township.  His  wife's  father,  John 
Medford,  was  one  of  the  early  settlers 
of  the  county. 

EDUCATIONAL. 

The  first  school  in  Richwoods  town- 
ship was  taught  by  John  Darneille  in 
Aug.,  1821,  at  a  log  cabin  which  stood 
in  the  hollow  above  the  present  resi- 
dence of  Allen  Cope,  on  sections.  This 
cabin  was  erected  for  school  purposes, 
and  was  in  close  proximity  to  a  living 
spring  of  water.  It  had  a  dirt  floor, 
bark-seated  benches,  constructed  on 
legs,  etc.  Among  the  first  scholars  were: 
Moses  Ward,  four  children  of  John 
Medford,  named  James,  Garrison,  Ed- 
ward and  Sophia  (the  latter  now  the 
wife  of  Zeddock  Reddish);  Harriet, 
Eunice,  Phiebe  and  Susan  Gates,  chil- 
dren of  Samuel  Gates;  Samuel  Wads- 
worth,  an  adopted  child;  John  and  Ertie 
McFain,  children  of  Daniel  McFain; 
Mary  Smith,  daughter  of  John  Smith; 
Elizabeth  M.,  daughter  of  John  Gunter- 
man,  Sr.;  and  Chesley,  Jonathan,  Uriah 
and  Lucinda  Borruff.  Moses  Ward  and 
Mrs.  Sophia  Reddish  are  probably  the 
only  surviving  scholars  of  this   school. 

District  No.  1. — The  building  in  this 
district  was  erected  in  1873,  at  a  cost  of 
about  §2, IKK).  M.  E.  Ellenwood  taught 
the  first  term  of  school  therein. 

District  No.  3. — The  school  house  in 
this  district  was  built  by  Alfred  Childs 
and  William  Goshorn,  at  a  cost  of  $600. 

District  No.  4. — In  1879,  a  new  school 
house  was  erected  in  this  district  at  a 
cost  of  8671). 

District   No.    5.— This    school    house 


was  erected  in  1876  at  a  cost  of  $700. 
The  first  term  of  school  in  this  building 
was  taught  by  Henry  Dunham.  The 
lot  in  this  district,  which  consists  of  half 
an  acre,  was  donated  by  Henry  Wieg- 
hard.  The  present  directors  are  John 
Bland,  William  Goshorn  and  Nicholas 
Heiderscheid. 

District  No.  6. — A  new  school  build- 
ing was  erected  in  this  district  in  1879, 
at  a  cost  of  about  $500. 

FIRST  ITEMS. 

John  Gunterman,  Jr.,  and  Druzilla 
Smith  were  the  first  couple  married  in 
what  is  now  Richwoods  township. 
Their  marriage  occurred  in  1820,  'Squire 
Mitchell,  of  Greene  county,  officiating. 
The  second  was  that  of  John  Medford, 
Jr.,  and  Rachel  Little,  which  took  place 
Sept.  6,  1821. 

John  Gunterman.  Jr.,  plowed  the  first 
ground,  in  1820,  and  also  planted  the 
first  corn  that  year. 

The  first  religious  services  in  the 
township  were  held  at  the  house  of 
John  Medford.  Sr.,  on  sections,  in  1821, 
by  Rev.  Isaac  N.  Pickett. 

VILLAGE  OF  FIELDON. 

This  place  is  surrounded  by  a  fine 
scope  of  farming  country,  and  although 
it  has  no  railroad  outlet,  enjoys  consid- 
erable trade. 

The  town  was  laid  out  by  Robert 
Terry  on  the  14th  of  Aug.,  1837,  and 
the  plat  filed  for  record  just  one  week 
later.  The  town  is,  therefore,  an  old 
one,  comparatively  speaking. 

The  town  site  is  level,  varied  by 
slightly  swelling  land,  and  the  town 
presents  a  quiet  neat  appearance.  * 

In   the    line   of    manufactures,    there 


388 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


are  two  well  equipped  flouring  mills, 
only  one  of  which,  however,  is  running 
at  present.  There  is  a  harness  shop, 
tailor  shop,  wood-working  establish- 
ment, blacksmith  and  wagon  shops, 
several  good  general  stores,  a  drug 
store,  hank,  and,  in  fact,  every  trade 
and  facility  necessary  to  supply  the  or- 
dinary wants  and  conveniences  of  the 
people  of  the  surrounding  country,  is 
found  in  Fieldon.  The  spiritual  wants 
of  the  inhabitants  are  also  well  supplied 
by  churches. 

Pollard  Kirkland  was  the  first  mer- 
chant in  Fieldon,  engaging  in  business 
just  east  of  where  Hagen's  harness  shop 
now  stands  about  the  year  1835.  He 
carried  a  small  stock  of  groceries  at 
first,  but  afterward  added  a  general 
stock.  He  came  from  Pennsylvania, 
and  about  the  time  of  the  commence- 
ment of  the  Mexican  war,  sold  out  to 
William  Felter  and  removed  to  Texas. 
Felter  ran  the  store,  until  it  was  des- 
troyed by  fire  a  few  years  afterward. 

The  next  merchant  was  John  L. 
Terry,  who  opened  a  store  just  across 
the  street  south  from  Kronsbin's  store. 
He  was  a  tailor  by  trade,  and  first  started 
a  tailor  shop,  but  soon  afterward  put  in 
a  stock  of  dry  goods  and  groceries. 
When  the  gold  excitement  began  to 
rage  in  California  he  went  to  that  state, 
where  he  remained  until  the  winter  of 
1881-2,  when  he  returned  to  Fieldon. 
The  following  spring,  accompanied  by 
his  eldest  son,  he  went  to  Leadville, 
Col.,  where  he  subsequently  died. 

Guy  Spencer  was  the  next  merchant. 
He  erected  the  building  now  occupied 
by  Mr.  Johnessee,  and  started  a  gen- 
eral store,  about  1858 

.lames  A.  Eads  put  in  a  general  stock 


in  June,  1858,  in  a  building  now  owned 
by  Mr.  S.  W.  Sexton  and  which  was 
erected  by  Mr.  Eads. 

PRESENT    BUSINESS    INTERESTS. 

C.  S.  Olney,  dealer  in  general  mer- 
chandise, commenced  business  in  1871, 
under  the  firm  name  of  C.  S.  Olney  & 
Co.,  the  "Co."  consisting  of  H.  N.  and 
J.  H.  Belt.  During  that  year  the  build- 
ing now  used  by  Olney  was  erected.  It 
is  a  frame  structure  24x60  feet,  two  sto- 
ries high.  May  1,  1874,  Mr.  Olney  pur- 
chased the  entire  business,  and  has 
since  continued  the  same  alone.  He 
carries  a  complete  stock  of  dry  goods, 
clothing,  groceries,  queensware,  etc. 

( '.  S.  Olney,  born  on  the  13th  of  April, 
1832,  is  a  native  of  Washington  county, 
Ohio.  His  parents  were  Cogswell  and 
Matilda  P.  (Smith)  Olney,  the  former  a 
native  of  Nova  Scotia,  and  the  latter  of 
Ohio.  C.  S.  received  his  education  in 
the  vicinity  of  his  birthplace,  where  he 
lived  until  coming  to  Jersey  county,  in 
the  year  1859.  He  first  located  in  Jersey 
township,  and  engaged  in  teaching 
school  there,  but  the  following  year  he 
removed  to  Fieldon,  where  lie  taught 
school,  and  afterwards  taught  in  Jersey- 
ville.  He  was  engaged  in  that  occupa- 
tion until  1864,  when  he  commenced 
as  a  clerk  in  the  store  of  James  A.  Eads, 
with  whom  he  was  employed  about  two 
years.  He  was  engaged  in  various  occu- 
pations for  several  years,  when  he  was 
appointed  deputy  sheriff,  in  the  fall  of 
1868,  and  was  honored  with  that  position 
two  years.  The  firm  of  C.  S.  Olney  & 
Co.  was  then  established,  in  1871,  of 
which  Mr.  Olney  afterwards  assumed 
the  entire  control,  May  1,  1874,  and  has 
since!Tconducted    the    business  ""alone. 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


389 


He  was  married  in  Fieldon,  Sept.  10, 
1868,  to  Virginia  F.  Belt,  daughter  of 
Horatio  X.  and  Mary  J.  Belt.  They  have 
three  children — Clara  E.,  Mark  P.  and 
Lee  S.  Mr.  Oiney  is  a  prominent  man 
of  Fieldon,  and  is  honored  and  respected 
by  his  numerous  friends. 

The  general  merchandise  business  of 
August  J.  Kronsbin  was  established  by 
Z.  Reddish,  who  was  succeeded  by  Ter- 
ry &  Buzby.  Terry  &  Goetten  were  the 
next  proprietors,  and  were  succeeded 
by  Goetten  &  Wie,ghard.  Mr.  Goetten 
afterward  died,  after  which  Mr.  Wieg- 
hard  ran  the  business  until  June,  1883, 
when  Mr.  Kronsbin  bought  the  store 
and  has  since  continued  the  business. 
The  building  is  30x90;  constructed  of 
brick  ami  two  stories  high.  ■  He  carries 
a  full  stock  of  dry  goods,  clothing, 
boots  ami  shoes,  coffins,  machinery, 
etc.,  the  coffin  department  occupying 
the  second  floor.  There  is  a  machinery 
warehouse  in  the  rear  of  the  store 
building,  30x50  feet  in  size. 

August  J.  Kronsbin,  a  son  of  H.  F. 
and  Elizabeth  Kronsbin,  was  born  Jan. 
14,  1852,  in  St.  Louis,  Mo.  He  was 
educated  in  the  common  schools  of  St. 
Louis  and  in  the  Washington  University. 
His  first  occupation  after  leaving  school 
was  on  the  streets  of  St.  Louis,  black- 
ing boots  and  selling  papers,  but  seek- 
ing for  a  higher  position,  and  one  of 
more  esteem,  he  soon  secured  a  situa- 
tion in  a  bookstore,  and  remained  in 
that  business  some  time.  He  after  this 
learned  the  carpenter  trade,  with  his 
father,"  who  was  a  contractor  and 
builder.  After  a  time  August  entered 
the  employ  of  a  wholesale  dry  goods 
firm,  where  he  remained  until  the  house 
failed,  and  he  was    again    thrown  out  of 


employment.  He  persevered  and  was 
soon  engaged  by  Hayden  &  Allen, 
a  hardware  firm,  as  salesman,  and  by 
economy  and  good  management,  he 
was  soon  enabled  to  start  in  the  grocery 
business  for  himself  in  St.  Louis,  which 
he  afterwards  sold.  He  then  went  to 
Saxton,  Mo.,  where  he  was  engaged  in 
the  saw-mill  business.  He  remained 
there  some  nine  months,  and  the  mill 
being  flooded  out  by  high  water  and  he 
losing  some  $3,000,  was  obliged  to  re- 
turn to  St.  Louis.  He  was  there  mar- 
ried, Oct.  5,  188.!,  to  Julia  Wiederhoff, 
also  a  native  of  St.  Louis.  They  were 
the  parents  of  twins,  born  in  Oct.,  1883, 
and  both  of  whom  died  Jan.  1,  L884. 
.Mr.  Kronsbin  was  a  freight  clerk  of  the 
I.  .V  St.  L.  railroad  for  a  while,  and  was 
so  employed  until  coming  to  Fieldon, 
where  he  has  since  been  engaged  in 
business.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Bed 
Cross  lodge,  No.  54,  K.  ofP.,  St.  Louis. 
Mr.  Kronsbin  is  one  of  the  go-ahead 
merchants  of  Jersey  county,  and  is  do- 
ing a  large  and  lucrative  business.  By 
fair  ami  honest  dealing,  strict  integrity 
of  purpose,  and  efficient  management, 
he  is  rapidly  getting  to  the  front,  and 
bids  fair  to  be  numbered  among  the 
wealthy  men  of  this  section  of  country. 
W.  Park  cV-  Sons  engaged  in  the  drug 
business  in  1875.  Mr.  Park  had  laid 
the  foundation  for  a  store  building  in 
the  fall  of  1S74,  but  it  was  notcompleted 
until  the  following  spring.  No  change 
has  occurred  in  the  firm  since  the  busi- 
ness was  established.  As  .Mr.  Park  is  a 
registered  pharmacist,  he  attends  to  the 
prescription  case  in  person.  The  build- 
ing was  originally  22x40  feet  in  size,  but 
when  the  bank  was  established,  an  ad- 
dition 1(1x22  feet  was  erected.     A  sketch 


390 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


of  the  doctor  will  be  found  in  the  Medi- 
cal chapter. 

The  blacksmith  business  is  repre- 
sented by  S.  \V.  Sexton,  who  erected 
his  shop  and  established  the  business  in 
1875.  Prior  to  Mr.  Sexton  the  business 
was  carried  on  by  William  Miller  and 
N.  P.  Johnessee  for  some  15  or  16  years. 

Samuel  B.  Johnessee  established  his 
wagon  shop  in  I860,'  and  has  continued 
the  same  ever  since. 

John  Hagen,  harness-maker,  com- 
menced business  in  1874,  after  erecting 
his  present  building,  which  is  a  frame 
structure,  18x32  feet  in  dimensions.  He 
carries  a  complete  stock  of  goods  usu- 
ally found  in  his  line,  and  has  the  only 
shop  in  the  place. 

John  Horn,  merchant  tailor,  com- 
menced business  in  April,  1881.  He 
does  all  kinds  of  work  in  his  line,  and 
is  the  only  representative  of  this  branch 
of  business  in  Fieldon. 

John  Horn  was  born  on  the  29th  day 
of  January,  in  1850,  in  the  Empire  of 
Germany.  His  parents  were  Philip 
and  Gerdraud  (Myer)  Horn,  natives  of 
Germany.  His  father  died  in  Germany 
at  the  age  of  63.  His  mother  is  still 
living,  at  Ardon,  Madison  county.  111., 
being  now  53  years  old.  At  the  age  of 
13  years  John  began  to  learn  the  tailor's 
trade  with  his  father,  with  whom  lie 
worked  seven  years  He  then  started 
to  this  country,  taking  passage  on  the 
steamer  at  Hamburg,  and  landing  at 
New  York  after  being  on  the  water  14 
days.  He  came  from  New  York,  by  rail, 
to  St.  Louis,  and  from  there  went  to 
Sparta,  Randolph  county,  111.,  where  he 
worked  at  his  trade  two  months  ;  from 
there  he  went  toEvansville,  Ind.,  work- 
ing at  his  trade  about  nine  months,  and 


then  lie  went  back  to  St.  Louis  and 
worked  one  year.  In  the  spring  of 
1872  he  went  to  Salem,  111.,  where  he 
worked  two  years,  and  from  thence 
went  to  Evansville,  Ind.,  and  went  into 
business  for  himself.  Not  being  suc- 
cessful there,  he  returned  to  St.  Louis, 
staid  there  about  one  year,  and  in  the 
fall  of  1875  went  to  Atchison,  Kan., 
where  he  worked  several  months,  and 
again  returned  to  St.  Louis,  where  he 
remained  six  months.  In  the  month  of 
July,  1876,  he  started  for  the  old  coun- 
try by  way  of  New  York,  on  the  steamer 
Otter,  sailing  for  Bremen.  He  arrived 
there  about  the  1st  of  August,  and  re- 
mained  there  four  years,  during  all  of 
which  time  he  worked  at  his  trade.  In 
the  month  of  March,  1881,  he  returned 
to  this  country  and  located  at  Fieldon, 
where  he  has  since  resided.  Mr.  Horn 
has  been  twice  married  ;  first,  to  Mar- 
garet Hagen,  a  native  of  Germany,  to 
whom  two  children  were  horn — Willie, 
and  one  that  died.  His  present  wife 
was  Matilda  Kessler,  daughter  of  George 
Kessler.  By  this  marriage  there  is  one 
child — Anna.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Horn  are 
members  of  the  German  Lutheran 
church.  Mr.  Horn  has  a  tailor  shop  in 
Fieldon,  where  he  carries  on  his  busi- 
nees  and  is  doing  well. 

The  meat  business  is  represented  by 
John  Hagen,  who  established  the  first 
regular  market  in  Fieldon,  in  1880. 

C.  G.  Buffington,  physician  and  sur- 
geon, came  to  Fieldon  in  1882,  and  com- 
menced his  first  practice  at  this  point. 
In  1883,  he  was  elected  county  physi- 
cian. He  has  a  large  and  lucrative  prac- 
tice in  the  village  aud  surrounding 
country.  A  sketch  of  this  gentleman 
will  be  found  in  the  Medical  chapter. 


The  first  millinery  store  in  Fieldon 
was  established  in  1877,  by  LydiaArke- 
bauer.  She  conducted  the  business  un- 
til 1883,  when  Tilla  Arkebauer  assumed 
charge.  It  is  now  owned  by  Lydia  and 
Mary  Arkebauer. 

BANK. 

In  187G  W.  Park  £  Sons  established 
a  bank  at  Fieldon.  They  do  a  general 
banking  business,  dealing  largely  in 
loans  on  personal  security.  Their  safe 
is  of  the  Hosier,  Bakmann  &  Co's  man- 
ufacture. The  Sons  part  of  the  firm  is 
composed  of  George  C.  and  Arthur  F. 
Park. 

HOTEL. 

The  City  hotel  was  built  in  1876  by 
Harvey  Alford,  at  a  cost  of  about  §2,200, 
who  ran  it  a  while  and  then  rented  it. 
It  changed  hands  several  times,  and  was 
finally  taken  charge  of  by  Mr.  Alford, 
who  operated  it  successfully  until  the 
time  of  his  death,  which  occurred  May 
111,  1880.  William  H.  H.  West  then 
became  landlord,  and  managed  the 
house  about  two  years,  since  which  time 
L.  C.  Million  has  had  charge  of  it. 

MUNICIPAL. 

Fieldon  was  organized  in  accordance 
with  an  act  of  the  legislature  for  that 
purpose,  which  was    approved   Feb.    7, 

1857.  At  the  first  election  the  following 
trustees  were  elected:  Zeddock  Reddish, 
Asa  Briggs,  F.  A.  Wade,  J.  G.  Arke- 
bauer and  William  W.  Fclter.  The  first 
meeting  of  the  board  occurred  March  25, 

1858,  and  was  organized  with  the  follow- 
ing officers:  Zeddock  Reddish,  pres.; 
William  W.  Felter,  clerk  and  treas.; 
H.  C.  Turner,  constable;  John  Piper, 
collector;  D.  M.  Tucker,  street  commis- 
sioner; John  J.  Close,  assessor.      At  an 


election  held. June  12,  188.".,  the  question 
of  organizing  as  a  village,  under  the 
general  law,  was  voted  upon  and  was 
carried  by  a  vote  of  31  to  1.  The  follow- 
ing are  the  present  officers.  Z.  Reddish, 
Jacob  Strausser,  William  Lawler,  Jacob 
Reddish,  E.  F.  Brown,  and  L.  T.  Pelt. 
trustees;  L.  C.  Million,  clerk;  E.  F. 
Brown,  president. 

MILLS. 

The  Eugenie  mills  were  built  by  Pelt 
Brothers,  about  the  year  1854.  The 
main  building  is  24x62,  three  stories 
high,  and  an  engine  room  in  addition, 
24x62  feet  and  one  story  high,  with 
foundations  of  stone.  The  engine  is  60 
horse  power  and  was  manufactured  by 
the  Western  Foundry  of  St.  Louis.  The 
mill  is  furnished  with  four  run  ofbuhrs, 
set  in  an  iron  frame,  and  also  one  set  of 
rolls.  It  was  operated  by  Pelt  Brothers 
under  the  old  process  until  1873,  when 
C.  C.  Buzby  purchased  the  institution. 
He  remodeled  it  in  1879,  putting  in  new 
machinery  at  a  cost  of  between  $8,000 
and  $9,000.  The  capacity  is  150 barrels 
per  24  hours.  On  account  of  the  failure 
of  the  wheat  crop  for  the  past  two  or 
three  seasons,  the  mill  is  idle  at  pres- 
ent, but  it  is  finely  equipped  and  is  cer- 
tainly a  credit  to  its  owner,  Mr.  Buzby. 
Originally,  there  was  a  saw-mill  con- 
nected with  this  mill  for  several  year.-, 
which  was  afterward  removed  to  some 
land  belonging  to  <>.  P.  Powel,  who 
afterward  sold  it  to  William  H.  II. 
West.  He  disposed  of  it  to  the  present 
owner,  Rollin  Clark. 

The  Union  mills  were  built  by  the 
Union  Mill  Co.  The  company  consisted 
of  Dr.  W.  Park,  T.  K.  Phipps,  J.  II. 
Belt,  Peter  Dranery,  William  Krueger, 
Asa  Briggs,  Frank  Brown,    Charles  Mc- 


392 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


Daniels,  John  Terry,  Z.  Reddish  and 
others.  After  completion  the  mill  was 
leased  to  J.  H.  Belt,  who  operated  it 
one  year  for  the  company,  and  after- 
wards ran  it  a  year  for  himself.  Stephen 
Reddish  then  conducted  the  business 
one  year,  and  was  succeeded  by  T.  K. 
Phipps  and  Leonard  Radcliff.  William 
H.  H.  West  then  took  the  mill  and  ran 
it  two  years,  when  J.  H.  Belt-went  into 
partnership  with  him.  In  Nov.,  1881, 
L.  T.  Belt  purchased  a  half  interest  in 
the  concern,  and  the  business  was  con- 
tinued by  Powel  &  Belt.  In  May, 
1885,  Mr.  Park  purchased  Mr.  Powel's 
interest,  and  it  is  now  owned  and  oper- 
ated by  Park  &  Belt.  Their  business  is 
mostly  custom,  but  their  trade  extends 
over  a  radius  of  12  or  15  miles  in  some 
directions. 

L.  T.  Belt,  one  of  the  firm  of  the 
Union  Mills,  was  born  in  Fieldon,  on 
the  31st  of  Jan.,  1857.  He  is  the  son 
of  J.  H.  and  Matilda  Belt,  both  old 
residents  of  the  county.  L.  T.  was 
reared  in  Fieldon,  and  received  a  com- 
mon school  education  in  the  schools  of 
that  place.  His  father  was  engaged  in 
building  the  Eugenie  mills,  and  L.  T. 
liking  the  occupation,  began  the  milling 
business  in  Nov.  1881,  in  partnership 
with  W.  R.  Powel,  but  is  now  associ- 
ated with  Mr.  Park  in  that  enterprise. 
Mr.  Belt  is  one  of  the  board  of  trus- 
tees in  his  township,  having  held  that 
position  two  terms.  He  was  united  in 
marriage  with  Lizzie  Rowden,  daughter 
of  James  Rowden,  on  Oct.  2,  1882. 
They  have  been  blessed  with  one  child 
— Horace  Cleveland,  born  July  12,  1883. 

The  saw  mill  owned  by  William  H. 
II.  West,  was  erected  by  that  gentleman 
in   1881-2.     It  is  two   stories  high,  the 


main  building  being  16x48  feet  in  ground 
area,  with  a  shed  on  each  side,  one  of 
which  is  70  feet  in  length,  and  the  other 
12x48  feet.  The  engine  is  about  40-horse 
power,  and  was  manufactured  by  the 
Broadway  foundry,  St.  Louis.  The  mill 
has  been  in  operation  constantly  since 
its  erection.  Mr.  West  manufactures 
wagons,  sleds,  cradles,  etc.,  and  does 
general  work  in  that  line. 

W.  H.  H.  West  was  born  in  Jersey 
count}',  111.,  in  1841.  His  parents  were 
Vincent  and  Eady  (Wright)  West,  both 
being  now  dead.  His  lather  was  a  na- 
tive of  Virginia,  and  his  mother  of  North 
Carolina.  His  father  died  in  Belleville, 
111.,  at  the  age  of  55 years.  Our  subject 
received  his  early  education,  which  was 
very  limited,  in  the  common  schools  of 
this  county.  At  the  age  of  14,  he  began 
to  learn  engineering  with  John  Belt, who 
was  then  running  a  saw  mill,  three  and 
a  half  miles  north  of  Fieldon,  and  re- 
mained with  him  about  four  years.  In 
1859  he  went  to  Harrison  county,  Mo., 
and  followed  the  same  business,  until 
the  war  broke  out  in  1860,  when  he 
entered  the  service  under  Jackson's  call, 
commanded  by  Price.  He  was  in  the 
state's  service  three  months,  when  he 
volunteered  in  the  confederate  service 
at  Springfield,  Mo.,  in  the  1st  Mo.  Reg., 
commanded  by  Col.  Gates.  He  was  in 
the  battles  of  Lexington,  Elkhorn, 
Iuka  and  Corinth.  He  was  taken 
prisoner  at  Corinth,  and  was  taken  to 
Cairo,  and  put  on  a  boat  to  be  taken  to 
Vieksburg,  to  be  exchanged.  When  he 
was  getting  off  the  boat,  he  met  a  friend 
with  whom  he  exchanged  clothes,  and 
getting  aboard  the  boat  again  came  back 
to  Cairo,  but  as  he  stepped  off  the  boat 
he  was  re-captured  and   put   in  prison 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


:;'.»:: 


with  some  others.  The  prison  was  a 
building  16x26  feet, where  he  hardly  had 
room  to  lie  down.  He  was  paroled  out 
of  prison,  one  Friday  night  about  12 
o'clock,  and  he  then  came  to  the  home 
of  his  uncle,  who  resided  in  Madison 
county.  111.  He  run  a  saw-mill  there 
for  a  year,  for  a  man  named  Blackburn. 
In  the  latter  part  of  1853,  lie  came  to 
Fieldon,  and  was  employed  by  Belt 
Bros.  He  was  married  to  Mary  Jane 
Richey,  July  9,  1864,  and  a  short  time 
afterwards,  he  was  drafted  into  the  Union 
army,  but  reporting  at  headquarters 
was  told  to  go  home.  There  is  a  family 
of  six  children,  three  boys  and  thre<± 
girls — William  H.  H.,  Clarence  \\\. 
Emma,  Charles,  Lulu  and  Fannie.  Mr. 
West  and  wife  belongs  to  the  Cumber- 
land Presbyterian  church.  He  has  held 
the  office  of  justice  of  the  peace,  and 
township  clerk  for  one  year.  Mr.  West 
owns  property  in  the  village  of  Fieldon, 
and  has  been  very  successful  in  his 
business. 

SOCIETIES. 

Fieldon  Lodge,  No.  592,  Ancient  Free 
and  Accepted  Masons  was  organized  in 
1868.  Its  charter  hears  the  date  of  Oct. 
(I,  of  that  year.  The  original  members 
were  :  Sylvester  Redfield,  Edward  Ar- 
kebauer,  Henry  Wieghard,  James  Eads, 
Wesley  Park,  IT.  N.  Belt,  J.  H.  Far- 
row, T.  K.  Phipps,  F.  Sweet,  Solomon 
Phillips,  S.  P.  Dinsmore,  X.  I>.  Hadley 
and  C.  E.  A.  Minter.  The  first  meet- 
ing of  the  above  petitioners  occurred 
Feb.,  1,  1868,  and  a  lodge  was  opened 
in  due  form,  with  the  following  officers, 
appointed  under  dispensation  :  Sylves- 
ter Redfield,  W.M.;  Wesley  Park,  S.W.; 
James  Eads,  Jr.,  J.W.;  Edward  Arke 
bauer,  S.;  H.  N.  Belt,  Jr.,   S.D.;    S.  P. 


Dinsmore,  J.D.;  J.  H.  Farrow,  T.  The 
following  were  the  first  officers  regu- 
larly elected:  Sylvester  Redfield,  W.M.; 
W.  Park.  S.W.;  James  Eads,  J.W.; 
James  H.  Farrow,  T.;  E.  Arkebauer,  S.; 
H.  N.  Belt,  S.D.;  E.  F.  Brown,  J.D.; 
T.  K.  Phipps,  T.  The  present  officers 
are:  William  Eads,W.M.;  E.F.  Brown, 
S.W.;  B.  F.  Campbell,  J.W.;  Allen 
Mileni,  S.D.J  S.  B.  Johnessee,  J.D.; 
C.  C.  Buzby,  T;  W.  L.  West,  S.;  Philip 
Lancrey,  tyler.  The  membership  num- 
bers about  31.  There  have  been  several 
deaths  in  the  lodge,  among  whom  was 
Sylvester  Redfield,  the  first  W.  M.  The 
building  in  which  the  hall  is  located  is 
owned  by  C.  C.  Buzby,  and  is  well  fur- 
nished. The  condition  of  the  lodge  at 
present  is  not  what  it  should  be,  quite  a 
number  of  the  leading  members  having 
moved  away.  At  one  time  it  was  one  of 
the  most  successful  secret  organizations 
in  the  county. 

Formerly  a  lodge  of  I.  O.  0.  F.  existed 
in  Fieldon,  which  held  its  meetings  in 
the  hall  over  W.  Park's  drug  store.  It 
was  removed  to  Kemper  in  1880,  and  a 
sketch  of  this  lodge  may  be  found  in 
connection  with  the  history  of  that  town, 
in  this  volume. 

EDUCATIONAL. 
The  pioneer  school  house  of  Fieldon 
was  built  in  1839.  James  Robbins 
taught  the  first  term  of  school  therein. 
This  house  served  the  town  for  educa- 
tional purposes  until  1873,  when  a  new 
building  was  constructed  at  a  cost  of 
$2,000.  The  first  teacher  in  this  build- 
ing was  M.  E.  Ellenwood.  The  corps 
of  teachers  employed  for  the  school 
year,  ending  June  :'.<>,  1S85,  was  com- 
posed of  Mr.  Roach,  principal,  and 
Luella  Cutler,  assistant. 


394 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


RELIGIOUS. 

The  Fieldon  M.  E.  church  was 
organized  in  Dec,  1884. 

There  is  a  flourishing  society  of  the 
Evangelical  German  Lutheran  church, 
located  at  this  place,  of  which  Rev. 
Herman  Taeger  is  pastor. 

Rev.  Herman  Taeger,  the  present 
minister  of  the  German  Lutheran 
church,  at  Fieldon,  was  born  May  24, 
1839,  in  Germany,  and  is  a  son  of 
Lebpoldand  Magdalena(  Finch)  Taeger, 
both  natives  of  Germany.  He  was 
reared  in  that  country,  receiving  a  lib- 
eral education,  and  there  became  fitted 
for  the  ministry.  He  attended  school 
12  years  in  Halle,  Prussia.  In  1865  he 
sailed  from  Bremen  in  a  sailing  vessel 
bound  for  America,  landed  at  Baltimore, 
and  went  directly  to  St.  Louis,  where 
he  remained  eight  months.  At  the  ex- 
piration of  that  time  he  went  to  Madison 
county,  where  he  remained  12'.  years, 
then  to  Jersey  county,  where  he  has 
since  been  a  resident.  In  addition  to 
his  ministerial  labors,  Mr.  Taeger  has 
for  the  past  eight  years  taught  the 
German  school  at  Fieldon.  As  a 
preacher  he  is  well  liked,  his  labors 
being  blessed  with  abundant  success. 
He  is  also  peculiarly  fitted  for  his  posi- 
tion as  teacher,  and  in  that  capacity  is 
highly  popular.  October  17,  1867,  Mr. 
Taeger  was  married  to  Frcderica  Beims, 
daughter  of  Henry  Beims.  They  are 
the  parents  of  five  children — Hubert, 
Leopold,  Richard,  Edgar  and  Alfred. 
Mr.  Taeger  is  a  fine  musician  and  a 
professor  of  music. 

OTHER  CITIZENS. 

William  L.  West  was  born  Aug.  31, 
1815,  in  Warren  county,  Ky.     His  par- 


ents were  David  L.  and  Mary  (Arm- 
strong) West,  who  came  to  Illinois  in 
1817,  and  settled  in  St.  Clair  county, 
where  they  remained  until  their  deaths, 
his  mother  dying  in  1820,  and  his  father 
in  1837.  William  L.  remained  on  the 
old  homestead  until  Nov.,  1837,  when  he 
traveled  on  horseback  in  Missouri  and 
Arkansas,  to  Fulton,  on  the  Red  river, 
tkence  by  canoe  down  Red  river  to 
Shreveport,  La.,  thence  to  New  Orleans, 
and  returned  to  St.  Louis,  June  9,  1838. 
He  returned  to  the  old  homestead,  and 
remained  until  Sept.  1838,  when  he 
came  to  Greene — now  Jersey — county, 
and  remained  with  H.  N.  Belt  and  oth- 
ers, teaching  school  part  of  the  time. 
On  the  15th  of  Dec.  1842,  he  was  united 
in  marriage  with  Abigail  Duns  worth,  of 
Greene  county,  and  by  this  union  had 
seven  children,  four  of  whom  are  now 
living — William  H.,  George  D.,  Eliza- 
beth E.,  and  Thompson.  Mrs.  Abigail 
West  died  at  Harrisburg,  Saline  county, 
I1L,  Nov.,  1863.  In  the  year  1869, 
Win.  L.  located  in  the  village  of  Fieldon, 
where  he  has  since  resided.  In  1870  he 
was  again  married,  to  Mrs.  Emma  A. 
Mitchell,  a  native  of  Mississippi.  Mr. 
West  has  held  the  office  of  justice  of  the 
peace  seven  terms,  and  the  office  of 
county  surveyor  several  times.  He  is  a 
member  of  Fieldon  lodge,  No.  592,  A. 
F.  it  A.  M.,  and  also  a  member  of  the 
Cumberland  Presbyterian  church. 

Edward  R.  Brigham,  a  native  of  Che- 
shire county,  N.  H.,  was  born  on  July 
2,  1823,  his  parents  being  Aaron  and 
Hannah  (Reed)  Brigham,  both  natives 
of  Massachusetts.  Edward  was  reared 
in  his  native  county,  and  there  grew  to 
manhood.  In  1S46  he  entered  the  ser- 
vice of  the  United  States  in  the  Mexican 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


395 


war,  in  the  1st  Reg.  of  the  New  York 
volunteers.  At  the  expiration  of  the 
war,  Mr.  Brigham  went  to  California, 
and  was  engaged  in  the  mines  for  some 
months,  lie  then  went  back  to  New 
Hampshire,  where  he  made  his  home 
until  1S.">(),  when  he  returned  to  Califor- 
nia to  again  engage  in  the  mines.  After 
some  time  he  again  went  to  New  Hamp- 
shire, but  soon  aftermoved  to  Marshall, 
Mich.,  from  which  place  he  again 
started  fur  the  mining  districts  of  Cali- 
fornia, overland.  In  1855  he  came  hack 
and  located  in  Chicago,  where  he  staid 
some  months  and  then  located  in  Jer- 
sey county  to  make  his  future  home.  He 
settled  in  Richwoods  township,  where 
he  has  since  resided  and  has  made  his 
place  of  abode.  He  moved  to  Fieldon 
in  the  fall  of  1870,  and  in  the  same  year 
he  was  appointed  postmaster,  which  po- 
sition he  has  held  with  credit  ever  since. 
He  was  also  (dieted  justice  of  the  peace, 
which  position  he  lias  ever  since  con- 
tinued to  hold,  through  the  suffrages  of 
his  fellow  citizens.  Mr.  Brigham  was 
united  in  marriage  in  Fieldon  in  1873, 
to  Jane  Skiff,  a  native  of  this  state.  He 
is  a  member  of  the  A.  F.  &  A.  M.  and 
was  treasurer  of  the  local  lodge  for 
about  11  years. 

CLENDENNEN. 

In  the  northwest  part  of  Richwoods 
township,  there  is  a  cluster  of  small 
buildings,  which  lias  acquired  the  name 


of  Clendennen,  hut  is  more  commonly 
known  as  '-Spankey."  It  is  situated  in 
a  cozy  nook,  "under  the  bluff." 

Bud  Nelson  started  a  store  here  about 
1876,  and  a  short  time  afterward  a  black- 
smith shop.  There  is  no  postoffice 
here,  and  the  inhabitants  of  the  sur- 
rounding country  generally  receive  their 
their  mail  at  Fieldon.  The  store  build- 
ing mentioned  is  now  owned  by  William 
Spaulding,  the  business  belonging  to  his 
brother,  B.  M.  Spaulding.  The  black- 
smithing  business  is  conducted  by  J.  B. 
Cibson. 

Bud  Nelson,  who  started  the  general 
store  in  1876,  afterwards  sold  out  to 
James  Ellis.  He  ran  the  business  until 
Nov.,  1883,  when  the  property  was  pur- 
chased by  William  Spaulding,  and  the 
stock  by  M.  B.  Spaulding.  The  pro- 
prietorship has  not  changed  since  that 
time. 

William  H.  Spaulding,  the  owner  of 
the  building  in  which  his  brother  carries 
on  business,  was  born  in  Jersey  county, 
on  the  15th  day  of  Feb.,  1856.  His 
parents  are  William  and  Martha  (Gram- 
mar) Spaulding,  and  are  now  living  two 
miles  west  of  Kane,  in  Greene  county, 
where  his  father  is  engaged  in  farming. 
( )ur  subject  was  reared  in  Jersey  countf, 
where  he  received  his  education.  In 
the  month  of  Nov.,  1883,  he  removed  to 
Clendennen,  where  he  has  since  re- 
sided. 


396 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


CHAPTER    XXIII. 


ROSED ALE 

This  township  embraces  all  of  con- 
gressional township  7  north,  range  13 
west,  except  the  west  row  of  sections. 
Of  the  latter  row,  parts  of  sections  6,  7 
and  IS  are  also  embraced  in  the  terri- 
tory of  Rosedale  township.  It  is 
bounded  on  the  north  by  Richwoods,  on 
the  east  by  Otter  Creek,  on  the  south 
by  Quarry,  and  on  the  west  by  the  Illi- 
nois river.  The  township  is  well  wat- 
ered, having  the  Illinois  river  on  the 
west,  besides  Otter  creek.  Coon  creek, 
Fowler's  lake,  Long  lake,  Deep  lake, 
Coon  lake,  and  Horse  Shoe  lake.  Otter 
creek  comes  in  from  the  east  on  the  line 
between  sections  1  and  12,  and  with 
many  turns,  flows  in  a  generally  west- 
ward direction,  until  its  waters  unite 
with  those  of  an  arm  of  the  Illinois,  on 
section  6.  Coon  creek  comes  in  from 
Quarry  township  at  the  south  line  of 
section  85,  and  runs  northw:est,  empty- 
ing into  the  Illinois  on  section  21).  Coon 
lake  is  situated  on  sections  7,  8,  17  and 
18.  It  is  the  largest  lake  in  the  town- 
ship. Fowler's  lake  is  long  and 
narrow,  and  lies  in  sections  20  and 
29.  It  is  connected  with  Long  lake,  at 
at  the  north  end  of  the  latter,  which 
extends  through  the  remainder  of  sec- 
tion 21),  through  all  of  32,  and  projects 
slightly  into  Quarry  township,  and  from 
there  is  connected  with  the  Illinois  river 
}>y  a  narrow  channel.  Deep  lake  lies 
right  alongside  the  river,  on  sections  29 
and  o2,  its  foot  being  in  Quarry.    Horse 


TOWNSHIP. 

Shoe  lake  is  almost  entirely  on  sections 
3  and  4.  It  is  not,  strictly  speaking,  a 
lake,  being  merely  a  projecting  arm  of 
Otter  creek,  which  lies  in  the  shape  of  a 
coil,  whence  its  name — Horse  Shoe — is 
derived. 

In  the  western  portion  of  the  town- 
ship, at  an  average  distance  of  about  a 
mile  and  a  quarter  from  the  river,  are 
the  bluffs  of  the  Illinois,  which  present 
quite  a  picturesque  appearance. 

Rosedale  township  has  considerable 
rough  land,  and  certainly  has  no  dearth 
of  water-courses.  There  is  also  a  large 
amount  of  timber,  more  or  less  heavily 
wooded.  Notwithstanding  these  things, 
by  far  the  larger  portion  of  its  soil  has 
been  compelled  to  succumb  to  the 
power  of  thrift  aud  energetic  labor,  ju- 
diciously applied  on  its  surface,  so  that 
there  are  a  large  number  of  as  fine  farms 
as  can  be  found  any  place  in  the  county. 
The  inhabitants  do  not  lack  energy,  and 
good  use  has  generally  been  made  of  all 
the  advantages  afforded  by  nature. 
Jones'  Ferry  affords  facilities  to  the  in- 
habitants for  crossing  the  Illinois  river. 
The  Jersey  county  side  is  on  the  west 
line  of  section  20.  Taken  all  in  all, 
while  the  surface  of  the  country  is  rather 
broken  in  this  township,  there  are  many 
compensating  advantages,  which  all  aid 
in  producing  the  general  prosperity  of 
its  people. 

In  1868,  a  company  commenced  bor- 
ing for  oil  on  section  4,  Rosedale  town- 


HISTORY  OF   JERSEY  COUNTY 


.7.17 


ship.  After  the  work  had  proceeded  to 
the  depth  of  825  feet,  the  rope  broke, 
causing  them  to  lose  all  their  tools, 
making  it  necessary  to  abandon  the 
work.  A  good  mineral  spring  was  de- 
veloped by  the  boring. 

EARLY    SETTLERS. 

William  Larue  was  most  probably 
the  pioneer  settler  of  this  township,  lo- 
cating here  as  early  as  1818.  He  made 
a  clearing  and  erected  a  cabin  on  section 
8,  where  he  lived  for  many  years.  In  L837 
or  '38,  he  sold  out  and  removed  to 
Greene  county,  where  he  subsequently 
died. 

In  1819,  Walter  Cresswell  located  in 
this  township,  and  the  following  year 
received  the  appointment  of  justice  of 
the  peace,  the  first  in  the  county. 

Among  the  earliest  settlers  of  Rose- 
dale  township  was  John  Gillworth, 
who,  in  1820,  built  a  cabin  on  the  banks 
of  Otter  Creek,  where  it  passes  through 
the  bluffs  of  the  Illinois  river.  In  1830 
he  removed  to  what  is  now  Ruyle  town- 
ship, and  subsequently  to  the  county  of 
Greene.  During  the  days  of  the  war 
he  purchased  property  in  Jerseyville, 
and  returning  to  this  county,  resided  in 
the  county  seat  until  1871,  when  he  died. 

Elisha  Fowler  was  one  of  the  first  set- 
tlers in  Rosedale  township.  He  located 
on  section  21,  and  was  one  of  the  first  to 
make  a  clearing,  in  the  township.  He 
settled  here  in  1820  or  1821. 

Thomas,  Samuel  and  William  Cress- 
well  made  settlements  here  during  the 
year  1820.  Thomas  settled  upon  the 
southeast  quarter  of  section  !),  which 
land  he  entered  at  the  land  office,  in 
May,  1829.    Samuel  settled  on  section  4. 

John  Gilbert  and  A.  P.  Scott,  in  1824 


or  1825,  settled  in  the  timber  in  Rose- 
dale  township,  where  they  lived  for 
many  years. 

Silas  ('rain  came  to  what  is  now  Rose- 
dale  township  in  about  1825.  He  was  a 
Methodist  minister,  and  held  meetings 
around  at  different  houses.  He  settled 
on  section  4,  where  he  lived  for  some 
12  or  1-1  years,  when  he  removed  to 
Richwoods  township,  where  he  subse- 
quently died. 

The  year  1828  witnessed  the  advent 
into  this  county  of  John  Stafford.  On 
coming  here  he  located  in  Rosedale 
township. 

Lewis  and  Amos  Lynn  and  Enoch 
Spaulding  made  settlements  in  this 
township  during  the  year  1828.  The 
Lynns  were  first-class  chairmakers,  and 
often  with  the  rudest  machinery  would 
turn  out  such  substantial  evidences  of 
their  handwork,  that  it  is  said  of  them 
that  they  never  made  a  chair  that  would 
wear  out. 

Early  in  the  year  1829,  several  parties 
by  the  name,  of  Funis,  made  a  settle- 
ment upon  section  l(i,  near  a  spring  of 
watei  .  The  father  and  mother  both 
died  in  1833.     They  were  Tennesseans. 

William  Starr,  —  Ferry,  R.  ('.  Bangle 
and  Coe  Edsall,  were  among  the  settlers 
of  1829,  locating  in  this  township. 

John  Dabbs  made  a  settlement  in 
1831,  on  section  21,  which  he  purchased 
of  the  government  the  year  following. 
He  was  a  resident  here  tor  years. 

James  Naron,  probably  one  of  the 
strongest  men  in  this  region  of  country, 
settled  on  section  17,  in  ls:i2.  He 
afterward  removed  to  Calhoun  county, 
where  he  died.' 

Thomas  Wedding  located  in  Rosedale 
township  in  1835. 


398 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


EDUCATIONAL. 

The  first  school  in  Rosedale  township 
was  in  1833,  in  a  little  log  cabin  which 
stood  on  the  northeast  corner  of  section 
21.  It  was  taught  by  Moses  E.  Morrill, 
who  had  been  a  sea  captain  and  was  a 
very  well-informed  man.  Among  the 
first  scholars  were  Lloyd  T.,  John  H. 
ami  Elizabeth  A.  licit;  two  or  three 
children  of  Levi  Larrison,  W'm.  Ennis' 
children,  and  children  of  Amos  and 
Lewis  Lynn.  Morrill  taught  school  six 
months  there. 

The  second  school  was  taught  by  One 
Edsall,  in  a  shanty  made  of  posts  set  in 
the  ground  and  boarded  up,  on  section 
32.  This  was  during  the  summer  of 
1835. 

The  first  school  house  in  district  No. 
1  was  built  in  1856,  by  Richard  Whit- 
en, contractor.  The  last  teacher  in 
that  building  was  Florence  Houghtlin. 
A  new  school  edifice  was  erected  in  this 
district  in  1884,  by  N.  F.  Smith,  Jr. 
John  Gavin  taught  the  first  term  of 
school  in  this  house,  being  the  winter 
term,  1884-5. 

District  No.  1  has  a  neat  and  substan- 
tial frame  school  house,  built  in  1883, 
by  William  Willis,  contractor.  Emma 
Leggate  taught  the  first  term  in  this 
house,  in  1884.  The  building  before 
used  had  burned  down.  It  was  con- 
structed of  logs,  and  was  located  in  what 
is  known  as  Good  Hollow. 

The  first  school  house  in  No.  5,  or 
Pleasanl  ( love  district,  was  built  in  1866. 
The  people  of  the  neighborhood  turned 
out  ami  raised  the  logs  themselves,  so 
that  the  expense  was  light.  The  name 
ofthe  first  teacher  was  Miller.  Lowery 
I'attison,  taught  the  the  last  term  in 
in  that  building.     In  1888,  the  present 


structure  was  erected,  by  John  Powell, 
contractor.  It  is  24x28  feet  in  size,  and 
cost  $1,20(1.  It  is  the  best  school  house 
in  the  township. 

MILLS. 

About  the  year  1340,  Thomas  Barnett 

started  a  grist  mill  on  tin'  north  side  of 
Otter  creek,  on  section  1.  It  stood  a 
little  over  a  mile  down  the  creek  from 
McDaniels'  mill,  on  land  which  now 
belongs  to  Henry  Schaff.  It  was  a  stone 
mill  when  built,  but  had  not  been  long 
constructed  ere  it  was  washed  away  by 
a  rise  in  the  creek.  He  then  put  up  a 
frame  mill.  The  mill  had  two  run  of 
buhrs,  and  did  considerable  grinding 
being  a  very  good  mill  for  that  day. 
The  mill  has  gone  to  decay,  and  no 
trace  of  it  now  remains.  The  millstones 
were  afterwards  used  at  Demphey's  dis- 
tillery at  Grafton. 

The  saw  mill  that  is  now  known  as 
Preble's  mill,  was  constructed  by  W. 
H.  H.  West.  He  afterwards  sold  it  to 
Squires  it  Payran,  who  ran  the  mill 
awhile  then  sold  to  James  F.  Seago  and 
two  others.  The  mill  was  burned  down 
while  in  these  hands,  but  was  rebuilt. 
The  property  was  afterward  sold  to 
Preble  &  Grandstaff.  the  firm  consisting 
of  James  F.  Seago  and  H.  D.  Preble. 
They  continued  the  business  about  four 
years,  when  Preble  purchased  Grand- 
staff's  interests,  and  has  since  conducted 
the  business  himself.  The  mill  has  a 
capacity  for  sawing  6,000  feet  of  white 
oak  lumber,  daily,  with  one  saw.  Three 
hands  are  employed  in  the  work.  A  new- 
boiler  has  been  lately  added,  and  the 
mill  is  capable  of  doing  good  work. 

H.  D.  Preble  was  born  in  Preble 
county,<).,  Aug.  29,  1846.  Whenabout 
11   years   of  age,   he    moved  with    his 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


399 


parents  to  Boone  county,  Mo.  In  the 
spring  of  1862,  lie  removed  to  Madison 
county,  111.,  and  seven  years  later,  to 
Macoupin  county j  where  he  resided  un- 
til 1*7*.  He  then  removed  to  Greene 
county,  and  in  1879  came  to  Jersey 
county,  and  purchased  a  saw-mill,  which 
he  has  operated  since  that  time.  He  is 
a  member  of  the  odd  Fellows'  frater- 
nity. 

A  saw-mill  was  constructed  on  the 
hanks  of  Otter  creek,  on  section  11,  on 
land  now  belonging  to  Henry  Belt. 
James  Bryce  was  the  proprietor,  and 
his  mill  was  erected  in  1833.  The  mill 
is  now  gone,  as  well  as  all  trace  of  its 
having  been  there.  Bryce  sold  out, 
and  went  to  Missouri,  where  he  erected 
another  mill. 

Pleasant  Cove  grist  mill  was  built  in 
18S3,  by  T.  K.  Phipps.  This  mill  is 
equipped  with  one  coin  buhr,  and  has  a 
capacity  for  grinding  150  bushels  of 
meal  per  day.  It  is  run  by  a  steam  en- 
gine, which  is  used,  during  the  season. 
for  running  a  threshing  machine.  Mr. 
Phipps  threshes  from  32,000  to  40,000 
bushels  of  grain  per  year. 

CEMETERIES. 

In  the  Union  cemetery,  the  first  bur- 
ials occurred  about  the  year  1835,  being 
those  of  an  aged  couple  named  Funis. 
James  II.  Wedding  was  buried  there  in 
Aug.,  1837,  and  Nancy  Wedding,  in 
Aug.,  1*41. 

Lillie  Belle  Ratcliff,  a  little  girl,  was 
the  first  person  buried  in  Meadow 
Branch  cemetery.     That  was  in   1871. 

TENERIFFE. 

This  village  of  the  [iast  was  laid  out 
in  1836,  by  Joseph  Hawkins,  who  came 


from  Tennessee,  on  (he  southwest  quar- 
ter of  section  4. 

Silas  ('rain  opened  the  first  store,  in 
the  same  year  that  the  town  was  laid 
out.  His  stock  consisted  of  an  assort- 
ment of  what  is  generally  kept  in  a  gen- 
eral merchandise  store. 

Aaron  Ricketts  started  a  grocery 
store  immediately  after  the  opening  of 
('rain's. 

In  1837,  the  stock  of  both  these  stores 
were  closed  out,  and  their  business  dis- 
continued. 

Jacob  Smith  afterwards  opened  a  gen- 
eral store,  in  which  he  did  business  for 
two  or  three  years,  when  he,  too,  closed 
out. 

Since  Smith's  failure  to  make  a  store 
pay  here,  there  has  been  no  further  at- 
tempt made  to  establish  any  business  at 
Teiinerifl'e.  and  at  present  there  is  not 
even  a  landmark  to  designate  the  spot 
where  the  town  was  laid  out,  and  where 
these  early  mercantile  attempts  were 
made.  The  buildings  have  rotted  away, 
and  the  town  site  is  now  used  for  farm- 
ing purposes. 

EOSEDALE    POSTOFFICE. 

This  is  the  only  postoflice  within  the 
limits  of  Rosedale  township. 

Xo  town  has  ever  been  laid  out  here, 
hut  some  trading  is  done  at  this  point, 
while  many  of  the  inhabitants  of  this 
township  receive  their  mail  here. 

The  cluster  of  buildings  which  mark 
the  location,  is  situated  on  section  16. 

The  postollice  was  established  about 
1*70,  James  Donald  Sinclair  being  the 
first  postmaster.  W.  C.  Gleason  at 
present  holds  that  position. 

There  is  a  general  store  at  this  point 
which  was  established  by  James  Donald 


400 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


Sinclair,  at  the  time  of  the  location  of 
the  postoffice  here.  He  ran  the  busi- 
ness about  two  years,  and  then  sold  to 
J.  (i.  Reed.  The  latter  remained  but  a 
short  time,  selling  the  business  to  W. 
('.  Gleason,  the  preseni  proprietor. 

About  the  year  1875,  Jesse  Shoop 
started  a  small  general  store,  which  he 
operated  a  little  over  a  year,  when  the 
stock  was  purchased  by  W .  C.  Gleason, 
who  consolidated  it  with  his  own. 

Mr.  Gleason  carried  a  varied  assort- 
ment of  such  goods  as  are  usually 
handled  in  general  merchandise  store. 

William  Cleveland  Gleason  was  born 
in  Gallia  county,  0.,  May  17,  1825.  His 
early  life  was  spent  with  his  parents  in 
his  native  county,  where  he  received  a 
good  education.  When  17  years  old  he 
went  to  Lawrence  county,  0.,  and  there 
engaged  in  teaching  school.  He  resided 
in  that  state  until  he  was  25  years  of  age, 
then  went  to  Virginia, where  he  followed 
teaching.  He  afterwards  returned  to 
Ohio,  and  taught  two  years,  after  which 
he  came  to  Galena,  111.,  where  he  en- 
gaged in  the  same  occupation.  From 
there  he  again  returned  to  Ohio  and 
taught  school  and  ran  a  store  and  post- 
office  at  Hamden,  Vinton  county.  He 
next  went  to  Iowa,  and  engaged  in  mer- 
chandising, and  also  kept  postoffice  one 
year,  thence  he  went  to  Illinois,  where 
he  taught  school,  thence  to  Ohio  again. 
He  "was  married  in  that  state  in  1860,  to 
Cassandra  Thornton.  His  next  move 
was  to  Clay  county,  111.,  where  he  fol- 
lowed farming,  and  from  there  he  re- 
moved to  Rosedale  township,  Jersey 
county,  which  is  now  his  home.  Since 
that  time  he  has  spent  two  years  in  Kan- 
sas. On  his  return  from  that  state  he 
engaged    in    general    merchandising   at 


Rosedale, which  he  still  continues,  also 
keeps  the  postoffice.  Jan.  29, 1880,  Mrs. 
Gleason  died  at  the  age  of  38  years.  Mr. 
Gleason  is  a  member  of  the  Masonic 
fraternity,    and    has    taken    the    Royal 

Arch  degree. 

Shortly  after  the  Rosedale  postoffice 
was  established,  a  blacksmith  shop  was 
opened,  which  is  still  in  operation. 
William  H.  Newell  is  the  present  pro- 
prietor. 

Those  mentioned  are  the  only  busi- 
ness or  trade  interests  that  have  ever 
been  attempted  at  Rosedale. 

James  Donald  Sinclair  was  born  in 
the  Highlands  of  Scotland,  May  27, 
1829.  When  11  years  of  age,  he  went 
to  sea,  shipping  at  London  as  midship- 
man on  board  a  barque  called  the  "Der- 
went."  which  was  engaged  in  the  Aus- 
tralian trade,  that  being  the  time  when 
gold  had  been  recently  discovered  in 
Australia.  In  1847,  while  on  a  home- 
ward voyage,  the  vessel  encountered  a 
terrific  storm,  and  was  driven  to  the  far 
south,  where  their  progress  was  ob- 
structed by  ice,  and  the  days  were  so 
short  that  the  sun  was  visible  for  only 
25  minutes.  After  a  tedious  voyage  of 
135  days,  they  arrived  in  London.  Here 
he  again  shipped  as  chief  officer  on 
board  a  ship  called  the  "Minerva," 
bound  for  Riga,,  in  Russia,.  On  the  pas- 
sage home  the  vessel  encountered  severe 
storms,  and  was  detained  on  the  coast 
of  Norway,  for  three  months.  After 
his  return  to  London,  he  went  to  Edin- 
burgh, Scotland,  and  attended  school  a 
short  time,  then  went  to  Liverpool,  and 
there  shipped  as  seaman  on  board  a 
Scotch  ship  called  "St.  Andrews," 
bound  for  Canada.  On  the  passage,  the 
ship  ran  into  the    ice   on    the  banks  of 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


4(H 


Newfoundland,  and  was  detained  21 
days,  during  which,  supplies  running 
low,  his  allowance  was  reduced  to  one 
spoonful  of  boiled  rice,  and  one  of  mo- 
lasses,  per  day.  When  they  finally 
reached  Montreal,  all  hands  deserted 
the  ship,  one-half  the  crew  going  to 
Quebec,  and  the  other  half  to  the  lakes. 
He  shipped  on  board  a  lake  schooner 
called  the  "Henry  Claj',"  and  went  to 
Cleveland,  O.  Here  he  shipped  as  chief 
mate  on  board  the  same  boat,  of  which 
two  years  later,  he  became  captain,  and 
sailed  as  such  three  years.  He  then 
went  to  Michigan,  thence  again  to 
Cleveland,  where  be  superintended  the 
building  of  a  barque  called  the  Ocean 
Wave.  This  was  in  1852-3.  He  was 
captain  of  that  boat  one  year,  after 
which  he  commanded  different  vessels 
until  1868,  when  he  abandoned  a  sailor's 
life,  and  for  one  year  followed  the  busi- 
ness of  ship  chandler,  then  went  into 
the  shipping  and  commission  business. 
In  1862  he  enlisted  in  the  navy  and  was 
ordered  for  duty  on  board  the  Clara 
Dolson,  as  executive  officer.  He  was 
executive  officer  and  captain  of  differ- 
ent gunboats,  and  run  all  the  blockades 
on  the  Mississippi  river,  and  did  gal- 
lant service  until  the  close  of  the  war. 
He  then  did  business  for  a  time  in  the 
south,  engaged  in  the  cotton  trade,  and 
was  captured  by  Jesse  James,  losing 
$25,000;  then  went  to  Chicago  and  fol- 
lowed the  manufacture  of  tobacco,  after 
which  he  commanded  a  steamboat  on 
the  Illinois  river  two  years.  He  then 
purchased  a  steamboat  and  engaged  in 
the  southern  trade.  This  boat  was 
burned,  in  consequence  of  which  he 
lost  considerable  money.  He  then 
came    to    Coon    creek,    Jersey    county, 


purchased  an  acre  of  woodland,  upon 
which,  after  clearing  it,  he  built  a  store- 
house and  a  blacksmith  shop.  He  kept 
the  first  postoffice  in  Rosedale.  He 
was  for  a  number  of  years  in  the  stone 
business,  which  he  sold  out  to  Gilbert 
Reed.  He  then  returned  to  his  native 
country,  sailing  from  New  York  the 
5th  day  of  June,  187~>.  He  spent  about 
nine  months  in  visiting  the  principal 
cities  of  Great  Britain  and  points  of  in- 
terest in  northern  Europe.  He  return- 
ed to  Rosedale,  where  he  lias  since  fol- 
lowed farming.  Mr.  Sinclair  is  the 
founder  of  the  town  of  Rosedale,  and 
lias  always  been  prominently  identified 
with  its  interests.  He  taught  writing 
school  in  Buffalo,  N.  Y.,  during  the 
winter  of  1849-50,  having  among  his 
pupils  two  sons  of  President  Fillmore. 
He  has  circumnavigated  the  globe  three 
times,  and  has  sailed  as  far  south  as 
the  ice  would  permit,  once  being  chased 
by  a  pirate  ship  off  Cape  Horn.  Three 
tdasses  of  water  per  day  was  his  allow- 
ance for  135  days  during  one  of  these 
trips.  He  has  saved  17  lives  by  swim- 
ming. He  is  a  man  of  good  education, 
and  possessed  of  a  great  amount  of  gen- 
eral information.  As  a  citizen  he  is 
esteemed  by  all. 

DESERVING  OF    MENTION, 

Are  the  following  gentlemen,  most  of 
them  the  enterprising,  intelligent  men 
of  the  township. 

John  L.  Reed  was  born  in  Adams 
county,  Ohio,  Jan.  18,  1832.  His  par- 
ents, George  and  Lourana  Reed,  emi- 
grated from  Virginia,  in  1825.  They 
had  born  to  them  six  boys  and  three 
girls,  of  which  only  three  are  now  liv- 
ing.    Energy,   perseverance  and   integ- 


402 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


rity  are  leading  traits  of  the  Reed 
family,  who  are  ever  on  the  side  of  good 
order  and  morality.  Generous  and 
hospitable,  their  latch-string  has  ever 
been  out  from  the  days  of  the  log  cabin, 
to  those  of  the  present  noble  residences, 
and  they  have  been  ready  to  feed  the 
hungry,  uphold  the  down-trodden  and 
unfortunate.  John  L.  was  raised  on  a 
farm  until  16  years  old,  when  he  was 
sent  to  Greenfield,  0.,  to  a  seminary, 
and  after,  to  Hanover  College,  Ind.; 
remained  one  year,  then  attended  the 
Weslyan  University,  at  Delaware,  0., 
one  year.  His  father  then  bought  for 
him  one-half  interest  in  a  general  mer- 
chandise store  in  Cynthiana,  Pike 
county,  0.,  in  partnership  with  his 
brother.  They  run  this  two  years, 
when  he  sold  out  to  his  brother,  and 
bought  a  store  in  partnership  with  his 
brother  J.  G.,  in  Jasper,  on  the  Ohio 
canal.  He  remained  one  year  and  sold 
out  on  account  of  sickness,  and  bought 
400  acres  of  land  on  the  Ohio  river,  be- 
low Portsmouth,  which  he  greatly  im- 
proved, and  after  holding  it  two  years 
sold.  He  now  bought  a  store  in  Berlin, 
0.  He  continued  this  18  months,  and  up 
to  this  time  had  been  very  successful, 
and  although  very  young  had  made  con- 
siderable money.  He  bought  an  iron 
furnace,  run  it  one  year  individually, 
but  he  was  unfortunate  as  to  lose  every 
dollar  he  had,  and  returned  to  Ports- 
mouth. It  was  owing  to  the  unprece- 
dented depression  of  the  iron  market 
that  the  loss  came.  Older  and  more 
experienced  men  fared  likewise.  He 
attended  a  commercial  college  in  Ports- 
mouth, and  after  taking  a  thorough 
course,  he  went  to  Jasper  to  keep  books 
for    an    establishment   there,    and    re- 


mained in  this  position  until  July,  1S63, 
when  the  Morgan  raid  suddenly  stopped 
the  business.  He  says,  he  very  sud- 
denly came  to  the  conclusion  that  he 
could  advance  the  interests  of  the  firm, 
and  more  especially  his  own  safety,  by 
taking  to  the  woods,  and  with  all  the 
money  of  the  store,  over  $2,000,  (which 
he  hid  under  a  rock  in  the  woods,)  he 
retired  in  as  good  order  as  he  thought 
his  safety  would  warrant.  The  store 
was  completely  carried  off,  consequently 
his  services  were  no  longer  necessary. 
He  was  then  appointed  clerk  on  a  com- 
mission to  take  account  of  the  loss  for 
Pike  county.  Again  he  went  into  the 
mercantile  and  lumber  trade  in  Jasper, 
but  soon  sold  out  and  came  west,  think- 
ing a  change  would  be  beneficial. 
While  in  Iowa  he  put  every  dollar  he 
could  raise  into  land.  After  spending 
the  summer  he  returned  and  accepted  a 
situation  as  commercial  agent.  March 
21,  1870,  he  was  married  to  Ursulie 
Sharp.  Dec.  16,  1872,  was  born  to  them 
a  child — Louie.  In  Feb.,  1874,  after 
eight  years  service  as  traveler,  he  re- 
signed, and  with  his  wife  and  child, 
came  to  his  present  place  of  residence 
and  embarked  in  farming.  The  farm  is 
situated  one  and  one-half  miles  south  of 
Rosedale,  and  contains  536  acres.  250  of 
which  is  in  cultivation,  about  60  in  pas- 
ture, and  has  a  fine  house,  barn,  granary, 
out-buildings,  fruit,  etc.  On  the  last  of 
Sept.,  1874,  their  bright  intelligent  child 
died.  June  21,  1875,  Gussie  was  born. 
On  March  29,  1885,  death's  relentless, 
cruel  hand  cast  a  gloom  over  parent  and 
child  and  left  them  homeless,  in  a 
dreary  world,  without  the  influence  and 
companionship  of  a  mother  and  wife. 
She,    with   her   little    Louie,  is   on   the 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


403 


peaceful  side  of  the  dark  river,  while 
he  and  Gussie  are  left  to  meet  life's 
cares,  and  heart-aches  alone.  After  the 
death  of  his  wife  he  sold  his  farm  to 
parties  in  St.  Louis,  for  ?17,(HK)  dollars. 
and  now  expects  to  take  Gussie  to  Jer- 
seyville,  where  she  will  have  the  ad- 
vantages of  good  schools  and  society. 
When  the  county  adopted  township  or- 
ganization, he  was  elected  the  two  first 
years,  to  represent  his  township  in  the 
county  court,  as  supervisor,  and  again 
he  was  elected  this  present  year  to  the 
same  office,  although  this  township  is 
largely  democratic. 

David  1).  Gleason  was  born  in  Gallia 
county,  0.,  Nov.  8,  1820.  He  resided 
there  until  '20  years  of  age,  receiving  a 
good  education.  He  began  teaching, 
which  he  continued  a  number  of  terms 
in  Ohio,  then  went  to  what  is  known  as 
Kanawha  Salt  Works,  W.  Ya.,  where 
he  taught  school  two  years,  after  which 
he  returned  to  Ohio  and  remained  a 
year,  during  which  he  followed  teach- 
ing. In  1S44  he  went  to  the  state  of 
Mississippi,  and  a  year  later  to  West 
Virginia,  where  he  again  taught  school, 
remaining  there  during  the  cholera  epi- 
demic of  1849.  Nov.  9,  1S50,  he  was 
married  to  Emma  Downward,  a  native 
of  Philadelphia.  Aft  it  marriage  he  re- 
sided in  Virginia  one  year,  then  removed 
to  Ohio,  and  spent  three  years  in  Scioto 
and  Jackson  counties,  engaged  in  teach- 
ing. In  the  spring  of  1857  he  immi- 
grated to  Iowa,  locating  near  Ottumwa, 
where  he  lived  eight  years,  teaching 
school  during  the  time.  In  1865  he 
moved  to  Clay  county,  111.,  thence  in 
1866,  to  St.  Louis.  He  was  engaged  in 
that  city,  as  principal  of  the  Lowell 
school,    10  years,   then    on    account   of 


failing  health,  resigned  his  position,  and 
came  to  Jersey  county,  111.,  which  has 
since  been  his  residence.  Since  coming 
here  he  has  followed  teaching  during 
the  winter  season  only.  Mr.  and  Mis. 
Gleason  have  four  children  living — 
Alice,  horn  in  Virginia.  Sept.  19,  1851, 
now  married  and  living  in  St.  Louis; 
Mary  Ellen;  born  in  Ohio,  Sept.  23, 
IS.").',,  now  married  and  living  in  Texas; 
Ada  Elizabeth,  born  in  Iowa,  April  19, 
1861,  and  died  March  31,  1862;  Etta 
Florence,  born  in  Iowa,  Oct.  21,  1864, 
married  and  living  in  Texas,  and  Birdie 
Emma,  born  in  St.  Louis.  Dec.  6,  1870. 
Mr.  Gleason  keeps  an  apiary  and  now 
has  7d  stands  of  bees.  He  is  a  demo- 
crat politically,  and  has  held  the  office 
of  collector.  He  is  at  present  school 
treasurer. 

John  I'.  Stafford,  a  son  of  Brook  and 
Nancy  (Parker)  Stafford,  a  native  of 
Grafton,  Jersey  county,  111.,  horn  in 
the  year  1862.  He  was  reared  in  his 
native  town,  enjoying  the  excellent 
privileges  and  obtaining  his  education 
at  the  peerless  public  schools  of  that 
romantic  little  burg.  His  father,  being 
a  man  of  means,  spared  no  pains  to  tit 
him  for  life's  struggle.  In  the  fall  of 
the  year,  1881,  feeling  the  truth  of  the 
injunction  that  "it  is  not  well  for  man 
to  dwell  alone''  he  was  united  in  mar- 
riage with  Abigail  Robinson,  also  a 
native  of  Jersey  county.  By  this  union 
there  have  been  two  interesting  children 
Mabel  May  and  Lottie  Amelia.  Al- 
though a  young  man,  Mr.  Stafford  mani- 
fests a  considerable  ability,  and  is  bound 
to  succeed  in  the  affairs  of  this  life,  and 
to  achieve  prominence  in  the  affairs  of 
the  county.  Being  industrious  and 
economical,   and   blessed   with    a   good 


404 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


wife,  each  year  sees  him  further  ad- 
vanced on  the  road  to  wealth  and  honor. 
Thomas  K.  Phipps  came  to  this 
county  in  184S,  and  purchased  then 
forty  acres  of  land  in  the  western  por- 
tion of  the  county.  Three  years  later 
he  sold  this  land  and  bought  another 
40,  to  which,  in  1855,  he  added  120 
acres.  In  1857  bought  200  acres  more, 
and  divided  his  estate  among  his  chil- 
dren, reserving  200  acres  for  himself. 
Mr.  Phipps  cleared  nearly  all  of  his 
land,  which  was  covered  with  bushes 
and  small  timber.  He  has  been  an  en- 
terprising and  successful  farmer.  In 
1878  he  rented  his  farm  to  one  of  his 
sons  and  moved  to  Rosedale,  where  he 
built  a  dwelling  house  and  also  a  store 
building,  and  engaged  in  merchandis- 
ing, purchasing  a  general  stock  of  goods, 
to  the  value  of  about  one  thousand  dol- 
lars. He  continued  in  business  there 
four  years,  then  on  account  of  the  death 
of  his  son,  who  was  accidentally  killed, 
he  returned  to  his  farm  where  he  now 
lives.  He  built  a  store  room  near  his 
residence,  and  now  sells  general  mer- 
chandise. Thomas  K.  Phipps  was  born 
in  Virginia,  Dec.  17,  1819.  He  remain- 
ed in  that  state  until  17  years  old,  then 
came  west,  and  visited  Kansas,  Mis- 
souri and  Iowa,  after  which  he  went 
south  to  Lousiana  and  Mississippi.  He 
was  married  in  the  latter  state  to 
Maitha  Ruy,  who  was  born  May  9, 
1829.  In  1847  he  removed  to  Illinois, 
and  three  years  later,  to  this  county. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Phipps  have  had  four 
children — Lewis,  born  June  1,  1855, 
died  Feb.  2,  1S82;  John,  born  May  23, 
1857;  Mary  J.,  horn  in  1859,  and  died 
in  infancy,  and  Isabel,  born  Feb.  10, 
1S61,  now  married  to  Leonard    Ratcliff. 


Mr.  Phipps  is  a  member  of  the  Masonic 
fraternity,  and  a  republican  politically, 
lie  lias  held  all  of  the  township  offices, 
including  justice  of  the  peace,  and  is 
one  of  the  leading  citizens  of  Rosedale 
township. 

T.  S.  Highfill,  a  prosperous  farmer  of 
Rosedale  township,  was  born  in  Harri- 
son county,  Ind.,  Sept.  8,  1828.  When 
18  years  old  he  left  his  native  county 
and  went  to  Alton,  111.,  and  remained  12 
years.  He  was  married  there  in  Febru- 
ary, 1855,  to  Fanny  Kipps.  In  1858  he 
removed  to  Jersey  county  and  purchased 
120  acres  of  land  in  Rosedale  township. 
To  this  he  has  since  added  80  acres, 
making  200  acres,  upon  which  he  now 
lives.  His  wife  died  in  1864.  He  was 
again  married  July  21,  1867,  to  Mrs. 
Amanda  C.  Sweet.  By  his  first  mar- 
riage Mr.  Highfill  had  six  children — 
Alfred  B.,  born  Dec.  21, 1855,  died  March 
16,  1878;  Thomas  B.,  born  June,  1857; 
Kate  Bell,  born  Dec.  26,  1858;  Lyman 
H.,  born  Nov.  28,  1860,  and  died  March 
9,  1861;  Edward  M.,  horn  Feb.  2,  1862, 
and  Fannie,  born  March  22,  1864.  By 
the  second  marriage  there  were  seven 
children — James  M.,  born  Sept.  12, 
1868;  Mary  Ann,  born  March  3,  1870; 
Charles  B.,  born  Oct.  8,  1872;  Harry  C, 
born  June  12,  1874;  John  W.,  born  July 
12,  1876;  Hattie  A.,  born  May  22,  1878, 
and  died  August  5  of  the  same  year;  and 
Clara  B.,  born  Oct.  25,  1882.  Mr.  High- 
fill  has  been  justice  of  the  peace  eight 
years.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Metho- 
dist church  and,  also,  of  the  Masonic 
fraternity.  He  is,  politically,  a  demo- 
crat. 

William  Davis  came  to  Jersey  county 
in  1853.  He  was  born  in  Coles  county, 
111.,  in  1843,  and  is  a  son  of  Barney  and 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


4i  15 


Sallie  (Brazee)  Davis.  They  settled  in 
Otter  Creek  township  in  1853,  where 
William  remained  until  1862.  He  then 
enlisted  in  the  97th  111.  Inf.,  and  served 
three  years.  He  was  a  gallant  soldier, 
participating  in  many  hattles,  among 
which  wire  those  of  Vieksburg,  Champ- 
pion  Hills,  Black  River  Bridge,  second 
battle  of  Vieksburg,  Jackson,  Fort 
Blakeley  and  others.  He  was  under 
General  Grant  in  all  the  campaigns  of 
the  western  Mississippi  department, 
and  under  General  Banks  in  those  of 
the  last  12  months.  He  was  mustered 
out  of  the  service  July  29,  1865.  Mr. 
Davis  was  married  in  1867,  to  Mary  E. 
Myers,  a  native  of  Missouri.  Nine  chil- 
dren have  been  born  to  them — William, 
Perry  B.  (deceased),  Charles,  Franklin, 
Laura  Nevada,  Luther  F.  (deceased), 
Viola  Eliza,  Mary  A.,  and  Olivia  Flor- 
ence. 

William  Larabee,  of  Rosedale  town- 
ship, was  born  in  Ulster  county,  N.  Y., 
March  13,  1836.  When  he  was  six  years 
old,  his  father  removed  with  his  family 
to  Ohio,  and,  two  years  later,  to  Pilot 
Knob,  Mo.  He  lived  there  also  two 
years,  after  which  he  went  to  Monroe 
county,  111.,  and  in  1855  came  to  Jersey 
county,  and  settled  at  Newbern.  Wil- 
liam remained  here  until  1861,  when  he 
enlisted  and  served  three  years  in  the 
army,  returning  home  in  1865.  He  was 
married  in  Newbern  in  1867,  to  Mary  E. 
Lamb.  After  marriage  he  remained 
here  four  years,  then  moved  to  Kansas, 
where  he  resided  two  and  a  half  years. 
At  the  expiration  of  that  time  he  re- 
turned to  Jersey  county,  and  lived  at 
Newbern  two  years,  then  moved  to 
Rosedale,  where  he  has  since  lived,  pur- 
chasing at  that  time  40  acres  of  land,  on 


section  23.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Larabee  have 
two  children— a  son,  born  Dec.  19,  1867, 
and  a  daughter,  born  Sept;  2,  1869.  Mr. 
Larabee  has  been  school  director  three 
years. 

William  Johnson  is  a  son  of  Thomas 
Johnson,  and  was  born  in  Madison 
county,  111.,  in  1821.  When  he  was 
fourteen  years  of  age,  his  father  settled 
in  Jersey,  then  known  as  Greene  coun- 
ty, where  he  entered  eighty  acres,  on 
Coon  creek.  William  afterward  entered 
eighty  acres,  forty  at  one  time  and  forty 
at  another,  making,  with  the  tract  en- 
tered by  his  father,  one  hundred  and 
sixty  acres.  He  has  about  twenty-five 
acres  under  cultivation  and  the  remain- 
der in  pasture  and  timber  land.  Mr. 
Johnson  was  married  in  Aug.,  1846,  to 
Nancy  Elizabeth  Mise,  who  was  born 
April  13,  1830.  They  have  seven  chil- 
dren living  and  two  dead.  Those  living 
are,  Thomas,  born  May  18,  1848;  Lu- 
vina,  born  Nov.  14,  1851;  Martha  Ann, 
born  April  27,  1856;  Larkin  M.,  born 
July  17,  1859;  William  Allen;  born 
Oct.  30,  1866;  Luther  Melvin,  born 
Sept.  16, 1868,  and  Mary  Elizabeth,  born 
June  16,  1870.  Mr.  Johnson  is  polit- 
ically, a  republican. 

D.  M.  Highfill,  son  of  Thomas  High- 
fill,  was  born  in  Harrison  county,  Ind., 
Feb.  18,  1822.  When  he  was  12  years 
old  his  father  died,  and  three  years 
later,  his  mother,  Mrs.  Nancy  Highfill, 
also  died.  He  remained  in  Harrison 
county  until  1846.  March  21,  of  that 
year,  he  was  married  to  Mary  Jane 
Chappell,  who  was  born  Oct.  18,  1826. 
After  his  marriage,  he  removed  to  Alton, 
111.,  where  he  worked  at  the  cooper's 
trade.  He  came  from  Alton  to  Rosedale 
township,  Jersey  county,  and  bought  40 


mi; 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


acres  of  land,  to  which  he  lias  since 
added,  until  he  owns  at  the  present 
time,  Kid  acres.  His  farm  is  a  good  one 
and  well  improved.  He  has  made  all 
of  the  improvements,  clearing  the  land, 
building,  etc.  He  carries  on  general 
farming.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Highfill  have 
had  three  children — George  Thomas, 
horn  Aug.  13,  1848;  Francis,  born  Nov. 
12,  1850,  died  Jan.  17,  1875,  and  Sarah 
Cornelia,  born  Nov.  5,  1853.  George  T. 
is  now  married  to  Parmela  Walden,  and 
lives  on  a  farm  of  240  acres,  which  he 
owns,  near  his  father.  Sarah  Cornelia 
is  the  wife  of  James  Adkinson,of  Jersey- 
ville.  Mr.  Highfill  has  been  justice  of 
the  peace  16  years,  and  for  several  years 
past,  has  held  the  office  of  township  as- 
sessor. He  is  a  member  of  the  Masonic 
fraternity. 

James  E.  Suddeth,  son  of  Henry  and 
Pamelia  Suddeth,  was  born  in  Henry 
county,  Ky.,  June  26,  1824.  When 
.lames  was  two  years  of  age  his  father 
died,  leaving  a  wife  and  three  sons — 
Henry,  William  and  James.  The  sub- 
ject of  this  sketch  resided  with  his 
mother  until  his  marriage  to  Amanda 
Dawkins,  who  was  born  in  February, 
1832.  After  his  marriage  he  removed 
to  Lincoln  county,  Mo.,  and  there  fol- 
lowed the  trade  of  wagon-making  ten 
years.  In  1846  he  enlisted  in  the  Mex- 
ican war,  in  a  cavalry  regiment  com- 
manded by  Colonel  Marshall.  He  took 
part  in  the  battle  of  Buena  Vista,  after 
which  Marshall's  men  were  discharged, 
lie  then  volunteered  under  Gen.  John 
S.  Williams,  and  participated  in  en- 
gagements at  Cerro  Gordo  and  the  City 
of  Mexico.  At  the  breaking  out  of  the 
Rebellion  he  enlisted  in  the  2d  Missouri 
Reg.,  and  served  four  years.     He  took 


part  in  the  battles  of  Farmington  and 

luka,  in  Mississippi;  Drywood,  Wil- 
son's Creek,  Elkhorn  and  Lexington, 
in  Missouri,  battles  of  the  Wilderness, 
Petersburg  and  Richmond,  where  he 
witnessed  the  surrender  of  Lee.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Suddeth  have  eight  children. 
He  owns  30  acres  of  land,  which  is 
mostly  tillable.  He  is,  in  politics,  a 
democrat. 

William  Harrison  Willis  is  a  native 
of  Arkansas,  born  May  25,  1841.  His 
parents  removed  to  Union  county,  111., 
when  he  was  an  infant,  and  there  lived 
until  he  had  reached  the  age  of  about  10 
years.  They  removed  to  Madison 
county,  Mo.,  in  1851,  and  in  1853  to 
Stoddard  county,  in  the  same  state.  In 
1855  they  removed  to  Reynolds  county, 
Mo.,  and  in  1861  came  to  Monroe  county, 
111.,  locating  near  Harrisonville,  in  the 
American  Bottom.  There,  in  1862,  our 
subject's  mother  died.  From  there, 
with  his  father,  he  removed  to  Jersey 
county  in  1863,  and  first  located  in  Cam- 
den Hollow,  near  the  mouth  of  the  Illi- 
nois river,  and  wintered  there.  In  the 
spring  of  1864  he  rented  the  place  known 
as  the  "Tucker  Knob"  and  in  the  same 
year  enlisted  in  Co.  H,  144th  111.  Inf., 
and  was  stationed  at  St.  Louis,  where 
he  did  guard  duty.  When  discharged, 
he  returned  to  this  county,  and  in  1865 
rented  the  farm  of  George  Simmons,  on 
which  he  lived  two  years.  He  then 
bought  40  acres  of  land  from  J.  L.  Beirn, 
and  lived  on  the  same  one  year,  when 
he  purchased  the  farm  where  he  now 
lives,  which  contains  99  acres.  One 
acre  was  deeded  to  the  M.  E.  church. 
He  was  married,  in  1867,  to  Nancy  Leg- 
ate, who  was  born  Feb.  27,  1851.  Five 
children,  three  sons  and  two  daughters, 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


-i"; 


have  been  horn  to  them — Mary  Eleanor, 
born  Jan.  6,  1S72;  Charles  Leander, 
born  Sept.  3,  1874;  Frederic  Harrison, 
born  April  7,  1877;  Emma  Jane,  born 
March  29,  1S80;  John  Edmund,  born 
June  15,  1884.  He  has  been  connected 
with  the  M.  E.  church  at  Meadow  Branch 
since  1NH7.  He  is  one  of  the  trustees  of 
the  church,  has  been  class-leader  since 
1869,  and  has  been  superintendent  of 
the  Sunday  school  several  terms.  He 
has  held  the  office  of  township  assessor, 
and  is  a  republican  politically.  Mr. 
Willis  commenced  with  a  capital  of 
$200,  and  now  values  his  property  at 
about  $3,000.  The  land  had  no  house 
or  improvements  of  any  kind  on  it,  but 
now  he  has  a  comfortable  two-story 
dwelling,  and  good  out-buildings.  He 
has  55  acres  under  cultivation,  and  is 
prosperous. 

William  J.  Carroll  was  born  in  Galla- 
tin county,  111.,  on  the  29th  day  of  July 
in  the  year  1846.  His  parents  were 
George  and  Hester  Ann  (Lane)  Carroll, 
natives  of  Virginia.  His  father  died  in 
the  year  1848,  his  mother  following 
shortly  afterward,  thus  leaving  William 
an  orphan  when  only  two  years  old. 
He  was  then  taken  by  his  grandmother, 
to  raise,  and  he  remained  with  her  until 
he  was  "21  years  of  age.  They  lived  in 
the  village  of  Fieldon  then,  and  most  of 
his  time  was  spent  in  going  to  school. 
On  the  29th  day  of  Jan.,  in  the  year 
1869,  he  was  married  to  Emily  J.  Orm, 
widow  of  John  M.  Orm.  Six  children 
were  horn  to  this  union,  four  of  whom 
are  now  living.  They  are  William  C, 
Hester  Rebecca,  Alvira  J.,  and  Mary 
Ann  Lucy. 

William  Grandstaff,  one  of  the  prom- 
inent agriculturists   of  Rosedale  town- 


ship, is  a  native  of  the  state  of  Missouri, 
having  been  born  there  on  the  20th  day 
of  Oct.,  1835.  He  is  a  son  of  Alexander 
Grandstaff,  with  whom  he  lived  up  to 
the  time  of  his  death,  which  occurred 
June  15,  1851.  In  the  year  I860,  Wil- 
liam was  united  in  marriage,  in  St. 
Louis,  with  Clemency  J.  Preble.  He 
removed  to  Alton,  111.,  in  1860,  where 
he  remained  until  after  the  close  of  the 
war.  While  there,  he  served  as  a  guard 
for  one  year.  In  1867,  he  removed  to 
Macoupin  county,  and  in  1878,  to  Greene 
county.  He  remained  in  the  latter 
place  until  1880,  when  he  came  to  his 
present  quarters,  in  Jersey  county,  and 
bought  200  acres  of  timber  land  on  sec- 
tion 13,  which  was  mostly  white  oak. 
At  one  time  he  owned  a  half  interest  in 
a  saw-mill,  which  he  afterwards  sold  to 
his  partner,  Mr.  Preble,  who  still  con- 
tinues to  run  the  same.  After  disposing 
of  his  interest  in  the  mill,  Mr.  Grand- 
staff  turned  his  attention  to  agricultural 
pursuits,  which  he  still  continues.  He 
is  a  member  in  good  standing  of  the 
I.  O.  0.  F. 

Andrew  Jackson  Thompson  was  born 
in  Lawrence  county,  Ind.,  Feb.  3,  1S42. 
At  the  age  of  two  years  he  went  with 
his  parents  to  Madison  county,  111., 
where  his  early  life  was  spent.  On  at- 
taining his  majority,  he  went  to  work 
as  a  farm  laborer  in  Madison  county. 
In  1867  he  was  married  to  Elizabeth 
Smith,  and  by  this  union  has  hail  seven 
children,  six  of  whom  are  living — Prior 
Brooker,  born  Dec.  28,  1868;  William 
Henry,  born  Oct.  30,  1871;  Joseph 
Park,  born  March  17,  1>74;  Grant,  born 
Sept.  12,  lc.77;  Daisy,  horn  Feb. 
26,  1881,  and  Delia,  born  June  22,  1885. 
Their  eldest  child,    Marietta,   was  born 


408 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


Nov.  10,  1867,  and  died  Feb.  7,  1868. 
Mr.  Thompson  owns  a  farm  comprising 
180  acres,  the  greater  portion  of  which 
is  bottom  land.  He  raises  principally 
corn  and  wheat,  and  is  a  successful 
fanner.  For  the  past  two  years  he  has 
held  the  oiHce  of  town  supervisor.  He 
is  a  member  of  the  A.  F.  &  A.  M. 

John  Arbogast  is  a  native  of  Alsace, 
Germany,  born  April  22,  1828.  When 
he  was  12  years  of  age,  his  father 
immigrated  with  his  family  to  America, 
and  settled  in  Tuscarawas  county,  O. 
John  remained  there  until  Feb.,  1858, 
when  he  went  to  northern  Illinois. 
Seven  month  later  he  came  to  Jersey 
county  and  bought  120  acres  on  Sec.  24, 
Rosedale  township,  where  he  has  since 
lived.  His  farm  now  comprises  200 
acres  of  valuable  and  well  improved 
land.  Mr.  Arbogast  was  married  June 
15,  1853,  to  Elizabeth  Baumgartner,  who 
was  born  Oct.  8,  1836;  16  children  have 
been  born  to  them,  of  whom  13  are  now 
living — Christian,  born  Oct.  10,  1856, 
now  living  in  Dakota;  Sueza,  born  Sept. 
15,  1857;  Rosa,  born  March  17,  1858; 
Jacob,  born  May  27,  1859,  and  died  Oct. 
10,  1864;  John  F.,  born  Aug.  19,  1862; 
Lena,  born  April  2,  1864;  Margaret, 
born  May  22,  1866;  Louise,  born  Aug. 
2:;,  1867;  Caroline,  born  Sept.  7,  1869; 
Lizzie,  born  June  14,  1871;  Henry, 
born  Oct.  4,  1873;  Fritz,  born  Oct.  4, 
1875;  Lucinda,  born  Feb.  23,  1877; 
Charlie,  born  July  5,  1879;  Ella,  born 
Feb.  13,  1882,  and  Eddie,  born  March 
'.»,  1884.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Arbogast  are 
members  of  the  Lutheran  church.  He 
belongs  to  the  I.  O.  0.  F.  lodge,  No. 
449,  of  Grafton,  and  is  a  democrat. 

Henry  Leander  Legate,  deceased,  was 
born  in    Henderson  county,   Ky.,    Jan. 


27,  ISIS.  When  he  was  quite  small  his 
parents  moved  to  Stoddard  county,  Mo., 
thence  to  Cape  Girardeau  county,  from 
whence  they  moved  to  Jackson  county, 
111.  Henry  lived  in  that  county  till 
1844,  when  the  floods  washed  away  the 
farm  and  house  where  he  lived.  He 
was  married  in  that  year  to  Mary  Ann 
Skidmore,  who  was  born  Aug.  7,  1828. 
He  then  removed  to  Reynolds  county, 
Mo.,  where  he  remained  a  resident  till 
1863.  In  that  year  he  moved  to  .Madi- 
son county,  111.,  and  was  there  employ- 
ed as  manager  of  a  coal  yard,  loading 
boats  and  selling  coal,  employing  a 
number  of  men.  He  continued  in  that 
business  three  years,  then  came  to  Jer- 
sey county  and  purchased  a  farm  of 
400  acres,  which  is  now  known  as  the 
"Legate  farm."  He  resided  here,  en- 
gaged in  farming,  until  the  time  of  his 
death,  which  occurred  Feb.  14,  1881. 
He  left  a  widow  and  nine  children  to 
mourn  his  loss.  In  1845  both  he  and 
his  wife  made  a  public  profession  of 
religion,  since  which  time  they  lived 
devoted  christian  lives.  He  endeavored 
to  bring  up  his  family  in  the  fear  of 
Cod,  teaching  them  to  make  the  Gol- 
den Rule  their  guide  through  life.  His 
loss  was  deeply  felt,  not  only  by  his 
family,  but  throughout  the  community 
where  he  lived.  He  was  a  member  of 
the  Masonic  fraternity.  The  children 
of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Legate  are — Edmund 
Kirby,  born  Sept.  12,  1846;  Marshall 
Boles,  born  March  10,  1849;  Nancy, 
born  Feb.  27,  1851;  James  Franklin, 
deceased,  born  Feb.  15,  1853;  Samuel, 
born  April  11,  1855;  Elijah  Burchard, 
born  July  13,  1858;  Mary  Evaline,  de- 
ceased, boru  Jan.  14,  1860;  Emily  Ann, 
born    Oct.    30,    1862;    William    Henry, 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


409 


born  Nov.  18,  1865;  George,  born  July 
3,  1868;  and  Joseph  Benjamin,  born 
June  18,  1870.  James  Franklin  was 
killed  by  a  runaway  team,  May  20, 
1870;  Mary  Evaline  died  June  26,  1866. 
Tlie  oldest  son,  Edmund  Kirby,  resides 
in  Nebraska;  the  remainder  of  the  fam- 
ily in  Jersey  county,  111.  The  widow 
of  Henry  L.  Legate  survives  him,  and 
is  now  residing  in  Jerseyville. 

Marshall  Boles  Legate  was  born  in 
Reynolds  county,  Mo.,  and  was  eight 
years  of  age  when  his  parents  moved  to 
Madison  county,  111.  He  came  with 
the  family  to  Jersey  county  in  18(35.  He 
was  married  in  October,  1873,  to  Lizzie 
1).  Holmes,  of  Woodford  county.  111. 
He  owns  a  farm  containing  120  acres, 
located  on  section  36,  of  this  township. 
He  is  a  member  of  the  I.  0.  O.  F.,  Win- 
chester lodge  No.  70,  andisa  republican 
in  politics. 

E.  B.  Legate,  son  of  Henry  Legate, 
was  born  in  Reynolds  county,  Mo.  He 
came  with  his  father's  family  to  Illi- 
nois, and  settled  in  Madison  county  in 
lSt;3,  he  being  then  four  years  of  age. 
He  came  to  Jersey  county  three  years 
later  and  was  here  reared  upon  a  farm. 
He  taught  school  three  terms  in  Meadow 
Branch  district.  He  held  the  oilice  of 
assessor  during  the  year  1883,  and  is 
now  engaged  in  fanning  with  his  brother, 
M.  B.  Legate,  in  Rosedale  township. 
He  is  a  republican  politically.  The 
Legate  brothers  are  highly  esteemed  in 
their  township  and  throughout  the 
county,  and  are  justly  deserving  of  the 
reputation  which  they  enjoy,  of  being 
upright,  honest  christian  gentlemen. 

William  Nevlin  was  born  in  Germany, 
June  15,  1834.  At  the  age  of  lit  years 
he  came  to  America  with   his  parents, 


Nicholas  and  Mary  A.  Nevlin,  who  were 
also  natives  of  Germany.  Landing  at 
New  Orleans,  they  proceeded  thence  to 
St.  Louis,  where  in  1848,  the  parents 
both  died  with  cholera.  William  re- 
mained in  that  city  until  the  fall  of  1851, 
when  he  came  to  Jersey  county  and 
located  on  Macoupin  Island.  In  1865 
he  purchased  30U  acres  of  land  on  the 
Illinois  river  bottom,  and  lived  upon 
the  same  three  years,  after  which  he 
engaged  in  a  general  merchandise  busi- 
ness, which  he  continued  about  eight 
years'.  He  then  purchased  40  acres  of 
land  on  section  8,  Rosedale  township, 
where  he  has  since  resided.  He  now 
owns  340  acres  of  land,  also  a  ferry 
across  the  Illinois  river,  known  as  Nev- 
lin's  terry,  also  a.  warehouse  for  the 
reception  of  freight.  In  October,  18(>(), 
Mr.  Nevlin  was  married  to  Millia  Ba- 
con, daughter  of  John  and  Elizabeth 
Bacon.  Eight  children  have  been  born 
to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Nevlin,  four  of  whom 
are  living — John,  Sarah,  Hattie  and 
Charlie.  Mr.  Nevlin  has  been  running 
the  ferry  about  five  years.  He  is  a  gen- 
tleman of  intelligence  and  enterprise, 
and  a  successful  business  man. 

William  Sherman  Brown  was  born  in 
the  town  of  Marion,  Wayne  county,  111., 
March  16,  1822.  He  lived  in  his  native 
county  until  Hi  years  of  age,  then,  re- 
moved with  his  father,  John  Brown,  to 
Coles  county.  In  1843  they  moved  to 
Hancock  county,  and  one'  year  later  to 
DuPage  county.  He  was  married  in 
Kane  county,  in  1847,  to  Amanda 
Durand.  In  1854  he  removed  to  Jersey 
county,  and  settled  in  Grafton,  from 
whence  he  moved  to  his  present  loca- 
tion in  Rosedale  township.  He  is 
engaged  in  raising  grain  and   stock  and 


411) 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY   COUNT Y. 


carries  on  general  fanning.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Brown  have  four  children  living — 
Spalding  E.,  Laura  F.,  William  M.  and 
Mary  H.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Bap- 
tist church,  and  has  held  the  office  of 
road  commissioner,  but  is  no  seeker  of 
office. 

George  W.  Ratcliff,  the  owner  of  a 
large  farm  in  Rosedale  township,  is  a 
son  of  James  L.  and  Mary  A.  (Howard) 
Ratcliff.  He  was  horn  in  Virginia  in 
1832,  and  brought  up  on  a  farm,  where 
he  remained  until  22  years  of  age.  He 
then  went  to  Alton,  111.,  and  there 
learned  the  trade  of  cigar  making. 
He  resided  in  that  city  until  1871,  at 
which  time  he  came  to  Jersey  county 
and  purchased  a  farm  of  181  acres, 
located  in  Rosedale  township.  Mr. 
Ratcliff  was  married  June  16,  1858,  to 
Serena  A.  Smith,  who  was  born  in  Ohio. 
They  are  the  parents  of  seven  children 
— Leonard  R.,  living  at  Rosedale; 
George  W.,  Susan,  Lewis  J.,  Elvira, 
Edward  and  Charles,  living  with  their 
father.  Mrs.  Ratcliff  died"  March  21, 
1882,  and  is  buried  in  Meadow  Branch 
cemetery.  Mr.  Ratcliff  s  farm  com- 
prises 230  acres  of  land  in  a  good  state 
of  cultivation.  During  the  war  of  the 
Rebellion  he  served  1"  months  in  the 
144th  111.  Inf.,  as  a  drummer.  He  is  a 
member  of  the  I.  0.  0.  F.  lodge  of 
Grafton.  James  L.  Ratcliff  died  in  Alton 
in  1883,  and  his  wife,  Mrs.  Mary  A.,  in 
St.  Louis,  in  1881. 

William  G.  Thompson,  one  of  the 
leading  farmers  of  Rosedale  township, 
is  a  native  of  Tennessee,  horn  May  14, 
1819.  He  remained  with  his  parents  in 
Tennessee  until  1836,  then  removed 
with  them  to  Indiana,  where  he  lived 
seven  years,  then  in  1842,  came  to  Rose- 


dale township  and  worked  out  as  a  farm 
hand  until  1847.  In  that  year  lie 
bought  37  acres  of  land  and  went  to 
work  for  himself.  In  1*41),  he  purchased 
200  acres  more,  and  has  continued  to 
add  to  his  farm  until  he  now  owns  1,300 
acres,  most  of  which  is  bottom  land. 
He  has  700  acres  under  good  cultivation, 
and  raises  large  quantities  of  grain  and 
stock.  He  was  united  in  marriage  in 
1849,  with  Nancy  Ann  Smith,  who  died 
in  1851.  He  was  married  again  Aug. 
24,  1854,  to  Mary  Ann  McCauley.  She 
died  Jan.  14,  1874.  April  9,  1875,  Mr. 
Thompson  was  married  to  Lela  Ann 
Duncan.  He  has  10  children,  four  sons 
and  six  daughters.  He  has  held  the 
offices  of  school  trustee  and  director 
for  several  years,  although  he  has  never 
sought  office.  He  is  a  Free  Mason,  and 
with  his  wife,  a  member  of  the  M.  E. 
church. 

Isom  Matthews  was  born  in  Boone 
county,  Mo.,  July  28,  1825.  When  he 
was  five  years  of  age  his  father  removed 
to  Calhoun  county,  111.,  where  the  sub- 
ject of  this  sketch  resided  until  1837. 
Since  that  time  he  has  been,  a  portion 
of  the  time,  a  resident  of  Rosedale  town- 
ship, Jersey  county.  He  owned  3G5 
acres  of  land  in  Calhoun  county,  which 
hi'  sold  in  1861,  at  which  date  he  owned 
80  acres  here.  He  has  since  added  to 
his  farm,  which  now  contains  520  acres. 
In  early  life  he  ran  upon  the  river  nine 
years,  first  as  cabin  boy,  on  board  a 
steamboat,  and  afterwards  as  cook.  In 
1851,  about  a  year  after  he  left  the  river, 
he  was  married  to  Mary  Ann  Smith, 
who  was  born  Nov.  1,  1822.  Mr. 
Matthews'  farm  is  in  a  high  state  of  cul- 
tivation. He  is  the  owner  of  the  oldest 
ferry  on  the    Illinois    river,    known   as 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


411 


Jones'  ferry,  which  is  in  the  best  run- 
ning condition  of  any  ferry  on  that  river. 
He  owns,  also,  a  large  warehouse,  22x42 
feet  in  dimensions,  and  two  stories  high, 
the  upper  story  being  used  for  a  granary, 
and  having  a  capacity  for  7,000  bushels 
of  wheat.   Mr.  Matthews  was  for  a  num- 


ber of  years,  a  member  of  the  board  of 
supervisors,  and  lias  been  school  direc- 
tor one  year.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Matthews 
are  the  parents  of  10  children — Luther, 
William  Henry,  George,  Thomas  Levi, 
Mary,  Ann,  Laura,  Nancy,  Alice  and 
Katie. 


GHAPTER    XXIV. 


FIDELITY 

The  civil  sub-division  of  Jersey  county 
known  as  Fidelity  township  embraces 
all  of  congressional  township  8  north, 
range  10  west,  and  sections  22,  23,  24, 
25,  26,  27,  34,  35  and  36,  and  the  south 
half  of  sections  13,  14  and  15,  in  town  9 
north,  range  11  west.  This  township 
lias  the  reputation  of  being  among  the 
very  best  farming  country  in  Jersey 
county,  the  timber  land  being  confined 
almost  entirely  to  the  southeast  corner. 
The  Piasa  creek  runs  through  this  por- 
tion, coming  in  from  the  east  line  of 
section  25,  and  flowing  southwesterly 
through  sections  25.  36  and  35,  into  Piasa 
township.  A  branch  of  the  Piasa  has 
its  source  in  the  southern  portion  of  Fi- 
delity township,  passing  into  Piasa  from 
the  south  line  of  section  32.  Phill's 
creek  also  has  its  origin  in  this  town- 
ship, in  the  central  part,  and  after  re- 
ceiving additional  volume  by  the  help 
of  several  tributaries,  it  passes,  with  a 
northwest  course,  into  Ruyle  township, 
from  the  north  line  of  section  6.  These 
streams  supply  the  water  necessary  for 
their  stock  and  agricultural  purposes, 
while  very  little,  if  any,  land  is  rendered 


TOWNSHIP. 

unfit  for  farming  purposes  by  their  prox- 
imity. The  land  is  generally  level,  but 
occasionally  diversified  with  rolling 
prairie.  Besides  the  timber  land  men- 
tioned as  being  in  the  southeastern  cor- 
ner, there  is  scarcely  a  farm  which  has 
not  its  artificial  groves  and  orchard,  ren- 
dering the  landscape  pleasant  to  the  eye 
of  the  observer.  The  class  of  citizens 
residing  here  will  rank  with  those  of 
any  community,  and  as  a  class  they 
have  been  successful  in  their  agricultu- 
ral labors.  Considerable  stock  is  also 
raised  here,  some  even  making  this  their 
principal  business. 

The  Jerseyville  branch  of  the  W., 
St.  L.  &  P.  railroad  runs  through  this 
township,  and  in  its  course  takes  in  the 
village  of  Fidelity,  which  lies  on  sec- 
tions 1 1  and  12.  Thus  it  will  be  seen 
that  the  township  enjoys  many  advan- 
tages, not  only  in  the  richness  of  the 
soil,  but  also  in  transportation  facilities 
and  convenience  to  market. 

EA  l!LY    SETTLEMENT. 

Fidelity  was  among  the  late  settled 
townships  of  the  county.     True,  there 


412 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


were  a  number  who  located  in  tin' vicin- 
ity at  an  early  clay,  but  not  within  the 
borders  of  the  present  township.  A 
tradition  is  extant  however,  which  can- 
not be  tracked  to  an  authentic  source,  to 
the  effect  that  three  brothers,  Lewis, 
Barney  and  William  Sherman,  settled 
in  what  is  now  Fidelity  township  and 
built  a  house  on  the  southeast  corner  of 
section  25,  where  (hey  lived  for  several 
years.  The  exact  date  of  their  settle- 
ment is  not  given  but  it  is  usually 
placed  about  1818  or  1819.  They  did 
not  live  here  very  Long. 

Thomas  Chapman  settled  on  section 
33  about  the  year  1S28,  where  he  lived 
for  >nme  years. 

James  Simmons  was  the  first  perma- 
nent settler  of  the  township.  He  came 
in  the  spring  of  1830,  from  Knoxville, 
Tenn.  His  son  Samuel  had  come  out 
the  year  before  to  choose  a  location. 

Samuel  C.  Simmons  was  born  in 
Montgomery  county,  Md.,  March  16, 
1807.  He  is  the  oldest  son  of  James 
and  Ann  Simmons,  natives  of  Maryland. 
His  father  was  born  in  Montgomery 
county,  of  that  state,  April  23,  1773, 
and  was  married  in  Jan.,  180(3,  to  Ann, 
daughter  of  Charles  Hodges  (who  is  the 
grandfather  of  Judge  Hodges,  of  Car- 
rollton,  111.).  They  had  seven  chil- 
dren, named  as  follows — Samuel  C, 
(the  subject  of  this  sketch);  Thomas 
H.,  deceased,  who  was  a  printer  and 
worked  in  the  Spectator  office,  at  Alton; 
Surah  E.,  deceased,  former  wife  of 
James  Cummings,  also  deceased;  John 
H.  H.,  residing  three  miles  south  of 
Fidelity;  Ann  M.,  wife  of  the  late  Rev. 
L.  Eddings;  Margaret  1!.,  the  last  two 
residing  in  Indiana;  and  Richard  J.  de- 
ceased.    Mr.  James  Simmons  moved  to 


Knoxville,  Tenn.,  in  the  fall  of  1816, 
where  he  resided  until  the  spring  of 
1830,  when  he  came  to  the  present 
limits  of  Jersey  county,  and  settled  on 
Sec.  2(1,  T.  8,  and  R.  10,  where  he 
made  the  first  permanent  settlement  in 
the  township.  He  resided  on  the  same 
farm  till  his  death,  which  occurred 
July  13,  1861.  His  wife  died  in  May, 
1827,  near  Knoxville,  Tenn.  The  life 
of  Mr.  Simmons  began  under  the  reign 
of  George  III.  He  was  personally 
acquainted  with  George  Washington, 
and  his  first  vote  for  president  was  cast 
for  Washington  and  his  last  for  Lincoln. 
He  lived  to  see  great  improvements  in 
Illinois  and  Jersey  county,  and  to  have 
the  satisfaction  of  seeing  his  family 
comfortably  settled  in  life,  and  among 
the  useful  citizens  of  a  community  in 
which  he  was  one  of  the  pioneers.  He 
was  esteemed  by  a  large  circle  of 
friends,  and  the  memory  of  his  worth 
is  still  cherished  in  the  community 
where  over  30  years  of  his  life  were 
spent.  Samuel  C.  Simmons  came  to 
Illinois  in  the  fall  of  1829,  and  selected 
for  his  father's  family  the  location 
which  after  a  short  time  became  their 
home.  He  was  elected  justice  of  the 
peace  in  Aug.,  1831,  the  first  in  the 
township.  He  was  married  May  10, 
1832,  to  Martha  R.,  daughter  of  Rev. 
Jacob  .Miles,  one  of  the  early  settlers  of 
Macoupin  county.  They  had  by  this 
union  six  children,  in  the  following 
order  of  their  births — James  M.,  now  a 
citizen  of  Colorado;  Thomas  H.,  now 
residing  near  Brighton,  111.,  who  took 
an  active  part  in  the  late  rebellion;  was 
over  four  years  in  the  service,  and 
severely  wounded,  in  the  battle  of 
Shiloh,  by  a   ball  passing   through  his 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


413 


lungs,  while  acting  as  first  lieutenanl  of 
tlic  1  lth  111.,  ami  was  also,  while  on 
Gen.  Palmer's  stall',  again  wounded  by 
a  shell  at  the  battle  of  Stone  River; 
John  I!.,  residing  at  Miles,  111.;  Amelia 
A.,  wife  of  John  W.  Stanton,  residing 
at  Pierce  City,  Mo.;  Martha,  E.,  wife  of 
John  II.  Barber,  residing  at  Pierce 
City,  Mo.;  Sarah  ('.,  wife  of  I).  0.  Trot- 
ter, residing  on  the  old  homestead  of 
James  Simmons.  Mrs.  Simmons  died 
in  Feh.,  1848.  Mr.  Simmons  was  again 
married  to  Loranda  C.  Miles,  Sept.  10, 
1848.  They  had  five  children  —  Ara- 
minta,  wife  of  George  Barber,  residing 
near  Brighton;  Helen  0.,  wife  of  Rev. 
S.  H.  Iluher,  died  Aug.  13,  1883;  Charles 
W.,  residing  on  the  old  homestead; 
Albert  N.,  married  to  Etta  fioyt,  of 
Lebanon,  April  •_'■">,  1884,  ami  living  at 
Elkhart,  Logan  county,  111.,  where  he 
is  stationed  as  minister  of  the  M.  E. 
church.  He  graduated  at  McKendree 
College,  Lebanon,  in  June,  1882.  He 
was  valedictorian  of  the  class.  jn  pss."> 
the  degree  of  master  of  arts  was  con- 
ferred on  him;  E.  R.,  who  is  farming 
near  the  old  homestead,  and  residing 
with  his  brother.  Mrs.  Simmons  died 
Aug.  10,  1864.  Mr.  Simmons  has  fol- 
lowed farming  thus  far  through  life. 
He  participated  in  the  Black  Hawk  war 
in  1831.  Although  he  has  not  sought 
official  position,  he  has  been  acting  jus- 
tice of  the  peace  for  12  years.  Mr. 
Simmons  for  over  forty  years  has  been 
an  active  member  of  the  M.  E.  church. 
Both  of  his  wives  and  most  of  his  chil- 
dren were  members  of  the. same  church. 
He  took  an  active  interest  in  the  gnat 
struggle  for  the  life  of  the  nation.  As 
a  christian  man  and  a  good  citizen  he 
has  the  esteem  of  all  who  know  him. 


C.  \V.  Simmons  was  born  in  Fidelity 
township,  Jersey  county,  111.,  July  20, 
1856.  He  is  a  son  of  Samuel  C.  Sim- 
mons, whose  biography  appears  else- 
where in  this  work.  May  4,  1881,  he 
was  married  to  Annie,  daughter  of  II. 
J.  Hoffman,  of  Jersey  county.  Mrs. 
Simmons  died  Oct.  13,  1881.  Jan.  23, 
1S84,  he  was  again  married  to  Nettie  A., 
daughter  of  the  late  Robert  Stone,  also 
of  Jersey  county.  They  have  one 
child — Samuel  Morris,  born  Dec.  s, 
1884.  Since  his  father's  retirement 
from  farming  he  has  taken  charge  of 
the  farm  of  240 acres,  160  acres  of  which 
is  in  cultivation. 

John  II.  Simmons,  one  of  the  pio- 
neers of  Jersey  county,  was  born  in 
Montgomery  county,  Md.,  June  20, 
1814.  He  worked  for  his  father  until  he 
attained  his  majority.  Nov.  1l',  1835, 
hi'  was  married  to  Mary  A.  F.  Mar- 
grave, daughter  of  Robert  Hargrave, 
who  settled  lure  in  1830.  Seven  chil- 
dren wire  born  to  them,  only  one  of 
whom  is  now  living — James  F.,  born 
Sept.  13,  1836.  .Mrs.  Simmons  died 
Jan.  11,  1N77,  in  the  both  year  of  her 
age.  She,  as  will  as  her  husband, 
united  with  the  M.  E.  church  in  1834. 
Mr.  Simmons  was  formerly  a  whig,  and 
is  now  a  staunch  republican.  He  has 
been  a  member  of  the  Patrons  of  Hus 
bandry  for  the  pa-t  11  years,  and  has, 
part  of  the  time,  acted  as  chaplain  of 
the  grange. 

Richard  J.  Simmons,  the  subject  of 
this  sketch  was  born  in  Montgomery 
county.  Md.,  March  .",o,  1808,  being  the 
second  child  nt'  James  and  Ann  Sim- 
mons. 1 1  is  mother's  maiden  name  was 
Ann  Hodges,  of  Prince  George's  county, 
Md.      His   lather   emigrated   in    the    tall 


414 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


of  1816,  stopping  in  the  vicinity  of 
Knoxville,  Tenn.,  where  he  remained 
for  13  years,  and  in  the  spring  of  1830 
removed  to  what  was  then  Greene,  now 
Jersey  county,  111.,  and  settled  at  the 
head  of  the  Piasa,  10  miles  east  of 
where  the  city  of  Jerseyville  now  stands, 
there  being  but  one  double  log  cabin 
there  at  that  time.  The  place  was  then 
called  Hickory  Grove.  In  the  spring 
of  1832  he  was  married  to  Mariah  Cum- 
mings,  and  settled  on  Sec.  34,  T.  8,  R. 
10,  where  he  resided  for  over  half  a  cen- 
tury, his  wife  dying  without  children. 
He  married  again,  his  second  wife  be- 
ing Margaret  Davis ;  she,  dying,  left 
two  suns,  both  of  whom  have  since 
died.  His  third  wife  was  Mrs.  Lucy 
M.  Wemple,  his  present  widow.  She 
bore  him  nine  children.  One  died  in 
infancy  the  others — six  sons  and  two 
daughters — are  all  grown,  and  most  of 
them  married.  Three  sons  live  in  Kan- 
sas and  all  the  other  children  live  in 
Illinois.  Mr.  Simmons  was  a  member 
of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church  for 
half  a  century,  and  held  the  position  of 
recording  steward,  in  the  charge  where 
he  lived,  for  a  number  of  years.  His 
house  was  at  all  times,  open  to  the  itin- 
erancy, the  latch-string  always  hanging 
out.  The  deeds  of  his  life  will  speak 
louder  than  all  the  eulogies  that  can  he 
written.  He  departed  this  life  on  the 
18th  day  of  Jan.,  1SS5,  in  the  77th  year 
of  his  age.  His  son,  R.  S.  Simmons, 
now  manages  the  farm. 

William  Phillips  was  among  the  few 
settlers  of  this  township,  to  locate  in 
1831.  He  entered  a  portion  of  section 
25,  and  proceeded  to  open  a  farm. 

Jeremiah  Tindall  was  another  new 
comer  to  the  same  locality,  in  1833. 


Thomas  H.  Chapman  came  in  the  fall 
of  1830,  settling  on  section  33,  where  he 
lived  until  his  death,  in  April,  1870,  at 
which  time  he  met  with  a  serious  and 
tragic  one.  Meat  was  being  smoked, 
and  during  the  evening  the  smoke  house 
caught  on  fire.  Mr.  Chapman  entered 
the  burning  building  and  threw  some 
water  on  the  flames.  His  clothes  im- 
mediately ignited,  and  before  assistance 
could  be  rendered  him,  he  was  burned 
and  suffocated,  dying  almost  immediate- 
ly. He  was  a  native  of  Tennessee  and  was 
an  idd  and  much  respected  resident  of 
the  township. 

Among  the  settlers  of  1831  was  James 
Cummin  gs. 

John  Trible  located  on  section  25  in 
1834.  He  was  born  in  Devonshire, 
England,  and  when  he  came  to  this 
county,  was  accompanied  by  his  parents, 
a  brother  and  three  sisters.  He  lived 
on  the  place  he  first  entered,  until  his 
death,  which  occurred  in  1850'.  He  was 
married  in  1842,  to  Mary  Hohson.  They 
had  two  children—Jane  M.  and  Sophia  E. 

Jeremiah  Bell  located  upon  the  east 
half  of  section  34,  in  March,  1832. 

Jeremiah  Bell  was  born  in  Hancock 
county,  Ga.,  May  16,  1808.  He  is  the 
fourth  child  of  Jesse  and  Frances  Bell. 
Jesse  Bell  was  a  native  of  North  Caro- 
lina. He,  with  his  father,  Nathaniel 
Bell,  who  was  a  veteran  of  the  revolu- 
tionary war,  emigrated  shortly  after 
the  war,  and  settled  in  Hancock 
county,  Ga.,  where  Nathaniel  Bell  re- 
mained until  1811,  when  he  followed  his 
son  Jesse,  who,  with  his  family  of  four 
children,  had  settled  in  1811,  near  the 
present  site  of  Edwardsville,  111.  Jesse 
Bell  took  an  active  part  in  the  last  war 
with  Great  Britain.     He  was  also  one  of 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY 


415 


the  frontier  guards  known  as  •'rangers." 
He  had  a  family  of  16  children  by  his 
two  marriages — eight  by  each  wife. 
His  second  wife,  Susan  Mea'cham,  wasa 
native  of  Vermont.  The  subjectof  this 
sketch  is  the  only  child  by  the  first 
wife  now  living,  and  three  by  his  second 
wife  are  also  living.  Mr.  Bell  resided 
on  the  same  farm  where  he  first  settled 
till  his  death,  which  occurred  April  1, 
1835,  aged  57  years.  His  birth  was 
Nov.  16,  1779.  His  first  marriage.  Nov. 
16,  1800,  tlie  day  he  was  21  years  old. 
Jeremiah  Bell,  the  subject  of  this 
sketch,  received  his  early  education  in 
the  common  schools  of  Madison  county, 
where  hi'  resided  till  his  marriage  to 
Mary  Million,  which  took  place  J  ice  9, 
1830.  She  was  the  daughter  of  Daniel 
and  Barbara  Million,  who  were  natives 
of  Virginia.  They  early  settled  in  Ken- 
tucky, and  in  1811  located  in  St.  Clair 
county,  near  Belleville,  111.,  where  they 
educated  their  family  of  nine  children. 
Mr.  Bell  first  settled  where  he  now  re- 
sides, in  March,  1832.  He  has  had  a 
family  of  11  children,  five  sons  and  six 
daughters.  They  are  in  the  following 
order  of  birth: — Robert  M.,  Jesse  W., 
Susan  Frances,  Emma  Ellen.  Mattie  L., 
William  J.  and  Mary  Adeline.  Mr. 
Bell  is  among  the  prominent  farmers 
and  stock-growers  of  this  county.  He 
has  taken  an  active  part  in  introducing 
blooded  cattle,  hogs  and  horses,  hut  in 
sheep  he  has  introduced  the  fine  Spanish 
Merino  perhaps  more  extensively  than 
any  of  his  compeers.  Mr.  Bell  had  de- 
voted nearly  all  of  his  active  life  to  the 
physical  and  moral  developement  of  the 
community  in  which  he  lived.  Few 
men  are  now  living  who  have  had  a 
larger   experience  in    pioneer  life.     He 


has  lived  to  see  Jersey  county  contain 
a  larger  population  than  the  entire 
state  did  when  he  first  became  a 
citizen  of  the  territory.  Mr.  Bell 
and  family  are  active  members  of  the 
M.  E.  church,  as  were  his  parents. 
Soon  after  his  father,  in  company  with 
others,  had  crossed  the  Ohio  river,  in 
the  fall  of  1811,  he  met  a  man  on  horse- 
back, who  asked  Mr.  Bell  where  lie  was 
going,  and  he  replied  that  he  was  going 
to  Goshen  Settlement,  111.  The  gentle- 
man then  told  him  that  he  had  better 
turn  back,  for  there  were  nearly  100 
graves,  that  have  never  been  wet  by 
rain,  and  that  there  was  nobody  living 
hut  a  few  shouting  Methodists.  "Drive 
on,"  said  Mrs.  Bell,  "let  me  die  with 
them."  She  died  in  Aug.,  1813.  Nathan- 
iel Bell,  the  grandfather  of  the  subject 
of  this  sketch,  was  horn  in  what  is  now 
the  state  of  North  Carolina,  in  Bates 
county,  March  15,  1755.  At  the  age  of 
1'.)  years  he  enlisted  as  a  soldier  in  the 
war  of  the  Revolution,  in  which  he 
served  14  months.  Sometime  near  the 
close  of  that  war,  he  made  a  profession 
of  religion,  under  the  preaching  of  Bev- 
erly Allen,  the  first  Methodisl  preacher 
that  visited  the  section  of  country  in 
which  he  then  lived,  and  became  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Methodist  society.  In  1783 
he  removed  to  the  state  of  Georgia, 
where  being  separated  from  religious 
society,  and  particularly  from  the  Metho- 
dist, the  Society  of    his   choice,  he    gri  w 

lukewarm  in  religion  and  became  shorn 
of  his  spiritual  strength.  About  the 
year  1 7'. ts  or  1799,  he  was  again  found 
by  a  Methodist  pioneer  named  Samuel 
Cowles,  who  received  him  the  second 
time  into  the  society.  In  this  society 
he  remained   a    worthy   and   acceptable 


416 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


member  until  the  year  1801—2,  when  he 
left  the  Methodist  communion,  and  be- 
came  a  member  of  the  Baptist  church, 
under  the  pastoral  care  of  Rev.  Jesse 
Mercer.  In  1818  he  removed  to  the  state 
of  Illinois,  and  settled  in  St.  Clair 
county,  where  he  again  united  with  the 
Baptist  church,  in  which  church  he  re- 
mained until  he  was  called  from  suffer- 
ing and  toil  to  happiness  ami  rest.  He 
died  near  Edwardsville,  in  Madison 
county,  III.,  Jan.  17,  1835,  in  his  80th 
year.  For  the  last  40  years  of  his  Hie 
Father  Bell  was  the  subject  of  much 
suffering.  Jesse  Bell,  the  father  of 
Jeremiah,  died  at  his  residence  in  Madi- 
son county,  on  Lord's  day  morning, 
Manh  29,  1835.  He  was  a  pious  and 
exemplary  member  of  the  Methodist 
society,  and  was  much  esteemed  by  all 
who  knew  him. 

Henry  J.  Hoffman  came  to  Jersey 
county  with  his  parents  in  1S,°>4.  They 
settled  in  Fidelity  township.  They  came 
from  Pennsylvania. 

OTHEF.    PROMINENT    PEOPLE. 

Besides  these  mentioned  as  early  set- 
tlers, there  are  a  number  of  others  who 
have  long  been  respected  citizens  iif  the 
township  and  county,  and  others  still 
who  have  been  prominent  in  the  affairs 
of  the  township  and  done  their  share 
towards  bringing  it  into  its  present  well 
developed  condition.  Their  sketches 
follow: 

Peter  R.  Parsell,  who  is  anions;  the 
representative  men  of  this  community, 
was  born  in  Somerset  county,  N.  J.,  on 
Christmas  day,  1825.  He  lived  with  his 
father  until  after  he  became  of  age,  when 
he  bought  a  farm  fur  himself  in  New 
Jersey.     He  was  there  married,  on  the 


17th  of  February,  1*47,  to  Eliza  M. 
Smalley,  who  was  born  in  the  same 
county,  July  30,  1828.  From  that  state 
he  emigrated  to  Illinois  in  1864,  locat- 
ing at,  Jerseyville,  where  he  remained 
for  twn  years.  While  there  he  lived  on 
a  small  farm,  which  he  rented  of  C.  B. 
Fisher,  as  it  was  impossible  to  purchase 
any  land,  there  being  none  for  sale  dur- 
ing war  times.  Later  on,  lie  bought  a 
half  section  of  land  on  section  30,  and 
and  half  of  this  he  sold  to  a  friend  from 
New  Jersey.  But  after  a  few  years  this 
man  broke  up,  and  his  farm  went  into 
the  hands  of  the  sheriff,  and  was  sold  to 
Isaac  Snedeker,  from  whom  it  was  again 
purchased  by  Mr.  Parsell  in  1  s 7 7 ,  and 
he  located  his  son  Isaac  on  it.  During 
this  time  he  bought  the  southeast  quar- 
ter of  the  section,  and  then,  in  1879,  the 
southwest  quarter,  this  giving  him  the 
whole  section.  A  short  time  ago  he 
bought  SO  acres  on  section  23,  and  he 
now  owns  72(i  acres  of  the  best  land  in 
the  state.  It  is  now,  by  his  skillful 
management  and  industry,  one  of  the 
most  beautiful  farms  in  the  country, 
although  when  he  first  settled  on  it,  it 
was  nothing  but  wild  prairie,  and  as  dis- 
couraging a  place  as  was  to  be  seen  iu 
the  country.  He  devotes  his  time  to  the 
raising. of  stock,  of  which  he  makes  a 
great  success,  they  consisting  principally 
of  short-horn  cattle,  fine  roadster  horses, 
and  sheep,  lb'  has  never  found  it  nec- 
essary to  have  a  sale  of  stock,  as  the  de- 
mand is  greater  than  the  supply,  all  the 
dealers  knowing  that  here  they  will  find 
only  the  best.  He  lias  frequi  ntly  sold 
a  span  of  horses  for  from  $500  to  $800. 
The  farm  is  now  stocked  with  80  head 
of  fine  cattle,  and  87  head  of  horses, 
mules  and  colts.      He  understands  tak- 


ing  care  of  the  ground,  and  by  the  judi- 
cious changing  around  of  the  different 
grains,  does  not  destroy  the  fertile  qual- 
ities of  t lie  soil,  so  that  within  five 
years  after  he  settled  there,  he  had  it  in 
good  condition.  He  lias  a  family  of 
nine  children,  six  hoys  and  three  girls, 
all  living.  He  has  given  them  all  a  good 
common  school  education,  and  has  done 
all  in  his  power  to  instill  into  their 
minds  the  principles  of  honesty  and 
uprightness,  so  as  to  make  true  men 
and  women  of  themselves.  They  are 
all  very  much  devoted  to  music,  and 
hence  have  spent  many  pleasant  hours 
together  in  that  way,  being  joined  by 
their  father,  who  is  also  musically  in- 
clined. They  have  been  .taught  to  be 
independent,  and  to  earn  their  own  for- 
tunes as  he  himself  has  done,  and  they 
are  succeeding  in  so  doing,  some  of  them 
by  adopting  the  ideas  of  their  father  in 
regard  to  stock-raising,  thinking  it  the 
most  profitable  way  to  success.  The 
dates  of  their  births  are  as  follows: 
Margaret,  widow  of  the  late  Thomas 
M.  Herdman,  born  May  3.  1848,  and 
now  living  in  Kansas,  where  she  con- 
trols the  estate  of  her  deceased  hus- 
band; .Sarah,  wife  of  T.  H.  Spencer, 
also  living  in  Kansas,  bom  Jan.  17, 
1850;  Isaac,  who  is  married  and  living 
in  Jersey  county,  born  Jan.  27,  1852; 
Jeremiah,  unmarried,  and  living  in 
Kansas,  where  he  has  become  wealthy, 
born  Aug.  li,  1854;  James,  married,  and 
living  at  home,  born  April  30,  1856; 
Sophia,  born  Sept.  13,  1859;  Peter  R., 
born  March  17,  1861;  John  R,,  born 
Sept.  15,  1864,  and  Oliver  P.,  born  July 
17.  L866.  The  last  four  are  unmarried, 
and  still  remain  with  their  parents. 
Our  subject   lias   been   the    architect  of 


his  own  fortune,  beginning  at  a  salary 
of  $10  per  month,  with  no  education 
save  what  could  be  gleaned  from  the 
perusal  of  newspapers.  He  learned  to 
write  by  attending  night  school.  He 
and  his  wife  are  members  of  the  Second 
Presbyterian  church  at  Jerseyville.  In 
politics  he  is  a  democrat. 

John  W.  Trotter  was  born  in  Mon- 
mouth county,  New  Jersey,  Sept.  15, 
1812.  He  moved  from  that  state  to 
Butler  county,  Ohio,  when  about  six 
years  old,  where  he  lived  until  the  fall 
of  1834,  when  he  went  to  Mississippi. 
He  remained  there  three  years,  work- 
ing at  his  trade,  blacksmithing,  when 
he  moved  to  the  state  of  Michigan, 
where  he  was  married  June  _•">.  1837,  to 
Sarah  Crane.  She  was  born  in  Butler 
county,  Ohio,  Jan.  4,  1818.  He  now 
moved  to  Ohio,  remaining  there  until 
1844,  when  he  moved  back  to  Cass 
county,  Mich.,  and  engaged  in  farming. 
In  1856  he  moved  to  Jersey  county,  111., 
and  bought  a  farm  on  section  26,  in 
Fidelity  township.  He  lived  there  un- 
til 1883,  when  he  moved  to  Piasa,  Ma- 
coupin county,  111.,  where  he  now  re- 
sides. Himself  and  wife  are  hale  and 
hearty,  though  both  are  quite  old,  he 
being  73  years  of  age  and  his  wife  G7. 
They  have  had  three  children,  two  boys 
and  one  girl.  They  are — Squire  B., 
living  on  a  farm  near  Piasa,  Macoupin 
county;  Mary  Jane,  who  married 
Charles  Brown,  of  Godfrey,  111.,  and 
now  are  living  in  Barton  county,  .Mo.; 
and  1).  (J.,  whose  sketch  follows  this. 

I).  Q.  Trotter  was  born  in  Middle- 
town,  Butler  county,  Ohio,  Sept.  II, 
1842.  His  parents  moved  to  Michigan, 
when  he  was  only  two  years  old,  where 
he    lived  until  he    was    13,    when   thev 


42D 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


came  to  this  place.  The  only  education 
he  has  received  was  in  the  common 
schools.  He  remained  on  the  farm 
which  his  father  bought,  and  they  have 
added  to  it  land  enough  to  make  a  farm 
of  360  acres,  which  is  well  improved. 
Pari  of  his  land  is  taken  up  with  wheat 
and  corn,  but  he  also  pays  strict  at- 
tention to  stock-raising,  principally  of 
short-horn  cattle  and  Poland  China,  hogs. 
He  was  married  Oct.  27,  1868,  to  Caro- 
line Simmons,  a  native  of  Jersey  county, 
111.,  March  20,  1844.  They  have  four 
children,  two  hoys  and  two  girls.  They 
are — Charles  YVoolsey,  born  Jan.  1'.), 
1869,  Martha  A.,  horn  March  4,  1873, 
Mary  B.,  born  April  9,  1879,  and 
Thomas  Quinn,  born  Sept.  5,  1881. 
He  is  a  member  of  Fidelity  lodge  No. 
152,  A.  F.  and  A.  M.,  and  a  member  of 
the  local  grange,  and  is  assistant  stew- 
ard in  the  state  grange,  now  serving  his 
second  term.  He  is  also  president  of 
Patron's  Aid  Society,  a  life  insurance 
association  connected  with  the  grange. 
He  is  now  township  treasurer,  having 
been  elected  to  fill  the  office  for  a  sec- 
ond term.  He  has  been  a  member  of 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  church  since 
1859.  He  belongs  to  various  temper- 
ance societies,  and  does  all  in  his  power 
to  promote  temperance,  casting  his  vote 
in  that  direction,  whenever  an  oppor- 
tunity offers,  although  he  is  a  democrat. 
Edward  Trabue  was  born  in  Logan 
county,  Ky.,  on  March  1,  1825.  His 
mother  died  when  he  was  quite  small. 
His  father,  Aaron  Trabue,  moved  to 
this  state  in  1837,  locating  at  Upper  Al- 
ton for  six  years.  He  then  moved  to 
Montgomery  county,  111.,  living  there 
three  years,  and  then  came  to  Jersey 
county,    where    he    bought   land.       He 


died  Dec.  29,  1877,  at  the  age  of  84 
years,  11  months  and  16  days.  He  was  a 
Baptist  minister,  and  was  a  soldier  in 
the  war  of  1812.  Edward  was  married 
to  Elizabeth  Nile,  July  10,  1849,  and 
to  them  a  family  of  six  children  were 
horn,  four  of  whom  are  now  living — 
Emma,  born  Aug.  5,  1850,  married  Jan. 
10,  1877,  to  John  E.  Andrews;  Murray 
B.,  born  June  16,  1853,  married  Oct.  18, 
1883,  to  Rosa  Owens,  of  Madison 
county;  Lawrence,  horn  Feb.  •">,  1855, 
died  April  23,  1866;  Phebe  X.,  horn 
Feb.  12,  1857,  died  Feb.  8,  1858;  Phebe, 
horn  July  14,  1860,  married  Nov.  14, 
1883,  to  A.  0.  Barnett;  and  Elizabeth, 
horn  July  30,  1862.  His  wife  died  Dec. 
4,  1867,  and  on  Dec.  15,  1868,  he  was 
again  married  to  Mary  A.  Cummings, 
born  in  Jersey  county,  111.,  Sept.  in, 
1828.  He  bought  160  acres  of  land  pre- 
vious to  his  first  marriage,  on  which 
there  is  a  good  frame  house  and  out- 
buildings, allot"  which  have  been  placed 
there  by  him.  He  turned  the  first  sod 
that  was  thrown  up  on  that  land,  and 
now  has  it  all  in  good  condition.  He 
belongs  to  the  Masonic  lodge,  No.  394, 
of  Jerseyville.  He  has  been  president 
and  vice-president  of  the  Agricultural 
Association  of  Jersey  county.  His  po- 
litical views  are  with  the  republicans. 

Murray  B.  Trabue  was  born  in  Fidel- 
ity township,  Jersey  county,  June  16, 
1853.  He  is  a  son  of  Edward  and 
Elizabeth  (Nile")  Trabue.  He  lived  at 
home  with  his  parents  until  the  date  of 
his  marriage,  Oct.  1,  1883,  with  Rosette 
Owens,  daughter  of  Josiah  P.  and  Sarah 
L.  (Jones)  Owens,  of  Madison  county. 
He  received  a  good  education,  attend- 
ing the  district  school  of  his  native  town- 
ship.    He  subsequently  spent  two  years 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


421 


at  Shurtleff  College,  Upper  Alton,  111. 
He  is  engaged  in  farming  and  dealing  in 
stock.  Ee  has  SO  acres  of  land  in  Jer- 
sey county,  and  80  acres  in  Madison 
county,  all  of  which  is  well  improved, 
and  under  cultivation.  Mr.  Trabue  was 
a  member  of  the  Alpha  Grange,  of 
which  he  acted  as  treasurer  one  year. 
He  is  a  stockholder,  ami  one  of 
the  directors  of  the  Fair  Association,  of 
Jersey  county,  and  is  a  shrewd,  ener- 
getic business  man,  and  an  enterprising 
and  popular  citizen. 

Isaac  McCollister  was  born  in   Lewis 
county,  X.  Y..  on  the  24th  of  April,1817. 
He  was  theyoungest  ofa  family  of  seven 
children,  having  five  brothers  and   one 
sister.     His  parents  moved  to   Buffalo, 
and  in  the    spring  of   1819,    started    for 
the  west  by  the  way  of  Pittsburg,  com- 
ing down  the  Ohio,  and  up   the   Missis- 
sippi river  on  a  keel-boat.  The  boat  was 
carried  up  the  river   by    sail,  when  the 
wind  was  right, and  when  not.  by  poling, 
and  by    men    walking   along  the    shore 
pulling    it    with    ropes    attached    to    it. 
There  was  at  that  time  but   one    steam- 
boat on  the  river.      It  passed  them,  hut 
then  they  passed  it    and    finally    saw    it 
no  more.     They  landed  at  the  mouth  of 
Wood  river,    in    Madison    county,    at  a 
small  town  called  Milton,  in    the  latter 
part  of  July,    1819.     There    the  family 
were  all  taken  sick  with    fever,    and  his 
father  and  three   brothers    died,  all    be- 
tween the  lnth  of  Sept.  and  the   20th   of 
Oct.     His  mother  moved    from  there  to 
Upper  Alton,  and  in  the  fall   of  1820  she 
moved  to  Apple  (.'reek    Prairie,   Greene 
county,  west  of  where   White  Hall    now 
is, where  she  died  in  Sept.,  1840,  leaving 
three  sons — W.  E.,  L.  S.  and  Isaac,  and 
one  daughter,  Mary,  now    Mrs.    Floyd. 


William  died  in  Sept..  1853,  near  White 
Hall;  L.   S.   lives    in    Kansas,    as    does 
also  Mrs.  Floyd.    At  that  time  they  had 
to  go  to  Upper  Alton  to  have  their  grain 
ground.  The  first  mills  used  were  horse 
or  ox  mills,  and  they  put    in    a    bolting 
reel,  which  had  to  he  turned   by    hand. 
Some  had  a  round    hollow,    burnt   in  a 
stump, with  a  spring-pole,  to    grind  the 
corn,  similar  to  the  working  ofa  mortar 
and  pestle.    Wheat  was  cut  with  a  hand 
sickle,  threshed  by  tramping  out  on  the 
ground  with  horses  oroxen.  and  cleaned 
by  letting  it  fall  so  that  the  wind  would 
ldow  the  chaff  out.     Hence  they  did  not 
have  very   white    flour    in    those    days. 
W.  E.  McCollister  bought  the   first  fan- 
ning mill    that    was    brought    into    that 
settlement,  and  it  went   all   around  the 
whole  neighborhood  to  clean  the  wheat 
after  it  was  stamped    out.       They    used 
wooden    mould    hoard    plows,    wooden 
pitchforks  and  strap  shovels.    Corn  was 
plowed  with  oxen,  and  the  ox    carts  had 
no    iron    tires.       Isaac    was    married   to 
Sylvia  North,  March  10,  1846,  and  wont 
on  his  farm  in  the  northeast   quarter  of 
See.  1"),  T.  0,  R.  10,    in    the    the    north- 
east corner  of  Jersey  county.  Heresided 
there  until  the  spring  of  1857,  when   he 
moved  to  the    farm    on    which   he    now 
resides,  in  the  northeast  quarter  of  Si  c. 
1.;.   T.   8,    R.    hi,    where    he    owns    280 
acres  of  land,  and  has  160  acres  in  T.  8, 
R.  11.     He  has  five  children  living,  two 
boys  and  three  girls,  one  being  now  Mrs. 
J.   D.    Wilson.      He   has   buried   eight 
children,  all  small.     His    wife    died    on 
the  6th  of  March,  1880.     She   was  born 
on  AppleCreek  Prairie,  Dec.  6,  1826. 

Lucius  G.  Wilkerson,  son  of  James 
H.  and  Sarah  A.  Wilkerson,  was  born 
in   Warren  county,  O.,  April  lis,    1845. 


422 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


His  ancestral  descent  is  Welsh.  In  1886 
he  went  to  Andrew  county,  Mo.,  where 
fur  several  years  he  engaged  in  mer- 
chandising. In  the  fall  of  1876  he  sold 
out,  and  came  to  Jersey  county,  111. 
On  Dec.  18,  187.3,  he  was  married  to 
Sophia  E.  Trible.  daughter  of  John  and 
Mary  Trible,  natives  of  Devonshire, 
Eng.  She  was  born  July  30,  1847,  on 
the  farm  upon  which  they  now  reside. 

James  Walsh  has  been  a  resident  of 
Jersey  county  since  1859,  having  come 
here  in  May  of  that  year.  He  is  a  na- 
tive of  county  Kilkenny,  Ireland,  where 
he  was  born  in  March,  1842.  About  the 
year  1849  his  parents  came  to  America 
and  located  in  New  York  city,  where 
he  finished  his  education,  and  learned 
the  plumber's  trade  with  Alexander  W. 
Hunt  &  Co.,  of  23d  street  and  Third 
avenue.  In  1856  Mr.  Walsh,  Sr.,  re- 
moved to  Jersey  county,  111.,  and  set- 
tled in  what  is  now  Mississippi  township, 
where  he  died  in  Sept.,  1872.  He  was 
buried  in  the  Catholic  cemetery  at 
Jersey  ville.  James  Walsh  followed  his 
trade  in  New  York  city  in  six  years, 
then  in  May,  1859,  came  to  Jersey 
county,  to  join  his  father.  Since  that 
time  he  has  followed  farming.  He  now 
owns  95  acres  of  land  on  section  33, 
Fidelity  township,  where  he  resides. 
He  has  all  of  his  land  in  cultivation 
ami  is  engaged  in  raising  grain  and 
stock.  Mr.  Walsh  was  married  Feb. 
28,  1868,  to  Bridget  Farrell,  daughter  of 
James  and  Ellen  (Gowman)  Farrell, 
and  a  sister  of  Father  Edward  Farrell, 
of  Jones  county,  la.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Walsh  are  the  parents  of  eight  child- 
ren, three  of  whom  are  living — John, 
born  Feb.  1,  1869;  Catherine,  born  June 
16,  1874,  and  Mary,  born  July  31,  1875. 


Those  deceased  are,  James,  Catherine, 
and  three  who  died  in  infancy.  Mr. 
Walsh  holds  the  office  of  school  di- 
rector, and  is  a  member  of  the  Catholic 
Benevolent  Society.  Both  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Walsh  are  zealous  and  active  members 
of  the  Jerseyville  Catholic  church. 

Charles  W.  Johnson,  a  prosperous 
farmer  of  Fidelity  township,  was  born 
in  Philadelphia,  Penn.,  in  the  year 
1828.  He  resided  with  his  parents  until 
he  attained  his  majority,  then  came  to 
Illinois,  locating  in  Jersey  county,  on 
section  32,  of  Fidelity  township,  where 
he  has  since  resided.  He  now  owns 
200  acres  of  land,  and  devotes  his  time 
to  grain  and  stock-raising.  Mr.  John- 
son was  married  Dec.  4,  1851,  to  Emma 
Hansel,  daughter  of  William  and  Ann 
Hansel.  They  have  had  eight  children, 
four  of  whom  are  living — Margaretta, 
Albert,  Jane  and  Emma.  Those  de- 
ceased are — Margaretta  Morris,  born 
Aug.  22,  1853,  and  died  May  19,  1856; 
Susan  Fallon,  born  April  20,  1856,  and 
died  June  1,  1878;  and  Jennie,  born 
Oct.  2,  1858,  and  died  Sept.  7,  1880. 

James  Moore  of  Fidelity  township, 
came  with  his  parents  to  Jersey  county, 
111.,  in  1828.  He  is  a  native  of  Knox 
county,  Tenn.,  and  was  born  Dec.  11, 
1826.  He  was  married  to  Jane  N.,  a 
daughter  of  John  and  Jane  N.  (Luckey) 
Davis.  They  are  the  parents  of  five 
living  children.  He  is  now  a  prosper- 
ous farmer,  although  he  started  out  a 
poor  boy. 

Edward  0.  Dash  wood  was  born  in 
Colchester,  county  Essex,  Eng.,  Jan. 
10,  1831,  being  a  son  of  Edward  and 
Maria  (Knights)  Dash  wood.  He  re- 
maihed  with  his  parents  until  14  years 
old.   He  then  went  to  sea  on  a  two  years 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


423 


voyage,  bound  for  Bombay  and  China, 
on  board  a  government  vessel  used  for 
tbe  transportation  of  troops  from  Bom- 
bay to  Aden.  He  continued  to  follow  a 
sea-faring  life  for  25  years,  and  during 
one  voyage  was  in  a  storm  oiF  Cape 
Horn  for  18  days.  He  came  to  tbe 
United  States  in  1870,  stopping  first  at 
Altmi.  from  whence  he  came,  soon  after, 
to  Jersey  county.  Here  he  worked  one 
year  for  different  parties,  then  purchased 
land  on  section  21,  Fidelity  township, 
where  he  now  resides.  He  owns  80 
acres  of  land,  and  is  engaged  in  general 
farming.  Mr.  Dashwood  was  married, 
May  29,  1S72,  to  Annie  Pike,  a  native  of 
Devonshire,  Eng.,  and  daughter  of  John 
and  Johanna  Pike.  Mr.  Dashwood  is  a 
member  of  the  Episcopal  church. 

James  Sayer  is  a  native  of  Devon- 
shire, Eng.,  born  in  the  year  1855.  He 
came  to  America  in  Aug.,  1870,  stop- 
ping first  in  St.  Louis,  where  he  remained 
nine  months.  He  then  came  to  this 
county  and  for  five  years  worked  out  at 
farming.  At  the  end  of  that  time  he 
purchased  40  acres  of  land  on  section 
21,  Fidelity  township,  which  has  since 
been  his  home.  He  follows  general 
farming,  raising  grain  and  stock.  Dec. 
14,  1875,  Mr.  Sayer  was  united  in  mar- 
riage with  Mary  Louisa  Stone,  daughter 
of  A.  F.  and  Sarah  Stone.  By  this 
union  there  are  four  children — Nettie, 
Franklin,  Emma  and  James.  Mr.  Sayer 
is  now  serving  as  director  of  the  Fre- 
mont school,  and  is  a  respected  and  use- 
ful citizen. 

William  Quirk,  son  of  John  and 
Henrietta  (  Kelly )  Quirk,  was  born  in 
Jersey  county,  111.,  April  :!,  1859.  He 
grew  to  manhood  in  this  county,  obtain- 
ing his  education  in  the  district  schools. 


He  resided  with  his  parents  until  Feb. 
15,  1882,  when  he  was  united  in  mar- 
riage with  Alice  Elizabeth  Ph elan, daugh- 
ter of  Dennis  and  Mary  (Grace)  Phelan. 
He  then  removed  to  a  farm  owned  by 
his  father,  containing  120  acres,  located 
on  section  10,  of  Fidelity  township, 
where  he  now  lives.  He  follows  general 
farming.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Quirk  have 
two  children — Henrietta  and  John  Den- 
nis. Mr.  Quirk  is  a  member  of  the 
Roman  Catholic  church. 

A  little  less  than  half  a  century  ago, 
the  subject  of  this  sketch,  William 
Bowker,  first  settled  in  Jersey  county. 
He  was  born  in  Wales,  England,  Sept. 
21,  1826,  and  at  the  age  of  two  years 
came  with  his  parents  to  America. 
They  bought  a  farm  in  Mercer  county, 
N.  J.,  and  lived  there  until  1838,  when 
they  came  to  Jersey  county,  111.,  buy- 
ing a  farm  one  mile  south  of  Fidelity. 
His  father  died  there  Aug.  8,  1*44.  He 
lived  with  his  mother  and  run  the  farm 
for  her  until  she  sold  it  in  1864,  and 
went  to  Franklin  county,  Kan.,  where 
she  died  in  Sept.,  1882.  His  brother 
Henry  now  owns  a  farm  there.  His 
brother  Franklin  is  in  Oregon,  and  his 
brother  Edwin  is  in  California.  Wil- 
liam entered  160  acres  of  land  east  of 
Virden,  and  lived  on  it  two  years,  when 
he  bought  a  farm  of  mi  acres  when'  he 
now  lives,  and  his  wife  having  GO  acres 
besides  that,  he  now  has  a  farm  of  240 
acres,  all  of  which  lie  has  so  improved 
that  it  is  in  good  condition.  It  is  divid- 
ed into  40  and  20-acre  fields  by  hedge 
fences.  The  residence  is  a  large  two- 
story  frame  building,  pleasantly  located 
and  surrounded  with  various  outbuild- 
ings. He  raises  a  great  deal  of  stock — 
cattle,  hogs  and  sheep — and   thus    uses 


424 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


all  the  grain  raised  on  the  farm.  lie 
was  married  in  May,  1856,  to  Elizabeth 
McKernan,  who  was  born  April  7,1827. 
They  have  one  son — Charles,  born  May 
10,  1861,  who  is  now  living  in  Sumner 
county,  Kan.  When  lie  first  settled  in 
tins  county  there  was  one  house  be- 
tween the  place  he  now  lives  and  Jer- 
sey ville.  He  does  not  occupy  any 
"Hire,  being  no  craver  of  such.  He 
and  his  wife  have  both  been  members 
of  the  Methodist  church.  He  was  a 
democrat  until  the  war  broke  out,  but 
since  that  time  has  been  a  republican— 
out  and  out  a  union  man  to  the  core. 

John  Casey,  deceased,  settled  in  what 
is  now  Fidelity  township  about  1848, 
purchasing  land  on  section  19.  He  was 
born  in  county  Meath,  Ireland,  and  im- 
migrated to  America  in  1848,  coming 
directly  to  Jersey  county.  He  was 
married,  in  1855,  to  Bridget  Welsh,  a 
daughter  of  Martin  and  Bridget  Welsh. 
They  had  six  children  born  to  them — 
George,  Martin,  Mary,  John,  Elizabeth, 
and  Margaret.  Mrs.  Casey  died  Jan. 
16,  1868,  and  was  buried  in  the  Catholic 
cemetery  at  Jerseyville.  Mr.  Casey's 
death  occurred  June  15,  1885.  His  re- 
mains were  laid  to  rest  beside  those  of 
his  wife.  Both  were  devoted  members 
of  the  Catholic  church.  Their  son 
George  has  charge  of  the  farm,  and  all 
of  the  children  live  at  the  homestead, 
with  the  exception  of  Martin.  They 
own  ISO  acres  of  land,  and  carry  on 
general  farming,  raising  grain  and  stock. 
All  of  the  family  are  members  of  the 
( latholic  church. 

James  S.  Loux  is  of  German  descent, 
and  was  horn  in  Bucks  county,  Penn., 
Nov.  13,  1884.  He  resided  with  his 
parents  till  he   reached   his   19th  year, 


then  left  home  to  learn  the  harness-mak- 
er's trade,  at  which  occupation  he 
worked  four  years.  In  1857,  he  came 
to  Illinois  and  purchased  land,  about  10 
miles  east  of  Carlinville,  in  Macoupin 
county,  and  lived  upon  the  same  about 
five  years.  He  then  sole!  out  and  came 
to  Jersey  county,  buying  land  upon 
section  7,  Fidelity  township,  where  he 
now  owns  a  valuable  farm  containing 
121  acres.  He  was  married  Dec.  8, 
1861,  to  Susan  Wooden,  daughter  of 
Richard  and  Sarah  (Clausen)  Wooden. 
They  have  one  child — Mary  Ellen.  Mr. 
Loux  has  held  the  office  of  school  di- 
rector, and  in  politics  is  a  staunch  re- 
publican. 

Richard  R.  Ely  (deceased)  came  to 
this  county  in  1838,  being  then  ten  years 
of  age.  He  accompanied  his  parents, 
Richard  and  Amy  Ely,  who  settled 
southeast  of  Jerseyville,  on  the  place 
now  owned  by  Charles  Adams.  Richard 
R.  Ely  was  born  in  Monmouth  county, 
New  Jersey,  on  Dec.  26,  1828.  He  was 
reared  in  this  county,  from  his  tenth 
year,  and  resided  here  till  the  time  of 
his  death,  Jan.  22,  1870.  He  was  mar- 
ried Jan.  13,  1853,  to  Mary  Ann  Fitz- 
gerald, a  native  of  Ohio,  and  a  daughter 
of  William  Fitzgerald.  In  Dec.  1854, 
Mr.  Ely  removed  to  the  farm,  on  sec- 
tion 11,  near  Fidelity  village,  where  his 
family  now  reside.  It  contains  160 
acres.  They  have  also  10  acres  in 
Ruvle  township.  Mr.  Ely  was  a  well 
known  and  highly  respected  citizen  of 
Jersey  county,  and  held,  among  other 
important  offices,  that  of  justice  of  the 
piace  of  this  township.  He  was  a 
member  of  Fidelity  lodge,  of  the  A.  F. 
&  A.  M.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Ely  had  eight 
children,    seven  of  whom  are  living — 


Isaac  R.,  now  living  in   Panama;   Wil- 
liam F.,  in  Denver,  Col.;  Archibald  F., 
Rebecca  Jane,   Elizabeth  Ann,    wife  of 
Douglas   Stanley,  of  Jerseyville  town- 
ship; Cora  May  and  Fannie  Amy.     One 
daughter,  Jeannette,  died  Jan.  14,  1850. 
Silas  Bates,  one  of  the  most  prosper- 
ous men  in  this  neighborhood,  was  born 
Aug.  13,  1817,  in  Butler  county,   Ohio. 
He  spent  his  youth  in  that  place,  serv- 
ing as   an   apprentice  with    his   father, 
who  was  a  tanner  and  shoemaker,  until 
he  was    17  years  of  age.     In  1834,  his 
lather  moved  to  Delaware  county,  Ind., 
where  he  staid  until  the  spring  of  1843. 
Silas  staid  with  bis  father  until  he  was 
23  years  old,   when  he  was  married  to 
Selina  Hamilton,   born  in   1813.     After 
his  marriage  he  built   a  cabin    on   his 
father-in-law's    place,    where    he    lived 
some  three  years.     He  then  moved  to 
what  is  now  known  as  the  D'Arcy  farm, 
where  he  lived  for  16  years,   paying  bis 
attention  during  that  time  to  farming. 
He  tben  came  to  the  place  now  occupied 
by  him.     The  two  eldest  children  were 
born  in  Indiana;  the  first, George  W,  died 
when  only  six  weeks  old;  Samuel,  who 
married  Mary   Patterson,   and  lives  in 
California,    burn    1841;     Stephen,    who 
died  in   his   sixth    year;    William,  who 
married  Emma  Cheatam,  and  lives  in 
Nebraska;    David,   born  October,  1847; 
Eliza  Jane,  married  to  John   Chatman, 
and   living  in  Jerseyville,  born  in  1850; 
Nancy  Ann,  married  to  E.   Tellus,   and 
living  near  home,  born  in  1851  ;  Mary, 
married  to  Zadoc  Coreths,  and  living  in 
Kansas,   born   1854;    Selina   and   Silas, 
named  after  father  and  mother,  born  in 
1857;  Silas  is  married  to  Rosa  Smith, 
and  Selina  is  home  with   her  parents; 
Arch.,    married    to    Emily   Hutchison, 


born  1862,  died  Nov.  27,  1879;  Jessie, 
born  1866,  single  and  at  home.  Mr. 
Bates  has  been  a  member  of  the  Baptist 
church  18  years,  his  wife  also  being  a 
member.  Her  home  was  in  West  Vir- 
ginia, where  she  was  born  in  1820.  He 
is  68  and  Mrs.  Bates  65  years  of  age. 
As  he  has  been  a  prudent,  saving  and 
industrious  man,  he  has  contrived  to 
save  considerable  of  this  world's  goods, 
and  has  960  acres,  all  in  one  body,  well- 
fenced  and  in  good  condition, 

FrankKomarek  is  a  native  of  Bohemia, 
Austria,  born  tbe  24th  day  of  June, 
1835.  His  parents,  Joseph  andKather- 
ine  (Starskahl)  Komarek,  wen'  natives 
of  Bohemia,  and  lived  and  died  in  that 
country.  The  subject  of  this  sketch  was 
brought  up  in  his  native  country,  where 
he  received  a  liberal  education,  and  also 
acquired  a  very  thorough  knowledge  of 
music,  enabling  him  to  play  upon  any 
instrument.  He  was  married  in  Bohe- 
mia, Jan.  28,  1857,to  Katherine  Matjaka, 
a  native  of  that  country,  and  a  daughter 
of  Frank  and  M ary  (  Kautzlik)  Matjaka . 
In  1860  he,  with  his  wife,  bade  farewell 
to  friends  and  fatherland,  and  taking 
passage  on  board  a  vessel  ;it  Hamburg, 
came  to  New  York.  He  went  from  thence 
to  St.  Louis,  and  soon  after  came  to  Jer- 
sey county,  settling  in  Richwoods  town- 
ship, where  he  resided  14  years.  He 
then  came  to  his  present  location  on 
section  16,  Fidelity  township.  He  owns 
120  acres  of  land,  all  of  which  is  under 
cultivation.  lie  also  has  rented  land, 
raising  a  considerable  amount  of  grain, 
and  also  stock.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Komarek 
have  eight  children — Antoinette,  living 
in  Saline  county,  Kan.;  Albert,  Kather- 
ine, Edward,  John,  Lena,  Vincent  and 
Frank.     Mr.    and    Mrs.     Komarek    are 


members  of  the  Catholic  church.  He  is 
school  director  of  his  district,  and  is  a 
useful  and  respected  citizen. 

Mrs.  Mary  J!.  Christopher  is  the 
widow  of  the  late  John  Christopher 
and  a  daughter  of  John  and  Jane  (Wil- 
cox )  Ryan,  the  latter  a  native  of  Canada. 
Mrs.  Christopher  was  horn  in  Cpper 
Alton,  March  22,  1822,  and  resided  with 
her  parents  until  her  marriage,  March 
20,  1850,  to  Dr.  James  Bringhurst.  By 
this  union  there  were  four  children — 
James,  the  oldest,  was  born  April  28, 
1851,  and  married  March  9,  1876,  to 
Carrie  Lemmons,  who  died  Dec.  26, 
1880,  and  was  buried  in  Independence, 
Kan.  lie  was  again  married  Oct.  7, 
L884,  to  Edna  Hudson,  and  is  now  living 
at  Fidelity.  John  was  horn  May  7,  1873, 
and  married  Margaret  Thompson;  Rob- 
ert was  horn  March  22,  1855,  and  mar- 
ried Oct.  22,  1877,  to  Mary  Frances 
(milage;  Harry,  the  youngest,  was  born 
Sept.  16,  1857,  and  married  Feb.  11),  1879, 
to  Anna  Bacon.  Dr.  Bringhurst  resided 
in  Jerseyville,  and  had  an  extensive 
practice  in  this  county.  He  died  June 
23,  1870,  and  was  buried  in  Oakland 
cemetery.  His  widow  was  married 
April  26,  1S74,  to  John  Christopher,  a 
resilient  of  Fidelity  township,  where 
his  death  occurred  Oct.  25,  1878.  He 
was  the  owner  of  a  fine  farm  on  section 
13,  where  Mrs.  Christopher  now  lives. 
She  has  240  acres,  all  in  cultivation. 
She  is  a  member  of  the  Baptist  church 
at  Fidelity. 

Edward  B.  Simmons,  an  enterprising 
young  farmer  of  Fidelity  township,  was 
born  on  the  place  where  he  now  resides, 
Oct.  1,  1860.  His  childhood  and  youth 
were  spent  in  working  upon  his  father's 
farm  and  attending  the   district    school. 


On  arriving  at  his  20th  year  he  went  to 
Greenfield,  where  for  two  years  he  at- 
tended the  high  school,  after  which  he 
was  a  student  one  term  at  the  Jackson- 
ville Business  College.  He  then  re- 
turned home  and  has  since  followed  ag- 
ricultural pursuits.  He  was  married 
Oct.  18,  188.'!,  to  Clara  Powel,  daughter 
of  Dr.  Henry  and  Margaret  D.  Powel. 
Mr.  Simmons  is  the  owner  of  160  acres 
of  land  in  southwestern  Kansas;  also 
16i»  acres  in  Iowa.  He  now  resides 
upon  land  belonging  to  his  father's 
estate  in  section  26. 

John  C.  Marshall  was  born  in  Preble 
county.  (>.,  Sept.  11,  1826,  where  he 
lived  until  he  was  19  years  of  age,  when 
he  moved  to  Jersey  county  with  his  par- 
ents. They  lived  on  the  Beaty  farm  one 
year,  and  then  took  the  Duncan  farm  in 
1846.  From  there  he  moved  into  this 
township,  and  now  has  a  farm  of  160 
acres.  He  was  united  in  marriage  with 
Grace  Hooper,  July  9,  1857.  Out  of  a 
family  of  10  children,  eight  are  now  liv- 
ing. He  is  a  member  of  the  Free 
Mason's  lodge,  No.  152,  of  Fidelity, 
and  has  held  the  office  of  school  di- 
rector. In  politics  he  is  a  staunch  re- 
publican. His  father  at  one  time  owned 
the  farm  he  now  possesses,  and  he  as- 
sisted in  the  improvement  of  the  farm 
before  it  came  into  his  possession,  so 
that  now  it  is  well  fenced  and  tilled. 
Some  of  the  rails  were  made  by  him  35 
years  ago,  he  knowing  them  by  the 
knots  he  finds  on  them. 

William  H.  Hutchinson  came  to  Jer- 
sey county  in  1837,  accompanying  his 
parents,  who  settled  in  Jerseyville, 
which  at  that  time  contained  only  a 
small  number  of  families.  His  father 
followed    shoe-making.      William    was 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


ij; 


born  in  Trenton,  N.  J.,  Jan.  7,  1835, 
and  was  reared  in  this  comity.  When 
16  years  old  he  began  learning  the 
blacksmith  trade,  which  he  followed 
eight  years  in  Jerseyville.  In  1860  he 
he  removed  to  Mason  county,  where  he 
worked  at  his  trade  one  year,  then  en- 
listed in  the  Union  army,  joining  com- 
pany H  of  the  17th  111.  Inf.  He  served 
three  years  as  a  member  of  that  regi- 
ment, then  re-enlisted  in  the  144th  regi- 
ment, in  which  he  served  10  months  as 
lieutenant  of  Company  I.  He  returned 
home  at  the  close  of  the  war,  and  re- 
sumed work  at  his  trade,  in  Bath,  Ma- 
son county,  where  he  remained  about 
live  years.  At  the  expiration  of  that 
time  he  came  hack  to  Jersey  county, 
where  he  has  since  followed  farming. 
He  now  owns  a  farm  of  80  acres,  located 
on  section  19,  Fidelity  township,  and 
carries  on  general  farming,  also  works 
at  hlacksmithing.  He  was  married 
Oct.  3,  1858,  to  Elizabeth  O'Lary, 
daughter  of  Martin  and  Eliza  O'Lary. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hutchinson  have  eight 
children — Charles.  Georgiana,  Emma, 
Rebecca,  Lloyd,  William,  Elizabeth  and 
Minnie. 

John  Roady  was  born  in  Knox  county, 
Tenn.,  on  the  4th  day  of  May,  1846.  and 
is  a  son  of  Nathaniel  and  Rebecca 
(Long)  Roady.  About  the  year  1850 
the  family  removed  to  Illinois,  locating 
in  what  is  now  Fidelity  township,  Jer- 
sey county.  Here  John  was  reared  and 
educated.  Oct.  27,  1868,  he  was  married 
to  Rebecca  Jones,  a  native  of  Madison 
county,  111.,  and  daughter  of  Thomas 
and  Nancy  (Pruitt)  Jones,  early  set- 
tlers of  this  portion  of  the  state,  a 
sketch  of  whom  will  appear  elsewhere 
in  this  work.      Mr.  and  Mrs.  Roady  are 


the  parents  of  five  children — Charles 
Henry,  Rosa  E.,  John  A.,  Dora  and 
Alice.  Mr.  Roady  owns  a  farm  of  100 
acres  located  on  section  16,  Fidelity 
township,  where  he  resides.  He  culti- 
vates 80  acres,  carrying  on  general 
farming. 

EDUCATIONAL. 

The  school  building  in  district  No.  '_' 
is  located  on  the  southeast  quarter  of 
section  28.  The  first  building  in  this 
district  was  erected  during  the  year 
1855.  School  was  held  before  this  in  a 
frame  house  on  section  28,  on  land  now 
belonging  to  Peter  Tietsort.  It  had 
formerly  been  a  residence.  The  first 
term  was  taught  in  the  spring  of  1850. 
Martha  Chapman  and  a  Miss  Simmons, 
daughter  of  Samuel  Simmons,  were  the 
earliest  teachers  in  this  district.  The 
school  edifice  was  rebuilt  in  1880,  being 
finished  Aug.  ol.  Thf  cost  was  $600. 
The  land  on  which  it  stands  was  donated 
by  George  Hoffman. 

The  first  building  for  educational  pur- 
poses in  district  No.  •'!  was  erected  in 
1854.  Henry  Priest  was  the  first  teacher 
in  that  building.  The  school  edifice  at 
present  used  was  built  in  1868  by  John 
R.  Mousley.  The  first  teacher  in  that 
school  was  a  married  man,  Thomas  G. 
Shannon.  The  building  is  26xo8  feet 
in  dimensions,  and  cost  $1,200. 

THK    GBANGE. 

In  the  days  when  the  grange  move- 
ment was  enjoying  its  days  of  great- 
est prosperity,  the  neighborhood  of 
Fidelity  was  one  of  the  strongholds  of 
the  order,  and  to-day,  there  are  few 
localities  in  the  country  where  the 
spirit  of  this  organization  is  so  well 
preserved. 


428 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


Prairie  Union  Grange  No.  1213  was 
organized  March  5,  1874,  with  the  fol- 
lowing charter  members:  J.  L.  Sim- 
mons and  wife,  T.  G.  Shannon  and  wife. 
John  W.  Christopher  and  wife,  Chas. 
Brown  and  wife,  J.  H.  H.  Simmons, 
John  Hopp,  J.  P.  Davidson,  W.  J. 
Bell,  T.  G.  Hammond,  William  Powers, 
John  Wagoner,  William  Armstrong,  E. 
R.  Jones,  M.  Carney  and  wife,  John 
Carney  and  wife,  Isaac  Crane  and  wife, 
11.  Douglas  and  wife.  The  first  officers 
were:  D.  Q.  Trotter,  master;  T.  G. 
Shannon,  lecturer;  W.  J.  Bell,  secre- 
tary; J.  H.  H.  Simmons,  chaplain.  D. 
tj.  Trotter  served  as  master  for  six 
years;  A.  G.  Hurd  at  present  holds  that 
position.  The  meetings  are  held  regu- 
larly on  the  Friday  before  the  full  moon 
of  each  month.  These  meetings  are 
held  in  the  school  house  of  district  No. 
3.  The  grange  has  a  storeroom,  built 
in  1879,  at  a  cost  of  $100.  It  is  built  on 
the  east  half  of  the  southeast  quarter 
of  section  26,  on  the  farm  of  D.  Q.  Trot- 
ter, and  near  his  residence.  Mr.  Trot- 
ter is  purchasing  agent,  and  has  been 
since  the  organization.  He  transacts 
all  the  business  done  through  the  agency 
of  the  store.  The  grange  has  a  capital 
of  $500,  which  is  kept  invested  in  staple 
groceries.  The  store  does  a  business 
of  about  $2,000  annually.  There 
are  45  members  in  the  organization, 
and  it  is  in  a  flourishing  condition. 

CEMETERY. 

The  Hopewell  burying  ground  is  lo- 
cated on  the  southwest  quarter  of  the 
southeast  quarter  of  section  34,  and  con- 
tains two  acres,  donated  for  burial  pur- 
poses by  R.  J.  Simmons,  in  1842.  It  is 
not    positively    known    who    the    first 


burial  in  this  cemetery  was,  but  among 
the  very  first  was  a  son,  and  the  second 
the  wife  of  R.  J.  Simmons. 

RELIGIOUS. 

The  Fidelity  Baptist  church  was  or- 
ganized in  1853.  There  is  a  regular 
pastor,  and  services  are  held  regularly. 

The  Hopewell  Methodist  church  was 
one  of  the  first  religious  organizations 
in  the  township  The  society  was 
united  with  the  Baptists  of  the  neigh- 
borhood   in    forming   a  union   church. 

The  Fidelity  M.  E.  church  was  or- 
ganized in  the  fall  of  1856,  by  Rev.  (1. 
W.     Waggoner. 

HISTORIC  ITEMS. 

The  Simmons  family  built  the  first 
log  house  in  the  township,  in  1830. 

The  first  child  in  the  township  was 
born  to  Thomas  and  Ann  Chapman,  in 
1831.     It  died  in  infancy. 

The  first  marriage  ceremony  in  the 
township  was  that  which  united  R.  J. 
Simmons  and  Maria  Cummings  as  man 
and  wife.  The  ceremony  was  per- 
formed by  Simon  Peter,  in  1832.  Both 
parties  are  now  deceased,  the  groom 
dying  in  Jan.,  1885. 

The  first  death  was  that  of  the  child 
of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Thomas  Chapman, 
mentioned  above,  which  died  in  1831. 
It  was  buried  in  the  Chapman  cemetery, 
and  was  the  first  one  buried  there. 

•lames  Simmons  broke  the  first  ground 
in  the  township,  in  1830.  He  also 
sowed  the  first  wheat,  and  planted  the 
first  corn. 

The  first  religious  services  were  held 
in  the  cabin  of  James  Simmons,  by 
Rev.  Jacob  Miles,  in  1831. 

The  first  religious  edifice  built  in  the 
township  was  the  Hopewell  church,  in 
1842. 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


429 


The  first  justice  of  the  peace  in  Fidel- 
ity township  was  S.  C.  Simmons.  He 
served  tour  years  from  that  election. 

VILLAGE  OF  FIDELITY. 

This  village,  which  is  situated  on  sec- 
tions 11  and  12,  Fidelity  township,  con- 
tains between  200  and  300  population, 
and  a  number  of  business  places,  a  good 
school  building,  churches,  a  mill,  etc., 
an  idea  of  which  is  outlined  below.  It 
was  laid  nut  on  land  belonging  to  Joseph 
Russell,  who  named  the  place,  and  the 
survey  was  made  on  the  5th  of  Jan. 
1850.  The  town  has  a  somewhat  quiet 
air,  and  being  well  supplied  with  shade 
trees,  makes  a  desirable  residence.  It 
was  supposed  that  when  the  Rockford, 
Rock  Island  &  St.  Louis  railroad  (now 
C.  B.  &  Q.)  was  built,  it  would  run 
through  the  town,  but  as  it  was  built 
about  a  mile  to  the  east,  the  town  of 
Medora  sprang  up,  on  its  line,  about  2j 
miles  to  the  northeast,  which  fact,  to- 
gether with  the  natural  drawing  of 
trade  to  the  railroad  towns,  left  Fidel- 
ity behind  in  the  struggle  for  growth. 
The  building  of  the  St.  Louis,  Jersey- 
ville  &  Springfield,  or  Wabash,  has  not, 
as  yet,  done  much  for  the  place,  though 
in  time  it  may  be  a  benefit.  The  farm- 
ing land  surrounding  Fidelity  is  not 
excelled  in  Jersey  county,  and  some  of 
the  landowners  reside  in  the  village 
itself. 

John  Sullivan  was  the  first  to  locate 
in  the  village  of  Fidelity.  He  was  a 
blacksmith,  and  built  a  shop,  which  was 
the  first  in  the  place. 

Tobias  Barthlow  was  the  first  store- 
keeper in  Fidelity.  His  stock,  how- 
ever, was  not  very  extensive.  He  did 
not  remain  long. 


The  first  really  permanent  settler  was 
Dr.  Jay,  who  kept  a  drug  store. 

The  first  dry  goods  store  was  con- 
ducted by  Hill  &  Cheney,  who  were 
afterwards  succeeded  by  Q.  M.  Haus- 
kins. 

PRESENT    BUSINESS    INTERESTS. 

M.  E.  Lesem  is  one  of  the  largest 
dealers  in  Fidelity.  He  commenced 
the  general  merchandise  business  in 
Sept.,  1884.  The  building  he  occupies 
is  30x50  feet  in  size,  and  is  of  frame 
construction.  He  carries  a  complete 
and  well  assorted  general  stock,  con- 
sisting of  dry  goods,  clothing,  notions, 
groceries,  boots  and  shoes,  carpets, 
queensware,  glassware,  hardware,  to- 
bacco, cigars,  stoves,  tinware,  etc. 

The  most  successful,  although  the 
youngest  business  man  in  the  town  of 
Fidelity,  is  M.  E.  Lesem.  He  was  born 
in  Tuscumbia,  Mo.,  on  the  3d  day  of 
Dec,  1863,  his  parents  being  Marks  and 
Amelia  Lesem.  When  he  was  15  years 
of  age,  las  parents  removed  to  St.  Louis, 
where  his  father  engaged  in  business, 
and  where  he  still  resides.  He  received 
his  education  in  Tuscumbia  and  St. 
Louis,  finishing  in  the  latter  city.  After 
leaving  school  he  clerked  for  his  father 
for  some  time,  and  then  engaged  in  the 
manufacture  of  ladies'  underwear  in  St. 
Louis,  with  his  brother.  From  there 
he  came  to  Fidelity,  where  he  has  been 
in  business  since  Sept.  1,  1884.  Although 
he  is  only  21  years  old, he  already  shows 
business  qualities  of  the  highest  order, 
and  if  he  continues  as  he  has  begun, will 
in  time  be  considered  a  leading  business 
man  wherever  he  chooses  to  locate. 

Thomas  Mercer  is  engaged  in  the  gen- 
eral merchandise  trade  in  Fidelity.  The 
business  was  commenced  by  Hathaway 


430 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


&  Wade  about  1860.  They  erected  the 
store  building.  The  firm  of  Holden 
&  Miner,  composed  of  Richard  Holden 
and  C.  F.  Miner,  next  conducted  the 
business.  They  were  succeed  by  Whit- 
child  &  Teitsort,  who,  in  turn,  gave  way 
to  Aydelott  Bros.  R.  S.  Moore  pur- 
chased the  stock  of  the  last-named  firm, 
and  he  sold  to  Joseph  Vaughn.  C.  H. 
Garrison  was  the  next  proprietor,  and 
he  ran  it  until  1883,  when  the  present 
owner,  Thomas  Mercer,  took  charge. 

Moran  &  Graham  are  among  the  deal- 
ers in  groceries.  The  business  was 
commenced  by  Squire  Whitfield,  who 
erected  the  building.  He  was  succeeded 
by  Charles  Garrison.  He  closed  out 
the  business  after  a  time,  and  the  build- 
ing remained  idle  about  two  years.  An- 
derson Pruitt  and  Jefferson  Dixon  re- 
opened the  store.  They  sold  out  to 
Thomas  Moran  in  the  fall  of  1883,  who 
(•(inducted  the  business  alone  until 
March,  1885,  when  Finley  Graham  was 
admitted  to  the  firm  as  a  member. 

James  Bringherst  is  a  representative 
of  the  blacksmithing  line.  His  shop 
was  erected  in  February,  1885. 

EDUCATIONAL. 

Fidelity  has  a  handsome  school  house, 
built  in  1866  and  1867,  by  John  Wil- 
liamson. It  is  a  two-story  structure, 
and  has  a  pretty  steeple.  The  primary 
department  is  on  the  lower  floor.  The 
original  cost  of  the  building  was  $5,500. 
Some  additions  have  been  made  since 
the  edifice  was  first  completed.  The 
first  teacher  was  Stroud  Keller.  Cor- 
nelius Roach  was  principal  for  the 
school  year  1884 — 85,  and  Maggie  Quinn 
teacher  in  the  primary  grade. 

HOTKLS. 

The  Ritter  House  was  built  by  Henry 


Ritter  in  1852,  and  by  him  it  was  con- 
ducted as  a  hostelry  for  the  accommo- 
dation of  traveling  public  for  several 
years.  John  Seago  was  the  next  land- 
lord, and  officiated  in  that  capacity  for 
three  or  four  years.  He  sold  it  to  Ben. 
Davies,  who  in  turn,  conducted  it  for 
two  or  three  years.  Stephen  R.  bow- 
man was  the  next  to  run  the  hotel.  He 
had  it  nearly  two  years.  After  this, 
the  house  went  to  decay,  and  now  pre- 
sents rather  a  forlorn  appearance.  It 
is  owned  by  a  man  named  Cadle. 

The  Union  Hotel  was  built  by  David 
Jay,  in  1861,  who  was  the  first  landlord 
of  the  house.  It  next  passed  into  the 
hands  of  Bagley  &  Warren,  who  sold  it 
to  James  Frost,  in  1867.  Mr.  Frost  has 
since  used  the  place  as  a  residence. 


The  flouring  mill  in  Fidelity  was 
erected  in  1860  by  J.  J.  Haycroft,  and 
operated  by  him  until  1864,  when  it 
was  burned  down.  Mr.  Haycroft  re- 
built the  plant  in  1866.  He  then  ran  it 
another  year,  when  he  sold  it  to  W.  K. 
Miner.  Mr.  Miner  died,  and  the  prop- 
erty is  now  owned  by  his  heirs,  being 
his  four  children.  The  mill  was  leased" 
by  William  Hoover  in  1874.  and  since 
that  time  he  has  operated  it.  The  mill 
is  fairly  well  equipped.  Its  business  is 
mostly  custom  grinding. 

POSTOFFICE. 

The  postoffice  was  established  in  Fi- 
delity in  1854.  Q.  M.  Hankins  was  the 
first  postmaster.  Thomas  A.  Price  is 
present  incumbent  of  that  office. 

Thomas  A.  Price  was  born  Sept.  22, 
1832,  in  New  Jersey.  He  was  the  son 
of  Joseph  and  Mary  Price,  both  natives 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


431 


of  England.      His    father   was   born   in 
1810,  and  came  to  America  when  he  was 

three  years  of  age.  His  mother  was 
born  in  1811.  In  1840  they  moved  west- 
ward from  New  Jersey,  to  Jersey  county, 
111.,  and  bought  land  where  Judge  Lowe 
now  lives,  and  which  was  then  nothing 
but  wild  prairie.  The  father  broke  the 
first  furrow  there,  and  in  a  few  years  had 
the  land  in  good  shape,  when  he  sold 
it,  and  bought  land  two  miles  west  of 
Fidelity.  He  died  in  1846.  Then,  as 
Thomas  was  the  oldest  of  six  children, 
he  ran  the  farm  for  his  mother,  until 
his  marring?  to  Lydia  Trombly,  in  1856. 
She  was  born  on  the  20th  of  Sept.,  1837. 
He  then  rented  a  farm,  on  which  he 
worked  for  himself,  until  1861.  when  he 
enlisted  in  Co.  F,  14th  Inf.  He  was  in 
the  battles  of  Fort  Donelsorj,  Shilob, 
siege  of  Corinth,  Matamora  Heights  and 
Vicksburg.  In  the  battle  ofShiloh,  50 
of  his  company  were  engaged,  and  24  of 
them  were  killed  and  wounded.  He  was 
in  Sherman's  first  raid  across  from 
Vicksburg  to  Meridian.  His  division 
marched  21 I  miles  farther,  and  were 
brought  back  up  the  river  to  Cairo.  The 
regiment  had  charge  of  a  drove  of  cattle 
and  were  taken  up  the  river  to  Savan- 
nah, from  there  to  Chattanooga,  and 
were  then  brought  hack  to  Huntsville, 
Ala.  His  term  of  enlistment  having 
expired,  he  was  discharged  and  sent 
back  to  Springfield,  June  18,  1864. 
Since  that  he  has  been  engaged  in  farm- 
ing He  is  now  postmaster  of  Fidelity, 
and  has  held  the  ofliee  of  justice  of  the 
peace  for  the  past  six  years.  He  lias 
seven  children,  all  of  whom  are  living, 
lie  is  a  member  of  the  Baptist  church, 
as  was  also  his  wife  until  her  death  in 
Nov.,  1882. 


Among  the  enterprising  and  respected 
citizens  of  Fidelity  township  is  James 
T.  Hauskins,  an  old  time  resident  of 
the  village  of  Fidelity.  He  was  born 
in  Greene  county,  April  3,  1823,  near 
Carrollton,  on  a  farm  now  owned  by 
Juduthan  Eldred,  where  he  lived  until 
L849.  He  then  moved  to  Jersey  county, 
in  the  vicinity  of  Fidelity,  remaining 
there  until  1858,  when  he  gave  up  farm 
life,  and  moved  into  the  village.  He 
has  since  sold  his  farm,  as  lie  thought 
the  care  of  it  was  too  much  for  a  man  of 
his  years,  and  will  take  it  easy  the  re- 
mainder of  his  life.  He  has  been  twice 
married.  First,  to  Emily  Clark,  of 
Greene  county,  on  the  oil  of  June,  1852; 
she  died  April  1,  1878.  He  was  mar- 
ried again,  Dee.  30,  1879,  to  Mrs.  Jane 
M.  Baldwin.  He  had  seven  children 
by  bis  first  marriage — Elam,  horn  Mar. 
11,  1853,  died  April  Ll'.f,  1854;  Morton, 
born  Oct.  4,  1855,  died  Aug.  2'2,  1857; 
Eunice,  horn  Jan.  15.  1857,  died  Aug. 
23,  1857;  Paul,  born  Oct.  5,  1858,  died 
Feb.  11,  1873;  John  W..  horn  Mar.  Id, 
1860,  died  Feb.  16,  1875;  Edgar,  horn 
Dec.  '.>,  1862;  and  James  Everett,  horn 
Oct.  7,  1864.  He  has  one  child  by  the 
last  marriage— Chester  E.,  horn  Aug.  26, 
1881.  lie  i-  a  member  of  the  M.  E. 
church  of  Fidelity,  his  wife  being  a 
member  of  the  Universalist  church.  He 
belongs  to  the  Masonic  fraternity  of 
Fidelity.  Politically,  he  is  a  republi- 
can. The  following  resolutions,  passed 
by  the  Fidelity  and  Piasa  circuit  of  the 
M.  E.  church,  April  1,  1878,  in  regard 
to  the  death  of  Emily  Hauskins,  wife  of 
J.  T.  Hauskins: 

"Whereas,  it  hath  pleased  the  Al- 
mighty Cod.  in  his  wise  providence,  to 
remove  from   our  midst,  by  death,  our 


432 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY, 


much  beloved  sister;  therefore,  resolved 
that  in  the  death  of  Sister  Hauskins, 
the  church  has  lost  a  true  friend,  and 
the  community  a  good  citizen;  resolved, 
that  we  humbly  submit  to  the  will  of 
God,  who  doeth  all  things  well;  resolv- 
ed, that  we,  the  members  of  the  quar- 
terly conference  of  Fidelity  and  Piasa 
circuit  of  the  Alton  district  of  the 
Southern  Illinois  conference,  hereby 
extend  to  Brother  James  T.  Hauskins 
and  family  our  prayers  and  heartfelt 
sympathy  in  their  sad  loss." 

Thomas  Benton  Aydelott  was  born  in 
Preble  county,  0.,  April  29,  1845.  In 
1850  he  came  with  his  father  to  this 
state,  to  a  location  near  Jerseyville, 
where  they  remained  until  the  spring  of 
1851,  when  they  moved  to  a  place  a  mile 
and  one-half  southeast  of  Fidelity,  liv- 
ing there  two  years.  They  then  moved 
northeast  into  Macoupin  county,  and 
from  there  came  back  to  the  place  they 
had  recently  occupied  in  the  vicinity  of 
Fidelity,  and  after  living  there  for  a 
while,  in  June,  1857,  they  moved  into 
the  village,  where  his  father  built  a 
frame  residence  in  the  east  part  of 
town.  On  the  15th  of  April,  1869, 
Thomas  B.  was  married  to  Sarah  A. 
Jervis,  of  Preble  county,  O.  She  was 
born  on  the  30th  of  April,  1853.  They 
have  a  family  of  five  children,  three 
boys  and  two  girls-j-Thomas  A.,  born 
Nov.    26,   1870;  Mary  L.,   born  Oct.   4, 


1872;  Charles  F.,  born  Aug.  19,  1875; 
Lucy  A.,  born  July  17,  1878,  and  James 
H.,  born  Aug.  13,  1883.  He  holds  the 
office  of  school  director  and  clerk  of  the 
school  board,  and  is  president  of  the 
board  of  trustees  of  the  village.  At 
one  time  he  held  the  office  of  constable 
for  two  years.  He  and  his  wife  are 
members  of  the  Methodist  church.  His 
political  views  are  democratic. 

SOCIETIES. 

Fidelity  lodge  No.  152,  A.  F.  &  A. 
M.,  was  organized  on  the  3d  day  of 
Oct.,  1855.  The  charter  members  were: 
David  Jay,  Nathaniel  Jane,  John  H. 
Reddish,  and  others.  The  lodge  was 
organized  with  David  Jay  as  master; 
Nathaniel  Jane,  senior  warden;  John 
Reddish,  junior  warden.  The  officers 
at  present  are:  W.  S.  Sirls,  W.  M.; 
Henry  Kemper,  S.  W.;  James  Starett, 
J.  W.;  R.  D.  Simmons,  S.  D.;  Jacob 
Black,  J.  D.;  Thomas  Watson,  T.;  Jno. 
R.  Garrety,  S.;  T.  C.  Wilkerson  and 
F.  W.  Sears,  stewards;  John  Carney, 
tyler.  There  are  at  present  25  mem- 
bers. 

RAILROAD. 

The  St.  Louis,  Jerseyville  it  Spring- 
field railroad,  a  branch  of  the  Wabash, 
St.  Louis  &  Pacific,  was  built  through 
Fidelity  in  1882,  and  in  that  year  the 
depot  was  built. 
Chapter  XXV. 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


433 


GHAPTKR    XXV. 


MISSISSIPPI   TOWNSHIP. 


This  township  is  identical  in  size  with 
T.  7  north.  R.  11  west.  It  embraces 
some  of  the  finest  farming  land,  and 
contains  some  of  the  best  improvi  d 
farms  in  Jersey  county.  The  only  run- 
ning streams  in  the  township  arc  the 
branches  of  Piasa  and  Otter  creeks,  and 
these  have  their  origin  in  the  township. 
There  are  also  some  smaller  rivulets, 
tributaries  of  the  above.  Altogether, 
there  is  ii"  lack  of  water  supply  for  the 
purposes  of  stock-raising  or  agriculture. 
There  is  but  little  timber  land  in  the 
township,  and  that  is  confined  mostly 
tn  iiif  hanks  of  the  streams.  However, 
almost  every  farm  has  one  or  more  arti- 
ficial groves,  which  adds  much  to  the 
beauty  of  the  surroundings.  The  C.  A. 
&  Sr.  L.  railroad  intersects  sections  2, 
l'_'  and  l.'-i,  in  its  course  through  the 
township.  The  old  village  of  Newbern 
is  located  mi  section  32.  It  lias  never 
assumed  proportions  of  any  magnitude. 
The  m-w  town,  or  East  Newbern,  is  sit- 

uated  at  tin rner  of  section  :!7,  28,  •'5-'!. 

and  34.  There  is  very  little  uncultiva- 
ted land  in  Mississippi  township,  its  in- 
habitants heing  an  industrious  class  of 
citizens,  who  take  a  pride  in  the  proper 
improvement  of  their  places  and  in  till- 
ing the  soil  in  a  careful  and  painstaking 
manner.  The  houses  bear  evidence  to 
the  taste  of  the  occupants,  the  outbuild- 
ings and  barns  are  kept  in  good  repair, 
and  everything  evinces  an  honest  pride 


on  the  part  of  the  people  of  this  vicinity 

in  such  matters. 

EARLY    SETTLEMENT. 

Judge  John  G.  Lofton  and  John  D. 
Gillham  came  to  what  is  now  Jersey 
county,  from  Madison,  bringing  their 
families,  in  1819. 

Judge  Lofton  settled  on  section  31, 
on  land  which  adjoins  the  present  farm 
of  Addison  Greene.  The  vicinity  soon 
took  the-  name  of  Lofton's  prairie.  Mr. 
Lofton,  like  many  others  of  the  early 
pioneers,  was  a  native  of  South  Caro- 
lina, and  was  a  prominent  figure  among 
the  old  residents.  He  was  married  to  a 
sister  of  John  I).  Gillham.  Under 
John  Quincy  Adams'  administration. 
Mr.  Lofton  was  appointed  receiver  of 
the  land  office  at  Lewiston,  Fulton 
county.  111.  He  went  to  that  place  and 
assumed  the  duties  of  his  position,  but 
tiring  of  it,  resigned,  after  a  year  or 
two,  and  came  home.  He  died  about 
1V.7,  on  section  32,  in  the  township 
where  he  first  settled.  His  wife  also 
died  there.  He  left  three  sons — Thomas 
<L.  Samuel  A.  and  John  G.  Judge 
Lofton  was  a  Baptist  in  religious  belief, 
and  in  the  early  days  meetings  were 
often  held  in  his  house. 

John  D.  Gillham,  who  came  with  the 
Loftons,  was  a  native  of  South  Carolina, 
and  from  that  state  removed  to  Ken- 
tucky.    Thence  he  removed  to  Illinois, 


4:!4 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


locating  in  Madison  county,  in  the  year 
1800.  He  settled  on  section  28,  in 
what  is  now  Mississippi  township.  He 
and  his  brother  Ezekiel  were  connected 
with  the  rangers  in  the  days  of  the  early 
settlement  of  this  part  of  the  state,  and 
were  more  than  once  called  upon  to 
assist  in  the  defense  of  the  settlement, 
against  the  depredations  of  the  Indians. 
John  D.  Gillham  died  at  his  home,  in 
the  settlement,  in  Oct.,  1852.  His  wife 
also  passed  away  at  the  same  place. 
The  history  of  this  proud  state  has 
mostly  been  made  since  the  Gillham's 
came  to  this  county,  and  an  idea  of  the 
lapse  of  time  since  then  may  be  formed 
when  it  is  said  that  another  generation 
of  this  hardy  family  has  lived  and 
died  since  then,  and  the  grandchildren 
are  long  since  grown  men  and  women, 
with  families  of  their  own.  Fletcher 
Gillham,  one  of  the  grandsons,  lives  on 
the  old  homestead.  Another,  Wesley 
W.,  lives  on  the  Youngblood  place,  on 
section  22,  Elsah  township.  Charles, 
another  g.iandson,  formerly  kept  a  store 
in  Jerseyvillo. 

Joseph  White  is  credited  with  making 
a  settlement  in  this  township  in  1819. 
He  lived  here  for  many  years,  but  is  now 
numbered  with  the  dead. 

Josiah  Cummingseame  to  Mississippi 
township  in  1819,  and  made  a  settle- 
ment on  section  11.  He  was  a  native  of 
Connecticut,  of  Scotch  parentage.  His 
ancestors  were  among  the  pioneers  of 
New  England.  Mr.  Cummings  witnessed 
the  battle  ot  Bennington,  Yt.,  and  was  a 
soldier  in  General  Wayne's  campaign 
against  the  Indians,  having  participated 
previously  in  the  disastrous  defeat  of 
the  army  of  General  Arthur  St.  Clair. 
He  was  among  the  very  earliest  settlers 


in  the  state  of  Illinois,  and  in  this  al- 
most uninhabited  wilderness  he  became 
acquainted  with  Mrs'.  Gilliss,  whom  he 
afterwards  married.  They  both  died 
while  residents  of  this  county. 

Thomas  Cummings  came  to  Jersey 
county,  in  1820,  and  after  working  for 
his  father  for  a  while  in  Mississippi 
township,  purchased  land  here  and  set- 
tled. He  was  born  in  Monroe  county, 
111.,  March  4,  1800,  and  was  the  eldest 
son  of  Josiah  and  Sabra  Cummings. 
He  spent  considerable  time  in  assisting 
to  make  the  government  surveys,  and 
served  some  time  in  the  militia  or 
ranger  service.  On  the  24th  of  Sept., 
1824,  he  was  united  in  marriage  with 
Mary  Ann,  a  daughter  of  John  and  Mary 
Carroll.  Immediately  after  his  mar- 
riage he  purchased  a  farm  on  section  11, 
where  he  resided  until  Nov.  21,  1856, 
when  he  died.  He  came  here  with  little 
capital,  but  by  energy,  industry  and 
business  tact  died  possessed  of  a  hand- 
some property,  owning  over 2,700  acres. 

John  R.  Black  m  vie  a  settlement 
in  this  township  in  1820.  He  was  quite 
prominent  in  early  days  and  was  elected 
and  served  as  the  first  treasurer  of  Jer- 
sey county.  A  sketch  of  him  will  be 
found  under  that  head  in  a  previous 
part  of  this  work. 

William  Davidson  was  a  settler  of  the 
year  1820  or  '21,  in  this  township,  and 
served  as  a  petit  juror  in  the  circuit 
court,  selected  at  the  June  term,  1821. 

Samuel  J.  Kincade  and  John  Waddle 
made  their  appearance  in  this  town- 
ship about  the  year  1821,  as  we  find 
them  both  serving  as  judges  of  an  elec- 
tion for  militia  officers  in  that  year. 
Both  have  long  since  passed  to  their 
last  resting  place. 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


435 


Thomas  McDow,  one  of  the  sturdy 
pioneers  of  this  county,  located  in  the 

township  now  known  by  the  name  of 
Mississippi,  in  the  spring  of  1*23,  on 
section  32.  He  was  a  native  of  South 
Carolina,  born  Aug.  12,  1795,  and  was 
the  son  of  John  and  Margaret  McDow. 
In  1807,  the  elder  Mr.  McDow  immi- 
grated to  Illinois  and  located  in  Madi- 
son county.  After  living  there  about  a 
year,  he  removed  to  the  Mississippi 
bottom,  near  St.  Louis,  where  he  resided 
until  1818,  when  he  moved  to  Boone 
county,  Mo.,  where  he  resided  until 
1824,  when  hi'  came  to  this  county  and 
made  a  settlement  on  section  32,  where 
he  died  in  Oct..  1835.  Thomas  was 
married  Feb.  25,  1819,  to  Mary  L.  Lof- 
ton, and  in  1*23.  settled  here  as  above 
mentioned.  Here  he  resided  until  his 
death  in  1*74. 

Charles  G.  Mellow,  deceased,  was 
born  in  South  Carolina.  Oct.  11,  17'.>7. 
He  was  married  to  Matilda  Rice,  who 
was  horn  in  Kentucky,  March  20,  1805. 
They  immigrated  to  Illinois  in  an  early 
day.  settling  in  what  is  now  Mississippi 
township,  Jersey  county,  111.  Here 
Mr.  McDow  followed  farming  until  his 
death,  which  occurred  Feb.  26,  I860. 
His  widow  still  survives  him.  They 
had  a  family  of  six  children,  four  of 
whom  are  living — Martha,  born  July  13, 
1826;  Margaret  A.,  born  Aug.  26,  1828, 
now  the  wife  of  William  Marshaw,  of 
Elsah  township;  Sarah  A.,  born  April 
6,  1831,  now  tin'  wife  of  Joseph  Mar- 
shaw, of  Mississippi  township;  and 
John  N.,  bom  Aug.  22,  1833.  Mrs. 
Mellow  and  her  daughter  Martha  reside 
upon  section  31,  where  they  own  '.hi 
aires  of  land.  Mrs.  McDow  is  a  con- 
sistent  member  of  the    Baptist    church, 


and  although  in  her  81st  year,  is  -till 
energetic  and  in  the  enjoyment  of  good 
health.  The  deceased  children  of  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  McDow  are — Allen,  born  Feb. 
17,  1837,  died  Aug.  1">.  1871;  and  Mary 
Angeline,  born  Jan.  23,  1840,  died  Mar. 
1.  1844. 

John  X.  McDow,  a  descendant  of  

of  our  oldest  settlers,  was  born  in  Mis- 
sis-ippi  township,  Jersey  county,  111. 
His  life  has  been  spent  thus  far  on  and 
near  the  same  Bection  where  lie  now 
lives,  being  bom  at  their  house  on  see- 
tion  31,  and  now  living  on  section  32. 
Ilis  farm  lies  on  three  sections,  20acres 
being  on  section  30,  50  acres  on  section 
31,  and  2(1  aires  on  section  -".2.  (In  the 
9th  of  Sept.,  1858,  he  was  united  in 
marriage  with  May  E.  Harris.  They 
have  a  family  of  10  children — Elzada 
Jane,  Charles  W.,  Anna  A.,  Mattie  M., 
Lou  M.,  Robert  A.,  Ruth  C,  Eugene 
L.  and  Irene  (twins),  and  Homer. 

James  McDow  was  born  in  Jersey 
county,  111.,  Oct.  11,  in  the  year 
1844.  He  is  another  representative  of 
that  family  of  early  settlers,  and  was 
born  and  raised  on  the  place  where  he 
now  lives,  on  section  32  in  Mississippi 
township.  He  was  united  in  marriage 
with  Anna  Summer  on  the  17th  day  of 
•  let.,  in  the  year  1866.  She  was  born 
on  the  '.ith  day  of  Nov.,  in  the  year 
1*47.  Seven  children  have  been  born 
to  them — William  L.,  born  Aug.  IK, 
1867;  Purlia  O.,  born  Sept.  19,  1869; 
Oliver  P.,  born  Oct.  17.  1871;  .la  tin-  \\\ . 
born  Aug.  21,  l*7o;  Harry  \\\,  bom 
June  4.  1*77;  Edith  M.,  born  Sept.  12, 
1882;  Lulu  B.,  born  June  7,  1885.  Mr. 
Mel  low's  political  views  are  democratic. 

Jacob  Cummings  was  among  the 
pioneers  of  this  township.      He  was  a 


i::r, 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


native  of-  Madison  county,  111.,  from 
which  place  he  immigrated  to  this  town- 
ship in  the  early  part  of  1820.  He  lo- 
cated on  section  15,  where  he  lived  un- 
til his  death,  which  occurred  in  1825. 

Asher  Chase  came  to  this  county  in 
1823,  and  liking  the  country,  took  up 
his  residence  here  on  a  farm  on  what  is 
known  as  the  Lofton  prairie.  He  lived 
there  a  few  years,  and  removed  to  an- 
other location  in  the  same  township. 
He  afterward  left  the  county,  and  has 
not  been  heard  of  since. 

William  Gillham,  father  of  John  D., 
came  in  the  fall  of  1821,  and  took  up 
his  place  of  residence  on  section  29,  on 
the  farm  now  owned  by  Mahala  Buckles. 
He  was  a  native  of  South  Carolina.  His 
death  occurred  at  the  home  of  his  son 
in  the  fall  of  1825. 

Mrs.  Jane  Gillham,  with  a  family  of 
children,  settled  on  section  28,  in  the 
fall  of  1823,  where  she  resided  until  her 
death.  She  was  a  native  of  North  Car- 
olina. 

William  G.  Waddle  made  a  settle- 
ment in  what  is  now  Mississippi  town- 
ship during  the  year  1823.  He  was  a 
native  of  South  Carolina,  but  was 
brought  by  his  parents  to  Edwardsville, 
Madison  county,  111.,  when  but  two 
years  of  age,  in  1803.  William  came  to 
this  county  as  above  mentioned,  and 
settled  upon  section  33,  where  he  lived 
some  20  years,  when  he  removed  to 
Jersey  township.  He  died  on  the  11th 
of  April,  1871. 

In  the  fall  of  1823,  a  man  by  the  name 
of  John  Findley  came,  locating  on  sec- 
tion 22,  on  the  farm  now  owned  by 
Hiram  Met  luskey.  He  came  from  North 
Carolina,  but   only    remained   about   a 


year,  when  he  sold  the  place  to  Henry 
Utt  and  moved  away. 

Joseph  White,  a  blacksmith,  came  in 
the  spring  of  1824,  settling  on  the  north- 
east quarter  of  section  30,  where  he 
started  a  blacksmith  shop,  which  was 
the  first  in  the  township  and  county, 
and  which  was  operated  at  this  point 
for  over  40  years.  He  afterward  re- 
moved to  near  the  line  of  Jersey  and 
Greene  counties,  near  Kane,  where  he 
subsequently  died. 

In  the  fall  of  1824  Orman  Beeman 
settled  on  Sec.  30,  where  he  afterward 
married  a  daughter  of  Joseph  White. 
He  was  a  native  of  South  Carolina,  and 
lived  in  Madison  county  for  several 
years  prior  to  coming  here,  and  was  a 
volunteer  in  the  United  States  service 
against  the  aborigines.  He  lived  here 
until  his  death. 

Nathaniel  Carrico  located  in  this  town- 
ship, on  coming  to  this  county  in  1831. 
The  same  fall  he  entered  some  land  in 
what  is  now  Otter  Creek  township, where 
he  lived  some  time,  but  moved  to  Greene 
county  afterwards,  where  he  died. 

John  Ryan  located  in  Mississippi 
township,  about  five  miles  southeast  of 
Jerseyville,  in  the  fall  of  1825.  He 
afterwards  removed  to  Greene  county, 
and  from  thereto  Ruvle  township,  where 
his  sons,  Henry  and  Richardson,  now 
reside.  He  was  a  native  of  Chester 
county,  Penn.  He  was  married  at  Zanes- 
ville,  O.,  soon  after  the  close  of  the  war 
of  1812-15.     He  died  Jan.  27,  1865. 

Francis  Swan,  a  native  of  North  Car- 
olina, emigrated,  in  1809,  from  Ken- 
tucky, and  settled  in  St.  Clair  county, 
111.  He  was  one  of  the  rangers  and  re- 
sided in  that  county  until  1823,  when  he 
removed   to  Greene  county,    near  Car- 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


437 


rollton.  In  1826,  he  came  to  Jersey 
count}',  locating  in  this  township, 
which  he  made  his  residence  until  he 
died,  in  1850.  He  was  married  in  1809, 
and  was  the  father  of  nine  children, 
five  of  whom  are  living — James  G., 
Mary,  John  P.,  Elizabeth,  Sophronia. 

A.  Carson  and  J.  J.  Basey  made  set- 
tlements in  this  locality  as  early  as 
1826-27,  but  are  long  since  gone  to  their 
grave. But  little  respecting  these  pioneers 
could  be  gathered,  except  the  fact  of 
their  settlement. 

Charles  Dodson  made  a  settlement 
upon  the  Addison  Greene  place  on  sec- 
tion 31,  in  1828.  He  married  a  daughter 
of  Judge  Lofton. 

Rev.  George  Slaten  came  to  this 
county  and  township  in  the  fall  of  1828, 
and  settled  upon  section  31.  He  was  a 
native  of  North  Carolina,  but  had  moved 
from  there  to  her  sister  state  of  South 
Carolina,  where  he  was  united  in  mar- 
riage with  Lucinda  (Brogden)  Slaten, 
in  the  year  1800.  Soon  after  this  they 
removed  to  Georgia,  where  they  con- 
tinued to  reside  until  1818,  when  they 
came  to  Illinois  and  located  in  St.  Clair 
county.  In  1822,  they  removed  to  the 
vicinity  of  Carrollton,  Greene  county, 
and  after  a  residence  of  six  years  in  that 
place,  came  to  this  county  as  above 
stated.  Rev.  George  Slaten  was  an  ac- 
tive and  efficient  minister  of  the  M.  E. 
church.  He  died  Aug.  6,  1844,  his  wife 
surviving  him  until  Jan.  23,  1866. 

Bartholomew  Chappell,  a  native  of 
Devonshire,  Eng.,  came  to  the  United 
States  in  1832,  landing  at  New  York, 
from  thence  came  to  Ohio,  and  then  to 
Upper  Alton,  remaining  in  each  place 
but  a  short  time,  when  he  came  to  Jer- 
Bey   county,   and  located  in  this  town- 


ship. Here  he  resided  for  many  years, 
until  his  death.  His  children  occupy 
the  homestead,  and  other  land  in  the 
township. 

Ephraim  Chappell,  one  of  the  well- 
to-do  residents  of  this  township,  was 
n  in  Devonshire,  Eng.,  Feb.  8,  1827. 
He  came  to  America  in  1833,  landing  in 
New  York.  He  came  westward  as  far 
as  Ohio,  where  he  staid  only  a  few 
weeks.  He  removed  to  Alton,  111.,  for 
a  short  time,  and  from  there  came  to 
Mississippi  township,  Jersey  county, 
where  he  located  on  a  farm,  and  re- 
mained until  1857,  when  he  went  to 
Macoupin  county,  where  he  farmed 
10  years.  In  18b7  he  came  back  to 
Jersey  county,  and  settled  on  the  place 
now  occupied  by  him.  It  contains  512  j 
acres  of  land,  all  under  cultivation  ex- 
cept 50  acres  in  timber,  a  fine  orchard, 
and  pasture  for  his  stock,  of  which  he 
has  14  head  of  horses,  30  head  of  cattle, 
and  a  fine  lot  of  stock  hogs.  He  has 
three  good  barns,  worth  85,000,  all  in 
good  repair,  a  wind  pump  in  the  stork 
yard,  and  everything  necessary  to  make 
farm  life  comfortable.  His  dwelling  is 
a  story  and  a  half  frame  house, 
30x60,  worth  $1,500.  Mr.  Chappell  was 
married  to  Nancy  Buckles,  June  It;, 
1857.  Three  children  were  born  to  this 
union — Ida  O.,  wife  of  Richard  Graham, 
living  in  this  township;  John  F.,  and 
Lula,  who  died  Aug.  15,  18G5.  His  wife 
died  Nov.  5,  1864.  On  the  24th  of  Jan- 
uary, 1869,  he  was  again  married  to 
Rosanah  Briggs.  Two  children  were 
born  to  them — Rosanah  G.,  died  Aug. 
30,  1872,  and  Cora,  died  Oct.  13.  1875. 
On  the  18th  of  May,  1872,  he  was  again 
left  a  widower  by  the  death  of  his  sec- 
ond wife.      In   Dec,  1872,  he  was   mar- 


ried  to  Maggie  H.  Delby,  and  to  this 
union  were  born  three  children — Effie, 
Ephraim  and  Octavia. 

W.  II.  Chappell  resides  upon  a  farm, 
Located  mi  the  north  half  of  the  north- 
east quarter  of  section  25,  Mississippi 
township.  He  was  born  in  Piasa  town- 
ship, Jersey  county,  111.,  Nov.  14,  isji>, 
being  a  son  of  William  Chappell,  a  na- 
tive of  England.  His  mother  is  also  a 
native  of  that  country.  Both  are  now 
living  in  Piasa  township.  The  subject 
of  this  sketch  was  married,  Nov.  9, 
1S64,  to  E.  A.  Bell,  daughter  of  Rev. 
D.  R.  and  Jane  (Morrow)  Bell,  the  for- 
mer a  native  of  Tennessee,  and  the 
latter  of  North  Carolina.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Bell  are  now  living  in  Eureka 
Springs,  Arkansas.  Mrs.  Chappell  was 
born  Dec.  3,  1845.  They  have  had  nine 
children  born  to  them,  four  of  whom 
are  now  living — More  E.,  George  E., 
John  E.,  and  Clarence  C.  Five  chil- 
dren died  in  infancy.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Chappell  are  members  of  the  Cumber- 
land Presbyterian  church.  He  is  also 
a  member  of  the  I.  0.  0.  F. 

During  the  years  1832  and  1833,  sev- 
eral more  individuals  made  settlements 
within  the  limits  of  this  township,  prom- 
inent among  whom  were  the  following 
named:  Francis  G.  Swan,  Sally  A. 
Reynolds,  Richard  H.  McGill,  Adam 
Waggoner,  Joab  White,  William  David- 
son, Levi  Smith  and  Moses  Cockrell. 

Joab  White  was  a  native  of  North 
Carolina. 

F.  G.  Swan  was  born  in  the  state  of 
North  Carolina,  and  came  to  Illinois  in 
1809,  locating  in  St.  Clair  county.  Dur- 
ing the  Indian  troubles  of  1812-15,  he 
was  a  member  of  the  rangers.     He  re- 


moved to  Greene  Co.  in  1823,  and  later 
came  to  this  county.     He  died  in   1850. 

Adam  Waggoner  was  a  native  of  Vir- 
ginia, but  when  young  was  removed  to 
Kentucky,  from  which  state  he  came 
here.     He  is  now  dead. 

Moses  Cockrell  was  born  in  Scott 
county,  0'.,  in  1806,  and  came  to  this  state 
in  1833,  settling  on  section  28,  where  he 
lived  until  his  death,  in  April,  1882. 

Jacob  Utt  located  in  this  township  in 
1833,  and  the  following  year  entered  his 
land.  He  was  a  Pennsylvanian,  and 
like  most  people  from  that  state,  an  ex- 
cellent farmer.  In  1857,  he  sold  out 
and  removed  to  the  vicinity  of  Virden, 
Macoupin  county, where  he  died  in  1869. 

A  great  many  other  settlers  of  the 
squatter  type  settled  in  this  township 
before  this  time,  but  their  stay  was  short 
and  their  names  have  entirely  escaped 
the  memory  of  the  older  settlers. 

OTHER    PR0MINE.NT    CITIZENS. 

Nelson  Marion  Lurton  was  born  at 
Newbern,  Jersey  county,  Jan.  9,  1830, 
and  is  to-day  the  oldest  living  resident 
born  in  Mississippi  township.  Being 
one  of  the  children  of  an  early  settle]-, 
in  his  youth  his  school  facilities  were 
very  limited,  many  of  the  teachers  be- 
ing but  partially  educated  themselves, 
below  those  now  holding  second  grade 
certificates.  Notwithstanding  these 
drawbacks,  however,  many  of  the  chil- 
dren of  those  days  received  very  good 
education,  some  graduating  at  leading 
colleges,  and  afterwards  filling  many 
important  positions.  Nelson  was  given 
all  the  advantage  that  could  be  had  at 
that  early  day,  of  which  he  availed  him- 
self to  a  great  degree.  In  1850,  being 
seized  with  the  prevailing  "gold-fever" 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


439 


he  went  to  California,  and  while  there 
cast  his  first  vote,  which  was  at  the 
first  election  for  state  officers  in  that 
state.  Remaining  in  that  part  of  the 
country  for  some  time,  he  removed  to 
the  land  of  his  nativity,  hy  way  of 
South  America.  On  the  13th  of  Jan., 
1853,  he  was  united  in  marriage  with 
Emma,  daughter  of  James  and  AmaSlo- 
man,  a  native  of  Devonshire,  Eng.,  born 
March  4,  1833.  By  this  union  there 
has  been  live  children — Henry  Camp- 
bell, bom  Oct.  29,  1853;  Magnolia  Bell, 
born  April  10,  1857j  wife  of  John  H. 
Darlington  ;  M.  Lu,  born  Dec.  27,  1860; 
Eva  Minerva,  born  Feb.  3,  1866;  and 
Marion  Nelson,  born  Dec.  29,  1871.  On 
his  marriage  Mr.  Lurton  settled  upon  a 
farm,  which  he  broke  out  of  the  vir- 
gin soil,  where  he  has  lived  ever  since, 
lie  joined  the  Cumberland  Presbyterian 
church  in  1856,  and  was  elected  ruling 
elder  and  clerk  on  the  organization  of 
the  church  in  his  vicinity  in  1857,  and 
he  has  acted  in  that  capacity  ever  since. 
Politically  he  has  always  been  a  demo- 
crat with  liberal  views.  In  18IS2,  he 
was  elected  a  member  of  the  board  of 
supervisors,  and  served  one  year. 

George  H.  VanHorne,  a  prominent 
fanner  of  this  township,  was  born  and 
raised  here.  The  date  of  his  birth  is 
Nov.  20,  1848.  He  was  married  to 
Mary  A.  Jones,  a  native  of  New  York, 
on  the  6th  day  of  Oct.,  1875.  She  was 
the  daughter  of  Alva  and  Amelia  Jones. 
Only  one  child  was  born  to  them — 
Fanny  A.,  born  Aug.  21,  1876,  died 
Aug.  15,  1877.  Mrs.  VanHorne  died 
Jan.  25,  1S77.  On  the  15th  day  of  Nov., 
1881,  he  was  again  married  to  Mary  I. 
Cummings.  They  have  had  two  chil- 
dren— Sarah    N.,    born    Dec.    11,    1882, 


died  November  18,  bss;j;  Columbus  C, 
born  April  18,  1884.  The  residence  is 
a  two  and  a  half  story  brick,  24x34, 
costing  $3,000.  The  barn  is  a  frame 
building.  36x40,  costing  §1,000.  A  wind 
pump  is  used  in  obtaining  the  water. 
There  are  193  acres  of  land  in  the  farm, 
on  which  is  a  young  apple  orchard  of 
150  trees.  The  C.  &  A.  R.  R.  runs 
through  the  place  and  there  is  a  ceme- 
tery located  on  the  farm.  Mr.  Van- 
Horne seems  to  be  much  thought  of  in 
that  township,  as  he  has  been  elected 
to  tin'  office  of  town  cleTk  four  terms, 
and  is  now  supervisor  and  also  school 
director  in  district  No.  1.  He  belongs 
to  No.  659  of  the  I.  0.  O.  F.,  of  Delhi, 
ami  is  also  a  member  of  Jerseyville  en- 
campment. Politically  he  is  a  demo- 
crat. 

John  Buckles,  a  prosperous  and  thriv- 
ing farmer  of  this  township,  was  born 
in  Scioto  county,  Ohio,  on  the  6th  day 
of  April,  in  the  year  1833.  In  the  year 
1835  he  came  with  his  parents,  John  and 
Nancy  (Clark)  Buckles,  to  Mississippi 
township,  Jersey  county,  111.  On  the 
27th  of  Oct.,  1859,  he  was  united  in  mar- 
riage to  Mahala  Chappell,  daughter  of 
Bart,  and  Grace  Chappell.  By  this 
union  there  were  six  children — Effie  L., 
born  Aug.  9,  1860,  married  Rev.  W.  C. 
Logan,  and  lives  at  Alton;  Mary  Grace, 
bom  on  the  8th  of  Nov.,  1862,  is  the 
wife  of  Edward  E.  Peed,  and  lives  in 
Burdenville,  Kan.;  James  T.,born  Oct. 
.".(i,  1864;  Charles  W.,  born  May  3,  1868; 
John  E.,  born  Dec.  10,  1870;  Richard  R., 
bom  April  6,  1873.  He  has  160  acre>  of 
land,  located  as  follows:  On  the  north- 
west quarter  of  the  southwest  quarter  of 
section  29,  the  southwest  quarter  of  the 
northwest   quarter    and    the    northwest 


44(1 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


quarter  of  the  southwest  quarter  of  sec- 
tion 28,  in  this  township.  His  residence 
is  a  frame  building,  two  stories  high, 
the  main  part  28x40,  the  L  16x18,  cost- 
ing $4,000.  He  has  two  barns,  one 
50x32,  costing  $800,  the  other  30x40  feet, 
costing  $500;  a  buggy-house  and  shop, 
worth  $400,  and  a  smoke-house  and  milk- 
house  worth  $200.  There  is  a  good 
apple  orchard,  with  a  variety  of  other 
fruit,  such  as  pears,  plums  and  cherries. 
The  farm  and  its  surroundings  show 
that  much  care  and  attention  has  been 
devoted  by  Mr.  Buckles  to  its  improve- 
ment. He  and  his  wife  are  members  of 
the  Cumberland  Presbyterian  church. 
He  belongs  to  Otterville  Lodge,  No.  563, 
A.  F.  and  A.  M.,  and  to  the  Royal  Arch 
Chapter  at  Jerseyville. 

Rice  T.  Jones  is  a  native  of  England, 
having  been  born. in  Picadilly,  Queen's 
Square,  London,  on  St.  Thomas  day, 
Nov.  21,  1835.  In  1860  he  came  to 
America,  and  came  as  far  west  as  Bright- 
on, Macoupin  county,  111.,  where  he 
worked  by  the  month  for  five  years.  In 
1865  he  moved  to  Jersey  county,  where 
he  bought  80  acres  on  section  11,  and  20 
acres  on  section  23,  both  in  Mississippi 
township.  He  lived  on  the  80  for  10 
years,  and  then  bought  80  more  on  sec- 
tion 11,  and  10  on  section  12.  On  his 
farm  is  a  two-story  frame  dwelling,  about 
18x40,  costing  $3,000;  a  good  granary; 
sheds  for  buggy,  wagon  and  farming 
implements,  a  stable  and  corn  cribs. 
There  are  three  wells  of  good  water  on 
the  place,  and  this  with  such  improve- 
ments as  we  have  have  described  make 
it  a  very  desirable  farm.  Mr.  Jones  was 
married  to  Emeline  Handsaker,  on  the 
26th  of  April,  1863.  She  is  the  daugh- 
ter  of   William   and  Mary   A.  (Spears) 


Handsaker,  and  was  born  Jan.  29,  1845. 
Her  parents  are  of  English  origin,  and 
his  are  natives  of  Southern  Wales. 
There  are  four  children — John  W.,  born 
Feb.  6,  1864,  died  in  infancy;  Lue  A., 
born  Feb.  6,  1865;  George  E.,  born 
May  17,  1867;  and  Harry  A.,  born  Jan. 
31,  1S74.  Mr.  Jones  held  the  office  of 
supervisor  one  year.  Most  of  his  time  is 
taken  up  in  the  care  and  improvement 
of  his  land,  and  by  his  industry  and 
perseverance,  he  now  has  a  well  im- 
proved farm. 

Lewis  Randolph  was  born  in  Bernards 
township,  Somerset  county,  N.  J.,  on 
the  13th  of  Dec,  1808  He  was  the 
second  son  of  Peter  and  Harriet  Ran- 
dolph. Mr.  Randolph  »vas  a  blacksmith 
by  trade,  making  it  his  business  in  a 
country  place,  having  a  small  farm 
where  he  resided,  and  which  he  man- 
aged, in  connection  with  his  trade,  doing 
country  blacksmithing,  and  making 
augurs  until  that  business  failed.  Lewis 
worked  on  the  farm  or  in  the  shop  as 
his  help  was  mostly  needed,  until  the 
spring  of  1828,  when  on  the  24th  of  May, 
he  was  married  to  Mary  Ann  Compton, 
daughter  of  Moore  and  Mary  (Anderson) 
Compton,  and  who  was  born  March  28, 
1810.  In  the  spring  of  1829,  he  moved 
on  a  farm  bought  by  his  father, where  he 
resided  until  1837,  living  as  one  un- 
broken family,  but  always  having  a  de- 
sire to  see  the  far  west.  Fully  making 
up  bis  mind,  about  the  first  of  Sept.,  to 
go  west,  sold  the  farm,  and  on  the  10th 
of  Oct.,  1837,  with  his  wife  and  three 
children,  and  Miss  Eliza  Jane  Compton, 
sister  of  his  wife,  and  now  Mrs.  J.  K. 
Stelle,  living  near  Jerseyville,  also  Bry- 
ant Cross,  Jacob  K.  Stelle,  Isaac  Goltra, 
now  Dr.    Goltra,    of    Springfield,    111., 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


441 


Stephen  Sutton  and  James  T.  Harris, 
started  on  the  long  journey,  traveling 
in  wagons.  Having  good  roads  and  fine 
weather,  their  new  mode  of  living  seem- 
ed pleasant,  as  they  always  camped  out 
wherever  night  overtook  them,  until 
they  had  performed  the  largest  part  of 
their  journey.  But  in  passing  through 
a  part  of  Ohio,  Indiana  and  the  eastern 
part  of  Illinois,  they  had  to  travel  over 
a  new-cut  road,  stumps,  in  the  timber 
and  mud  on  the  prairies.  They  took  it 
patiently,  as  they  were  doing  as  well  as 
others,  they  being  pretty  thickly  scat- 
tered along  the  route,  going  both  ways 
to  and  from  the  country.  On  the  21st 
of  November  they  landed  in  Jackson- 
ville, on  a  most  disagreeable  and  rainy 
day.  perfectly  satisfied  to  unload  and 
go  to  housekeeping  for  a  while,  and 
also  giving  themselves  a  chance  of  find- 
ing a  place  to  make  a  home.  Mr.  Ran- 
dolph selected  the  place  where  he  now 
resides,  on  the  part  of  the  13th  section 
of  township  7,  range  11,  then  a  part  of 
Greene  county;  but,  by  an  act  of  the  leg- 
islature, in  1839,  it  was  divided  and 
the  southern  part  was  called  Jersey 
county.  Here  he  arrived  on  the  21st 
of  April,  1838,  after  a  three  day's 
travel  from  Jacksonville,  on  the  state 
road  leading  from  Jacksonville  to  St. 
Louis.  His  family  increased  to  eight 
children,  seven  of  whom  lived  to  be 
men  and  women.  One  died  in  infancy. 
Elmira,  born  July  1,  1829,  became  the 
wife  of  John  Williams,  in  the  fall  of  1S47, 
and  died  July  5,  1852,  leaving  two  sons, 
Joel  C.  and  Lewis  R.  Williams,  now 
living  in  Nebraska;  Abel  S.,  born  Aug. 
5,  1831,  married  Minerva  Edwards  June 
9,  1869,  has  one  son  and  now  lives  in 
Montgomery     county,     111.;    Moore   C. 


Randolph,  born  Dec.  9,  1834,  married 
Eleanor  McDow  April  7,  1858,  and  died 
July  4,  1858;  Harriet,  born  Feb.  3, 
1842, married  S.  T.  Moore,  May  16,1861, 
have  five  children,  two  girls  and  three 
boys — Josie,  Edward,  Frank,  Nellie 
and  Lewis  R.,  living  at  Brighton;  Ruth 
W.,  born  Nov.  9,  1844,  unmarried;  Cath- 
arine A.,  born  Sept.  19,  1847,  married 
Jan.  19,  1871,  to  James  H.  Clapp,  have 
two  daughters,  Carrie  and  Hattie,  living 
at  Blue  Springs,  Neb;  Peter  J.  Randolph, 
born  Feb.  11,  1850,  married  Oct.  21, 
1872,  to  Clara  Gelder,  living  at  Morris- 
onville,  Christian  county,  111.  Mr.  Ran- 
dolph lias  held  the  office  of  school  treas- 
urer, in  that  township,  two  terms;  has 
been  a  director  in  the  Farmer's  Insur- 
ance Company  since  its  organization, 
and  has  also  been  a  trustee  in  the  Bap- 
tist church,  of  Jerseyville,  for  the  past 
20  years. 

Thomas  C.  Carrico  (deceased)  was 
born  within  the  present  limits  of  Jer- 
sey county,  111.,  Dec.  21,  1825.  Aug. 
19,  1847,  he  was  married  by  Rev.  B. 
Stafford,  to  Mary  Beeman,  daughter  of 
Omer  and  Talitha  (White;  Beeman,  the 
former  a  native  of  Connecticut,  and  the 
latter  of  South  Carolina.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Carrico  had  five  children  born  to 
them— Leander  C,  born  Oct.  10,  1848, 
now  living  at  Elsah;  Francis  J.,  born 
June  15,  1850,  and  died  Aug.  15,  1851, 
Amy  T.,  born  Aug.  8,  1852,  now  the 
wife  of  Sylvester  Hamilton,  of  Otter- 
ville;  Mary  J.,  born  April  14,  1854, 
now  the  widow  of  Joseph  Rutherford, 
living  in  the  Indian  Nation,  and  Luther 
M.,  born  March  11,  1857,  and  died  on 
the  23d  day  of  the  same  month.  Mr. 
Carrico  enlisted  Aug.  15,  1862,  in  com- 
pany G,  of  the  122d  111.  Inf.,  commanded 


442 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


by  Capt.  Cowen,  and  was  taken  sick 
and  died  in  the  hospital  at  Corinth, 
Miss.,  March  14,  18(53.  He  was  much 
esteemed  in  the  community  where  he 
lived.  He  was  a  republican  in  politics, 
an  earnest  advocate  of  the  cause  of 
temperance,  and  a  consistent  christian, 
holding  connection  with  the  Baptist 
church  at  Virden,  111. 

Jan.  15,  1871,  Mrs.  Carrico  was  mar- 
ried to  Daniel  Bettis,  who  was  born  in 
Hamilton  county,  Ohio,  April  27,  1829. 
Mr.  Bettis  had  been  previously  married 
to  Martha  Vanausdall,  June  10,  1853, 
and  by  his  .first  marriage  had  five  chil- 
dren— Margaret  P.,  born  July  4,  1854, 
now  the  wife  of  John  Barnard,  of  Peo- 
ria, 111.;  Rachel  M.,  born  July  3,  1856, 
and  died  in  1857;  Amelia  A.,  born  July 
30,  1858,  now  the  wife  of  Henry  Roth- 
wilder  of  Carlinville,  111.;  Martha  A., 
born  Dec.  5,  I860,  wife  of  M.  Miller, 
of  Jerseyville,  111.,  and  Daniel  W., 
born  Oct.  20,  1862,  now  living  in  Win- 
chester, 111.  Mr.  Bettis  enlisted  in  the 
130th  111.  Inf.,  serving  in  that  regiment 
until  it  was  consolidated  with  the  77th 
regiment.  He  continued  in  the  service 
till  Aug.  22,  1865, when  he  was  mustered 
out  at  Camp  Butler,  near  Springfield,  111. 
He  participated  in  all  the  engagements 
of  his  regiment,  never  receiving  even  a 
scratch.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Bettis  own  80 
acres  of  land  on  section  19,  Mississippi 
township,  also  120  acres  in  Cherokee 
county,  Kan.,  and  a  residence  and  two 
acres  of  land  in  the  village  of  Otterville. 
Mr.  Bettis  is  a  member  of  the  G.  A.  R., 
and  a  staunch  friend  of  the  temperance 
cause.     He  is,  in  politics,  a  republican. 

Deacon  Jacob  K.  Stelle  was  a  native 
of  Somerset  county,  N.  J.,  and  was  born 
on  the  2d    of    Sept.,    1816.     His  father 


was  a  native  of  Middlesex  county,  X. 
J.  His  ancestral  descent  is  French  and 
Scotch.  Mr.  Stelle  was  united  in  mar- 
riage with  Anna  Kirkpatrick,  and  they 
had  a  family  of  five  children,  of  whom 
the  subject  of  this  sketch  is  the  second. 
Mr.  Stelle's  occupation  was  that  of  a 
farmer.  In  April,  1850,  while  on  a 
visit  to  his  son  Jacob,  in  Jersey  county, 
he  was  taken  sick,  and  four  days  after 
his  arrival,  died,  and  was  buried  in 
Van  Horn  burying  ground  mar  Delhi. 
His  widow  survived  him  until  1870. 
Jacob  K.  Stelle  received  his  early  edu- 
cation in  the  schools  of  his  native  state, 
working  on  his  father's  farm,  and  at- 
tending school  alternately,  until  the 
age  of  14,  when  he  went  to  Morristown 
and  became  a  clerk  in  a  dry  goods  store, 
in  which  capacity  he  remained  five 
years,  at  the  end  of  which  time  he  be- 
came a  partner  of  his  former  employer, 
Wm.  M.  Lindsley.  He  continued  with 
him  until  Oct.  10,  1837,  when,  with  a 
party  of  11  others,  he  left  New  Jersey, 
with  wagon  and  teams,  his  destination 
being  Illinois.  They  arrived  at  Jack- 
sonville, Nov.  21.  After  looking  over 
different  portions  of  the  state,  Mr. 
Stelle  located  on  a  farm  in  what  is  now 
Jersey  county,  in  February  of  1838. 
The  land  was  in  township  7,  range  11, 
and  had  never  been  improved.  Being 
unused  to  pioneer  life,  the  labor  and 
hardships  were  more  than  he  could  at 
first  endure,  but  he  finally  became  ac- 
customed to  it  and  during  the  second 
year  after  his  arrival  raised  a  crop.  He 
was  married  Nov.  15,  1838,  to  Eliza 
Jane  Compton,  formerly  of  New  Jersey, 
and  one  of  the  party  who  accompanied 
them  on  their  trip.  His  parents  \\  ere 
Moore  and  Mary  Compton.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


443 


Stelle  were  married  in  a  log  house 
then  occupied  by  his  brother-in-law.    A 

family  of  six  children  were  horn  to 
them,  four  of  whom  are  yet  Living.  Mr. 
Stelle  had  but  a  small  capital  when  he 
came  here,  carrying  on  the  farm  with 
only  one  ox;  but  with  energy  and  per- 
severance he  was  enabled  to  acquire 
enough  to  be  considered  among  the 
wealthy  farmers  of  this  county.  In 
1870  he  retired  from  farm  life  and 
moved  to  his  suburban  residence  south 
of  .Jerseyville.  In  1S41  he  became  a 
member  of  the  Baptist  church  in  Jer- 
seyville, his  wife  having  joined  the 
same  denomination  in  New  Jersey.  In 
1848  Mr.  Steele  was  elected  deacon  of 
the  church  in  Jerseyville,  which  re- 
sponsible position  he  held  until  his 
death.  He  was  also  treasurer  of  the 
Carrollton  Baptist  Association  for  eight 
years.  All  of  his  children  are  members 
of  the  same  church.  He  labored  for 
many  years  to  sustain  a  Sabbath  school 
at  Delhi,  and  after  moving  near  town, 
taught  a  bible  class  in  Jerseyville  as 
long  as  his  health  permitted.  From 
his  earliest  connection  with  the  church 
his  piety  was  of  the  purest  type.  He 
was  always  earnest,  consistent,  devoted 
and  spiritual.  His  judgments  were 
clear,  discriminating  and  reliable.  His 
support  of  the  church  and  its  pastor 
uniform  and  unwavering.  His  friend- 
ships were  reserved,  but  confiding  and 
true.  His  benevolence  was  large,  act- 
ive and  scriptural.  His  kindness  to  the 
poor  and  the  unfortunate  was  ever  at- 
tested by  earnest  efforts  to  alleviate. 
His  business  capacity  was  superior,  his 
integrity  unimpeachable,  his  moral 
life  above  suspicion,  his  domestic  life 
characterized    by     love     and    kindness, 


sympathy  and  hospitality.  He  was  a 
self-made  man,  highly  respected  by  his 
fellow-citizens,  and  among  the  most 
prominent  men  of  Jersey  county.  More 
than  4(1  years  ago,  the  disease  of  which 
he  died,  first  manifested  itself,  though 
a  strong  constitution,  aided  by  the  best 
medical  skill  that  could  be,  procured, 
enabled  him  to  impede  its  progress  so 
many  years,  yet  he  had  been  a  great 
sufferer.  But  he  bore  it  all  with  such 
fortitude  and  patience,  that  during  all 
those  years  his  most  intimate  friends 
scarcely  realized  the  severity  and  extent 
of  his  suffering.  In  the  latter  part  of 
Aug.,  1S77,  lie  became  entirely  blind, 
but  as  the  light  of  this  world  laded 
away,  that  of  the  other  and  better  world 
became  clearer.  About  8  o'clock  P. 
M.,  March  7,  1878,  he  quietly  departed 
at  the  age  of  111  years,  6  months  and  5 
days.     "Mark  the  perfect  man." 

Moore  C.  Stelle,  a  prominent  and  en- 
terprising farmer  of  Mississippi  town- 
ship, was  born  on  the  place  thai  he  now 
lives  on.  His  farm  consists  of  200  acres 
on  section  13,  with  all  of  the  best  im- 
provements that  could  be  desired.  The 
dwelling  is  a  fine  two  story  building, 
worth  about $6,000.  There  are  two  large 
barns,  one  30x50,  worth  $2,000,  the 
other  20x30,  worth  $1,500;  also  a  COW 
shed  which  cost  si, UK),  a  good  set  of 
scales,  two  wind  pumps,  a  wagon  house, 
corn  cribs,  with  shed  attached  for  stor- 
ing all  the  farm  implements,  and  a  good 
ice  house.  There  are  two  orchards  on 
his  place,  one  an  apple  orchard  contain- 
taining  100  bearing  trees,  the  other  a 
peach  orchard  of50trees.  The  residence 
is  surrounded  with  line  grounds,  making 
it  a  beautiful  Location.  Moore  C.  was 
married  to  Elizabeth  S.  Clapp,  daughter 


444 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


of  Leonidaa  and  Jane  (Chamberlain) 
Clapp.  Her  father  was  a  native  of  Wash- 
ington county,  N.  Y.,  born  Jan.  16, 
1812,  and  he  was  married  Oct.  28,  1841, 
to  Jane  Chamberlain,  and  to  them 
eight  children  were  born.  He  came 
west  with  his  family  in  1856,  settling 
near  Iowa  City,  la.,  where  he  resided 
until  1861,  when  he  removed  to  Jersey 
county,  111.  In  April,  1880,  he  moved 
to  Blue  Springs,  Neb.,  where  he  lived  a 
respected  citizen,  until  his  death,  April 
4,  1882,  which  was  caused  by  typhoid 
pneumonia.  Mr.  Stelle  has  three  chil- 
dren living,  and  four  dead — Ellsworth, 
born  Aug.  8,  1867,  died  Nov.  16,  1867; 
Harry  J.,  born  Sept.  4,  1869,  died  Feb. 
13,  1884;  Frank  E.,  born  Aug.  5,  1871; 
Jennie  M.,  born  March  20,  1873,  and 
Roy  M.,  born  Nov.  26,  1876.  Two  died 
in  infancy.  Mrs.  Stelle  was  born  in 
Washington  county,  N.  Y.,  April  21, 
1844.  They  are  both  members  of  the 
Baptist  church  of  Jerseyville.  He  holds 
the  office  of  school  treasurer  in  this 
township. 

Samuel  Darlington  was  born  in  Scioto 
county,  0.,  on  the  14th  of  Aug.,  1827. 
In  1840  he  came  with  his  parents  to 
Illinois,  then  locating  on  section  21,  in 
Mississippi  township,  Jersey  county, 
which  place  he  himself  now  occupies. 
His  parents  were  Abishra  and  Eva 
(Cramer)  Darlington.  His  father  was 
born  in  Pennsylvania  in  1785,  and  died 
at  his  home  in  this  township  in  1851. 
His  mother  was  also  born  in  Pennsyl- 
vania, in  1790,  and  died  at  her  home  in 
1849.  They  are  both  buried  here,  on 
the  home  place,  side  by  side.  Samuel 
Darlington  was  married  to  Mary  Cox, 
Sept.  12,  1850.  She  is  the  daughter  of 
Jacob    B.   and  Cynthia   (Turner)    Cox. 


Six  children  have  been  born  to  them — 
William  A.,  born  Aug.  21,  1851;  Sarah 
Jane,  born  Dec.  19,  1854,  is  the  wife  of 
Charles  Kelly,  and  lives  in  Jerseyville; 
Olivia,  born  May  5,  1856,  is  the  wife  of 
Eugene  Brooks,  and  lives  in  Jersey 
township;  Julia  A.,  born  Sept.  12, 1857; 
Magnolia,  born  Aug.  2,  1860,  is  the  wife 
of  Robert  Green,  and  lives  in  Kane, 
Greene  county,  111.;  Nettie,  born  Dec. 
20,  1867.  Mr.  Darlington  is  well  fixed, 
having  a  two-story  residence  worth 
$3,000,  the  main  part  lSxoS,  with  an  L 
18x31;  a  barn  26x40,  costing  $600,  be- 
sides all  the  necessary  outbuildings  that 
are  generally  found  on  a  first-class  farm. 
He  is  a  member  of  the  I.  O.  O.  F.,  No. 
456,  of  Otterville,  and  also  of  the  camp, 
No.  53,  at  Jerseyville.  His  political 
views  are  republican. 

John  H.  Darlington  was  born  on  the 
5th  day  of  Oct.,  in  the  year  1853,  in 
Jersey  county,  in  the  same  house  in 
which  he  now  lives.  He  was  married 
on  April  25,  in  the  year  1880,  to  Mag- 
nolia B.  Lurton,  born  on  the  10th  day  of 
April,  1857.  She  is  the  daughter  of  N. 
M.  and  Emma  (Sloman)  Lurton.  They 
have  only  one  child,  Herschel  L.,  born 
on  the  22d  day  of  Nov.,  in  the  year 
1884.  Mr.  Darlington's  father  was  born 
in  Scioto  county,  O.,  on  the  18th  day 
of  Dec,  1817.  His  mother  is  a  native 
of  Illinois.  Her  father  was  born  in 
Illinois,  and  her  mother  in  England. 
The  farm  is  located  on  section  16  of  this 
township.  On  it  is  a  frame  house  18x36 
with  an  L  18x22,  costing  $1,000;  a  barn, 
double  cribs,  granary  and  buggy  sheds, 
costing  about  $1,000.  There  is  a  good 
orchard,  and  everything  around  denotes 
prosperity.  In  politics,  he  is  a  republi- 
can. 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


445 


William  Davison,  an  enterprising  far- 
mer   of    this    township,    was    born    in 
Monmouth  county,  N.  J.,  on  the  18th 
of  Jan.,  1822.    In  1840  he  went  to  Mon- 
roe county,  N.  Y.,    staying   until    1854. 
He  then  went  to  Michigan,  where  he  re- 
mained until  the  spring  of  1857,  when 
he  moved  to  Jersey  county,  111.,  on  the 
place  now  occupied  by  him.     He  owns 
150  acres  of  land  on  section  10,  20  acres 
of  timber  on  section  22,  and  10  acres  on 
section  16.     His  farm  is  well  improved 
and   provided   with   good    accommoda- 
tions.    The  residence  cost  $3,000,  and 
is  a   two-story  frame   building,   24x34, 
with  an    L  16x20.     He  has  a  large  barn 
36x46,    costing  $1,350,  a  granary  24x26, 
costing  $400,  and  a  good  wind  pump. 
There  are  350  rods  of  hedge  fence   on 
the  land,  and  a  young  apple  orchard  of 
130    trees.      All    those    improvements 
tend  to  show  that  Mr.  Davison  is  a  man 
who    devotes   his   time    successfully  to 
the  occupation  he  has  chosen.     He  was 
married  to  Emeline    Potter  on  the   2d 
day  of  Oct.,  1845.     She  is  the  daughter 
of   Lewis    and    Nancy    (Bliss)    Potter. 
They  have  three  children — Lewis,  born 
on  the  16th  of  Feb.,  1846,  now  married 
to    Elizabeth    Ely,    and    living   in  this 
township;  James,  born  on  the  26th  day 
of  June,  1848,  married  to   Mary  Lowe, 
and  Clarence  born  on  the  13th  of  April, 
1850,    married  to  Letitia  Ely.     All  the 
children    live    in    the   township.     Mr. 
Davison  is  a  member  of  the  Methodist 
church. 

Joseph  Marshaw  was  born  in  the  year 
1825,  on  a  place  that  is  now  a  portion  of 
the  city  of  St.  Louis.  He  is  a  son  of 
Joseph  Marshaw,  Sr.,  who  is  a  native 
of  France.  Joseph,  Jr.,  was  raised  on 
a  farm,    which   occupation  he  has  since 


followed.  In  1837  he  came  to  Jersey 
county,  and  settled  at  Otterville.  He 
was  married  in  1849, to  Sarah  A.  McDow, 
a  native  of  this  county.  They  have  five 
children — Madra  Jane,  wife  of  James 
M.  Harris,  of  this  township;  Louie  An- 
geline,  wife  of  Arthur  McGee,  living  in 
Kansas;  Florence  Matilda,  married  to 
Franklin  W.  Bently,  and  living  in  Cass 
county,  Ill.;Addie  and  Joseph  Edmond, 
at  home.  He  owns  a  farm  of  177  acres 
on  section  29,  in  township  7,  and  on 
which  he  lives  comfortably.  He  is  a 
member  of  the  I.  O.  0.  F. 

Andrew  J.  Everts  is  among  the 
prosperous  farmers  of  this  township. 
He  was  born  in  Madison  county,  N.  Y., 
on  the  21st  of  May,  1843.  He  moved 
west  to  Audrain  county,  Mo.,  in  1865, 
and  remained  there  six  years.  He  then 
went  to  New  York  on  a  visit,  staid 
there  and  in  Michigan  until  1872,  when 
he  went  back  to  Missouri  and  remained 
there  that  winter.  In  1873  he  came  to 
English  township,  Jersey  county,  111., 
staid  thefe  16  months,  moved  to  Missis- 
sippi township,  on  section  11,  and  lived 
there  six  years.  In  the  spring  of  1881 
he  moved  to  the  farm  now  occupied  by 
him  on  the  west  half  of  section  15.  He 
was  married  to  Celia  Day  in  Jan.,  1868. 
She  was  born  in  Lenawee  county,  Mich. 
They  had  one  child  born  to  them — 
Cora  M.,  born  Dec.  22,  1868.  His  wife 
died  in  Oct.,  1870,  and  was  buried  in 
Audrain  county,  Mo.  On  Jan.  28,  1875, 
he  was  again  married  to  Mrs.  Emma  L. 
Hartwell,  born  May  20,  1849.  Three 
children  were  born  to  them — Walter 
W.,  born  Nov.  3,  1875,  died  Sept.  25, 
1877;  Eugene  A.,  born  Dec.  29,  1877; 
Eugh  O.,  born  Nov.  2,  1879.  Mrs. 
Everts  has,  besides  these,  two  children 


44G 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


by  her  first  husband.  They  are — Battie 
A.,  horn  Jan.  3,  1870;  Florence  R.,born 
Jan.  3,  1872.  Mr.  Everts  lias  320  acres 
ofgoodfarm  land,  cm  which  he  has  a 
two-story  frame  residence,  the  main 
part  18x40,  the  L  24x36,  and  costing 
$3,000.  There  is  also  a  good  frame 
barn  40x60,  worth  $800,  with  granaries 
and  corn  cribs  worth  $800.  He  is  a 
member  of  the  K.  of  H.,  and  of  the  G. 
A.  1!.  He  is  a  thriving,  industrious 
farmer,  and  has  prospered  by  so  being. 

James  R.  Slaten  resides  upon  the 
southwest  quarter  of  section  31,  Missis- 
sippi township,  where  he  owns  a  valu- 
able farm  of  80  acres,  finely  improved 
in  every  manner.  He  owns,  also,  60 
acres  of  land  in  Elsah  township,  which 
is  partly  improved.  Mr.  Slaten  was 
born  in  Greene  county,  111.,  Aug.  10, 
1822,  and  his  entire  life  has  been  spent 
in  this  portion  of  the  state.  He  was 
married  March  21,  1.S44,  to  Elizabeth 
West,  who  was  born  in  Madison  county, 
Ky.,  Sept.  15,  1S22.  She  died  in  Jersey 
county,  March  21,  1879,  and  was  buried 
in  the  Salem  cemetery,  Otter  Creek 
township.  They  had  two  children, 
Mary  Jane,  born  Dec.  24,  1846,  wife  of 
Sylvester  Whitcomb,  and  Lee  C,  born 
Feb.  5,  1859,  and  died  Sept.  5,  1860. 
Mr.  Slaten's  daughter  resides  with  him 
at  present,  her  husband  being  in  Idaho 
Territory.  Mr.  Slaten  is  a  member  of 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  church.  His 
late  wife  was  also  a  member  of  thai 
church.  He  belongs  to  the  Grafton 
lodge  of  A.  P.  &  A.  M.,  and  is,  politi- 
cally, a  republican. 

John  E.  Love  was  born  on  the  27th 
day  of  March,  1852,  in  the  state  of  Vir- 
ginia. He  is  a  son  of  J.  D.  and  Anna 
Love.      His  father  was  a  native  of  Penn- 


sylvania, and  was  born  on  the  4th  day 
of  April,  1804.  lie  died  on  the  12th  day 
of  Feb.,  1878,  and  was  buried  by  the 
side  of  his  hrother,  Joseph,  on  the  farm 
of  William  Love,  in  Calhoun  county, 
111.  The  place  is  called  Love's  grave- 
yard. John's  mother  was  bom  in  the 
state  of  Delaware,  in  1S29.  They 
moved  west  from  Virginia  in  1860,  set- 
tling in  Calhoun  county,  111.  They 
staid  in  that  neighborhood  about  six 
years,  and  then  came  to  Jersey  county, 
Mississippi  township,  where  J.  E.  has 
since  lived  with  his  mother.  He  is  the 
fifth  child  of  a  family  of  nine,  six  of 
whom  are  yet  living.  He  is  a  member 
of  the  M.  E.  church.  His  political 
views  are  democratic. 

George  W.  McCann  was  born  Sept. 
30,  1863,  at  Otterville,  Jersey  county, 
111.  In  1S7G,  when  only  13  years  old, 
he  made  a  trip  to  Texas,  where  he 
helped  his  father  raise  a  crop.  He  came 
back  to  this  county  the  next  fall,  and 
while  he  staid  here  he  worked  for  Zim 
Rollins.  In  June,  of  the  next  year,  he 
returned  to  Texas,  and  remained  there  a 
tew  months,  working  in  a  bakery.  He 
then  came  back  to  Illinois,  where  he 
worked  for  John  Dougherty  about  four 
years.  He  then  took  a  trip  to  Kansas, 
where  lie  remained  about  two  months, 
looking  around  the  country,  when  he 
came  back,  and  was  married.  His  mar- 
riage took  place  Oct.  24,  1883,  to  .Minnie 
Menard.  She  was  reared  by  William 
Donnegan. 

Frederick  llartman  was  born  in  Sax- 
ony, Germany,  on  the  2d  day  of  Nov., 
in  the  year  1S27.  He  left  his  native 
place  in  L850and  immigrated  to  America 
He  landed  in  New  .Jersey,  where  he 
lived  four  years,  and  then  came  to  Jer- 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


447 


sey  county,  111.,  settling  on  the  Cum- 
mings  farm.  He  remained  on  thai  place 
three  years,  then  went  on  section  22, 
living  there  nine  years,  and  then  came 
to  section  '.',  where  he  now  lives. 
He  has  his  land  well  improved,  and  on 
it  are  good  frame  buildings,  a  good 
house  and  barn,  insured  at  $2,000,  and 
all  in  good  repair.  He  was  united  in 
marriage  with  Emeline  Frond,  in  the 
year  1852.  She  was  born  in  1824.  Three 
children  were  born  to  them — Annie,  u  ho 
died  at  tie'  age  of  11  years:  Frank,  h  'I'll 
in  tlie  year  1854,  married  Lena  Hamil- 
ton, ami  lives  in  California;  Mary, 
born  in  the  year  1858,  is  the  wife  of 
John  Fall,  and  lives  in  Jersey  county. 
Mr.  Hartman  and  wife  are  members  of 
the  Lutheran  church.  He  is  a  member 
of  the  A.  F.  &  A.  M. 

Eliliu  Conn  was  born  in  Williamson 
county,  111.,  on  the  17th  ofMarch",  1826. 
Winn  a  boy  he  went  to  St.  flair  county, 
111.,  where  he  remained  is  years.  He 
then  went  to  St.  Louis,  hut  only  stayed 
part  ofa  year  there,  and  came  to  Jersey 
county,  111.,  inNov.,  1852.  Inthe  spring 
of  1855,  he  moved  to  Montgomery 
county,  and  after  livingthere  aboul  four 
years  lie  moved  back  to  Jersey  county. 
He  settled  in  the  Illinois  bottoms, which 
place  lie  kept  until  1865.  In  1862  lie 
enlisted  in  Co.  K,  99th  111.,  under  ('apt. 
Benjamin  Slaten.  He  served  three 
years    and    a    few    days,    and    was    then 

mustered  out  at  Galveston,  Tex.  He 
came  back  and  again  went  to  farming  on 

the  llliimis  bottoms.  He  was  united  in 
marriage  with  May  <;.  McBride,  on  the 
15th  of  Aug.,  1851.  She  was  horn  on 
the  1st  day  of  July,  1835.  They  have  been 
the  parents  of  10  children,  six  of  whom 
are  living — Joseph,  horn  on  the  10th  of 


Oct.,  1854,  Julia  A.,  horn  June  28, 
1857,  John,  horn  on  the  22d  of  June, 
1865,  Mary  B.,  born  on  the  17th  of  May, 
1867,  -lames  \\\.  horn  on  the  22d  of 
Feb.,  1871,  Emily,  horn  on  the  13th  of 
May,  1873.  Mr.  Conn  is  of  Irish  descent. 
In  polities  he  is  a  republican.  He  is 
now  farming  on  the  northeast  quarter  of 
section  1">. 

Ira  M.  West,  a  worthy  resident  of 
Mississippi  township,  was  born  in  St. 
(lair  county,  111.,  Oct.  13,  1S-24.  In 
1839  he  came  to  Jersey  county,  and 
since  that  date  his  home  has  been  in 
this  county.  Part  of  that  time  lie  has 
lived  in  the  city  of  Jerseyville,  where 
he  kept  a  restaurant  and  confectionery 
for  a  few  months;  hut  the  business 
proved  to  he  too  confining  for  him  and 
he  was  obliged  to  give  it  up  and  go  out 
on  his  farm.  He  much  prefers  farm 
life. as  it  is  more  beneficial  to  his  health. 
He  moved  from  town  in  April,  1884. 
He    was    married    to    Sarah    Jane    San- 

dridge,  on   Dee.     ").     1845.       She    was     the 

daughter  of  Roland  and  Louisa  (Wil- 
liamson i  Sandridge,  and  was  horn  Oct. 
14,  1822.  Her  parents  were  natives  of  Vir- 
ginia. Mr.  West's  parents  were  from 
Kentucky.  lie  has  held  various 
offii  es# since  1849.  In  that  year  he  was 
elected  constable  in  Otter  Creek  town- 
ship for  one  term,  then  in  Jerseyville 
for  two  terms,  then  was  justice  of  the 
peace  for  one  term,  and  deputy  sheriff 
continuously  for  a  number  of  years. 
He  is  now  holding  the  office  of  justice 
of  the  peace.  The  farm  looks  well,  and 
shows  him  to  liea  man  who  understands 
taking  care  of  one.  Besides  this  he  has 
property  worth  $4,000  in  Jerseyville, 
consisting  of  four  lots  and  a  line  resi- 
dence. 


448 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


George  W.  Spangle  was  born  in  Mis- 
sissippi township,  Jersey  county,  111., 
on  the  1st  day  of  July,  1854.  He  was 
married  to  Alzada  J.  McDow,  daughter 
of  John  N.  and  Mary  (Harris)  McDow. 
She  was  born  in  the  year  1860.  One 
child  has  been  born  to  this  union — 
Jessie  E.,  born  on  the  29th  day  of  Oct., 
in  the  year  1883.  He  is  now  living  on 
J.  K.  Cadwallader's  farm  on  section  17, 
in  this  township.  Mr.  Spangle  is  quite 
a  young  farmer,  but  is  energetic  and 
persevering,  and  is  well  liked  by  all 
who  have  the  pleasure  of  his  acquaint- 
ance. 

C.  H.  Vorhees,  a  prominent  stock- 
dealer  in  this  township,  was  born  in 
Jersey  county,  111.,  on  the  11th  day  of 
Oct.,  in  the  year  1839.  He  was  united  in 
marriage  with  Elizabeth  Gaston,  daugh- 
ter of  Joseph  and  Catherine  Gaston, 
bom  on  the  23d  day  of  Oct.,  in  the 
year  1844.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
K.  of  H.  He  owns  120  acres  of  land 
on  section  5,  Mississippi  township.  The 
farm  is  known  by  the  name  of  Pleasant 
Hill.  He  has  a  good  frame  dwelling, 
and  barns,  cribs  and  other  outbuildings, 
all  in  good  repair.  Most  of  his  time  is 
spent  in  trading  in  stock,  especially 
horses  and  cattle.  He  is  the  owner  of 
Bell  Brown,  the  trotting  mare  of  Jersey 
county;  of  Zero  P.,  a  trotting  stallion 
by  old  Ben  Patchen  (the  sire  of  Francis 
Alexander,  record  2:19),  and  of  a  two- 
year-old  stallion  by  Corbin's  Bashaw  of 
Quincy,  record  2:26,  dam  Belle  Brown, 
record  2:30.  Bell  Brown  has  a  colt  by 
Harry  Golddust,  record  2:30  .  Mr. 
Vorhees  has  quite  a  number  of  borses, 
carriage  teams  and  colts  for  sale.  He 
also  feeds,  raises  and  sells  cattle. 

Horatio   N.  Ford  was  born  in    Dela- 


ware county,  Penn.,  Jan.  17,  1845.  His 
parents  were  Horatio  N.  and  Martha  L. 
Ford,  both  natives  of  Pennsylvania.  He 
came  to  Illinois  with  his  parents  in  1846, 
they  locating  in  Macoupin  county,  and 
he  remained  there  until  1872.  He  went 
from  there  to  Godfrey,  Madison  county, 
and  staid  there  until  March,  1877,  when 
he  came  to  Delhi,  Jersey  county,  stay- 
ing there  until  Oct.,  1884.  He  removed 
from  there  to  McCluskey,  Jersey  county, 
where  he  has  lived  up  to  the  present 
writing.  On  the  9th  of  Oct.,  in  the  year 
1867,  he  was  married  to  Frances  E. 
Wyncoop,  born  Jan.  23,  1842.  Her 
parents  were  John  and  Rolando  Wyn- 
coop, he  of  Virginia,  and  she  of  Illinois. 
Mrs.  Ford  died  Jan.  17,  1877,  at  God- 
frey, and  was  buried  at  Brighton.  Two 
children  were  born  to  them — Harvey  L., 
born  Aug.  21,  1868;  Geo.  N.,  born  Jan.  1, 
1877,  died  March  16,  1877.  On  Nov.  4, 
1880,  Mr.  Ford  was  again  married,  to 
Jennie  E.  Scott,  born  Oct.  21,  1852. 
Her  parents  were  Charles  W.  and  Cath- 
arine J.  (Kendall)  Scott.  Her  father 
was  from  Virginia,  her  mother  from  St. 
Charles  county,  Mo.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Ford  are  members  of  the  M.  E.  church. 
He  belongs  to  the  Knights  of  Honor, 
No.  1129,  of  Delhi.  He  is  postmaster, 
notary  public  and  merchant  at  McClus- 
key, and  is  doing  a  good  business. 

John  J.  Lamb  (deceased)  was  born  in 
Adams  county.  Miss.,  March  1,  1830. 
He  removed  to  Illinois  with  his  parents 
in  1835.  Dec.  25,  1855,  he  was  united 
in  marriage  with  Ann  F.  McDow,  daugh 
ter  of  John  and  Maria  (Wagoner)  Mc- 
Dow. They  were  the  parents  of  five 
children,  three  of  whom  are  living — 
Laura  E.,  born  Nov.  11,  1858;  Albert 
C,  born  March  5,  1861,  and  Walter  E., 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY 


449 


born  Jan.  29,  1873;  Eva  M.,  was  born 
April  12,  1857,  and  died  Oct.  18,  1858, 
and  one  son  died  in  infancy.  John  J. 
Lamb  died  Oet.  11,  1876,  and  was  buried 
in  the  Union  church  cemetery,  which  is 
located  on  section  17,  Mississippi  town- 
ship. Mrs.  Lamb  owns  a  good  farm, 
comprising  187  acres  upon  section  17, 
where  she  resides,  and  47  acres  on  the 
northeast  quarter  of  section  1(1.  Her 
commodious  residence  was  erected  in 
1879,  at  a  cost  of  $.3,0(10.  Her  barn 
and  cither  buildings  are  substantia]  and 
convenient:  Mrs.  Lamb  is  a  member  of 
the  Baptist  church.  Her  deceased  hus- 
band was  also  connected  with  that  de- 
nomination. He  was  a  man  of  intelli- 
gence and  enterprise,  and  on  account  of 
his  many  sterling  qualities  was  esteemed 
and  honored  throughout  the  community. 
Addison  Greene  settled  at  Jersey 
Landing,  Jersey  county,  111.,  about  the 
year  1847.  Five  years  later  he  removed 
to  Mississippi  township,  where  he  has 
ever  since  resided.  He  was  burn  in 
Jefferson  county,  N.  Y.,  June  21,  1819. 
In  1834  he  went  to  Missouri,  where  he 
remained  three  years,  then  returned 
east  to  Ohio,  his  parents  having  remov- 
ed to  that  state.  Eighteen  months  later 
he  came  to  Illinois,  locating  in  Madison 
county.  He  resided  there  about  15 
months,  then  went  to  Missouri,  and 
five  months  later  to  Quincy,  111.,  re- 
maining there  from  Feb.,  1839,  till  Nov., 
1844.  At  the  latter  date  he  returned  to 
Madison  county,  where  he  lived  three 
years,  coming  then  to  this  county. 
April  15,  1839,  he  was  married  in  Scott 
county,  111.,  to  Amanda  Hoit,  daughter 
of  Benjamin  and  Dorothy  (Walker) 
Hoit.  Mr.  Greene's  marriage  license 
was  the  first  one  issued  in  that  county. 


They  had  a  family  of  12  children — 
Henrietta,  born  July  3,  1840,  married 
to  James  Chaplin,  and  died  in  Feb  , 
1871;  John  P.,  born  Aug.  23,  1841,  and 
died  in  June,  1845;  Amanda,  born  in 
1843,  and  died  in  1845;  Rufus  A.,  born 
in  March,  1845,  and  died  in  Oct.  of  the 
same  year;  Rhoda  A.,  born  in  Dec, 
1846,  married  to  John  Sanders,  and 
died  in  Oct.,  1871;  Albert,  born  March 
2.'!,  1S48,  and  died  in  May,  1872;  Addi- 
son, born  in  Dec,  1850,  and  died  in 
1874;  Ella,  born  in  1852,  and  died  in 
1856;  Joan,  born  April  20,  1854,  now 
the  wife  of  B.  A.  McCauly,  of  Kansas; 
Nathaniel,  born  Jan.  22,  1857,  living  in 
Mississippi  township;  Nancy  Z.,  born 
May  20,  1861,  now  the  wife  of  John  W. 
Morrill,  of  Kansas;  and  Frederick  F., 
born  in  1863,  and  died  in  infancy.  Mr. 
Greene  has  a  farm  of  300  acres,  all  of 
which  is  on  section  31,  except  80  acres 
on  section  30.  He  has  made  substantial 
and  comfortable  improvements,  and  is 
an  enterpjising  farmer.  Mr.' Greene, 
was  elected  supervisor  of  Mississippi 
township  at  its  organization,  and  served 
two  years.  He  is  politically  a  demo- 
crat. 

Nathaniel  Greene,  son  of  Addison 
Greene,  resides  upon  section  31,  Mis- 
sissippi township.  He  was  born  on  the 
same  section,  Jan.  20,  1857,  and  here 
grew  to  manhood.  His  childhood  was 
spent  in  working  on  the  farm  and  at- 
tending the  district  school.  In  1872  he 
entered  Montieello  Seminary,  in  Lewis 
county,  Mo.,  and  remained  a  student  at 
that  institution  nine  months,  after  which 
he  attended  four  months  at  Blackburn 
University,  in  Macoupin  county,  111. 
In  1876,  he  took  a  trip  to  Pennsylvania, 
visiting   the    Centennial    exposition,  at 


450 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


Philadelphia,  and  also  the  oil  regions. 
On  his  return  home  he  worked  on  the 
farm  with  his  father,  until  1878,  when 
he  again  visited  Pennsylvania, where  he 
was  married,  in  Dec,  of  that  year,  to 
Belle  Kilgore,  who  was  a  native  of  Min- 
eral township,  Venango  Co.,  Penn.,who 
was  born  March  3d,  1857.  She  is  the 
daughter  of  James  and  Nancy  (Ken- 
near)  Kilgore.  He  returned  home  in 
Feb.,  1879.  and  during  the  next  four 
years  followed  farmingupon  his  fathers' 
place,  and  also  canvassed  Jersey  and 
Calhoun  counties  for  the  sale  of  agricul- 
tural implements,  being  employed  by 
Drury  &  Weed,  of  Alton.  In  Nov., 
1882,  lie  went  to  Elsah,  and  opened  a 
store  of  groceries,  provisions  and  hard- 
ware. He  continued  in  this  business 
until  August,  1883.  In  the  fall  of  that 
year  he  went  south  with  a  party  of  sur- 
veyors, and  remained  two  months,  sur- 
veying on  the  Mississippi  river  from 
Vicksburg  to  Natches.  He  then  re- 
turned home.  In  Aug.,  1884,  he  went  to 
Cloud  county,  Kansas,  and  there  en- 
gaged in  the  manufacture  of  the  Norris 
patent  fence,  which  he  continued  three 
months,  then  returned  to  the  farm, 
where  he  has  since  remained.  He  has 
held  the  office  of  school  director  two 
terms,  and  is  at  the  present  time  pres- 
ident of  the  hoard  of  school  trustees  of 
Mississippi  township.  He  is  a  member 
of  the  Grafton  lodge,  No.  341,  of  the 
A.  F.  iv.  A.  M.,  also  a  charter  member 
of  Black  Cross  lodge,  No.  106,  of  the 
K.  of  P.,  of  Elsah.  He  is  politically  a 
democrat.  Mr.  and  Mis.  Greene  have 
two  children— Ruth,  horn  Feb.  12,  1881, 
and  Addison,  born  June  5,  1884. 

James  M.  Harris,  who  resides  on  sec- 
tion   30,   of  Mississippi    township,    was 


horn  in  Robertson  county,  Tenn.,  Dec. 
l'J,  1850.  When  he  was  eight  years  old 
he  removed  with  his  parents  to  Missis- 
sippi township,  Jersey  county.  111.  At 
the  age  of  18  years  he  left  home  and 
went  to  work  for  N.  M.  Lurton,  with 
whom  he  remained  three  years.  Dee. 
14,  1872,  he  was  married  to  Dora  Jane 
Marshaw,  a  native  of  Otterville,  Jersey 
county,  born  Dec.  81,  1851.  She  is  a 
daughter  of  Joseph  and  Sarah  A.  (Mc- 
Dow)  Marshaw,  the  former  of  French 
descent,  and  the  latter  a  native  of  Illi- 
nois. Mr.  and  Mrs.  Harris  have  three 
children — Charles  YV.,  horn  July  16, 
1878;  Flora,  born  April  (3,  1878,  and 
Thomas,  horn  Sept.  15,  1882.  Mr. 
Harris'  parents  were  natives  of  Ten- 
nessee, and  are  both  now  deceased.  Mr. 
Harris  is  politically  a  republican. 

George  F.  Scribner,  a  farmer  of  Mis- 
sissippi township,  was  horn  in  Wyo- 
ming, X.  Y.,  Nov.  23,  1840.  He  grew 
to  manhood  in  his  native  state,  and  Aug. 
12,  18C2,  enlisted  in  Co.  D,  of  the  130th 
N.  Y.  Inf.,  under  command  of  Captain 
Knapp,  ami  served  until  Oct.  5,  1865, 
when  he  was  mustered  out  at  Albany, 
N.Y.  He  participated  in  many  engage- 
ments and  skirmishes,  serving  a  por- 
tion of  the  time  in  the  1st  N.  Y.  Dra- 
goons, commanded  by  Colonel  Gibbs. 
He  was  a  gallant  soldier,  and  always 
at  his  post,  lie  was  married  Nov.  15, 
1868,  to  Adclia  A.  Washburn,  daughter 
of  Madison  and  Ursula  (Barrows)  Wash- 
burn. She  was  horn  Jan.  16,  1842. 
Mr.  and  Mrs  Scribner  have  had  five 
children,  four  of  whom  are  living — 
Clarence  M.,  horn  Feb.  8,  1873;  EllaM., 
horn  July  10,  1875;  Lula  V.,  born  Sept. 
6,  1877,  died  Dec.  10,  of  the  same  year; 
George  F.,  horn  July  21,  1880;  andTru- 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


451 


man  A.,  born  Oct.  28,  1882.  Mr.  Scrib- 
ner  owns  a  farm  of  120  acres  on  section 
9,  Mississippi  township,  where  he  re- 
sides; also  20  acres  on  the  northwest 
quarter  of  section  16,  40  acres  on  section 
17,  and  160  acres  in  Johnson  county, 
Neb.  His  residence  is  a  commodious 
and  comfortable  structure,  erected  at  a 
cost  of  $2,700,  and  his  barn  and  other 
farm  buildings  of  equally  good  descrip- 
tion. He  is  a  member  of  Jerseyville 
lodge,  No.  53,  I.O.  O.  F.,  and  politically 
is  a  republican. 

FIRST    ITEMS. 

The  first  child  born  in  Mississippi 
township  was  a  daughter  to  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Ezekiel  Gillham. 

The  first  ground  plowed  was  by  John 
D.  Gillham,  in  1819.  He  also  raised 
the  first  wheat  and  corn. 

The  first  marriage  in  the  township 
was  that  of  William  Gillham  and  Mar- 
tha Munsey,  in  1826  or  '27. 

The  first  store  was  opened  by  John 
\V.  Slaten  and  Isaac  N.  Piggott,  about  a 
quarter  of  a  mile  south  of  Newbern,  on 
section  32,  in  1836. 

The  first  school  in  this  township  was 
taught  by  Turner  R.  Lurton,  in  1819. 

The  first  school  house  was  built  in 
1819. 

The  first  sermon  was  preached  by 
Rev.  Jacob  Lurton,  at  the  house  of  John 
D.  Gillham,  in  1820. 

The  first  brick  house  in  what  is  now 
Mississippi  township  was  erected  by  J. 
D.  Gillham,  in  1828,  on  section  28.  It 
was  also  the  second  brick  house  in  the 
county,  that  of  Major  Patterson,  erected 
the  year  before  in  Jersey  township,  and 
blown  down  in  1830,  being  the  first. 


The  first  justices  of  the  peace  in  Mis- 
sissippi township  were  Thomas  McDow 
and  Joseph  J.  Basey. 

EDUCATIONAL. 

Turner  R.  Lurton  taught  the  first 
school  in  Mississippi  township,  in  1819, 
at  a  log  cabin  built  for  that  purpose,  on 
the  farm  of  John  D.  Gillham,  on  sec- 
tion 28.  Describing  the  location  of  that 
first  school  house  from  present  land- 
marks, it  was  situated  on  the  north  side 
of  the  public  road,  about  a  quarter  of  a 
mile  due  east  from  East  Newbern.  This 
school  was  taught  by  Turner  Lurton, 
during  two  winters,  1819-20,  and  1820-21. 
The  next  term  was  taught  by  a  man 
named  Davis,  in  the  same  building. 
There  were  in  attendance  at  this  term 
about  14  scholars.  The  following  names 
of  some  of  these  are  furnished  by  one  of 
them,  who  still  survives:  Abijah  and 
Farrow  Davis,  Allen  and  Marcus  Gill- 
ham, Matilda  and  Albert  Bartus  Lofton, 
Jordan  Gillham  and  Charles  Carroll. 
Davis,  the  teacher,  was  a  married  man 
with  a  large  family.  The  cabin  in 
which  this  school  was  held  has  long 
since  been  torn  down  or  rotted  away, 
and  only  one  of  the  early  scholars  men- 
tioned— Charles  Carroll,  is  yet  living. 

The  first  school  house  was  built  in 
1819,  as  we  are  credibly  informed,  but 
now  the  township  is  studded  with  places 
of  learning,  and  the  facilities  of  acquir- 
ing an  education  are  within  the  reach  of 
all. 

School  district  No.  1,  called  Black 
Jack  district,  has  a  school  house  on  the 
northwest  corner  of  the  southeast  quar- 
ter of  section  11,  which  was  erected  in 
1840.  It  is  a  frame  house,  built  in  the 
old  style,  18x24  feet  in  ground  area,  and 


452 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


showing  considerably  the  lapse  of  years. 
The  first  directors  were  Thomas  Cram- 
mings, Joseph  Crabb  and  J.  R.  Black. 
The  pioneer  teacher,  James  VanHorne, 
was  well  known  throughout  this  county. 
The  directors  in  1885  are,  C.  C.  Cum- 
mings,  Mathew  Walsh  and  G.  H.  Van- 
Home. 

District  No.  2  has  a  neat  school  house 
32x22  feet  in  size,  erected  in  1878,  at  a 
cost  of  $630,  on  section  9.  The  pioneer 
teacher  in  this  building  was  Enos  John- 
ston. The  first  directors  were  J.  B. 
Yoorhees,  Sanford  Ross  and  John  J. 
Lamb;  the  present,  George  Yoorhees, 
Ninnian  Beaty  and  S.  Ross.  The  aver- 
age attendance  is  about  25. 

The  present  school  building  in  district 
No.  3  was  erected  in  1871,  at  a  cost  of 
$900.  In  size  it  is  24x30  feet.  Nettie 
Gaskill  taught  the  first  term  of  school 
in  this  house.  The  present  teacher  is 
Mrs.  Owen.  The  directors  are  Ephraim 
Chappell,  Joseph  Marshaw  and  John 
Fitzgibbons. 

District  No.  5  is  in  the  village  of  East 
Newbern,  and  the  school  house  is  known 
by  the  name  of  Round  Prairie.  It  was 
erected  in  1855,  and  is  a  neat  frame 
structure,  18x36  feet  in  dimension,  built 
at  a  cost  of  $800.  The  first  directors 
were  Robert  Dymond,  Robert  Gardner 
and  L.  Hempfield.  The  present  board 
of  directors  is  composed  of  the  follow- 
ing gentlemen  :  C.  Cook,  George  House 
and  William  Rintone.  Lucy  White  is 
the  present  teacher,  and  there  is  a  gen- 
eral attendance  of  40. 

District  No.  6  has  a  school  house 
erected  on  section  6,  which  was  built  in 
1867,  when  William  Hurd,  William 
Linnen  and  A.  C.  Fitzgerald  were  di- 
rectors.     The  first   teacher   was    Mary 


Hurd.  The  building  is  octagonal  in 
shape,  each  side  being  10  feet  in  length, 
the  roof  running  to  apeak  in  the  center. 
A.  C.  Fitzgerald,  James  Wall  and  Wil- 
liam Hildred,  are  the  present  directors, 
and  Lillie  Hassett  the  present  teacher. 
There  is  a  general  attendance  of  23. 

District  No.  7,  in  the  old  town  of 
Newbern,  has  a  school  house  which  was 
erected  in  1857,  on  section  29,  but  sub- 
sequently was  removed  to  its  present 
location.  The  first  directors  were 
Henry  Travis  and  William  Argo.  The 
present  board  consists  of  Joseph  Knight, 
Henry  Gill  and  James  Palmer.  The 
present  teacher  is  Nazaretta  Slaten. 
Previous  to  this  there  were  two  other 
frame  buildings,  besides  log  cabins, 
which  were  used  for  educational  pur- 
poses, all  of  which  have  outlived  their 
usefulness  and  have  been  torn  down  or 
left  to  decay. 

School  district,  No.  9,  known  as 
White  school  house,  is  situated  on  the 
northeast  corner  of  section  1.  The  first 
building  here  was  built  about  the  year 
1856,  but  this  was  destroyed  by  fire  in 
April,  1866.  It  was  a  small  frame 
building  which  cost  about  $700,  and  was 
a  total  loss  when  it  burned,  as  there 
was  no  insurance.  On  the  site  of  the  old 
one,  in  1866,  the  present  building  was 
erected  at  a  cost  of  $1,200.  It  is  18x26 
feet  in  size,  and  is  a  neat,  frame  struc- 
ture. The  first  directors  in  this  district 
were  Mathew  Stanley,  Hugh  N.  Cross 
and  Joseph  Pennyfield,  and  the  first 
teacher  Lucy  Hoyt.  The  present  teacher 
is  Julia  Howell,  and  the  directors 
Mathew  Stanley,  Oliver  Terrell  and 
Silas  Bates.  The  average  attendance  is 
20  now. 

District    No.    10  has  a  school  house 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


453 


known  by  the  name  of  Irene,  located 
upon  section  21,  which  was  erected 
during  the  year  1873.  This  building 
was  first  built  a  half  mile  west  of  its 
present  location,  on  section  21,  from 
whence  it  was  moved  in  187(5,  to  its  site 
of  to-day.  The  first  directors  of  the 
district  were  Joseph  Chambers,  Moses 
Cockrell  and  Jacob  Loker.  Irene  Fer- 
guson was  the  first  teacher  here,  and 
after  her  the  school  house  is  named. 
The  present  directors  are  William  Dar- 
lington, Hiram  McCluskey  and  Richard 
Chappell.  Edward  Shaffer  is  the  present 
pedagogue. 

NEWBERN. 
This  village  was  laid  out  by  Jacob 
Lurton,  on  section  32,  in  1832.  A  post- 
office  was  established  by  removal  from 
Eminence.  Jacob  Lurton  was  made 
postmaster,  and  served  as  such  14  years. 
The  first  store  was  built  by  David  L. 
Mott,  who  put  in  a  large  general  stock, 
which  lie  operated  a  number  of  years, 
or  until  his  death,  when  John  Mott  suc- 
ceeded his  uncle,  and  was  afterward 
succeeded  by  John  D.  Mott.  John  H. 
McDow  was  the  next  proprietor,  and 
afterward  removed  the  store  to  Dow. 
J.  J.  Briggs  also  opened  a  store  here, 
which  he  operated  during  the  war,  and 
was  afterward  succeeded  by  Marcus 
Gillham.  He  afterward  sold  it  to  Dod- 
son  &  Co.  A  blacksmith  shop  was 
started  by  William  Collapp — the  first  in 
the  place — which  he  operated  two  or 
three  years,  when  he  was  succeeded  by 
George  Spencer,  a  farmer  of  Fidelity 
township.  It  is  now  operated  by  Henry 
Gill. 

CEMETERY. 

The  Newbern  cemetery  is  situated  on 
the  northeast  quarter  of  section  32,  and 


contains  one  acre  of  ground,  deeded  to 
the  township  by  Jacob  Lurton  and  A. 
Lofton.  It  was  laid  out  at  an  early  day  as 
a  private  burying  ground,  but  has  since 
become  a  public  one.  Judge  John 
Lofton  was  the  first  person  interred 
therein. 

NEWBERN  HORSETHIEF  DETECTIVE  SOCIETY 

This  society  was  organized  by  the 
West  Union  order,  at  Newbern,  March 
21,  1864.  The  first  officers  of  the  society 
were — Addison  Greene,  president;  Geo. 
W.  Slaten,  secretary;  and  Jasper  Terry, 
door-keeper.  The  society  at  present  is 
in  a  flourishing  condition,  and  has  a 
membership  of  about  20.  The  present 
officers  are:  George  W.  Slaten,  presi- 
dent; Nelson  M.  Lurton,  secretary;  and 
J.  C.  Lurton,  treasurer. 

McCLUSKEY. 

This  village  was  laid  out  by  Hiram 
McCluskey  and  Mary  McCluskey,  his 
wife,  under  the  name  of  the  village  of 
Howe,  on  the  30th  of  June,  1883.  The 
survey  was  made  by  Daniel  J.  Murphy, 
the  county  surveyor,  and  the  plat  re- 
corded July  21,  1883.  It  is  located  upon 
Sec.  16,  T.  7,  R.  11.  At  that  time  a 
store  building  was  put  up  and  a  stock 
of  general  merchandise  placed  therein 
by  H.  McCluskey  &  Co.  This  they 
continued  to  operate  until  Oct.  1,  1884, 
when  McCluskey  purchased  the  interest 
of  his  partner,  and,  ever  since,  the  busi- 
ness has  been  operated  by  McCluskey 
A  Kurd,  the  latter  gentleman  acquiring 
an  interest  therein.  They  carry  a  stock 
of  about  $1,200. 

There  is  also  a  blacksmith  shop,  pre- 
sided over  by  William  M.  Grether,  from 
which  the  ruddy  glow  from  burning  coal 


454 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


gleams  out  brightly  during  the  long 
days,  and  the  cheery  ring  of  steel  on 
iron  enlivens  the  still  air.  This  shop 
was  erected  by  L.  F.  Linkogle,  who  oc- 
cupied it  about  six  months,  when  it 
reverted  to  H.  McCluskey,  who  held  it 
until  Aug.,  1884,  when  it  was  purchased 
by  the  present  proprietor,  W.  M. 
Grether.  He  does  horse-shoeing  and 
general  repair  work,  and  has  a  good  bus- 
iness. 

William  M.  Grether  was  born  in  St. 
Charles  county,  Mo.,  the  22d  day  of 
Sept.,  1840.  His  father  died  in  1841. 
One  year  after  that  his  mother  married 
again.  William  remained  at  home  until 
he  was  14  years  of  age,  when  he  left 
and  joined  his  brother  John,  in  Frank- 
lin county,  Mo.,  where  he  remained  five 
years.  He  then  came  to  Grafton,  111., 
and  from  there  proceeded  to  Otterville, 
where  he  began  the  trade  of  blacksmith- 
ing,  under  his  brother-in-law,  John  Lin- 
kogle. He  served  two  years  under  him, 
when  the  war  broke  out,  and  in  1861  he 
enlisted  in  Co.  C,  61st  111.  Inf.  He 
was  wounded  at  the  battle  of  Shiloh,  in 
the  right  foot  and  ankle,  which  leaves 
him  a  cripple  for  life.  When  he  recov- 
ered sufficiently  to  be  able  to  work,  he 
returned  to  Franklin  county,  Mo., 
where,  in  company  with  his  brother 
John,  he  engaged  in  the  blacksmithing 
business.  He  remained  here  two  years, 
when  he  disposed  of  his  interest  to  his 
brother,  removing  to  St.  Louis  county, 
where  he  established  a  shop.  He  was 
married  to  E.  A.  Longworth,  Sept.  21, 
1866.  He  then  came  to  Grafton,  111., 
where  he  and  his  brother,  M.  Grether, 
formed  a  partnership,  and  engaged  in 
the  tin  and  hardware  business.  Three 
children  have  been  born  to  them — the 


first  died  in  infancy;  F.  M.  C,  born 
July  22,  1871;  Eva  M.,  born  March  14, 
1874.  Mr.  Grether  is  still  working  at 
his  trade,  having  a  shop  at  McCluskey. 
He  is  a  member  of  the  M.  E.  church, 
and  affiliates  with  the  democratic  party. 
Charles  W.  Scott  was  born  in  Halifax 
county,  Va.,  on  Oct.  19,  in  the  year 
1828.  He  is  the  son  of  Jonathan  and 
Frances  (Stanfield)  Scott.  They  were 
both  born  in  Halifax  county,  Va.,  he, 
on  the  6th  of  Oct.,  1794,  and  she  on  the 
8th  of  Oct.,  1802.  They  were  married 
on  her  birthday,  in  the  year  1822.  He 
died  in  Florida,  Monroe  county,  Mo., 
in  the  year  1841.  She  died  at  the  same 
place  on  the  28th  of  Jan.,  1846.  When 
Charles  W.  Scott  was  seven  years  old, 
he  came  with  his  parents  to  Monroe 
county,  Mo.,  and  lived  there  until  1864, 
when  he  came  to  Delhi,  Jersey  county, 
111.  He  lived  there  until  the  8th  of 
Oct.,  1884,  when  he  came  to  the  village 
of  McCluskey,  and  located  on  section 
16,  where  he  now  follows  the  occupa- 
tion of  farming.  He  was  married  to 
C.  J.  Kendall  in  1851.  She  was  born 
April  11,  1837.  Her  father,  S.  T.  Ken- 
dall, was  a  major  and  served  in  the 
Black  Hawk  war.  He  was  also  a  mem- 
ber of  the  house  of  representatives  in 
the  Illinois  legislature.  Her  mother  is 
a  native  of  Missouri,  and  is  the  daugh- 
ter of  Joseph  and  Elizabeth  Sumner,  of 
English  origin.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Scott 
have  two  children — Eliza  J.,  born  in 
Audrain  county,  Mo.,  Oct.  21,  1852, 
now  the  wife  of  H.  N.  Ford,  living  in 
the  village  of  McCluskey;  Lena  R.,  born 
March  2,  1870,  at  Delhi,  and  lives  with 
her  parents.  Mr.  Scott  is  a  member  of 
the  Methodist  church,  and  his  wife  a 
member  of  the  Baptist  church. 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


455 


The  village  of  McCluskey  has  a  pop- 
ulation now  of  about  30  souls,  and  con- 
tains the  store  of  McCluskey  &  Ford, 
the  blacksmith  shop  of  \V.  M.  Grether, 
and  seven  dwelling  houses.  The  post- 
office  is  located  in  the  store  of  McClus- 
key &  Ford,  Horatio  N.  Ford  being 
postmaster.  Samuel  Darlington  was 
the  first  to  handle  the  mail  at  this  point. 

EAST  NEWBERN. 

This  village  is  situated  at  the  corner  of 
sections.  27,  28,  33  and  34,  part  lying  in 
each  section.  The  place  was  formerly 
known  as  Chamber's  Corner,  after  one 
of  the  first  settlers  at  this  locality.  It 
was  laid  out  as  a  town  by  J.  T.  Gillham, 
Marcus  Gillham,  John  Chambers,  Jr., 
and  E.  Briggs,  and  platted  on  the  26th 
of  Sept.,  1866,  and  the  plat  filed  for 
record  with  the  clerk  of  the  court,  Jan. 
10.  1867,  although  there  was  a  store, 
mill  and  other  buildings  here  prior  to 
this. 

The  mill  was  built  by  E.  Briggs  about 
the  year  1859,  and  was  a  fine  one.  It 
continued  in  operation  nearly  all  the 
time  until  1878,  when  the  machinery 
was  taken  out  and  removed  to  Elsah,  or 
Jersey  Landing,  since  which  time  the 
building  has  stood  unoccupied  and 
silent. 

A  general  store  was  started  here  by 
Wilson  &  Whipple,  about  the  year 
1860,  and  was  run  by  them  about  one 
year,  when  it  became  the  property  of 
Gillham  Bros.,  who  were  succeeded  by 
Gillham  &  (iiberson,  and  finally  into 
the  hands  of  Robert  Dymond,  the  pres- 
ent proprietor.  He  carries  a  stock  of 
about  81, 200,  and  is  doing  a  nice,  com- 
fortable business. 

Robert  Dymond  was  born  on  the  30th 


day  of  Jan.,  1823,  in  Devonshire,  Eng- 
land. He  came  to  America  in  1849, 
landing  in  Genesee  county,  N.  Y., where 
he  staid  18  months.  He  came  to  Alton, 
111.,  in  1852,  staid  there  two  years,  and 
then  came  to  Jersey  county.  Here  he 
bought  120  acres  of  land  on  section  35, 
on  which  he  lived.  He  afterward 
bought  another  80  acres  in  the  same 
township,  and  farmed  on  it  for  24  years. 
He  then  moved  to  East  Newbern  and 
bought  18  3-4  acres  of  land  on  the  north- 
west quarter  of  section  27,  in  Mississippi 
township.  He  also  keeps  a  store  in 
which  he  handles  general  merchandise, 
and  is  postmaster  at  this  place,  which 
position  he  has  held  for  seven  years. 
He  was  married  to  Mary  Cook,  a  native 
of  Devonshire,  England.  She  was  born 
on  the  8th  day  of  May,  1824.  There  were 
five  children  born  to  them — Thomas, 
the  first  child,  died,  and  the  second  child 
was  named  after  him;  William  J.,  de- 
ceased; John  E.  and  Lucy.  Robert  and 
his  wife  are  both  members  of  the  Cum- 
berland Presbyterian  church,  of  this 
township,  of  which  he  is  one  of  the  trus- 
tees. He  is  succeeding  well  as  a 
merchant. 

A  store  was  operated  here  at  one  time 
by  Dr.  James  A.  Briggs. 

POSTOFFICE. 

The  postoffice  was  established  at  this 
point  in  1862,  with  John  Doyle  as  post- 
master. It  was  then  called  Newbern, 
but  later  was  changed  to  East  Newbern. 
Robert  Dymond  is  the  present  post- 
master. 

The  blacksmith  shop  is  now  operated 
by  David  Tonkinson,  who  has  a  good 
business,  as  he  is  known  as  a  skillful 
workman. 


456 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


David  T.  Tonkinson  was  born  in 
Clark  county,  0.,  Sept.  15,  1826.  His 
youth  was  spent  in  this  place.  He  went 
from  there  to  Burlington,  la.,  in  1844, 
where  he  remained  for  two  years,  work- 
ing part  of  the  time  in  a  blacksmith 
shop.  He  left  there  and  went  to  St. 
Louis  and  went  with  Lieut.  Newton,  Co. 
C,  2d  Dragoons,  to  Mexico,  and  was  in 
that  service  about  eight  months.  He 
came  back  to  St.  Louis,  staying  there 
abought  16  months,  during  which  time 
he  worked  in  a  foundry  and  machine 
shop.  From  St.  Louis  he  came  to 
Jersey  Landing,  now  called  Elsah,  in 
Elsah  township,  in  1849,  where  he  staid 
until  1883,  when  he  moved  to  East 
Newbern  where  he  now  resides.  He 
was  married  to  Susan  M.  Davis,  a  daugh- 
ter of  John  and  Sarah  Davis,  on  Aug. 
8,  1854.  She  was  born  May  9,  1834. 
To  them,  nine  children  were  born — 
William  \V\,  born  Feb.,  5,  1857;  Sarah 
A.,  born  Nov.  28,  1858;  George  W., 
born  Jan.  29,  1861;  Mary  A.,  born  May 
15,  1864,  died  June  22,  1864;  John  H., 
born  Oct.  26,  1865;  Charles  F.,  born 
March  23,  1868,  died  Aug.  6,  1885; 
Robert  W.,  born  July  22,"  1870,  died 
July  2,  1871;  Ida  L.,  born  Aug.  18,  1872, 
and  Julia  M.,  born  May  3,  1875. 
He  served  in  Co.  C,  154th  111.  Inf., 
about  eight  months  during  the  Rebellion. 
He  has  held  the  office  of  justice  of  the 
peace  three  different  times.  He  has 
three  lots  in  the  village,  on  which  is  lo- 
cated his  dwelling,  a  comfortable  frame 
building,  and  also  his  shop,  in  which  he 
carries  on  black  smithing.  His  wife  is  a 
member  of  the  M.  E.  church,  of  Elsah. 
He  is  a  member  of  the  I.  0.  0.  F.,  No. 
269,  of  Elsah. 

The  village  is  but  small,  as  yet,   con- 


taining but  the  one  store,  blacksmith 
shop,  and  seven  dwellings,  and  the  M. 
E.  church.  A  history  of  this  latter 
society  is  given  in  its  proper  place  in 
the  Ecclesiastical  chapter. 

Philip  Seibold  is  a  native  of  Hesse 
Darmstadt,  German}',  where  he  was 
born,  Dec.  12,  1835.  He  resided  in  Ger- 
many until  1865,  and  then  immigrated 
to  America,  landing  at  Castle  Garden, 
in  New  York  city.  He  proceeded  west 
immediately,  stopping  at  Alton,  111., 
where  he  remained  two  months,  and  for 
four  years  following,  worked  at  black- 
smithing  in  a  number  of  different  places 
in  Illinois,  Iowa  and  Missouri.  In  1869 
he  came  to  Jersey  county,  locating  on 
section  37,  of  Mississippi  township, 
where  he  purchased  35  acres  of  land,  on 
which  he  now  lives.  He  has  good  and 
comfortable  improvements,  and  raises 
fruit  quite  extensively.  He  has  25(1 
grape  vines,  some  pear,  and  other  fruit 
trees,  and  also  small  fruit.  Mr  Seibold 
was  married  Nov.  14,  1S69,  to  Elizabeth 
Barker,  who  was  born  in  Hesse  Darm- 
stadt, Feb.  4,  1839.  They  have  one 
child — Annie  C,  born  Nov.  14,  1878. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Seibold  are  members  of 
the  Lutheran  church. 

DOW. 

The  village  of  Dow  is  a  small  station 
on  the  W.,  St.  L.  &  P.  railroad,  and  was 
laid  out  by  John  H.  McDow  and  Medora 
McDow,  his  wife,  June  30,  1883.  The 
survey  was  made  by  Daniel  J.  Murphy, 
the  county  surveyor,  and  the  plat  was 
filed  for  record  Oct.  18,  1883.  It  is 
located  on  section  32. 

John  McDow  had  formerly  been  en- 
gaged in  the  mercantile  trade  in  New- 
bern,  or  West  Newbern,  but  on  his  ere- 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


457 


ating  the  new  town,  he  removed  his 
store  building  to  the  latter.  He  carries 
a  neat  stock  of  general  merchandise, 
that  will  invoice  about  $1,200,  and  is 
doing  a  nice  business,  as  he  is  well  liked 
by  the  people  of  this  vicinity.  The 
postoffice  was  also  removed  with  the 
store,  but  still  retains  its  original  name 
of  Newbern,  and  the  station  is  more 
familiarly  known  as  Newbern  than  by 
its  right  name  of  Dow. 

John  H.  McDow,  a  merchant  in  the 
village  of  Dow,  was  born  on  the  7th  day 
of  Sept.,  in  the  year  1847,  in  the  same 
place  that  he  now  lives  on  section  32, 
in  Mississippi  township,  Jersey  county, 
111.  He  owns  140  acres  on  this  section, 
besides  keeping  a  store,  in  which  he 
carries  a  stock  of  general  merchandise. 
He  was  united  in  marriage  with  Medora 
A.  Burley,  on  the  5th  day  of  Feb.,  in 
the  year  1873.  She  is  the  daughter  of 
Martha    (Lacy)    Burley,  and  was  born 


on  the  29th  day  of  March,  in  the  year 
1854.  Five  children  were  born  to  them 
—Tell,  born  on  the  18th  of  Oct.,  1873; 
Claude  N.,  born  the  23d  of  Oct.,  1877; 
Alice  M.,  born  the  18th  of  May#1880, 
died  March  29,1882;  Arthur  H.}  born 
Oct.  28,  1882;  and  Ross  O.,  born  Sept. 
7,  1884.  John  H.  is  a  member  of  the 
A.  F.  &  A.  M.,  both  lodge  and  chapter, 
and  of  the  arch  and  encampment  of  the 
I.  O.  O.  F.,  at  Grafton. 

There  is,  also,  located  at  this  point  a 
general  repair  shop,  operated  by  N.  N. 
Chase  &  Son,  where  work  both  in  iron 
and  wood  is  done. 

The  village,  which  is  yet  in  its  in- 
fancy, contains  but  five  dwelling  houses 
and  about  25  inhabitants.  The  post- 
office  was  established  on  the  laying  out 
of  the  town,  or  shortly  afterwards,  with 
J.  H.  McDow  as  postmaster,  who  con- 
tinues to  manipulate  the  mail  satisfac- 
torily. 


GHAPTKR    XXVI. 


RUYLE  TOWNSHIP. 


This  civil  sub-division  of  Jersey 
county  was  set  off  with  its  neigh- 
bors, at  the  time  the  county  adopted 
township  organization.  It  is  the  most 
northeasterly  of  all  the  townships  in 
the  county.  The  name  of  Ruyle  was 
applied  to  it  in  honor  of  Col.  W.  L. 
Ruyle,  one  of  the  enterprising  citizens 
of  the  township,  who  was  quite  active 
in  securing  for  the  county  this  mode  of 
internal  go\  ernment. 


It  has  large  tracts  of  fine  prairie  land, 
but  there  is  also  considerable  timber 
land,  more  or  less  dense.  The  prairie 
portions  are  located  in  different  parts  of 
the  township,  the  largest  tracts  lying  in 
the  eastern  and  northeastern  portions. 

Ruyle  is  not  a  full  congressional  town- 
ship,  six  sections,  three  half  sections, 
and  an  80  acre  tract  in  the  northwest 
corner  of  the  congressional  township 
being  attached  to  Greene  county. 


I:".* 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


The  Macoupin  creek  is  the  principal 
water  course,  though  it  does  not  traverse 
any  extended  amount  of  the  township's 
territory.  It  interests  section  1,  2,  3, 
16,  SI,  20,  19  and  18.  Long  Point 
Branch  and  Elm  Branch  are  small  trib- 
utaries which  traverse  the  township, 
flowing  into  the  Macoupin  within  its 
borders.  Besides  these,  there  are 
numerous  little  rivulets,  all  tributaries 
of  the  Macoupin  creek.  These  streams 
furnish  water  in  abundance  for  stock 
and  farming  purposes,  besides  giving 
abundant  drainage  facilities.  The  tim- 
ber lands  afford  ample  supplies  of  wood; 
so  that,  all-  in  all,  the  township  has 
within  its  borders  numerous  sources  of 
wealth.  Considerable  attention  is  given 
to  stock-raising,  some  of  the  citizens 
making  that  their  principal  busines. 

The  C,  B.  &  Q.  railroad  intersects  the 
township  diagonally,  comingin  from  the 
northwest  at  the  center  of  section  3,  and 
passing  through  section  3,  11,  14,  13, 
24,  25,  and  going  out  towards  the  south- 
east, at  the  northeast  corner  of  sec- 
tion 36. 

Some  of  the  best  citizens  of  Jersey 
county  are  residents  of  Ruyle  township, 
and  some  of  the  best  improved  farms 
are  to  be  found  here. 

EARLY   SETTLEMENT. 

John  W.  Huitt  came  to  what  is  now 
Jersey  county  in  1816,  and  located  on 
the  northeast  quarter  of  section  31,  in 
the  present  Ruyle  township.  His  father, 
John  Huitt,  a  native  of  Virginia,  moved 
to  North  Carolina  some  time  after  the 
war  of  the  Revolution,  where  he  married 
Lizzie  Radcliff,  by  whom  he  had,  at  the 
time  of  his  immigration  to  Illinois, 
eight  children.     In  1804  they  settled  in 


Madison  county,  111.  John  W.  came  to 
Jersey  county  in  1816,  locating  as  afore- 
said. In  1818  he  removed  from  there 
to  a  farm  about  four  miles  northeast  of 
Carrollton.  He  afterward  removed  to 
Carrollton,  where  he  lived  until  his 
death  in  1882.  He  was  married  to  Ros- 
anna  Hareford,  a  daughter  of  James 
Hareford,  of  Kentucky.  He  retained 
the  vigorous  use  of  his  faculties  until 
the  time  of  his  death. 

Matthew  Cowan  made  a  settlement 
in  this  township  in  1822.  He  was  a 
Virginian  by  birth,  and  one  of  the  pio- 
neers of  Illinois,  having  located  in 
Madison  county  as  early  as  1812,  where 
he  resided  until  he  came  to  this  county. 
Here  he  lived  for  years,  until,  in  the 
fullness  of  time,  he  was  gathered  to  his 
rest. 

John  C.  Whitlock  came  to  this  town- 
ship and  made  a  settlement  in  1823.  He 
was  a  native  of  Virginia  but  had  lived, 
for  some  time,  in  Kentucky,  from  whence 
he  had  come  here.     He  died  in  1879. 

Samuel  and  Richard  Rhoads  made  a 
settlement  in  this  township  during  the 
year  1828. 

William  Palmer,  a  native  of  Vermont, 
made  a  settlement  upon  a  portion  of 
section  13,  in  Ruyle  township,  in  1829. 
He  is  now  numbered  with  the  great  ma- 
jority of  old  pioneers  who  have  passed 
the  river  of  death. 

Among  other  old  settlers  in  this  town- 
ship, the  date  of  whose  settlement  it  has 
been  impossible  to  obtain  with  accuracy, 
but  who  were  known  to  have  lived  here 
prior  to  1830,  were  the  following:  Rich- 
ard Chowning,  John  Hawkins,  Benja- 
min Cleaver,  Eli  Fitzgerald,  Henry 
Floyd,  two  brothers  by  the  name  of 
Wood,  and  others. 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


459 


Benjamin  Cleaver  was  a  relative  of  the 
Reddish  family  and  came  ahoutthe  same 
time  with  them.  He  subsequently 
went  to  Oregon,  where  he  still   resides. 

James  Richey,a  Kentuckian,  made  a 
settlement  in  the  township  during  the 
year  1830. 

Rev.  Jacob  Rhodes  settled  upon  sec- 
tion 36,  during  the  year  1830. 

John  Rhodes  made  a  settlement  about 
the  same  time,  in  the  same  township. 

John  Gilworth  came  to  this  township 
locating  upon  section  29,  in  1830.  He 
had  been  a  resident  of  the  county  for  10 
years  previous. 

John  Twitchell  settled,  with  his  fam- 
ily, on  sections  13  and  14,  in  1833.  He 
was  from  the  state  of  Vermont,  and 
came  to  Apple  creek,  Greene  county,  in 
1830,  but  moved  onto  the  above  land 
soon  after  he  had  entered  it.  He  only 
lived  here  until  Aug.  10,  1833,  when  he 
died. 

David  Rhodes  and  family  settled  in 
Ruyle  township  in  1834.  His  son,  J.L., 
yet  lives  in  the  township. 

Elias  Palmer  came  to  Jersey  county, 
with  his  family,  in  1836. 

CEMETERIES. 

There  are  two  regularly  recorded  cem- 
eteries within  the  boundaries  of  Ruyle 
township,  both  of  which  are  well  kept 
up,  as  well  as  neatly  laid  out. 

Oakland  cemetery  was  laid  out  by  W. 
K.  Miner,  president,  and  James  Bring- 
hurst,  secretary,  of  the  Oakland  Ceme- 
tery Association,  on  the  13th  of  March, 
1869,  the  survey  being  made  by  George 
I.  Foster,  the  county  surveyor.  It 
comprises  the  northwest  corner  of  Sec. 
36,  T.  9,  R.  10. 

Hawkins'   Prairie  cemetery  was  sur- 


veyed and  platted  by  George  I.  Foster, 
county  surveyor,  on  the  14th  of  May, 
1868,  for  the  Hawkins'  Prairie  Cemetery 
Association,  of  which  D.  P.  Pritchett 
was  president,  and  John  Fenke,  sec- 
retary. 

KEMPER. 

This  is  a  sprightly  village  lying  on 
the  line  of  the  St.  Louis  division  of  the 
C,  B.  &  Q.  railroad,  on  the  northwest 
quarter  of  the  northwest  quarter  of  Sec. 
24,  T.  9  north,  R.  10  west.  It  was  laid 
out  upon  the  5th  of  Nov.,  1870,  by  W. 
\V.  H.  Kemper.  The  survey  of  the 
town  was  made  by  George  I.  Foster, 
county  surveyor,  and  the  plat  recorded 
upon  the  9th  of  the  same  month.  Ow- 
ing to  its  proximity  to  older  and  larger 
towns  that  can  offer  greater  inducements 
as  trade  centers,  it  has  not  grown  as 
much  as  was  expected  or  deserved,  but 
still  it  has  a  bright  future  before  it, 
being  surrounded  by  some  of  as  fine 
land  as  any  in  this  region  of  the  state. 

BUSINESS    INTERESTS. 

Orin  Palmer  commenced  business  in 
Kemper  in  1871.  He  erected  a  building 
30x60  feet  in  dimensions,  and  at  first 
handled  grain  exclusively,  buying  and 
shipping.  In  the  fall  of  the  same  year, 
there  being  no  store  there,  Mr.  Palmer 
put  a  stock  of  groceries  in  the  same 
building,  thus  making  him  the  first 
store-keeper  in  Kemper.  In  the  sum- 
mer of  1872,  he  sold  the  stock  of 
groceries  to  Ruyle  &  Elliott,  who  re- 
moved it  to  a  building  they  had  erected. 
In  1872,  Mr.  Palmer  added  the  lumber 
and  agricultural  lines  to  their  business. 

He  received  grain  from  a  radius  of 
eight  miles,  shipping  mostly  to  St. 
Louis  and  Alton,  and  mills  in  Northern 


i(MI 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


Illinois.  He  also  handles  fat  hogs, 
shipping  them  to  the  St.  Louis  market. 
He  keeps  on  hand  a  stock  of  agricul- 
tural implements,  and  supplies  all 
orders.  His  aggregate  business  in  ayear 
will  run  from  $25,000  to  $50,000,  vary- 
ing according  to  the  amount  of  crops 
and  market  price  of  grain  in  different 
years. 

Orin  Palmer  is  a  native  of  Weybridge, 
Addison  county,  Vt.,  born  on  the  11th 
day  of  Oct.,  1832,  his  parents  being 
Elias  and  Thirza  (Stowe)  Palmer,  na- 
tives of  Vermont.  When  Orin  was 
four  years  old  the  family  came  to  this 
county,  coming  overland  to  Cincinnati; 
thence,  down  the  Ohio  and  up  the  Mis- 
sissippi river,  to  Alton,  then  proceeded 
to  what  is  now  Jersey  county  and  loca- 
ted on  Palmer's  Prairie,  named  after 
William  Palmer,  a  brother  of  Elias, 
who  had  settled  there  three  years  pre- 
vious. William  came  to  the  state  of 
Illinois  in  the  fall  of  1830,  and  lived  at 
Apple  Creek  prairie,  near  White  Hall, 
until  the  spring  of  1833,  when  he  moved 
to  Palmer's  prairie,  in  what  is  now 
known  as  Ruyle  township.  Here,  Mrs. 
Elias  Palmer  died  in  June,  1859.  She 
is  buried  in  what  is  called  Delaware 
cemetery.  In  18G0  Elias  removed  to 
Chesterfield,  in  Macoupin  county, where 
he  resided  until  the  time  of  his  death, 
in  September,  1863.  He  had  held  the 
office  of  justice  of  the  peace,  and  was 
connected  with  the  schools  as  director. 
Orin  did  not  go  with  his  father  to  Ches- 
terfield, but  remained  in  this  county, 
where  he  was  engaged  in  farming.  He 
was  reared  in  the  township  where  he 
now  resides,  and  has  been  identified 
with  it  for  nearly  half  a  century,  or 
almost  the  entire  period  of  his  life.    He 


was  educated  in  the  schools  of  this 
county,  and  attended  the  school  of 
Prof.  Wilder,  in  Greenfield.  He  was 
married  in  Kemper  on  the  20th  day  of 
Jan.,  1858,  to  Mary  Kemper,  a  daughter 
of  W.  H.  H.  Kemper.  By  this  union 
there  were  three  children — Ida,  Elmer 
E.,  and  Nora  M.  Mr.  Palmer  was  again 
married.  May  7,  1884,  to  Hattie  L. 
Sturtevant,  a  native  of  Vermont,  and 
daughter  of  Leonard  Sturtevant.  Mr. 
Palmer  is  a  member  of  the  Good  Temp- 
lars lodge  at  Kemper,  and  is  clerk  and 
trustee  of  the  Congregational  church, 
with  which  he  has  been  closely  identi- 
fied since  its  organization.  He  is  the 
principal  business  man  of  Kemper. 

George  C.  Robinson  now  conducts 
the  general  merchandise  business.  The 
store  was  started  by  G.  B.  Harlan,  who 
erected  the  building.  He  sold  the  stock 
in  Oct.,  1883,  to  George  C.  Robinson,  on 
a  trade,  the  latter  exchanging  a  pro- 
perty in  Chesterfield  for  it.  He  has 
conducted  the  business  since  that  time. 
He  handles  groceries,  boots  and  shoes, 
nails,  queensware,  glassware,  wooden- 
ware,  tinware,  notions,  cigars,  tobaccos, 
etc.  He  carries  a  stock  of  about  $1,500 
worth  of  goods. 

George  C.  Robinson  was  born  in 
Peterborough,  Northamptonshire,  Eng., 
on  the  12th  day  of  June,  1858,  his 
parents  being  James  and  Catherine 
(Crossland)  Robinson.  When  George 
was  11  years  old  he  came  to  this 
country  with  his  elder  brother,  John 
William  Robinson,  and  located  with  his 
uncle,  William  Crossland,  in  Macoupin 
county,  near  the  town  of  Fayette.  He 
remained  in  that  county  about  eight 
years,  at  the  expiration  of  which  he 
came  to   Jersey    county,  where   he  has 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


461 


since  resided,  with  the  exception  of  a 
short  time.  He  worked  three  years,  by 
the  month,  for  Charles  Sanders,  and  one 
year  for  V.  L.  Dodge  and  then  came 
to  Kemper,  and  engaged  in  the  grocery 
business,  which  he  conducted  for  about 
two  years.  He  then  sold  out  and  went 
to  Chesterfield,  Macoupin  county,  where 
he  was  engaged  in  general  merchandis- 
ing, which  he  continued  for  a  time. 
Alter  closing  out  his  business  there, 
he  returned  to  England  on  a  visit 
to  friends  and  relatives.  Oct.  19, 
1881.  he  was  married  to  MaTgaret 
C.  Kirkland,  a  native  of  England,  and 
daughter  of  Thomas  Kirkland.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Robinson  have  two  children — 
Florence  Viola  and  John  Walter.  Mr. 
Robinson  is  the  present  postmaster  of 
Kemper.  He  is  a  member  of  Kemper 
lodge,  No.  596,  of  the  I.  0.  O.  F.,  in 
which  he  has  acted  as  V.  G.,  and  is  at 
present  I.  G.  James  Robinson,  father 
of  G.  C.  Robinson,  was  killed  by  the 
natives  in  the  East  Indies,  where  he  was 
overseer  of  the  first  railroad  constructed 
by  the  natives.  His  widow,  Mrs. 
Catherine  Robinson,  is  now  living  near 
Hagaman,  Macoupin  county,  HI.,  with 
her  youngest  son,  James  Robinson.  She 
is  the  mother  of  five  children  now  liv- 
ing. They  are — John  William,  Eliza- 
beth Ann,  George  Crossland,  Charles 
Crossland  and  James,  all  natives  of 
England. 

J.  F.  Still  &  Bro.  also  handle  general 
merchandise.  The  business  was  com- 
menced  by  Ruyle  A-  Elliott,  who  pur- 
chased a  stock  of  groceries  from  Orin 
Palmer,  in  1872.  Ruyle  &  Elliott  were 
succeeded  by  Ruyle  Bros.,  and  they  by 
Harlan  &  Son,  who  sold  to  J.  C.  Robin- 
son.    The  present  firm   succeeded  Rob- 


inson.    They  handle  such    goods  as   are 
usually  found  in  a  general  store, 
.lames  Albert  Whitfield,    the   present 

telegraph  operator  and  station  agent  for 
the  Chicago,  Burlington  A-  Quincy  Rail- 
road Company,  at  Kemper,  is  the  son  of 
W.  T.  and  Jane  Whitfield.  He  was 
born  in  Fidelity,  Jersey  county,  March 
7,  1866.  He  resided  with  his  parents 
until  his  marriage,  March  12,  1884,  to 
Olive  Eliza  Jones,  daughter  of  Madison 
and  Eliza  Jones.  He  assumed  his 
present  position  in  1S82,  succeeding  W. 
\V.  .Myers,  who  was  in  charge  of  the 
office  six  months.  Zachariah  Kemper 
was  the  first  agent  at  this  point,  and 
remained  here  about  ten  years.  He  was 
then  succeeded  by  H.  M.  Elwell,  who 
remained  a  few  months,  and  was  in  turn 
succeeded  by  W.  H.  Curtis.  The  latter 
had  charge  of  the  office  about  a  year. 
The  next  agent  was  M.  E.  Stone,  the 
predecessor  of  W..  W.  Myers.  Mr. 
Stone  remained  here  one  year.  Mr. 
Whitfield  is  a  worthy  young  man,  well 
fitted  for  the  duties  of  his  position, 
which  he  has  performed  in  such  a  man- 
ner as  to  merit,  justly,  the  reputation 
which  he  has  gained,  of  being  a  faithful 
and  efficient  agent  and  an  accommodat- 
ing gentleman. 


The  Kemper  Baptist  church  was  or- 
ganized April  1,  1876.  (See  Ecclesias- 
tical chapter.) 

The  Delaware  Congregational  church, 
at  Kemper,  was  organized  in  1870.  A 
complete  history  of  this  church  may  be 
found  in  the  Ecclesiastical  chapter. 

POSTOFFICE. 

The    postoffice    was    established    in 


462 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


Kemper,  in  1871,  with  W.  H.  H.  Kem- 
per, as  postmaster.  His  son,  Zacha- 
riah,  was  deputy.  Mr.  Kemper  was 
succeeded  by  G.  B.  Harlan.  He  con- 
tinued until  Oct.,  1883,  when  he  was 
succeeded  by  George  C.  Robinson,  the 
present  incumbent.  The  postoffice  is 
kept  in  Mr.  Robinson's  store. 


Kemper  lodge,  No.  596,  I.  0.  0.  F., 
was  first  organized  in  Fieldon,  this 
county,  but  there  not  being  a  sufficient 
number  of  members  there  to  support 
the  lodge  properly,  it  was  removed  to 
Kemper.  It  was  organized  in  1876, 
with  the  following  charter  members: 
William  Eads,  Wiley  H.  Scribner.  John 
L.  Terry,  Jr.,  Wesley  Park  and  Ward 
Combs.  The  first  officers  were:  Ward 
Combs,  N.  G.;  William  Eads,  V.  G.; 
J  L.  Terry,  Jr.,  S.;  Wesley  Park,  T. 
The  removal  took  place  in  April,  1880. 
The  officers  of  the  lodge  at  present  are: 
H.  W.  Young,  N.  G.;  Thos.  Kirkland, 
V.  G.;  W.  T.  Whitfield,  Sec;  J.  F. 
Still,  Treas. 

REPRESENTATIVE    MEN. 

Besides  the  early  settlers,  there  are 
many  residents  of  this  township  who 
have  been  largely  identified  with  the 
growth  and  development  of  this  part  of 
the  county,  and  are  therefore  worthy  of 
notice  in  this  connection. 

Mrs.  Mary  Ruyle,  widow  of  Thomas 
B.  Ruyle,  is  a  daughter  of  Amos  and 
Eliza  Pruitt,  and  was  born  three  miles 
north  of  Carrollton,  in  Greene  county, 
111.  She  was  married,  February  2, 
1843.  Her  husband,  Thomas  B.  Ruyle, 
was  born  near  Nashville,  Tenn.,  Feb. 
18,  1820.       When  he  was    seven  years 


old,  his  parents  removed  to  Morgan 
county,  111.,  and  in  1833  to  Jersey 
county.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Ruyle  settled, 
after  their  marriage,  on  section  28,  in 
Ruyle  township,  and  continued  to  re- 
side there  until  1858,  when  they  moved 
to  section  15.  Mr. .Ruyle  died  Aug.  28, 
1880,  and  was  laid  to  rest  in  Delaware 
cemetery,  near  Kemper,  Jersey  county. 
Mrs.  Ruyle  now  resides  on  section  15. 
She  is  the  owner  of  a  large  farm,  com- 
prising 240  acres,  on  that  section;  also 
40  acres  on  section  10,  and  180 
acres  in  Greene  county.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Ruyle  had  twelve  children  born 
to  them;  Amos  L.,  who  lives  upon 
section  15;  Charles,  living  in  Beatrice, 
Nebraska;  Lucinda  Jane,  wife  of  Hi- 
ram Wright,  living  near  Rockbridge, 
in  Greene  county;  Eliza  E.,  wife  of 
Charles  Ketcham,  of  Lincoln  county, 
Kansas;  Mary,  wife  of  B.  C.  Elliott,  of 
Kemper,  Jersey  county ;  Celia,  who  is 
now  living  at  home  with  her  mother ; 
Thomas  B.,  George  W.  and  Annie,  also 
living  at  home.  Henry  is  deceased; 
also  two  children  unnamed,  who  died 
in  their  infancy.  Mrs.  Ruyle  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Baptist  church  at  Kemper. 
Her  deceased  husband  also  belonged  to 
that  church.  He  held  the  offices  of 
road  supervisor  and  school  director  in 
this  township,  and  was  a  useful  and 
highly  esteemed  citizen.  His  death 
was  deeply  felt,  not  only  by  his  friends, 
but  by  the  entire  community.  Mrs. 
Ruyle's  sons,  Thomas  B.  and  George 
W.,  reside  with  their  mother  and  man- 
age the  farm  successfully.  They  carry 
on  general  farming. 

William  L.  Ruyle,  an  early  settler 
and  influential  citizen  of  Ruyle  town- 
ship, was  born  in  Knox  county,  Tenn., 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


463 


and  came  to  Illinois  with  his  parents, 
when  about  two  years  of  age.  They  set- 
tled in  Macoupin  county,  near  Waverly, 
where  they  resided  five  years,  then  re- 
moved to  Seottville,  two  and  a  half 
miles  south,  when'  his  father  died.  Mr. 
Ruyle  was  married  about  Oet.  1,  1854, 
to  Jane  Elliott,  daughter  of  Lewis  and 
Elizabeth  Elliott.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Ruyle 
are  the  parents  of  nine  children — Celia, 
deceased,  born  Aug.  17,  1855,  and  died 
June  9,  185&;  William  H.,  Elizabeth, 
Amos,  Laurie,  Louis  L.,Lueinda,  Edgar, 
and  Oliver  T.  Mr.  Ruyle  owns  an  ex- 
tensive farm,  comprising  S80  acres  of 
land,  480  acres  of  which  are  located  on 
sections  28,  33  and  34,  80  acres  on  sec- 
tion 30,  160  acres  on  section  20,  and  160 
acres  on  section  24.  He  is  engaged  in 
raising  grain  and  stock  on  an  extensive 
scale.  He  makes  a  specialty  of  thor- 
oughbred cattle.  Mr.  Ruyle  began  life 
in  very  limited  circumstances,  and  his 
present  prosperity  is  due  entirely  to  his 
own  energy  and  judicious  management. 
He  is  a  man  of  sterling  character,  and 
justly  deserving  of  the  reputation  which 
he  enjoys,  of  being  one  of  Jersey 
county's  most  prominent  citizens. 

Lewis  Elliott,  Sr.,  (deceased)  was  a 
son  of  Curtis  and  Elizabeth  Elliott. 
He  was  born  in  what  is  now  the  state  of 
West  Virginia,  on  the  9th  day  of  Sept., 
1805.  When  about  20  years  of  age,  he 
went  to  Grayson  county,  Ken.,  where, 
on  the  29th  of  Oct.,  1826,  he  was  mar- 
ried to  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Benjamin 
and  Mary  Reddish,  a  native  of  that 
county.  Thirteen  children  were  born 
to  them — Lucinda,  wife  of  Samuel 
Rhodes,  of  Ruyle  township  ;  she  was 
born  in  Kentucky,  Feb.  10,  1827;  Nancy, 
deceased  wife  of  John  V.  Rhodes,  was 


born  Oct.  26,  1829,  and  died  March  20, 
1863;  David,  born  Nov.  20,  1831,  mar- 
ried Nancy  Reddish,  now  dead,  and  lives 
in  Pratt  county,  Kan  ;  Mary  Jane,  born 
Oct.  4,  1833,  now  the  wife  of  William  L. 
Ruyle,  of  this  township  ;  Caroline,  born 
May  4,  1835,  now  the  wife  of  William 
Barnes,  of  this  township  ;  John  William, 
born  Dec.  22,  1836,  and  died  Nov.  23, 
1851;  Stephen,  born  Feb.  17,  1839,  and 
died  Sept.  4,  1839;  Elizabeth,  born  Aug. 
4,  1840,  and  died  Sept.  3,  1840;  Lewis, 
born  Feb.  12,  1842,  now  living  in  this 
township;  Thomas  B.,  born  Dec.  16, 
1844,  now  living  in  Macoupin  county; 
Elizabeth,  born  Dec.  16,  1847,  and  died 
Oct.  19,  1848;  Benjamin  C,  born  Dec. 
16,  1847,  now  living  in  Ruyle  township, 
and  Julia  Ann,  born  May  23,  1851,  and 
died  June  20,  of  the  same  year.  Eliza- 
beth and  Benjamin  C.  were  twins.  In 
the  summer  of  1827,  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Elliott,  with  their  child  Lucinda,  came 
to  Illinois,  and  located  in  what  is  now 
English  township,  built  a  cabin  and 
began  making  a  home  for  their  family 
in  the  (then)  wilderness  of  what  is  now 
Jersey  county.  They  remained  here 
about  a  year.  At  the  end  of  that  time, 
John  Rhodes,  who  had  married  in  Ken- 
tucky a  sister  of  Mr.  Elliott,  came  out 
to  Illinois,  and  located  on  the  site  of 
the  present  town  of  Medora,  in  Ma- 
coupin county.  Being  pleased  with  the 
locality,  he  persuaded  his  brother-in- 
law,  Mr.  Elliott,  to  remove  thither. 
The  latter  entered  land  just  north  of 
Mr.  Rhodes',  or  what  is  now  the  "Simp- 
son" place.  There  the  family  re- 
sided until  1833,  when  they  moved 
to  Choteau  Island,  Madison  county, 
111.,  where  his  brother  Thomas  had 
previously  settled.     They  resided  there 


464 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY 


15  years,  during  which  Mr.  Elliott  car- 
ried on  farming,  also,  dealing  in  wood, 
having  it  chopped  and  sent  to  St.  Louis 
on  a  wood-boat,  and  kept  a  wood-yard 
to  furnish  wood  to  boats.  He  was  very 
prosperous  here  until  the  overflow  of 
the  river,  in  1844,  which  swept  away 
the  results  of  his  years  of  hard  labor. 
At  that  time  the  water  was  so  high  that 
the  children  could  be  saved  only  by  be- 
ing taken  out  of  the  second-story  win- 
dows into  a  boat.  In  1848  they  removed 
from  Choteau  Island,  to  a  farm  on  Sec. 
26,  T.  9,  I\.  10,  now  Ruyle  township. 
Here  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Elliott  remained 
until  the  time  of  their  death,  rearing 
their  family  and  improving  a  good  farm. 
Mr.  Elliott's  death  occurred  Sept.  29, 
1865,  and  that  of  his  wife  Aug.  26,  1862. 
They  are  buried  in  the  Elliott  cemetery, 
upon  the  homestead  farm.  Both  were 
among  the  original  members  of  the  Mt. 
Pleasant  Baptist  church,  and  lived  con- 
sistent Christians  to  the  end  of  their 
lives. 

Lewis  Elliott  the  ninth  of  the  13 
children  of  Lewis  and  Elizabeth  (Red- 
dish) Elliott,  and  was  born  Feb.  12, 
1842.  He  remained  with  his  parents 
until  his  marriage,  on  the  22d  of  Oct., 
1862,  to  Eliza  Jane  Fink,  who  died 
March  11,  1863.  He  was  married  again 
March  23,  1864,  to  Serena  Brownfield,  a 
native  of  Randolph  county,  and  daugh- 
of  Benjamin  and  Elizabeth  (Gilworth) 
Brownfield.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Elliott  are 
the  parents  of  nine  children,  eight  of 
whom  are  living — Dora  Jane,  Mary 
Lorena,  Lewis  Walter,  Rosa  Elizabeth, 
Lucinda  Caroline,  Wealthy  Brownfield, 
Milton  Cleaver  and  Rena  May.  Peachy 
Bell  was  born  Oct.  29,  1867,  and  died 
Nov.  7,  1875.     Mr.    Elliott  has  lived  on 


his  present  farm  on  section  26  since  the 
fall  of  1864,  since  which  all  of  the  im- 
provements have  been  made.  He  has 
550  acres  of  land,  and  pays  considera- 
ble attention  to  stock-raising,  also  raises 
quite  an  amount  of  grain.  He  keeps 
short  horn  cattle  and  makes  a  specialty 
of  fine  horses.  He  was  the  first  super- 
visor of  Ruyle  township  after  its  organ- 
ization. Mr.  and  Mrs.  Elliott  are  mem- 
bers of  the  Baptist  church. 

Thomas  B.  Elliott,  the  10th  in  order 
of  age  of  the  children  of  Lewis  Elliott, 
Sr.,  was  born  Dec.  16,  1844.  He  lived 
with  his  parents  until  his  marriage, 
to  Elizabeth  Fink,  Dec.  22,  1864.  She 
died  in  the  fall  of  1872,  leaving  four 
children,  two  of  whom  are  living — 
Thomas  Lindley  and  Otis  Predland. 
Those  deceased  are — John  Monroe  and 
Lewis  Elmer.  In  Oct.,  1874,  Mr.  Elli- 
ott was  married  to  Frances  Amelia  Wal- 
ter, a  native  of  Ohio,  and  daughter  of 
George  and  Rachel  Walter.  By  this 
marriage  there  are  two  children — How- 
ard B.  and  Florence  Myrtle.  Mr.  Elli- 
ott resided  within  a  half  mile  of  the  old 
homestead  of  his  parents  until  the 
spring  of  1885,  when  he  rented  his  farm 
and  moved  to  Medora.  He  has  330 
acres  of  land,  in  three  farms.  Mrs. 
Elliott  is  a  member  of  the  Baptist 
church.     He  is,  politically,  a  democrat. 

John  Ryan,  deceased, one  of  the  earli- 
est pioneers  of  what  is  now  Jersey 
county, was  born  in  Philadelphia,  Penn., 
in  1796,  his  parents  being  John  and  Re- 
becca Ryan,  the  former  was  of  Irish, 
and  the  latter  of  English  descent.  When 
quite  young  he  went  to  Chester  county, 
Penn.,  and  learned  the  trade  of  mill- 
wright, serving  an  apprenticeship  of 
seven  years,  becoming  a  thorough  mas- 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


465 


ter  of  the  trade.  Atter  working  a  short 
time  in  Chester  county,  he  started  west- 
ward to  seek  his  fortune  in  a  newer 
country.  Coming  to  Illinois,  he  located 
at  Frenchtown,  now  East  St.  Louis,  in 
the  fall  of  1819, where  he  remained  until 
the  fall  of  1824,  then  went  to  Alton,  and 
after  stopping  a  short  time,  came  to 
what  is  now  Jersey  county,  and  located 
about  five  miles  southwest  of  the  site  of 
the  present  city  of  Jersey  villc,  in  Hick- 
ory Grove.  In  the  fall  of  1828  he  re- 
moved with  his  family,  to  a  point  four 
miles  southwest  of  Carrollton,  in  Greene 
county.  There  he  resided  until  1840, 
then  returned  to  Jersey  county,  settling 
this  time,  on  section  27,  of  what  is  now 
Ruyle  township.  He  lived  upon  that 
same  tract  of  land,  which  he  had  pre- 
viously entered,  until  the  time  of  his 
death,  which  occurred  Jan.  26,  1863. 
He  was  married  in  Zanesvillc,  Ohio, 
to  Jane  Wilcox,  a  native  of  Canada. 
They  were  the  parents  of  eight  children 
— Richardson,  a  sketch  of  whom  ap- 
pears herewith;  Sarah,  who  died  when 
quite  young,  in  Alton;  Mary,  widow  of 
John  Christopher,  now  living  one  mile 
south  of  Fidelity;  Charles,  deceased, 
who  was,  at  the  time  of  his  death,  the 
most  prominent  physician  of  Spring- 
field, 111.;  he  was  one  of  the  early  phy- 
sicians of  this  county;  Jane,  married  to 
W.  C.  Farrow,  and  living  in  this  town- 
ship; John,  who  died  in  Virden  town- 
ship, Macoupin  county;  Henry,  the 
subject  of  the  following  sketch;  and 
Catherine,  who  was  married  to  William 
M.  Stevenson,  and  died  on  part  of  the 
home  place.  Mrs.  John  Ryan  died  July 
11,  1852.  Mr.  Ryan  was  one  of  the  con- 
structors of  the  first  mill  in  Greene 
county — Coonsville  mill. 


Henry  Ryan,  the  next  to  the  youngest 
of  the  children,  was  horn  near  Carroll- 
ton,  March  28,  1831,  following  the  win- 
ter of  the  "deep  snow.''  When  he  was 
nine  years  of  age,  the  family  removed 
to  the  farm  where  he  now  resides,  on 
section  27,  Ruyle  township.  Here  he 
grew  to  manhood,  receiving  his  school- 
ing in  Greene  and  Jersey  counties.  He 
was  married,  on  the  26th  of  Sept.,  1861, 
to  Almira  E.  Thomas,  daughter  of  John 
I.  and  Ann  (Chorn)  Thomas.  Samuel 
Thomas,  her  grandfather,  was  the  first 
white  mi  n  who  located  in  Greene  county, 
north  of  the  Macoupin  creek,  he  having 
penetrated  the  wilderness  and  made  a 
settlement  there  in  1818,  the  year  Illi- 
nois was  admitted  to  the  Union  as  a 
state.  A  sketch  of  Samuel  Thomas  ap- 
pears in  the  Early  Settlement  chapter  of 
the  history  of  Greene  county,  in  this 
volume.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Ryan  are  the 
parents  of  eight  children,  six  of  whom 
are  living — John  T.,  Mary  A.,  James 
H.,  George  E.,  Ethel  W.,  and  Marcus 
Jeuduthun;  Ada  Jane  died  in  Aug., 
1881 ,  in  the  13th  year  of  her  age;  Hugh 
Lewis  died  in  April,  1878,  aged  one 
year.  For  nearly  half  a  century  Mr. 
Ryan  has  been  identified  with  the  in- 
terests of  Ruyle  township.  He  has 
served  as  road  commissioner,  and  was 
for  11  years  an  officer  of  the  cele- 
brated Jersey  county  fair,  having  acted 
as  director,  president  and  vice-president 
of  the  association.  He  owns  a  fine  stock 
farm,  comprising  660  acres,  in  Ruyle 
township,  and  is  engaged  in  raising 
short  horn  cattle,  Poland  China  hogs, 
and  mutton  sheep.  He  raises  steers  to 
export  to  the  English  market. 

John  V.  Rhoads  came  to  Jersey 
county    with    his    parents,  Josiah    and 


466 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


Susannah  Rhoads, who  settled  on  section 
25,  Ruyle  township,  in  the  year  1835. 
The  subject  of  this  sketch  was  born  in 
Grayson  county,  Ky.,  Jan.  17,  1830. 
His  childhood  and  youth  were  spent  in 
this  county,  and  Sept.  30,  1854,  he  was 
united  in  marriage  with  Nancy  Elliott, 
daughter  of  Lewis  and  Elizabeth  Elliott. 
They  were  the  parents  of  five  children 
— James  Lewis,  Silas,  Hezekiah,  Steph- 
en and  Elijah  B.  Mrs.  Rhoads  died 
March  28,  1863,  and  is  buried  in  the 
family  cemetery.  In  Sept.,  1864,  Mr. 
Rhoads  was  married  to  Jeanetta  Brown, 
daughter  of  James  and  Mary  Brown. 
By  this  union  there  were  eleven  chil- 
dren— Mary  Elizabeth,  Susannah,  Em- 
ma Matilda,  Katie  Ann  (deceased), 
Jeanetta,  John  William,  Charles  B., 
Lawson,  Josiah  (deceased),  Earnest  E. 
(deceased),  and  Grace  Ann.  Mr. 
Rhoads  owns  a  large  and  valuable  farm, 
comprising  320  acres,  on  section  25, 
and  is  engaged  in  general  farming.  He 
has  served  as  school  trustee  for  some 
time,  and  as  school  director  for  a  num- 
ber of  years.  He  has  been  a  member 
of  the  United  Baptist  church  for  37 
years,  and  is  trustee  and  deacon  of  the 
church  at  Kemper,  and  belongs  to  the 
Fidelity  lodge  of  the  Masonic  frater- 
nity. Mr.  Rhoads  has  been  identified 
with  Ruyle  township  and  Jersey  coun- 
ty for  over  half  a  century,  and  is  now 
a  prominent  and  honored  citizen.  His 
father,  Josiah  Rhoads,  was  born  in 
Hardin  county,  Ky.,  in  the  year  1790, 
and  died  in  Jersey  county,  in  1859.  His 
mother,  Susannah  Rhoads,  was  born  in 
Maryland  in  1788,  and  died  here  in 
1872.  Both  were  for  many  years  con- 
sist! nt  members  of  the  Baptist  church. 
They      are      buried      in     the      family 


cemetery,     which    is    located    on    Mr. 
Rhoads'  farm. 

John  Twitchel  (deceased)  was  born 
in  Weybridge,  Addison  county,  Ver- 
mont, on  the  30th  day  of  May,  1798.  He 
lived  with  his  mother  until  the  time 
of  his  marriage,  March  16,  1818,  to 
Anna  Sanford.  He  then  moved  to  New 
Haven.  In  1831  he  came  to  Illinois  and 
settled  on  Apple  Creek  prairie,  removing 
from  thence  to  what  is  now  Jersey 
county,  in  1833.  He  entered  land  on 
Sees.  13  and  14,  T.9,  R.  10.  On  Aug.  10, 
1833,  Mr.  Twitchel  died.  His  widow 
is  still  living,  and  now  resides  with  her 
son,  Gaston  D.  Twitchel.  They  were 
the  parents  of  eight  children — Gaston 
D.,  Mary  Ann,  Lydia,  Sydney,  Loraine, 
Ann  Jeannette,  who  died  June  25,  1827; 
Loretta,  who  was  married  to  Nathan 
Chamberlain,  and  died  October  18,  1880 
and  Silva  Jane,  who  was  the  wife  of 
John  Ryan,  and  died  June  24,  1881. 

Gaston  D.  Twitchel  was  born  in  Wey- 
bridge, Addison  county,  Vt.,  Jan.  1, 
1819.  He  came  to  Illinois  with  his  parents 
when  in  his  12th  year,  and  grew  to 
manhood  on  the  farm  where  he  now  re- 
sides, having  been  identified  with  this 
township  for  over  half  a  century.  He 
has  devoted  his  attention  to  farming  and 
is  the  owner  of  240  acres  of  land.  Mrs. 
Twitchel  is  a  member  of  the  Congrega- 
tional church.  Mr.  Twitchel  carried 
the  first  mail  through  from  Alton  to 
Jacksonville  on  the  Jacksonville  and 
Alton  road,  shortly  after  that  road  was 
laid  out.  He  acted  as  mail  carrier  one 
winter,  making  one  round  trip  a  week, 
occupying  two  days  in  going  each  way. 
He  traveled  on  horseback,  and  was  em- 
ployed by  the  contractor,  whose  name 
was  Strong. 


John  C.  Dannels  was  born  near  Kane, 
Greene  county,  111.,  on  Nov.  4,  1826. 
He  is  a  son  of  Walker  and  Martha  Dan- 
nels. When  John  was  very  young  his 
father,  Walker  Dannels,  died,  and  he 
went  tn  live  with  his  sister,  Mrs.  Tomp- 
kins, with  whom  he  remained  until  the 
date  of  his  marriage,  March  28,  Is  17.  to 
Mary  Palmer,  daughter  of  William  and 
Mary  Palmer.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Dannels 
were  the  parents  of  seven  children — 
Laura  I!.,  horn  Aug.  8,  1848,  now  the 
wife  of  V.  L.  Dodge,  of  this  township; 
William  \\\,  born  Aug.  5,  1850,  and 
died  Aug.  6,  1851;  John  F.,  born  Sept. 
26,  1852;  Charles  F.,  horn  July  5,  1855; 
G<  orge  P.,  horn  Feb.  28,  1858;  Jessie F., 
born  March  7,  1860;  and  Anna,  born 
Feb.  24,  1867,  living  at  home  with  her 
parents.  Mr.  Dannels  owns  a  large 
farm  comprising  180  acres  of  land,  with 
240  acres  on  section  11,  where  he  re- 
sides, and  the  same  amount  on  section 
in.  He  was  one  of  .the  charter  members 
"f  the  Masonic  lodge  of  Fidelity,  and 
lias  acted  as  school  director  of  the  Del- 
aware school  for  a  number  of  years. 
He  is  one  of  the  substantial  citizens  of 
the  township. 

John  Franklin  Dannels,  eldest  Bon  of 
John  C.  and  Mary  Dannels,  was  born 
Sept.  26,  1852,  in  Ruyle  township.  He 
was  reared  upon  a  farm,  and  received 
his  education  in  the  district  school. 
He  remained  with  his  parents  until  his 
marriage,  which  took  place  Sept.  26, 
1876,  when  he  was  united  with  Eliza- 
beth Frost.  They  have  one  child — 
Florence,  born  Aug.  9,  1877.  Mr.  Dan- 
nels owns  '.III  acres,  50  of  which  are 
Located  on  section  11,  where  he  resides, 
and  40  acres  on  section  10.  He  carries 
on  general  farming.     He  holds  the  office 


of  township  clerk,  and  is  a  member 
of  the  I.  ().  0.  F.  lodge,  of  Kemper. 
also  of  the  Masonic  fraternity. 

C.  A.  Dannels,  son  of  John  C.  and 
Mary  Dannels,  was  born  July  5,  1855, 
near  the  village  of  Kemper,  Jersey 
county.  His  early  life  was  spent  here, 
and  his  education  obtained  in  the  com- 
mon schools.  Oct.  26,  1879,  he  left  the 
home  of  his  parents,  and  was  united  in 
marriage  with  Paulina  A.  Kemper,  a 
daughter  of  W.  11.  11.  and  Elmira 
Kemper.  By  this  union  there  are  three 
children— Delia  F.,  born  July  31,  1880; 
Pauline  E.,  born  Jan.  26,  1SS2,  and 
John  ('.,  born  Jan.  25,  1885.  Mr.  Dan- 
nels owns  a  farm  of  80  acres,  located 
on  section  11,  where  he  now  resides. 
He  is  a  member  of  the  Kemper  Lodge  of 
I.  0.  O.  P.,  and  formerly  belonged  to 
the  K.  of  H. 

W.  T.  Whitfield  is  a  native  of  Mont- 
gomery county,  Ohio,  born  near  Dayton 
on  the  15th  of  Sept.,  1821.  He  lived  in 
his  native  county  until  16  years  of  age. 
He  then  went  to  Preble  county,  Ohio, 
where  he  remained  until  1857,  at  which 
date  he  came  to  Jersey  county,  and  lo- 
cated at  Fidelity.  He  engaged  there  in 
the  manufacture  of  carriages  and  wag- 
ons. In  1879  he  moved  to  Kemper,  and 
has  since  devoted  his  attention  to  agri- 
cultural pursuits,  raising  grain  and 
stuck.  He  was  first  married,  Nov.  6, 
1842.  His  wife  died  Au-.  30,  1858, 
leaving  five  children — Sarah,  married: 
Charles:  William  L.,  deceased:  Emma 
Jane,  who  was  married  to  C.  W.  Tiet- 
sort,  and  died  Feb.  24.  1865;  and  Julia, 
wife  of  J.  H.  Dupy.  Mr.  Whitfield 
was  married,  on  Sept.  25,  1862,  to 
Mrs.  Jane  Smith,  daughter  of  Roland 
Hooper.     By  this  union  there  are  six 


468 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


children — Mary  Elizabeth,  .Tames  Al- 
beit, Theodore  Wilson,  Rachel  Jane, 
Joseph  U.  and  Francis  Edgar. 

James  H.  Stotler,  a  farmer  of  Ruyle 
township,  was  horn  in  what  is  now  the 
state  of  West  Virginia,  June  27,  1844. 
In  18(12,  he  removed  with  his  father's 
family,  to  Greene  county,  111.,  and  set- 
tled six  miles  east  of  Carrollton, 
where  they  resided  about  one  year. 
They  then  moved  to  Macoupin  county. 
In  1875.  the  subject  of  this  sketch  was 
married  in  Macoupin  county,  to  Peoria 
Peak,  daughter  of  Richard  and  Mary 
Peak.  After  his  marriage  he  lived  two 
miles  north  of  Medora,  in  Macoupin 
county,  for  a  period  of  two  years,  then 
moved  to  Jersey  county,  and  located 
upon  the  Sanders'  place,  upon  which  he 
remained  eight  years,  removing  from 
thence  to  his  present  residence.  He 
now  lives  upon  the  farm  owned  by  Milo 
Stowe,  and  cultivates  400  acres.  He 
carries  on  general  farming,  raising  grain 
and  stock. 

Richardson  Ryan  was  born  in  Zanes- 
ville,  O.,  May  13,  1818.  He  is  the  eld- 
est son  of  John  and  Jane  (Wilcox) 
Ryan.  He  was  one  year  old  when  his 
father  came  to  Illinois,  in  the  fall  of 
1819.  In  the  spring  following,  Mrs. 
Ryan  and  her  two  children,  Richardson 
and  Sarah,  came  out  and  joined  Mr. 
Ryan  at  Frenchtown  (East  St.  Louis). 
Richardson  followed  the  fortunes  of  his 
parents  and  is  now  living  on  the  same 
tract  of  land  where  his  father  died  20 
years  ago.  He  was  married  in  what  is 
now  Jersey  county,  Nov.  13,  1842,  to 
Angeline  Ritchie,  who  was  born  near 
Golconda,  Polk  county,  Dec.  31,  1820, 
and  a  daughter  of  James  and  Julia  Ann 
Ritchie.     She  died  Jan.  5,  1881.     They 


were  the  parents  of  three  children,  all 
of  whom  are  living — Alice,  living  with 
her  father;  Leonard,  married  to  Alice, 
daughter  of  John  I.  and  Ann  (Chorn) 
Thomas,  and  grand-daughter  of  the 
pioneer,  Samuel  Thomas;  and  Richard- 
son, who  lives  in  this  township.  Mr. 
Ryan  recollects  the  time  when  St.  Louis 
was  nothing  but  a  French  village,  and 
has  driven  hogs  to  market  when  there 
were  but  a  few  scattered  houses  west  of 
the  court  house  in  that  city.  His  life 
has  been  one  of  industry  and  energy, 
and  he  has  accumulated  566  acres  of 
land,  the  greater  part  of  which  lies  mi 
Sec.  35,  T.  9,  R.  10,  the  remainder, 
timber  land  on  sections  17  and  18,  lying 
across  Macoupin  creek.  In  184!)  Mr. 
Ryan  and  his  brother  Charles  went  to 
the  Pacific  coast,  and  engaged  there  in 
the  mines,  two  years,  after  which  they 
returned  to  Illinois. 

Harvey  Gilworth  is  a  son  of  John 
Gilworth,  and  was  born  on  section  29, 
Ruyle  township,  Aug.  4,  1843.  He  is 
the  youngest  of  nine  children,  and  re- 
mained with  his  parents  until  the  time 
of  his  marriage,  which  took  place 
.March  2'.),  1866,  to  Mary  Ann,  daughter 
of  Jacob  H.  Pickett.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Gilworth  are  the  parents  of  seven  chil- 
dren, six  of  whom  are  living — Edward, 
Ida  May,  Delia  Jane,  Lottie  Bell,  Nel- 
lie B.  and  Elmer  Claude.  John  Henry 
was  born  June  4,  1867,  and  died  Aug. 
20,  1868.  John  Gilworth,  father  of  the 
subject  of  this  sketch,  was  one  of  the 
earliest  settlers  of  Jersey  county.  Har- 
vey CHI  worth  owns  a  fine  farm  of  200 
acres,  located  on  section  29,  Ruyle 
township,  and  is  engaged  in  general 
farming. 

Vilas  L.  Dodge,  a  well   known  farmer 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


469 


of  the  township  of  Ruyle,  is  a  native  of 
Addison  county,  Vt.,  born  Oct.  28, 1846. 
In  1852  he  removed  with  his  parents  to 
Whiteside  county,  111.,  and  two  years 
later  to  Jersey  county,  locating  then  on 
section  14,  Ruyle  township.  They  re- 
sided on  that  section  until  1860,  when 
fchey  removed  to  section  12,  where  Mr. 
Dodge  now  lives.  Vilas  L.  remained 
with  his  parents  until  1871.  On  Feb. 
21  of  that  year,  he  was  united  in  mar- 
riage with  Laura  1!.,  oldest  (laughter  of 
John  ('.  and  Mary  Dannels.  They  have 
had  five  children  born  to  them,  four  of 
whom  are  living —  Mary,  born  March 
27,  1874;  George,  born  July  24,  1876; 
Lotta,born  June  30,  1878,  and  Fred  Le- 
roy,  horn  June  24,  1884.  Mr.  Dodge's 
farm  contains  162  acres  of  land,  with  42 
acres  on  section  12,  100  acres  on  section 
2,  and  20  acres  on  section  1.  He  car- 
ries on  general  farming.  He  has  held 
the  offices  of  township  supervisor  and 
assessor,  and  is  at  present  road  super- 
visor. He  is  a  member  of  the  Sheffield 
lodge  of  the  Masonic  fraternity,  at 
Rockbridge,  Greene  county. 

John  Henry  Taylor,  oldest  son  of 
Isaac  and  Mahala  Taylor,  was  born  near 
Rockbridge,  Greene  county,  111.,  June 
2,  1848.  He  resided  in  that  county  with 
his  parents  until  1874.  On  the  4th  of 
June,  that  year,  he  was  married  to  Har- 
riet Palmer,  daughter  of  Washburn  and 
Sarah  Palmer.  They  have  had  born  to 
them,  six  children,  only  two  of  whom 
are  now  living — Silas  Newton,  horn 
Feb.  22,  1879,  and  Lula,  born  Nov.  22, 
1881.  Those  deceased  are — William 
0.,  horn  Feb.  7,  1875,  and  died  Feb.  18, 
of  the  same  year;  Georgie,  born  Jan. 
14,  1877,  and  died  the  following  day; 
Lena  May,  born  Nov.  28,1879,  and  died 


Feb.  9,  1881;  and  Celia  Ann,  born  Jan. 
12,  1884,  and  died  March  9,  1885.  Mr. 
Taylor  resides  on  section  10,  where  he 
is  engaged  in  farming. 

Joseph  B.  Carter,  of  Kemper,  is  a 
son  of  Robert  and  Jane  Carter,  and  was 
horn  near  Chesterfield,  in  Macoupin 
county,  Feb.  26,  1843.  He  lived  at  home 
with  his  parents  until  his  marriage  to 
Lucy  Kemper,  Dec.  27,  1867.  She  is  a 
daughter  of  W.  H.  H.  and  Almira  Kem- 
per. After  marriage,  Mr.  Carte)' settled 
four  miles  northeast  of  the  village  of 
Medora,  Macoupin  ccounty,  and  re- 
mained there  four  years,  after  which 
he  removed  to  Greenfield,  in  Greene 
county,  and  engaged  in  keeping  livery 
stable,  which  business  he  continued  one 
and  one-half  years,  then  sold  out  and 
removed  to  Kemper,  Jersey  county, 
where  he  has  since  remained.  After 
coming  here  he  engaged  in  farming,  fol- 
lowing that  occupation  until  1884. 
During  that  year  he  was,  for  a  few 
months,  employed  in  running  a  meat 
market  at  Medora,  Macoupin  county. 
Mr.  Carter  owns  and  resides  in  block 
No.  1,  in  the  village  of  Kemper,  and  is 
not  at  present  in  any  business.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Carter  are  the  parents  of  two 
children— Ethel  May  and  Elden  Guy. 

William  Palmer  (deceased),  one  of 
the  earliest  pioneers  of  this  section  of 
the  country,  was  horn  in  Sudbury,  Rut- 
land county,  Yt.,  June  20,  1799.  He 
was  a  son  of  William  and  Abigail  Pal- 
mer, formerly  of  Dutchess  county,  N. 
Y.  His  grandfather,  Elias  Palmer,  was 
of  English  descent.  William  and  Abi- 
gail Palmer  had  a  family  of  seven  chil- 
dren— three  sons  and  four  daughters — 
all  of  whom  are  deceased.  The  subject 
of  this  sketch  was  the  youngest.     He 


470 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


received  his  education  in  his  native 
state,  and  was  married  Jan.  13,  1823,  to 
Man-  Barton,  a  native  of  Addison 
county,  Vt.  Six  children  were  born  to 
them — William  George,  residing  in  Ma- 
coupin county;  Mary  A.,  wife  of  John 
C.  Dannels;  Franklin,  who  died  in  in- 
fancy; Henry  R.;  Harriet  S.,  wife  of 
Milo  Stowe,  and  Martha  J.  Mr.  Palmer 
in  1830  immigrated  to  Illinois  with  his 
family,  which  at  that  time  consisted 
of  his  wife  and  three  children,  making 
an  overland  journey  of  over  two  months. 
He  located  west  of  White  Hall,  where 
he  remained  two  years,  then  removed 
to  the  southeast  quarter  of  Sec.  14,  T. 
9,  R.  10,  making  one  of  the  first  per- 
manent settlements  in  the  township  in 
which'  lie  lived  for  more  than  40  years. 
He  was  one  of  the  commissioners  ap- 


pointed by  the  court  of  Jersey  count)' 
to  establish  the  boundary  line  between 
Greene  and  Jersey  counties,  which  duty 
he  performed  satisfactorily  to  all.  He 
was  for  three  years,  one  of  the  county 
commissioners,  and  was  appointed  post- 
master under  VanBuren's  administra- 
tion, being  one  of  the  first  postmasters 
in  the  county.  About  the  year  1845, 
Mr.  Palmer,  by  a  premature  discharge 
of  powder,  while  blasting  rock,  lost  bis 
eyesight,  and  although  in  darkness  for 
for  the  last  29  years  of  his  life,  he  was 
constantly  cheered,  and  his  pathway 
brightened  by  the  love  and  kindness  of 
his  numerous  relatives  and  friends.  He 
was  one  of  the  substantial  citizens  of  the 
community  in  which  he  so  long  resided, 
and  highly  esteemed  and  honored  by 
all.     His  death  occured  April  20,  1874. 


CHAPTER    XXVII. 


JERSEY  TOWNSHIP. 


This  civil  sub-division  of  Jersey 
county, embraces  congressional  township 
8  north,  range  11  west,  the  southeast 
quarter  of  township  9  north,  range  11 
west,  and  the  lower  half  of  sections  13, 
1-1  and  15,  of  the  northeast  quarter  of 
the  same  congressional  township.  This 
is  claimed  by  many  to  be  the  finest  of 
any  section  of  Jersey  county.  The 
handiwork  of  the  better  class  of  inhab- 
itants is  seen  in  the  many  shady 
and  beautiful  artificial  groves  that  dot 
its  enchanting  prairies;  in  the  well 
tilled  and  well  kept  farms;    and   in  the 


neat  and  ofttimes  spacious  and  elegant 
residences,  and  commodious,  well 
painted  barns.  The  buildings,  as  a 
rule,  are  in  excellent  repair,  and  every- 
thing manifests  the  work  and  care  be- 
stowed upon  them  by  their  thrifty,  in- 
telligent owners.  Indeed,  there  are 
some  as  fine  farm  residences  in  this 
township  as  can  be  found  in  any  part  of 
the  state.  The  main  body  of  the  town- 
ship is  composed  of  level,  or  gently 
rolling,  prairie,  while  that  part  which 
lies  in  congressional  township  9  ninth, 
known  as  the   "Panhandle,"   is  princi- 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


471 


pally  timber  land,  rugged  and  broken, 
but  containing  occasionally  a  fine  piece 
of  farm  land. 

Jersey  township  has  not  so  many,  nor 
so  large,  running  streams  as  some  of  its 
neighbors,  but  it  is  abundantly  supplied 
with  water  for  stock  and  agricultural 
purposes.  Phill's  creek  comes  into  the 
township  from  Mississippi,  near  the 
center  of  the  south  line  of  Sec.  34,  T. 
8,  R.  11,  and  flowing  in  an  irregular 
course  through  the  township,  joins  its 
waters  with  those  of  the  the  Macoupin  in 
the  southeast  quarter  of  Sec.  15,  T.  9, 
R.  11.  DoTsey's  branch  of  Phill's 
creek  has  its  origin  on  Sec.  30, T.  8,  R.  11, 
and  flows  with  a  general  northeastward 
trend  till  it  enters  the  waters  of  Phill's 
creek,  on  the  northeast  quarter  of  sec- 
tion 27.  The  city  of  Jerseyville  is  in 
this  township,  lying  principally  in  the 
southwest  quarter  of  T.  8,  R.  11. 

EARLY    SETTLEMENT. 

It  is  more  than  likely  that  the  first 
attempt  at  settlement  within  the  limits 
of  Jersey  county  >vas  made  in  Jersey 
township.  Authentic  evidence  is  given 
that  in  the  fall  of  1815,  six  men,  Daniel 
Allen  and  his  sons,  Daniel,  Jr.,  James 
and  John,  and  James  and  Paul  Harri- 
ford  came  to  this  locality.  They  were 
looking  for  homes,  and  on  coming  to  the 
Macoupin  creek,  opposite,  or  nearly  so, 
to  the  mouth  of  Taylor's  branch,  set- 
tled upon  Sec.  13,  f .  9,  R.  11,  or  in 
what  is  now  known  as  the  "panhandle." 
Here  they  put  up  cabins,  and  clearing 
some  land,  in  the  summer  of  1816, 
raised  a  crop  of  corn.  In  the  fall  of 
that  year,  however,  the  Aliens  removed 
a  short  distance  west,  thus  carrying 
them  into  Greene  county,    where   their 


subsequent  career  may  be  followed. 
The  Harriford's,  brothers  of  Mrs.  John 
Huitt,  returned  to  Chariton,  Mo.,  in 
time  to  witness  her  marriage  in  1818. 

The  next  to  appear  in  this  locality 
was  John  Ballard,  who  first  came  to  the 
county  in  1822.  He  settled  on  the  south- 
east quarter  of  Sec.  30,  T.  8,  R.  11,  in 
what  is  now  Jersey  township.  In  1823 
he  sold  out  to  John  Falkner,  and  then 
removed  to  the  present  site  of  Jersey- 
ville. 

John  Falkner  bought  the  improve- 
ment of  John  Ballard,  on  the  southeast 
quarter  of  Sec.  30,  8-11,  in  1823,  and 
settled  on  it.  He  was  frozen  to  death 
in  1825,  while  coming  from  mill.  His 
brother  James  afterward  removed  to  the 
present  site  of  Jerseyville,  and  built 
the  old  "Red  House,"  the  second  in  the 
place. 

In  1824,  John  Nelson  English  cane' to 
Jersey  ccunty,  and  has  been  a  resident 
ever  since.  He  was  the  first  sheriff  of 
this  county,  and  has  filled  a  prominent 
place  in  the  general  assembly  of  the 
state.  A  sketch  of  him  occurrs  in  con- 
nection with  the  members  of  the  legis- 
lature, in  the  chapter  entitled  National, 
State  and  County  Representation. 

Robert  Latham  settled  in  what  is  now 
Jersey  county,  in  1825.  In  1829  he 
entered  a  piece  of  land  in  Jersey  town- 
ship, and  settled  thereon.  He  was  horn 
in  Rowan  county,  N.  C,  in  1793,  and 
came  to  Illinois  in  1820. 

Jonathan  E.  Cooper  came  to  the 
county  of  Jersey  in  Nov.,  1829.  The 
greater  part  of  his  time  for  the  first  year 
was  spent  in  Carrollton,  but  in  1832,  he 
entered  the  farm, whereon  he  now  lives, 
in  Jersey  township,  and  has  been  identi- 
fied with  this  county  ever  since. 


172 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


Captain  Jonathan  E.  Cooper  is  a  na- 
tive of  Henry  county,  Ky.,  born  Jan. 
5,  1S07.  His  father,  Jonathan  Cooper, 
was  a  native  of  Maryland,  and  one  of 
the  early  settlers  of  the  "dark  and 
bloody  ground."  He  was  among  the 
pioneer  settlers  with  Daniel  Boone,  with 
whom  he  frequently  hunted  Indians, 
and  he  was  also  a  soldier  in  the  Revolu- 
tionary war.  lie  married  his  first  wife, 
Eleanor  Jones,  in  Pennsylvania,  and 
reared  six  children.  His  second  mar- 
riage occurred  in  Shelby  county,  Ky., 
to  Eleanor   English,  and  by  this  union 

12  children  were  born,  of  whom  the 
subject  of  this  sketch  is  the  eldest  son, 
and  second  child.  In  1835  he  removed 
to  Illinois,  and  settled  on  a  farm  four 
miles  southwest  of  Jerseyville,  where 
he  died,  in  Aug.,  1845.  Mrs.  Cooper 
survived  his  death  11  years.  Jonathan 
E.  Cooper  received  his  education  in  the 
schools  of  his  native  state,  and  spent 
most  of  his  time  at  home  on  the  farm 
until  reaching  the  age  of  23  years,  and. 
in  Nov.,  1829,  after  a  horse-back  trip  of 

13  days,  landed  within  the presenfTimits 
of  Jersey  county,  111.  He  spent  nearly 
the  first  winter  clerking  in  the  store  of 
his  uncle,  L.  N.  English,  of  Carrollton. 
The  next  year  he  worked  on  a  farm.  On 
the  breaking  out  of  the  Black  Hawk 
war,  he  enlisted  in  Captain  Oarlin's 
(afterward  Governor  Carlin)  company, 
was  elected  as  its  orderly  sergeant, 
and  served  one  year  under  Carlin.  The 
next  year,  1832,  he  served  in  Captain 
Patterson's  company,  and  a  portion  of 
the  year  was  detailed  as  quartermaster; 
participated  in  the  battles  of  the  Wis- 
consin and  Mississippi,  and  after  peace 
was  declared,  received  an  honorable 
discharge.         In    Oct.,     1832,    Captain 


Cooper  entered  the  land  on  which  he 
now  resides,  two  and  a  half  miles  south- 
west of  Jerseyville.  In  1832  he  was 
commissioned  captain  of  militia  by 
Gov.  Reynolds.  When  he  came  to  Illi- 
nois, his  wealth  consisted  of  a  horse  and 
three  dollars  in  money.  After  entering 
his  land,  he  soon  set  about  improve- 
ment, and  commenced  making  a  home 
Being  one  of  the  pioneers,  he  had 
many  hardships  and  inconveniences  to 
encounter.  May  19,  1836,  he  was  mar- 
ried to  Miriam  F.  Turner,  nee  French, 
daughter  of  Nicholas  and  Anna  French. 
She  was  born  in  Rockingham  county,  N. 
H.  The  captain  and  his  bride  moved 
into  their  cabin  on  the  1st  of  Aug.,  1836, 
and  Captain  Cooper  still  resides  on  the 
identical  spot.  Mrs.  Cooper  died  in  June, 
1873.  They  reared  two  adopted  chil- 
dren— Marshall  M.  Cooper,  now  a  Pres- 
byterian minister,  and,  at  the  present 
writing,  located  at  Deep  River,  Iowa, 
and  Mary,  the  wife  N.  I.  Massy,  resides 
in  Colorado.  On  Dec.  3,  1879,  Captain 
Cooper  was  married  to  Sarah  C.  John- 
son, nee  Gillham,  a  native  of  Illinois, 
having  been  born  in  Madison  county. 
Politically,  Captain  Cooper  is  a  demo- 
crat, he  having  become  a  member  of 
that  party  in  early  life,  his  first  vote 
having  been  cast  for  General  Jackson, but 
has  never  desired  to  hold  public  office. 
Religiously,  he  united  with  the  Baptist 
church,  at  Kane,  Greene  county,  in 
1839,  and  he  and  his  wife  were  among 
the  original  members  of  the  Baptist  so- 
ciety at  Jerseyville.  The  first  year  of 
the  organization  of  this  society,  he  was 
elected  to  the  responsible  position  of 
deacon,  which  he  has  since  retained. 
Deacon  Cooper  is  among  that  class  of 
noble-hearted   citizens    whom   all    love 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


473 


and  respect.  Strict  integrity  and  honesty 
of  purpose  mark  all  his  dealings.  He 
is  a  close  observer  of  passing  events, 
and  td  him  is  due  the  credit  of  preserv- 
ing much  of  the  early  history  of  Jersey 
county. 

William  Moore  settled  about  six  miles 
south  of  Jerseyville  in  1829,  where  he 
remained  until  1831,  when  he  made  a 
permanent  settlement  in  Jersey  town- 
ship, on  section  20.  This  he  made  his 
residence  until  the  winter  of  183.3-6, 
when  he  was  frozen  to  death  returning 
from  mill,  being  on  foot,  having  sent 
his  team  on  ahead  with  his  son. 

Amos  Pruitt  settled  in  this  township 
in  1829,  on  section  19,  but  in  1832  dis- 
posed of  his  farm  to  Milo  Bennett,  and 
removed  to  a  place  northwest  of  the 
present  town  of  Fidelity.  He  was  a 
member  of  the  first  county  commission- 
ers court  of  Jersey  county,  elected  in 
1839.  He  died  from  the  result  of  injuries 
caused  by  a  horse  in  1869.  He  was  an 
active  man,  and  was  quite  successful. 

Ward  Eldred  was,  also,  a  settler  of  the 
year  1831,  locating  on  Sec.  35,  T.  9,  R.  11, 
or  the  Panhandle,  as  it  is  familiarly 
called. 

Robert  B.  Robbins,  settled  on  Sec.  30, 
T.  8,  R.  11,  in  1831.  He  was  a  native 
of  New  York,  and  came  here  from  Jeffer- 
son county,  that  state.  He  began  the 
work  of  improving  his  farm  as  soon  as 
he  had  made  the  entry.  He  had,  on 
his  place,  a  shop  for  repairing  wagons 
and  farm  implements,  and  in  bad  or 
inclement  weather  he  was  always  ready 
to  perform  jobs  of  that  kind.  He  was  a 
shrewd  man,  and  capable  of  doing  most 
any  kind  of  work;  a  good  natured,  kind 
neighbor,  and  had  many  friends.  He 
died  here  in  1846. 


John  Childers  and  Alexander  Moore 
made  settlements  em  See.  36,  in  T.  8,  R. 
11,  in  1831,  and  James  A.  Carlisle,  on 
section  1  of  the  same  township. 

Richmond  Henderson,  one  of  the  pi- 
oneers of  Jersey  county,  died  of  con- 
gestion of  the  lungs,  at  his  residence, 
two  miles  southwest  of  Jerseyville,  at 
2  o'clock  P.  M.,  Nov.  29,  1870."  He  was 
a  son  of  Richmond  and  Elizabeth  Hen- 
derson, and  was  born  at  Rochester, 
Strafford  county,  N  H.,  Dec.  2(1,  1801, 
where  he  remained  during  the  early 
part  of  his  life.  He  came  to  Illinois,  in 
1832,  and  purchased  the  land  on  which 
he  ever  afterward  resided.  On  the  21st 
of  March,  1833,  he  was  married  to  Mary 
Ann  Douglass,  a  resident  of  what  was 
then  known  as  Otter  Creek  prairie.  Mr. 
Henderson  was  then  known  by  all  the 
early  settlers  of  Jerrsey  county  as  a 
man  of  strictly  honorable  principles,  of 
liberal  views,  with  firmness  of  charac- 
ter sufficient  to  bear  him  out  in  what- 
ever he  deemed  just  and  right.  As  a 
neighbor,  he  was  neighborly;  as  a  friend, 
reliable;  and  as  a  husband  and  father, 
ever  anxious  for  the  comfort  and  happi- 
ness of  those  who  looked  to  him  for 
protection  and  support;  as  a  tanner,  he 
was  successful,  leaving  his  family  in 
comfortable  circumstances. 

Among  others  who  settled  during 
the  same  year,  1832,  was  James  A.  Potts, 
J.  Nathaniel  Miner,  Milo  Bennett, 
George  \Y.  Lowder,  John  Rogers,  Hugh 
McGill,  Joel  Hinson,  James  Whitehead, 
John  Coventry  and  James  Lunsdon. 

James  A.  Potts  was  a  native  of  Ten- 
nessee ;  he  was  a  man  possessed  of  a 
good  education,  and  engaged  some  times 
in  surveying.  He  had  no  desire  to  ac- 
cumulate  wealth,  but   was   an   excellent 


474 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


citizen.  He  was  one  of  the  elders  of 
the  Presbyterian  church  up  to  the  time 
of  his  death, -in  the  month  of  April, 
1857. 

J.  Nathaniel  Miner  was  horn  near  Old 
Crown  Point,  New  York,  during  1801. 
He  came  to  Jersey  county  the  year 
above.  He  assisted  in  raising  the  first 
frame  building  in  Jerseyville,  and  was 
the  first  constable  of  the  precinct  after 
the  organization  of  the  county  in  1839. 

Milo  Bennett,  aVermonter,  settled  on 
section  18,  on  160  acres  of  land,  half  of 
which  he  had  purchased  of  Amos 
Pi'iiitt,  and  half  of  which  he  entered 
himself.  He  removed  to  Iowa  in  1840 
or  '41,  and  during  the  gold  excitement 
went  to  California. 

Solomon  Calhoun  and  family  settled 
near  the  present  site  of  Jerseyville  in 
1833.  He  died  there,  in  1869.  Mr. 
Calhoun  was  a  prominent  man  during 
the  early  days  of  the  county's  organi- 
zation, having  served  on  the  first  board 
of  county  commissioners,  and  held 
various  other  offices. 

Samuel  Day  was  a  native  of  Addison 
counry,  Vt.,  where  he  grew  to  manhood. 
He  was  united  in  marriage  with  Maria 
Spencer,  who  died,  leaving  three  chil- 
dren, one  of  whom  became  the  wife  of 
Harley  E.  Hayes.  He  was  then  united 
in  marriage  with  Emoretta  Hayes,  and 
iu  1833  came  to  Jersey  county,  and  set- 
tled about  four  miles  south  of  the  county 
seat,  on  a  farm,  where  he  resided  until 
about  1841,  when  he  died,  leaving  four 
children  by  the  second  marriage. 

The  growth  and  progress  of  Jersey 
township  has  been  so  closely  identified 
with  that  of  the  city  of  Jerseyville,  that 
it  would  be  difficult,  and  in  many  cases 
improper,  to  separate  them.  The  reader 


is  therefore  referred  to  the  history  of 
the  city  for  the  remainder  of  the  histor- 
ical items  of  the  township. 

OTHER    PROMINENT    CITIZENS. 

Among  other  residents  of  this  town- 
ship, who  came  at  a  later  date,  but  who 
have  been  largely  identified  with  the 
growth  and  development  of  the  same, 
are  the  following  named  gentlemen.  To 
them  the  county  of  Jersey  is  greatly  in- 
debted for  their  enterprise  mid  intelli- 
gence: 

Cornelius  B.  Fisher,  an  early  settler 
of  this  county,  and  an  old  and  highly 
respected  citizen,  was  born  in  New  Jer- 
sey, June  14,  1S09.  His  parents,  Hen- 
drick  and  Kesiali  (Fulkerson)  Fisher, 
was  horn,  lived  and  died  in  New  Jer- 
sey, where  Cornelius  remained  until  29 
years  of  age.  June  1,  1838,  he  came  to 
Jersey  county,  and  located  in  Jersey 
township,  where  he  purchased  160  acres 
of  land  on  section  17.  Here  he  erected  a 
small  frame  house,  and  resided  eight 
years.  In  1846  he  bought  the  National 
Hotel,  at  Jerseyville,  and  run  the  same 
four  years.  He  owned,  also,  about  half 
the  block  where  the  hotel  stands.  He 
abandoned  hotel  keeping  in  1850,  and 
moved  back  to  his  farm.  Two  years 
later  he  returned  to  Jerseyville,  ami 
built  the  house  now  occupied  by  Dr. 
Miles,  having  previously  sold  his  farm 
to  Mr.  Birkeninayer.  He  resided  in 
Jerseyville  eight  years,  engaged  most 
of  the  time  in  speculating.  In  1859, 
Mr.  Fisher  went  back  to  New  Jersey, 
and  purchased  200  acres  of  land  on  the 
Raritan  river,  one  of  the  most  beautiful 
locations  in  the  state,  to  which  he  soon 
after  removed  his  family.  After  spend- 
ing one  year  there  he  sold  his  farm   for 


$20,000  and  then  came  back  to  Jersey 
county,  111.     He  then  purchased   what 

is  known  as  the  Potts   farm,   containing 
120  acres,  on  which   he   resided   about 

four  years,  then  sold  a  portion ofit,  and 
in  1867,  bought  160  acres  on  section  17, 
Jersey  township,  where  he  has  since 
remained.  His  residence  is  one  of  the 
finest  in  the  county,  being  built  of 
brick,  two  stories  in  height,  and  contain- 
ing 14  rooms.  It  was  erected  at  a  cost 
of  $14,000,  and  with  its  beautiful  and 
perfectly  kept  surroundings,  forms  one 
of  the  lovliest  suburban  homes  in  this 
portion  ofthe  state.  Mr.  Fisher  was 
married  Sept.  25,  1828,  to  Hannah 
Mitchell,  daughter  of  George  Mitchell. 
They  had  five  children,  four  of  whom 
are  living — Cornelia,  wife  of  Joseph 
Bell,  of  Kansas  City;  Caroline,  wile  of 
William  Hawley,  of  Jersey  ville;  Henry, 
married  to  Louisa  Rappela,  and  living 
in  Jerseyville,  and  George,  married  to 
Eva  Beardsley,  and  living  in  Toledo, 0. 
One  daughter,  Maria,  is  deceased.  She 
was  the  wife  of  Albert  Sickle,  who  is 
also  deceased.  Mr.  Fisher  has  been 
twice  married,  his  second  wife  being, 
formerly,  Susan  A.  Chamberlain.  Mr. 
Fisher  owns,  in  addition  to  his  farm  of 
182  acres,  some  town  property  in  the 
city  of  Jerseyville.  Mrs.  Fisher  is  a 
member  ofthe  First  Presbyterian  church 
of  Jerseyville. 

Mordecal  J.  Ritchey  isason  of  James 
and  Julia  (Robinet)  Ritchey,  the  former 
a  native  of  South  Carolina,  and  the  lat- 
ter of  Kentucky.  They  came  to  Illinois 
in  1815,  settling  in  Pope  county,  where 
they  remained  until  1828,  at  which  time 
they  removed  to  Greene  county,  and 
two  and  a  half  years  later,  came  to  what 
is   now  Jersey  county,   and  located  on 


section  26,  Jersey  township.  Here 
James  Ritchey  died  in  I860.  His  widow 
survived   until    1869.       The    subject  of 

this  sketch  was  born  in  Greene  county, 
111.,  Nov.  13,  1830.  He-was  reared  up- 
on a  farm,  and  resided  with  his  parents 
until  their  death.  In  1857  he  went  to 
Kansas,  with  the  intention  of  purchas- 
ing land,  but  not  being  pleased  with  the 
outlook,  returned  home  without  doing 
so.  Later  he  visited  Nebraska,  but 
made  no  investment  there.  He  was 
married,  Jan.  22,  ISC,.;,  to  Sarah  T. 
Briggs,  daughter  of  John  and  M«ry 
Briggs.  They  are  the  parents  of  eight 
children,  seven  of  whom  are  living — 
James,  married  to  Nellie  Pruitt,  and 
living  in  Jersey  county;  Emma,  Morde- 
cai,  Julius  A.,  John,  Cordelia  ami  Van. 
Mr.  Ritchey  is  tin-  owner  of  a  fine  farm 
of  541  acres,  and  has  a  handsome  resi- 
dence, erected  in  1881,  at  a  cost  of 
S-'SJKKij  also  other  improvements  of  a 
substantial  description.  He  is  a  demo- 
crat politically,  and  has  been  supervisor 
for  three  years.  He  is  a  man  of  intelli- 
gence and  enterprise,  and  as  a  citizen 
ranks  high  in  the  esteem  of  all. 

\V.  H.  Fulkerson  came  to  Jersey 
county  in  1866,  locating  then,  one  mile 
and  a  half  north  of  Jerseyville,  where 
he  has  since  resided.  He  is  one  of  the 
largest  land  owners  in  the  county,  and 
one  of  the  most  extensive  breeders  of 
shorthorn  cattle  in  the  state  of  Illinois. 
His  residence,  one  of  the  finest  in  Jer- 
sey county,  is  a  two-story  brick  struc- 
ture, and  a  model  of  comfort  and  con- 
venience. His  barns,  of  which  he  has 
several,  located  on  different  portions  of 
his  large  estate,  are  substantial,  and 
well  adapted  to  the  use  for  which  they 
were  intended.     He   has  also  other  im- 


476 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


provements  of  a  good  description.  Mr. 
Fulkerson  was  born  in  Claiborne  county, 
Tenn.,  Sept.  9,  1S34.  He  was  colonel 
of  the  63d  Tennessee,  C.  S.  A.,  during 
the  Rebellion.  Helms  served  as  county 
judge  of  Jersey  county,  one  term.  Dur- 
ing the  construction  of  the  St.  L.  &  J. 
branch  of  the  W.,  St.  L.,  &  P.  R.  R., 
Mr.  Fulkerson  acted  as  general  man- 
ager for  the  company.  He  is  one  of  the 
leading  stock-breeders  of  this  portion 
of  the  state,  and  a  prominent  and  hon- 
ored citizen  of  Jersey  county. 

Alexander  A.  McReynolds  was  born 
•in  Sumner  county,  Tenn.,  Sept.  28, 
1819.  His  parents,  Joseph  and  Margaret 
(Anderson)  McReynolds,  came  to 
I  Hindis  in  1835,  settling  within  the 
present  limits  of  Jersey  county,  on 
what  is  now  section  15,  Jersey 
township.  The  subject  of  this  sketch 
was  reared  upon  a  farm,  remaining  with 
his  parents  until  27  years  old.  He 
then  improved  a  farm  for  himself  on 
section  15,  where  he  has  since  lived, 
lie  was  married  April  21, 1847,  to  Helen 
M.  Siieneer,  daughter  of  John  L.  and 
Elizabeth  Spencer.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
McReynolds  had  six  children,  two  of 
whom  are  now  living — Eugene  S.,  mar- 
ried to  Mary  Cockrell,  and  living  in 
Jerseyville;  and  Sallie  T.  Mrs. 
McReynolds  died  March  15,  1861,  and 
Mr.  McReynolds  was  married  Nov.  15, 
1865,  to  Alanora  VanHorn,  daughter  of 
David  and  Ann  VanHorn,  natives  of 
New  York.  By  this  marriage  five  chil- 
dren were  born,  four  of  whom  are  liv- 
ing— Helen,  wife  of  Herbert  Force,  of 
Nebraska;  David,  George  and  Maggie. 
Mr.  McReynolds  owns  220  acres  of  land, 
which  is  highly  cultivated  and  improv- 
ed.    He    is    a  member   of  the   Presby- 


terian church,  in  which  he  is  an  elder. 
He  served  as  road  supervisor  two  years 
before  the  township  organization.  He 
is  one  of  the  earliest  settlers  of  the 
county,  and  justly  deserving  of  the 
high  esteem  in  which  he  is  held  in  the 
community  where  he  resides.  His  sec- 
ond wife  died  May  1,  1875. 

Lloyd  W.  Sunderland  first  came  to 
this  county  in  1838,  being  then  21  years 
old.  He  remained  here  a  short  time, 
engaged  as  clerk  in  the  only  store  in 
Jerseyville,  but  soon  returned  to  his 
home  in  New  Jersey,  where  he  was 
born,  May  15,  1817.  His  parents  were 
John  P.  and  Elizabeth  Sunderland, 
natives  of  New  Jersey.  At  the  age  of 
Hi,  lie  went  to  Philadelphia,  and  there 
learned  the  brick  mason's  trade.  On 
his  return  to  New  Jersey,  he  remained 
nine  years,  engaged  the  greater  part  of 
his  time,  as  deputy  sheriff  and  con- 
stable. In  18-17  he  again  returned  to 
Jersey  county,  and  settled  on  section  S, 
of  Jersey  township,  where  he  has 
since  resided.  He  owns  280  acres  of 
land,  and  is  one  of  the  leading  farmers 
of  the  township.  He  was  married  Dec. 
23,  1839,  to  Sarah  A.  Steinburg,  daugh- 
ter of  William  and  Nancy  Steinburg. 
They  have  10  children — Harriet,  James, 
Joseph,  John,  William,  Justice,  Annie, 
Carrie,  Ella,  and  Lloyd.  Of  these 
three  are  unmarried.  Mr.  Sunderland 
is  a  democrat,  politically. 

Oliver  S.  Randolph  was  born  in  Shi- 
loh,  Cumberland  county,  N.  J.,  Nov. 
15,  1847,  being  a  son  of  Isaac  S.  and 
Jane  E.  (  Ayei's)  Randolph,  also  natives 
of  New  Jersey.  Isaac  Randolph  was  an 
architect  by  profession.  He  died  in 
1851,  and  his  wife  in  1883.  Oliver  S. 
Randolph   was   reared  on   a    farm,   and 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


477 


resided  with  his  grandparents  until  18 
years  of  age  In  the  tall  of  1865  he 
came  to  Jersey  county  and  lived  with 
his  uncle,  Oliver  Randolph,  until  the 
death  of  the  latter,  after  which  he  went 
back  to  New  Jersey  and  remained  about 
one  year.  In  1869  he  returned  to  Jer- 
sey county  and  located  in  Jersey  town- 
ship. He  settled  upon  his  present 
farm  in  1871.  It  is  situated  on  section 
18,  and  contains  120  acres.  He  was 
married  March  22,  1870,  to  Julia  E. 
Tichciior,  daughter  of  Stephen  and 
Jane  Tichenor.  Her  mother  married 
Oliver  Randolph,  his  uncle,  in  1SI12. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Randolph  are  the  parents 
of  five  children — Charles,  Alice,  Jennie, 
Oliver  P.  and  Carleton.  Mrs.  Randolph 
is  a  member  of  the  Baptist  church. 

Charles  Brooks,  a  prosperous  farmer 
of  Jersey  county,  was  born  in  Lanca- 
shire. Eng.,  May  4.  1831,  being  a  son  of 
William  and  Mary  A.  (Wagstaff)  Brooks, 
also  natives  of  England.  When  Charles 
was  11  years  old,  his  parents  immigrated 
to  the  United  States,  and  located  in 
New  Jersey,  where  they  remained  a 
short  time,  then  went  to  Rhode  Island, 
settling  at  Manville,  on  the  Blackstone 
river.  Here  all  the  children  of  the 
family  who  were  of  suitable  age,  worked 
in  the  cotton  mills.  In  the  fall  of  1844, 
William  Brooks  took  a  trip  to  Illinois, 
in  search  of  a  location,  and  purchased 
80  acres  of  land  near  the  southeast  cor- 
ner of  Greene  county,  to  which,  in 
Aug.,  1845,  he  removed  his  family. 
Charles  lived  with  his  parents  till  20 
years  of  age.  He  then  began  farm- 
ing tor  himself.  In  1851  he  came  to 
Jersey  county  and  rented  a  farm 
of  80  acres.  Feb.  11,  1852,  he  was  mar- 
ried   to    Sarah   J.    Short,   daughter    of 


Clover  and  Rachel  Short,  of  Jersey 
county.  They  had  five  children,  four 
of  whom  are  living — Laura  J.,  wife  of 
John  W.  Yoorhees,  of  La  Plata,  Mo.; 
Charles  E.,  married  to  Olivia  Darling- 
ton, andlivingin  Jersey  county ;  Martha 
E.,  wife  of  Oliver  P.  Colean,  of  Denver, 
Col.;  and  Olive  E.,  wife  of  George  W. 
Adams,  of  Jersey  county.  Mrs.  Brooks 
died  Aug.  Ml,  1879,  and  Mr.  Brooks  was 
married  again  Dec.  1,  1880,  to  Nannie 
J.  Akard,  daughter  of  Benjamin  Akard. 
By  this  union  there  is  one  child — 
Arthur  L.  Mr.  Brooks  now  owns  2.12 
acres  of  land  on  sections  4  and  Hi,  Jcr- • 
Bey  township,  where  he  has  a  de- 
lightful residence,  all  the  surroundings 
of  which  indicate  thrift  and  comfort. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Brooks  are  members  of 
the  M.  E.  church.  He  is  a  democrat  in 
politics. 

Charles  Perrine  is  a  son  of  one  of  the 
early  settlers  of  Jersey  county,  Thomas 
Perrine,  a  native  of  New  Jersey,  who 
came  here  in  an  early  day.  On  his  ar- 
rival here  he  went  to  work  for  Abijah 
Davis,  and  afterward  purchased  1<30 
acres  of  land,  upon  which  he  built  one 
of  the  first  frame  houses  in  Jersey 
county.  His  wife,  the  mother  of  the 
subject  of  this  sketch,  was  Helen  K. 
(Vandenburg)  Perrine.  Thomas  Per- 
rine died  March  •">,  1875,  and  was  buried 
in  the  Jerseyville  cemetery.  Charles 
Perrine  was  born  in  this  county,  April 
4,  1859,  and  here  reared,  upon  a  farm, 
remaining  with  his  parents  until  their 
death.  He  received  his  education  in 
the  schools  of  this  township,  ami  attend- 
ed one  term  at  the  high  school  in  Jer- 
seyville. In  1880  lie  was  married,  on 
the  18th  of  Oct.,  to  Hattie  Brooks, 
daughter  of  James  E.  and  Anna  Brooks. 


478 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


They  have  one  child — Charlie.  Mr. 
Perrine  owns  160  acres  of  land,  and  is 
engaged  in  general  fanning. 

Charles  Milton  was  born  in  Rome, 
Oneida  county,  N.  Y.,  Jan.  6,  1826,  be- 
ing a  son  of  Palmer  and  Ruby  ( Tibbetts  | 
Milton,  the  former  a  native  of  Rhode 
Island,  and  the  latter  of  New  York.  In 
1832  the  family  moved  to  Canada,  where 
the  parents  resided  until  their  death. 
Palmer  Milton  was  a  cooper  by  trade, 
also  a  contractor  and  builder.  Charles 
learned  the  cooper's  trade  with  his 
father,  while  living  in  Canada,  and  fol- 
lowed the  same  until  he  left  home.  At 
the  age  of  14  years  he  went  on  the  lakes 
as  sailor,  following  that  life  two  years, 
after  which  he  engaged  in  milling  and 
engineering,  until  he  came  to  this 
county,  in  the  spring  of  1841).  Here 
he  worked  out  by  the  month  for  three 
years,  then  went  into  a  saw  and  grist 
mill  and  worked  at  engineering  about 
two  years.  He  was  married  March  Hi, 
1853,  to  Mrs.  Frances  (Benson)  Fitzger- 
ald, daughter  of  Henderson  and  Eliza- 
beth (Welch)  Benson,  and  soon  after 
located  cm  a  farm  on  section  3,  Jersey 
township.  In  1872  he  erected  a 
handsome  and  commodious  residence,  at 
a  cost  of  $2,800,  in  which  he  now  resides. 
He  owns  235  acres  of  land,  and  carries 
on  general  farming.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Mil- 
ton have  had  six  children,  three  of  whom 
are  living— Charles  W.,  married  to  Isa- 
bel Hicks,  and  living  in  Caldwell,  Kan.; 
Liphus  A.,  married  to  Jennie  Tucker, 
and  living  at  the  same  place,  and  Laura 
E..  Those  deceased  are,  Frank  S.,  Sa- 
rah A.  and  Lillian.  Mrs.  Milton  is  a 
member  of  the  M.  E.  church.  Mr. 
Milton  is  a  republican  in  politics,  and 
a  worthy  and  esteemed  citizen. 


Frank  I.  Lowe,  son  of  Richard  and 
Sarah  D.  (Williamson)  Lowe,  was  born 
in  Jersey  county,  111.,  Jan.  29,  1855. 
His  early  life  was  spent  upon  the  farm, 
where  he  remained  with  his  parents  un- 
til 23  years  of  age.  lie  was  then  mar- 
ried, Dec.  25,  1877,  to  Fannie  E.  Bridges, 
daughter  of  Hiram  and  Eliza.  Bridges. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Lowe  had  two  children — 
Nellie  Y.  had  Mabel  E.  Mrs.  Lowe 
died  Feb.  6,  1883,  and  was  buried  in 
Oak  Grove  cemetery,  at  Jerseyville. 
Mr.  Lowe  cultivates  160  acres  of  land, 
located  on  sections  11  and  12.  He  is  a 
democrat,  politically,  and  an  industrious 
and  enterprising  young  farmer. 

John  Vahle,  deceased,  was  born  in 
Germany,  July  25,  1817.  He  came  to 
America  when  quite  young,  and  settled 
in  Maryland,  where  he  remained  a  num- 
ber of  years,  coming  from  thence  to 
Jersey  county,  111.  He  located  in  Eng- 
lish township,  where  he  purchased  80 
acres  of  land,  to  which  he  afterwards 
added  40  acres.  He  was  married  in 
April,  1852,  to  Mary  M.  Harris,  daugh- 
ter of  Asa  and  Sarah  Harris.  They  had 
eight  children — Henry,  now  married  to 
Dora  Hooper,  and  living  in  English 
township;  Louis,  married  to  Lena 
Go'tten,  also  living  in  English  town- 
ship; Anthony;  Elizabeth,  wife  of  Peter 
Dower;  Caroline,  Frank,  and  William. 
Mr.  Vahle  died  March  18, 1873,  and  was 
buried  in  the  Armstrong  cemetery,  in 
English  township.  Mrs.  Vahle  now 
owns  280  acres  of  land,  with  200  acres 
in  English  township,  and  the  remainder 
on  section  10,  Jersey  township,  where 
she  now  resides.  Since  the  death  of 
her  husband,  Mrs.  Vahle  has  carried  on 
the  farm  successfully,  adding  to  it  160 
aires,  and  making  many  improvements. 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COT  XT  V. 


479 


The  family  are  members  of  the  Catho- 
lic church  of  Jerseyville. 

John  J.  Ballard,  a  resident  of  Jersey 
ville  township,  is  a  native  ofTennessee, 
having  been  born  in  Campbell  county, 
Oct.  1).  1829,  his  parents  being  Winston 
and  Isabel  (James)  Ballard,  the  former 
a  native  of  Ohio,  and  the  latter  of  North 
Carolina.  His  parents  came  to  Illinois 
in  1842,  and  located  in  Greene  county, 
for  three  or  four  years,  thru  moved  to 
Alton,  where  they  staid  one  year.  Prom 
there  they  moved  to  Missouri,  and  then 
returned  to  Illinois.  1 1 i >  father  died  in 
Macoupin  county  in  1851,  and  bis 
mother  in  Greene  county,  in  1882.  The 
subject  of  this  sketch  was  brought  up 
on  a  farm,  remaining  with  his  parents 
until  he  was  15  years  old.  Hethen  re- 
turned to  Tennessee,  and  there  followed 
farming  and  blacksmithing  for  10  years. 
In  1857  he  moved  back  to  ( Ireene  county, 
and  settled  near  Rockbridge.  Two  year- 
later  he  moved  to  Jersey  county,  locat- 
ing on  Hawkins'  prairie,  where  he  re- 
sided 10  years.  In  1867  he  came  to  Jer- 
seyville, serving  as  constable  from  that 
date  until  1873,  after  which  he  acted  as 
deputy  sheriff  two  years.  He  located  on 
section  8,  Jersey  township, where  he  has 
been  farmingonCol.  W.  II.  Fulkerson's 
farm  for  the  past  II  years.  Mr.  Ballard 
was  married  in  Union  county,  E.  Tenn., 
on  the  18th  of  March,  1851,  to  Lavand 
Graves,  daughterof  Henry  Graves.  She 
died  May  11.  1883,  and  was  buried  in 
(ireene  county.  They  bad  eight  chil- 
dren, six  of  whom  are  living — Louis  H., 
married  to  Nancy  S.  Whitlock,  and 
living  in  Greene  county,  William,  Mary 
J.,  Francis  M.,  James  I).  15.  and 
Catherine. 

Joseph    B.    Woolsey,    deceased,     was 


born  in  Delaware  county,  X.  Y.,  on 
the  10th  day  of  Aug.,  1809,  his  pa- 
rents being  Amos  and  Phoebe  (Briggs) 
Woolsey.     When  Joseph   had   reached 

his  14th  year,  his  parents  removed  to  a 
point  near  Syracuse,  where  he  was 
reared  to  manhood  and  finished  his  ed- 
ucation. He  was  there  united  in  mar- 
riage with  Priscilla  Ann  Barber,  a 
native  of  Onondaga  Valley,  X.  Y.,  on 
the  4th  day  of  May,  1831.  She  was  a 
daughter  of  Joel  and  Permelia  (Adams) 
Barber.  In  1833,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Wool- 
sey started  for  Illinois,  and  located  in 
what  was  then  a  wilderness,  hut  in  what 
is  now  the  prosperous  farming  country 
of  Jersey  township.  Jersey  county. 
Mr.  Woolsey  hail  come  out  the  year  be- 
fore and  bought  HID  acres  of  land.  On 
his  arrival  in  this  state,  in  1833,  he  en- 
gaged at  his  trade,  that  of  a  carpenter, 
which  he  continued  to  follow  for  four 
years,  at  Kane,  (ireene  county.  At  the 
expiration  of  that  time,  he  removed  to 
his  farm  in  Jersey  township,  this  county, 
where  he  resided  until  the  time  of  his 
death,  Dec.  30,  1881.  He  was  an  enter- 
prising citizen,  and  accumulated  some 
linn  acres  of  land.  Kid  of  which  is  re- 
tained by  his  wife,  the  remainder  hav- 
ing been  sold,  and  the  proceeds  divided 
among  the  children.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Woolsey  were  members  of  the  Presby- 
terian church,  having  brought  their 
church  letters  from  their  native  state. 
He  was  an  upright  and  honorable  man, 
kind  and  courteous,  and  all  his  acquaint- 
ances were  his  friends.  Mr.  and  Mi's. 
Woolsey  were  the  parents  of  eight  chil- 
dren, six  of  whom  were  reared  to  man- 
hood, and  five  of  whom  are  yet  living — 
Edward  I'..  deceased,  who  married  Mary 
L.   Waddle;    Joel   B.,    married    Martha 


480 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


Fitzgerald,  and  now  resides  near  Au- 
burn, Sangamon  county;  James  D., 
married  Mary  Baugh,  and  now  resides 
in  Kansas;  George  II.,  married  Barbara 
A.  Wharton,  and  resides  in  Jersey 
county;  Simeon,  married  Keturah  Snell, 
and  resides  in  Sangamon  county;  Amos 
H.,  married  Mary  Ritchey,  and  lives  in 
Greene  county.  Their  two  daughters 
died  —  Caroline  M.,  July  14,  1837;  and 
Ann,  Aug.  30,  1850. 

Augustus  Keeker  is  a  native  of  Ger- 
many, born  in  1853,  and  is  a  son  of 
Henry  and  Agnes  (Osa)  Recker.  In 
ISC'.)  he  left  his  native  land  and 
immigrated  to  America.  On  his  ar- 
rival he  spent  two  years  in  looking 
for  a  location,  stopping  at  different 
points,  and  finally  decided  to  settle  in 
Greene  county,  111.,  where  he  remained 
some  eight  years,  engaged  in  farming. 
In  1883  lie  removed  to  Jersey  county 
and  located  two  and  a  half  miles 
north  of  Grafton.  They  are  now  liv- 
ing one  and  one-half  miles  north  of 
Jersey  ville.  Mr.  Recker  was  married,  in 
1875,  to  Ellen  Miller,  a  native  of  Greene 
county,  111.  Four  children  have  been 
born  to  them,  three  of  whom  are  living 
— Henry,  Charlie  and  Daisy  Agnes. 
Hattie,  the  first  child,  died  in  infancy. 
Mr.  Recker's  father,  Henry  Recker, 
died  in  Germany  in  1880.  His  mother 
is  still  living. 

Matthew  C.  Stanley,  a  native  of 
Cheshire,  Eng.,  was  born  Feb.  26,  1819, 
and  is  a  son  of  Thomas  and  Alice 
(Cook)  Stanley.  In  1827  Thomas  Stan- 
ley removed  with  bis  family  to  America, 
settling  in  Newark,  N.  J.,  where  they 
remained  till  1836.  They  then  moved 
to  Camptown,  in  the  same  state,  from 
whence  Matthew,   in   1843,  came  to  Jer- 


sey county,  111.,  and  located  on  section 
25,  Jersey  township,  where  he  yet 
resides.  He  owns  a  valuable  farm  of 
280  acres  with  excellent  improvements. 
He  bus  served  four  years  as  a  justice  of 
the  peace,  and  is  a  much  esteemed  citi- 
zen. Mr.  Stanley  was  married,  in  1848, 
to  Elizabeth  Armstrong,  and  by  this 
union  has  eight  children — Caroline  H., 
wife  of  Charles  W.  Warren,  of  this 
township;  Robert  T.,  now  living  in 
Blue  Springs,  Gage  county,  Neb., 
where  he  is  engaged  in  the  livery  busi- 
ness; Edward  B.,  also  in  Gage  county, 
Neb.,  engaged  in  farming;  Charles  B., 
Mary  E.,  Douglas,  Belle  and  Nettie, 
living  with  their  parents.  Mrs.  Stanley 
is  a  member  of  the  Presbyterian  church. 
Mr.  Stanley  belongs  to  the  I.  0.  O.  F. 
and  the  P.  of  H.  His  father,  Thomas 
Stanley,  died  with  the  cholera  in  this 
township,  in  1851.  His  mother  died  at 
the  same  place,  in  1861.  Both  are 
buried  in  the  old  cemetery  at  Jersey- 
ville. 

George  W.  Embley  was  born  in  Mer- 
cer county,  N.  J.,  May  15,  1837,  being  a 
son  of  Joseph  and  Ann  (Mount)  Emb- 
ley, also  nativesof  New  Jersey.  Oeorge 
was  raised  upon  a  farm,  and  remained 
with  his  parents  until  21  years  old.  He 
then  followed  farming  for  three  or  four 
years,  after  which  he  learned  the  car- 
penter's trade,  at  which  he  worked 
about  12  years.  In  March,  1877,  he 
came  to  Jersey  county,  and  settled  on 
section  8,  Jersey  township,  where 
he  bus  ever  since  resided.  He  has  an 
excellent  farm,  containing  103*  acres, 
and  carries  on  general  farming.  He  was 
married  Feb.  10,  1858,  to  Susan  Schuy- 
ler, daughter  of  Aaron  Schuyler.  Twelve 
children   have  been  born  to  them,  five 


of  whom  are  now  living — Susie  S.,  wife 
of  Holmes  W.  Smock;  Georgiana,  Irene 

E.,  Ada  and  Alvin  V.  Mr.  Embley  is, 
politically,  a  supporter  of  the  demo- 
cratic party,  and  a  worthy  and  respected 
citizen. 

Thos.  K.  Donnalley,  son  of  James  and 
Margaret  (Kelso)  Donnalley,  was  born 
in  Bucks  county,  Penn.,  July  '_',  1808. 
James  Donnalley  was  a  weaver  by  trade, 
but  followed  that  occupation  only  a  short 
time.  He  removed  to  the  city  of  Phil- 
adelphia, where  he  resided  many  years, 
engaged  in  painting.  He  died  in  1851, 
aged  73  years.  His  wife,  Margaret, 
died  in  1834,  at  the  age  of  65  years. 
Thomas,  in  his  youth,  learned  the  shoe- 
maker's trade  in  Philadelphia,  and 
there  followed  the  same  for  28  years. 
Pie  then  bought  a  small  farm  and  en- 
gaged in  farming,  which  he  continued 
eight  years,  in  Pennsylvania.  Then,  in 
the  spring  of  1856,  he  sold  his  farm  and 
came  to  Jersey  county,  111.,  where  he 
purchased  l('.(t  acres  on  section  1, 
Jersey  township,  on  which  he  has 
since  resided.  He  now  has  a  well-im- 
proved farm  ami  a  comfortable  and  de- 
sirable home.  He  was  married  May 
20,  1830,  to  Susan  Felty,  daughter  of 
Jacob  and  Elizabeth  Felty.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Don  mil  ley  have  had  nine  children, 
six  of  whom  are  living — Elizabeth, 
widow  of  William  Gaston,  who  died  in 
1864;  Cordelia,  wife  of  Edwin  Barnes, 
of  Montgomery  county,  Penn.;  Lydia; 
Margaret,  wile  of  Cornelius  Whitehead, 
of  Jersey  county;  Susan;  and  Caroline, 
wife  of  Joel  Williams,  of  Gage  county, 
Neb.  Those  deceased  are — Mary  A., 
who  died  in  1862;  Ulan,  who  died  in 
1859,  and  Sarah,  who  died  in  infancy,  in 
184-2.       Mr.   and   Mrs.    Donnalley   and 


family  are  members  of  the  Presbyterian 
church.  He  has  held  the  office  of 
school  director  for  several  years,  and 
as  a  citizen  is  much  esteemed. 

1!.  A.  RiggS,  deceased,  was  born  in 
New  Jersey,  Oct.  11,  1811.  He  came  to 
this  county  May  28,  1836,  and  located 
near  Jerseyville,  where  he  continued  to 
live,  until  the  time  of  his  death,  on  a. 
farm  which  consisted  of  347  acres,  and 
was  located  on  section  17,  of  Jersey 
township.  He  was  married  to  Cynthia 
heigh,  daughter  of  Thomas  and  .Martha. 
Leigh,  S  pt.  29,  1852.  They  are  the 
parents  of  four  children — Thomas,  who 
was  married  to  Emeline  Moore,  and  now 
resides  in  Brighton,  Col.;  Samuel,  who 
was  married  to  Betty  Bell,  now  living 
in  Morrisonville,  Christian  county; 
Cele  A.,  now  the  wife  of  George  Weller, 
ami  Abraham  L.  Mrs.  RiggS  now  owns 
llo  acres  of  land,  and  manages  the  farm 
with  the  assistance  of  one  son.  Mr. 
Riggs  died  Nov.  13,  1879.  His  life  was 
that  of  a  conscientious  and  upright  citi- 
zen; as  a  husband  and  father,  he  was 
solicitious,  tender  and  affectionate;  as  a 
neighbor,  he  was  accommodating  and 
kind;  as  a  friend  and  citizen,  he  was 
straight  forward  and  true. 

John  Wood,  son  of  John  and  Mary 
(Hawkins)  Wood,  pioneers  of  Jersey 
county,  was  bom  here  April  23,  1834. 
His  parents  were  natives  of  Kentucky, 
who  came  here  at  an  early  day,  and  en- 
tered  160  acres  of  land    on    section  25, 

Jersey  township,  where  John  W 1,  Sr., 

dii'd  when  the  subject  of  this  sketch 
was  about  two  years  old.  He  continued 
hi  reside  with  his  mother  until  her 
death,  in  Oct.,  1*7">.  Mr.  Wood  was 
married,  Sept.  28,  1865,  to  Anna  Bethel, 
daughter  of  Alanson  and  Nancy  (  Rhodes ) 


482 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


Bethel.  Four  children  have  been  born 
to  them,  three  of  whom  are  now  living 
— Thomas  0.,  George  and  Nettie.  Mollie 
died  in  1874.  Mr.  Wood  has  a  desirable 
farm,  comprising  140  acres.  Mrs.  Wood 
is  a  member  of  the  Baptist  church.  Mr. 
Wood  is  a  democrat  in  politics,  and  a 
worthy  and  respected  citizen.  In  1884 
they  visited  southeastern  Kansas,  and 
spent  some  time  in  visiting  and  viewing 
the  country. 

Jarrett  T.  Grimes,  son  of  Philip  and 
Polly  Grimes,  is,  probably,  the  oldest 
man  now  living  that  was  horn  in  the 
limits  of  Jersey  county,  the  date  of  his 
birth  being  the  second  week  in  Jan.,  of 
the  year  1820.  Philip  Grimes  .was  a  na- 
tive of  Virginia,  and  his  wife,  of  Ten- 
nessee. They  emigrated  to  Illinois  in 
1816,  settling  near  Upper  Alton,  in  Mad- 
ison county.  Two  years  later  they  re- 
moved to  a  plajge  five  and  one-half  miles 
northwest  of  the  present  city  of  Jersey- 
ville,  where  Jarrett  T.  was  born.  He 
was  reared  upon  a  farm,  and  obtained 
his  education  in  the  pioneer  schools  of 
the  county.  In  1838  he  was  united  in 
marriage  with  Charity  Brown,  a  na- 
tive of  St.  Charles  county,  Mo. 
They  had  horn  to  them,  10  children, 
six  of  whom  are  living — Philip, 
now  a  farmer,  of  Gage  county,  Neb.; 
Edward,  who  is  at  present  engaged  in 
farming  in  Montomery  county,  111.; 
.lames  R.,  upon  the  homestead  farm; 
Mary  E.,  wife  of  Uriah  Hardwick,  of 
Montgomery  county;  Isabella,  at  home 
with  her  parents;  and  Florence,  also  at 
home.  Those  deceased  are — Joseph, 
who  died  Sept.  28,  1861,  aged  nine  years; 
Garrett  '1'..  who  died  Feb.  3,  1853,  at  the 
age  of  18  days;  and  Robert,  who  died 
Jan.  1.!,  1866,  at  the  age  of  eight  years 


and  three  months.  Mrs.  Grimes  died 
July  21,  1876,  aged  56  years,  2  months 
and  8  days.  Mr.  Grimes  owns  710acres 
of  land  and  carries  on  farming.  He  is  a 
member  of  the  Masonic  fraternity,  and 
the  Anti-Horse  Thief  Society.  Having 
lived  in  Jersey  county  for  more  than  60 
years,  Mr.  Grimes  has  been  a  witness  of 
the  vast  changes  which  have  taken  place 
within  that  long  period,  and  has  con- 
tributed fully  his  share  toward  the 
growth  and  development  of  this  section. 
He  ranks  among  the  best  and  most 
prominent  citizens. 

Glover  Short,  an  early  settler,  and  an 
old  and  highly  respected  citizen  of  Jer- 
sey county,  was  horn  in  Pittsylvania, 
Va.,  Oct.  19,  1800.  His  parents,  Josiah 
and  Isabel  (Craw)  Short,  removed  in 
1804,  to  Washington  county,  of  the 
same  state,  there  residing  until  1818, 
when  they  moved  west  to  Boone  county, 
Mo.  In  the  spring  of  1826  Glover  Short 
came  to  Illinois,  locating  near  White 
Hall,  in  Greene  county,  where  he  pur- 
chased 600  acres  of  land,  and  remained 
till  the  spring  of  1842.  At  that  date  he 
came  to  Jersey  county,  and  rented  a 
farm  near  Jerseyville.  Three  years 
later  he  settled  on  section  3,  Jersey 
township,  and  commenced  improving 
the  farm  where  he  now  resides.  In  the 
spring  of  1857  he  purchased  property  in 
the  town  of  Jerseyville,  and  removed 
thither,  remaining  there  eight  years, 
renting  his  farm  in  the  meantime.  At 
the  end  of  that  period  he  returned  to 
his  farm,  which  has  since  been  his 
home.  Mr.  Short  now  owns  160  acres 
of  land.  He  was  married  April  4,  1826, 
to  Rachel  Hodges,  daughter  of  Daniel 
Hodges.  Eight  children  were  born  to 
them,  all  of  whom    are    now    deceased. 


&  .^?J& 


//{/ 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


48.5 


Mrs.  Short  died  April  11,  1865.  Mr. 
Short  is  a  member  of  the  M.  E.  church, 
and  justly  merits  the  esteem  with  which 
he  is  regarded  by  all. 

Edmund  II.  Short,  deceased,  was  a 
son  of  (Hover  and  Rachel  Short,  and 
was  born  in  Jersey  county,  Aug.  3, 
1843.  He  was  raised  upon  a  farm,  re- 
ceiving a  good  education  in  the  schools 
of  Jersey  county  and  at  Lebanon  Col- 
lege. Oct.  23,  1868,  he  was  married  to 
Hattie  D.  Waddle,  who  died  in  1870. 
Nov.  23,  1873,  he  was  married  to  Mollie 
E.  Ashford,  daughter  of  George  and 
Margaret  Ashford.  By  this  union  there 
were  two  children — Glover  W.  and 
Delia  M.  Mr.  Short  followed  farming 
on  section  3,  Jersey  township,  where 
he  owned  80  acreB.  His  death  occurred 
Nov.  30,  1884.  He  was  a  kind  and  lov- 
ing husband,  and  an  indulgent  father, 
and  his  loss  was  keenly  felt  by  his  be- 
reaved widow  and  children.  Mrs. 
Short  now  runs  the  farm,  with  the  aid 
of  hired  help. 

Charles  Wharton  is  a  son  of  William 
and  Ann  (Richards)  Wharton,  both 
natives  of  Pennsj'lvania.  He  was  born 
in  that  state,  Jan.  21,  1824.  His  child- 
hood and  early  youth  were  spent  in  his 
native  state.  In  1842  he  came  to  Illi- 
nois, locating  in  Jersey  county,  where 
for  about  three  years  he  worked  out  by 
the  month.  In  1845  he  was  married  to 
Mary  Ann  Boulter,  daughter  of  William 
ami  Barbara  Boulter, natives  of  England. 
By  this  union,  10  children  were  born, 
five  of  whom  are  now  living — Barbara 
A.,  wife  of  George  Woolsej',  of  Jersey 
county:  Mary  E.,  Charles  H.,  Patience 
L.,  and  Lydia,  wife  of  George  M.  Chap- 
pell,  of  Macoupin  county.  Mr.  Whar- 
ton's farm  comprises  100  acres,    located 


on  section  7,  Jersey  township,  and  40 
acres  adjoining  in  Greene  county,  which 
was  first  settled  on,  in  1839,  by  his 
wife's  parents.  When  he  came  to  this 
county  it  was  very  thinly  settled,  and  he 
may  be  properly  classed  among  the 
early  settlers.  He  is  a  republican  po- 
litically, and  a  much  respected  citizen. 
Mrs.  Wharton  is  a  member  of  the  Bap- 
tist church. 

Freeman  J.  Mains,  a  prominent  citi- 
zen ami  wealthy  farmer  of  this  township, 
was  horn  in  Greene  county,  111.,  Feb. 
7,  1836,  being  a  son  of  James  and  Abi- 
gail (Parker)  Mains,  natives  of  Illinois. 
James  Mains  was  born  in  Greene 
county,  where  he  resided  the  greater 
portion  of  his  life.  Freeman  J.  Mains 
was  brought  up  on  a  farm,  and  resided 
with  his  parents  until  he  was  24 years 
of  age.  He  then  bought  20  acres  of  land 
on  section  2-".,  Jersey  township,  on 
which  he  erected  a  small  house.  Two 
years  later  he  purchased  40  acres  more, 
to  which  he  removed,  and  upon  which 
he  has  ever  since  resided.  Here,  in 
1881,  he  built  a  new  and  substantial 
dwelling.  His  other  improvements  are 
of  a  good  description.  He  now  owns 
920  acres  of  land  and  carries  on  general 
farming.  Nov.  24,  1859,  Mr.  Mains 
was  united  in  marriage  with  Elizabeth 
Stevens,  daughter  of  Isaiah  and  Sarah 
(Scroggins)  Stevens.  Ten  children  have 
been  born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Mains,  of 
whom  six  are  now  living — Lucy,  wife  of 
Thomas  Wylder;  William  Warren, 
Tina,  James  and  Tossie.  Those  de- 
ceased are — Orie,  Bobbie,  and  two  who 
died  in  infancy.  Mrs.  Mains  died  June 
10,  1883.  Mr.  Mains  was  elected  a  mem- 
ber of  the  board  of  supervisors  in  1885, 
in  which  capacity  he  is  now  serving. 


486 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


Joseph  W.  Fitzgerald  is  a  son  of  one 
of  the  earliest  settlers  of  this  county. 
Jesse  Fitzgerald,  a  native  of  Kentucky, 
who  came  to  this  county  at  an  early 
date.  He  was  accompanied  by  his 
wife,  Elizabeth  (Curry)  Fitzgerald,  also 
a  native  of  Kentucky.  On  his  arrival 
in  Jersey  county,  Mr.  Fitzgerald  bought 
of  his  cousin,  who  had  entered  it,  400 
acres  of  land.  They  moved  from  Ken- 
tucky with  ox  teams,  and  first  stopped 
in  St.  Louis  county,  from  whence  they 
came  to  Jersey.  Jesse  Fitzgerald  was  a 
cabinet-maker  by  trade,  at  which  occu- 
pation he  worked  previous  to  his  com- 
ing to  this  county,  when  he  engaged  in 
farming  in  the  wilderness  of  this  new 
country.  He  died  April  9, 1S55,  and  his 
wife,  April  28,  1883.  Joseph  W.  was 
born  March  8,  1842,  and  reared  upon 
the  farm,  living  with  his  parents  till  he 
arrived  at  the  age  of  19.  He  was  mar- 
ried Feb.  21,  1861,  to  Susan  Woolsey, 
daughter  of  Amos  and  Eunice  Woolsey. 
In  Aug.,  1S62,  Mr.  Fitzgerald  enlisted 
in  Co.  C,  of  the  122d  111.  Inf.,  and 
served  until  the  close  of  the  war.  tak- 
ing part  in  a  number  of  noted  engage- 
ments. He  now  owns  60  acres  on  sec- 
tions 3  and  34.  He  is  a  republican  po- 
litically, and  has  held  the  office  of 
school  director  about  nine  years.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Fitzgerald  have  four  children 
— Otis,  Delia,  Addie  and  Cora. 

John  Cray  was  born  in  Somerset 
county,  N.  J.,  on  the  16th  of  Feb.,  1826. 
He  is  a  son  of  Benjamin  and  Ellen 
(Weaver)  Cray,  natives  of  the  same 
state.  In  1854  he  came  to  Jersey  county, 
111.,  and  for  about  two  years  worked  out 
by  the  month.  He  then  rented  a  farm, 
on  which  he  lived  some  six  or  eight 
years,  after  which  he  moved  to   Mont- 


gomery county,  and  purchased  a  farm 
of  53  acres,  near  Litchfield.  Two  years 
later  he  sold  his  property  in  that  county 
and  returned  to  Jersey  county,  and  at 
first  bought  40  acres  of  land.  This  he 
soon  after  sold,  and  purchased  120  acres 
on  section  1,  Jersey  township,  where  he 
has  since  resided.  Mr.  Cray  was  mar- 
ried, April  5,  1856,  to  Minerva  Davis, 
daughter  of  Samuel  and  Polly  Davis. 
Six  children  have  been  born  to  them, 
four  of  whom  are  now  living — Mary, 
Augustus,  Lela  and  Herbert.  Mrs.  Cray 
and  her  daughter  Mary  are  members  of 
the  Baptist  church.  Mr.  Cray  has  held 
the  office  of  school  director  12  years, 
and  is  a  useful  and  much  respected  citi- 
zen. 

John  W.  Davis,  a  prominent  and  lead- 
ing farmer  of  Jersey  township,  was  horn 
in  North  Carolina,  Sept,  19,  1819.  His 
parents,  James  and  Elizabeth  (Morrow) 
Davis,  were  also  natives  of  North  Caro- 
lina. In  1835  the  family  came  to  Jersey 
county,  locating  in  this  township,  where 
James  died  in  1840,  and  his  wife,  in 
1851.  John  W.  lived  with  his  parents 
until  their  death,  and  has  always  re- 
mained upon  the  homestead  farm,  of 
which  he  took  charge  on  the  death  of 
his  father.  He  was  married  Dee.  8, 
1847,  to  Eliza  A.  Fitzgerald,  daughter 
or  Jesse  and  Elizabeth  Fitzgerald.  By 
this  union  eight  children  were  born — 
Elam,  married  to  Alice  Bullard  and  liv- 
ing in  Sangamon  county,  111.;  Helen, 
wife  of  Newton  Lowe,  also  in  Sangamon 
county;  Charles  A.,  married  to  Eliza 
Felter,  and  living  in  Jersey  county; 
Georgiana,  wife  of  David  Hunt,  of  New- 
Jersey;  Douglas;  Edward  L.;  Eva,  wife 
of  Edward  Acorn,  of  Nebraska;  and 
Eliza,  wife  of  Lloyd  Sunderland,  of  this 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


487 


county.  Mr.  Davis  owns  a  fine  farm  on 
section  2,  comprising  540  acres,  also  320 
acres  of  land  in  Sangamon  county,  and 
640  acres  in  Nebraska,  making,  'alto- 
gether, 1,500  acres.  Mrs.  Davis  died  in 
1873,  and  in  Feb.,  1876,  Mr.  Davis  was 
married  to  Emma  Cray.  Mr.  Davis 
visits  Nebraska  once  or  twice  annually, 
to  look  after  his  interests  in  that  new 
and  rapidly  growing  state.  He  is  one 
of  the  substantial  and  influential  citizens 
of  Jersey  county,  and  stands  high  in  the 
esteem  of  all  who  know  him. 

Silas  W.  Tolman,  deceased,  was  burn 
in  Greene  county,  April  2,  1826,  being 
a  son  of  Cyrus  and  Polly  (Eldred)  Tol- 
man, the  former  a  native  of  Massachu- 
setts and  the  latter  of  New  York.  Cyrus 
Tolman  was  one  of  the  pioneers  of 
Greene  county,  111.,  having  come  to 
this  state  in  1818.  He  was  a  member  of 
the  first  jury  ever  empanelled  in  that 
county.  The  subject  of  this  sketch 
located  in  Jersey  county  in  1840,  set- 
tling on  section  6,  Jersey  township, 
where  he  resided  until  his  death,  which 
occurred  May  2,  1874.  He  was  buried 
in  the  Jerseyville  cemetery.  He  was 
twice  married,  first  to  Jane  Gregory, 
who  died  in  1860.  They  had  one  child, 
who  died,  and  was  buried  in  the  coffin 
with  its  mother.  He  was  married  the 
second  time  to  Clara  Wheeler,  daughter 
of  Daniel  and  Electa  Wheeler.  By  this 
union  there  were  three  children — Thus. 
P.,  now  married  to  Ella  Smith,  and  liv- 
ing in  Missouri;  George  O.  and  Louis 
E.  Mrs.  Tolman  owns  270  acres  of 
land  in  Jersey  township,  where  she  re- 
sides, also  160  acres  in  Sangamon 
county,  111.  She  carries  on  farming, 
assisted  by  her  children,  and  is  success- 
ful in  her  undertakings. 


Richard  I.  Lowe,  of  Jersey  township, 

was  born  in  Somerset,  county,  X.  J., 
May  6,  1802,  and  is  a  son  of  Isaac  and 
Theodosia  (Gray)  Lowe,  also  natives  of 
New  Jersey.  In  1842,  Richard  I.  Lowe 
removed  from  New  Jersey  to  the  city  of 
Philadelphia,  there  remaining  a  few 
years,  engaged  first  in  the  grocery  busi- 
ness, and  later  dealt  in  real  estate.  In 
1847  he  came  to  Illinois  and  settled  on 
section  12,  Jersey  township,  Jersey 
county,  111.,  where  he  had  previously 
purchased  700  acres  of  land,  and  here 
engaged  in  farming.  He  still  resides 
on  section  12,  where  he  now  owns  480 
acres  of  land.  In  1866  he  erected  an 
elegant  two-story  brick  residence  upon 
his  farm,  at  a  cost  of  $20,000.  It  is 
pleasantly  situated,  and  the  surround- 
ings are  correspondingly  handsome.  Mr. 
Lowe  deals  to  a  considerable  extent  in 
stock,  principally  horses  and  short  horn 
cattle,  and  has  been  a  very  energetic 
and  enterprising  farmer.  He  was  mar- 
ried first  to  Mary  Disbrow,  daughter  of 
Daniel  H.  Disbrow.  He  had  by  this 
union,  one  child — Theodosia,  now  mar- 
ried to  Richard  Nutt,  of  this  county. 
Mrs.  Lowe  afterwards  died,  and  be  was 
married,  in  the  fall  of  1837,  to  Sarah  D. 
Williamson,  a  daughter  of  Abraham  T. 
Williamson.  They  were  the  parents  of 
eleven  children,  six  of  whom  are  living 
— Abraham,  married  to  Flora  Evans, 
and  living  in  Jerseyville;  Isaac  N., 
married  to  Helen  Davis,  and  living  at 
Auburn,  111.;  Mary,  wife  of  James 
Davidson,  of  Jersey  county;  John  W., 
married  to  Alvias  Darby,  living  in  Jer- 
seyville; Frank  J.,  who  is  now  a 
widower,  and  Augustus  T.  Mrs.  Lowe 
died  April  7,  1SS4.  Mr.  Lowe  is  a  demo- 
crat politically. 


488 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


Nicholas  Grosjean  was  born  in 
France,  on  the  6th  of  Dec.,  1829,  and  is 
a  son  of  Joseph  and  Elsie  (Salsy)  Gros- 
jean, both  also  natives  of  France.  In 
1857  Nicholas  bade  farewell  to  his  na- 
tive land,  and  taking  passage  on  board 
a  sailing  vessel  at  Havre,  came  to  the 
United  States,  landing  in  due  time 
in  the  city  of  New  Orleans,  La.  He 
came  from  there  directly  to  Jersey- 
ville,  where  he  opened  a  barber  shop, 
and  carried  on  the  same  until  1861.  He 
then  enlisted  in  Co.  F.,  of  the  14th  111. 
Inf.,  and  served  about  one  year,  after 
which  he  returned  to  Jerseyville,  and 
resumed  his  former  business.  He 
continued  to  run  a  barber  shop 
about  three  years,  then,  on  account 
of  poor  health,  was  obliged  to  give  up 
business  entirely,  and  for  several  years 
was  unable  to  do  any  work.  In  1880  he 
purchased  40  acres  of  land  on  section 
16,  Jersey  township,  on  which  he  has 
since  resided.  In  Aug.,  1859,  Mr.  Gros- 
jean was  married  to  Christiana  Sche'ese, 
daughter  of  Fred  Scheese.  They  are 
the  parents  of  seven  children,  four  of 
whom  are  living — Frederick,  Julia, 
Nicholas  and  Henry.  Mr.  Grosjean  is 
a  democrat  in  politics,  an  industrious 
farmer  and  a  man  of  intelligence  and 
enterprise. 

Patrick  B.  Burns  is  a  native  of  county 
Meath,  Ireland,  born  Aug.  15,  1825,  be- 
ing a  son  of  Patrick  and  Anna  (Murray) 
Burns,  also  natives  of  Ireland.  They 
immigrated  to  America  and  settled  in 
New  Brunswick,  N.  J.,  where  the  re- 
sided until  their  death.  The  subject  of 
this  sketch  was  reared  upon  a  farm, 
lived  with  his  parents  till  23  )^ears  of 
age.  In  the  spring  of  1862  he  came  to 
Illinois  and  located   in   Jersey   county. 


For  three  years  following  he  worked 
out  by  the  month  in  Jersey  township, 
and  during  the  time  saved  enough  of 
his  earnings  to  purchase  80  acres  of 
land  on  sections  3  and  4,  where,  in  1864, 
he  permanently  settled,  and  has  since 
resided.  He  now  owns  100  acres,  ami 
is  in  prosperous  circumstances.  He 
was  married  in  the  winter  of  1855,  to 
Mary  Allen,  daughter  of  Richard  and 
Margaret  Allen.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Burns 
have  had  born  to  them  eight  children, 
seven  of  whom  are  living — Patrick  W., 
now  married  to  Mary  Mahara,  and 
living  in  this  township;  Frank,  Hugh, 
John,  Richard,  Anna  and  Mary. 
The  family  are  members  of  the  Catholic 
church. 

Caleb  A.  Post  is  a  son  of  James  T. 
and  Ardelia  (Whitford)  Post,  natives  of 
Vermont,  and  pioneers  of  Jersey  county, 
having  located  herein  1833,  settling  two 
and  one-half  miles  west  of  Jerseyville, 
where  they  purchased  160  acres  of  land. 
They  resided  on  the  same  place  40  years, 
then  moved  to  Jerseyville,  where  James 
T.  Post  died.  The  subject  of  tins  sketch 
was  born  in  Jersey  countv,  Nov.  24, 
1834,  and  was  reared  on  the  farm,  where 
he  remained  until  21  years  old.  He  then 
went  to  Macoupin  county,  and  purchased 
180  acres  of  land,  upon  which  he  lived 
four  years.  At  the  expiration  of  that 
time,  he  exchanged  farms  with  his 
brother,  and  removed  to  this  township, 
which  has  since  been  his  home.  lie 
now  owns  650  acres  of  land  in  Nebraska, 
and  280  in  this  county.  In  1882  he  built 
on  his  farm  in  this  county,  a  fine  and 
commodious  residence,  costing  $4,000. 
He  has  been  three  times  married.  His 
first  wife  was  Malissa  Post,  who  died 
about  six  weeks    after  their   marriage. 


He  \v;is  married  the  second  time  Jan. 
3,  1856,  to  Mary  T.  Norris,  daughter  of 
John  Norris,  and  by  this  union  had 
eight  children,  five  of  whom  are  now 
living — Elmer  E.,  married  to  Fannie 
Burkenmayer  and  now  living  in  Ne- 
braska; Ida  M.,  Delia  M.,  Grace  and 
Walter.  Mrs.  Post  died  Feb.  24,  1873, 
and  in  April,  1874,  Mr.  Post  was  mar- 
ried a  third  time  to  Mrs.  Maggie  (Mur- 
ray i  Murphy,  by  whom  he  has  had  four 
children,  of  whom  three  are  now  living 
—Mabel  G.,  Ollie  M.,  and  Charles  A. 
Maude  is  deceased.  Mr.  Post  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Baptist  church,  and  his  wife 
of  the  Catholic  church.  He  is  also  a 
member  of  the  Masonic  lodge  of  Jersey- 
ville.     He  is  independent  in  politics. 

Rev.  Thomas  Potter  is  a  native  of 
Menard  county.  111.,  born  April  12, 
1830.  He  is  a  son  of  Edward  and  Eliz- 
abeth (Armstrong)  Potter,  the  former  a 
native  of  North  Carolina,  and  the  latter 
of  Tennessee.  They  settled  in  Illinois 
about  1820.  The  subject  of  this  sketch 
was  the  sixth  of  a  family  of  15  children, 
and  was  brought  up  on  a  farm,  where 
he  remained  until  he  attained  his  ma- 
jority. In  1S52  he  began  preparing 
himself  for  the  ministry  of  the  Cum- 
berland Presbyterian  church.  He  at- 
tended Bethel  College,  in  Tennessee, 
three  years,  and  spent,  altogether,  seven 
years  in  fitting  himself  for  the  high 
calling  which  he  had  chosen.  A  por- 
tion of  this  time  he  taught  school, 
studying  at  the  same  time.  In  1859,  he 
came  to  Jersey  county,  and  for  several 
subsequent  years,  preached  here  and  in 
Greene  county.  He  moved  to  Jersey- 
ville  in  1863,  and  remained  two  years. 
He  then  bought  a  residence  and  17 
acres  of  land  on  section  5,  Jersey  town- 


ship, which  has  since  been  his  home. 
In  the  meantime,  he  has  preached  upon 
different  circuits.  He  is  well  educated, 
a  man  of  much  ability,  and,  as  a 
preacher,  is  well  liked.  Mr.  Potter 
was  married  Aug.  28,  1865,  to  Catherine 
Updike,  daughter  of  Theodore  and 
Ellen  Updike.  By  this  union  there  are 
three  children— Theodore  E.,  Jennie 
A.,  and  Ettie  E. 

Thomas  J.  McReynolds  came  to  Jer- 
sey county  in  March,  1835,  accompany- 
ing his  parents,  Joseph  and  Margaret 
(Anderson)  McReynolds.  Joseph  Mc- 
Reynolds and  his  wife  were  both  natives 
of  North  Carolina,  but  at  the  time  of 
the  birth  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch, 
March  6,  1S32,  they  resided  in  Sumner 
county,  Tenn.  They  soon  after  re- 
moved to  Posey  county,  Ind.,  where 
they  remained  till  the  spring  of  1835. 
On  their  arrival  in  Jersey  county,  they 
settled  on  section  15,  Jersey  township, 
purchasing  160  acres  of  land.  Joseph 
McReynolds  died  here  July  3,  1860. 
His  widow  survived  him  until  Jan.  26, 
1873.  Thomas  J.  has  always  resided 
upon  the  homestead,  settled  by  bis 
father  in  1835,  and  has  now  one  of  the 
best  farms  in  the  township.  His  resi- 
dence, barn  and  other  improvements  are 
well  and  substantially  built,  and  every- 
thing about  the  place  is  indicative  of 
the  thrift  and  enterprise  of  the  owner. 
Mr.  McReynolds  was  married  Nov.  2, 
1854,  to  Rosa  A.  Keller,  daughter  of 
William  and  Dorothy  Keller.  They 
have  had  eight  children,  seven  of  whom 
are  living — James  G.,  married  to  Carrie 
S.  Sunderland,  and  living  in  Jersey- 
ville;  William  J.,  married  to  Elizabeth 
Martin,  also  in  Jerseyville;  Charles  L., 
Lela    M.,    Maggie    A.,   Gussic   R.  and 


490 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


Prances  M.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  McReynolds 
are  members  of  the  M.  E.  church.  He 
is  politically  a  democrat.  His  farm 
now  comprises  190  acres  of  land,  on 
sections  15,  16  and  4. 

Guy  C.  Richards,  a  native  of  Broome 
county,  N.  Y.,  was  born  Nov.  2,  1819, 
being  a  son  of  Daniel  and  Ruth  (Tich- 
nor)  Richards,  the  former  a  native  of 
Connecticut,  and  the  latter  of  New 
Hampshire.  In  1823,  Daniel  Richards 
moved,  with  his  family,  to  Illinois,  set- 
tling near  Jacksonville,  in  Morgan 
county,  where  they  remained  about  14 
years.  In  1836  they  moved  to  Greene 
county,  locating  on  the  south  line  ad- 
joining Jersey.  Guy  resided  with  his 
parents  until  24  years  old.  He  was  mar- 
ried in  1843  to  Hannah  Pope,  daughter 
of  Samuel  and  Mary  (Geddes)  Pope. 
They  have  a  family  of  six  children — 
Mary,  married  to  Thomas  Erwin,  of 
English  township;  Erastus  P.,  who  is 
now  a  widower;  Christopher  G.,  married 
to  llattie  Green,  and  living  in  English 
township;  Jacob  and  Hannah,  (twins,) 
and  George  M.  Mr.  Richards  owns  270 
acres  ofland,  situated  partly  in  Greene 
and  partly  in  Jersey  county.  He  is  a 
man  of  intelligence  and  enterprise.  He 
is  politically  a  republican. 

Nathaniel  Miner,  an  old  and  much- 
respected  citizen  of  Jersey  county,  was 
born  in  New  York,  Jan.  1,  1801.  When 
he  was  one  year  old  his  parents  moved 
to  Bridgeport,  Vt.,  where  he  made  his 

1 le   until  he  arrived  at  the  age  of  33 

years.  He  then  came  to  Illinois  and 
settled  on  section  19,  Jersey  county,  en- 
tering a  quarter  section  of  government 
land,  which  he  improved.  He  was 
married  Aug.  3,  1834,  to  Louisa  Jack- 
son, a  native  of  Vermont.     They  were 


the  parents  of  seven  sons — Edward, 
now  deputy  clerk  of  Greene  county,  re- 
siding at  Carrollton;  Charles  E.,  of  this 
township;  Aaron  J.,  a  farmer  of  Calhoun 
county;  Lorenzo  J.,  who  died  while 
serving  his  country  during  the  late  war, 
at  Murfreesboro,  Tenn.;  he  was  first 
lieutenant  of  Co.  C,  of  the  (51st  111,  Inf.; 
Darwin  C,  a  resident  of  Jersey ville, 
and  George  W.,  of  this  township.  Mrs. 
Miner  died  Aug.  22,  1869,  and  was  bur- 
ied in  Jerscyville.  In  1872,  Mr.  Miner 
was  marriefl  to  Mary  J.  Ingles,  a  native 
of  New  Hampshire.  He  has  followed 
farming  since  coming  to  this  county.  He 
is  a  strict  temperance  man,  and  enjoys 
the  confidence  and  esteem  of  all. 

Charles  Catt,  son  of  John  and  Sarah 
(Bradford)  Catt,  was  born  in  Sussex* 
county,  England.  His  parents,  both 
natives  of  England,  are  now  deceased; 
the  former  died  in  1838,  and  the  latter, 
in  1846.  Charles  came  to  America  in 
1837  and  settled  in  Warren  county,  0., 
where  he  lived  two  years.  He  then 
went  to  Quiney,  111.,  stopped  a  short 
time  and  returned  to  Ohio.  Two  years 
later  he  came  again  to  this  state,  locat- 
ing in  this  county.  Here  he  worked  on 
a  farm  for  several  years.  In  1854  he 
purchased  land  on  section  20,  Jersey 
township,  where  he  has  since  resided. 
He  now  has  a  farm  of  120  acres,  with 
good  improvements.  He  owns,  also, 
two  houses  in  the  city  of  Jerseyville. 
Mr.  Catt  was  married,  in  1851,  to  Mary 
Riggs,  a  native  of  New  Jersey,  who 
died  April  14,  1872.  In  the  fall  of  1873, 
Mr.  Catt  was  married  to  Catherine 
Welch,  a  native  of  Ireland.  By  this 
union,  there  are  six  children — Charles, 
John,  Harriet,  Henry,  Frank,  and 
James.     Mr.  Catt  came   to  this    county 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


491 


in  very  limited  circumstances,  and  by 
industry  and  energy,  has  succeeded  in 
accumulating  a  comfortable  property. 

Peter  Power,  deceased,  was  a  native 
Ireland.  He  came  to  America  in  1851, 
and  settled  then  in  Jersey  township, 
Jersey  county,  111.,  where  he  resided 
until  his  death,  which  occurred  in  1878. 
His  remains  were  buried  in  tin- Catholic 
cemetery,  of  Jerseyville.  His  widow, 
Ellen  Power,  survived  him  until  1884. 
He  owned,  at  the  time  of  his  death,  80 
acres  of  land.  Both  Mr.  Power  and  his 
wife  were  Catholics  in  their  religion. 
They  had  six  children — Patrick,  who 
now  lives  upon  the  homestead  farm; 
Mary,  now  married  and  living  in  this 
township;  Philip,  of  this  county;  Thos., 
also  of  this  county;  Johnv  in  Chicago, 
and  Maurice,  of  Jersey  township.  Pat- 
rick Power,  son  of  Peter  Power,  was 
born  in  Ireland,  in  1S47,  and  came  with 
his  parents  to  this  county  in  1851.  He 
has  been  a  resident  of  Jersey  township 
since  that  date,  and  has  always  followed 
farming.  He  owns  a  valuable  farm  of 
80  acres,  all  improved.  He  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Catholic  church. 

William  H.  Hunter,  Sr.,  deceased, 
was  born  in  county  Antrim,  Ireland,  on 
the  13th  of  June,  1831,  his  parents  be- 
ing John  and  Catherine  Hunter.  He 
hit  his  native  country  and  came  to 
America  in  the  year  1850,  locating  first 
in  Hudson  county,  N.  J.,  where  he  en- 
gaged in  farming.  In  the  year  1853,  he 
came  westward  to  Illinois,  and  took  up 
a  location  in  what  is  now  Jersey  town- 
ship, Jersey  county,  in  which  township 
his  family  still  resides.  They  moved 
to  their  present  location,  on  section  3, 
in  Jersey  township,  in  the  year  1867, 
where  they  have  90  acres  of  land.     Mr. 


Hunter  was  married  on  the  18th  of 
July,  1849,  to  Sarah  Kenley,  daughter 
of  George  Kenley,  and  by  this  union 
there  were  13  children,  nine  of  whom 
are  yet  living — William  H.,  thepresenl 
clerk  of  the  Kane  Baptist  church,  lives 
at  home,  and  manages  the  farm  ;  Belle, 
wife  of  James  Eldred,  lives  in  Macoupin 
county;  Jane,  living  at  home;  Mary, 
wife  of  George  Parker,  lives  in  Macoupin 
county;  Ella,  Sarah,  Ida,  Charles  and 
Nora.  The  deceased  are — John,  Sarah 
Fannie,  and  an  infant.  On  the  22d  day 
of  March,  in  the  year  1883,  Mr.  Hun- 
ter died,  ami  was  buried  in  Kane  ceme- 
tery. He  was  a  good,  industrious  man, 
an  affectionate  father,  and  a  kind  hus- 
band, and  his  loss  was  deeply  felt  by 
all.  The  family  are  members  of  the 
Baptist  church  at  Kane. 

FIKST   ITEM-. 

The  first  grist  mill  in  the  county  was 
erected  in  Jersey  township,  in  1828,  by 
Gershom  Patterson.  It  stood  right  east 
of  what  is  now  known  as  the  John 
Brown  place.  It  was  operated  by  a 
tread-mill,  run  by  cattle.  The  capacity 
was  not  extensive,  and  after  running  a 
number  of  years,  the  mill  was  allowed 
to  go  to  decay.  "Major"  Patterson,  as 
he  was  called,  also  had  a  distillery  on 
his  place,  erected  in  1828  or  1^_".».  by 
means  of  which  he  manufactured  peach 
brandy  in  considerable  quantities.  This 
also  went  to  decay,  the  most  valuable 
part  of  the  plant  being  sold.  This  was 
also  over  the  line  in   English   township. 

First  school  in  Jersey  township  was 
in  1828,  in  the  dooryard  of  Thomas 
English.  It  was  taught  by  a  man 
named  John  Sloan,  who  was  stopping 
at  Mr.  E's  house. 


4!  12 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


The  first  burial  in  Jersey  township 
occurred  in  1821.  A  man  by  the  name 
of  Helmbold,  attempting  to  enter  a  well 
on  the  tan  a  of  Gershom  Patterson,  in 
English  township,  which  was  full  of 
mephitic  air,  and  was  suffocated.  He 
was  buried  near  the  line  between  the 
two  townships. 

EDUCATIONAL. 

The  first  school  house  in  district  No. 
2  was  erected  at  an  early  day.  It  was  a 
frame  structure,  16x24,  and  cost$234.17. 
Mrs.  Corey  was  the  first  teacher.  She 
had  about  40  pupils.  In  184S,  the  old 
building,  having  outlived  its  usefulness, 
was  removed,  and  another  erected  in  its 
stead.  John  Cowan  was  the  contractor. 
The  first  teacher  in  this  building  was 
David  Peabody.  J.  T.  Grimes  deeded 
the  school  lot  to  the  district  on  condition 
that  the  school  building  should  remain 
there.  The  edifice  at  present  used  was 
erected  in  1876.  It  is  24x36  feet  in  di- 
mensions, and  cost,  with  the  furniture, 
$900.  The  cost  of  maintaining  the 
school  is  $250  per  year.  Eight  months' 
scIk xil  is  held  each  year.  The  average 
attendance  is  15. 

The  Spencer  school  house,  in  district 
No.  10,  was  erected  in  1865,  at  a  cost  of 
$1,400.      It  is  22x28  feet  in  dimensions. 

JERSEYYILLE. 

The  city  of  Jerseyville,  the  most 
beautiful  and  enterprising  town  in  this 
section  of  the  state  of  Illinois,  origin- 
ated 51  years  ago,  when  the  beautiful 
country  that  surrounds  it  was  beginning 
to  attract  the  attention  of  those  in  search 
of  homes.  Much  of  its  surroundings 
were  then  in  a  wild  state — as  free  and 
wild  as  in  the   time    when   the   stars  of 


the  morning  sang  anthems  of  joy  at 
nature's  dawn.  It  has  been  one  con- 
tinual change,  at  first  slow,  then  more 
rapidly,  from  the  moment  that  John 
Ballard  built  his  humble  log  cabin  upon 
its  site,  until  the  Jerseyville  of  to-day 
stands  forth,  one  of  the  bright  jewels  in 
the  diadem  of  a  noble  state.  While 
there  may  have  been  nothing  really  re- 
markable in  the  development  of  the 
past,  nothing  peculiarly  striking  in  the 
present,  still  there  is  much  that  cannot 
fail  to  be  of  interest  to  those  who  have 
been  closely  connected  with,  and  iden- 
tified with  the  city  in  all  the  various 
changes  that  have  occurred  from  year  to 
year.  To  those  who  have  watched  its 
growth  and  progress  from  its  infancy, 
when  Jersey  county  was  but  a  compara- 
tive wilderness,  until  the  present  time, 
the  accomplishment  of  by-gone  days 
would  seem  now  almost  the  work  of  en- 
chantment, but  they  are  the  sure  and 
legitimate  results  of  an  advanced  state 
of  civilization.  Endowed  with  many 
splendid  natural  advantages,  aided  by 
the  strong  arm  of  industrious  and  enter- 
prising husbandry,  Jersey  county  has 
assumed  a  place  among  the  better  and 
wealthier  of  her  sister  counties  through- 
out the  state,  and  Jerseyville,  as  the 
first  town,  in  prominence,  within  the 
boundaries,  has  kept  pace  with  the 
general  improvement  and  advancement. 
Jerseyville  is  situated,  principally, 
upon  section  21,  Jersey  township,  or  T. 
8,  R.  11.  The  line  of  the  St.  L.  &  J. 
branch  of  the  C,  A.  &  St.  L.  R.  R.,  and 
the  St.  L.,  J.  &  S.  division  of  the  W. 
R.  R.  pass  through  it,  connecting  it  with 
the  markets  of  the  world.  The  several 
manufacturing  establishments  which 
have  sprung   up    within  its  limits,  and 


the  rich  and  productive  agricultural  and 
stock-raising  country  that  surrounds  it, 
are  an  excellent  guarantee  of  a  perma- 
nent and  solid  growth  in  the  future. 
Jerseyville  has  a  population,  according 
to  the  U.  S.  census  of  1880,  of  2,894,  but 
has  now  about  3,500. 

There  are  a  number  of  fine  and  sub- 
stantial brick  buildings  to  be  seen  upon 
the  business  thoroughfares,  and  many 
costly  church  edifices  and  handsome 
residences  in  other  parts  of  the  city.  An 
abundance  of  trees  adorn  the  streets, 
which,  in  summer,  afford  a  grateful 
shade,  and  enhance  the  beauty  of  the 
place.  The  location  is  healthy;  the  in- 
habitants of  a  class  possessing  rare  in- 
telligence and  culture,  and  hospitable  to 
the  greatest  degree;  and  the  society  of 
the  most  refined  and  desirable  character. 

EARLY    HISTORY. 

On  the  question  as  to  who  was  the 
first  settler  within  the  present  limits  of 
Jerseyville,  and  the  exact  place  of  loca- 
tion, there  has  been  considerable  dis 
pute.  But  a  thorough  investigation  of 
the  subject,  with  all  the  testimony 
bearing  on  the  point,  leaves  no  room 
for  further  doubt. 

In  1822,  John  Ballard  settled  near  the 
middle  of  the  west  line  of  the  northwest 
(juarter  of  section  21,  and  there  built  a 
cabin.  This  cabin  has  been  destroyed 
fni'  uver  half  a  century,  and  the  place 
where  it  once  stood  is  now  surrounded 
by  an  apple  orchard.  The  place  be- 
longs to  the  widow  of  Abijah  Davis,  and 
is  occupied  by  her  and  the  family  of  her 
son-in-law,  Nathaniel  L.  Kirbv,  as  a 
residence  property.  For  a  long  time 
after  the  old  house  had  fallen  to  decay, 
a  pile  of  stones,  which   had   formed  the 


fire-place  and  chimney,  and  a  little  hil- 
lock, marked  the  site;  but  now  there  is 
not  a  mark  of  any  kind  to  indicate  the 
place  where  stood  the  first  house  of  the 
fair  city  of  Jerseyville. 

Ballard  was  atypical  pioneer,  ami  was 
one  of  those  who  lunged  to  be  in  ad- 
vance of  civilization.  He  was,  in  ac- 
cordance with  his  backwoods  training, 
of  a  superstitious  nature,  and  he  is 
remembered  by  some  of  the  early  resi- 
dents for  the  charms  he  would  some- 
times wear  to  ward  off  "bad  luck."  At 
an  early  shooting  match — a  kind  of  pas- 
time indulged  in  at  that  time — he  wore 
his  vest  wrong  side  out,  and  held  tight 
to  his  gun  all  day,  giving  as  a  reason, 
on  being  questioned,  that  such  was  ne- 
cessary to  enable  him  to  win  the  prize. 
He  left  this  location  hvl825,  removed 
to  a  point  north  of  Jerseyville,  on  a 
creek,  which  took  the  name  of  Ballard's 
branch,  but  which  is  now  known  as 
Dorsey's  branch.  He  remained  at  this 
place  only  a  short  time.  Nothing  is 
known  by  the  early  settlers,  now  surviv- 
ing, of  Ballard's  movements  after  leav- 
ing this  region. 

James  Falkner,  who  had  been  living 
on  section  31,  in  what  is  now  Jersey 
township,  came  up  and  bought  Ballard's 
Hickory  Grove  place  in  1826,  before  the 
latter  left  it.  He  came  up  with  his 
family,  and  took  possession  of  the 
house.  In  1827  he  built  what  was 
known  as  the  "lied  House,"  which 
stood  on  the  site  of  I*.  D.  Cheney's  ele- 
gant residence,  mi  North  State  street. 
He  then  removed  to  this  house.  He 
left  in  1830,  going  to  Quincy,  111.  From 
there  he  removed  to  a  tract  of  laud  on 
the  "Platte  purchase,"  near  St.  Joseph, 
Mo.,  where  he  died,  in  1840.       Andrew 


494 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


Sweeney  and  James  Hamilton  were  the 
constructors  of  the  "Red  House." 

A.  L.  Carpenter  came  to  this  place  in 
1830,  and  bought  the  "Red  House"  and 
other  property  from  Falkner.  When 
the  town  was  laid  out,  in  1834,  Carpen- 
ter was  running  the  "Red  House"  tav- 
ern, and  keeping  stage  station.  Car- 
penter was  from  the  state  of  Ohio.  He 
removed  to  Macoupin  county  in  1839. 
Carpenter  resided  here  about  a  year  be- 
fore entering  any  land,  which  he  event- 
ually did,  on  section  20. 

N.  L.  Adams  came  to  the  present 
site  of  Jerseyville  in  Jan.,  1833. 
He  was  a  native  of  Windham 
county,  Vt.,  born  Feb.  3,  17D6. 
He  was  the  son  of  Levi  and  Dolly 
Adams,  both  natives  of  Massa- 
chusetts. He  was  married  and  settled 
here  on  a  farm  in  the  south  part  of  the 
city  of  Jerseyville.  He  followed 
various  occupations,  but  made  farming 
his  principal  business.  He  built  the 
first  steam  mill  in  Jerseyville,  in  184!), 
which  had  two  run  of  buhrs,  and,  at  the 
time  of  its  completion,  was  considered 
the  best  in  this  part  of  the  state.  When 
he  came  here  there  was  only  one  family 
living  at  Hickory  Grove — that  of  A.  L. 
Carpenter — Ballard  and  Falkner  having 
moved  away  ere  this. 

The  name  of  Hickory  Grove  attached 
to  the  little  settlement  in  the  early 
days,  and  even  after  the  name  of  Jer- 
seyville was  formally  given,  many  of  the 
old  settlers  were  in  the  habit  of  speak- 
ing of  it  by  its  old  appellation. 

Lindsey  H.  English  entered  40  acres 
of  the  land  on  which  Jerseyville  now 
stands,  and  in  1831,  disposed  of  it  to 
John  Evans,  of  Carrollton,  for  $80,  thus 
losing  on   the  investment.     Evans  sold 


this  tract,  in  the  spring  of  1834,  to  Jon- 
athan W.  Lott  and  Edward  M.  Daley, 
for  $475.  These  gentlemen  laid  off  a 
town  on  this  tract,  on  the  1st  of  Oct., 
1834.  Lott  was  a  New  Jersey  man,  and 
when  the  question  of  naming  the  town 
was  raised,  he  proposed  that  of  Jersey- 
ville. A  number  of  other  names  were 
offered  by  others  interested,  but  so 
strong  was  Lott  in  his  preference  for  a 
name  in  honor  of  his  state,  that  "Jer- 
seyville" was  agreed  upon  as  its  final 
appellation.  Invitations  to  be  present 
on  this  occasion  were  sent  out  to  the 
fanners  of  the  surrounding  country, 
and  nine  of  them  were  present,  includ- 
ingCol.  Murray  Cheney.  Refreshments 
of  a  liquid  nature  were  partaken  of  by 
those  present  who  indulged  in  that  form 
of  pleasure.  The  place  of  procuring 
those  beverages  was  at  the  old  Red 
House.  A.  L.  Carpenter,  the  occupant, 
kept  a  sort  of  tavern  in  the  house,  and 
across  the  stage  road  was  the  barn,  for 
the  accommodation  of  the  stage  horses. 
Mrs.  Carpenter  was  not  a  believer  in 
anything  stronger  than  tansy  for  other 
than  medicinal  purposes,  but  this  did 
not  prevent  her  liege  lord  from  having 
a  moderate  supply  of  something  more 
ardent  in  the  stable.  And  here,  travel- 
ers were  accustomed  to  get  something  to 
drink,  as  did  those  gathered  on  the  oc- 
casion mentioned. 

In  the  summer  of  1834,  Rescarrick 
and  Enos  Ayres  came  to  the  site  of  the 
new  town,  and  the  former,  in  company 
with  Messrs.  Lott  and  Daley,  purchased 
40  acres  of  land  from  A.   L.    Carpenter. 

Enos  Ayres,  one  of  those  mentioned, 
is  now  a  resident  of  Chicago.  Like  Mr. 
Lott,  the  Ayres  were  from  New  Jersey, 
and,  with  him,  they  were  in  favor  of  the 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


49.". 


name   of  Jerseyville.      Col.  Daley  was 
from  New  York. 

George  \V.  Burke,  now  the  oldest  liv- 
ing resident  among  the  old  settlers  of 
the  town,  came  to  that  point  in  1834  and 
located.  A  sketch  of  this  gentleman  is 
given  in  another  place. 

Soon  after  the  survey  was  completed, 
Lott  and  Daley  erected  a  building  and 
started  a  store,  which  was  the  first  in 
tlie  town.  Horatio  N.  Belt  was  the 
builder  of  this  store.  The  firm  did  not 
continue  long  in  the  mercantile  busi- 
ness, however,  for,  in  1835,  they  dis- 
posed of  their  stock  of  goods  to  George 
Collins  and  Benjamin  Yates,  who  car- 
ried on  the  general  merchandise  busi- 
ness for  several  years,  under  the  firm 
name  of  Collins  it  Yates. 

Adam  Clendennen  and  Edward  Coles 
started  a  small  store  about  1837,  but  aft- 
erwards closed  out  the  business. 

The  selection  of  Jerseyville  as  the 
county  seat,  on  the  setting  off  of  the 
county,  in  1839,  gave  a  great  impetus  to 
its  growth,  and  from  that  time  to  the 
present,  its  growth  has  been  steady  and 
substantial. 

The  first  blacksmith  to  start  a  black- 
smith shop  in  Jeiseyville  was  George 
W.  Burke.  He  came  here  in  1834,  find- 
ing at  that  time  but  six  families.  He 
has  remained  ever  since,  and  has  lived 
to  see  a  prosperous  city  grow  out  of  what 
was  then  scarcely  a  hamlet. 

The  second  representative  in  this  line 
was  Stephen  Herron,  who  commenced 
business  in  the  latter  part  of  1835.  He 
afterward  removed  to  Grafton,  and  later 
died  there. 

The  next  blacksmith  in  Jerseyville 
was  John  M.  Smith,  who  located  here  in 
1836.  He  was  born  in  Monmouth  county, 


N.  J.,  Jan.  5,  1811.  He  came  to  White 
Hali,  111.,  in  1835,  and  worked  at  his 
trade  there  until  coming  to  Jerseyville. 
In  1841  he  removed  to  a  farm  east  ofthe 
city,  retiring  from  the  further  pursuit  of 
his  trade. 

PRESENT  BUSINESS  INTERESTS. 

The  dry  goods  interest  is  prominently 
represented  by  B.  C.  VanDervoort.  The 
business  was  established  in  1859,  in  a 
frame  building  which  stood  on  the  pres- 
ent site  of  J.  C.  Darby's  grocery  store. 
He  continued  business  at  that  place  un- 
til 1867,  when  he  erected  his  present 
edifice.  It  is  built  of  brick,  is  25x85 
feet  in  ground  area,  and  cost  $7,500.  '  At 
the  time  of  changing  the  location,  1.  W. 
Bcardslee  came  in  as  a  part  proprietor, 
remaining  in  the  linn  about  three  years, 
when  he  retired.  Since  that  time  Mr. 
VanDervoort  has  been  sole  proprietor. 
He  handles  staple  and  fancy  dry  goods, 
carpets,  curtains,  boots  and  shoes,  etc. 
His  stock  is  valued  at  about  $10,000. 

B.  C.  VanDervoort.  one  ofthe  leading 
dry  goods  merchants  of  Jerseyville,  is  a 
native  of  Somerset  county,  N.  J.,  and 
was  horn  Dec.  29,  1821.  His  parents 
were  Benjamin  and  Anna  (TenEyck) 
VanDervoort.  The  subject  of  this 
sketch  was  brought  up  upon  a  farm, 
and  educated  in  the  common  schools. 
On  attaining  his  majority  he  left  the 
farm  and  went  to  Patterson,  N.  J., 
where  he  commenced  mercantile  life,  as 
clerk  in  the  store  of  his  brother,  with 
whom  he  continued  seven  years  as 
clerk,  then  became  a  partner  in  the 
firm,  and  remained  there  until  1858. 
In  that  year  he  removed  to  Jerseyville, 
111.  Here  he  at  first  purchased  a  farm, 
upon  which  he  lived  less  than  two  years. 


I '.Hi 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


In  IS-")!!  he  abandoned  fanning  and 
established  his  present  business.  Mr. 
VanDervoort  was  married  in  1852,  to 
Phebe  Ann  Beardslee,  a  native  of 
Sussex  county,  N.  J.,  where  their  mar- 
riage took  place.  Mr.  and  .Mrs.  Van- 
Dervoort are  the  parents  of  three  chil- 
dren, only  one  of  whom  is  now  living — 
Emma  J.,  wife  of  (leorge  F.  Edgar. 
One  died  at  the  age  of  12,  and  the  other 
at  the  age  of  18  years.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
VanDervoort  are  members  of  the  First 
Presbyterian  church.  He  is  a  republi- 
can in  politics,  and  was  a  delegate  to 
the  state  republican  convention  in  1856. 

Smith  &  Warren,  dealers  in  dry 
goods,  notions,  boots  and  shoes,  etc., 
commenced  business  Sept.  9,  1881,  and 
continued  tillf  April,  1882,  when  J.  K. 
Smith,  of  the  firm,  died.  The  stock  is 
valued  at  about  $15,000,  and  occupies  a 
store-room  25x85  feet,  in  the  new  brick 
block  of  G.  W.  Herdman. 

Mark  A.  Warren,  son  of  Hon.  George 
E.  and  Hattie  S.  (Allen)  Warren,  was 
born  near  Jerseyville,  111.,  Dec.  8,  1851. 
He  remained  with  his  parents  until  he 
attained  his  majority,  being  reared  upon 
a  farm.  He  was  educated  in  the  coun- 
try and  city  schools  of  Jersey  county, 
and  subsequently  took  a  course  at  the 
business  college  at  Jacksonville.  He 
then,  in  the  fall  of  1872,  began  his  bus- 
iness career  as  clerk  in  the  dry  goods 
store  of  Lovell  &  Smith,  with  whom  he 
continued  one  year.  The  firm  then  dis- 
solved partnership,  and  Mr.  Warren 
became  associated  in  business  with 
Henry  Lovell,  his  brother-in-law  ami 
former  employer.  They  carried  on  the 
dry  goods  business  about  three  years. 
At  the  expiration  of  that  time,  Mr. War- 
ren withdrew  from  the  firm  and  returned 


to  the  employ  of  J.  Knox  Smith,  who, 
soon  afterwards,  on  account  of  failing 
health,  sold  the  business  to  F.  W. 
Smith  &  Co.,  for  whom  Mr.  Warren 
clerked  till  Sept.,  1880.  At  that  date 
he  formed  a  partnership  with  J.  Knox 
Smith,  ami  again  engaged  in  the  dry 
goods  business,  the  linn  being  Smith  & 
Warren.  They  occupied  a  store  on  the 
old  Herdman  corner.  In  April,  1882, 
Mr.  Smith  died,  but  his  widow  contin- 
ued to  hold  his  interest  in  the  business. 
In  November,  1884,  the  store  was  de- 
stroyed by  fire,  and  they  carried  on  bus- 
iness in  a  small  building  till  September, 
1885,  when  they  moved  into  a  new  store 
built  by  (I.  W.  Herdman.  They  now 
carry  a  full  and  complete  stock  of  dry 
goods,  boots  and  shoes,  and  gents'  fur- 
nishing goods.  Mr.  Warren  was  mar- 
ried in  Sept.,  1874,  to  Gracie  Ferguson, 
of  Jerseyville.  They  are  the  parents  of 
two  children — Fay  and  Harry.  Mr. 
Warren  is  a  republican  in  polities,  hut 
has  no  political  aspirations,  preferring 
to  devote  his  time  to  business.  The 
firm  of  Smith  &  Warren  has  an  exten- 
sive trade,  and  conducts  one  of  the  lead- 
ing dry  goods  establishments  of  the 
city. 

Trepp,  Schmieder  &  Co.  are  leading 
dealers  in  dry  goods,  clothing,  hats 
and  caps,  boots  and  shoes,  etc.  The 
business  was  established  by  Gustav 
Trepp  and  Charles  Schmieder,  in  Oct., 
1882.  In  April,  1884,  benjamin  Barnett 
was  taken  into  the  partnership,  making 
the  present  firm.  They  have  a  large 
store,  well  stocked,  and  are  known  as 
enterprising  business  men. 

Charles  Schmieder  was  horn  in  Ichen- 
heim,  Baden,  Sept.  5,  1852.  His 
parents, John  and  Magdalena Schmieder, 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


497 


resided  upon  a  farm.  Charles  attended 
school  until  13  years  of  ape,  then  spent 
three  years  at  college,  receiving  a  lib- 
eral education.  He  then  began  his 
business  career  as  a  clerk  in  a  general 
store.  In  June,  1871,  he  came  to  the 
United  States,  and  settled  in  Jersey- 
ville,  Jersey  county.  111.,  where  he  re- 
mained one  year,  engaged  in  clerking  in 
a  dry  goods  store.  He  then  went  t « • 
New  York  city,  and  there  resided  nine 
years.  At  the  expiration  of  that 
period  he  returned  to  Jerseyville,  and 
in  partnership  with  Gustav  Trepp, 
established  theirpresenl  business.  Mr. 
Schmieder  was  married  in  New  York 
city,  in  1876,  to  Otelia  Molinet,  a  native 
of  that  city.  They  have  one  daughter 
— Theresa.  Mr.  Schmieder  is  a  member 
of  the  German  Catholic  church.  His 
parents  came  to  the  United  States  in 
the  fall  of  1871,  ami  settled  near  Fiel- 
don,  in  this  county,  upon  a  farm,  where 
they  still  live.  They  have, besides  the 
subject  of  this  sketch,  two  other  chil- 
dren— Joseph,  a  farmer,  of  Piasa  town- 
ship, and  Theresa,  the  wife  of  Peter 
Blaeser. 

Among  the  prominent  dealers  in  dry 
goods,  notions,  etc.,  in  the  city  is  the 
firm  of  1).  <;.  and  II.  X.  Wyckoff.' 

David  G.  Wyckoff,  son  of  John  and 
Eleanor  (Gray)  Wyckoff,  was  horn  in 
Schoharie  county.  X.  Y.,  May  5,  1812. 
At  tin-  ape  of  1  1  years  he  went  to  the 
city  of  New  York,  where  he  learned 
the  tailor's  trade.  He  was  married  at 
Newark,  X.  J.,  in  is:;:',,  to  Phebe  Eliza 
Bonnell,  a  native  of  New  York  city. 
Four  years  later  he  came  to  Illinois, 
and  settled  in  what  is  now  Jersey 
county,  locating  at  Delhi,  where  he  fol- 
lows!   his    trade    till    about     1840.      He 


then  came  to  Jerseyville  and  continued 
working  at  his  trade  until  1849,  and  dur- 
ing the  time  also  carried  on  merchant 
tailoring.  At  that  time  he  formed  a 
partnership  with  John  E.  Rundle,  and 
established  a  general  mercantile  busi- 
ness, of  which,  in  1850,  he  became  sole 
proprietor,  and  continued  the  same 
until  Oct.,  1865.  His  son,  Horatio 
X.  Wyckoff  then  became  his  part- 
ner, since  which  time  the  firm  has 
been  known  as  1).  G.  it  II  N.  Wyc- 
koff. They  carry  a  full  and  complete 
stock  of  dry  goods,  hoots  and  shoes. 
Mr.  Wyckoff  abandoned  the  grocery 
trade  in  1861.  The  store  is  Located  on 
the  same  ground  on  which  he  located  in 
1843.  The  present  building  is  thethird 
built  upon  the  same  site,  and  was  erect- 
ed in  1871.  It  is  a  brick  structure,  17x53 
feet  in  dimensions,  and  two  stories  in 
height.  During  the  present  year,  1885, 
another  building  is  being  erected 
near  the  first,  of  still  more  commodious 
dimensions,  it  being  25x75  feet.  Mrs. 
Wyckoff  died  in  1851,  leasing  six  chil- 
dren— Catherine  1-].,  Horatio  X..  Mary 
A..  George  E..  Cornelia  J.  and  Francis 
E. 

Horatio  X.  Wyckoff  is  a  native  of 
Sussex  eonnty.  X.  .).,  horn  June  29, 
1836.  He  is  a  son  of  David  G.  Wyckoff. 
He  came  to  Illinois  with  his  parents 
when  one  year  old,  and  has  since  that 
tunc  I, cell  a  resident  of  Jersey  county. 
In  1857  he  commenced  the  study  of  law, 
under  the  tuition  of  A.  L.  Knapp,  and 
in  1861  was  admitted  to  the  bar,  He 
practiced  his  profession  four  years,  at 
the  expiration  of  which  time  he  became 
a  partner  in  his  father's  business.  Oc- 
tober 2,  1866,  Mr.  Wyckoff  was  mar- 
ried to   Elizabeth    VanDorn,    of    New 


4 '.IS 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


Jersey.  They  have  four  children  living 
—Nellie  G.,  Mary  A.,  David  A.  and 
Theresa  E.  The  firm  of  D.  G.  &  H.  N. 
Wyckoff  is  well  known  as  being  enter- 
prising and  perfectly  reliable,  and  is 
one  of  the  oldest  business  houses  in 
the  city  of  Jerseyville. 

Leon  Engel  is  a  leading  representa- 
tive of  the  trade  in  clothing,  gents'  fur- 
nishing goods,  hats  and  caps,  etc.  He 
commenced  business  Sept.  15,  1880,  and 
lias  enjoyed  prosperity  in  his  trade. 
His  salesroom  has  an  area  of  20x50  feet, 
in  which  he  carries  a  stock  that  would 
invoice  $8,000. 

Leon  Engel,  a  merchant  of  Jerseyville, 
was  born  in  Prussia  in  1858,  being  a  son 
of  Henry  and  Rachel  (Harmetz)  Engel, 
both  natives  of  Prussia.  Leon  received 
a  good  education  in  the  old  country,  and 
resided  there  until  he  was  20  years  of 
age.  In  1878  he  came  to  America,  land- 
ing ;it  Boston,  Mass., where  he  remained 
five  weeks.  He  then  went  to  St.  Louis, 
Mo.,  and  engaged  as  clerk  in  a  gents' 
furnishing  goods  store,  remaining  in 
that  city  15  months.  At  the  end  of  that 
time  he  went  to  Carrollton,  Greene 
county,  111.,  where  for  10  months  he 
clerked  in  a  clothing  store.       Sept.    15, 

1880,  he  came  to  Jerseyville,  and  opened 
a  clothing  and  gents'  furnishing  goods 
store,  on  Main  street,  which  business 
he  still  continues.  He  is  a  genial  and 
pleasant  gentleman,  and  since  coming 
here  has  built  up  a  good  and  constantly 
increasing  trade. 

The  Golden  Fleece  clothingand  gents' 
furnishing  goods   store   was   opened  in 

1881,  with  James  Levy  as  manager,  in 
the  store  formerly  occupied  by  Frank 
Smith.  They  carry  a  large  stock  of 
goods  in  the  lines  mentioned. 


The  clothing  and  boot  and  shoe  busi- 
ness of  S.  A.  Holmes,  on  the  southwest 
corner  of  State  and  Pearl  streets,  was 
established  by  Conkling  &  Lipe,  in 
1869.  In  1874,  Mr.  Conkling  sold  his 
interest  to  S.  A  Holmes,  the  firm  thus 
becoming  Lipe  &  Holmes.  In  1884, 
S.  A.  Holmes  became  sole  proprietor. 

H.  Scheifer  &  Son,  dealers  in  boots 
and  shoes,  occupy  two  store  rooms  on 
North  State  street.  The  business  was 
established  in  March,  1880,  by  the  pres- 
ent firm.  Besides  their  selling  depart- 
ment, they  also  have  a  custom  shop,  in 
which  boots  and  shoes  of  all  grades  are 
made  to  order.  The  latter  department 
was  instituted  in  1860,  by  H.  Scheffer. 
The  salesroom  has  a  floor  area  of  18x55 
feet,  while  the  shop  has  a  frontage  of  10 
feet,  and  a  depth  of  40.  A  large  stock 
of  goods  in  this  line  is  kept  on  hand, 
which  will  invoice  $7,000. 

H.  Scheffer,  boot  and  shoe  dealer, 
was  born  in  Prussia,  April  20.  1827,  his 
parents  being  Frederick  and  Eliza- 
beth (Kotter)  Scheffer.  At  the  age  of 
14  he  was  apprenticed  to  learn  the  shoe- 
maker's trade,  and  served  three  years, 
after  which  he  followed  his  trade  until 
he  attained  his  majority,  then  entered 
the  German  army,  continuing  in  the 
service  three  years.  At  the  expiration 
of  that  period  he  resumed  his  trade  and 
followed  the  same  until  1858,  at  which 
time  he  immigrated  to  America,  landing 
at  New  Orleans  on  the  26th  day  of  May, 
of  that  year.  He  proceeded  to  St. 
Louis;  thence  to  Alton;  thence  to  Jer- 
seyville, where  he  established  the  bus- 
iness in  which  he  is  now  engaged.  He 
was  married  June  6,  1858,  to  Mary 
Bertman,  who  was  born  in  Prussia. 
They  are  the  parents  of  three  children — 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


499 


Frederick,  who  is  a  partner  in  his 
father's  business;  Henry,  who  is  a 
clerk  in  his  father's  store;  and  Lillie, 
living  at  home.  Mr.  Scheffer  is  the 
owner  of  his  store  building,  a  residence 
and  two  lots  in  the  city  of  Jerseyville. 
He  is  a  member  of  the  Catholic  church, 
of  which  he  has  been  a  trustee  for  two 
years. 

Marston  &  Halliday  handle,  exclu- 
sively, groceries,  provisions,  crockery, 
etc  They  established  the  business  in 
1873,  on  X.  State  street.  Their  sales- 
room is  23x60  feet  in  dimensions.  They 
carry  a  stock  representing  a  money  value 
of  $5,000. 

Joseph  G.  Marstm  was  born  in  the 
city  of  Philadelphia,  April  15,  1837,  and 
came  with  the  family  to  Jersey  county 
in  1842.  He  has  been  a  resident  here 
since  that  date,  with  the  exception  of 
three  years,  during  which  he  attended 
school  in  Philadelphia.  After  finishing 
his  education  he  began  mercantile  life 
as  clerk,  serving  in  stores  in  Jersey- 
ville, Otterville  and  Alton.  In  1867  he 
located  at  .1  ersey villc,  and,  in  partner- 
ship with  C.  M.  Hamilton,  engaged  in 
the  grocery  business,  the  firm  name  be- 
ing Hamilton  A  Marston.  In  1872  Mr. 
Marston  withdrew  from  the  firm,  and  in 
association  with  Henry  T.  Nail,  suc- 
ceed .1.  ('.  Darby  in  the  grocery  trade. 
In  June,  1873,  Mr.  Marston  withdrew 
from  this  partnership  ami  became  asso- 
ciated with  L.  H.  Halliday, establishing 
the  present  firm  of  Mar-ton  &Halliday. 
They  carry  a  full  and  complete  stock  of 
groceries,  provisions,  queensware,  etc. 
In  1868  Mr.  Marston  was  married  to 
Adaline  Cadwalader.  Mr.  Marston  is  a 
member  of  the  Blue  Lodge,  Chapter, 
Council  and    Commandery,  in    the   Ma- 


sonic order,  and  an  officer  of  the  Grand 
Lodge  of  the  state. 

Jacob  Wagner  is  engaged  in  the  gro- 
cery and  provision  trade.  Krumpan- 
itzky  Bros,  opened  the  establishment 
about  1865,  and  continued  till  succeeded 
by  Wagner,  in  1879. 

C.  M.  Boyle  carries  on  three  lines  of 
trade — grocery  store,  ice  trade  and  bot- 
tling business.  He  commenced  the  bot- 
tling business  in  1868,  and  his  grocery 
store  was  established  in  1875. 

M.  C.  Reynolds  commenced  the  gro- 
cery business  in  May,  1885.  His  sales- 
room is  20x50  feet. 

The  "Famous"  grocery  store  busi- 
ness was  established  in  February,  1881, 
by  Hall  A'  Nevius.  This  partnership 
continued  till  February,  1885,  when 
Mr.  Hall  retired  from  the  firm.  Henry 
Nevius  conducted  the  business  until 
Aug.,  1885,  when  he  sold  to  Fred  Arm- 
strong, the  present  proprietor. 

J.  C.  Darby,  a  leading  representative 
of  the  grocery  trade  of  Jerseyville, 
commenced  the  business  in  1867,  in  a 
small  frame  structure  which  stood  on 
the  site  of  his  present  store  edifice.  In 
1870,  the  present  commodious  brick 
structure  occupied  by  Mr.  Darby  was 
erected  by  B.  C.  Vandervoort.  It  covers 
an  area  25x85  feet,  and  is  two  stories  in 
height.  In  the  spring  of  1872,  the  bus- 
iness was  purchased  by  Marston  A  Nail. 
This  firm  continued  one  year,  when  Mr. 
Marston  retired  from  it.  After  one  year, 
J.  ('.  Darby  again  became  interested  in 
it,  purchasing  a  half  interest  from  Mr. 
Nail.  This  partnership  lasted  two  years, 
when  H.  T.  Nail  retired,  since  which 
time  Mr.  Darby  has  been  sole  proprie- 
tor. He  carries  an  assortment  of  gro- 
ceries, which  will   invoice  $3,000. 


:,i  i!  i 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


John  C.  Darby,  one  of  the  oldest  bus- 
iness men  of  Jerseyville,  is  a  son  of- 
William  and  Deborah  A.  Darby.  He 
was  born  in  Essex  county,  N.  J.,  Nov. 
9,  1829.  His  early  life  was  spent  on  a 
farm,  and  later,  in  his  father's  grist 
mill.  In  1850  be  came  to  Illinois,  and 
engaged  as  clerk  in  a  store  in  Jersey- 
ville. In  1852  be  became  associated 
with  A.  B.  Morean  in  the  general  mer- 
cantile business,  the  firm  being  styled 
J.  C.  Darby  &  Co.  This  partnership 
lasted  until  March,  1856,  when  Mr. 
Darby  sold  his  interest  in  the  store,  and 
purchased  a  farm  one  mile  east  of  Jer- 
seyville, on  which  he  resided  for  the 
next  eight  years.  He  then  sold  his 
farm  and  returned  to  Jerseyville,  and 
bought  an  interest  in  the  grocery  busi- 
ness of  John  E.  Sanford,  better  known 
as  Major  Sanford,  under  the  firm  name 
of  Sanford  &  Darby.  This  partnership 
continued  two  years,  at  the  expiration 
of  which,  Mr.  Darby  sold  his  interest 
to  his  partner,  but  soon  afterward,  as- 
sociated with  George  Hodgkin,  pur- 
chased the  business  of  Mr.  Sanford,  and 
carried  on  the  same  one  year.  Mr: 
Darby  then  became  sole  proprietor,  and 
continued  in  the  business  alone  till 
1872.  He  then  sold  out  to  Marston  A 
Nail  In  1873  he  established  a  new 
business  on  State  street,  which  in  1S74 
he  sold  out,  and  purchased  an  interest 
in  bis  former  business,  becoming  the 
partner  of  Mr.  Nail.  Two  years  later 
Mr.  Darby  purchased  the  interest  of 
his  partner,  and  has  since  continued 
business  alone.  He  was  married  in 
1853,  to  Henrietta  Whitehead.  They 
have  bad  four  children,  one  of  whom 
died  at  the  age  of  seven  years.  Those 
now    living    are — Elva,    wife    of    John 


Lowe;  Charlotte  and  Maggie.  Mr. 
Darby  was  the  first  telegraph  operator 
in  Jersey  county,  having  had  charge  of 
the  office  in  1853-4.  He  is  a  member  of 
the  First  Presbyterian  church,  also  of 
the  I.  0.  0.  F.,  and  the  Knights  of 
Honor. 

William  Darby  was  born  in  Essex 
county,  N.  J.,  in  the  year  1804.  He 
was  brought  up  on  a  farm,  and  in  1828, 
married  to  Deborah  A.  Squier,  a  native 
of  Morris  county,  N.J.  After  marriage, 
Mr.  Darby  continued  to  reside  upon  his 
farm  until  1849,  when  he  sold  it  and 
purchased  a  grist  mill,  which  he  oper- 
ated till  1853.  In  that  year  he  came  to 
this  state  to  visit  his  son,  and  being 
pleased  with  the  country,  removed  to 
Jersey  county  the  following  year,  (1854.) 
He  purchased  240  acres  of  land  on 
section  2,  Mississippi  township,  and 
engaged  in  farming.  In  the  fall  of  1854, 
Mrs.  Darby  died,  leaving  four  children — 
John  C,  Jacob  S.,  Levi  R.  and  Cbath- 
erine.  Mr.  Darby  subsequently  married 
Charlott  Woodruff,  of  Essex  county, 
N.  J.,  and  continued  farming  until  his 
death,  in  March,  1873.  His  wife's 
death  occured  in  1884.  Mr.  Darby  was 
in  comfortable  circumstances  when  he 
came  to  this  county,  and  prospered  in 
his  undertakings  here.  Although  no 
longer  strong  to  accumulate  wealth,  he 
desired  to  live  in  comfort,  and  to  give 
his  children  financial  aid  in  starting  out 
in  life,  which  he  was  able  to  do.  He 
was  a  man  of  simple  habit,  and  one 
who  gave  little  attention  to  anything 
outside  of  his  own  private  affairs.  He 
was  for  40  years,  a  consistent  member 
of  the  Baptist  church. 

The  Hamilton  Grocer  Co.  is  the  name 
of  one  of  the    firms    doing   business    in 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


501 


Jerseyville.  The  business  was  estab- 
lished, on  State  street,  by  C.  M.  Hamil- 
ton, in  1869.  In  1862  he  removed  to  the 
location  of  the  present  store.  He  carried 
on  the  business  alone  for  some  time, 
when  the  title  was  changed  to  Hamilton 
A:  Locke.  They  were  succeeded  by  Ham- 
ilton &  Marston,  and  this  firm  by  Ham- 
ilton A:  Son.  After  this  E.  A.  Hamilton 
became  the  sole  proprietor.  The  pres- 
ent company  succeded  to  the  business 
Sept.  15,  1884.  Their  salesroom  is 
19x50  feet  in  area,  with  additional  stor- 
age room  in  the  rear,  40x50  feet  in  size. 
The  stock  will  invoice  about  S3, 500. 

Clarence  M.  Hamilton,  a  prominent 
business  man  of  Jerseyville,  was  born 
in  Franklin  county,  Vt.,  June  5,  1826. 
He  is  the  seventh  child  of  William  and 
Lydia  Hamilton.  The  death  of  Mrs. 
Hamilton,  formerly  Lydia  Trask,  oc- 
curred May  lit.  1828.  Mr.  Hamilton, 
with  his  family  of  three  sons,  immi- 
grated west,  in  the  fall  of  of  1830,  and 
settled  in  the  present  limits  of  Jersey 
county,  on  the  northeast  quarter  of  Sec. 
13,  T.  7,  R.  12,  \V.  of  the  3d  P.  M., 
where  he  improved  a  farm  and  followed 
that  business  during  the  remainder  of 
his  active  life.  He  was  an  active,  ener- 
getic man,  and  highly  esteemed  by  all 
who  were  really  acquainted  with  his 
virtues.  His  brother,  Dr.  Silas  Hamil- 
ton,was  also  one  of  the  pioneer  settlers, 
who  was  noted  for  his  philanthropy  and 
liberal  provision  in  behalf  of  the  citi- 
zens of  Otter  Creek,  now  Otterville, 
and  the  educational  facilities  he  fur- 
nished the  settlement  were  not  sur- 
passed in  the  early  settlement  of  west- 
ern towns.  William  Hamilton  died  at 
the  residence  of  Jeptha  Dixon,  in  Cal- 
houn county,  Julj  22,1849.  The  subject 


of  this  sketch  received  his  early  educa- 
tion in  Otterville,  this  county.  He  fol- 
lowed farming  in  his  early  life,  except 
one  year,  which  time  he  devoted  to  min- 
ing, in  the  lead  mines  of  Wisconsin. 
He  began  his  mercantile  career  in  the 
spring  of  1847, at  Gilead, Calhoun  county, 
111.  He  sold  out  to  his  brother,  W.  1). 
Hamilton,  in  March,  1849,  and  for  two 
years  was  engaged  as  deputy  sheriff  of 
Calhoun  county.  In  the  spring  of  1857, 
he  associated  in  the  firm  of  Child  & 
Hamilton,  at  Hardin,  Calhoun  county, in 
merchandise,  officiating  meanwhile,  as 
county  surveyor,  to  which  office  he  was 
elected;  and  also,  the  same  year,  ap- 
pointed assessor  of  Calhoun  county  by 
the  county  court,  and  performed  the 
duties  of  said  office.  He  was  the  same 
year  elected  justice  of  the  peace,  and 
filled  the  office  until  his  removal  from 
the  county.  The  firm  of  Child  &  Ham- 
ilton was  dissolved  in  the  spring  of 
1853,  and  the  following  summer  Mr.  H. 
removed  to  Jerseyville,  where  he  has 
since  resided.  He  first  engaged  in  the 
dry  goods  and  grocery  trade.  After  a 
short  time  he  became  a  member  of  the 
firm  of  Bagley,  Hurd  &  Co.,  in  which 
business  he  continued  until  Aug.,  1856, 
when  he  became  a  member  of  the  firm 
of  Johnson  &  Hamilton,  in  the  livery 
business.  He  disposed  of  his  interest 
in  the  mercantile  bouse  in  the  fall  of 
the  same  year,  and  disposed  of  his  in- 
terest in  the  livery  business  in  May, 
1857.  About  this  time  he  was  elected 
alderman,  and  also  city  clerk.  During 
the  summer  of  1857  he  settled  his 
brother's  estate  in  Calhoun  county.  In 
March,  1859,  he  was  engaged  in  the 
firm  of  Hamilton  &  Jett,  in  the  whole- 
sale and  retail  grocery  business,  which 


51  II' 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


he  continued  until  June,  1860,  when  lie 
became  sole  proprietor,  continuing1 
until  June,  1865,  when  he  accepted 
Morris  R.  Locke  as  a  partner, 
and  continued  the  business  under  the 
firm  name  of  Hamilton  &  Locke,  until 
Oct.,  1866,  when  he  bought  out  Mr. 
Locke,  continuing  the  business  alone 
until  1867.  Mr.  Hamilton  accepted 
Joseph  G.  Marston  as  a  partner,  and 
continued  in  the  firm  of  Hamilton  & 
Marston  until  Oct.,  1871,  when  he 
bought  out  the  interest  of  Mr.  Marston, 
and  associated  his  son,  Edward  A. 
Hamilton,  and  as  the  firm  of  Hamilton 
&  Son,  continued  business  until  1873, 
when  the  firm  was  changed  to  E.  A. 
Hamilton,  the  son  becoming  sole  pro- 
prietor. Thus  the  business  was  contin- 
ued until  1884,  when  it  became  the 
"Hamilton  Grocery  Company,"  being 
incorporated  under  the  State  law,  with 
capital  stock  of  $5,000,  divided  in 
shares  of  $100  each.  C.  M.  Hamilton 
is  the  president  and  treasurer,  and  his 
son,  C.  E.  Hamilton,  secretary.  In  ad- 
dition to  his  mercantile  interests  at  Jer- 
seyville,  Mr.  Hamilton  in  1861  opened 
a  store  at  Otter  Creek,  now  Otterville. 
Subsequently  he  associated  in  business 
with  himself  at  that  point  S.  R.  Rogers, 
and  under  the  firm  name  of  Hamilton  & 
Rogers  continued  in  business  thereuntil 
1875.  Mr.  Hamilton  commenced  pork 
packing  at  Jerseyville,  on  his  own  ac- 
count, in  the  fall  of  1862,  and  has,  since 
that  time,  made  quite  a  reputation  in 
that  line  of  trade.  In  addition  to  his 
election  in  1857  as  alderman  and  city 
clerk,  he  was  re-elected  to  both  posi- 
tions in  1859,  and  elected  alderman  in 
1871,  and  has  since  that  time  served  in 
the  same  capacity  one  or  two  years.  Mr. 


and  Mrs.  Hamilton  have  had  seven  chil- 
dren, four  of  whom  are  now  living — E. 
A.,  Emily  E.,  Clarence  E.,  Alta.  Poli- 
tically, he  affiliates  with  the  republi- 
can party.  He  is  a  member  of  the  I.  O. 
O.  F.,  and,  with  his  wife,  a  member  of 
the  M.  E.  church.  As  a  citizen  he  is 
benevolent  and  public-spirited,  and 
stands  among  the  best  business  men  of 
the  county. 

The  grocery  business  of  L.  D.  Cory 
was  established  in  1874  by  L.  D.  and  J. 
E.  Cory.  In  the  spring  of  1883,  J.  E. 
Cory  withdrew  from  the  firm,  and  L. 
D.  then  became  sole  proprietor. 

John  Wiley  is  a  representative  of  the 
grocery  trade.  He  carries  a  stock 
worth  about  $3,500. 

Theo.  F.  Remer  is  a  leading  repre- 
sentative of  the  drug  business  of  Jer- 
seyville. The  business  was  established 
by  B.  M.  Krumpanitzky  and  Theo.  F. 
Remer,  in  the  fall  of  1873.  The  store 
was  then  in  the  old  building  of  Wallace 
Leigh,  on  State  street.  In  Feb..  1879, 
Mr.  Krumpanitzky  retired  from  the 
firm,  and  since  that  time  the  present 
proprietor  has  continued  the  business 
alone.  He  handles  drugs,  stationery, 
papers,  etc.,  and  has  a  very  extensive 
trade,  which  has  been  steadily  built  up 
since  the  opening  of  the  business. 

Theo.  F.  Remer,  son  of  Abram  and 
Deborah  (Nutt)  Reiner,  was  born  in 
Morris  county,  N.  J.,  May  15,  1844.  In 
1856,  the  family  removed  to  Illinois, 
and  settled  in  Jerseyville.  Theo.  F. 
Remer  completed  his  education  at  the 
seminary,  of  Mrs.  L.  M.  Cutting,  being 
the  only  boy  in  the  school.  In  1861  he 
started  for  the  Pacific  slope,  and  re- 
mained there  about  two  and  a  half  years. 
He  then    returned   to   Jerseyville,  and 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


503 


engaged  in  mercantile  life,  as  clerk  in 
the  dry  goods  store  of  William  Shep- 
hard,  with  whom  he  remained  until 
1866.  He  then  hecame  clerk  for  White 
&  Van  Home,  druggists,  serving  in  that 
capacity  seven  years.  At  the  expiration 
of  that  period,  he  engaged  in  business 
for  himself — first  with  B.  M.  Krumpa- 
nit/.ky  as  partner,  but  since  1877  has 
carried  on  business  alone.  Mr.  Re- 
iner was  married  in  Sept.,  1868,  to 
Elizabeth  K.  Voorhees,  a  daughter  of 
Peter  P.  and  Maria  Voorhees,  and  a  na- 
tive of  Jersey  county.  Mr.  Reiner  casts 
his  vote  with  the  democratic  party,  but 
takes  little  interest  in  politics.  He  is  a 
member  of  the  First  Presbyterian 
church,  also  of  the  Masonic  fraternity. 
G.  R.  Smith  &  Co,  are  among  the 
drug  dealers  of  Jerseyville.  The  busi- 
ness was  established  in  1836  by  Alex. 
B.  Morean.  He  was  succeeded  by  White 
&  Ware.  For  a  few  years  the  firm  con- 
tinued thus,  when  Mr.  White  dropped 
out.  G.  W.  Ware,  who  then  became 
sole  proprietor,  was  succeeded,  in  1882, 
by  the  present  firm.  Their  building  is 
22  feet  wide,  by  6)  in  depth.  It  was 
erected  in  1865,  at  a  cost  of  $6,000.  It 
is  two  stories  in  height.  The  stuck  car- 
ried is  valued  at  $8,000. 

Greg  R.  Smith,  son  of  A.  H.  and 
Amanda  (Robinson)  Smith,  was  born  at 
Kane,  Greene  county,  111.,  July  1,  1857. 
He  was  educated  in  the  schools  of  Car- 
rollton,  and  subsequently  learned  the 
drug  business  from  his  father  and  older 
brothers.  In  1882  he  came  to  Jersey- 
ville, and  succeeded  G.  W.  Ware  in  the 
drug  business,  the  firm  now  being  G.  R. 
Smith  &  Co.  His  brother,  Edward 
Smith,  is  his  partner.  They  also  have 
a  drug  store  in  Carrollton.     Mr.  Smith 


is  a  member  of  the  society  of  Knights  of 
Pythias. 

J.  S.  Daniels  is  one  of  the  leading 
representatives  of  the  hardware  trade 
in  Jerseyville.  He  conducts  business  in 
a  strictly  first-class  manner,  deals  hon- 
orably, and  hence  has  a  large  trade.  He 
keeps  stoves,  tools,  shelf  and  heavy 
hardware,  guns,  ammunition,  etc.,  and 
carries  the  largest  line  of  steel  goods  in 
the  county. 

Eaton  &  Crawford  are  also  engaged  in 
the  hardware  trade.  The  business  was 
established  by  J.  H.  Ames,  in  1865. 
He  was  succeeded  by  A.  H.  Barnett  & 
Co.,  who,  in  April,  1885,  disposed  of 
the  business  to  the  present  proprietors. 

J.  E.  Cory  commenced  the  hardware 
business  in  Sept.,  1883. 

Oscar  Hill  handles  books,  stationery, 
newspapers  and  other  publications,  and 
fancy  goods.  The  store  was  commenced 
by  Howard  Cutting,  about  the  year 
1876.  Two  years  later  he  was  succeeded 
by  W.  S.  Bowman,  and  in  1879  the 
present  proprietor  assumed  control. 
His  stock  is  valued  at  about  $2,1X111, 
handled  in  a  salesroom  16x40  feet  in 
floor  area. 

Oscar  Hill,  son  of  Robert  L.  Hill,  was 
born  in  Carrollton,  Greene  county,  111., 
Dec.  28,  1836.  In  1838  Robert  L.  Hill 
removed  with  his  family  to  Jersey 
county,  and  settled  on  a  farm  near  Jer- 
seyville. The  same  farm  now  com- 
prises a  portion  of  the  present  city  of 
Jerseyville.  Here  Oscar  grew  to  man- 
hood, and  in  1860,  was  married  to  A. 
Lizzie  French,  daughter  of  Rev.  D.  P. 
French.  In  1862  he  removed  to  Green- 
ville, Bond  county,  111.,  where  his 
father-in-law  was  principal  of  Almira 
College.     Here  Mr.  Hill  furnished  sup- 


504 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


plies  for  the  school,  and  Mrs.  Hill 
taught  music.  In  Nov.,  1864,  Mrs. 
Hill  died,  leaving  two  children — Her- 
bert L.  and  Charles  F.  The  elder  is 
now  living  in  St.  Louis,  but  the 
younger,  died  at  the  age  of  two  years. 
After  the  death  of  his  wife  Mr.  Hill  re- 
mained in  Greenville,  only  until  the 
close  of  the  term  of  school,  then  re- 
turned to  Jerseyville,  and  resumed 
tanning  upon  the  homestead.  May  20, 
1870,  he  was  married  to  Addie  Miskell, 
daughter  of  J.  H.  Miskell.  In  1873  his 
mother  died,  and  as  the  homestead  was 
then  divided  among  the  heirs,  Mr.  Hill 
removed  to  the  village  of  Jerseyville, 
where  he  engaged  in  clerking  until  1878. 
In  that  year  he  succeeded  M.  L.  Hill  & 
Co.,  in  a  book,  stationery  and  fancy 
goods  business,  which  he  still  con- 
tinues. He  had  by  his  second  mar- 
riage four  children,  two  of  whom  are 
living — Nellie  B.  and  Minnie  C.  Mr. 
Hill  is  a  democrat  in  politics,  but  takes 
no  more  interest  than  merely  to  vote. 
His  religious  connection  has  been  with 
the  Baptist  church  since  1855. 

Max  R.  Beatty  established  a  news- 
depot  in  the  postoffice  building,  July  20, 
1882,  which  he  still  continues. 

II.  A.  Tunehorst  commenced  the 
handling  of  musical  instruments  and 
jewelry  in  1877. 

John  E.  Boynton,  the  leading  jew- 
eler of  this  section,  commenced  busi- 
ness here  in  1875.  He  carries  a  well 
selected  stock  valued  at  $5,000,  of 
jewelry,  silverware,  clocks,  etc.  His 
salesroom  is  18x50  feet  in  floor  area, 
and  is  fitted  up  in  excellent  style.  He 
does  a  large  business,  and  is  enjoying 
the  result  of  a  lifetime  of  steady  adher- 
ance  to    strict   business   rules,    straight 


dealing,  and  rare  ability  as  a  mechanic 
in  his  line. 

John  E.  Boynton,  jeweler,  is  a  son  of 
Noah  and  Lucinda  (Vinton)  Boynton, 
both  natives  of  Vermont.  They  reared 
a  family  of  nine  children — Andrew  P., 
Eben  V.,  Permelia,  Harvey  L.,  Samuel 
B.,  Louisa  S.,  William  N.,  Sophronia 
E.  and  John  E.  All  of  the  sons  learned 
the  jeweler's  trade,  and  each  enlisted  in 
the  U.  S.  service,  in  a  different  regi- 
ment, some  one  of  them  participating 
in  every  battle  of  the  civil  war.  John 
E.  Boynton  was  born  in  Stephenson 
county.  111.,  May  10,  1848.  He  com- 
menced to  learn  his  trade  at  the  age  of 
12  years,  following  the  same  until  1862, 
when  he  enlisted  in  Co.  H,  31st  Wis. 
Inf.,  and  served  until  the  close  of  the 
war.  He  took  part  in  all  of  the  engage- 
ments of  his  company.  He  returned 
from  the  service  to  Galena,  111.,  and 
finished  learning  his  trade  with  his 
brother  Andrew.  In  1869  he  went  to  « 
Manchester,  la.,  and  there  worked  with 
his  brother  William  until  1872.  He 
then  went  to  Lincoln,  Neb.  In  1S74, 
when  the  grasshoppers  appeared  in  that 
state,  he  removed  to  Alton,  111.,  from 
whence  he  came  to  Jerseyville  at  the 
time  before  stated.  He  has  twice  lost  a 
portion  of  his  stock  by  fire,  and  had  no 
insurance.  He  is  now  located  in  the  old 
Wyckoff  store,  where  he  carries  the 
largest  stock  of  jewelry  in  Jersey  county. 
Mr.  Boynton  was  married  in  1876  to 
Maria  L.  Beaty,  daughter  of  John 
Beaty.  They  have  two  children — Wil- 
liam P.  and  John  E.  He  is  a  republican 
politically,  and  a  member  of  the  Ma- 
sonic fraternity. 

R.  E.  Mayer  carries  a  stock  of  jewelry 
in  the    store    room   with    Leon    Engel. 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


;,i  i: 


He  commenced  the  business  in  Ma}', 
1883,  removing  to  his  present  location 
in  Nov.,  1884. 

Charles  C.  Borger  also  carries  on  the 
jewelry  business,  which  he  established 
in  Sept.,  1884. 

S.  M.  Titus  &  Co.,  dealers  in  general 
merchandise,  have  been  carrying  on 
this  business  since  Nov.  1882,  the  date 
of  its  establishment. 

The  livery  stable  of  E.  A.  R.  Myers, 
Jr.,  originated  with  Charles  H.  Bow- 
man, who  built  the  present  structure. 
On  the  29th  of  July,  1880,  it  became  the 
property  of  Myers  &  Brown,  and  sub- 
sequently, Mr.  Myers  purchased  the  in- 
terest of  his  partner  and  is  the  sole 
proprietor.  The  building,  which  is  a 
line  brick  one,  is  44x100  feet  in  ground 
area,  two  stories  high.  Fifteen  head  of 
horses  and  buggies,  carriages,  etc.,  to 
correspond  are  used  in  the  business. 

E.  A.  R.  Myers,  Jr.,  son  of  E.  A.  R. 
and  Caroline  (Mailing  nee  Vance)  Myers, 
was  born  in  Scott  county,  Va.,  May  21, 
1850.  When  he  was  very  young  his 
parents  moved  to  St.  Louis  county,  Mo., 
and  15  years  later,  to  Franklin  county, 
of  the  same  state,  where  they  engaged 
in  farming.  The  subject  of  this  sketch 
in  1866,  entered  a  grocery  store  as  clerk, 
and  during  the  four  years  following  was 
engaged  in  the  same  capacity  in  a  drug, 
and  also  a  dry  goods  store.  In  1870  he 
returned  to  Franklin  county,  and  there 
farmed  until  1878.  At  that  date  he  came 
to  Jerseyville,  and  liere  for  two  years 
followed  farming.  He  then  engaged  in 
the  livery  business  which  he  still  con- 
tinues. He  was  married  in  Feb.,  1878, 
to  Celestia  P.  Brown,  a  native  of  Frank- 
lin county,  Mo.  They  have  had  one 
child,   now  deceased.     Mr.  Myers   is   a 


member  of  the  Knights  of  Pythias  so- 
ciety. 

M.  Cockrell  has  a  well  equipped 
livery  barn  on  State  street.  He  suc- 
ceeded Pat  Herrington.  When  he  took 
charge  of  the  stable,  in  1883,  it  was 
pretty  well  run  down.  At  that  time  the 
equipment  consisted  of  but  five  horses 
and  four  buggies.  Now,  however,  there 
are  twelve  horses,  and  the  barn  is  well 
supplied  with  buggies,  barouches,  etc., 
suitable  for  a  first-class  livery  business. 
The  stable  was  established  by  Henry 
Johnson,  about  1850. 

Moses  Cockrell,  son  of  Musis  and 
Caty  Ann  (Utt)  Cockrell,  was  born  in 
Mississippi  township,  Dec.  31,  1854. 
His  early  life  was  spent  on  his  father's 
farm.  At  the  age  of  17,  he  entered  the 
employ  of  his  brother  Elias,  who  was 
then  in  the  grain  business  in  Jerseyville. 
After  five  years  work  by  the  month,  he 
became  a  partner  in  the  lumber  busi- 
ness, the  firm  name  being  known  as  E. 
Cockrell  &  Bro.  This  partnership 
lasted  four  years.  In  1880  he  estab- 
lished a  coal  and  lumber  yard,  at  Kane, 
and  succeeded  Chas.  Smalley  in  the 
coal  business  in  Jerseyville.  In  1882  he 
withdrew  from  the  firm  of  E.  Cockrell 
&  Bro.,  and  in  1884,  sold  his  lumber  and 
coal  yard  at  Kane,  to  Jesse  Cockrell. 
He  is  now  in  the  livery,  coal,  and  wire 
fence  business  in  Jerseyville,  having 
procured  a  patent  on  a  machine  for 
making  wire  fence.  He  is  a  live  busi- 
ness man,  and  well  known  in  the  busi- 
ness community  of  Jersey  and  Greene 
counties. 

The  confectionery  •  and  bakery  of 
Wallace  Leigh  &  Son  was  established  by 
the  first  named  in  1852,  who  conducted 
the  same  on  State  street,  until  the  erec- 


506 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


linn  of  the  new  building,  in  1874,  which 
they  now  occupy.  In  1881,  the  present 
firm  was  formed,  Austin  going  into  part- 
nership with  his  father. 

Philip  Block  is  the  lending  merchant 
tailor  of  this  city,  in  fact,  is  the  only 
first-class  representative  of  that  line  of 
burness,  who  devotes  his  whole  at- 
tention to  it. 

Philip  Block,  merchant  tailor  at  Jer- 
seyville,  established  his  present  busi- 
ness in  1883,  since  which  he  has  been  a 
resident  of  this  city.  He  was  born  in 
Austria,  Jan.  30,  1847.  He  learned  the 
tailor's  trade  in  his  native  country,  and 
there  followed  the  same,  until  1866. 
In  the  fall  of  that  year  he  immigrated  to 
America,  landing  in  New  York  in 
October.  He  went  at  once  to  St.  Louis, 
Mo.,  where  he  followed  his  trade  about 
18  months,  then  went  to  Centralia,  111., 
and  at  first,  worked  for  other  parties. 
but  later,  formed  a  partnership  with 
another  gentleman,  and  engaged  in 
merchant  tailoring,  continuing  in  busi- 
ness for  a  period  of  three  years.  At  the 
expiration  of  that  time,  he  came  to 
Jerseyville,  where  he  is  now  the  oldest, 
and  leading  merchant  tailor.  Mr. 
Block  was  married  in  St.  Louis,  in  1868, 
to  Elizabeth  Klein,  also  a  native  of 
Austria,  who  came  to  the  United  States 
in  the  spring  of  1866.  They  are  the 
parents  of  seven  children  —  Morris, 
Louis.  Alexander,  Joseph,  Edna  Rose, 
Philip  R.  and  Nona  E. 

Mrs.  C.  A.  Voorhees  conducts  a 
millinery  and  fancy  goods  store.  Mrs. 
E.  A.  Terry  commenced  the  business  in 
March,  1S72,  and  was  succeeded  bv  Mrs. 
<'.  II.  Durkee.  The  latter  gave  place  to 
Mrs.  Voorhees,  Jan.  1,  1885. 

Mrs.    A.    B.     Allen,    milliner,    com- 


menced business  in  1875.  In  March, 
1885,  she  removed  to  her  present  quar- 
ters. 

F.  W.  Roerig  commenced  the  manu- 
facture of  harness  in  Jerseyville,  in 
March,  1883,  purchasing  the  business  of 
William  Stoop.  The  latter  was  succes- 
sor to  Antoine  Recappe,  who  established 
the  business,  in  1859. 

Antoine  Recappe  is  engaged  in  the 
sale  of  furniture  and  harness.  He  suc- 
ceeded Carr  &  Tindall,  who  established 
the  business. 

William  Pilgar  established  himself  in 
the  harness  business  here,  in  1864,  and 
is  still  engaged  in  trade. 

The  Jerseyville  Marble  Works  was 
established  in  1869,  by  Haughtlin  Bros. 
It  is  located  on  the  corner  of  Jefferson 
and  Arch  streets. 

Among  the  professional  men  of  Jer- 
seyville are  the  two  gentlemen  who 
hangout  their  "shingles"  as  dentists 
— George  S.  Miles  and  Edward  Flanni- 
gan.  Both  are  well  up,  professionally, 
and  doing  good  business,  but  Mr.  Miles 
being  much  the  longer  established  has 
the  larger  following. 

George  S.  Miles.  D.D.  S.,  was  born 
in  Westminster,  Mass.,  Oct.  13,  1832, 
being  the  eldest  of  the  three  children  of 
George  and  Lucinda  Miles,  who  were 
lineal  descendants  of  the  Puritans. 
George  Miles  was,  by  occupation,  a  far- 
mer. He  died  June  10,  1872.  His 
widow  died  in  January,  1878.  The 
subject  of  this  sketch  received  his  liter- 
ary education  at  Westminster  Academy, 
and  was"also  a  student  at  Hopkins  Acad- 
emy, at  Hadley,  Mass..  At  the  age  of 
21  he  commenced  the  study  of  dentistry 
with  Dr.  T.  S.  Blood,  of  Fitchburg, 
Mass.,    graduating    in    his     profession 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


507 


about  two  years  later.  He  practiced  a 
short  time  in  Salem  Mass.  In  August, 
1855,  he  came  to  Jersey  county,  111., 
and,  immediately  after,  settled  in  Jer- 
seyville,  where  he  has  since  resided, 
engaged  in  the  practice  of  his  profes- 
sion. Dr.  Miles  was  married  Aug.  2, 
1859,  to  Mattie  De  Wolf  Warren,  a 
daughter  of  Hon.  George  E.  and  Hattie 
Warren.  They  have  had  six  children, 
one  of  whom  is  deceased.  Those  living 
are — Herbert  W.,  Clarence  J.,  Chas.  V., 
Clara  C  .,  and  Harold  B.  Dr.  Miles  was 
president  of  the  State  Dental  Society 
for  the  years  1874-6.  He  was  one  of 
the  original  stockholders  and  directors 
of  the  First  National  Bank  of  Jersey- 
ville,  and  was  connected  with  the  same 
about  three  years.  He  then  invested 
his  money  in  real  estate  in  the  West  and 
in  Jersey  county,  and  now  owns  160 
acres  of  land  within  a  mile  of  the  city 
of  Jerseyville.  Dr.  Miles  has  been  at- 
tended with  success  in  the  practice  of 
his  profession  and  stands  among  the 
leading  dentists  of  the  state.  In  1867 
the  degree  of  D.  D.  S.,  was  conferred 
upon  him  by  the  Missouri  Dental  Col- 
lege. He  is  one  of  the  recognized  lead- 
ers of  the  republican  party  in  Jersey 
county,  and  in  the  campaigns  of  1872 
and  1876  was  chairman  of  the  county 
central  committee.  He  is  a  member  of 
the  Masonic  and  Odd  Fellows  fraterni- 
ties, and  at  the  present  time  is  the  rep- 
resentative of  Jerseyville  lodge,  No.  53, 
I.  0.  0.  F.,  to  the  grand  lodge.  Dr. 
Miles'  son,  Clarence,  was  married  in 
June,  1884,  to  Flora  D.  Cory,  daughter 
of  Levi  D.  Cory,  of  this  city,  and  is 
now  living  at  Salmon  City,  Kan.,  where 
he  is  engaged  as  book-keeper  in  the 
Farmer's  Bank. 


BANKING. 

The  first  bank  in  Jerseyville  was  es- 
tablished by  A.  M.  Blackburn,  in  1854. 
For  a  time  he  conducted  the  business 
alone,  but  in  1859  associated  with  him 
in  the  bank,  William  Shephard,  Samuel 
L.  Magill,  and  Alex.  B.  Morean.  The 
firm  name  then  became  A.  M.  Blackburn 
&  Co.  It  was  afterward  organized  under 
the  state  law  as  the  Jersey  County  Bank. 
A.  M.  Blackburn  being  president,  and 
George  R.  Swallow,  cashier.  This  bank 
invested  largely  in  Tennessee  state 
bonds,  and,  on  the  breaking  out  of  the 
war,  the  bonds  depreciated  to  such  an 
extent  that  it  was  compelled  to  sus- 
pend. The  bank  issued  circulating 
notes.  All  debts  were  paid  at  the  time 
of  closing  business. 

In  1859,  Dr.  Edward  A.  D'Arcy  and 
P.  D.  Cheney  established  a  bank,  and 
commenced  business  under  the  firm 
name  of  D'Arcy  &  Cheney.  Until  the 
liquidation  of  the  Jersey  County  Bank, 
there  were  two  such  institutions  in  Jer- 
seyville, but  during  the  war  D'Arcy  & 
Cheney  had  the  field  to  themselves. 
During  those  troublous  times  they  were 
often  in  fear  of  raids  by  "bushwhack- 
ers," and  the  bank  building  was  kept 
well  supplied  with  guns  and  ammuni- 
tion, making  a  small  arsenal.  No  such 
attack  occurred,  however. 

In  1866  Hugh  N.  Cross  and  Col. 
George  R.  Swallow  succeeded  D'Arcy  & 
Cheney.  They  were  succeeded,  in  1S7'_', 
by  H.  N.  Cross.  A.  W .  Cross,  and  W. 
E.  Carlin,  and  under  the  firm  name  of 
Cross,  Carlin  &  Co.,  conducted  the 
business  until  1876,  when  the  First  Na- 
tional Bank  was  established.  The  fol- 
lowing were  the  principal  stockholders, 
and  also  the  original  board  of  directors. 


508 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


A.  W.  Cross,  H.  N.  Cross,  W.  E.  Carlin, 
John  C.  Barr,  James  A.  Locke,  George 
S.  Miles,  and  John  N.  English.  Sr.  H. 
N.  Cross  was  chosen  president,  and 
W.  E.  Carlin  was  elected  cashier. 
A.  W.  Cross,  although  the  largest  stock- 
holder, accepted  the  position  of  assist- 
ant cashier.  H.  N.  Cross  served  as 
president  until  his  death, which  occurred 
Nov.  21,  18S3,  when  he  was  succeeded 
hy  his  son,  A.  W.  Cross,  who  still 
maintains  that  responsible  position 
with  ability  and  satisfaction  to  the  di- 
rectors, and  with  credit  to  himself.  Of 
the  original  directors,  the  positions  of 
H.N.  Cross,  John  C.  Barr  and  James 
A.  Lock  were  vacated  by  death,  and  A. 
W .  Cross  is  the  only  one  of  the  original 
number,  at  present  retainingthe  position 
of  director.  There  are  now  13  stock- 
holders, of  whom  A.  W.  Cross  retains  a 
majority  of  stock.  The  present  officers 
of  the  bank  are  as  follows:  A.W.  Cross, 
president;  Edward  Cross,  cashier;  A. 
W.  Cross,  Edward  Cross,  John  I.White, 
W .  H.  Fulkerson,  Morris  R.  Locke,  di- 
rectors. Jan.  8,  1884,  the  articles  of  the 
association  were  changed,  reducing  the 
number  of  directors  from  seven  to  five. 
During  the  same  year  a  new  fire-proof 
vault  was  built,  which  contains  50 
special  private  deposit  boxes,  each  pro- 
vided with  keys,  for  individuals  who 
lease  them.  The  vault  is  also  supplied 
with  one  of  Diebold's  steel,  burglar- 
proof  safes,  secured  by  a  Yale  time- 
lock.  On  organization,  this  bank  had 
a  paid-up  capital  of  $50,000,  with 
authority  for  an  increase  to  $150,000; 
its  surplus  is  now  $11,000,  and  undivided 
profits  of  $8,707.  It  is  a  good  bank,  a 
credit  to  Jersey  county,  and  to  its  officers 
and  directors. 


Hugh  N.  Cross  was  born  Dec.  9,  1817, 
in  Somerset  county,  N.  J.  His  father, 
John  L.,  was  a  native  of  the  same 
county  and  state,  and  his  ancestors  had 
also  resided  there  for  many  years.  J. 
L.  Cross  was  married  twice;  his  first 
wife  was  Mary  Kirkpatrick;  by  whom 
he  had  four  children.  After  her  death 
he  was  again  married  to  Mary  Nesbitt, 
by  whom  he  had  one  child — Hugh  N. 
Cross.  The  ancestors  of  Mr.  Cross  and 
wife  were  Scotch-Irish.  His  occupa- 
tion was  that  of  a  farmer.  In  1835  he 
removed  with  his  family  to  Jersey 
county,  111.,  locating  on  a  farm  south  of 
the  present  thriving  town  of  Jersey- 
ville,  Mr.  Cross  being  over  70  years  of 
age  at  the  time  of  locating  here.  In 
1850,  he  died  at  his  residence,  at  the 
advanced  age  of  82  years,  the  death 
of  Mrs.  Cross  occurring  some  two  years 
previous.  Hugh  N.  Cross  was  educated 
in  the  common  schools  of  his  native 
state,  attaining  a  good  business  educa- 
tion for  those  times.  He  came  with  his 
parents  to  this  count}'  in  1835,  and  re- 
mained with  them  upon  the  farm  until 
their  death.  When  about  25  years  of 
age,  he  was  united  in  marriage  to  An- 
toinette YanHorne,  daughter  of  Col. 
Elijah  and  Mary  Van  Home,  who  were 
formerly  from  New  York,  though  they 
were  early  settlers  in  this  county,  hav- 
ing located  here  in  1833.  Mrs.  Cross 
was  born  in  Schoharie  county,  N.  Y. 
Mr.  Cross  and  wife  were  the  parents  of 
five  children,  three  sons  and  two  daugh- 
ters. Our  daughter,  Helen,  died 
under  10  years  of  age;  Mary  N.,  the 
deceased  wife  of  W.  E.  Carlin;  An- 
drew Wilson,  Edward,  and  Leslie. 
When  Mr.  Cross  commenced  life  he 
was   comparatively   poor,  but   being   a 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


509 


man  of  energy  and  good  judgment  in 
business  matters,  lie  acquired  the  pos- 
session of  a  handsome  competence,  the 
result  of  a  life  of  frugality  and  perse- 
verance. Until  1866,  agricultural  pur- 
suits and  stock-growing  engrossed  m  jst 
of  his  time  and  attention,  and  during 
that  year  he  formed  a  partnership  with 
GeoTge  R.  Swallow,  and  together  they 
opened  quite  an  extensive  banking 
house  in  Jerseyville,  in  which  business 
he  was  constantly  engaged  until  his 
death,  Nov.  21,  1883,  being  president  of 
the  First  National  Bank  at  that  time,  a 
position  he  had  held  since  its  organi- 
zation. He  was  among  the  earlier  set- 
tlers of  the  county,  and  was  always  one 
of  its  most  liberal,  public  spirited  and 
enterprising  citizens,  being  prominently 
connected  with,  and  rendering  liberal 
support  to,  many  of  the  most  important 
improvements  in  the  community.  In 
politics  Mr.  Cross  was  always  a  strong 
adherent  to  the  principles  of  the  demo- 
cratic party,  and  religiously,  he  and  his 
family  were  always  prominent  attend- 
ants, and  liberal  supporters  of  the 
Presbyterian  church.  His  wife  is  still 
living  and  resides  upon  the  old  home- 
stead. 

Andrew  Wilson  Cross,  son  of  Hugh  N. 
and  Antoinette  (Van  Home)  Cross,  was 
born  May  25,  1845,  five  miles  southeast 
of  the  then  village  of  Jerseyville,  111. 
At  this  place  he  resided  with  his  par- 
ents until  Feb.  21,  1855,  when  they  re- 
moved to  the  old  residence,  three  miles 
north  of  said  village,  or  town.  Until  20 
years  of  age,  his  life  was  spent  upon  a 
farm,  where  he  was  variously  employed 
in  duties  incident  to  agricultural  pur- 
suits. He  obtained  his  education  in  the 
schools  of  Jerseyville,   two  winters  at 


Jacksonville,  and  a  five-months'  com- 
mercial course  at  Eastman's  college,  in 
Poughkeepsie,  N.  Y.  In  1866  he  entered 
Cross  &  Swallow's  bank  as  a  clerk,  con- 
tinuing until  1870,  when,  in  company 
with  his  father,  and  Major  W.  E.  Car- 
lin,  he  established  the  first  bank  at 
Mt.  Vernon,  111.  In  1872  he  sold  his 
interest  in  the  bank  at  Mt.  Vernon,  and 
returned  to  Jerseyville,  when  the  firm  of 
Cross  &  Swallow  was  succeeded  by  Cross, 
Carlin  &  Co.,  of  which  firm  he  was  a 
member,  Col.  Swallow,  now  treasurer 
of  the  state  of  Colorado,  then  emigrat- 
ing to  that  state.  It  is  to  be  said  of 
Cross  &  Swallow  that  they  never  had  a 
written  article  of  co-partnership,  did 
not  publish  any  notice  of  dissolution, 
and  that  there  was  never  a  dissenting 
word  between  them.  In  HS76  he  was 
elected  assistant  cashier  of  the  First 
National  bank  of  this  city,  which  insti- 
tution he  assisted  in  organizing.  In 
1880  he  was  elected  cashier,  and  when 
his  father  died,  in  1883,  he  was  unani- 
mously called  by  the  board  of  directors 
to  accept  the  presidency,  which  position 
he  still  retains.  He  was  one  of  the 
principals  in  the  building  of  the  Jersey- 
ville elevator,  and  the  St.  Louis,  Jer- 
seyville &  Springfield  railroad,  and  as 
its  treasurer,  furnished  credit  and 
money  in  large  amounts  until  the  road 
was  completed,  to  be  turned  over  to  the 
lessees.  His  father's  credit  and  excel- 
lent reputation  put  him  in  a  position  to 
make  money,  and  he  availed  himself  of 
the  opportunity.  He  has  made  his  own 
money,  so  that  he  is  one  of  the  solid 
men  of  the  city,  well  worthy  for  the 
position  of  bank  president.  In  1872  be 
was  married  to  Annie  Barr,  daughter  of 
John   C.  and    Mary  W.  Barr,   residents 


510 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


of  Jersey  ville  since  1840.  She  is  a  grad- 
uate of  the  renowned  Montieello  Semi- 
nary, and  holds  close  allegiance  to  her 
many  classmates.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Cross 
have  one  child — Ida.  They  are  mem- 
bers of  the  Presbyterian  society.  He  is 
a  member  of  the  board  of  trustees,  and 
was  one  of  the  building  committee  of 
the  present  commodious  church  of  that 
organization,  and  attests,  with  that  of 
others,  his  love  of  the  cause,  public 
spirit  and  good  judgment. 

The  banking  house  of  Bowman  & 
Ware,  was  established  by  William  Shep- 
hard  &  Co.,  in  Feb.,  18(56.  In  Dec, 
1877,  this  firm  was  succeeded  by  that  of 
William  Shephard  &  Son,  and  in  1875, 
by  the  present  firm.  They  do  a  general 
banking  business,  attend  to  collections, 
etc. 

James  R.  Colean,  teller  in  the  bank 
of  Bowman  &  Ware,  in  this  city,  is  a 
son  of  Nelson  and  Sarah  J.  (Waddle) 
Cohan,  natives  of  Illinois.  He  was 
born  in  Jersey  county,  March  13,  1857. 
He  received  a  good  education,  attending 
the  district  schools  of  Jersey  county, 
and  in  1871  and  1872,  Browder's  Insti 
tute,  at  Olmstead,  Ky.,  and  two  years 
at  Blackburn  University,  at  Carlinville. 
After  completing  his  education  he  re- 
turned to  Jersey  ville,  and,  on  June  1, 
1875,  entered  the  employ  of  Bowman  & 
Ware,  with  whom  he  has  since  re- 
mained. In  the  spring  of  1879  he  was 
appointed  by  J.  I.  McGready,  (who  was 
then  mayor  of  Jerseyville,)  city  clerk 
and  treasurer,  which  office  he  held  two 
years,  being,  at  the  time  of  his  appoint- 
ment, only  22  years  of  age.  Mr.  Cohan 
is  a  young  man  of  good  ability  and  is 
highly  popular  with  the  best  citizens  of 
Jersey  county.     He  was  married    Dec. 


11,  1883,  to   Tilla,  daughter  of  Samuel 
and  Mary  Bothwell,  of  Jerseyville. 

The  banking  house  of  M.  E.  Bagley 
was  organized  Sept.  6,  1881,  by  W.  E. 
Carlin  and  M.  E.  Bagley.  The  business 
was  conducted  under  the  firm  name  of 
Carlin  &  Bagley  until  March  1,  1885, 
when  M.  E.  Bagley  became  sole  pro- 
prietor and  manager  of  the  business. 

The  banking  house  of  J.  A.  Shephard 
&  Co.  was  established  the  1st  of  Nov., 
1883,  by  the  present  proprietors.  The 
firm  consists  of  John  A.,  A.  M.,  and 
H.  A.  Shephard.  This  is  a  private 
bank,  and  one  of  the  best  of  its  kind  in 
this  locality,  if  not  in  this  part  of  the 
state.  A  general  banking  business  is 
transacted,  collections  made,  loans  ne- 
gotiated, etc.  The  bank  is  also  the  office 
of  the  county  treasurer,  the  senior  Mr. 
Shephard  being  the  present  treasurer  of 
the  county. 

Hon.  William  Shephard  is  a  native  of 
Yorkshire,  England,  and  was  born  in 
the  town  of  Markington,  near  Ripon, 
August  10,  1816  At  the  age  of  16,  he 
immigrated  to  this  country  with  his 
father,  William  Shephard,  landing  at 
New  York  in  June,  1832,  and  settling  at 
Trenton.  N.J.  He  was  a  shoemaker  by 
trade,  at  which  occupation  he  engaged  for 
a  short  time,  but  soon  turned  his  at- 
tention to  canal  and  railroad  enterprises. 
He  began  this  branch  of  industry  by 
working  as  a  day  laborer  on  the  Raritan 
canal,  in  New  Jersey.  He  subsequently 
became  a  contractor  on  a  limited  scale, 
and  removed  to  Lancaster  county,  Penn., 
where  he  remained  about  three  years, 
and  built  the  tunnel  on  the  Harrisburg 
and  Lancaster  road.  In  the  spring  of 
1838,  he  moved  west,  and  for  a  short 
time  was  located  in  St.  Louis,  where  he 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


Till 


clerked  in  a  livery  stable.  In  autumn 
of  the  same  year,  he  moved  to  Coles 
county,  111.,  where,  soon  after,  he  be- 
came a  contractor  under  the  state 
internal  improvement  system,  on  the 
Central  Branch  R.  R.,  now  a  part  of  the 
Indianapolis  R.  R.  His  partners  in 
this  enterprise  were  Richard  Johnson 
and  David  Dunsdon,  both  Englishmen, 
and  old  settlers  of  Jersey  county.  After 
the  completion  of  his  contract,  Mr. 
Shephard  became  a  citizen  of  Jersey 
county.  His  next  contract  was  the  ex- 
cavation of  the  bluff  at  Grafton,  pre- 
paratory to  the  making  of  a  county 
road.  He  subsequently  carried  on  bus- 
iness as  a  shoemaker,  at  Jerseyville. 
In  March  1840,  he  was  married  to  Ann 
Maria  Gross,  of  Dauphin  county,  Penn. 
She  was  the  daughter  of  Adam  and 
Elizabeth  Gross.  They  have  had  nine 
children,  seven  of  whom  are  living— two 
boys  and  five  girls.  The  oldest  son, 
Wm.  V.,  died  Feb.  15,  1875,  in  the 
31st  year  of  his  age.  The  third  son, 
Francis  B.,  died  in  St.  Louis  while  at- 
tending law  school,  April  28,  1876,  in 
the  24th  year  of  his  age.  He  was  a 
graduate  of  the  Notre  Dame  University, 
Ind.,  and  also  of  the  Polytechnic  Insti- 
tute, Troy,  N.  Y.,  and  was  a  young  man 
of  great  promise.  In  1847  Mr.  .Shep- 
hard engaged  in  merchandising  in  Graf- 
ton, in  which  business  he  continued 
until  1852,  when  he  obtained  a  contract 
in  connection  with  the  building  of  the 
Missouri  Pacific  railroad.  He  was  an 
original  incorporator,  and  for  many 
years  president  of  the  Jacksonville,  St. 
Louis  it  Chicago  railroad,  and  built  the 
Louisiana  branch  of  that  road  a  few 
years  since,  and  also  an  extension  of 
that  road  from   D wight  to  Streator.     in 


1866  he  was  elected  state  senator  from 
the  district  composed  of  the  counties  of 
Jersey,  Greene,  Calhoun,  Scott  and 
Pike,  by  the  democratic  party,  and  was 
re-elected  in  1870,  but  resigned  in  1871. 
In  1866  he  established  a  private  bank- 
ing house  in  Jerseyville,  which  he  con- 
ducted nine  years  with  great  success, 
and  which  he  sold  out  in  June,  1875. 
In  1871  he  was  engaged  largely  in  build- 
ing railroads  in  Texas,  in  company 
with  Col.  J.  A.  Henry,  of  Joliet,  and 
J.  J.  Mitchell,  of  St.  Louis,  where  they 
built  .'500  miles  of  the  Houston  &  Great 
Northern  railroad.  He  was  a  gentle- 
man of  rare  mental  endowments,  and 
of  mature  judgment,  entirely  self-made 
and  eminently  successful  as  a  business 
man.  He  had,  moreover,  the  respect, 
esteem  and  confidence  of  all  who 
knew  him,  and  especially  of  the 
citizens  of  Jerseyville,  where  he  resided 
for  36  years.  He  died  at  his  home  in 
the  midst  of  his  family,  Aug.  12,  1875. 
He  was  a  devout  member  of  the  Roman 
Catholic  faith,  and  has  ever  been  a  lib- 
eral supporter  of  the  institutions  of  that 
church.  He  amassed  a  great  fortune  of 
over  $300,000.  Few  men  have  had  a 
more  respectable  and  honorable  career. 
His  surviving  sons  are — John  A.,  a 
banker;  and  Hairy  A.,  also  banker.  The 
daughters  are  all  living,  and  Mrs. 
Shephard  still  survives.  Mr.  Shephard 
was  a  man  of  finer  financial  capacity 
than  was  ever  known  in  this  part  of  the 
state. 

John  Adam  Shephard,  treasurer  of  the 
county  of  Jersey,  is  a  son  of  William 
and  Ann  Maria,  (Gross)  Shephard,  and 
was  born  in  Jerseyville,  March  21,  1847. 
He  was  educated  in  a  Catholic  school 
in  St.  Louis,  including  the  classics,  and 


512 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


in  his  younger  years  was  engaged  in  a 
store  in  Jerseyville.  From  1860  to  1867, 
he  was  a  book-keeper  for  his  father. 
From  1872  to  1875,  he  was  in  the  bank- 
ing business  with  his  father,  and  was  in 
the  law  and  real  estate  business  with 
A.  A.  Goodrich  for  three  or  four  years. 
In  the  autumn  of  1879,  lie  was  elected 
county  treasurer  to  fill  the  unexpired 
term  of  Thomas  O'Donnell.  Mr.  Shep- 
hard  was  re-elected  in  1882,  and  is  mak- 
ing a  very  acceptable  and  popular 
county  official.  He  is  a  democrat  in 
politics,  as  was  his  father  before  him, 
and  it  is  but  justice  to  say  that  all 
parties  in  Jersey  county  have  un- 
bounded confidence  in  his  integrity. 
The  funds  of  the  county  could  not  be  in 
safer  hands.  Mr.  Shephard  is  quite 
public  spirited,  and  has  been  for  a  num- 
ber of  years  the  treasurer  of  the  Jersey 
county  fair,  a  truly  prosperous  organi- 
zation. He  is  present  alderman  of  the 
fourth  ward,  and  has  held  that  office  a 
number  of  years.  Jan.  16,  1878,  he 
married  Hattie  Ely,  daughter  of  George 
I.  Ely,  of  Jerseyville,  and  this  union 
has  been  blessed  with  two  children,  both 
daughters. 

Henry  A.  Shephard,  youngest  son  of 
William  and  Ann  M.  (Gross)  Shephard, 
was  horn  in  Jerseyville,  May  17,  1858. 
He  was  educated  at  Notre  Dame,  Ind., 
and  the  high  school  of  Jerseyville,  sub- 
sequently taking  a  commercial  course  at 
St.  Louis.  In  1881  he  entered  the  em- 
ploy of  Bowman  &  Ware,  bankers,  as 
clerk,  serving  them  nine  months.  He 
then  assisted  his  brother,  John  A.  Shep- 
hard,in  the  office  of  county  treasurer.  In 
Nov.,  1883,  he  engaged  with  his  brother 
in  banking,  the  firm  being  J.  A.  Shep- 
hard &  Co.,   which   he^still   continues. 


June  10,  1885,  Mr.  Shephard  was  mar- 
ried to  Tillie  Rivier  (Allen).  He  is  a 
democrat  politically,  as  was  his  father 
before  him.  His  religious  connection  is 
with  the  Roman  Catholic  church. 

A.  W.  Cadman  was  the  first  photog- 
rapher in  Jerseyville.  He  located  here 
about  the  year  1855,  and  remained  some 
two  years. 

May  &  Wood  came  after  Cadman. 
They  remained  in  the  photograph  busi- 
ness here  about  two  years. 

Since  then,  there  have  been,  in  this 
line,  the  following:  James  Halsted, 
Airs.  Rinaker,  De  Lee,  who  was  the 
first  to  make  card  photos,  J.  C.  Strong, 
and  R.  C.  Gledhill. 

The  only  photograph  gallery  in  tba 
city,  is  conducted  by  R.  C.  Gledhill. 
He  established  the  business  in  1866, 
and  has  continued  it  ever  since.  His 
gallery  is  located  over  the  store  of  Trepp 
it  Sehmieder. 

Robert  C.  Gledhill  was  born  in  the 
city  of  Philadelphia,  April  1,  1839.  At 
the  age  of  four  months,  his  parents, 
Joseph  and  Emeline  (Christy)  Gledhill, 
took  up  the  march  to  the  setting  sun, 
and  settled  in  Jacksonville,  111.  His 
father  here  embarked  in  merchandising, 
but  afterwards  relinquished  it  for  agri- 
eulture.  In  1849, Jos.  Gledhill  died, leav- 
ing seven  children,  of  whom  the  subject 
of  this  sketch  was  the  third.  After  re- 
ceiving as  good  an  education  as  was 
obtainable  in  the  common  schools  of 
those  early  days,  he  chose  the  profession 
of  photography  as  his  avocation  in  life. 
The  first  call  for  troops  in  1861,  by  the 
lamented  Lincoln,  met  with  a  ready 
response  from  him.  and  at  the  age  of  21 
years,  he  enlisted  in  Co.  A,  10th  111. 
Inf.,    under    Col.    Jas.    D.    Morgan,  of 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


513 


Quincy.  He  served  three  years  and  re- 
ceived merited  promotions  in  the  ser- 
vice. At  the  close  of  the  war,  he  re- 
sumed Ins  profession,  removing  to  Jer- 
seyville, in  1866.  He  was  married  Feb. 
18,  1868,  to  Mrs.  Cora  Strong,  nee 
Dutcher,  who  was  the  mother  of  one 
son — Charles  H.  Strong,  who  is  now  20 
years  of  age,  a  graduate  of  the  Jersey- 
ville  High  School,  and  the  Jones'  Com- 
mercial College,  St.  Louis.  By  their 
union  there  were  two  sons — Harry  R. 
and  Herbert,  the  former  of  whom  is 
living,  ami  who  is  16  years  of  age.  Her- 
bert died  at  the  age  of  three  and  a  half 
years.  Mr.  Gledhill  has  been  eminently 
successful  in  his  business  aspirations, 
has  acquired  the  confidence  of  the  com- 
munity, and  is  a  prominent  member  of 
the  republican  party  in  his  county,  He 
is  a  member  of  the  First  Baptist  church, 
at  Jerseyville,  and  also  a  member  of 
the  I.  O.O.  F. 

HOTELS. 

The  building  which  yet  retains  the 
name  of  National  Hotel,  though  it  has 
ceased  to  be  one  except  that  rooms  are 
let  therein,  is  the  oldest  hotel  building, 
now  standing,  in  Jerseyville.  Many 
happenings  of  interest  in  the  early  days 
of  the  city,  had  their  scene  within  its 
wulls,  and  more  than  one  political 
measure  had  its  origin  in  schemes  con- 
cocted in  its  chambers.  Leading  politi- 
cians, lawyers,  churchmen,  aud  other 
notables,  made  this  house  their  stopping 
place  when  business  called  them 
hither,  for  the  National  was  known  as 
one  of  the  most  pleasant  of  ho?telries 
in  the  days  agone. 

Before  its  erection,  the  need  of  ade- 
quate accommodations  for  the  traveling 
public  had  long  been  felt.     The  matter 


was  thoroughly  discussed,  and  finally  a 
stock  company  was  organized  with 
shares  of  $100  each,  for  the  erection  of 
a  hotel  building.  E.  M.  Dale}'  was  the 
leader  in  the  movement  of  forming  the 
company.  Work  was  commenced  in 
the  spring  of  1838,  and  the  building 
proceeded  until  the  frame  work  was 
done,  and  the  house  enclosed.  At  this 
point  there  came  a  lull.  Doubts  had  all 
along  existed  in  the  minds  of  some  of  the 
investors  as  to  the  probability  of  the 
house  becoming  a  paying  institution 
when  finished.  When  the  construction 
of  the  edifice  had  reached  the  point 
mentioned,  negotiations  were  had  with 
John  Frost,  which  culminated  in  the 
purchase  of  the  property,  as  it  then 
stood,  by  that  gentleman.  He  finished 
the  building,  furnished  it  throughout, 
and  opened  it  to  the  public  with  some 
display.  He  presided  over  it  in  the  ca- 
pacity of  host  until  1846,  when  he  Bold 
out.  E.  M.  Daley,  who  then  became 
proprietor,  leased  the  house  to  a  man 
named  Blackburn,  who  was  its  landlord 
for  about  two  years.  C.  B.  Fisher  was 
the  next  to  preside  over  the  destinies  of 
the  National.  It  is  impossible  to  give 
the  succession  of  landlords  of  this  his- 
toric structure,  and  the  time  each  had 
possession,  as  it  has  passed  from  the 
memory  of  the  old  settlers,  but  from 
inquiry  it  is  learned  that  Wm.  Hawley, 
John  Goff  and  James  ML  Young  were 
also  keepers  of  the  inn.  At  present  the 
National  is  owned  by  Bowman  and 
Chapman,  and  is  leased  by  A.  C.  Peck- 
ham.  Jr. 

The  Jersey  House  was  built  about 
1835,  by  Stephen  Herron,  a  blacksmith. 
It  was  at  that  time  much  smaller,  and 
was  used  as  a  private  residence,  although 


514 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


they  kept  some  boarders.  After  a  time 
he  opened  it  for  the  accomodation  of 
the  travelling  public.  After  operating 
it  for  four  years,  he  gave  it  up,  and  it 
became  the  property  of  the  owners  of 
the  town  site,  Lott  &  Daley.  Since 
that  time  it  has  been  considerably  en- 
larged, until  now  is  a  good  sized  house. 
Numerous  have  been  the  changes  in  the 
landlords  who  have  presided  over  it, 
among  whom  were  Harris  Blanden,  Dr. 

Dyke, Parker  and  Henry  C.  Massey, 

the  present  owner.  It  has  been  used  as 
a  hotel  or  boarding  house,  until  the 
summer  of  1885,  but  is  now  used  as  a 
private  residence. 

The  Commercial  Hotel  was  erected 
during  the  summer  of  1874,  by  Wallace 
Leigh  and  Alfred  Brinton,  at  a  cost  of 
$15,000.  The  building  is  still  owned  by 
its  original  proprietors,  but  the  hotel 
business  is  conducted  by  Wallace  Leigh 
&  Son. 

W.  H.  Powell,  the  present  landlord 
of  the  Erie  House,  took  charge  of  it  on 
the  1st  day  of  Sept.,  1882. 

CARRIAGE   FACTORY. 

The  carriage  factory  of  George  Egel- 
hoff,  was  established  by  that  gentleman 
in  1860,  in  a  building  one  block  south 
of  its  present  location.  At  that  time 
the  building  was  a  small  frame  30x40 
feet  in  size,  and  is  now  used  as  a  lum- 
ber ware  room.  Mr.  Eglehoff  carried 
on  business  here  about  eight  years, 
when  he  purchased  the  present  site  of 
his  manufactory,  and  erected  the  brick 
building  on  the  corner,  now  used  as 
office  and  store  room.  This  structure  is 
40x50  feet  in  size,  two  stories  high.  In 
1870j  business  had  increased  to  such  an 
extent  that  he   was  compelled  to  have 


more  room,  and  an  addition  40x75  feet 
in  size  was  therefore  built.  In  1874, 
another  addition  40x75  feet  in  dimen- 
sion was  added.  Both  ot  these  were  of 
brick,  and  two  stories  high.  He  also, 
the  same  year,  bought  additional  prop- 
erty in  the  same  block,  and  thereon 
erected  frame  sheds  for  coal,  lumber, 
etc.  He  had,  in  1868,  erected  the  pres- 
ent frame  warehouse  26x40  feet  in  size, 
and  two  stories  high,  immediately  south 
of  the  present  brick  structure,  and  used 
it  for  the  storage  of  agricultural  imple- 
ments, the  business  of  selling  which  he 
established  at  that  time,  and  which  is 
now  operated  by  Egelhoff  Bros.  In 
1881,  a  frame  addition  25x75  feet  in  size, 
two  stories  high,  with  a  sheet-iron  roof, 
was  erected,  which  is  used  for  the  stor- 
age of  finished  work.  A  10-horse 
power  engine  furnishes  the  motive 
power  for  the  machinery.  Besides  the 
buildings  mentioned,  there  is  a  carriage 
repository  across  the  street,  which  is 
40x85  feet  in  size,  frame.  The  entire 
business  calls  into  requisition  a  capital 
of  $35,000.  Buggies,  carriages,  spring 
and  farm  wagons  are  all  manufactured. 
Oliver  A.  Tiff,  general  blacksmith, 
established  business  at  his  present  stand 
on  Main  street,  in  Jerseyville,  in  1856. 
He  manufactures  wagons,  and  does  gen- 
eral repairing  and  horse-shoeing.  Mr. 
Tiff  was  born  in  Jefferson  county,  N.Y., 
in  1832,  and  is  a  son  of  William  and 
Anna  (Gabrel)  Tiff,  both  natives  of 
New  York.  He  spent  his  early  life  in 
his  native  state,  where  he  learned  his 
trade.  In  1854  he  came  to  Illinois,  set- 
tling in  Jersey  county,  which  has  since 
been  his  home.  He  was  married  in 
1856  to  Ann  S.  Horten,  a  native  of 
Greene  county,  and  by  this  union  has 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


515 


one  child,  Olive  G.,  now  the  wife  of 
John  H.  Richards,  of  Jersey ville.  Mr. 
Tiff  is  a  member  of  the  I.  O.O.  F.  and 
a  useful  and  much  respected  citizen. 

Peter  Dolan,  blacksmith,  of  Jersey- 
ville,  is  a  son  of  Michael  and  Ann 
(  McCormick)  Dolan,  natives  of  Ireland. 
Peter  was  born  in  New  York  City  in 
1832.  His  father  having  died  in  that 
city,  he,  when  quite  young,  returned 
with  his  mother  and  brother  to  Ireland, 
where  he  remained  until  1851,  when  he 
came  bark  to  the  land  of  his  birth, 
landing  at  New  Orleans.  Mr.  Dolan 
was  married  in  that  city  in  1855,  to 
Maria  Gorman,  a  native  of  Ireland,  and 
came  north  in  1863,  locating  at  Jersey- 
ville,  Jersey  eounty,  111.,  where  he  now 
resides.  His  family  consists  of  three 
children — Kate,  wife  of  Richard  Kiely, 
of  Jersey  ville;  James  and  Mary,  living 
with  their  parents.  Mr.  Dolan  owns  a 
shop,  a  residence,  and  three  lots  in  this 
city.  He  has  served  several  times  as  a 
member  of  the  town  board,  and  is  a 
respectable  citizen.  Both  he  and  his 
wife  are  members  of  the  Catholic 
church.  His  mother,  Mrs.  Ann  Dolan, 
died  in  1878. 

JERSEYVILLE  AGRICULTURAL  WORKS. 

The  manufacture  of  agricultural  im- 
plements was  commenced  in  Jersev- 
ville  in  1863,  by  Robert  Newton  and  H. 
O.  Goodricb,  in  partnership,  under  the 
firm  title  of  Goodrich  it  Newton.  They 
had  in  view  the  idea  of  supplying,  with 
Jerseyville  productions,  the  wants  of  a 
large  scope  of  country  surrounding  the 
city,  in  the  way  of  farming  machinery. 
They  purchased  a  frame  building  24x36 
feet  in  ground  area,  and  two  stories  in 
height,    located  on    the   north    side    of 


Prairie  street,  which  they  converted  in- 
to a  shop.  In  1865  Mr.  Newton  became 
sole  proprietor  of  the  works,  and  on  as- 
suming exclusive  control,  he  erected,  on 
the  opposite  side  of  the  street,  a  three- 
story  frame  building,  40  feet  wide  by  60 
in  depth.  This  edifice  was  used  as  a 
warehouse,  paint  shop,  etc.,  and  for  the 
setting  up  of  machinery.  Another 
building,  36x40  feet,  was  put  up,  to  be 
used  for  the  display  and  sale  of  ma- 
chines.  In  1866,  by  the  advent  of  Levi 
D.  Cory  into  the  business,  the  firm  be- 
came Newton  &  Cory.  The  trade  in- 
creased, and  soon  20  men  were  employed 
in  the  establishment.  In  1869,  Mr. 
Newton  became  sole  proprietor,  and  so 
continued  until  Nov.,  1882,  at  which 
time  a  stock  company  was  organized  and 
incorporated  for  the  purpose  of  carrying 
on  the  business.  This  association  took 
the  name  of  the  Jerseyville  Manufactur- 
ing Co.  and  started  with  a  capital  stock 
of  $50,000.  There  were  17  stock- 
holders, as  follows:  Robert  Newton, 
H.  C.  Massey.  Col.  W.  H.  Fulkerson, 
Ormond  Hamilton,  Bowman  &  Ware, 
Morris  R.  Locke,  Joseph  M.  Page,  John 
A.  Shephard,  Wallace  Leigh,  Levi  D. 
Holliday,  0.  A.  Snedeker,  C.  W.  Enos, 
Elias  Cockrell,  A.  K.  Van  Home,  J.  S. 
Daniels  and  F.  S.  Vandervort.  Col.  W. 
H.  Fulkerson  was  chosen  pres.;  H.  .C 
Massey,  V.  P.;  J.  M.  Page,  sec; 
Stephen  H.  Bowman,  tres.;  and  Robert 
Newton,  general  manager.  In  April, 
1885,  Mr.  Newton  leased  the  works 
from  the  company,  and  he  is  now 
carrying  on  the  business.  He  manu- 
factures the  Davenport  "  New  Model  " 
sulky  plow,  and  deals,  also,  in 
all  kinds  of  agricultural  machinery. 
The  plow  mentioned,  has  no  superior, 


516 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


and  is  the  leading  implement  of  the 
kind,  manufactured  by  the  J.  I.  Case 
works,  at  Racine,  Wis.  Mr.  Davenport, 
the  inventor,  is  a  resident  of  Jersey- 
ville,  and  this  fine  machine  is  but  one 
of  his  many  valuable  inventions.  The 
business  transacted  by  this  institution 
ranges  between  $30,000  and  $45,000 
annually. 

Robert  Newton  is  a  native  of  Man- 
chester, Eng.,  being  born  May  25,  1836. 
In  1840  his  parents,  Thomas  and  Anna 
Newton,  emigrated  to  the  United  States, 
and  soon  after  their  arrival,  settled  in 
New  Hampshire.  They  afterward  re- 
moved to  Providence,  R.  I.,  where  Rob- 
ert served  an  apprenticeship  to  learn 
the  trade  of  machinist  and  engineer. 
He  remained  in  Providence  until  1857, 
then  came  west,  and  stopped  first  in  St. 
Louis,  but  soon  after  came  to  Jersey- 
ville.  Here  he  entered  the  employ  of 
George  Horton,  who  was  engaged  in  the 
manufacture  of  farm  machinery.  Mr. 
Newton  had  charge  of  this  business 
until  1863,  at  which  time  he,  in  partner- 
ship with  H.  0.  Goodrich,  established 
his  present  business.  He  was  married, 
in  Dec,  1865,  to  Sarah  Cory,  daughter 
of  Joel  Cory.  They  are  the  parents  of 
four  children — Albert,  Mamie,  Florence 
and  Cornelia.  Mr.  Newton  takes  an 
active  interest  in  politics,  casting  his 
vote  with  the  democratic  party.  He  is 
a  public  spirited  citizen,  and  has  lent  a 
helping  hand  to  many  enterprises,  both 
public  and  private,  for  the  benefit  of  the 
church,  society  and  the  publicgenerally. 
He  is  a  member  of  the  Baptist  church, 
and  a  Royal  Arch  Mason.  He  was  one 
of  the  original  stockholders  of  the  .Jer- 
sey County  Agricultural  and  Mechanical 
Association.     Mr.  Newton  is  a  man  gov- 


erned in  all  of  his  actions  by  a  high 
moral  principle,  and  always  endeavors 
to  do  what  he  considers  to  be  right  under 
all  circumstances,  and  as  a  citizen  is 
much  respected  and  esteemed. 

ELEVATORS. 

The  Jerseyville  Elevator  Co.  began 
business  in  Dec,  1876.  It  was  regu- 
larly incorporated,  with  a  capital  stock 
of  $25,000.  Officers  were  elected  for 
the  first  term  as  follows:  Hugh  N. 
Cross,  pres.;  James  A.  Locke,  vice-pres.; 
Walter  E.  Carlin,  sec;  A.  \V.  Cross, 
treas.;  L.  P.  Squier,  supt.  The  main 
building  of  this  elevator  is  66  feet 
in  height,  and  it  has  a  ground  area 
of '30x60  feet.  It  is  equipped  with 
31  bins,  and  has  a  storage  capacity  of 
40,000  bushels.  The  first  year  it  did 
business,  200,000  bushels  of  grain  were 
handled  by  this  company.  In  1S7S  W. 
E.  Carlin  purchased  the  interest  of  Mr. 
Locke,  and  the  following  year  that  of 
A.  W.  Cross,  thus  owning  three-fourths 
of  it.  In  the  spring  of  1881,  they  sold 
it  to  E.  0.  Stannard,  of  St.  Louis,  who 
still  operates  it. 

The  elevator  now  owned  by  Massey  & 
Carlin,  was  built  in  1865,  by  C.  T. 
Edee,  who  ran  it  for  some  two  or  three 
years,  when  it  was  purchased  by  the 
present  proprietors.  It  is  25x40  feet  in 
ground  area,  and  cost,  when  built,  about 
$5,000. 

William  H.  Coulthard  was  born  in 
Ohio,  in  1842.  He  is  a  son  of  John  and 
Susan  (Hardesty)  Coulthard.  The  lat- 
ter died  while  he  was  an  infant,  and  his 
father  subsequently  re-married.  When 
William  was  two  years  old  he  moved 
with  his  parents  to  Kentucky,  and  there 
lived  till  the  close  of  the  war,  in  1865. 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


519 


During  the  war  he  served  14  months  in 
the  14th  Ky.  Cav.,  and  was  several 
times  taken  prisoner  by  guerrilla  bands. 
In  1865  he  returned  to  Ohio,  where  for 
four  years  he  followed  the  occupation 
of  fanning.  He  then  removed  to  Illi- 
nois, and  located  in  Greene  county, 
where  he  resided  till  1874.  At  that  date 
he  came  to  Jerseyville  and  took  charge 
of  an  elevator,  in  which  he  has  since 
continued  in  this  city,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  one  year,  during  which  he  was 
in  the  same  business  in  East  St.  Louis. 
He  was  married  in  1864  to  Elizabeth  M. 
Terry,  a  native  of  Kentucky.  They 
have  three  children,  Ida  L.,  Eva  A. 
and  Ilalun  P.  Mrs.  Coulthard  is  a 
member  of  the  Baptist  church.  Mr. 
Coulthard  is  a  member  of  the  G.  A.  R. 
His  father,  John  Coulthard,  died  in 
1869. 

The  elevator  firm  of  E.  O.  Stannard 
&  Co.,  is  composed  of  E.  0.  Stannard 
and  E.  P.  Bronson,  both  residents  of 
St.  Louis.  The  elevator  building  is 
owned  by  Mr.  Stannard,  and  lie  has  the 
controlling  interest  in  the  business,  Mr. 
Bronson  having  a  one-fifth  interest. 
J.  H.  Duffield  has  the  management  of 
their  affairs  here. 

What  is  known  as  the  Cockrell  eleva- 
tor is  now  owned  by  J.  M.  Valentine,  of 
Rockbridge,  Greene  county,  and  was 
purchased  by  him  in  May,  1884,  of  E. 
Cockrell,  who  had  operated  it  since 
1871.  The  building  was  erected  by  Geo. 
C.  Cockrell,  in  1867,  at  a  cost  of  about 
87,000.  It  was  originally  25x40  feet  on 
the  ground,  but  an  addition  of  the  same 
size  has  since  been  added.  George 
Cockrell  ran  it  until  1869  alone,  but  in 
that  year  admitted  E.  Cockrell  as  part- 
ner, and  they  operated  there  until  1871, 


when  George  disposed  of  his  interest  to 
his  partner.  Previous  to  the  erection 
of  this  building  another  elevator  had 
been  built  in  1865,  by  George  C.  Cock- 
rell and  Charles  Stiner,  but  which  was 
subsequently  destroyed  by  fire. 


The  first  mill  at  Jerseyville  was  a 
wind-mill,  constructed  below  town,  hut 
now  within  the  city  limits.  It  was 
built  by  James  Garesche,  about  the 
year  1839.  It  was  operated  mostly  by 
Henry  Schaff. 

The  old  Dodson  mill,  which  has  lately 
ceased  operations,  was  built  about  1851, 
by  a  man  named  Young.  The  next 
proprietor  was  named  Roberts.  He  was 
succeeded  by  Turner  &  Whiteneck. 
This  firm  continued  for  awhile,  and 
then  changed  to  Turner  &  Van  Pelt. 
After  their  retirement  from  the  busi- 
ness, they  leased  the  property  to  Remer 
A-  Paris.  They  ran  it  until  the  owners 
sold  to  N.  L.  Adams.  He  operated  the 
mill  until  1873,  when  Theodore  Dodson 
purchased  it.  W.  D.  Curtis  was  after- 
ward admitted  to  the  firm,  and  still 
remains  therein,  in  the  new  mill.  The 
old  building  is  36x50  feet  in  dimensions, 
and  two  and  one-half  stories  in  height. 
When  Dodson  bought  the  property,  he 
completely  remodeled  it.  Its  capacity 
was  125  barrels  per  day. 

The  inauguration  of  a  new  manufac- 
turing enterprise  in  a  city,  or  the  im- 
provement of  an  old  one,  is  always  a 
matter  of  interest  and  source  of  pride  to 
the  enterprising  citizen.  And  especially 
is  this  true  where  the  projectors  of  such 
improvement  have  spared  no  pains  or 
expense  in  making  their  works  first-class 
in  every  particular.      In  1873,  the  Dod- 


520 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


son  brothers,  Theodore  and  Frank  M., 
came  to  Jerseyville  to  engage  in  the 
milling  business.  Theodore  then  pur- 
chased the  N.  L.  Adams  mill,  and  with 
himself  as  general  manager,  and  Frank 
M.  in  charge  of  the  business  depart- 
ment, the  mill  and  its  products  soon 
obtained  a  wide  celebrity  for  the 
excellence  of  the  manufacturered 
product,  and  the  uniform  standard  main- 
tained. But,  although  the  mill  was 
generally  considered  a  good  one,  and 
had  received  extensive  additions  and 
alterations  in  its  equipment,  it  became 
unsatisfactory  to  the  management,  who 
took  under  consideration  the  project  of 
erecting  a  new  one  in  its  stead,  which 
should  be  a  model  in  every  respect.  In 
the  meantime,  Theodore  Dodson  had 
associated  with  him  in  the  business, 
Mr.  W.  D.  Curtis,  a  well-known  citizen 
of  Jersey  county.  The  firm  selected 
fir  their  new  mill  a  location  near  the 
junction  of  the  WabasiTand  Chicago  & 
Alton  railroads,  and  in  close  proximity 
to  four  streets.  Excavations  were  made, 
and  the  construction  of  the  building 
was  commenced,  early  in  1884.  There 
is  a  10-foot  basement,  solidly  constructed 
of  heavy  masonry,  21  feet  thick  at  the 
bottom,  and  beveling  to  2  feet,  2  inches 
at  the  top.  On  the  splendid  foundation 
thus  secured  are  constructed  the  heavy 
brick  walls.  The  brick  portion  adds 
two  stories  to  the  height,  On  top  of 
this  is  the  third  principal,  or  mansard 
story.  Each  story  is  tall  and  roomy,  as 
is  also  the  basement,  making  the  struc- 
ture, substantially,  four  stories  in 
height.  The  main  portion  is  36x50  feet 
in  ground  area,  while  the  engine-room 
annex  is  36x20  feet.  This  annex  is  now 
but  one  story  in  height,  but  the  founda- 


tion is  equally  massive  with  that  under 
the  remainder  of  the  building,  so  that  it 
can,  when  desired,  be  carried  up  to  the 
same  height.  Altogether,  the  building 
has  a  floor  area  of  7,920  feet.  The 
supports  for  the  interior  of  the  build- 
ing are  all  laid  on  stone  foundations, 
The  main  building  of  this  fine  mill 
has  a  slate  roof  on  mansard  story  and 
top,  while  the  engine-room  has  a  metal 
roof.  All  in  all,  the  edifice  presents  an 
exceedingly  tasteful  and  handsome  ap- 
pearance. All  parts  have  had  nearly  a 
year  to  settle  in,  so  that  the  machinery 
will  set  perfectly  true.  Rut  the  finish- 
ing of  the  mill,  and  its  machinery 
equipment,  are  the  leading  features  to 
the  eye  of  the  experienced  miller.  It 
is  supplied,  among  the  rest,  with  12  sets 
of  rolls,  17  bolting  reels,  four  middlings 
purifiers,  three  dust  collectors,  one 
middlings  detacher,  one  bran  duster, 
three  wheat  cleaning  machines,  two 
flour  packers,  three  centrifugal  ma- 
chines, six  scalping  machines,  22  stands 
of  elevators  running  from  top  to  bottom 
of  null,  with  all  necessary  machyiery  to 
operate.  These  are  the  leading  features 
in  the  machinery  of  the  plant,  though 
the  belting  and  other  fixtures  are  all  first- 
class.  All  the  machinery  used  is  of  the 
latest  improved  pattern,  made  by  the 
best  mill  furnishers.  The  woodwork  is 
all  done  with  the  utmost  care,  not  a  nail 
being  used  in  it  in  the  entire  outfit,  but 
everything  in  the  wooden  furnishing  is 
clamped  together  with  screws.  The 
corners  are  all  smoothly  rounded  and 
finished,  and,  covered  with  a  neat  coat 
of  varnish,  the  wood  work  presents  an 
appearance  befitting  the  handsome 
machinery.  The  engine-room  is  equip- 
ped   with     a    superior    75-horse  power 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


521 


engine,  of  St.  Louis  make.  The  engine 
took  the  first  premium  in  its  class  at  the 
great  St.  Louis  fair.  Steam  is  supplied 
from  a  five  foot  boiler,  16  feet  in  length. 
Hugh  Montgomery  has  charge  of  the 
engine-room.  A  boiler  20  feet  long  and 
40  inches  in  diameter,  is  used  for 
a  water-tank.  About  this  mill  there 
is  a  place  for  everything,  and  every- 
thing is  in  its  place,  every  piece  of 
machinery  being  so  arranged  as 
to  get  from  it  the  largest  and  greatest 
amount  of  work  in  the  shortest  space  of 
time.  Although  the  mechanical  con- 
trivances are  on  such  a  complete  scale, 
yet  15  men  at  least  are  required  to  fully 
operate  this  mill.  Its  capacity  is  200 
barrels  per  day,  but  everything  is  so 
arranged  that  the  output  can  be  increased 
to  41 K)  barrels  of  the  finest  flour  per  day. 
For  putting  the  flour  in  barrels  properly, 
there  are  two  flour-packing  machines, 
each  having  a  capacity  for  packing  20 
barrels  of  flour  per  hour.  The  construc- 
tion and  supply  of  the  plant  reflects 
the  greatest  credit  on  the  Todds  &  Stan- 
lev  Mill  Furnishing  Co.,  of  St.  Louis, 
who  have  taken  especial  pains  with 
every  department  of  this  work.  The 
total  cost  was  not  less  than  835,000,  on 
the  plant  alone.  A  side-track  will  be 
built,  giving  direct  connection  with  the 
railroads  near  by.  But  a  small  propor- 
tion of  the  people  of  Jersey ville,  even, 
have  an  adequate  idea  of  the  magnitude 
and  importance  of  the  Dodson  mill. 

Theodore  Dodson  was  born  in  Jersey 
county,  July  6,  1847,  being  a  son  of 
Aaron  and  Margaret  (  Biggers)  Dodson. 
He  resided  with  his  parents  upon  a  farm 
until  16  years  of  age.  In  1864  he  en- 
listed in  Co.  C,  of  the  61st  111.  Inf.,  and 
served  till  the  end  of  the    war.     After 


the  war  he  worked  at  milling  for  Henry 
E.  Dougherty,  of  Otterville,  by  whom 
he  was  employed  about  seven  years. 
In  1873  he  came  to  Jerseyville  and  pur- 
chased his  present  business.  In  1884 
he,  in  partnership  with  Mr.  Curtis, 
erected  the  largest  and  best  mill  in 
Jersey  county,  mention  of  which  is 
made  elsewhere  in  this  work.  Mr. 
Dodson  was  married  on  the  7th  of  June, 
1871,  to  Emma  M.  Noble,  daughter  of 
William  and  Thirza  Noble.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Dodson  are  the  parents  of  four 
children,  two  of  whom  are  living — 
Clarence  and  Theo.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Dodson  are  members  of  the  Cumberland 
Presbyterian  church.  He  is  an  ex- 
perienced miller,  having  been  in  the 
business  for  19  years.  He  is  the  gen- 
eral manager  of  the  firm,  and  as  a  busi- 
ness man  is  shrewd,  energetic  and 
enterprising. 

Francis  M.  Dodson  is  a  son  of  Aaron 
and  Margaret  (Riggers)  Dodson,  who 
came  to  Jersey  county  at  an  early  date 
and  settled  in  English  township.  Aaron 
Dodson  is  a  native  of  Missouri,  and,  by 
profession,  a  minister  of  the  gospel.  He 
is  now  located  at  Otterville,  in  this 
county.  His  wife  was  born  in  Kentucky. 
The  subject  of  this  sketch  was  born 
in  Jersey  county,  Nov.  14,  1842,  and 
here  reared  upon  a  farm,  remaining 
with  his  parents  until  he  was  18  years 
old.  In  November,  1861,  he  enlisted  in 
Co.  C,  of  the  61st  111.  Inf.,  and  served 
till  the  close  of  the  war,  participating 
in  t lie  battle  of  Shiloh,  Murfreesboro, 
and  other  engagements.  At  the  close 
of  the  war  he  returned  to  this  county 
and  located  at  Otterville,  where  he 
worked  on  a  farm  about  two  years.  In 
186!)    he    began    learning    the    mason's 


trade,  and  followed  the  same  a  few 
year.-:.  He  came  to  Jerseyville  in  1873, 
and  was  employed  by  his  brother, 
Theodore  Dodson,  who  purchased  the 
flouring  mill  of  N.  L.  Adams,  and  has 
since  that  date  been  engaged  in  the 
milling  business.  Mr.  Dodson  was 
married  Nov.  SO,  1873,  to  Hattie 
Hughes,  daughter  of  Ephraim  and 
Lucinda  Hughes.  They  have  two 
children — Nettle  and  Nellie  (twins). 
Mr.  ami  Mrs.  Dodson  are  members  of 
the  Baptist  church. 

The  grist  mill  south  of  the  C.  &  A. 
R.  R.  depot,  was  built  in  1866,  by  David 
R.  Ross,  at  a  cost  of  about  $16,000.  He 
operated  it  for  about  a  year,  when  he 
sold  it  to  L.  D.  Cory,  who  with  various 
partners  carried  on  the  business  until 
1873,  when  the  present  proprietor, 
Charles  Jacobs,  purchased  it. 

BRICK    YARD. 

The  brick  yard  east  of  the  fair  grounds 
was  established,  and  commenced  oper- 
ations in  1881.  The  business  was  com- 
menced by  Henry  Bayer,  Charles  Rutter 
and  William  Gambel.  The  establish- 
ment gives  employment  to  about  eight 
workmen,  the  brick  being  all  hand- 
pressed. 

NURSERIES. 

The  Vandenburg  nursery  is  located  in 
the  northwestern  part  of  Jerseyville, on 
the  Fieldon  road.  The  business  was 
established  in  1881,  by  Peter  E.  Vanden- 
burg, the  present  proprietor.  His  es- 
tablishment comprises  40  acres  of  land, 
and  within  its  borders  may  be  found 
every  variety  of  fruit,  shade  or  orna- 
mental tree,  of  use  in  this  latitude,  as 
well  as  all  varieties  of  shrubs,  flowers 
and  all  plants  of  all  descriptions, usually 


found  in  an  establishment  of  this  kind. 
He  puts  out  each  year  about  5,000  trees, 
and  finds  profitable  employment  for 
four  traveling  salesmen,  who  represent 
the  nursery  in  Jersey,  Greene,  Macou- 
pin, Madison  and  other  counties.  Mr. 
Vandenburg  makes  a  specialty  of  small 
fruits,  and  his  business  in  this  line  is 
represented  by  good  figures. 

Peter  E.  Vandenburg,  the  nursery 
man,  was  born  in  Green  county,  N.  Y., 
in  1843.  He  is  a  son  of  Henry  L.  and 
Helen  A.  (Van  Schaack)  Vanderburg, 
both  natives  of  the  state  of  New  York. 
Henry  L.  Vandenburg  now  lives  in  Jer- 
seyville, but  his  wife  died  in  1873.  Peter, 
during  the  war,  enlisted  in  the  189th 
N.  Y.  Inf.,  and  served  nine  months  as 
a  member  of  Co.  F.  He  participated  in 
the  Petersburg  campaign,  and  was  in  14 
battles  and  skirmishes.  March  17,  1868, 
he  was  married  to  Josephine  Lyon,  a 
native  of  New  York,  who  died  in  1873, 
leaving  three  children — Ralph  L.  and 
Grace  J.  living  at  home,  and  Minnie  C, 
in  New  York.  Mr.  Vandenburg  was 
again  married  Feb,  17,  1876,  to  Ella  J. 
Williams,  a  native  of  Connecticut.  They 
have  one  child — Anna  W.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Vandenburg  are  members  of  the  Presby- 
terian church.  He  belongs  to  the 
Knights  of  Honor. 

The  nursery  business  of  Fenity  & 
Merida  was  established  in  1878,  by  F. 
C.  Fenity.  No  change  has  occurred  in 
the  proprietorship  since  then,  save  the 
addition  of  S.J.  Merida  to  the  firm.  Mr. 
Fenity  manages  the  Jerseyville  busi- 
ness. 

YOUNG    LADIES'    SEMINARY. 

We  are  indebted  to  L.  M.  Cutting  for 
the  following  authentic  and  reliable  ac- 
count of  the  institution: 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


523 


In  Jerseyville,  the  Young  Ladies' 
Seminary  occupied  an  important  place 
in  the  educational  history  of  the  county 
for  over  half  a  decade.  As  early  as 
1849,  Miss  Mary  Farley,  sister  of  Dr. 
R.  D.  Farley,  erected  a  large  frame 
building  on  the  northwest  corner  of 
Pleasant  and  Exchange  streets,  with  the 
benevolent  design  of  furnishing  a  con- 
venient suite  of  rooms  for  the  higher 
education  of  girls.  Miss  Farley,  once  a 
pupil  of  Mary  Lyons,  founder  of  Mt.- 
Holyoke  Seminary,  and  imbibing  some- 
thing of  the  spirit  of  her  late  instructor, 
did  what  she  could  to  encourage  a  pri- 
vate school  for  young  ladies  in  the  new 
building.  She  finally  induced  Miss  Vir- 
ginia A.  Corbett  to  undertake  a  select 
school,  which  was  well  sustained  for 
about  six  years.  Miss  Corbett  soon  after 
married  Isaac  Harbett,  and  now  resides 
in  Chesterfield,  111.  She  was  succeeded 
in  the  school  by  two  young  ladies — Miss 
Seraph  A.  Hall  and  Miss  Ruth  Hoppin, 
both  graduates  of  Mt.  Holyoke  Semi- 
nary, Massachusetts.  They  were  excel- 
lent teachers,  and  did  much  good  work 
in  their  school,  which  closed  in  1858. 
Miss  Hall  married  a  Mr.  Atkinson,  and 
resides  in  Florida;  Miss  Hoppin  is  still 
teaching  in  the  east. 

In  the  autumn  of  1856,  Mrs.  L.  M. 
Cutting  accompanied  her  husband  from 
their  New  England  home  to  Jerseyville, 
for  the  benefit  of  his  health.  Before 
their  marriage,  Mrs.  Cutting  had  been  a 
successful  teacher  in  New  England  and 
New  York  for  several  years,  and  seemed 
to  have  a  remarkable  control  over  the 
mind  and  will  of  the  young,  which  gave 
her  success  in  large  schools,  where  male 
teachers  had  repeatedly  failed.  At  the 
early  age  of  13,  she  secured  a  certificate 


of  high  grade  for  teaching,  from  the 
school  authorities  in  New  York,  after  a 
rigid  examination.  Soon  utter  her 
arrival  in  Jerseyville,  a  few  influential 
friends  who  knew  her  history,  directed 
Mrs.  Cutting's  attention  to  the  school 
above  mentioned,  and  persuaded  her  to 
utilize  it  as  the  nucleus  of  a  young 
ladies'  seminary,  where,  under  her 
management,  girls  might  obtain  more 
advanced  and  thorough  education  in 
the  higher  English,  French  and  Latin 
languages,  vocal  and  instrumental  mu- 
sic, painting  and  drawing.  Mrs.  Cut- 
ting readily  undertook  the  task,  and 
established  the  school,  so  widely  known 
as  the  Jerseyville  Young  Ladies'  Sem- 
inary, a  purely  private  enterprise,  and 
conducted  it  with  such  energy  and  perse- 
verence  as  was  necessary  to  make  it  a 
success.  It  is  not  too  much  to  say, 
that,  hundreds  of  ladies — wives  and 
mothers,  in  Jersey  county  and  other 
places — received  culture  in  this  school, 
which  contributed,  in  a  large  degree,  to 
make  their  homes  refined  and  happy. 
The  success  of  the  school  was  due,  not 
only  to  the  abilities  of  Mrs.  Cutting, 
but  to  her  skill  in  selecting  a  corps  of 
assistants,  who  did  not  disappoint  the 
high  expectations  of  the  public.  A 
brief  reference  to  such,  and  what  has 
become  of  them,  will  be  of  interest  to 
very  many  of  the  readers  of  this  his- 
tory. In  the  autumn  of  1857,  she  started 
a  primary  department,  teaching,  her- 
self, in  the  lower  rooms  of  the  seminary 
building.  In  the  autumn  of  1858,  Kate 
Foote,  a  sister  of  Rev.  Dr.  C.  II.  Foote, 
and  graduate  of  the  Allen  Seminary, 
Rochester,  N.  Y.,  assisted  her  in  the 
advance  department,  remaining  two 
years;  she  afterward  taught  at   Bath,  on 


524 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


the  Hudson,  and  now  resides  in  Pough- 
keepsie,  N.  Y. 

In  the  fall  of  I860,  Miss  Hannah  M. 
Henderson,  a  successful  teacher  in 
Massachusetts,  a  sister  of  Mrs.  Cutting, 
came  to  Jerseyville,  and  took  charge  of 
the  primary  department  of  this  semin- 
ary, and  remained  in  this  connection 
until  1870,  when  she  married  Hon. 
David  E.  Beaty,  of  this  county,  and 
now  resides  on  a  farm  near  Jerseyville. 

Jn  1860,  Mrs.  Cutting  secured,  also, 
the  services  of  Miss  Jennie  V.  A.  Vos- 
burgh,  of  Hudson,  N.  Y.,  a  graduate  of 
Peaks'  Seminary,  in  that  city.  Miss 
Vosburgh  taught  the  French  and  Latin 
classes  and  assisted  in  the  English 
studies.  She  retired  after  the  second 
year;  taught  afterwards  in  New  York, 
and  died  of  consumption,  Feb.  6,  1877. 

From  18(10  to  1862,  Miss  Ella  V.  Mc- 
Gannon  taught  vocal  and  instrumental 
music.  She  afterwards  married  Will 
H.  Callender,  and  now  resides  in  St. 
Louis,  where  she  holds  a  high  rank  as 
soprano  singer  in  church  choirs. 

In  1861  and  1862,  Miss  Maria  Black- 
burn, daughter  of  the  late  A.  M.  Black- 
burn, and  grand-daughter  of  Rev.  Dr. 
Gideon  Blackburn,  founder  of  Blackburn 
University,  taught  instrumental  music 
in  the  school.  She  afterwards  taught 
music  in  the  Monticello  Seminary.  In 
1868,  she  married  M.  G.  Noyes,  and 
died  in  Carlinville,  in  1872. 

In  the  fall  of  1862,  Miss  Mary  E.  Ely, 
an  accomplished  and  successful  teacher, 
from  Pittsfield,  Mass.,  joined  Mrs. 
Cuttings'  corps  of  teachers,  andheldthe 
position  of  instructor  of  languages  and 
higher  English  branches,  until  the 
summer  of  1864.  She  afterwards  married 
Charles  Rollins,  a  lawyer  of  Tipton,  la., 


where  she  taught  several  years.  She 
died  in  1879,  leaving  two  sons. 

Miss  Hattie  Gunnison,  of  Rochester, 
N.  Y.,  gave  instruction  in  the  seminary 
from  1863  to  1867,  upon  the  piano.  She 
now  resides  in  Cleveland,  0 

For  two  years,  commencing  in  the 
fall  of  1864,  Selina  Pierce,  of  Marietta, 
0.,  assisted  in  the  advanced  department 
of  the  seminary,  and  after  a  vacation  of 
two  years,  returned  and  taught  one 
year  in  the  primary  department,  after 
which  she  held  the  position  of  lady 
principal  of  Almira  College,  at  Green- 
ville, 111.,  for  seven  years.  She  is  now 
principal  of  high  school  at  Marietta,  O. 

Ada  C.  Joy,  a  graduate  of  the  Young 
Ladies'  Seminary,  at  Granville,  0., 
took  charge  of  the  advanced  department 
in  the  fall  of  1866,  remaining  one  year, 
and  after  a  vacation  of  one  year,  re- 
turned and  continued  her  connection 
with  the  seminary  until  the  summer  of 
1871.  Miss  Joy  now  holds  the  respon- 
sible position  of  associate  principal  of 
the  Mount  Carroll  Seminary,  this  state, 
which  she  has  held  for  over  12  years. 

Miss  A.  Brumbach  was  associated 
with  Mrs.  Cutting's  corps  of  teachers 
from  the  fall  of  1866,  until  the  summer 
of  1868,  giving  instruction  in  painting, 
drawing  and  languages.  She  was,  after- 
ward, connected  with  this  course  of  in- 
struction at  Almira  College,  Greenville, 
111.  She  married  a  Mr.  Winter,  on  the 
day  the  class  of  '79  graduated,  and  has 
since  studied  medicine  with  her  hus- 
band, both  of  whom  are  now  practicing 
their  profession  in  Cincinnati,  0. 

In  the  autumn  of  1867,  Mrs.  Cutting 
secured  the  assistance  of  Miss  Julia  T. 
McKnight,  in  the  musical  department. 
The    benefit    of    her    instruction    as   a 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


525 


pianist  and  cultured  vocalist  was  en- 
joyed but  one  year,  when  she  was  mar- 
ried to  Rev.  Norman  Fox,  of  St.  Louis. 
She  died  in  that  city,  Oct.  8,  18(59,  leav- 
ing  one  child. 

Miss  C.  Belle  Tuthill,  a  graduate  of 
Mrs.  Willard's  school,  Troy,  N.  Y., 
taught  in  the  advanced  department 
during  the  school  year  of  18G8-1869. 
She  has  since  married  H.  Barr,  and 
they  now  reside  on  a  farm  near  Quincy, 
111. 

It  would  occupy  too  much  space, 
therefore  no  reference  has  been  made  to 
the  individual  merits  of  the  somewhat 
remarkable  corps  of  teachers  selected 
by  Mrs.  Cutting,  as  her  assistants. 
No  teacher  was  accepted  as  an  experi- 
ment, each  assistant  being  selected  on 
the  merit  of  high  attainments  and  an 
established  record  of  success.  In  1871 
the  enterprise  was  abandoned,  while 
yet  it  enjoyed  the  full  measure  of  popu- 
lar favor,  for  two  causes — first,  the  pub- 
lic mind  had  ripened  in  regard  to  its 
duty  to  itself,  and  a  scheme  had  ma- 
tured to  erect  a  large  public  school 
building,  with  a  high  school,  where 
young  men  could  obtain  an  advanced 
education  as  well  as  young  ladies;  sec- 
ondly, Mrs.  Cutting's  health  began  to 
fail  under  the  great  stress  put  upon  it, 
compelling  her  to  give  up  all  charge  of 
the  seminary.  For  12  years  the  enter- 
prise had  taxed  her  vitality,  and 
mental  and  physical  endurance  to 
the  utmost  limit,  and  it  is  a  subject 
of  universal  regret  that  her  reward  is  a 
wrecked  constitution.  Gradually  she 
became  helpless  from  rheumatic  gout, 
complete  loss  of  nerve  force,  and  for  12 
years  has  been  perfectly  helpless,  the 
care  of  loving  friends.     But  she  is  com- 


forted in  her  affliction,  in  the  strength 
of  an  unsevered  tie  of  affection,  akin  to 
that  of  a  mother's,  that  still  binds  her 
to  hundreds  of  pupils  who  have  been 
under  her  charge,  some  now  blooming 
matrons,  some  still  in  the  hcydey  of 
youth  and  beauty. 

RELIGIOUS. 

Jerseyville  has  some  nine  religious 
organizations,  nearly  all  of  which  are  in 
a  most  excellent  condition.  Some  of 
the  church  edifices  are  remarkably  fine, 
both  in  architecture  and  internal  fit- 
tings. For  a  full  history  of  these  re- 
ligious societies,  the  reader  is  referred 
to  the  chapter  on  Ecclesiastical  history, 
in  the  first  part  of  this  volume. 

POSTOFFK'E. 

The  postoffice  of  Jerseyville  was  es- 
tablished about  the  year  1834,  with  Ed- 
ward M.  Daley  as  first  postmaster.  He 
was  succeeded  in  1840  by  David  T. 
Bunnell,  who  held  the  position  until 
1844,  when  he  gave  way  to  Perley  Sillo- 
way.  Charles  H.  Roberts  was  the  next- 
incumbent,  and  was  followed  by  Alex. 
B.  Morean.  In  1853  Charles  II.  Jack- 
son was  appointed  and  served  until 
1858,  when  he  was  succeeded  by  Jacob  E. 
Whiteneck.  The  latter  gentleman  held 
the  office  until  the  appointment  of 
Thomas  L.  McGill,  in  1861.  Mr.  Mc- 
Gill  held  the  office  but  a  short  time, 
when  his  death  occurred,  and  his  wife 
succeeded  him.  John  I.  White  was  the 
next  to  occupy  the  position,  but  soon 
afterward  resigned  in  favor  of  William 
Pitt,  who  held  the  office  about  two 
years.  He  was  followed  by  Joseph  H. 
Burlington,  who  held  it  two  or  three 
years.     George  H.  Jackson  then  acted 


126 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


as  special  agent  for  a  while,  and  was 
afterward  appointed,  serving  until  1869, 
when  Jacoh  E.  Whiteneck  was  again 
appointed.  He  continued  in  office  until 
1877,  when  he  was  succeeded  by  J.  L. 
C.  Richards,  who  held  the  office  until 
Feb.,  1882,  since  which  time  the  office 
has  been  conducted  by  the  present  in- 
cumbent, William  H.  Edgar. 

Col.  W.  H.  Edgar,  one  of  the  leading 
representatives  of  that  well  known 
family,  was  born  on  the  10th  of  Sept., 
1840.  He  followed  the  fortunes  of  the 
family 3  as  hereafter  told,  in  his  earlier 
years, and  received  excellent  educational 
advantages.  In  his  21st  year,  he  grad- 
uated from  that  well  known  institution 
of  learning,  the  Illinois  College,  at 
Jacksonville,  111.,  in  June,  1861.  During 
the  latter  part  of  his  school  years,  the 
embers  of  discord,  which  had  so  long 
been  glowing  in  the  south,  broke  forth 
in  the  flame  of  civil  war.  Then  came 
the  trial  of  patriotism.  Our  subject, 
though  just  out  of  school, was  soon  in  the 
ranks,  as  a  private  soldier  in  the  33d 
111.  Inf.  Later  on,  we  find  him  a  second 
lieutenant  in  the  32d  111.  Inf.  Both  as 
private  and  officer,  he  did  his  duty  as  a 
soldier.  After  leaving  the  service,  he 
read  law  in  Judge  Park's  office,  at 
Aurora,  111.,  and  was  admitted  to  the 
liar  in  1863.  He  became  connected  with 
the  Jerseyville  Republican  in  1869,  His 
connection  with  this  paper,  and  later, 
with  the  Republican- Examiner,  is  noted 
in  connection  with  their  history,  in  the 
Press  chapter.  In  1876  he  was  commis- 
sioned as  colonel  and  aid-de-camp  to 
Gov.  Cullom.  He  has  been  for  a  num- 
ber of  years  prominent  in  political  mat- 
ters, occupying  a  leading  place  in  the 
councils  of  the    republican    party.      In 


1880  he  contested  the  seat  in  congress 
from  the  11th  111.  district,  with  Gen. 
Singleton,  and  although  opposed  by 
such  a  popular  man,  he  not  only  received 
the  entire  support  of  his  party,  but 
made  large  gains  in  the  city  of  Quincy, 
the  lmnic  of  his  opponent.  He  has  been 
a  member  of  the  republican  central  com- 
mittee, of  Jersey  county,  since  coming 
to  reside  here,  and  has  been  its  chair- 
man for  the  past  four  years.  He  has 
also  been  connected  with  the  schools  of 
the  city  as  a  member  of  the  board  of 
education.  Col.  Edgar  received  his  ap- 
pointment as  postmaster  of  Jerseyville 
from  President  Arthur,  in  1882,  and  con- 
tinued to  hold  that  position,  in  a  satis- 
factory manner,  to  the  end  of  his  term. 
Jacob  E.  Whiteneck  was  born  in  New 
Jersey,  Feb.  12,  1826.  He  was  reared 
and  educated  in  his  native  state,  there 
learning  the  tailor's  trade.  He 
was  married  in  New  Jersey,  1849,  to 
Lindamiry  C.  Tharp,  also  a  native  of 
that  state.  In  1852  he  came  to  Illinois 
and  settled  at  Jerseyville.  Here  he  at 
first  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of 
buckskin  gloves.  Two  years  later  he 
was  elected  constable,  and  served  a 
number  of  years.  In  1856,  he  was  ap- 
pointed postmaster,  which  office  he 
held  during  Buchanan's  administration. 
He  subsequently  clerked  in  a  store, 
and  was  engaged  for  a  time  in  the  grain 
business,  as  clerk.  In  May,  1869,  he 
was  again  appointed  postmaster,  and 
served  till  1877,  when  he  again  engaged 
in  clerking.  When  W.  H.  Edgar  be- 
came postmaster,  Mr.  Whiteneck  en- 
tered his  employ  as  postoffice  clerk, 
in  which  capacity  he  is  at  present  serv- 
ing. Mr.  and  Mrs.  Whiteneck  have 
had  11  children,  eight  of  whom  are  now 


living— Maggie,  now  Mrs.  Clarkson; 
Adaline,  Hat  tie  and  Helen,  (twins,) 
Mollie,  Anna,  Mathias  and  Henry. 
Two  children  died  in  infancy,  and  one 
at  the  age  of  16.  Mr.  Whiteneck  was 
formerly  a  democrat, -in  politics,  but 
during  the  late  war  joined  the  repub- 
lican party,  of  which  he  has  since  been 
a  supporter.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
Presbyterian  church. 

SOCIETIES. 

At  a  meeting  at  the  office  of  Dr.  J.  L. 
White,  Sept.  19,  1863,  D'Arcy  lodge, 
U.  D.,  A.  F.  &  A.  M.,  was  organized 
with  the  following  officers:  J.  L. 
White,  W.  M.;  John  N.  Squier,  S.  W.; 
William  B.  Xevius,  J.  W.  Others  pres- 
ent at  this  meeting  were:  Milton  Park, 
John  E.  Van  Pelt,  X.  Smith,  A.  Cal- 
houn, B.  F.  Calhoun,  J.  B.  Sehroeder, 
Andrew  Jackson.  Sept.  12,  1864,  the 
name  of  the  lodge  was  changed  to  Jer- 
seyville  lodge,  and  an  application  made 
for  a  charter,  which  was  granted  on  Oct. 
5,  following.  The  petitioners  of  the 
charter  were:  N.  L.  Adams.  Charles 
N.  Adams,  W.  W.  Bailey,  Charles  H. 
Bowman,  James  Bringhurst,  Ed.  Bo- 
hannan,  A.  Calhoun,  B.  F.  Calhoun, 
C.  C.  t'ummings,  P.  D.  Cheney,  M.  V. 
Hamilton,  Andrew  Jackson,  John  L. 
Lofton,  Thomas  Marshal,  W.  B.  Nevius, 
John  H.  Onetto,  M.  Park,  N.  L.Smith, 
J.  X.  Squier,  J.  B.  Schneider,  W.  H. 
Sehroeder,  J.  E.  Van  Pelt,  John  L. 
White,  and  several  others  residing  at 
or  near  Jersey ville.  The  lodge  was 
chartered  as  Jerseyville  lodge  Xo.  394, 
with  J.  L.  White,  W.  M.;  John  X. 
Squier,  S.  W.;  William  B.  Xevius,  J. 
W.  On  the  12th  of  Dec,  1864, 
officers  were  elected  as  follows:  John  L. 


White,  W.  M.;  John  X.  Squier,  S.  W.; 
J.  B.  Sclmeder,  J.  W.;  W.  W.  Bailey, 
treas.;  Andrew  Jackson,  sec;  Edward 
Bohannan,  S.  D.;  B.  F.  Calhoun,  J.  D. 
<  officers  elected  in  1865 — J.  B.  Sclmeder, 
W.  M.;  John  W.  Vinson,  S.  W.:  A.  Cal- 
houn, J.  W.;  W.  W.  Bailey,  treas.;  An- 
drew Jackson,  sec.  Officers  elected  in 
1866— John  L.  White,  W.  M.;  S.  M. 
Titus,  S.  W.;  George  White,  J.  W.; 
Charles  Miner,  sec;  John  M.  Squier, 
treas.  1867— J.  L.  White,  W.  M.;  J. 
M.  Wadding,  S.  W.;  R.  M.  Knapp,  J. 
W.;  S.  M.  Titus,  treas.;  Morris R.  Locke, 
sec.  1868— J.  L.  White,  W.  M.;  Charles 
Miner,  S.  W.;  J.  D.  Russell,  J.  W.;   M. 

D.  Robbins,  treas.;  Morris  R.  Locke, 
sec.  1870— Charles  E.  Miner,  W.  M.; 
James  E.  Daniels,  S.  W.;  J.  G.  Marston, 
J.  W.;  M.  D.  Robbins,  treas.;  Morris  R. 
Locke,  sec.  1871 — Charles  E.  Miner, 
W.  M.;  J.  S.  Daniels,  S.  W.;  Joseph  G. 
Marston,  J.  W.;  M.  1).  Robbins,  treas.; 
Morris   R.    Locke,    sec.     1872 — Charles 

E.  Miner,  W.  M.;  J.  G.  Marston,  S.  W.; 
X.  F.  Smith,  J.  W.;  M.  D.  Robbins, 
treas.;  Morris  R.  Locke,  sec.  1873 — 
Charles  E.  Miner,  W.  M.;  David  M. 
Haughtlin,  S.  W.;  A.  A.  Goodrich,  J. 
W.;  J.  G.  Marston,  treas.;  Henry  Xe- 
vius, sec  1874 — J.  G.  Marston,  W. 
M.;  A.  A.  Goodrich,  S.  W.;  T.  S. 
Chapman,  J.  W.;  J.  S.  Daniels,  treas.; 
Henry  Xevius,  sec.  1875 — J.  G.  Mars- 
ton, W.  M.  ;  Charles  E.  Miner,  S.  W. ; 
David  M.  Haughtlin,  J.  W.  ;  J.  S.  Dan- 
iels, treas. ;  Henry  Xevius,  sec.  lx7(> 
— Charles  E.  Miner,  W.  M. ;  D.  M. 
Haughtlin,  S.  W.  ;  J.  B.  Rowray,  J. 
W.  ;  J.  S.  Daniels,  treas.  ;  F.  M.  Dod- 
son,  sec.  1877 — Charles  E.  Miner,  W. 
M.;  D.  M.  Haughtlin,  S.  W.  ;  J.  C. 
Marston,  J.  W.  ;  J.  S.  Daniels,    treas.; 


.528 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


O.  B.  Hamilton,  sec  1878— Morris  R. 
Locke,  W.  M.  ;B.  M.  Krumpanitzky, S. 
W.;  J.  K.  Smith,  J.  W. ;  J.  S.  Dan- 
iels, treas.  ;  J.  S.  Holmes,  sec.  1879 — 
O.  B.  Hamilton,  W.  M.  ;  J.  K.  Smith, 
S.  W.;  J.  S.  Daniels,  treas.  ;  L.  P. 
Squier,  J.  W.  ;  W.  H.  Callender,  sec. 
1880— J.  S.  Daniels,  W.  M.  ;  J.  G- 
Marston,  S.  W.  ;  Andrew  Cope,  J.  W. ; 
J.  S.  Holmes,  sec.  ;  T.  S.  Chapman, 
treas.  1881— J.  G.  Marston,  W.  M.  ; 
Andrew  Cope,  S.  W. ,  T.  S.  Chapman, 
J.  W.  ;  J.  S.  Daniels,  treas.  ;  George  S. 
Miles,  sec.  1882— J.  G.  Marston,  W. 
M. ;  Charles  E.  Miner,  S.  W.  ;  George 
Sumrall,  S.  W.  ;  T.S.  Chapman,  J.  W.; 
J.  S.  Daniels,  treas. ;  J.  S.  Holmes,  sec. 
1883— J.  G.  Marston,  W.  M.  ;  George 
Sumrall,  S.W.;  T.  S.  Chapman,  J.  W.; 
J.  S.  Daniels,  tin  as.;  J.  S.  Holmes, 
sec.  1884— J.  S.  Daniels,  W.  M.  ;  A. 
K.  Van  Home,  S.  W. ;  R.  S.  Beatty,  J. 
W.  ;  J.  S.  Holmes,  sec.  ;  S.  H.  Bow- 
man, treas.  In  1882  the  lodge  pur- 
chased the  third  story  of  the  store  build- 
ing then  owned  by  J.  C.  Barr  and  A.  W. 
Cross,  at  a  consideration  of  $1,500. 
They  then  raised  the  roof  and  remod- 
dled  the  same  at  an  additional  expense 
of  about  $1,800,  so  that  they  now  have 
elegant  apartments  24x110  feet  in  size; 
the  main  lodge  room  being  24x60  feet  in 
dimensions.  The  chapter  rents  the  use 
of  the  apartments  of  the  Blue  lodge. 
The  lodge  has  a  membership  at  present 
of  about  75,  and  is  in  a  very  flourishing 
condition.  The  regular  communica- 
tions are  on  Monday  evenings  on  or  be- 
fore the  full  moon  in  each  month. 

Jerseyville  chapter  No.  140,  Royal 
Arch  Masons,  was  organized,  under  dis- 
pensation, Feb.  4,  1870,  by  John  M. 
Pierson,   G.  H.    P.      The    charter   was 


granted  to  the  organization,  Oct.  7,  1870, 
the  charter  members  being,  George  L. 
Hassett,  Robert  M.  Knapp,  Andrew 
Jackson,  Smith  M.Titus,  J.B.Schrceder, 
John  N.  Squier,  Morris  R.  Locke,  L.  P. 
Squier,  W.  H.  Hassett,  M.  I).  Bobbins, 
James  S.  Daniels,  N.  F.  Smith,  J.  II. 
Belt,  Charles  E.Miner,  James  A.Locke, 
Stephen  H.  Bowman,  Robert  Newton 
and  Hiram  McClusky.  The  first 
officers  were.  George  L.  Hassett,  M.  E. 
II.  P.;  Robert  M.  Knapp,  E.  K.,  Morris 
R.  Locke,  E.  S.  At  the  election  held 
Dec.  12,  1870,  the  following  officers  were 
elected:  Geo.  L.  Hassett,  E.  H.  P.;  M. 
I).  Robbins,  E.K.;  J.B.  Schroeder,  E.S.; 
James  Daniels,  C.  of  H.;  C.  E.  Miner, 
P.  S.;  Morris  R.  Locke,  R.  A.  C;  J.  G. 
Marston,  G.  M.  3d  V.;  N.  F.  Smith, 
G.  M.  2d  V.;  J.  K.  Cadwallader,  G.  M. 
1st  V.;  J.  A.  Locke,  treas.;  S.  H.  Bow- 
man, sec;  L.  P.  Squier,  sent.  1871 — 
Morris  R.  Locke,  M.  E.  H.  P.;  George 
L.  Hassett,  E.  K.;  S.H.Bowman,  E.  S.; 
M.  D.  Robbins,  sec;  Jas.  A.  Locke, 
treas.;  J.  S.  Daniels,  C.  of  H.;  C.  E. 
Miner,  P.  S.;  J.  G.  Marston,  R.  A.  C; 
Al.Brinton,  G.M.  of  3d  V.;  N.T.  Smith, 
G.  M.  of  2d  V.;  D.  M.  Houghtlin,  G.M. 
of  1st  Y.;  L.C.Irvin,  sent.  1872— Chas. 
E.  Miner,  M.  E.  H.  P.;  Morris  R.  Locke, 
E.  K.;  J.W.  Phillips,  E.  S..  J.  S.  Dan- 
iels, C.of  H.;  J. G. Marston,  P.S.;  D.M. 
Houghtlin,  R.  A.  C;  B.  F.  Calhoun, 
G.  M.  of  3d  V.;  L.  Y.  McAdams, 
CM  of  2d  V.;  S.  B.  Clapp,  G.  M.  of 
1st  V.;  S.  H.  Bowman,  sec;  J.  A. 
Locke,  treas.;  L.  H.  Halliday,  sent. 
1N73— Morris  R.  Locke,  M.  E.  II.  P.; 
Robert  Newton,  E.  K.;  Jarrett  Grimes, 
E.  S.;  J.  S.  Daniels,  C.  of  H.;  D.  M. 
Houghtlin,  P.  S.;  J.  G.  Marston,  R.  A. 
C;  A.  Brinton,  G.  M.  of  3d  Y.;   B.   F. 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


529 


Calhoun,  G.  M.  of  2d  V.;  C.  E.  Miner, 
G.  M.  of  1st  V.;  J.  A.  Locke,  treas.;  L. 
P.  Squier,  sec;  R.  M.  Knapp,  sent. 
1*74— Morris  R.  Locke,  M.  E.  H.  P.; 
Edward  Colean,  E.  K.;  Robert  Newton, 

E.  S.;  J.  S.  Daniels,  C.  of  H.;  C.  E. 
Miner,  P.  S.j  J.  G.  Marston,  R.  A.  C; 
J.  G.  Irwin,  G.  M.  of  3d  V.;  D.  M. 
Houghtlin,  G.  M.  of  '2d  V.;  P.  F.  Cal- 
houn, G.  M.  of  1st  V.;  Theodore  S. 
Chapman,  sec;  S.  H.  Bowman,  treas. 
J.    A.    Locke,    sent.       1875 — Morris    1! 

Locke.  M.K.H.P.;  L.  P. Squier,  E.  K. 
H.  N.  Belt,  E.  S.;  J.  S.  Daniels,  C.  of  H. 

C.  E.  Miner,   P.  S.;   J.   G.   Marston,   R 

A.  C.j  D.  M.  Houghtlin,  G.  M.  of  3d  V. 

B.  F.  Calhoun,  G.  M.  of  2d  V.;  L.  Y 
M(  Adams,  G.  M.  of  1st  V.;  J.  A.  Locke 
sec;  S.  H.  Bowman,  treas.;  James  Fads 
sent.  1876 — Morris  R.  Locke,  M.  E 
II.  I'.;  L.  I".  Squier,  E.  K.;  H.  N.  Belt 

F.  S.j  J.  S.  Daniels.  C.  of  H.;  C.  E 
Miner,  P.  S.;  .J.  G.  Marston,   It.  A.  C. 

D.  M.  Houghtlin,  G.  M.  3d  V.;  0.  B 
Hamilton,  G.  M.   2d  V.;   S.    Bothwell 

G.  M.  1st  V.;  J.  A.  Locke,  sec;  S.  H 
Bowman,  treas.;  N.  F.  Smith,  sent 
1877— Morris  R.  Locke,  M.  E.  H.  P. 
L.  P.  Squier,  E.  K.;  A.  K.   Van  Home, 

F.  S.;  J.  A.  Locke,  sec;  S.  II.  Bow- 
man, treas.;  J.  S.  Daniels,  C.  of  II.;    C. 

E.  Miner,  P.  S.;  0.  B.  Hamilton,  R.  A. 
C.j  J.  G.  Marston,  G.  M.  3d  V.; 
D.  M.  Haughtlin,  G.  M.  2d  V.;  J.  W. 
Clark,  (i.  M.  1st  V.;  B.  F.  Calhoun, 
sent.  1878— C.  E.  Miner,  M.  E.  H.  P.; 
L.  P.  Squier,  E.  K.;  R.  Newton,  E.  S.j 
J.  G.  Marston,  C.  of  H.;  J.  S.  Daniels, 
P.  S.j  0.  B.  Hamilton,  R.  A.  C;  A.  K. 
Van  Home,  G.  M.  3d  V.;  M.  R.  Locke, 

G.  M.  2d  V.;  B.  F.  Calhoun,  G.  M.  1st 
V.;  J.  A.  Locke,  sec;  S.  H.  Bowman, 
treas.;  Horace  M.    Lobb,   sent.     1879 — 


C.  E.  Miner,  M.  E.  H.  P.;  L.  P.  Squier, 
E.  K.;  J.  T.  Grimes,  E.  S.j  J.  G. 
Marston,  ('.  of  H.;  J.  S.  Daniels,  P.  S.; 
0.  B.  Hamilton,  R,  A.  C.j  A.  K.  Van 
Home,  G.  M.  3d  V.;  Morris  R.  Locke, 
G.  M.  2d  V.;  T.  S.  Chapman,  G.  M.  1st 
V.;  J.  A.  Locke,  sec;  S.  H.  Bowman, 
treas.;  Robert  Newton,  sent.  For  1880 
there  was  no  election,  and  the  old  offi- 
cers held  over  for  the  next  year.  1881 
— C.  E.  Miner,  M.  E.  H.  P.;  A.  M. 
Slaten,  E.  K.;  J.  K.  Cadwallader,  E. 
S.j  J.  G.  Marston,  C.  of  II.;  J.  S.  Dan- 
iels, P.  S.j  D.  M.  Houghtlin,  R.  A.  C.j 
L.  Y.  McAdams,  G.  M.  3d  V.;  A.  K. 
VanHorne,  G.  M.  2d  V.;  H.  C.  Terry, 
G.  M.  1st  V.;  Edward  Colean,  treas.; 
Morris  R.  Locke,  sec;  Erasmus  Fries, 
sent.  1882— C.  E.  Miner,  M.  E.  H.  P.; 
George  Sumrall,  E.  K.;  L.  P.  Squier, 
E.  S.j  J.  G.  Marston,  C.  of  H.;  J.  S. 
Daniels,  P.  S.j  D.  M.  Houghtlin,  R.  A. 
C;  S.  H.  Bowman,  treas.;  Morris  R. 
Locke,  sec;  A.  K.  VanHorne,  G.  M. 
3d  V.;  E.  Fries,  G.  M.  2d  V.;  T.  S. 
Chapman,  G.  M.  1st  V.;  L.  Y.  Mc- 
Adams, sent.  1883 — T.  S.  Chapman, 
M.  E.  H.  P.;  George  Sumrall,  E.  K.j 
J.  Pike,  E.  S.;  J.  G.  Marston,  C.  of  11.; 
A.  K.  VanHorne,  P.  S.j  J.  K.  Cadwal- 
lader, I!.  A.  ('.;  W.  Fa. Is,  (i.  M.  3d  V.; 
Amos  Stroud,  G.  M.  2d  V.j  George  C. 
Cockrell,  G.  M.  1st  V.;  Morris  It. 
Locke,  sec;  J.  S.  Daniels,  treas.;  James 
Fads,  sent,  1884— J.  G.  Marston,  M. 
E.  H.  P.;  Edward  Colean,  E.  K.;  E. 
Fries,  F.  S.j  C.  E.  Miner,  C.  of  H.j  A. 
K.  VanHorne,  P.  S.j  D.  Houghtlin,  R. 
A.  C;  T.  S.  Chapman,  G.  M.  3d  V.;  A. 
P.  Stroud,  G.  M.  2d  V.;  George  Sum- 
rail,  G.  M.  1st  V.;  J.  S.  Daniels,  treas.; 
Morris  R.  Locke,  sec;  William  Fads, 
sent.     The  finance   committee  for  1**5 


530 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


is  composed  of  J.  G.  Marston,  Edward 
Colean  and  Erasmus  Fries.  Regular 
convocations  are  held  on  the  first  Mon- 
day after  the  full  moon  of  each  month. 
Lowe  Post,  No.  295,  G.  A.  R.,  held 
its  first  charter  meeting  July  6,  lss.i, 
and  the  following  charter  members  were 
mustered  in  by  Commander  John  G. 
Mack, of  Springfield-  H.  C.  Bull,  J.  H. 
Duffield,  A.  J.  Osborn,  John  Powell, 
W.  H.  Coulthard,  C.  F.  Cruser,  S.  P. 
Clendennen,  G.  H.  Sturtevant,  John  E. 
Boynton,  Charles  Doerge,  William  La 
Rue,  John  H.  Price,  G.  C.  Cockrell,  J. 
S.  Malotte,  E.  L.  H.  Barry,  Stephen 
Catt,  John  Fraser  and  William  F.  Gam- 
bel.  Officers  were  elected  at  the  first 
meeting,  as  follows:  J.  H.  Duffield,  P. 
C;  A.  J.  Osborn,  S.  V.  C;  Chas. 
Doerge,  J.  V.  C;  J.  S.  Malotte,  Adjt.; 
W.  H.  Coulthard,  Q.  M.;  E.  L.  H. 
Barry,  surgeon;  Rev.  Stephen  Catt, 
chaplain;  John  Powell,  O.  D.;  H.  C. 
Bull,  0.  G.;  N.  C.  Beaty,  S.  M.;  G.  H. 
Sturtevant.  Q.  S.  At  the  election  held 
in  Jan.,  1S84,  the  following  officers  were 
chosen:  J.  M.  Page,  P.  C;  A.  J.  Os- 
born, S.  V.  C;  Chas.  Doerge,  J.  V.  C; 
J.  S.  Malotte,  Adjt.;  A.  J.  Everts,  Chap.; 
W.  H.  Coulthard,  Q.  M.;  E.  L.  H. 
Barry,  Surg.;  G.  H.  Sturtevant,  Q.  S.; 
S.  P.  Clendennen,  O.  G.;  J.  H.  Duffield, 
0.  D.  For  1885,  the  officers  are  as  fol- 
lows: A.  J.  Osborn,  P.  C;  Chas. 
Doerge,  S.  V.  C;  J.  H.  Sturtevant.  J. 
V.  C;  J.  S.  Malotte.  Adjt,;  Wm.  La 
Rue,  Q.  M.;  J.  M.  Page,  O.  D.;  Ed- 
ward Slatetrly,  0.  G.;  E.  L.  H.  Barry, 
Surg.;  D.  C.  Witze,  Chap.;  Henry 
Doenges,  Q.  M.;  Wm.  Coulthard,  S.  M. 
The  post  is  in  good  condition,  and  has 
a  membership  of  about  55  on  its  rolls. 
Meetings  are  held  on  the   evenings   of 


the  second  and  fourth  Tuesday  in  each 
month,  in  Sons  of  Temperance  hall. 

Jerseyville  lodge  No.  53,  I.  0.  0.  F., 
was  instituted  May  3,  1849,  at  the  court 
house  in  Jerseyville  by  District  Deputy 
Grand  Master  Raynor,  of  Collinsville, 
assisted  by  T.  P.  Ash,  N.  G.,  and  six 
other  officers  and  members  of  Alton 
lodge  No.  2.  The  five  charter  members 
were:  Peyton  C.  Walker,  A.  C.  Hutch- 
ison, Dr.  James  Bringhurst,  deceased, 
and  Samuel  Cohen  and  C.  H.  Roberts. 
The  members  initiated  on  that  evening 
were:  William  Yates,  Dr.  J.  C.  Perry, 
N.  L.  Adams,  A.  P.  Staats,  R.  L.  Hill 
(all  now  deceased),  P.  Silloway,  Geo.  E. 
Warren,  C.  F.  Burke  and  Jon.  Plowman. 
The  first  officers  were:  Wm.  Yates, 
N.  G.;  R.  L.  Hill,  V.  G.;  C.  H.  Roberts, 
Sec;  Jon.  Plowman,  Treas.  The  first 
hall  used  by  the  lodge  was  erected  by 
it  in  1851,  by  stock  subscription  of  the 
members.  There  were  180  shares,  of 
$10  each,  the  lodge  subscribing  at  first 
17]  shares,  and  ultimately  purchasing 
the  remainder.  This  hall  was  on  Main 
street,  on  the  present  site_of  D.  G.  and 
H.  N.  Wyckoff's  new  brick  store,  and 
was  a  two-story  frame  building,  25x60 
feet,  the  hall  on  the  second  floor,  and  a 
store  below.  The  cost  of  the  lot  and 
building  was  $2,200.  The  lodge  occu- 
pied this  hall  until  Jan.,  1871,  when 
they  took  possession  of  their  present 
one,  in  a  three-story  brick  building  on 
west  Pearl  street.  This  edifice  was 
erected  by  B.  C.  VanDervoort  and  the 
lodge,  and  the  former  putting  up  the 
first  two  stories,  and  the  lodge  the 
third.  The  cost  of  the  hall  and  furni- 
ture was  $3,200.  The  old  hall  property 
was  sold  for  $2,500.  The  lodge  property 
is  now  valued  at  $3,000.     They  are  in  a 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


531 


prosperous  condition,  and  have  a  fund 
of  $3,100  at  interest.  The  present 
membership  is  65;  total  number  of 
names  on  the  roll,  352;  past  grands, 
72;  died;  50.  The  officers  for  the  en- 
suing year  arc:  J.  H.  Richards,  N.  G.; 
C.  H.  Blish,  V.  (i.;  Geo.  M.  Cockrell, 
Sec;  Bcnj.  Barnett,  P.  S.;  C.  S. 
Daniels,  Treas.;  H.  W.  Fishei,  acting 
P.  G.  Meetings  are  held  at  the  hall  of 
the  lodge  every  Thursday  evening.  The 
annual  revenue  is  $630. 

Jerseyville  Encampment,  No.  20.  1. 
O.  O.  F.,  was  instituted  July  6,  1852,  by 
Grand  Patriarch  James  E.  Starr,  as- 
sisted by  J.  P.  Beaumont,  H.  P.;  Wm. 
Shattuck,  S.  W.;  A.  S.  Barry,  J.  W.; 
B.  F.  Barry,  scribe,  with  the  following 
charter  members:  Rev.  L.  P.  Grosve- 
nor,  P.  C.  Walker,  Wright  Casey,  Ed- 
win A.  Casey,  A.  L.  Knapp,  N.  L. 
Adams,  all  now  deceased,  and  C.  H. 
Roberts.  The  first  officers  elected 
were:  L.  P.  Grosvenor,  C.  P.;  E.  A. 
Casey,  H.  P.;  N.  L.  Adams,  S.  W.;  C. 
H.  Roberts,  scribe;  Wright  Casey, 
treas.  At  the  same  meeting,  the  fol- 
lowing members  were  elected  and  initi- 
ated: William  Yates,  A.  M.  Blackburn, 
both  now  deceased,  Geo.  E.  Warren,  B. 
B.  Hamilton  and  H.  0.  Goodrich.  The 
encampment  suspended  its  organization, 
and  the  last  meeting  was  held,  June  20, 
1859.  It  was  reorganized  July  16, 
1867,  and  has  since  enjoyed  prosperity. 
The  present  membership  is  69;  in!) 
names  appear  on  the  roll.  Of  the  pres- 
ent members  of  the  encampment,  Pat- 
riarch Walter  E.  Carlin  has  been  grand 
worthy  patriarch  of  the  grand  encamp- 
ment of  Illinois,  and  is  representative 
for  the  third  time  to  the  sovereign  grand 
lodge  of  the   United  States,   and  Patri- 


arch J.  S.  Carr  is  the  present  deputy 
grand  master  of  the  grand  lodge  of  Illi- 
nois. 

Antioch  lodge  No.  65,  Knights  of 
Pythias,  is  one  of  the  leading  secret  or- 
ganizations of  Jerseyville.  A  meeting 
for  the  formation  of  such  a  lodge  was 
held  Feb.  7,  1876.  An  organization  was 
effected,  under  auspicious  circum- 
stances, with  the  following  charter 
members:  Geo.  W.  Herdman,  Geo.  C. 
Cockrell,  H.  D.  Stelle,  Elias  Cockrell, 
W.  S.  Bowman,  J.  P.  Holcomb,  William 
L.  Scott,  Henry  Nevius,  R.  B.  Leak, 
Barclay  Wedding,  G.  M.  Eaton,  A.  H. 
Barrett,  C.  E.  Casey,  Henry  T.  Nail, 
John  Wiley,  S.  J.  Snedeker,  J.  H. 
Bothwell,  J.  I.  McGready,  H.  D.  Field, 
and  W.  H.  Edgar.  The  first  officers 
elected  were:  G.  W.  Herdman,  ('.  C; 
H.  T.  Nail,  B.  C;  G.  M.  Eaton,  M.  E.; 
G.  C.  Cockrell,  M.  F.;  H.  D.  Stelle,  K. 
R.  &  S.;  A.  H.  Barrett,  M.  A.;  H.  Ne- 
vius, I.  G.;  John  Wiley,  O.  (i.;  W.  M. 
Jackson,  P.  C;  W.  S.  Bowman,  P. 
Their  hall  is  in  the  postoffice  building, 
owned  by  R.  C.  Gledhill,  and  is  25x40 
feet  in  area.  It  is  handsomely  and  ap- 
propiately  furnished.  This  lodge  was 
at  one  time  among  the  most  prosper- 
ous in  the  state,  but  of  late  years  the 
interest  has  died  out  to  some  extent. 
The  number  of  members  in  good  stand- 
ing at  the  present  time  is  43.  The  offi- 
cers for  the  ensuing  term  are:  J.  W. 
MeFvers,  P.  C;  E.  A.  R.  Myers,  C.  C. 
J.  L.  Jarboe,  V.  C;  Elias  Cockrell, 
M.  E.;  J.  R.  Colean,  M.  F.;  C.S. Blish, 
K.  R.  &  S..  E.  L.  H.  Barry,  Jr.,  M.  A.; 
E.  L.  H.  Barry,  Sr.,  I.  G.;  Fred  Arm- 
strong, 0.  G 

Apollo  lodge  No.  877,   K.   of  EL,  was 
organized  Feb.    11,     1878,   by  D.  G.  D., 


/ 


532 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY 


John  B.  Booker,  of  the  grand  lodge  K. 
of  II.,  of  Illinois,  with  20  charter  mem- 
bers, to-wit:  James  Eads,  John  W.Yin- 
son,  Caleb  I)u  Hadway,  Joseph  Malotte, 
Clarence  M.  Hamilton,  Oscar  B.  Hamil- 
ton, Ludlow  I'.  Squiers,  Augustus  K. 
Yan  Home,  George  F.  Walker,  Joseph 
M.  Page,  Frank  W.  Smith.  Richard  G. 
Fain,  George  E.  Warren,  Jr.,  Ellis  E. 
Whitehead,  James  S.  Daniels,  Joshua 
Pike, Charles  E.Miner,  Milton  E.Elling- 
wood,  John  C.  Darby  and  William  F. 
Krotzsch.  The  first  officers  were  as  fol- 
lows: John  W.  Yinson,  P.  D.;  Charles 
E.  Miner,  D.;  James  S.  Daniels,  Y.  D.; 
Ludlow  P.  Squiers,  A.  D.;  Oscar  B. 
Hamilton,  R.;  Joseph  M.  Page,  F.  R.; 
John  C. Darby,  treas.;  Richard  G.Fain, 
chap.;  Joseph  Malotte,  G.  E.;  Geo.  E. 
Warren,  G.  N.;  T.  W.  Smith,  S.;  Clar- 
ence M.  Hamilton,  James  Eads  and 
Caleb  Du  Hadway,  trustees.  The  pres- 
ent officers  are.  John  C.  Gaskill,  P.  D.; 
Henry  F.  Bayer,  D..  Frank  W.  Roerig, 
Y.  D.;  Henry  A.  McClintock,  A.  D.. 
Lewis  R.Meyers,  R.;  Clarence  M.  Ham- 
ilton, F.  R..  Joel  E.  Cory,  treas.;  Wil- 
liam H.Parker,  chap.;  Casper  Sabo,G.; 
John  Mode,  S.;  James  S.  Daniels,  John 
W.  Vinson  and  Joshua  Pike,  trustees. 
The  present  membership  is  68,  and  the 
lodge  is  in  good  condition  at  present. 
The  membership  is  composed  of  some 
of  the  most  prominent  citizens  of  Jersey- 
ville,  and  the  county  of  Jersey. 

Jerseyville  Division,  No.  16,  Sons  of 
Temperance  was  the  first  lodge  of  a 
secret  order,  not  only  in  the  city  of 
Jerseyville,  but  in  Jersey  county  as  well. 
It  was  first  organized  August  4,  1847, 
with  the  following  officers  :  B.  C. 
Woods,  W.  P.  ;  A.  B.  Morean,  W.  A.  ; 
Wm.  B.  Nevins,  R.  S.  ;  Thomas  L.  Mc- 


Gill,  A.  R.  S.  ;  W.J.  West,  F.  S. ;  Chas. 
H.  Knapp,  Treas.;  Amos  Brown,  chap.; 
Peyton  C.  Walker,  Cond.;  A.  P.  Staats, 
A.  C.  ;  George  Wharton,  I.  S.  ;  Francis 
Osborn,  0.  S.j  Elihu  J.  Palmer,  P.  W. 
P.  The  interest  gradually  died  out,  and 
finally  meetings  were  no  longer  held, 
and  the  division  was  disbanded.  This 
division  was  reorganized  February  11, 
1878,  by  Grand  Worthy  Patriarch  Rev. 
J.  Nate,  of  the  grand  division  of  Sons 
of  Temperance  of  Illinois.  The  char- 
ter members  were:  Henry  Gill,  Lewis 
R.  Myers,  Win.  F.  Gammel,  Johnson 
Norris,  Daniel  McFain,  George  Morley, 
Eli  D.  Walker,  Henry  Delicate,  Wm. 
H.  Pogue,  Benjamin  C.  Clayton,  Daniel 
W.  Phillips,  Oscar  B.  Hamilton,  Ste- 
phen Catt,  James  A.  Barr,  James  C. 
Ross,  George  W.  West,  Francis  Osborn, 
Lewis  R.  Phelps,  Francis  R.  Dutton, 
Norman  E.  Landon,  Charles  W.  Enos, 
N.  H.  Landon,  and  Wm.  McBride.  The 
officers  elected  to  serve  the  first  term 
were  the  following  :  Daniel  McFain,  P. 
W.  P.;  James  A.  Barr,  W .  P.;  Benjamin 
Clayton,  W.  A.;  Oscar  B.  Hamilton,  R. 
S.;  Chas.  W.  Enos,  A.  R.  S.;  Wm.  H. 
Callender,  F.  S.;  Alfred  Price,  treas.; 
Hengy  Delicate,  chap.;  Wm.  McBride, 
cond.;  Wm.  Eads.  A.  C;  James C.  Ross, 
T.  S.;  Johnson  Norris,  0.  S.  The  di- 
vision organized  with  30  members  and 
advanced  to  200.  At  present  the  mem- 
bership is  67.  The  officers  are  as  fol- 
lows :  Ella  Daniels,  W.  P.;  J.  H.  Duf- 
tield,  W.  A.;  Frank  W.  Embley,  P.  W. 
P.;  Lewis  R.  Myers,  R.  S.,  Lawrence 
Enos,  A.  R.  S.;  A.  J.  Osborn,  F.  S., 
Mrs.  James  A.  Barr,  treas.;  Mrs.  J.  E. 
Boynton,  chap.;  Keller  Maxwell,  cond.; 
Jennie  Davis,  A.  C;  Emma  Daniels,  I. 
S.;  Norman  Landon,  O.  S. 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


533 


Jerseyville  Lodge,  No.  87,  Independ- 
ent Order  of  Mutual  Aid,  was  instituted 
and  charter  granted,  July  20,  1880.  The 
charter  members  were  as  follows:  R. 
P.  Shackelford,  William  Ford,  Peter 
Dolan.  Thos.  A.  Davis,  William  E. 
Hibble,  H.  Z.  Gill,  Phillip  Block,  John 
Mode,  Henry  Htdler,  Frederick  Hart- 
zen,  David  M.  Zeller,  Christian  Harms, 
Joseph  W.  VanCleve,  John  W.  Vinson, 
John  M.  Waller,  diaries  A.  Edgar, 
Conrad  Borger,  Frederick  Hund.  Fred- 
erick Nagel,  ('.  F.  Hawkins,  Geo.  W. 
Wolf,-,  and  G.  W.  Sheffer.  The  first 
officers  were:  R.  I'.  Shackelford,  P. 
P.;  Wm.  Ford,  Pres.:  Peter  Dolan,  V. 
P.;  T.  O.  Davis,  R.  S.;  W.  E.  Hibble, 
F.  S.:  H.  Z.  Gill,  treas.;  J.  W.  Van 
Cleve,  chaplain:  John  Mode.  I.  ('<.: 
Christian  Harms,  0.  G.;  Fred  Hartzen, 
conductor:  1).  W.  Zeller,  Henry  Heller 
and  Phillip  Block,  trustees.  There  is 
now  a  membership  of  16,  all  in  good 
standing;  they  have  no  debts,  the  state 
order  has  paid  off  its  indebtedness,  and 
:i  season  of  prosperity  now  opens  he- 
fore  the  local  lodge.  There  have  been 
no  deaths  in  their  ranks  since  organiza- 
tion. Tin'  officers  for  the  year  1885are — 
Henry  Helli  r,  P.;  Geo.  H.  Wolfe,  V. 
P.:  John  C.  Gaskill,  R.  S.;  Robert 
Schmidt.  F.  S.;  Phillip  Block,  tie.,,.: 
Christian  Harms,  conductor;  Conrad 
Borger,  I.  G.;  Frederick  Zimmerli,  0. 
G.;  John  W.  Vinson,  Geo.  H.  Wolfe 
and  Henry  Heller,  trustees.  Meetings 
are  held  on  the  first  and  third  Monday 
in  each  month,  in  the  hall  over  Hamil- 
ton's store.  The  lodge  has  been  repre- 
sented at  the  grand  lodge  meetings  once 
each  by  II.  C.  Gill  andT.  A.  Davis,  and 
twice  by  Phillip  Block.  The  latter  is 
also    representative    to   the  next    grand 


lodge,  which  meets  in  Sprinfield,  in 
Feb.,  1886. 

MUNICIPAL. 

The  town  of  Jerseyville  was  first  in- 
corporated, as  such  on  the  21st  day  of 
July,  1837.  The  first  officers  were: 
John  W.  Lott,  president  of  the  board  of 
trustees;  E.  M.  Daley,  clerk;  Samuel 
L.  McGill,  George  W.  Collins  and  Rich- 
ard Graham,  board  of  trustees. 

It  was  incorporated  as  a  city,  Feb. 
21,  1867,  at  which  time  the  following 
were  elected  the  first  officers,  under  the 
new  organization:  Marcus  E.  Bayley, 
mayor:  George  II.  Jackson,  clerk:  Jas. 
S.  Daniels,  marshal;  King  A  Pinero, 
attorneys;  N.  Wallace,  constable,  and 
Andrew  Jackson.  John  L,  White,  Geo. 
Egelhoff  and  James  S.  Blvthe,  alder 
men. 

The  following  are  the  present  officers: 

E.  L.  H.  Barry,  mayor:  Will  Hanley, 
clerk;  Henry  Whyte,  marshal:   Thomas 

F.  Ferns,  attorney;  G.  M.  Eaton,  A.  K. 
Van  Home,  John  Fox,  F.  J.  Bertman, 
Geo.  Egelhoff  Henry  N'evius,  J.  S. 
Daniels,  and  J.  A.  Shephard,  alder- 
men. 

NEWSPAPERS. 

Jerseyville  now  has  four  newspapers. 
One  of  these  is  of  daily  issue,  while 
the  other  three  are  weekly  publications. 
In  this  line  of  enterprise.  Jerseyville 
will  rank  with  her  sister  cities  of  simi- 
lar size.  For  the  histories  of  her  news- 
papers of  to-day,  as  well  as  of  those  of 
by-gone  days,  the  reader  is  referred  to 
the  chapter  on  the  Press  of  the  county. 


The  Jerseyville  cemetery  occupies  a 
portion  of  the  southeast  quarter  of  the 
northeast  quarter  of  section  21.     It  was 


534 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


surveyed  and  platted  by  Henry  M. 
Chase,  county  surveyor,  July  17,  1856. 
The  plat  was  recorded  July  19,  signed 
by  A.  B.  Morean,  president,  and  A.  M. 
Blackburn,  clerk  of  the  council  of  the 
town  of  Jerseyville.  The  premises  are 
kept  in  neat  order,  walks  are  laid  out 
through  all  portions  of  the  grounds, 
and  everything  about  presents  such  an 
appearance  as  is  a  source  of  pride  to 
the  people  of  the  city. 

PROMINENT    CITIZENS. 

The  following  sketches  are  of  some  of 
the  prominent  citizens  of  Jerseyville, 
many  of  whom  have  retired  from  life's 
busy  cares,  having  nobly  done  their 
part  in  the  development  of  the  place. 
Many  of  the  others  are  still  identified 
with  the  active  duties  of  life,  and  all 
are  worthy  of  mention  in  this  connec- 
tion. 

Isaac  Snedeker,  deceased,  was  among 
the  prominent  settlers  of  this  county  at 
an  early  date.  He  was  born  at  Four- 
Mile  Ferry,  near  Trenton,  N.  J.,  Nov. 
22,  1812,  the  youngest  of  four  sons  of 
Isaac  and  Catharine  Snedeker,  His 
youthful  days  were  spent  at  home  under 
the  paternal  roof,  and  when  sufficiently 
grown,  aided  in  the  work  of  the  farm, 
and  each  year  attended  the  neighboring 
schools  a  portion  of  the  time,  making 
fair  progress  in  his  studies  until  his  18th 
year,  when  a  desire  to  do  something  for 
himself  was  developed  by  his  leaving 
home  and  interesting  himself  in  the 
public  works,  aiding  in  building  the 
Trenton  water-works,  and  when  these 
were  finished,  engaging  on  the  Delaware 
and  Raritan  canal,  and  from  this  to  the 
building  of  the  Camden  &  Ainboy  rail- 
road, spending  the  earlier  years  of  his 


manhood  in  the  practical  duties  required 
of  him.  When  these  great  works  were 
completed,  he  engaged  in  literary  pur- 
suits, and  was  employed  in  gathering 
the  material  and  data  for  compiling  the 
New  Jersey  Historical  Gazeteer,  and 
Map  of  the  State,  spending  several  years 
in  this  work  until  it  was  completed, 
when  he  settled  on  a  farm  in  Monroe 
county,  N.  Y.  He  was  early  known 
for  his  public  spirit,  giving  aid  to  the 
building  up  of  churches  and  educational 
institutions.  He  connected  himself  with 
the  M.  E.  church,  and  with  others  es- 
tablished the  Perrrington  church  in 
his  neighborhood,  and  erected  Perring- 
ton  chapel,  which  bore  the  impress  of 
his  architectural  direction,  and  was  an 
ornament  to  the  surrounding  neighbor- 
hood— a  model  for  other  church  build- 
ings to  copy  from.  He  was  one  of  the 
stewards  of  that  church  until  his  re- 
moval from  the  state.  He  was  active  in 
the  military  organization  of  New  York, 
and  was  commissioned  by  Governor 
Marcy,  Aug.  1,  1836,  as  one  of  the  offi- 
cial staff  of  the  52d  N.  Y.  Inf.,  Colonel 
E.  Sutherland,  commanding,  with  rank 
from  June  18,  1836,  holding  the  office 
until  July  17,  1841,  when  he  resigned, 
and  was  honorably  mustered  out  by 
Brigadier-General  Lathrop.  He  re- 
sided in  New  York  until  the  spring 
of  1844,  when  he  came  to  Jerseyville, 
111.,  where,  in  connection  with  his 
brother  Samuel,  he  engaged  in  farming, 
each  taking  charge  of  parts  of  the  busi- 
ness that  their  peculiar  genius  best 
fitted  them,  and  for  years  their  farm- 
ing investments  were  very  successfully 
managed.  He  early  identified  himself 
with  the  reformatory  and  educational 
interests  of  his  new  location,  and  par- 


ticularly  in  promoting  tlie  temperance 
work,  becoming  identified  with  the 
Sons  of  Temperance,  and  one  of  its 
must  active  members.  He  was  also  op- 
posed to  the  institution  of  slavery  while 
in  New  York,  and  was  president  of  an 
anti-slavery  society.  He  believed  it 
was  wrong  and  opposed  it  with  might 
anil  power,  and  at  an  early  day  was 
instrumental  in  organizing  an  anti- 
slavery  society  in  this  county,  when  it 
required  nerve,  firmness  and  pluck  to 
dare  to  advocate  their  principles.  He 
was  frequently  threatened,  and  even 
life  endangered,  because  of  his  out- 
spoken principles.  In  June,  1846,  he 
was  married  to  Caroline  Sunderland, 
daughter  of  John  Sunderland,  of  Tren- 
ton, X.  J.,  and  sister  of  his  brother 
Samuel's  wife.  The  union  was  a  happy 
one,  all  through  the  years  of  his  useful 
life.  In  Oct.,  1849,  Joseph  Crabb,  a 
justice  of  the  peace,  committed  three 
young  men,  all  nearly  as  white  as  him- 
self, to  the  county  jail,  under  the  au- 
thority of  the  black  laws  of  Illinois. 
Mr.  Snedeker  bad  them  taken  out  on  a 
writ  of  habeas  corpus,  and  taken  before 
the  circuit  court,  and  they  were  dis- 
charged.  It  is  claimed  that  this  was 
tin-  first  time  that  the  black  laws,  under 
the  new  constitution  of  1848,  had  been 
tested,  and  the  first  time  a  negro  had 
been  released  from  a  common  jail,  by  a 
writ  of  habeas  corpus,  in  Illinois.  Mr. 
Snedeker's  first  vote  was  cast  for  Henry 
(.'lay,  and  he  voted  twice  for  Abraham 
Lincoln,  a  warm  personal  friendship 
existing  between  them.  At  the  open- 
ing, and  during  the  civil  war  of  1861, 
there  was  a  strong  disloyal  element  in 
this  county,  and  it  required  pluck  and 
courage  to  stand  true  to  principle     Mr. 

35 


Snedeker  dared  to  come  out  boldly  and 
advocate  the  cause  of  the  Union,  and  in 
him  the  soldier  boys  had  a  true  and  firm 
friend.    He  was  one  of  the  chief  promot- 
ers of  the  objects  of  the  Illinois  State 
Horticultural  Society,  a  regular  attend- 
ant on  its    sessions,  and  in  connection 
with  0.  B.  Galusha,    Dr.    E.   S.    Hull. 
Jonathan  Huggins,  A.  Hilliand,   YV.   H. 
Mann,  Hon.  A.  M.Brown,  D.  Wier,  Dr. 
A.  G.  Humphrey,  H.  G.    Minkler,    M. 
M.  Hooton,  Dr.  J.  Long,  M.  L.Dunlap, 
and  Hon.  John  M.  Pearson,  was  instru- 
mental in  promoting  the  cultivation   of 
fruit  in  all  parts  of  the  State.     He  never 
failed  to  attend  the  annual  meeting   of 
the  society  and  take  an   active   part   in 
their  deliberations,  impressing  his  prac- 
tical knowledge  and   embodying    it    in 
their  reports.     His  labors  in    this   con- 
nection were  not  confined  to   this   State 
but  he  attended  the  Missouri  State  Hor- 
ticultural Society    meetings,    and  took 
part  in  its  deliberations.     He  was  emi- 
nently   a    social    man.       Blessed    with 
abundance,  he  never  was  so    happy   as 
when    dispensing    hospitality     to    his 
friends.     In  his  family  relation-  be  was 
most  happy.      Isaac  Snedeker   departed 
this  life  July  4,  1877,  at  his  home,  after 
a  sickness  of  nearly   one   year,  termin- 
ating in    cancer    of   the  stomach.     He 
contained  within  himself  all    the    good 
qualities  of  head  and  heart  that  enno- 
bles   a  man,  and  should  be   emulated. 
Of  him    it  can  truly  be    said,     "being 
dead,  he  yet  speaketh,"'  for  he  will  live 
in  the  remembrance  of  a  large  circle  of 
friends  for  many  years.     Mrs.   Caroline 
Snedeker  resides  with   her    son  Orville, 
in  Jerseyville. 

Hon.  Orville  A.  Snedeker,  lawyer  and 
real    estate    dealer,      was     born    June 


536 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


12, 1848,  at  Jerseyville.  He  was  edu- 
cated in  the  public  schools  of  Jersey- 
ville, and  entered  Shurtleff  College, 
Upper  Alton,  and  graduated,  after 
which  he  spent  two  years  in  Chicago  in 
mercantile  life  and  reading  law,  and 
graduated  from  Bryant  &  Stratton's 
Business  College;  then  he  returned  to 
Jerseyville  and  spent  a  year  in  the  law 
office  of  Judge  R.  A.  King,  after  which 
he  was  admitted  to  practice  law  in 
the  supreme  court,  and  has  ever  since 
been  in  practice  here,  being  licensed  to 
practice  in  all  the  courts.  He  also 
deals  extensively  in  real  estate,  which 
business  occupies  much  of  his  time. 
He  was  married  in  1873  to  Emma  L. 
Dalzell,  of  Philadelphia.  They  are  the 
parents  of  two  children — Isaac  and 
Samuel   Frank. 

Sam'l  J.  Snedeker,  the  other  son  of 
Isaac  Snedeker,  was  born  in  this  county 
Aug.  7,  1851.  He  is  the  youngest  of 
the  children,  and  was  brought  up  on 
the  farm,  remaining  with  his  parents 
until  21  years  old.  He  then  rented 
land  in  Jerseyville  township,  which  he 
cultivated  until  1877,  when  he  pur- 
chased 80  acres  on  section  22.  He  is 
still  living  on  the  old  homestead,  and 
now  owns  226  acres  of  good  land.  He 
was  married  Oct.  12,  1875,  to  Anna  E. 
Dalzell,  in  Philadelphia,  a  daughter  of 
David  and  Marietta  Dalzell,  the 
former  a  native  of  New  Jersey,  and  the 
latter  of  Philadelphia.  They  are  the 
parents  of  four  children — Harriet  M., 
David,  Orville  G.  and  Olanas  O.  Mr. 
Snedeker  is  a  member  of  the  I.  0.  0.  F., 
lodge  No.  53,  and  of  the  K.  of  P.  No! 
20,  and  with  his  wife  is  a  member  of 
the  Baptist  church.  He  is  a  genial, 
whole-souled    gentleman,  and   has   the 


respect  of  the  people  of  the  community 
in  which  he  lives,  to  a  marked  degree. 
The  Edgar  family,  from  which  Col. 
William  H.  Edgar  is  descended,  emi- 
grated from  Scotland  more  than  200 
years  ago,  and  settled  on  the  Rahway 
river,  in  New  Jersey,  on  a  homestead 
which  is  still  in  the  family  name.  Wil- 
liam S.,anative  of  Philadelphia,  Penn., 
was  born  on  the  22d  of  Dec,  1816;  son 
of  Alexander  A.  Edgar  and  Sarah  Eliz- 
abeth, nee  Crowell,  both  of  whom 
were  natives  of  Essex  county,  N.  J., 
and  consistent  members  of  the  Society 
of  Friends.  In  1833,  removing  to  the 
west,  they  settled  in  St.  Clair  county, 
111.  The  son  had  enjoyed  good  educa- 
tional privileges  in  his  native  place,  and 
upon  his  removal  to  the  west  with  his 
family,  was  sent  to  Marion  College, 
Missouri,  an  institution  noted  for  its 
strong  anti-slavery  principles.  After 
t\v<>  years  of  close  application,  his  health 
becoming  impaired,  he  closed  his 
studies,  and,  for  a  time,  engaged  in 
teaching.  His  early  tastes  had  led  him 
to  choose  the  medical  profession,  and  at 
the  close  of  his  engagement  he  began 
the  study  of  medicine  in  the  office  of 
Drs.  White  &  Tiffin,  at  St.  Louis.  After 
one  year  spent  in  blistering,  bleeding, 
cupping  and  leeching,  as  was  then  the 
custom,  he  returned  to  Marion  College, 
with  improved  health,  intending  to 
complete  the  full  course  of  study.  Be- 
fore he  graduated,  however,  the  slavery 
agitation  became  so  strong,  and  popular 
opinion  so  opposed  the  school,  that  it 
was  obliged  to  close  up.  One  incident 
will  serve  to  illustrate  the  state  of  the 
public  mind,  on  one  occasion.  When 
Rev.  Dr.  Nelson,  president  of  the  col- 
lege, was  officiating  at  a  camp  meeting, 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


537 


a  Mr.  Muldron  handed  him,  to  read,  a 
notice  of  an  anti-slavery  meeting.  A 
noted  pro-slavery  man,  Dr.  Bosley,  of 
Palmyra,  had  threatened  to  kill  the  first 
man  who  should  read  another  notice  of 
that  character,  and,  true  to  his  word, 
rushed  upon  Dr.  Nelson,  with  an  up- 
lifted sword-cane.  Muldron,  who  ob- 
served the  movement,  sprang  in  front 
of  him,  and  received  the  blow  intended 
for  Nelson,  drawing  and  exposing  the 
glittering  blade;  at  the  same  time  draw- 
ing a  jack-knife  he  stabbed  Bosley  in 
the  chest,  intiieting  a  wound  from 
which  be  recovered  only  after  a  long 
period  of  intense  suffering.  Muldron 
was  tried  and  acquitted.  After  leaving 
this  institution  Mr.  Edgar  entered  the 
medical  department  of  Kemper  College, 
now  Missouri  Medical  College,  and 
graduated  from  the  same  in  the  spring 
of  1S42.  After  pursuing  his  profession 
in  Collinsville,  111.,  for  a  few  years,  he 
went  to  St.  Louis  and  remained  till 
1853,  and  at  that  time  removed  to  Jack- 
sonville, 111.,  in  order  to  give  his  fam- 
ily the  advantage  of  its  superior  educa- 
tional facilities.  At  the  opening  of  the 
war,  1861,  his  sympathies  were  at  once 
enlisted  in  the  Union  cause,  and  after 
several  months  of  efficient  service  in 
mustering  troops  for  the  service,  and 
awakening  a  spirit  of  patriotism,  he 
was  on  the  1st  of  Sept.,  1861,  commis- 
sioned surgeon  of  the  32d  111.  Inf.  His 
first  service  was  at  Fort  Donelson,  con- 
nected with  which  are  some  most  inter- 
ing  incidents.  On  leaving  the  transport 
at  Fort  Henry  be  observed  a  family 
group,  consisting  of  the  father  (colonel 
of  an  111.  Reg.),  his  wife  and  two  small 
children.  After  some  earnest  words 
with   his  wife,  the   colonel,  with  quick, 


nervous  steps,  left  the  boat,  mounted 
his  horse  and  galloped  away.  As  the 
wife  saw  him  vanish  from  sight,  she 
uttered  in  a  suppressed  voice,  "The 
last  of  my  husband!"  sank  into  a  chair, 
and  buried  her  face  in  her  hands.  Ob- 
serving her  mental  agony,  Dr.  Edgar 
ventured  a  word  of  consolation,  to 
which  the  lady  replied,  "You  don't 
know  my  husband,'"  and  again  buried 
her  face.  At  the  close  of  the  first  day 
at  Fort  Donelson,  as  the  wounded  were 
being  gathered  in,  who  can  imagine  the 
doctor's  emotion,  upon  entering  a  cabin, 
used  as  a  temporary  hospital,  to  find 
the  dead  body  of  the  same  Illinois 
colonel,  shot  through  the  forehead. 
Then  did  he  comprehend  the  signifi- 
cance of  the  words,  "You  don't  know 
my  husband!"  Among  the  wounded 
under  his  charge  here  were  Cols. 
John  A.  Logan  and  William  R.  Mor- 
rison. Logan's  wound  seemed  only 
sufficient  to  irritate  and  arouse  him;  he 
vowed  that  lie  would  take  the  command 
over  the  rebel  works  next  day.  lie 
consolingly  assured  Morrison  that  he 
would  recover;  that  bis  wounds  were 
just  sufficient  to  send  him  to  congress, 
and  that  his  political  fortune  was  made. 
Next  day  both  were  sore  enough  to 
keep  quiet.  On  the  morning  after  the 
severe  fighting,  the  doctor  went  to  Gen. 
Grant  to  ascertain  some  facts  respect- 
ing the  wounded  under  his  care.  The 
general  was  at  breakfast,  and,  seeing  the 
doctor,  said,  "Go  tell  those  wounded 
men  the  rebels  have  hung  up  the  white 
flag  in  the  fort.  Go,  doctor,  and  tell 
those  poor  fellows  at  once."  Hasten- 
ing back  be  delivered  his  message,  and 
at  once  there  went  up  a  shout  for  the 
old  flag  that  made  the  woods  resound. 


538 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


The  news  doubtless  saved  many  a  life, 
the  object  which  the  general  had  in 
view  when  he  communicated  it.  After 
the  battle  of  Shiloh,  George  Johnson, 
the  rebel  governor  of  Kentucky,  was 
brought  upon  the  boat  a  wounded  pris- 
oner. He  was  shot  through  the  blad- 
der, and  when  told  by  the  doctor  that 
the  wound  was  fatal,  he  said,  "We  have 
fought  for  constitutional  liberty,  and  all 
is  lost."  He  died  during  the  night. 
From  the  west,  Dr.  Edgar  accompanied 
General  Sherman's  army  on  the  Atlanta 
expedition  to  Atlanta.  By  the  early 
date  of  his  commission,  he  ranked  the 
surgeons  of  his  division,  and  during 
most  of  the  war  acted  as  surgeon-in- 
chief  of  the  4th  Div.,  17th  A.  C.  After 
the  fall  of  Atlanta,  he  was  ordered  by 
the  army  medical  director  to  the  hos- 
pital at  Cairo,  111.,  where  he  served  till 
the  close  of  the  war,  and  was  mustered 
out  after  four  years'  active  service,  hav- 
ing made  for  himself  a  most  worthy 
record.  Returning  to  his  home  in  Jack- 
sonville, he  resumed  his  practice,  but 
soon  found  that  the  country  practice 
was  more  than  his  impaired  health 
could  endure,  and  accordingly,  in  1869, 
removed  to  St.  Louis,  and  there  en- 
gaged in  his  profession.  In  1872  he 
became  editor  of  the  St.  Louis  Medical 
and  Surgical  Journal,  and  in  1873  was 
duly  elected  vice-president  of  the 
Medical  Editors'  Association  of  the 
United  States,  and  in  the  following 
year,  president  of  the  same.  In  his 
religious  communion,  Dr.  Edgar  was 
formerly  connected  with  the  Presbyter- 
ian church,  but  in  later  years  embraced 
Unitarian  views.  He  was  married, 
Nov.  1,  1839,  in  Burlington,  la.,  to  La- 
vania  Phelps  James,  daughter  of  Judge 


William  James,  of  Livingston  county, 
N.  Y.j  and  by  her  has  four  sons  and 
one  daughter.  His  eldest  son,  William 
Henry,  graduated  from  Jacksonville 
college,  in  1861,  and  served,  with  rank 
of  lieutenant,  in  the  32d  111.  Another 
son,  Charles,  enlisted  in  the  same  regi- 
ment, and  was  afterward  made  an  as- 
sistant surgeon.  Edward,  a  third  son, 
accompanied  his  father,  and  assisted 
him  in  the  care  of  the  sick  and  wounded 
in  the  Atlanta  campaign.  At  this  time 
he  is  employed  as  clerk  in  the  Conti- 
nental Bank,  St.  Louis.  His  youngest 
son,  Frank,  is  of  the  firm  of  Edgar, 
Whitehead  &Vandervort,  dry  goods  mer- 
chants of  Jersey  ville,  111. 

Robert  T.  Brock,  son  of  Tarlton  F. 
Brock,  was  born  Dec.  31,  1827,  in  the 
present  limits  of  Greene  county,  and 
removed  with  his  parents  to  Otter 
Creek  Prairie,  now  in  Jersey  county,  in 
1829.  He  attended  school  in  the  neigh- 
borhood, and  also  the  "Stone  school 
house,"  and  a  course  through  Jones' 
Commercial  College,  of  St.  Louis,  Mo., 
in  the  year  1850,  which  finished  his 
school  education.  He  was  married  to 
Mary  Jane,  daughter  of  the  late  Dr. 
Isaac  N.  Piggott,  in  the  year  1855.  He 
was  a  merchant  at  Grafton  during  1856, 
1857  and  1858,  and  removed  to  St.  Louis 
in  1859.  He  was  secretary  of  the  war 
relief  committee,  of  St.  Louis,  Mo., 
during  the  late  war,  and  was  elected  to 
the  general  assembly  of  Missouri,  from 
the  city  of  St.  Louis,  for  the  years  1867 
and  1868.  He  was  collector  of  water 
rates  for  the  city  of  St.  Louis  for  four 
year.  He  was  a  clerk  in  the  registered 
letter  and  money  order  department  of 
the  St.  Louis  postoftice  for  two  years. 
He  removed  back  to   Jersey   county   in 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


539 


1874,  and  to  Jersey ville  in  1875,  where 
he  is  now  engaged  in  the  real  estate  and 
conveyancing  business,  and  is  a  notary 
public  and  abstracter  of  land  titles. 

Frederick  S.  Davenport,  a  native  of 
Nottingham,  England,  was  born  Feb. 
17.  1825,  being  the  eldest  of  the  six 
children  of  Edwin  C.  and  Elizabeth 
(Palmer)  Davenport.  Edwin  C.  Daven- 
port,  was  educated  for  the  ministry,  but 
afterwards  engaged  in  the  manufacture 
of  lace.  When  the  subject  of  this 
sketch  was  six  years  old,  his  parents 
removed  to  France,  and  he  resided  two 
years  at  Calais,  three  years  at  Caen,  and 
nine  years  at  Rouen,  remaining  in  that 
country  till  20  years  of  age,  there  re- 
ceiving his  education.  When  he  was 
about  14  years  old,  an  English  com- 
pany commenced  the  construction  of  a 
railroad  between  Paris  and  Rouen. 
For  this  company,  Frederick  acted  as 
interpreter  between  the  English  and 
French,  and  being  naturally  apt,  and 
possessed  of  much  mechanical  inge- 
nuity, he  became  interested  in  engineer- 
ing, of  which  he  made  a  study.  At  the 
age  of  20  years,  he  returned  to  England, 
Ideating  in  London,  where  he  served  a 
wealthy  ship-building  firm,  as  machin- 
ist and  draughtsman,  till  1857.  At  that 
date  he  immigrated  to  America  and  came, 
soon  after,  to  Jersey  ville,  where  his 
brother,  Lancelot,  had  previously  set- 
tled. Here  he  found  work  in  his  line, 
somewdiat  scarce,  but  he  put  up  engines 
and  machinery  in  various  mills,  suc- 
ceeding thus,  by  the  exercise  of  strict 
economy,  in  making  a  living.  In  the 
year  1864,  David  Beaty,  a  prominent 
farmer  of  this  county,  brought  to  him, 
for  repairs,  a  gang  plow,  a  rudely  con- 
structed affair,  which  was  manufactured 


in  Kentucky.  Mr.  Davenport  imme- 
diately set  to  work  to  make  improve- 
ments upon  the  same,  and  in  the  aut- 
umn of  the  same  year,  took  out  his  first 
patent  for  a  riding  gang-plow.  The 
next  patent  granted  him  was  on  a  de- 
vice for  indicating  low  water  in  steam 
boilers.  He  has  since  patented  a  Dia- 
mond mill-stone  dresser,  and  also  a 
wind  power,  for  operating  farm  pumps, 
a  number  of  other  useful  and  ingen- 
ious contrivances;  having  been  granted 
altogether,  thirteen  patents,  several  of 
which  are  upon  plows.  He  has  real- 
ized some  money  upon  each  of  his  in- 
ventions, but  his  greatest  success  has 
been  his  latest  patent,  the  "F.  S.  Dav- 
enport New  Model  Plow,"  which  lie 
sold  to  the  Jersey  ville  manufacturing 
company,  for  $8,000.  He  has,  during 
the  last  17  years,  connected  with  his 
other  pursuits,  that  of  solicitor  of  pat- 
ents, and  so  conducts  all  of  his  own 
cases,  as  well  as  many  for  other  parties. 
He  has  for  many  years,  been  deeply  in- 
terested in  astronomy  and  made  a  study 
of  optical  instruments,  and  has  construc- 
ted three  telescopes,  the  last  of  which 
was  completed  in  1876.  It  is  a  six  foot 
instrument,  with  a  four  inch  object 
glass.  He  has  in  his  possession,  a  fine 
turning  lathe,  which  he  made  while  in 
London,  doing  all  of  the  work  upon  it 
after  eight  p.  m.  He  has  also  a  large 
collection  of  electrical,  chemical  and 
philosophical  apparatus,  the  work  of 
his  own  hands,  and  unique  in  structure, 
which  has  occupied,  for  its  production 
and  elaboration,  nearly  all  the  spare 
time  of  many  of  the  best  years  of  his 
life.  He  has  quite  an  extensive  cabinet 
of  geological  and  entomological  speci- 
mens, also  a  fine  scientific  and  general 


540 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


library.  He  is  a  deep  thinker  and  pro- 
found reasoner  as  well  as  a  mechanical 
genius.  He  was  married  July  15,  1847, 
in  London,  England,  to  Mary  Lockley. 
They  had  two  children,  one  of  whom 
died  in  infancy,  and  one,  Ada,  is  living. 
Mr.  Davenport  has  never  connected 
himself  with  any  church  or  society. 
He  is  a  man  who  takes  much  pride  in 
having  a  pleasant  home  and  is  always 
ready  to  spend  money  freely  for  any- 
thing to  add  to  home  comfort,  but  never 
lives  beyond  his  income,  and  rejoices  in 
the  consciousness  that  whatever  he  has 
achieved  or  acquired,  is  the  fruit  of  an 
industrious  and  frugal  life. 

Prentiss  D.  Cheney  was  born  in  Chau- 
tauqua county,  N.  Y.,  Aug.  2,  1836,  and 
was  but  six  weeks  old  when  the  family 
started  for  Jersey  county.  On  their  ar- 
rival here  he  was  three  months  old,  the 
journey  having  occupied  six  weeks.  He 
was  brought  up  in  this  county,  receiv- 
ing his  education  under  the  tuition  of 
Penuel  Corbett.  In  1851  he  entered 
the  recorder's  office  of  Jersey  county, 
where  he  was  employed  in  writing  two 
years.  He  then  clerked  for  a  time  in 
the  general  store  of  Alex.  Bv.  Morean. 
In  1854,  when  A.  M.  Blackburn  estab- 
lished a  bank,  Mr.  Cheney  entered  his 
employ.  Three  years  later  he  went  to 
Carlinville,  where  for  two  years  he  had 
charge  of  a  bank  for  Chesnut  &  Black- 
burn. In  1859  he  was  married  to  Cath- 
arine M.  D'Arcy,  daughter  of  Dr.  Ed- 
ward A.  D'Arcy,  and  returned  to  Jer- 
seyville,  where  in  partnership  with  Dr. 
D'Arcy  he  established  the  banking  house 
of  D'Arcy  &  Cheney,  which  contin- 
ued till  1866.  He  then  went  to  New 
York  city  and  engaged  in- banking  at 
No.  27  Wall  street,  being  a   member  of 


the  firm  of  Murray  &  Cheney.  He  con- 
tinued in  business  there  nearly  three 
years,  after  which  he  returned  to  Jer- 
seyville,  where  he  has  since  dealt  in  real 
estate.  Mrs.  Cheney  died  in  1877,  leav- 
ing two  children,  one  of  whom  died 
within  thirty  days  after  the  death  of  its 
mother.  One  son,  Alexandet,  is  now 
living.  Mr.  Cheney  is  a  Knight  Tem- 
plar. He  is  now  president  of  the  Jer- 
sey county  fair. 

William  Embley,  architect,  is  a  na- 
tive of  Mercer  county,  N.  J.,  born  Dec. 
25,  1826.  His  father,  Joseph  Embley, 
was  also  born  in  New  Jersey,  and  was 
by  trade,  a  contractor  and  builder,  but 
in  later  years,  settled  on  a  farm.  His 
mother,  Nancy  (Mount)  Embley,  was 
born  in  the  same  state.  William  Emb- 
ley, in  early  life,  became  familiar  with 
the  carpenter  trade,  and  soon  applied 
himself  to  the  study  of  architecture, 
becoming  well  versed  in  that  science. 
In  1848  he  was  united  in  marriage  with 
Mary  E.  Prime.  Six  years  later,  he  re- 
moved to  Illinois  and  settled  at  Jer- 
seyville,  several  of  his  friends  having 
previously  located  here.  Mr.  Embley 
engaged  here,  in  contracting  and  build- 
ing, and  the  study  of  architecture.  The 
latter  business  gradually  increased  un- 
til in  1865,  he  abandoned  contracting 
and  devoted  his  attention  entirely  to 
architecture.  Specimens  of  his  work 
may  be  seen  from  the  Atlantic  coast, 
westward  to  Denver,  Col.  Nearly  all  of 
the  best  buildings  in  Jersey  and  adjoin- 
ing counties,  were  planned  by  him,  and 
testify  to  his  skill  and  good  taste.  He 
has  the  plan  for  the  new  Jersey  county 
court  house,  now  complete.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Embley  have  had  six  children,  of 
whom   the  eldest  three  died  with  scar- 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


541 


let  fever,  soon  after  they  removed  to 
Jerseyville.  The  three  now  living  arc 
— William  Franklin,  Augustus  Newell, 
and  Alta  Leaha.  Mr.  Embley  has  al- 
ways acted  with  the  democratic  party, 
and  although  he  has  no  time  to  devote 
to  politics,  he  has  frequently  been 
chosen  by  his  fellow-citizens  to  serve 
them  in  local  office.  He  is  a  Knight 
Templar  in  the  Masonic  fraternity. 

James  H.  Wedding,  deceased,  a  pio- 
neer of  1834,  was  horn  in  the  District  of 
Columbia  in  1783.  His  parents  were  of 
English  stock,  but  American  born.  He 
received  a  good  education,  being  partic- 
ularly well  versed  in  navigation  and 
surveying.  He  was  united  in  marriage 
with  Nancy  Masters,  also  a  native  of  the 
District  of  Columbia.  He  was  one  of 
minute  men  during  the  war  of  1812,  and 
was  called  out  at  the  battle  when  the 
British  took  Washington.  In  1814  he 
moved  to  Scioto  county,  0.,  where  he 
followed  farming,  and  from  whence  he 
removed  to  Jersey  county  in  1834.  He 
first  stopped  at  Grafton,  then  resided 
two  seasons  upon  a  farm  near  Jersey- 
ville. In  the  meantime  his  son  Thomas 
Wedding  came  to  Jersey  count)' in  1835, 
and  entered  land  on  the  Illinois  river 
bottom,  in  what  is  now  Rosedale  town- 
ship, and  Mr.  Wedding  went  there  to 
live  with  him.  Hisdeath  occurred  in  1837 
and  that  of  Mrs.  Wedding  in  1841. 
Tiny  had  a  family  of  eight  children, 
of  whom  Thomas,  the  oldest,  and  Benja- 
min, the  youngest,  are  the  only  ones 
now  in  the  land  of  the  living.  Mis. Wed- 
ding was  a  devoted  christian  woman 
and  a  consistent  member  of  the  M.  E. 
church . 

Capt.  Oliver  Marston,  deceased,  came 
to  Jersey  county  in  1842,  and  settled  on 


a  farm  in  Piasa  township,  where  he  en- 
gaged in  farming  until  his  death,  which 
occurred  in  1856.  Capt.  Marston  was 
born  in  the  town  of  Marston  Mills,  Cape 
Coil,  Mass.,  in  1804.  At  an  early  age 
he  became  a  sailor,  and  for  27  years  fol- 
lowed a  seafaring  life.  He  was  for  a 
number  of  years  captain  of  a  vessel. 
He  was  married  in  Philadelphia,  Penn., 
to  Elizabeth  Powers,  July  22,  1826,  who 
survived  him  in  life,  her  death  occurring 
in  1S79.  They  reared  eight  children, 
two  of  whom,  are  now  living.  Two 
died  in  infancy  in  Philadelphia.  Four 
lived  to  maturity,  and  died  in  Jersey 
county;  and  two,  Joseph  G.  and  Samuel 
T.,  are  now  livingin  this  county.  Capt. 
Marston  was  made  an  Odd  Fellow  in 
1832,  joining  Washington  lodge  No.  2, 
of  Philadelphia.  He  continued  a  mem- 
ber of  that  organization  during  the  re- 
mainder of  his  life.  Politically  he  was 
a  supporter  of  the  whig  party.  He  was 
a  Universalist  in  religion,  his  wile  being 
of  Quaker  faith. 

Ambrose  S.  Wyckoif  was  the  first  of 
this  name,  who  settled  within  the  pres- 
ent limits  of  Jersey  county,  locating  in 
1832,  in  what  is  now  Mississippi  town- 
ship. The  following  year  he  was 
joined  here  by  his  wife  and  children, 
and  continued  to  reside  here  until  his 
death,  which  occurred  in  1872.  His 
first  wife  was  formerly  Elizabeth  Ham- 
ner,  of  New  York.  She  died  in  1837, 
leaving  two  children,  one  of  whom  is 
still  living — John  J.,  who  now  resides 
at  Virden,  Macoupin  county.  111.  Mr. 
Wyckoff  was  afterward  married  to 
Sarah  Gilder,  and  by  this  union,  had 
six  children — William,  Sherburne, 
Spencer,  Ambrose  B.,  Charles  and  Eliz- 
abeth.     Mrs.    Wyckoff  is    still    living, 


542 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


and  now  resides  with  her  son,  Ambrose 
]!.,  in  Philadelphia.  The  latter  is  a 
lieutenant  in  the  United  States  navy. 
Mr.  Wyckoff  was  a  successful  farmer, 
and  at  his  death  owned  400  acres  of 
land.  The  father  of  Ambrose  S.  Wyc- 
koff was  a  native  of  New  Jersey,  was 
born  Sept.  1767,  and  came  here  in  1835. 
He  was  by  occupation  a  farmer, 
married  in  his  native  state  to  Jennie 
Barkley,  and  there  remained  until  com- 
ing here.  He  died  in  this  county  in 
1842,  and  Mrs.  Wyckoff  in  1857.  They 
had  a  family  of  six  children — John, 
Polly  B.,  wife  of  Elijah  Van  Home; 
Nathan,  Catherine  S.,  wife  of  Dr.  A.  R. 
Knapp;  Ambrose  S.  and  Samuel  B. 

Rev.  Samuel  Lynn,  deceased,  was 
born  in  Eastern  Tennessee  in  August, 
1803.  He  was  educated  for  the  minis- 
try, and  at  an  early  age  was  ordained  as 
a  Presbyterian  minister.  For  six  years 
be  was  located  at  Springfield,  Ky.,  for 
10  years  at  Newport,  and  for  the  same 
length  of  time  at  Richwood,  Ky.  In 
1857  he  came  to  Jerseyville  and  took 
charge  of  the  2d  Presbyterian  church, 
remaining  in  charge  to  the  date  of  his 
demise,  which  occurred  in  1872.  He 
was  united  in  marriage  in  Cincinnati, 
0.,  with  Frances  W.  Wilson,  who  still 
survives  him,  and  is  yet  a  resident  of 
Jerseyville.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Lynn  were 
the  parents  of  eight  children,  three  of 
win  mi  are  now  living — Sarah,  William 
II .  and  Amanda. 

Rev.  Geo.  Ives  King,  whose  portrait 
appears  in  this  work,  was  born  in 
Adams,  N.  Y.,  June  1,  1815,  of  New 
England  parentage.  From  his  grand- 
mother— King— who  was  a  remarkable 
Bible  student,  and  a  Presbyterian,  he 
received    the    greater    part   of    bis  re- 


ligious training.  He  prepared  for  col- 
lege at  Lowville,  N.  Y.,  and  graduated 
from  Union  College,  in  1838.  He 
studied  theology  at  Auburn  Seminary. 
He  was  licensed  by  the  Presbytery  of 
Columbia,  at  Hudson,  N.  Y.,  in  April, 
1840.  He  was  married  to  Emily  B. 
Sprague,  Oct.  12,  1840,  and  died  March 
12,  1873.  He  was  installed  as  pastor  of 
the  First  Presbyterian  church,  Jersey- 
ville, in  1868,  which  was  bis  last  charge. 
John  Fox  was  born  near  Leeds,  York- 
shire, Eng.,  June  7,  1824.  When  he 
was  but  six  months  old,  his  father,  also 
John  Fox,  was  killed  in  a  mill.  His 
mother  was  subsequently  married  to 
Dennis  Cockshott.  The  subject  of  this 
sketch  grew  to  manhood  in  his  native 
country,  where  in  his  youth  he  learned 
the  milling  trade  in  the  same  mill  in 
which  his  father  was  killed.  In  1854, 
accompanied  by  his  half  brother,  Spen- 
cer Cockshott,  he  immigrated  to  the 
United  States  and  came  directly  to  Jer- 
seyville, where  they  were  joined  one 
year  later  by  their  mother  and  sister. 
Here  Mrs.  Cockshott  died  in  Septem- 
ber, 1855.  Mr.  Fox  soon  after  removed 
to  Grafton  and  went  to  work  in  the  flour- 
ing mills  where  he  continued  fourteen 
or  fifteen  years.  He  then  returned  to 
Jerseyville,  and  has  since  been  retired 
from  active  life,  having  accumulated  a 
fortune  sufficient  for  comfort  during  his 
later  years.  Mr.  Fox  was  married  in 
1877,  to  Mrs.  Kate  C.  Marsh  nee  Rich- 
ards. She  had  by  her  former  marriage 
two  sons,  John  T.  and  Stewart  C.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Fox  have  one  son-Marmaduke. 
Mr.  Fox  is  a  member  of  the  Episcopal 
church  and  his  wife  is  a  Baptist.  He  is 
politically  a  democrat  and  has  served 
several  years  in  the  city  council. 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


543 


John  Wyckoff,  eldest  son  of  John 
and  Jennie  Wyckoff,  was  born  in  New- 
Jersey,  July  31,  1790.  He  removed 
with  his  parents  to  Schoharie  count}', 
N.  Y.,  and  was  .reared  on  a  farm.  In 
1809  he  was  married  to  Eleanor  Gray, 
who  was  born  in  Dutchess  county,  N.  Y. 
After  marriage  he  continued  to  reside 
in  New  York  until  1835.  At  that  date 
lir  came  to  Illinois  and  settled  in  Jersey 
county,  where  he  died  in  1840.  Mrs. 
Wyckoff  survived  him  until  1871.  They 
were  the  parents  of  ten  children,  only 
two  of  whom  are  living — David  G.  and 
Elizabeth.  Those  deceased  are  John, 
Nathan,  Solomon,  Theodore,  Franklin, 
Charles,  Augustus  and  James  B. 

George  H.  Jackson,  son  of  George  H. 
Jackson,  Sr.,  was  born  in  Jerscyville, 
in  Sept.,  I860.  His  early  life  was  spent 
lure,  where  he  has  always  resided.  He 
obtained  his  education  in  the  Jerscy- 
ville schools,  hut  on  account  of  ill 
health,  he  was  compelled  to  abandon 
his  studies  before  they  were  fully  com- 
pleted. He  learned  the  tinner's  trade, 
but  his  health  would  not  permit  him  to 
follow  that  occupation.  He  then  tried 
railroading,  but  was  unable  to  continue 
it.  When  his  father  was  taken  sick  and 
died,  he  succeeded  him,  ajid  now  carries 
on  the  same  business  in  the  city  of 
Jerseyville,  abstracting  titles,  etc. 

George  W.  Burke,  an  early  settler  and 
prominent  citizen  of  Jersey  county, 
was  horn  in  Addison  county,  Vt.,  Nov. 
28,  1807,  being  the  third  child  of  Seth 
and  Anna  Burke,  natives  of  Massachu- 
setts, who  moved  with  their  parents 
at  an  early  day  to  Yermont.  The  grand- 
father of  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  also 
Seth  Burke,  was  a  veteran  of  the  Revo- 
lutionary war,  and   one   of  the   martyrs 


of  that  struggle  for  liberty,  as  he  died 
soon  after  the  close  of  the  war,  from 
disease  contracted  while  in  the  service. 
His  father  participated  in  the  war  of 
1S1l>.  He  (Seth)  followed  the  occupa- 
tion of  farming  through  life.  He  had  a 
family  of  seven  children,  three  sons  and 
four  daughters,  all  except  one,  attaining 
mature  years,  and  four  are  yet  living. 
He  died  in  the  70th  year  of  his  age,  and 
his  wife,  in  her  S4th  year.  Seth  Burke 
was  a  man  distinguished  for  energy  and 
moral  worth.  George  W.  received  his 
early  education  in  Onondaga  county,  N. 
Y.,  where  his  father  died.  He  learned 
the  blacksmith  trade  in  that  county  and 
followed  that  occupation.  He  was  first 
married,  Dec.  26,  1836,  to  Sarah  M. 
Barber,  who  died  in  Jersey  county, 
July  21,  1851.  He  was  again  married 
Jan.  19,  1854,  to  Mrs.  Elizabeth 
Searl,  widow  of  Russell  Searl,  of  South- 
hampton, Mass.  Mr.  Burke  came 
to  Illinois  in  the  fall  of  1834.  and  en- 
tered the  land  on  which  he  now  lives, 
the  next  spring  after  his  arrival.  There 
were  at  that  time  only  four  families  in 
Jerseyville.  During  the  first  year  of 
his  residence  here  Mr.  Burke  followed 
hlacksmithing,  but  later,  engaged  in 
farming;  also  devoted  much  time  to  the 
improvement  of  his  city  property,  and 
to  city  improvements  generally.  He 
laid  out  the  first  addition  to  the  city  of 
Jerseyville,  in  1840,  and  the  second,  in 
1858.  Politically  he  was  a  whig,  from 
christian  principle  an  abolitionist,  and 
as  such  took  his  stand  for  the  right. 
When  the  Rev.  E.  P.  Lovejoy  was  mur- 
dered in  Alton,  in  1837,  Mr.  Burke, 
with  a  few  others,  stood  to  the  same 
principles  for  which  Lovejoy  Buffered 
martyrdom,  enduring  the  reproach  and 


544 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


obloquy  heaped  upon  the  early  aboli- 
tionists. At  the  present  time,  when 
slavery  is  unknown  through  the  length 
and  breadth  of  this  fair  land,  one  of  his 
most  pleasing  memories  is  that  which 
recalls  the  bold  and  fearless  stand 
which  he  then  took  in  regard  to  shivery. 
His  first  church  connection  here  was 
with  the  Congregational  church,  of 
which  he  was  one  of  the  deacons,  and  is 
now  the  only  original  member  left. 
That  church  was  formed  as  a  protest 
against  the  pro-slavery  proclivities  of 
the  Presbyterian  church,  and  had  an 
existence  of  about  six  years  only.  He 
then  became  connected  with  the  Con- 
gregational church  at  Chesterfield, 
Macoupin  county,  111.,  with  which  he 
retained  membership  until  after  the 
war,  when  he  united  with  the  Presby- 
terian church  of  Jerseyville,  of  which 
he  is  now  a  member.  He  lives  on  a 
tract  of  40  acres,  within  the  limits  of 
Jerseyville.  The  remainder,  three 
forties,  of  his  original  homestead  he  has 
platted  and  sold  in  town  lots.  He  owns 
a  farm  of  180  acres  in  Jersey  township, 
eight  miles  out  from  the  city,  also  a 
farm  in  Christian  county.  As  an  enter- 
prising and  public  spirited  citizen,  Mr. 
Burke  is  well  known  in  this  community 
where  he  has  spent  more  than  50  years 
of  his  active  and  busy  life,  and  is  highly 
esteemed  for  his  many  excellent  qual- 
ities, throughout  the  entire  county. 

C.  B.  Eaton  settled  at  Grafton,  Jersey 
county,  in  1863.  He  is  a  native  of 
North  Hampton,  Mass.,  born  Nov.  1.'!. 
1817,  and  a  descendant  of  the  seventh 
generation,  from  Francis  Eaton,  who 
came  over  in  the  May  Flower.  His 
parents  were  Ebenezer  and  Mary 
(Stuart)  Eaton,  the  latter  a  descendant, 


upon  her  mother's  side,  of  Governor 
Mayhew,  of  Martha's  Vineyard.  Ebe- 
nezer Eaton  was  by  trade,  a  contractor 
and  builder.  The  subject  of  this  sketch 
was  educated  in  a  private  school,  and  at 
the  age  of  14  years,  began  mercantile 
life  as  clerk  in  a  general  store,  in  the 
town  of  Phelps,  Ontario  county,  N.  Y., 
near  where  the  family  had  located  the 
year  previous.  Here,  in  1838,  Mr. 
Eaton  was  married  to  Catherine  Root,  a 
native  of  Phelps,  Ontario  county.  After 
marriage  he  engaged  in  the  dry  goods 
business,  and  later,  in  the  manufacture 
of  edge  tools,  continuing  the  latter  un- 
til 1849.  In  1854,  he  removed  to  Cin- 
cinnati, Ohio,  where  he  operated  a 
distillery  four  years.  He  then  entered 
the  employ  of* the  C.  &  M.  R.  R.  Co., 
connected  with  B.  &  0.  R.  R.  Co.,  as 
stock  agent,  continuing  that  occupation 
until  the  breaking  out  of  the  civil  war. 
He  assisted  in  shipping  to  Washington 
the  first  beef  cattle  for  the  supply  of 
the  army.  The  railroad  became  par- 
tially destroyed,  and  Mr.  Eaton  again 
engaged  in  running  a  distillery,  and 
dealing  in  live  stock,  at  Cincinnati, 
which  business  he  followed  till  1863, 
when  as  before  stated  he  came  to  Illi- 
nois and  settled  in  Jersey  county.  He 
engaged  in  a  distillery  at  Grafton  two 
years,  then  abandoned  it  and  was  ap- 
pointed the  St.  Louis  agent  for  the  stone 
quarries  at  that  point.  He  afterward 
engaged  in  farming  and  stock  dealing  in 
Rosedale  township,  and  now  owns  a 
farm  there.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Katun  had 
eight  children  born  to  them — E.  P.,  now 
in  Mississippi  ;  George  M.,  of  the  firm 
of  Eaton  A  Crawford,  of  Jerseyville; 
Charles  B.,  in  Vicksburg,  Miss.;  Frank 
S.,  living  in  Quincy,  111.;   Alice,  wife  of 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


545 


James  M.  Allen,  of  Grafton  ;  Elizabeth, 
wife  of  C.  J.  Slaten,  of  Grafton,  and 
Beulah  C,  wife  of  A.  H.  Barrett,  of 
Jerseyville.  Mrs.  Eaton  died  Septem- 
ber 14,  1884,  and  her  remains  were  taken 
to  Cincinnati  for  burial.  Mr.  Eaton 
holds  the  office  of  justice  of  the  peace 
at  Jerseyville,  and  he  served  two  years 
as  county  supervisor  from  Rosedale 
township.  He  is  a  Royal  Arch  Mason, 
and,  politically,  a  democrat. 

Frederick  Bertman,  deceased,  was 
born  in  Prussia,  May  17,  1821.  He 
came  to  the  United  States  in  1845,  and 
about  three  years  later  located  in  Alton, 
111.,  where  he  resided  one  year,  and 
then  came  to  Jerseyville  and  opened  a 
tailoring  establishment.  He  remained 
here  engaged  in  the  clothing  and  dry 
goods  business  until  his  decease.  He 
was  married,  in  1846,  to  Helena  Goetten, 
of  New  York.  Seven  children  were 
born  to  them — Setta,  now  the  wife  of 
J.  B.  Eck,  of  Dubuque,  la.;  Minnie, 
wife  of  Lewis  Casavant,  of  Jerseyville; 
John  F.;  Mary,  wife  of  William  Figgen, 
of  Quincy;  Frederick  J.;  Nellie,  wife  of 
Heber  Porter;  and  William  A.  Fred- 
erick Bertman  died  August  25,  18S2,  his 
death  being  caused  by  gangrene  of  the 
lungs.  He  had  for  several  years  been 
subject  to  a  cough,  and  during  the  last 
year  of  his  life  was  afflicted  with  a  car- 
buncle  upon  his  neck,  causing  a  severe 
drain  upon  his  system,  and  although 
his  cough  ceased  for  the  time  being,  it 
returned  with  redoubled  severity  on  the 
healing  of  the  abscess,  and  continued 
until  gangrene  set  in.  A  few  days  pre- 
vious to  his  decease,  realizing  his  con- 
tion,  he  declared  his  willingness  to  go. 
He  was  a  man  having  many  friends  and 
few  enemies,  a   kind,  loving   husband, 


an  indulgent  father  and  a  good  citizen. 
He  was  a  great  lover  of  music  and  thor- 
oughly understood  the  principles  of 
that  science.  He  was  at  one  time  a 
member  of  the  Jerseyville  band.  He 
was  elected  to  the  office  of  councilman, 
which  he  held  one  term.  By  industry 
and  energy  he  accumulated  a  compe- 
tency, which  he  left  to  his  wife,  trust- 
ing her  to  provide  for  the  interests  of 
their  children.  His  funeral  took  place 
from  the  Catholic  church,  high  mass 
being  held  by  Rev.  Father  Harty,  and 
was  largely  attended  by  his  many 
friends  and  relatives. 

Harley  E.  Hayes  is  one  of  the  early 
settlers  of  Jersey  county,  having  come 
herein  1833,  from  Addison  county,  Yt., 
his  native  place.  He  drove  a  team 
through  from  that  place,  for  his 
brother-in-law,  Samuel  Day.  Mr. 
Hayes  was  born  March  14,  1813,  and 
was  therefore,  20  years  of  age  when 
he  came  here.  Samuel  Day  settled  four 
miles  south  of  the  present  site  of  Jer- 
seyville, on  section  9,  T.  7  north,  R. 
11  west,  and  engaged  in  farming.  Mr. 
Hayes  made  his  home  here,  but  was  en- 
gaged in  various  employments.  He 
made  a  trip  to  New  Orleans,  and  was, 
for  some  time,  employed  in  Alton. 
Dec.  19,  1837,  he  was  united  in  marriage 
with  Mary  Ann  Day,  daughter  of  Sam- 
uel and  Maria  (Spencer)  Day.  She  was 
also  a  native  of  Addison  county,  Vt. 
After  marriage,  Mr.  Hayes  purchased 
80  acres  of  unimproved  land,  built  a 
cabin  and  commenced  housekeeping. 
In  1848,  he  sold  his  original  80  and 
purchased  120  acres  in  the  same  (Miss- 
issippi) township.  This  land  was 
partially  improved,  but  had  no  build- 
ings  upon  it.     In    1801,  he  again  sold 


546 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


his  farm  and  bought  160  acres,  all  im- 
proved, in  the  same  township.  Here 
he  built  good  frame  buildings  and  fol- 
lowed farmed  until  1866.  Mrs.  Hayes 
died  in  1862,  leaving  one  son,  now 
a  farmer  of  Clay  county,  Neb.  In 
1864,  Mr.  Hayes  was  married  to  Mary 
Ann  Graves,  nee  Austin,  who  was  born 
near  Watertown,  N.  Y.  In  1866  he 
sold  his  farm  and  removed  to  Jersey- 
ville.  In  1867,  he  was  appointed  assist- 
ant United  States  assessor,  and  served 
three  years,  but  not  liking  the  business, 
tendered  his  resignation,  which  was 
finally  accepted.  Since  then  he  has 
been  retired  from  active  business.  Mr. 
Hayes'  parents  were  Elam  and  Rachel 
(Knickerbocker)  Hayes,  natives  of  Con- 
neticut,  but  of  English  and  German  de- 
scent. They  were  the  parents  of  four 
children — Harman  B.  and  Harvey  D., 
now  living  in  Macoupin  county,  and 
Emoretta  and  Harley  E. 

William  B.  Nevius,  son  of  John  and 
Maggie  (Baird)  Nevius,  was  born  in 
Somerset  county,  N.  J.,  Nov.  2,  J813. 
He  grew  to  manhood  in  his  native  state, 
and  in  his  youth,  learned  the  wagon- 
maker's  trade,  which  he  followed  till 
1837,  in  New  Jersey.  In  that  year  he 
came  to  Illinois,  and  settled  in  Jersey- 
ville, Jersey  county,  thus  becoming  one 
of  the  pioneers.  He  followed  his  trade 
here  till  1851,  when  he  went  to  Lee 
county,  la.,  and  engaged  in  farming. 
He  remained  there  18  months,  then  sold 
out,  and  returned  to  Jerseyville,  and 
went  into  the  milling  business.  In  1858 
he  sold  his  mill  and  engaged  in  general 
mercantile  trade,  on  the  corner  now  oc- 
cupied by  the  First  National  Bank, 
becoming  a  member  of  the  firm  of 
Knapp    &    Nevius.       This    partnership 


continued  five  years.  In  1865,  he  pur- 
chased an  interest  in  the  Jerseyville 
mills,  and  continued  a  partner  in  the 
same,  till  the  mill  was  destroyed  by 
fire,  since  which  he  has  been  retired 
from  active  business.  Mr.  Nevius  was 
for  many  years,  an  energetic  and  enter- 
prising business  man,  and  has  been 
generally  successful.  He  was  married, 
in  1841,  to  Laura  A.  Goodrich,  daugh- 
ter of  C.  H.  Goodrich.  They  are  the 
parents  .of  three  children — Henry,  a 
merchant  of  Jerseyville;  Mary,  wife  of 
S.  A.  Holmes,  of  Morehead,  Minn.;  and 
Hattie  A.,  who  died  at  the  age  of  20 
years.  Mr.  Nevius  is  a  man  of  very 
decided  convictions.  He  is  a  republican 
in  politics,  formerly  a  whig,  and  has 
held  local  office.  He  is  a  Free  Mason, 
and  a  member  of  the  First  Presbyterian 
church.  He  is  a  public-spirited  man, 
always  taking  an  active  part  in  all 
worthy  public  improvements,  and  has 
many  friends. 

Henry  Nevius,  son  of  William  B.  and 
Laura  A.  Nevius,  was  born  in  Jersey- 
ville, July  7,  1842,  and  here  grew  to 
manhood.  In-  1862  he  enlisted  in  Co. 
C,  of  the  61st  111.  Inf.,  and  served  until 
the  close  of  the  war,  participating  in  all 
of  the  engagements  of  his  companj'. 
He  then  returned  to  Jerseyville  and  en- 
gaged as  clerk  in  a  dry  goods  store,  also 
worked  in  his  father's  mill.  In  1868 he 
went  to  the  Rocky  mountains  and  re- 
mained there  three  years,  during  which 
time  he  was  wagon-master  of  a  govern- 
ment train  one  year:  stock  contractor, 
on  year,  and  drove  a  team  one  year. 
Then,  after  traveling  over  several  states 
and  territories,  returned  to  Jerseyville 
and  engaged  in  the  milling  business  with 
his  father.     In  1876  when  the  mill  was 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


547 


destroyed  by  fire,  he  was  appointed 
deputy  sheriff  and  collector,  under  J. 
M.  Young  and  served  four  years.  In 
Fell.,  1880,  Mr.  Nevius,  in  partnership 
with  William  Hall,  succeeded  Travis  & 
Gillham  in  the  grocery  business,  the 
firm  becoming  Hall  &  Nevius.  This 
partnership  continued  till  Feb.,  1885, 
when  Mr.  Nevius  became  sole  proprie- 
tor. He  carried  a  full  and  complete 
stock  of  groceries,  provisions,  queens- 
ware,  glass,  paints,  oils,  etc.  He  was 
married  in  1879,  to  Miss  G.  A.  Nott,  of 
Jerseyville,  daughter  of  S.  B.  Nott,  an 
early  settler  of  Fieldon.  They  have  one 
child — Laura  A.  Mr.  Nevius  has  been  a 
member  of  the  city  council  several 
years,  and  has  also  served  as  city  clerk, 
and  treasurer,  and  as  a  member  of  the 
board  of  education.  He  is  politically  a 
democrat,  a  member  of  the  Knights  of 
Pythias,  the  I.  0.  0.  F,  and  a  Royal 
An!)  Mason. 

H.  0.  Goodrich,  a  prominent  early 
settler  of  Jerseyville,  was  born  in  Dela- 
ware county,  N.  Y.,  Oct.  3,  1819.  He 
is  the  youngest  of  a  family  of  three 
children  of  C.  H.  and  Lydia  A.  Good- 
rich, who  were  also  early  settlers  of 
this  State,  having  come  to  Greene 
county  in  1839,  and  soon  after  to  Jersey. 
Their  ancestors  were  English,  French 
ami  Scotch.  C.  H.  Goodrich  was  for 
eight  years  state's  attorney  for  the  first 
judicial  circuit — being  at  that  time  one 
of  the  prominent  lawyers  of  this  por- 
tion of  the  State.  He  was  a  gentleman 
of  polished  education  and  in  every  way 
fitted  to  adorn  the  legal  arena  in  which 
he  moved  as  a  practitioner.  He  died 
at  his  residence  in  Jerseyville  in  1868. 

H.O.Goodrich,  the  subject  of  this 
sketch,  received  his  early   education  in 


the  Genesee,  N.  Y.,  high  school,  ob- 
taining a  good  knowledge  of  the  Eng- 
lish branches.  He  attended  school  un- 
til the  age  of  18,  soon  after  which  he 
became  an  apprentice  to  learn  the  har- 
tiess-makers's  trade.  He  subsequently 
went  to  Towanda,  Penn.,  and  there  re- 
sided about  one  year  and  a  half,  then 
came  west,  arriving  in  this  county  in 
1840,  with  75  cents  capital  with  which  to 
commence  his  western  life.  His  first 
employment  was  working  at  his  trade 
in  Carrbllton,  though  in  the  fall  of  the 
same  year  he  opened  a  shop  in  Jersey- 
ville and  there  continued  in  that  busi- 
ness until  1846.  In  that  year  he  en- 
gaged in  partnership  with  C.  II.  Knapp 
in  mercantile  business,  which  he  con- 
tinued about  11  years.  Upon  the  21st 
day  of  June,  1847,  he  was  married  to 
Jane  Amelia  Knapp,  daughter  of  Dr.  A. 
R.  Knapp.  They  had  born  to  them 
three  children  —  Adams  A.,  Kitty 
and  Carrie  Bell.  In  1857  he  built 
a  large  mill  and  distillery  at  Jer- 
sey Landing,  which  he  operated  in 
partnership  with  A.  L.  Knapp,  until 
isr,!).  In  April,  1862,  he  went  with  the 
61st  111.  Inf.  as  sutler,  in  which  capacity 
he  accumulated  considerable  money. 
He  spent  three  years  in  the  army,  then 
returned  to  Jerseyville,  and  engaged 
quite  extensively  in  the  milling  busi- 
ness, which  he  continued  until  1876, 
when  one  of  the  mills  was  destroyed  by 
tire,  and  the  other  was  likewise  burned 
up  in  1879.  In  addition  toother  busi- 
ness interests  Mr.  Gardner  was  agent 
for  the  McCormick  machines  for  a 
period  of  2S  years,  for  southern  Illinois. 
In  1881  he  went  to  Fargo,  Dak.,  and 
while  there  was  persuaded  by  his 
friends  to  purchase  land,  and  with  Zina 


518 


HISTORY  OP  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


Dota,  of  New  York  city,  purchased  960 
acres  of  land,  also  some  property  in 
Fargo.  His  land  there  is  now  all  under 
cultivation,  and  is  managed  by  a  fore- 
man employed  for  its  care.  This  land 
in  1884  produced  18,000  bushels  of 
wheat,  besides  other  grain.  He  has  been 
twice  elected  mayor  of  the  city,  and  was 
one  of  the  first  trustees  after  its  incor- 
poration. He  was,  also,  one  of  the 
original  workers  in  bringing  about  the 
organization  of  the  Jersey  County  Agri- 
cultural Society,  of  which,  in  Nov., 
1871,  he  was  elected  president.  Polit- 
ically, in  early  life,  Mr.  Goodrich  was  a 
whig,  but  afterward  joined  the  demo- 
cratic party,  to  which  he  has  since  given 
his  earnest  support.  He  came  to  this 
county  a  poor  man,  and  has  by  his  own 
efforts  gained  a  competence  and  a  high 
and  honorable  position  in  society.  Few 
men  of  southern  Illinois  have  so  exten- 
sive a  business  acquaintance  as  Mr. 
Goodrich,  who,  by  the  liberality  and 
integrity  of  his  dealings,  has  won  the 
approbation  of  all. 

William  R.  Seago  is  a  native  of  Jer- 
sey county,  born  Sept.  9,  1843.  His 
parents,  John  and  Mary  A.  (Campbell) 
Seago,  were  born  in  North  Carolina,  and 
immigrated  to  Illinois  at  an  early  day, 
locating  in  Jersey  township.  In  1869 
Jno.  Seago  went  to  Tennessee  on  a  visit 
for  his  health,  and  there  died,  Dec.  13, 
1869.  His  wife  died,  Dec.  3,  1ST!). 
William  was  brought  up  on  his  father's 
farm  until  he  was  21  years  of  age. 
Dec.  7,  1865,  he  was  married  to  Mrs. 
Elizabeth  T.  Campbell,  nee  Melton, 
daughter  of  Wyley  and  Rebecca  Melton, 
old  settlers  of  Greene  county.  They 
have  had  five  children — Judith,  Adol- 
phus,  Olive,  Sylvester  and  Cyrus;  Olive 


is  deceased.  Her  death  occurred  April 
3,  1874.  In  1870  he  purchased  a  small 
tract  of  land  in  Richwoods  township, 
and  four  years  later  he  bought  120  acres 
more.  He  afterward  bought  160  acres, 
all  in  the  same  township,  and  continued 
to  reside  there  until  the  fall  of  1880, 
when  he  moved  to  Jerseyville.  The 
second  spring  he  engaged  in  the  butch- 
ering business,  which  he  followed  three 
years.  In  1882  he  bought  18  acres  of 
land  in  Jerseyville  with  a  good  residence 
on  it.  In  1874  he  was  elected  justice 
of  the  peace,  and  held  that  office  until 
his  removal  to  Jerseyville.  Mr.  Seago 
was  a  member  of  the  I.  0.  O.  F.  lodge, 
of  Fieldon,  until  its  charter  was  with- 
drawn, since  which  he  has  been  uncon- 
nected with  that  organization.  He  is  a 
democrat  politically. 

Frank  P.  Henderson,  son  of  Rich- 
mond and  Mary  A.  (Douglas)  Hender- 
son, was  born  in  Jersey  county  Til.,  in 
1857.  He  was  reared  to  agricultural 
pursuits,  and  attended  the  schools  of 
Jerseyville,  completing  his  education  at 
McKendree  College.  He  was  married 
Oct.  25,  1877,  to  Nannie  Cadw-alader,  a 
native  of  Fulton  county,  111.  They 
have  one  child— Addie  M.  Mr.  Hen- 
derson has  a  farm  in  Jersey  township, 
on  which  he  resides.  He  owns  also 
700  acres  of  land  in  Stone  county,  Mo. 
He  is  a  member  of  the  Anti-Horse-Thief 
Society,  and  has  served  three  years  as 
road  commissioner  of  this  township. 

Abram  Remer,  wagon  manufacturer 
in  Jerseyville,  was  born  in  Somerville, 
N.  J.,  March  6,  1811.  He  served  an  ap- 
prenticeship to  the  trade  of  wagon- 
making,  and  followed  that  business  in 
his  native  town  until  1856,  wdien  he 
came  to  Illinois,  and  settled  in  Jersey- 


Vz^/o  J  {y-zt,   ,     /J I  &  ft-  I c   , 
^y    t  o£c  ->.  ,     cs    c/i       ^z^   /free). 

ti^~,tt,  M&~  jf&*5b,+t.  Joe*. 


OQ-e^&f ,       5  <£,     US',     /a*.'    ^Ajs    ■,  j  .  .  /<?<,) 


ity 

in 

ns, 

ide 

ac- 
ife, 
has 


Six 


&0  £*>£-^3^z?C-^-t->-ca^zz   .      cjUsi^.   -. v 


lild 

IV- 

ille 
inn 
ab- 


-Vt>L  2  -Lt/   z -<-    .  he 


*2  •        ~   '     ■  '       Y:1*-^ ,  ( Po  )  g,  a 

BtO- 


was 

ind, 
ied, 
•  to 
retf, 

Six 


S71. 
ited 
jon- 
)loy 

nn., 
was 
ille. 


-   s,     i    ""   * 


'  A~    £3*£)&£^0Z^<2-0LjC44s  ,       /*\^£^ts<^<?  . 


*  £rt'm,<>^,  yah*-* /?.#■*&., 
<^Ua-t    tjt^fo,  J$L^&  , 


, 


I  Z  Z  ?  JL^tf 


J.V~t/l-<~ 


v-  M-^&M;    (£>*oA  ^tz**, 


c^V~t^<^t^, 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


549 


ville,  where  he  has  since  resided  and 
pursued  his  trade.  He  was  married, 
March  18,  1837,  to  Deborah  Nutt,  who 
was  a  native  of  the  city  of  Philadel- 
phia; horn  March  6,  1813.  Her  father 
was  Thomas  Nutt,  a  farmer  by  occupa- 
tion. They  have  had  seven  children, 
five  of  whom  are  now  living — George 
M.:  Hannah  Augusta,  now  the  wife  of 
John  Van  Pelt;  Theodore  F.;  Henri- 
etta, now  Mrs.  Henrietta  Rockwell:  and 
Sarah  M.,  wife  of  J.  M  rage  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Reiner  are  members  of  the  First 
Presbyterian  church. 

Joseph  S.  Malotte  was  horn  in  Platte 
City,  Mo.,  July  26,  1843,  being  a  son  of 
John  S.  and  Elizabeth  H.  Malotte. 
John  S.  Malotte  was  born  in  France, 
and  was  among  the  early  French  settlers 
of  the  state  of  Missouri,  when  he  died. 
On  the  death  of  his  father,  Joseph  S. 
went  to  live  with  his  sister  in  Pennsyl- 
vania, where  he  received  his  education 
and  remained  until  he  arrived  at  the 
age  of  18.  In  the  spring  of  1860,  he 
came  to  Jerseyville,  111.,  and  here 
clerked  in  the  clothing  store  of  J.  C. 
Tack  until  Dec,  1863,  when  lie  enlisted 
in  Co.  C,  of  the  124th  111.  Inf.,  and 
served  till  the  close  of  the  war.  He  re- 
turned from  the  army  to  Jerseyville 
and  engaged  in  clerking  till  1809.  He 
then  became  the  partner  of  II.  V.  Voor- 
hees  in  the  grocery  trade,  which  they 
carried  on  about  two  years.  At  the  ex- 
piration of  that  time  Mr.  Malotte  pur- 
chased his  partner"^  interest  and  con- 
tinued the  business  until  his  store  was 
destroyed  by  fire.  He  then  engaged  in 
building  and  selling  residence  property 
and  has  done  much  to  improve  the  west 
pari  of  the  city  where  he  has  erected  live 
of  the  best  dwellings  in  that  part  of  the 


town.  Sept.  18,  1867,  he  married 
Maria  A.  Tack,  daughterof  John  ('.  and 
Henrietta  (Miller)  Tack.  Two  child- 
ren have  been  born  to  them — Frank  and 
Walter.  Mr.  Malotte  is  a  member  of 
the  G.  A.  R.,  and,  politically,  a  sup- 
porter of  the  republican  party. 

James  W.  Calhoun  was  bom  in  Ly- 
man, Grafton  county,  N.  H.,  Oct.  19, 
1824,  and  came  with  his  parents,  Solo- 
mon and  Rhoda  Calhoun,  to  this  county 
in  1833.  He  followed  farming,  and  in 
1849  was  married  to  Lucinda  Robbing, 
nee  Crowe]].  He  continued  to  reside 
on  the  farm  until  1870,  when,  on  ac- 
count of  the  feeble  health  of  his  wife, 
lie  removed  to  Jerseyville,  and  has 
since  been  clerking  most  of  the  time. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Calhoun  have  one  child 
— Emily  L.,  wife  of  W.  Leigh,  who  re- 
sides at  Jerseyville. 

Patrick  Dunphy  came  to  Jerseyville 
in  1865,  and  at  first  worked  on  a  farm 
for  Hugh  X.  Cross.  He  then  estab- 
lished a  grocery  business  in  Jerseyville 
which  he  continued  till  1.S77,  when  he 
engaged  in  the  saloon  business.  In 
1884  he  erected  his  present  building,  a 
brick  structure.  26x80  feet,  and  two  sto- 
ries in  height.  Patrick  Dunphy  was 
born  in  county  Tipperary,  Ireland, 
March  '.>,  1844.  In  1862  his  father  died, 
and  the  same  year  his  mother  came  to 
America  accompanied  by  three  children, 
four  chileren  having  preceded  her.  Six 
of  the  family  are  still  living.  The 
mother  died  in  Jerseyville  in  1871. 
When  Patrick  first  came  to  the  United 
States  he  worked  on  a  farm  in  Wiscon- 
sin, niter  which  he  was  in  the  employ 
of  the  government  at  Nashville,  Term., 
until  1865.  In  February,  1867,  he  was 
married  to  Mary  Dwyer,  of  Jerseyville, 


550 


HISTORY  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY. 


but  a  native  of  Ireland.  Six  children 
have  been  born  to  them,  one  of  whom 
died  in  the  third  year  of  his  age.  Those 
now  living  are  :  Annie,  John,  Maggie, 
Katie  and  Nellie.  Mr.  Dunphy  is  a 
democrat  in  politics  and  a  member  of 
the  Catholic  church. 

Charles  Neumeyer  was  born  in  Arns- 
berg,  Westphalia,  Prussia,  Germany, 
Oct.  5,  1841).  He  remained  in  his  native 
country  until  1867,  there  receiving  a 
good  education.  He  then  came  to  the 
United  Scates,  and  first  stopped  with 
his  uncle,  Louis  Poettger,  a  farmer  near 
Jerseyville.  In  1869,  he  came  to  Jer- 
seyville  and  served  as  bartender  for,  P. 
Leresche,  which  firm  he  succeeded  in 
business,  in  1875,  and  still  continues 
the  same.  In  Jan.,  1872,  he  was  mar- 
ried to  Anna  Seehausen,then  of  Fieldon , 
Jersey  county,  but  a  native  of  Ger- 
many. 8he  is  a  daughter  of  J.  C.  See- 
hausen.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Neumeyer  have 
one  daughter — Julia.  He  is  a  member 
of  the  German  Lutheran  church,  of 
which  he  is  secretary;  and  a  democrat. 

William  McAdams,  Sr.,  deceased, 
was  born  in  Middletown,  Butler  county, 
0.,  April  25,  1809,  his  parents  being 
Thomas  and  Elizabeth  McAdams.  Thos. 
Mi  Adams  was  a  native  of  Scotland,  and 
when  16  years  of  age  he  immigrated  to 
this  country  and  settled  in  Philadel- 
phia. In  1798  he  was  married  to 
Elizabeth  Noble,  daughter  of  James 
and  Rebecca  Noble,  natives  of  Pennsyl- 
vania. By  this  union  there  were  eight 
children,  four  sons  and  four  daughters. 
Mr.  McAdams  enlisted  in  the  war  of 
1812,  as  a  volunteer,  and  was  taken  pris- 
oner at  Detroit.  His  occupation  through 
life,  was  farming.  In  1833  he  died  and 
his  wife  survived  him  until  the  spring 


of  1836.  William,  the  subject  of  this 
sketch,  was  educated  in  the  common 
schools  of  his  native  state,  and  on 
the  6th  of  Nov.,  1831,  married  Eliza 
Farris,  oldest  child  of  Joseph  and  Nancy 
Farris,  whose  ancestral  descent  was 
Scotch  and  Irish,  and  who  were  among 
the  early  settlers  of  Ohio.  This  union 
was  blessed  with  nine  children,  four 
sons  and  five  daughters,  six  of  whom 
are  still  living — William,  Jr.,  of  Alton; 
Mary  Jane,  wife  of  John  Anten,  of 
Alton;  Charles  A.,  a  physician  at  Wich- 
ita, Kas.;  Lewis  Y.,  of  Whitehall; 
Eleanora  and  Anna.  Mr.  McAdams  be- 
gan life  as  a  carpenter  but  soon  changed 
from  that  to  the  mercantile  business, 
he  followed  about  20  years,  or  until 
1850,  when  he  engaged  in  agricultural 
pursuits,  in  which  he  continued  until 
his  sad  and  sudden  death.  In  the  fall 
of  1857,  he  immigrated  to  Illinois,  and 
settled  one  mile  southwest  of  Jersey- 
ville, where  he  remained  until  the 
spring  of  1S64,  when  he  removed  to 
the  farm  near  Otterville,  where  he 
ever  afterwards  resided.  He  died  very 
suddenly  July  23,  1885,  being  taken 
away  with  heart  disease.  But  a  day 
or  two  before  he  was  pleasantly  greet- 
ing acquaintances  in  the  city.  The  high 
social  and  financial  position  he  enjoyed 
was  due  to  his  amiability,  untiring  en- 
ergy and  good  management.  Any  eulo- 
gy is  unnecessary  as  his  merits  are  so 
well  known,  his  acquaintance  being  so 
extensive,  and  lie  was  respected  by  the 
entire  community  as  an  upright,  honor- 
able and  public-spirited  citizen.  He 
left  his  family  in  very  comfortable  cir- 
cumstances, having  ()40  acres  of  valua- 
ble land,  and  a  large,  two  story  brick 
residence  in  Otterville. 


HISTORY 

OF 

GREENE  COUNTY, 


ILLINOIS. 


CHAPTER    I. 


INTRODUCTION. 


I.ess<'niiiLr  each  year,  under  the  re- 
lentless  hand  of  death,  the  little  hand  of 
hardy  pioneers,  who  first  broke  the  way 
for  civilization  and  planted  the  broad 
marks  of  progress  upoD  the  virgin 
prairies  and  in  the  primeval  forests  of 
Greene  county,  are  fast  passing  away, 
ami  before  they  have  all  been  gathered 
to  their  rest,  let  us  hasten  and  gather 
from  their  lips  the  tale  of  by-gone  days. 
when  adventurous  pioneers,  both  men 
and  women,  leaving  the  shelter  of  the 
old  home  and  parent  roof-tree,  pushed 
Out  into  the  then  domain  of  the  wild 
beast,  and  his  scarce  less  wild  brother, 
the  savage  redman,  and  here  essayed  to 
carve  them  out  a  new  home,  amid  the 
haunts  of  nature  in  her  wildest  mood. 

Their  hint  forms,  their  furrowed 
brows  and  hoary  hair,  tell  of  the  fierce 
battle  with  trial  and  hardship — the 
fight  for  life  with  penury  and  want,  but 


the  bright  eye,  the  firm  glance,  tell  that 
they  have  conquered,  as  only  a  noble 
hand  of  heroes  could  conquer,  and  they 
seem  spared  to  sanctify  the  homes  that 
they  have  founded  in  this,  to  them, 
pristine  wilderness.  Their  deeds  de- 
serve a  place  in  history,  that  will  long 
survive  the  monuments  of  marble  that 
must  soon  mark  the  place  where  they 
will  be  at  rest.  Let  us  then  gather  the 
details  from  them  before  they  go,  that 
we  may  honor  them  as  they  deserve. 
And  here  let  us  draw  the  contrast  be- 
tween the  then  and  now.  Although 
settled  at  a  late  date  as  compared  with 
those  of  the  Atlantic  seaboard,  this 
parallel  seems  startling;  those  who 
have  lived  quietly  upon  their  farms 
where  they  settled  when  they  first  came 
here,  can  hardly  realize  the  change, 
having  seen  it  grow  up  so  gradually. 
But  like  the  years  of  man,  the  country 


-TT 


55 1 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


has  been  steadily  growing  on.  Seventy 
years  ago,  these  now  productive  acres, 
these  rich  grazing  lands  and  fertile 
farms,  were  lying  an  almost  unbroken 
wilderness  of  tree  and  grass,  the  hunt- 
inn  ground  and  often  the  battle  field  of 
the  red  Indian. 

The  soil  was  rich  and  productive,  but 
what  sterling  nerve  and  determination 
was  required  to  make  it  a  suitable  habi- 
tation for  man  and  to  reclaim  to  the  uses 
of  civilization  its  virgin  soil;  verily,  to 
turn  the  back  on  the  older  homes  of  our 
race,  and  literally  carve  out  a  new  one 
in  the  bosom  of  the  forest,  or  upon  the 
wind  swept  prairie,  was  no  light  task. 
No  roads,  and  few  if  any  trails,  and  the 
pioneer  was  often  compelled  to  go  40  or 
50  miles  to  mill,  and  happy  was  he  if 
he  had  grist  to  grind  at  all. 

Those  days,  agricultural  and  domestic 
implements  were  scarce  and  crude  at 
that,  and  hard,  manual  labor  replaced 
them  to  a  great  extent.  Contrast  in 
your  minds  the  difference  between  the 
rude  appliances  of  those  early  days,  0, 
ye  pioneers,  with  the  manifold  labor- 
saving  machinery  of  to-day,  both  in 
husbandry,  and  in  household  affairs. 
The  bar  share  with  the  sulky  plow — the 
harvester  with  the  sickle  or  scythe — 
the  sewing  machine  with  its  more 
humble  sister,  the  sewing  needle,  and  so 
on,  through  all  the  long  list,  and  then 
you  can  realize  the  change. 


Contrast  the  rude  log  school  house 
which  served  its  multiform  purpose  of 
school,  church,  and  often  the  only  pub- 
lic building  within  the  radius  of  a  day's 
journey,  with  the  elegant  and  commo- 
dious churches,  school  houses  and  pub- 
lic buildings  of  the  present  day. 

In  those  early  days,  "that  tried 
men's  souls,"  their  nerve  and  backbone, 
no  handy  market  was  there  for  the  lit- 
tle surplus  farm  produce,  nor  conven- 
ient store,  where  could  be  purchased 
all  that  needs  called  for,  but  a  long 
journey  over  a  lonely,  dreary  road, 
often  over  50  or  60  miles,  before  the 
pioneer  could  reach  a  place  advanced 
enough  to  boast  of  a  buyer  and  seller 
of  country  produce  and  merchandise, 
and  his  only  mode  of  conveyance,  the 
slow,  plodding  farm  team,  and  rough 
lumber  wagon.  Now  the  iron  horse 
snorts,  almost  at  the  very  door,  and 
towns  and  villages  dot  the  land,  bring- 
ing in  their  train  all  the  conveniences 
of  civilized  life,  and  all  the  luxuries  of 
the  older  home  he  left  in  by-gone  days. 

But  of  the  hardy  Argonauts  of  this 
portion  of  the  state,  but  few  are  in  the 
land  of  the  living,  but  their  memories 
still  are  kept  green  in  the  recollections 
of  the  survivors,  and  from  them  has 
been  collected  the  following  annals. 
None  have  been  intentionally  omitted, 
but  all  diligence  has  been  given  to  hunt 
up  the  minutest  items  of  interest. 


QHAPTE1R    II. 


GEOGRAPHY 

Greene  county  lies  in  the    southern 
part  of  the  valley  of  the   Illinois  river. 


near  the  western  border  of  the  state. 
It  is  bounded  on  the  north  by  Scott  and 

Morgan  counties,  on  the  east  by  Ma- 
coupin, on  the  smith  by  Jersey,  and  on 
the  west  by  Pike  and  Calhoun,  from 
which  it  is  separated  by  the  Illinois 
river.  It  contains  14  full  congressional 
townships  and  seven  fractional  ones,  or 
about  equivalent  to  Hi  full  townships,  or 
576  square  miles  of  territory.  It  is  well 
supplied  with  running  streams  that  me- 
ander through  its  fertile  acres  in  count- 
less number.  The  more  important  of 
these,  besides  the  Illinois  river,  which 
washes  its  western  boundary,  are  Ma- 
coupin and  Apple  creeks.  Macoupin 
creek  first  enters  Greene  county,  from 
Macoupin,  on  the  east  line  of  Sect.  4,  in 
T.  9,  R.  10,  and  flows  in  a  southerly  di- 
rection, passing  into  Jersey  county  from 
section  Hi;  here  it  takes  a  westward 
course,  and  again  enters  (ireene  county 
on  the  south  line  of  section  18,  of  the 
same  township  and  range,  and  flows 
with  tortuous  course  toward  the  west, 
through  T.  9,  R.  11  west,  near  the  west- 
ern boundary  of  which  it  incline-  its 
course  more  to  the  southwest;  from  the 
southwest  corner  of  T.  9,  K.  12,  it  forms 
the  southern  boundary  of  the  county. 
Apple  creek  has  its  headwaters  near  the 
northeastern  part  of  the  county,  and 
flows  with  pellucid    waters  in  a  general 


TOPOGRAPHY  AND  GEOLOGY. 

southwesterly  course  through  the  town- 
ships of  Athensville,  White  Hall, 
Wrights  and  Walkerville,  and  forms 
the  boundary  line  between  White  Hall 
and  Carrollton.  These  streams,  with 
their  numerous  affluents,  drain,  and 
at  the  same  time  fertilize  the  land. 
Fine  springs  are  abundant  in  the  bluff 
country  along  the  river,  and  where 
the  limestone  crops  out,  and  water  can 
he  reached  almost  anywhere  by  wells  .if 
not  over  4n  feet.  Several  mineral 
springs  have  heen  discovered.  Mr. 
Clapp,  in  his  excellent  history  of  the 
county,  thus  speaks  of  some  of  them, 
which  we  quote  by  kind  permission: 
"The  old  precinct  of  Mineral  Springs, 
in  the  northern  part  of  the  county,  re- 
ceived its  name  from  fountains  of  this 
sort  which  at  one  time  attracted  a  great 
deal  of  attention.  They  are  situated  on 
the  west  half  of  the  northwest  quarter 
of  Sec.  22,  T.  12,  R.  11,  and  were  dis- 
covered soon  after  the  first  settlement 
of  the  county,  by  a  party  who  were  fol- 
lowing an  Indian  trail.  Shortly  after, 
in  1S25,  Gov.  Reynolds  and  a  gentle- 
man named  Cook,  of  Springfield,  en- 
tered the  land,  believing  that  the 
presence  of  the  springs  would  make  the 
property  valuable.  For  many  years 
people,  suffering  with  various  diseases, 
resorted  thither  from  all  parts  of  the 
adjacent  country  to  obtain  the  benefit 
of  the   waters    and,  in   many  cases,  re- 


556 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


ceived  immediate  relief.  Sometimes 
from  200  to  350  would  be  camped  near 
the  springs  at  one  time.  In  Oct.,  1852, 
the  property  was  purchased  by  B.  G. 
Hopkins,  having  previously  been  owned 
by  Samuel  Hopkins,  Abraham  Easton 
and  others,  who  built  a  large  hotel  the 
same  year.  The  main  building  was  40 
feet  long  by  about  30  feet  wide,  with  a 
commodious  L  in  the  rear  and  a  wing 
40  feet  long  on  either  side  of  the  main 
building,  giving  a  total  front  of  120  feet. 
From  this  time  the  springs  were  very 
popular.  Often  more  persons  applied 
for  board  than  could  be  accommodated 
at  the  hotel,  and  the  neighboring  dwell- 
ings were  frequently  filled.  Later  the 
property  came  into  the  possession  of 
B.  McGlothlen,  under  whose  manage- 
ment the  springs  began  to  lose  their 
popularity.  In  1862,  while  the  hotel 
was  occupied  by  McGlothlen  and  owned 
by  C.  G.  Simonds,  it  was  burned  to  the 
ground.  The  waters  of  the  springs  un- 
doubtedly have  a  pronounced  medicinal 
effect.  They  are  described  as  being 
'strongly  diuretic,  rather  more  than 
slightly  cathartic  and  diaphoretic,  a 
good  tonic  and  appetizer.'  Dropsy, 
rheumatism,  kidney  complaints,  dys- 
pepsia, and  sore  eyes  are  prominent 
among  the  ailments  they  have  been 
known  to  cure.  Just  northeast  of 
Greenfield  are  the  Greenfield  Springs, 
which  arc  impregnated  with  iron,  mag- 
nesia, calcium,  and  other  ingredients. 
For  debilitated  persons  they  act  as  a 
tonic,  and  assist  nature  in  its  work  of 
rejuvenating  the  system.  Many  stories 
are  told  of  the  successful  use  of  the 
waters,  by  persons  who  came  a  long 
distance,  suffering  with  rheumatism, 
white  swellings,  fever  sores,  etc.    Many 


who  have  visited  Saratoga  and  the  Sul- 
phur Springs,  of  Yirginia,  consider  the 
Greenfield  Springs  their  equal  in  every 
regard.  An  effort  was  at  one  time  made 
to  establish  a  watering  place  here  but 
without  success.  The  town  is  a  pleas- 
ant one,  the  scenery  delightful,  the 
railroad  facilities  excellent  and  the  en- 
terprise may  yet  be  revived.  Some 
three  or  four  miles  northeast  of  "Carroll- 
ton,  on  land  now  owned  by  Malachi 
Carmody,  there  is  another  natural  font 
of  healing,  and  Parham  Thaxton  well 
remembers  when  as  many  as  50  people 
habitually  congregated  there  on  Sunday 
and  spent  the  day  in  drinking  the 
waters,  and  in  quiet  repose,  in  the  im- 
mediate neighborhood.  A  similar 
spring,  on  the  farm  of  Thos.  Luncen, 
southeast  of  Carrollton,  just  beyond  the 
limits  of  the  city,  was  much  resorted  to 
in  years  past,  and  at  other  points  they 
may  be  found." 

In  the  matter  of  timber,  Greene  county 
is  abundantly  supplied  with  all  the 
trees  indigenous  to  this  latitude,  and  in 
large  quantities,  there  not  being  a  sin- 
gle township  without  its  liberal  supply 
of  well  wooded  land.  Among  the  most 
common  kinds  are  the  bass,  or  linden, 
red  maple,  sugar  maple,  honey  locust, 
persimmon,  white  ash,  white  and  red 
elm,  cottonwood,  black  and  white  wal- 
nut, shellbark  hickory,  and  post, 
swamp,  white,  black,  red,  pin  and 
shingle  oaks  with  their  numerous  rela- 
lives,  together  with  all  the  smaller  va- 
rieties with  which  the  American  forests 
are  so  lavishly  filled. 

The  surface  of  the  county  is  gener- 
ally of  a  rolling  description,  but  in  the 
western  tier  of  townships,  in  the  neigh- 
borhood of  the   river,    and    the   bluffs 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY 


557 


that  line  it,  it  becomes  quite  broken  and 
hilly  ;  the  valleys  of  the  smaller  streams 
being  from  100  feet  to  200  feet  below  the 
level  of  the  uplands.  As  the  country 
proceeds  eastward  it  is  of  a  milder, 
gentler  form,  rising  and  falling  in  airy 
undulations  like  some  frozen  sea.  In 
the  western  portion  of  the  county,  in 
the  bottom  land  of  the  Illinois  river, 
are  numerous  lakes  of  all  sizes,  shapes 
and  forms,  but  none  of  them  worthy  of 
special  mention.  The  bluff  lands  are 
well  adapted  to  the  cultivation  of  fruits, 
as  well  as  wheat  and  other  cereals,  and 
the  soil  rich  and  fertile.  The  prairies, 
which  are  small,  are  covered  with  the 
rich,  warm,  black,  alluvial  loam,  char- 
acteristic of  the  prairies  of  northern  and 
central  Illinois,  and  whose  fecundity 
and  fertility  is  not  surpassed  by  any 
land  in  the  world.  As  an  agricultural 
region  Greene  county  takes  a  front  rank 
in  the  galaxy  of  counties  that  go  to 
make  up  this  noble  State,  and  its  excel- 
lent railroad  facilities  and  proximity  to 
the  great  rivers,  its  rich  and  varied  min- 
eral resources,  point  out  a  proud  and 
prosperous  future. 

Several  lines  of  railroad  cross  the 
county,  each  having  several  stations 
within  its  borders,  and  thus  bringing 
the  cities,  towns  and  villages  of  the 
county  into  direct  communication  with 
the  markets  of  the  world.  The  R.  I.  & 
St.  L.  branch  of  the  C,  B.  &  Q.  R.  R. 
enters  the  county  from  the  north  on  Sec. 
2,  T.  12,  R.  12,  passing  about  a  mile 
west  of  the  town  of  Roodhouse,  to 
White  Hall,  wbere  it  crosses  the  C,  A. 
it  St.  L.  R.  R.,  thence  running  south- 
easterly to  Greenfield,  and  from  thence 
southward,  passing  out  on  the  south  line 
of  T.  10,  R.  10.  Besides  the  towns  named 


above  there  are  several  other  stations 
within  the  limits  of  the  county  on  this 
line  of  road.  The  C,  A.,  &  St.  L.  R. 
R.  enters  the  county  on  the  north  line 
of  Sec.  5,  T.  12,  R.  11,  and  passes 
through  the  cities  of  Roodhouse,  White 
Hall,  Carrollton,  and  the  villages  of 
Berdan  and  Kane.  The  Kansas  City 
branch  of  this  road,  leaves  the  main 
line  at  Roodhouse,  and  running  west, 
crosses  the  Illinois  river,  on  its  way  to 
the  rising  young  metropolis  of  the 
west. 

GEOLOGY. 

The  following  account  of  the  geology 
of  Greene  county,  is  taken  from  the 
report  of  Prof.  A.  H.  Worthen,  state 
geologist.  No  man  was  more  thor- 
oughly conversant  wpth  the  subject,  or 
so  able  to  treat  of  a  matter  which  he  lias 
so  exhaustively  investigated.  No  his- 
tory of  the  county  would  be  complete 
without  it,  and  no  one  so  qualified  to 
give  it  as  he.     He  says: 

The  geological  features  of  this  county 
are  by  no  means  so  varied  as  those  pre- 
sented in  the  adjoining  county  of  Jer- 
sey, for  the  reason  that  the  disturbing 
influences  that  have  elevated  the  De- 
vonian and  Silurian  beds  above  the 
surface,  in  that  county,  did  not  extend 
into  this,  and  consequently  we  do  not 
find  any  beds  exposed  here  below  the 
lower  carboniferous  limestones.  The 
following  vertical  section  of  the  several 
formations  in  the  county  will  illustrate 
their  thickness  and  relative  position: 
Quaternary  deposits,  allu- 
vium, loess  and  drift mo  to  120  feet, 

Coal  measures 150  to  160    " 

St.  Louis  limestone S  to     -40     " 

Keokuk  limestone loo  to  125    " 

Burlington  limestone 120  to  150     " 

Kinderhook  group .">(►  to    60    " 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


ALLUVIUM. 

The  principal  alluvial  deposits  in 
this  county  are  those  forming  the  bot- 
tom lands  on  the  Illinois  river,  com- 
prising a  belt  from  three  to  five  miles 
in  width,  and  extending  the  whole 
length  of  the  county  from  north  to 
south.  These  lands  are  exceedingly 
fertile,  and,  are  amongst  the  most  val- 
uable and  productive  farming  lands  in 
the  county.  The  greater  portion  of 
these  bottom  lands  are  prairie,  suffi- 
cently  elevated  to  be  susceptible  of  culti- 
vation and  exceedingly  productive. 
Adjacent  to  the  river  bluffs,  they  are 
elevated  entirely  above  high  water 
mark,  and  are  not  subject  to  overflow 
from  the  annual  river  floods.  Belts  of 
heavy  timber  occupy  some  portions  of 
these  bottom  lands,  and  skirt  the  small 
streams  by  which  they  are  intersected. 

LOESS. 

This  formation  is  usually  confined  to 
the  vicinity  of  the  river  bluffs,  which  it 
c;ips  to  the  depth  of  from  40  to  60  feet, 
and  gives  origin  to  the  bald,  grassy 
knobs,  which  forms  so  notable  a  feature 
in  the  topography  of  the  bluff,  both  on 
the  Illinois  and  the  Mississippi.  It  is 
largely  composed  of  beds  of  marly 
sand,  which  sustains  a  thick  growth  of 
wild  grass,  and  occasionally  a  stunted 
growth  <if  oak.  It  is  unconformably  to 
the  drift  clays  below  it,  and  presents  its 
greatest  thickness  at  the  river  bluffs 
growing  thinner  toward  the  highlands 
of  the  adjacent  region.  It  has  been 
formed  in  the  quiet  waters  of  the  lakes 
which  once  occupied  the  present  valleys 
of  the  Illinois  and  Mississippi  rivers. 
These  marly  beds  of  loess  form  an  ad- 
mirable sub-soil,  being  sufficiently  por- 


ous to  allow  a  thorough  drainage;  and 
where  they  underlie  a  gently  rolling  or 
tolerably  level  surface,  they  form  a 
quick,  warm  and  very  productive  soil. 


Some  few  sections  of  drift  may  be 
seen  in  the  bluffs  of  Bear  creek,  below 
Blanchard's  coal  bank,  of  40  to  42  feet 
in  thickness.  The  lower  part  is  com- 
posed of  bluish  colored  clays,  so  gener- 
ally characteristic  of  this  formation. 
Large  boulders  of  metamorphic  rock  are 
not  so  abundant  in  the  drift  of  this  re- 
gion as  in  many  other  portions  of  the 
state;  but  a  few  are  found  of  moderate 
size,  composed  of  greenstone,  porphyry 
and  granite,  giving  unmistakable  evi- 
dence of  their  northern  origin.  Speci- 
mens of  drifted  copper  and  galena  are, 
also,  occasionally  found  in  the  clay  and 
gravel  beds  of  this  region,  which  cover 
the  whole  surface  of  the  county,  except 
the  valleys  of  the  streams.  These  have 
been  transported,  also,  from  the  north 
— the  copper  from  Lake  Superior,  and 
the  galena  from  the  lead  regions  of 
northern  Illinois  or  Wisconsin,  and  were 
transported  at  the  same  period  and  by 
the  same  agency  that  brought  the  bould- 
ers of  metamorphic  rock. 

COAL     MEASURES. 

The  coal  measures  of  this  county 
comprise  about  150  feet  in  thickness  of 
sandstones,  shales,  and  thin  bands  of 
limestone,  including  three  seams  of 
coal,  and  comprise  all  the  strata  from 
the  horizon  of  coal  No.  6  to  the  base  of 
the  measures,  as  they  are  developed  in 
this  portion  of  the  state.  The  sub- 
joined general  section,  compiled  from 
many  local  sections  in  various  parts  of 


the    county,    will    show    their    general 

thickness  and  relative  position  : 

Feet. 

Compact  brown  limestone 2  to    4 

Bituminous  shale 1 

Coal   No.  6 6 

Shaly  clay  and  nodular  limestone 3  to    4 

Shale L5  to  20 

Bituminous  shale 2  to    3 

Coal   Xo.  5 2  to    3 

Arenaceous  shale  and  sandstone 2">  to  30 

Bituminous  shale,  passing  to  coal  No.  3  2  to    3 

Sandstone  and  shale 40  to  50 

(  oal  No.  l 2  to    3 

Nodular  steel  gray  limestone 4  to    c> 

Shale  and  sandstone,  conglomerate...  15  to  20 

153 

The  only  outcrop  of  the  Belleville,  or 
No.  6  coal,  that  is  found  in  this  county, 
is  on  the  northeast  quarter  of  Sec. 
36,  T.  It),  R.  10,  just  on  the  county 
line,  between  Greene  and  Macoupin,  in 
the  bluff  of  Hodge's  creek.  This  bank 
was  owned  and  worked  in  1864,  by 
Thomas  Rice,  and  the  seam  is  here  very 
variable  in  its  thickness,  ranging  from 
four  to  seven  feet.  The  upper  part  of 
the  seam  is  considerably  mixed  with 
sulphuret  of  iron,  and  is  only  fit  for 
steam  purposes;  but  the  middle  and 
lower  portions  afford  a  good  smith's 
coal.  The  seam  at  this  locality  dips  to 
the  eastward;  and  this  may  probably  be 
considered  as  its  most  westerly  outcrop. 
There  are  only  a  few  inches  of  shaly 
clay  separating  the  seam  from  the  nod- 
ular argillaceous  limestone  below,  ex- 
hibiting here  the  phenomenon  of  a 
heavy  seam  of  coal  directly  enclosed 
between  beds  of  marine  limestone.  The 
nodular  limestone  below  the  coal 
abounds  in  fossils  at  this  locality, 
among  which  a  massive  coral,  the  cha- 
etetes  milliporaceous,  is  most  conspicu- 
ous.    This  coral  is  generally  hemisper- 


ical  in  form,  and  often  attains  a  diame- 
ter of  six  to  12  inches.  The  limestone 
also  contains  many  univalve  shells  be- 
longing to  the  genera  naticopsis,  pleuro- 
tomaria,  loxonema,  etc. 

The  limestone  which  forms  the  roof 
of  the  coal  is  a  compact,  bluish-gray 
rock,  which  weathers,  on  exposure,  to  a 
rusty-brown  color,  and  contains  pro- 
ductus  longispinus,  spirifer  lineatus, 
fusulina,  and  joints  of  crinoidea. 

Below  this  coal  there  is  another  seam 
that  outcrops  on  the  creek  in  this  vicin- 
ity. It  has  not  yet  been  worked  to  any 
extent;  and  no  good  exposure  of  it  is 
to  be  seen,  but  is  reported  to  be  about 
two  feet  in  thickness.  It  is,  undoubt- 
edly, the  equivalent  of  coal  Xo.  5,  of 
the  general  section,  and  the  Howlett 
coal,  near  Springfield,  but  is  much  thin- 
ner here  than  the  seam  above  it.  Basset!  's 
coal,  on  the  southwest  quarter  of  Sec. 
27,  T.  10,  R.  11,  is  about  18  inches  in 
thickness;  and  the  coal  is  overlaid, 
first,  by  three  or  four  feet  of  bituminous 
shale,  and  this  by  a  septarian  limestone, 
or  four  feet  more  in  thickness.  The 
coal  is  underlaid  by  a  blue  clay  shale, 
from  four  to  six  feet  thick,  and  this,  by 
a  brown  sandy  shale,  passing  into  sand- 
stone, which  outcrops  down  the  creek 
for  a  distance  of  half  a  mile  or  more, 
and  shows  a  thickness  altogether,  of  25 
or  30  feet.  This  seam  probably  over- 
lies the  coal  at  Tulison's,  on  Wolf 
river,  as  well  as  that  on  Birch  creek; 
but  that  point  could  not  be  positively 
determined.  It  is  probable  that  it  rep- 
resents coal  No.  2  of  the  general  sec- 
tion. The  coal  in  the  seam  appears  to 
be  of  good  quality;  but  it  is  too  thin  to 
be  profitably  mined  at  the  present  time. 
At  many  points  there  is  a  heavy  bed  of 


561 1 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


sandstone  intervening  between  this 
seam  and  the  coal  on  Birch  creek;  and 
a  similar  bed,  though  perhaps  a  higher 
one  in  the  series,  is  well  exposed  in  the 
bluff's  of  Macoupin  creek,  at  Rock- 
bridge. The  exposure  here  is  from  35 
to  40  feet  in  thickness,  the  lower 
part  consisting  of  blue  sandy  shales, 
which  are  overlaid  by  a  massive  brown 
sandstone,  passingupward  into  a  brown, 
sandy  shale.  The  sandstone  is  partly 
concretionary  in  structure,  the  concre- 
tions being  quite  hard  and  forming  a 
durable  building  stone.  On  Birch  creek 
a  similar  sandstone  is  well  exposed, 
overlying  coal  seam  No.  1,  with  a  thick- 
ness of  25  to  30  feet.  Nettle's  coal 
bank  is  on  the  northeast  quarter  of  Sec. 
25,  T.  12,  R.  11,  about  four  miles 
east  of  Roodhouse.  The  coal  aver- 
ages about  three  feet  in  thickness, 
and  is  overlaid  by  from  three  to  five 
feet  of  bituminous  shale,  which  forms  a 
good  roof  to  the  coal.  Above  the  shale 
there  is  a  bed  of  massive  sandstone, 
20  feet  or  more  in  thickness,  similar  to 
that  at  Rockbridge.  Under  the  coal, 
there  is  a  bed  of  shaley  clay,  not  more 
than  a  foot  or  two  in  thickness,  which 
rests  upon  a  hard  steel-gray  nodular 
limestone  about  four  feet  in  thickness. 
The  bed  crops  out  along  the  creek  for  a 
distance  of  about  three  miles  above 
Nettle's  place,  the  fall  of  the  creek 
being  just  about  equal  to  the  dip  of  the 
coal,  and  in  the  same  direction,  which 
is  to  the  southeast.  On  Wolf  run, 
about  a  mile  and  a  half  east  of  White 
Hall,  a  seam  of  coal  outcrops  along  the 
creek  for  the  distance  of  a  mile  or  more 
and  has  been  opened  at  several  points. 
It  is  from  two  feet  to  two-  and  a  half  in 
thickness,  and  is  a   clear,    bright  coal, 


breaking  in  regularly  shaped  blocks, 
and  quite  free  from  sulphuret  of  iron. 
It  is  overlaid  by  about  two  feet  of  bi- 
tuminous shale,  which  passes  upward 
into  a  blue  clay  shale,  which  is  overlaid 
by  sandstone.  Below  the  coal  there  is 
an  excellent  bed  of  fire  clay,   from  8  to 

10  feet  thick.  The  upper  openings  on 
this  creek  are  on  the  lands  lately  owned 
by  David  Rankin,  and  the  lower  one  on 
the  lands  of  Isaac  Tulison. 

On  the  southeast  quarter  of  Sec.  36, 
T.  11,  R.  12,  about  four  miles  northeast 
of  Carrollton,  a  coal  seam  has  been 
opened  on  the  west  fork  of  Whitaker's 
creek,  which,  with  the  associated  rocks 
form  the  following  section  : 
Coal  measures:  Feet. 

Brown  sandy  shale 10  to  12 

Bituminous  shale 2 

Coal ]i2' 

Shaly  coal,  sandy  conglomerate.  10  to  15 
Band  of  iron  ore !..  ]i., 

1 1  >  ill ; 1 1 1 1 i < •  limestone 4  to    t> 

Keokuk  limestone 15  to  20 

The  beds  above  the  bands  of  iron  ore 
in  this  section  belong  to  the  coal  meas- 
ures, and  those  below  to  the  lower  car- 
boniferous limestone.  It  will  be  ob- 
served in  this  section,  that  the  St. 
Louis  limestone,  upon  which  the 
coal  measures  usually  rest  in  this 
county,  are  not  represented,  unless 
it  be  by  the  bed  of  hydraulic 
limestone.  The  Keokuk  limestone 
is  well  marked,  representing  the  usual 
characteristics  that  distinguish  it  at 
other  localities.  The  iron  ore  above 
the  hydraulic  limestone  is  an  earthy- 
brown  hematite  of  good  quality.  This 
coal  seam  is  only  about  18  inches  in 
thickness.  This  coal  has  been  opened 
the  east  fork  of  Whitaker's  creek  ;  and 
also  on   Bear   creek,    on  Mrs.   Blanch- 


aril's  place,  about  a  mile  and  a  half 
above  the  mouth  of  the  creek.  Blanch- 
ard's  coal  bank  is  on  the  northwest 
quarter  of  S.   14,    T.    11,  R.    11.      The 

The  coal  varies  in  thickness  from  two 
to  three  feet,  and  is  overlaid  by  bitu- 
minous shale,  and  massive  sandstone. 
This  seam  appears  to  be  the  same  as 
Nettle's  coal,  on  Birch  creek.  A  mile 
and  a  half  below  Blanchard's,  the  St. 
Louis  limestone  is  to  be  seen  on  the 
bluffs  of  the  creek;  but  the  intervening 
beds  between  the  coal  and  limestone 
are  not  exposed.  In  sinking  the  well 
for  the  steam  mill  in  Carrollton,  a  thin 
seam  of  coal,  about  six  inches  thick, 
was  passed  through  at  a  depth  of  about 
70  feet  below  the  surface.  Although 
the  coal  measures  underlie  nearly  all  of 
the  eastern  half  of  the  county,  they 
comprise  only  the  horizon  of  the  lower 
coal  seam,  over  a  considerable  portion 
of  this  area;  and,  along  the  extreme 
western  borders  of  the  coal  field,  even 
this  is  too  thin  at  many  localities  to  be 
worked  to  advantage,  and  the  eastern 
range  of  townships  must  be  mainly  re- 
lied on  for  a  supply  of  coal.  The 
measures  in  this  county  comprise  the 
whole  range  of  the  productive  coal 
measures,  as  they  are  developed  in  this 
portion  of  the  state;  but  the  two  prin- 
cipal coals,  No.  5  and  6,  only  extend  a 
little  over  the  eastern  line  of  the 
county,  and  consequently  underlie  but 
a  very  small  area  in  this  county,  while 
the  lower  part  of  the  measures,  which 
underlie  all  the  eastern  portion  of  the 
county,  only  have  two  of  the  four  lower 
seams  developed,  and  these  range  in 
thickness  from  18  to  36  inches.  The 
seam  at  Nettle's  mine,  on  Birch  creek, 
and  at  Blanchard's,  on   Bear  creek,  are 


probably  the  the  same  as  the  Exeter 
coal  in  Scott  county,  and  Tulison's 
bank,  two  miles  northeast  of  White 
Hall,  may  be  referred  to  the  same  hor- 
izon. Burrow's  coal  probably  holds  a 
a  higher  position,  and  perhaps  repre- 
sents either  No.  2  or  3  of  the  general 
section  of  the  coal  measure  in  central 
and  northern  Illinois. 

ST.   LOUIS  LIMESTONE. 

This  formation  is  quite  variable  in 
this  county,  both  of  regards  its  thick- 
ness and  its  lithological  characters. 
On  Link's  branch,  south  of  Carrollton, 
and  about  a  half  mile  east  of  the  state 
road  from  Carrollton  to  Jerseyville,  a 
fine  quarry  has  been  opened  in  this 
limestone  on  the  lands  of  Joseph  Stohr, 
and  leased  by  Michael  Shallue.  The 
thickness  of  the  rock  at  these  quarries 
is  about  15  feet;  and  the  lower  10  is  a 
heavy-bedded  magnesian  limestone, 
some  of  the  layers  being  from  two  to 
three  feet  thick.  The  prevailing  colors 
are  light  yellowish-gray  and  brown; 
and  these  colors  often  replace  each  other 
in  the  same  stratum.  The  rock  is  even- 
textured,  free  from  chert  or  other 
siliceous  material,  and  dresses  easily  ; 
and  these  quarries  afford  most  of 
the  cut  stone  used  at  Carrollton.  The 
lowest  strata  at  these  quarries  ap- 
pears to  be  hydraulic  limestone,  and  is 
about  18  inches  thick.  At  the  cross- 
ing of  the  state  road,  a  half  mile 
or  more,  further  up  the  creek,  the 
rock  is  not  so  even-textured,  .some  of 
the  strata  being  too  hard  to  dress  read- 
ily, and  others  too  soft  to  stand  ex- 
posure to  the  atmosphere.  The  whole 
thickness  of  the  beds  exposed,  from  the 
state  road  to    Stohr's   quarries,  may  lie 


562 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


estimated  from  25  to  30  feet.  In  the 
upper  part  of  this  group,  near  the  state 
road,  there  is  also  another  stratum  of 
what  appears  to  be  a  hydraulic  lime- 
stone, about  two  feet  thick.  On  the 
road  from  Oarrollton  to  Turpin's  mill, 
this  limestone  is  found  outcropping  in 
the  beds  of  the  small  creeks  that  empty 
into  the  Macoupin.  Turpin's  mill  is  on 
Sec.  16,  T.  9,  R.  11,  and  the  St.  Louis 
limestone  is  found  well  exposed  on  a 
small  branch  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile 
west  of  the  mill.  The  lower  part  of  the 
bed,  as  it  appears  at  this  locality,  is  a 
brown  arenaceous  limestone,  while  the 
upper  is  of  grey  and  mottled  color,  and 
sufficiently  pure  to  be  burned  for  lime, 
though  not  a  very  good  material  for 
that  purpose.  The  entire  thickness  of 
the  beds  exposed  here  is  only  about  15 
feet.  At  Thompson's  mill,  on  the 
northeast  quarter  of  Sec.  10,  T.  11,  R. 
11,  there  is  an  exposure  of  about  12  feet 
of  this  formation.  The  upper  four  feet 
is  a  brown  magnesian  limestone,  and 
the  lower  eight  feet,  an  earthy,  gray- 
ish-brown, hydraulic  limestone,  exactly 
resembling  in  appearance  the  hydraulic 
layers  of  this  formation  at  other  local- 
ities. This  is  the  thickest  bed  of  this 
kind  of  rock  found  in  the  county;  and  if 
it  should  prove  on  trial  to  be  as  good  a 
hydraulic  rock  as  its  appearance  would 
indicate,  it  will  become  valuable  for  the 
manufacture  of  cement.  It  is  no  doubt 
the  equivalent  of  the  hydraulic  lime- 
stone noticed  at  the  coal  mine  on  the 
west  fork  of  Whitaker's  creek,  and  is 
here  nearly  twice  as  thick  as  that  local- 
ity. Fossils  are  quite  scarce  in  this 
formation,  at  nearly  every  locality  ex- 
amined in  this  county.  Some  interest- 
ing forms  of  bryozoa   were   obtained  at 


the  quarries  on  Link's  branch,  and  a 
fine  specimen  of  conularia,  probably  I', 
verneuiliana,  is  in  the  possession  of 
Dr.  Farley,  of  Jerseyville,  that  was 
found  at  this  locality. 

KEOKTK   LIMESTONE. 

This  formation,  with  the  overlying 
St.  Louis  limestone,  occupies  a  belt  im- 
mediately beyond  the  western  bor- 
ders of  the  coal  measures,  and 
intervening  between  them  and  the 
Burlington  limestone  in  the  vicinity 
of  the  river  bluffs.  This  belt  is  from 
three  to  four  miles  in  width ;  and  the 
Keokuk  limestone  which  forms  the 
greatest  portion  of  it,  outcrops  on  the 
tributaries  of  the  Macoupin  and  Apple 
creeks,  and  on  the  last  named  creek  it- 
self, a  half  a  mile  below  the  bridge,  on 
the  main  road  from  Oarrollton  to  White* 
Hall.  On  the  small  creek  a  half  a 
mile  south  of  White  Hall,  the  upper 
part  of  the  Keokuk  limestone  is  found 
outcropping  for  the  distance  of  a  mile 
and  a  half  or  more  on  each  side  of  the 
creek.  The  rock  is  here  a  thin-bedded, 
chertv,  gray  limestone,  with  thin  part- 
ings of  calcarco-argillaceous  shale.  It 
seldom  affords  strata  more  than  six 
inches  thick,  and  is  therefore  not  ;i  de- 
sirable building  stone,  except  for  light 
walls.  It  affords  some  characteristic 
fossils  at  this  locality,  among  which  are 
Archimedes  Ovvenana,  platycerus  equit- 
atera,  agaricoerinus  Americanus,  pro- 
ductus  punctuatus,  spirifer  cuspidatus 
and  S.  Keokuk.  The  fossils  of  this 
formation  are  not  so  numerous  or  well 
preserved  at  the  localities  examined  in 
this  county,  as  they  are  in  the  same  beds 
in  Jersey  county.  On  the  west  fork  of 
Whitaker's  creek,  these  same  beds  are 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


563 


exposed,  between  the  coal  bank  and  the 
mouth  of  the  creek,  and  afford  the  same 
varieties  of  fossils  obtained  in  the  vicin- 
ity nf  White  Hall.  On  Apple  creek,  a 
short  distance  below  the  bridge,  on  the 
Carrollton  and  White  Hall  road,  the 
lower  beds  of  this  limestone  are  ex- 
posed, affording  layers  from  12  to  18 
inches  thick.  No  point  was  found  in 
the  county  where  the  whole  of  this 
formation  could  be  seen  in  a  single  sec- 
tion ;  and  for  a  general  description  of 
its  characteristic  features  as  well  as  the 
determination  of  its  thickness,  it  is 
necessary  to  rely  upon  the  results  of 
local  examinations  of  such  portions  of 
the  formation  as  could  be  found  ex- 
posed in  different  parts  of  the  county. 
Its  thickness  has  been  estimated  ap- 
proximately, at  100  to  125  feet;  but  it 
may  be  somewhat  greater  even  than 
that. 

BURLINGTON    LIMESTONE. 

The  outcrop  of  this  formation  is  con- 
fined to  the  western  part  of  the  county. 
It  forms  the  main  portion  of  the  river 
bluffs  throughout  the  whole  extent  of 
the  county,  from  north  to  south,  and 
extends  eastward  from  the  bluffs,  form- 
ing a  belt  from  three  to  four  miles  in 
width.  At  the  south  line  of  the  county , 
where  Macoupin  creek  intersects  the 
river  bluffs,  the  lower  part  of  this  lime- 
stone, about  70  feet  in  thickness,  forms 
the  upper  part  of  the  bluff,  and  is  un- 
derlaid by  54  feet  of  the  ash-colored 
shaly  limestones  of  the  Kinderhook 
group.  Fnun  this  point  to  the  north 
line  of  the  county,  this  limestone  is 
seen  in  a  continuous  exposure,  except 
where  intersected  by  the  valleys  of  the 
small  streams;  and  it  often  presents 
mural  cliff  of  limestone  along  the  face 


of  the   bluffs,     from   75    to    100   feet    in 
height. 

At  James  J.  Eldred's  place  the  lime- 
stone measures  KM)  feet  in  thickness, 
above  the  road  at  the  foot  of  the  bluff, 
and  is  capped  by  a  mound  of  loess  60 
feet  high  ;  and  the  bluffs  very  generally 
culminate  in  this  vicinity  in  bald  knobs, 
covered  only  with  grass,  giving  a 
very  picturesque  outline  to  the  land- 
scape. The  limestone  at  Eldred's  place 
is  a  light-gray  crinoidal  rock,  in  quite 
regular  beds,  with  comparatively  but 
little  cherty  material,  and  forms  an  ex- 
cellent building  stone,  which  is  exten- 
sively used  not  only  at  this  locality, 
but  by  wealthy  farmers  occupying  the 
bottom  lands  at  the  foot  of  these  bluffs 
throughout  the  county,  for  dwellings 
and  barns,  and  also  for  fences.  About 
half  a  mile  below  the  county  line,  be- 
tween Greene  and  Scott,  the  limestone 
bluffs  are  about  one  hundred  feet  high, 
and  are  capped  with  40  feet  of  loess. 
At  this  point  there  is  a  bench  of  brown 
limestone,  projecting  a  few  feet  beyond 
the  face  of  the  bluff,  and  only  a  few  feet 
above  the  base,  that  is  covered  with 
rude  figures,  cut  upon  the  surface  of  the 
limestone  by  some  of  the  aboriginal  in- 
habitants of  this  country.  Among  these 
figures  are  the  outlines  of  a  human  foot, 
and  also  that  of  a  bear,  several  that 
were  evidently  designed  to  represent 
the  tracks  of  birds,  and  others  that  do 
not  appear  to  represent  any  natural  ob- 
ject, but  seem  rather  designee]  to  record 
in  hieroglyphics,  some  historic  or  myth- 
ological events.  These  figures  were  cut 
upon  the  surface  of  the  stone  with  some 
hard  instrument,  to  the  depth  of  per- 
haps one-sixteenth  of  an  inch.  The 
surface  of  the  stone  on  .vhieh  they  were 


564 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY, 


engraved,  has  been  worn  almost  as 
smooth  as  glass,  probably  by  the  tread 
of  human  feet.  The  bluffs  of  the  Illi- 
nois and  the  adjacent  bottoms  appear  to 
have  beeu  favorite  resorts  of  some  of 
the  primeval  races;  and  their  rude  an- 
tiquities, consisting  of  stone  axes  and 
knives,  discs,  flint  arrow-heads,  and  an 
instrument  resembling  a  mason's  plum- 
met, made  apparently  from  the  com- 
pact  iron  ore  of  the  Iron  mountain  in 
Missouri,  are  quite  common  to  the  coun- 
ties of  Green,  Jersey  and  Calhoun. 
Fossils  are  not  very  numerous  in  the 
Burlington  limestone,  at  the  localities 
examined  in  this  county,  but  the  follow- 
ing species  were  obtained :  spirifer 
Grimesi,  S.  Forbesii,  athyrisincrassat.i, 
A.  lamellosa,  productus  punctatus,  and 
actinocrinus  concinnus. 

KINDERHOOK  GROUP. 

The  upper  half  of  this  formation,  in- 
cluding a  thickness  of  about  50  feet, 
may  be  seen  at  the  point  where  the  Ma- 
coupin intersects  the  river  bluffs.  So 
far  as  could  be  seen,  it  consists  of  ash- 
colored  shales  and  shaly  limestone,  and 
a  Horded  no  fossils  at  this  locality. 
Above  this  point  its  out-crop  along  the 
bluff  is  hidden  by  the  talus  from  the 
overlying  beds. 

COAL. 

About  one-third  of  the  entire  surface 
of  the  county  is  underlaid  by  the  coal 
measures;  and  they  include  the  horizon 
of  three  or  four  coal  seams,  though  but 
two  of  these  appear  to  be  mined  at  the 
present  time  to  any  considerable  extent. 
The  upper  one  is  the  No.  6,  or  Belle- 
ville seam,  which  is  only  found  on  the 
east  line  of  the  county,  on  Hodges' 
creek.     It  underlies  a  very  limited  area 


in  this  county,  and  the  exposures  above 
named  are  probably  nearly  or  quite  on 
the  western  limit  of  its  outcrop.  Its 
line  of  outcrop  indicates  that  it  might 
he  fmml  on  Apple  creek,  in  the  vicin- 
ity of  Athens.  It  is  by  far  the  thickest 
and  most  valuable  seam  of  coal  that  is 
developed  in  this  part  of  the  state, 
though  at  points  further  north  the  coal 
immediately  below  it — No.  5 — is  equally 
well  developed,  and  attains  an  average 
thickness  of  six  feet.  The  two  lower 
seams  are  comparatively  thin,  and 
nowhere  above  three  feet,  where  they 
have  been  examined  in  this  county. 

No.  6  varies  in  thickness  in  this 
county  from  four  to  seven  feet;  while 
the  lower  seams,  of  which  there  are 
three,  vary  in  thickness  from  one  and  a 
half  to  three  feet.  The  two  lower 
seams  will  probably  be  found  to  under- 
lie nearly  all  the  eastern  portion  of  the 
county;  and  they  will  yield  an  abund- 
ant supply  of  coal  for  home  consump- 
tion. The  seam  that  outcrops  on  Birch 
creek  is  probably  the  same  as  that  on 
Tulison's  land,  near  White  Hall,  and  it 
ma}'  be  mined  at  almost  any  point  in 
the  eastern  part  of  the  county,  at  a 
depth  ranging  from  50  to  150  fee.t  below 
the  surface.  Where  it  is  desirable  to 
mine  it  at  a  point  where  it  does  not  out- 
crop at  the  surface,  a  boring  should  first 
he  made  to  ascertain  the  thickness  of 
the  coal  and  its  depth  below  the  sur- 
face;  and,  when  these  points  are  de- 
termined, an  exact  calculation  can  be 
made  of  the  expense  of  opening  the  mine 
ami  the  amount  of  coal  it  will  afford  to 
a  given  area.  The  expense  of  boring 
ought  not  to  exceed  $2  a  foot  for  the  first 
150  feet.  On  Wolf  run  and  Birch 
creek,  where  the  lower  seam  is  exposed, 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY 


060 


it  will  average  two  feet  and  a  half  in 
thickness,  and  will  yield  2,500,000  tons 
of  coal  tn  the  square  mile.  It  is  the 
same  as  the  Exeter  coal  in  Scott  county, 
and  the  coal  it  affords  is  better  than  the 
average  quality,  being  quite  as  free 
from  the  sulphuret  of  iron,  in  this 
county,  as  the  No.  6,  or  Belleville  coal. 
The  seam  at  Bassett's  on  the  southwest 
quarter  of  See.  27,  T.  10,  R.  11,  appears 
to  be  of  a  local  character,  and  cannot  be 
relied  on  as  a  productive  bed,  over  a 
large  area  of  surface. 

CLAYS. 

The  best  clay  for  the  potter's  use.  and 
for  fire  brick,  is  the  bed  under  the  coal 
seam,  on  Wolf  run.  At  some  points 
the  clay  is  from  eight  to  Id  feet  thick, 
and  outcrops  at  the  surface,  in  many  lo- 
calities, from  one  and  a  half  to  three 
miles  from  White  Hall.  The  thickness 
of  this  bed,  and  its  proximity  to  the 
railroad,  makes  it  one  of  the  most  val- 
uable deposits  of  potter'sclay  known  in 
the  state;  and  the  near  proximity  of  ex- 
cellent coal,  which  may  often  he  mined 
in  the  same  drift  with  the  clay,  makes 
this  one  of  the  most  desirable  points 
for  the  manufacture  of  fire-brick  or  pot- 
tery, on  a  large  scale,  that  can  be  found 
in  the  state.  At  Blan chard's  mine  no 
exposure  of  the  clay  under  the  coal  is 
to  be  seen,  and  on  Birch  creek  the  seam 
is  underlaid  by  limestone,  below  which 
the  beds  were  not  seen;  but  in  the  vi- 
cinity of  Winchester,  and  at  some  other 
localities  in  Scott  county,  the  limestone 
below  this  coal  is  underlaid  by  a  thick 
bed  of  nearly  white  clay,  almost  ex- 
actly like  that  east  of  White  Hall;  and 
it  is  quite  probable  a  similar  clay  may 
be  found  underlying  the  limestone  on 
Birch  creek. 


HYDRAULIC    LIMESTONE. 

The  St.  Louis  limestone  affords  some 
layers  that  seem  to  possess  hydraulic 
properties,  at  several  localities  iti  this 
county,  though  they  are  generally  rather 
too  thin  to  be  of  much  value  at  the 
present  time.  The  thickest  bed  seen  in 
the  county  is  at  Thompson's  null,  on 
Apple  creek,  where  it  is  about  eight  feet 
in  thickness.  This  locality  would  afford 
a  sufficient  amount  of  material  to  jus- 
tify the  erection  of  a  cement  mill  at  this 
point,  should  the  rock  prove,  on  trial, 
to  he  as  well  adapted  to  this  purpose  as 
its  appearance  would  indicate. 

IRON    oKK. 

On  the  west  fork,  at  Whitaker's 
creek,  there  is  a  seam  of  iron  ore,  under- 
lying the  coal  at  that  locality,  about 
18  inches  in  thickness.  The  ore  is  a 
hematite  of  a  dark,  brick-red  color,  and 
appears  to  he  of  a  good  quality.  Coal 
and  limestone,  for  reducing  it  to  a  me- 
tallic iron,  are  abundant  in  the  vicinity 
of  this  ore. 

LIMESTONE    FOB    LIME. 

The  best  material  for  this  purpose 
that  has  been  met  with  in  this  county, 
is  that  afforded  by  the  light-gray,  semi- 
crystalline  beds  of  the  Burlington  lime- 
stone, along  the  river  bluffs.  Some  of 
these  are  a  nearly  pure  carbonate  of 
lime,  and  are  not  surpassed  for  this 
purpose  by  any  limestone  in  the  county. 
The  lower  part  of  the  Keokuk  lime- 
stone, as  it  appears  below  the  bridge  on 
Apple  creek,  will  afford  a  very  good 
limestone  for  this  purpose;  hut  the  St. 
Louis  group,  which  usually  affords  the 
purest  limestone  of  all,  affords  no  ma- 
terial adapted  to  this  purpose  at  any  of 
the  localities  examined  in  this  countv. 


566 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


BUILDING    STONE. 

All  the  principal  limestone  forma- 
tions in  this  county  afford  good  building 
stone^'or  ordinary  purposes;  and  some 
of  them  afford  a  superior  article,  suitable 
for  cut-stone  work  and  ornamental 
architecture.  The  most  abundant  sup- 
ply, as  well  as  the  finest  material  of 
this  kind,  will  be  furnished  by  the 
Burlington  limestone,  which  outcrops 
in  the  vicinity  of  the  river  bluffs.  The 
rock  is  tolerably  even-bedded,  in  strata 
varying  from  six  inches  to  two  feet  in 
thickness,  and  can  be  very  easily  and 
cheaply  quarried,  so  that  it  is  now 
used,  not  only  for  all  the  ordinary  pur- 
poses for  which  building  stone  is  re- 
quired, but  also  for  fencing  the  farms 
along  the  foot  of  the  bluff's.  Several 
elegant  farm  houses  have  already  been 
built  in  this  county  from  this  material; 
and,  as  the  wealth  of  the  country  in- 
creases, something  like  a  correct  taste 
in  architecture  will  obtain  among  the 
people,  and  a  desire  for  more  substan- 
tial and  elegant  buildings  will  be  the 
result.  This  will  give  increased  value 
to  our  supplies  of  fine  building  stone; 
and  quarries  that  are  now  reckoned  of 
little  value  to  the  owners  will  eventually 
become  sources  of  wealth  to  an  extent 
thai  can  not  at  present  be  realized. 

The  St.  Louis  limestone  will  perhaps 
rank  next  in  value  for  supplying  the 
wants  of  the  citizens  of  this  county  with 
good  building  stone.  The  quarries  on 
Link's  branch,  near  Carrollton,  are 
capable  of  supplying  the  wants  of  that 
town,  and  the  surrounding  country. 
The  rock  obtained  at  this  locality,  is  a 
yellowish  gray,  or  brown,  magnesian 
limestone,  soft  enough  to  be  cut  with 
facility,     when    freshly    quarried,    and 


make  a  fine  building  stone,  either  for 
cut-work  or  for  heavy  walls.  Some  of 
the  beds  are  thick  enough  to  furnish 
dimension  stone  of  a  large  size.  This 
bed  will  furnish  a  good  material  for 
heavy  walls,  at  every  locality  where  we 
saw  it  exposed  in  this  count}'.  The 
Keokuk  limestone  will  also  furnish  a 
very  good  building  stone,  wherever  the 
lower  part  of  the  bed  is  found  exposed. 
This  portion  of  the  bed  affords  layers  of 
light,  bluish-gray,  compact  limestone, 
from  six  inches  to  a  foot  in  thickness, 
that  may  be  used  for  all  the  ordinary 
purposes  for  which  material  of  this 
kind  is  required.  In  the  upper  part  of 
the  bed  the  layers  are  rather  thin  and 
cherty. 

The  sandstone  overlying  the  coal 
seam  on  Birch  creek,  has  all  the  charac- 
teristics of  a  reliable  building  stone.  It 
is  a  massive  micaceous  sandstone,  con- 
taining considerable  ferruginous  mat- 
ter, withstands  atmospheric  influences 
well,  and  forms  a  bold  mural  wall 
along  the  bluffs  of  the  creek,  from  15  to 
20  feet  in  height.  It  will  furnish  an 
abundant  supply  of  building  stone  for 
this  part  of  the  county.  On  Bear  creek 
the  sandstone  ismore  unevenly  bedded, 
and  somewhat  unevenly  textured,  some 
portions  of  it  showing  a  disposition  to 
crumble  on  exposure  to  the  atmosphere. 
If  quarried  for  building  stone,  when  it 
presents  this  appearance,  it  should  be 
selected  with  care;  and  the  soft  portions 
of  the  rock  should  be  rejected.  In  a 
word,  this  county  has  an  abundant  sup- 
ply of  building  stone,  not  only  for  the 
use  of  the  inhabitants  within  its  bor- 
ders, but  also  a  large  surplus  for  the 
supply  of  the  people  in  other  portions  of 
the  state. 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


567 


CHAPTER    III. 


The  subject  of  the  early  settlement 
of  a  county,  a  state,  or  a  section  of  our 
country,  possesses  an  interest  for  all,  but 
to  the  keen  student  of  nun  and  events, 
it  presents  itself  as  the  source  of  much 
thought  and  investigation.  Upon  the 
characteristics  of  the  first  settlers  in 
any  land,  upon  their  early  training  and 
general  ways,  upon  their  religious  be- 
liefs and  methods,  depends,  in  a  great 
measure,  the  future  life,  prosperity  and 
even  form  of  government.  The  stern, 
unyielding  Puritan,  who  settled  on  the  until  it  ha 
almost  sterile  shores  of  rocky  New 
England,  has  left  his  hard  stamp  upon 
the  whole  of  that  quarter  of  our  beloved 
republic,  just  as  much  as  the  jovial, 
hospitable   Cavalier  who  first  made   bis 


EARLY  SETTLEMENT. 

mon  sense  of  the  Yankee,  making  the 
best  combination  possible.  With  these 
ideas  in  our  minds,  it  is  with  more  than 
ordinary  interest  that  the  subject  of  the 
early  settlers  of  <  rreene  county  is  entered 
upon,  and  the  native  heath  and  training 
of  each  is  brought  to  view,  seeing  the 
men  frmn  so  many  diverse  sections  of 
this  country,  and  the  kingdoms  and 
empires  of  the  old  world,  seeking  a 
home  in  this  earthly  paradise,  and.  all 
mingling  in  one  homogeneous  mass, 
come  one  united  people. 


PIONEERS    'if    GREENE    COUNTY. 

To  say,  at  this  late  day,  who  was  the 
first  fi>  settle  within  the  limits  of  Greene- 
county,  is  well  nigh  impossible.  No 
home  on  Virginia  ground  lives  again  in  I  doubt  there  were  people  here  as  early 
his  dependents, nr  the  French  Huguenot  |  as  1813  or  1814,  but  if  there  were,  they 
of  the  Carolinas  in, the  easy,  polite  and  left  no  trace.  In  1815,  when  the  trees 
cultured  people  of  the  southern  states,  were  just  beginning  to  put  on  their 
Most  of  those  who  came  to  Greene  many  hoed  autumnal  foliage,  six  men, 
county  in  an  early  day  came  from  Daniel  Allen,  his  three  sons,  and  James 
'neatb  the  genial  skies  and  from  warmer  and  Paul  Harriford came  to  the  northern 
clime  of  the  "Sunny  South,"    and  the     part  of  Jersey  county  and  made  a  settle- 


well  known  hospitality  of  that  favored 
land  was  transported  to  these  pristine 
wilds.  Some  immigrants,  however, 
came  from  the  New  England  and  Mid- 
dle states,  and  these  two  diverse  ele- 
ments becoming  amalgamated  here,  has 
added  to  the  warm-hearted,  generous 
disposition  of  the  sons  of  Kentucky, 
Tennessee,  Virginia,  or  the  Carolinas — 
the  hard-headed,  cool,  calculating  com- 


ment, as  detailed  in  the  history  of  that 
county.  In  the  latter  part  of  1816, 
Daniel  Allen,  Sr.,  and  two  of  his  sons, 
Daniel  and  .Tames,  moved  about  six 
miles  north  and  west  of  their  first  loca- 
tion, into  what  is  now  Greene  county, 
and  settled  on  land  now  owned  by  his 
grandson.  E.  W.  Allen.  John  Allen, 
another  grandson  of  Daniel's,  settled 
also    in    Kane    township.       Thus    the 


568 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


Allen's  are  the  first  known  settlers  in 
this  county. 

During  the  year  1816,  Samuel  Thomas, 
who  had  passed  through  this  county  on 
his  way  back  and  forth  after  the  In- 
dians, when  he  was  in  the  ranger  ser- 
vice, came  to  Greene  county,  and  cross- 
ing the  Macoupin  creek,  selected  a 
place  on  which  he  intended  to  locate 
and  make  a  home.  He  cut  and  stacked 
a  considerable  quantity  of  hay,  and 
made  some  other  preparations  toward 
taking  up  his  residence.  He  returned 
to  his  home  on  the  Wood  river,  but  his 
back  had  hardly  been  turned  ere  the 
redskins  burned  his  hay  and  destroyed 
all  trace  of  his  labors.  Two  years 
longer  he  and  his  young  wife  lingered 
in  the  settlement  around  the  forks  of 
Win h1  river,  but  in  the  summer  of  1818, 
he  set  out  with  John  Huitt  and  Thomas 
Carlin  for  this  beautiful  land.  In  Au- 
gust the  three  adventurers  came  to  the 
Macoupin  creek,  crossing  which  they 
ascended  the  bluffs,  and  here  the  most 
glorious  panorama  spread  out  before 
them.  Mr.  Thomas  selected  a  spot  on 
Sec.  33,  T.  10,  R.  12,  for  a  home.  A 
beautiful  grove  and  a  clear  spring  of 
water  were  among  the  attractions  that 
fixed  his  choice.  Here  Mr.  Thomas 
killed  a  deer,  cut  a  bee-tree  and  en- 
graved his  name  on  the  bark  of  a  mon- 
arch of  the  forest,  to  indicate  that  the 
land  was  claimed.  He  also  built  a 
cabin,  made  some  other  preparations, 
and  returned  for  his  wife  and  house- 
hold goods.  With  these  loaded  upon 
an  ox  cart  he  arrived  at  his  new  home 
on  the  ninth  day  of  November,  1818, 
and  thus  became  the  first  settler  in 
Greene  count}'  north  of  Macoupin  creek. 

Thomas  Carlin  pushed  further  north, 


inclining  a  little  more  to  the  east,  and 
chose  for  his  home  a  fine  piece  of  land, 
including  that  on  which  the  city  of  Car- 
rollton  was  afterward  built.  His  cabin 
he  erected  in  the  southern  portion  of 
the  present  corporation,  and  occupied  it 
late  in  1818,  or  the  spring  of  1819. 

Thomas  Allen  settled  in  what  is  now 
White  Hall  township  in  1818,  among 
the  first  in  the  county.  Here  he  lived 
until  his  death,  which  occurred  in  April, 
1874. 

Mathew  Dayton  made  his  appearance 
in  Greene  county  in  1818,  and  the  next 
year  made  a  settlement  in  Woodville 
township,  where  he  lived  until  Oct., 
1872,  when  he  died. 

James  Stone  and  his  wife  were  also 
settlers  of  the  year  1818,  coming  in  the 
early  winter  of  that  year.  They  set- 
tled, at  first,  near  where  the  town  of 
Carrollton  was  afterward  laid  out,  on 
the  farm  now  occupied  by  William  and 
Charles  Ward.  From  there  he  removed 
to  Woodville  township,  and  located  on 
the  northeast  quarter  of  Sec.  6,  T.  9, 
R.  12,  which,  by  hard  work  and  rigid 
economy,  he  succeeded  in  saving  the 
money  to  enter.  He  died  there  about 
1854." 

Luther  and  Calvin  Tunnell  came  to 
this  county  in  1818,  and  made  a  perma- 
nent settlement.  Both  of  these  gentle- 
men were  prominent  in  the  affairs  of 
the  county.  Luther  located  in  Linder 
township  on  coming  here,  and  Calvin  in 
Carrollton  township,  on  the  farm  now 
owned  by  Jackson  Tunnell. 

Dr.  H.  Clay  Thaxton,  a  native  of  Vir- 
ginia, came  to  this  county  in  1818,  and 
settled  in  the  Apple  creek  bottom.  He 
was  born  Aug.  5,  1799.  When  the  land 
was  open  for  entry,  he  entered  80  acres 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


569 


of  land  on  section  20  of  what  is  now 
Wrights  township,  where  he  is  still  liv- 
ing. 

William  Speaks,  in  company  with  the 
Aliens,  Morrows  and  others,  who  were 
relatives  of  his,  came  from  Tennessee, 
where  he  had  been  living,  to  what  is  now 
White  Hall  township,  north  of  Apple 
creek,  in  the  late  fall  or  early  winter  of 
1818.  On  arriving  there  it  was  too  late 
to  build  a  house,  so  they  camped  out  by 
the  side  of  a  large  log.  To  such  straits 
were  the  early  pioneers  of  this  country 
put.  While  enduring  the  inclemency  of 
the  weather  that  winter,  a  son  was  born 
to  Mrs.  Speaks.  Mr.  Speaks  died  at 
Greenfield,  of  cancer  in  the  face. 

William  Allen  settled  at  what  is  well 
known  as  Belltown,  in  1819,  where  he 
lived  until  April  4,  1875,  when  he  was 
called  onto  pay  the  debt  of  nature. 

Zacheriah  Allen,  also,  came  at  the 
same  time,  and  made  a  settlement  on 
Sec.  3,  T.  11,  R.  12. 

Thomas  Rattan  made  a  settlement 
north  of  Apple  creek,  in  1819.  With 
him  came  also  Levi  Reader.  Rattan  did 
not  live  here  long, but  moved  to  Carroll- 
ton,  where  he  kept  the  first  tavern. 

John  Allen  and  Isaac  Hill,  attracted 
by  the  settlement  north  of  Apple  creek, 
in  181V),  located  in  that  part  of  the 
county. 

Thomas  Hall,  a  native  of  North  Car- 
olina, came  to  Illinois  in  1818,  and  after 
a  year  spent  at  the  Wood,  river  settle- 
ment, in  1819,  came  to  Greene  county, 
locating  on  the  northwest  quarter  of 
Sec.  32,  T.  10,  R.  12.  His  wife,  formerly 
Mary  McVeigh,  was  born  in  South  Car- 
olina, but  they  were  married  in  East 
Tennessee,  in  1815,  from  which  state 
they  came  to  Illinois.      They  lived  on 


this  farm  some  15  years,  when  he  moved 
his  house  to  another  quarter  of  the  same 
section.  He  died  here,  March  18,  1854. 
Benjamin  Ogle  made  a  settlement  this 
same  year,  1818,  south  of  the  present 
county  seat,  in  Carrollton  township. 
Abraham  Clark  entered  the  land  and 
sold  it  to  Ogle,  who  was  to  pay  for  it  by 
digging  out  two  grindstones  from  pale- 
zoic  or  lost  rocks,  which  he  did.  He 
had  settled  on  this  land,  but  not  having 
the  money  to  enter  it  at  the  first  entry, 
Mr.  Clark  did  so,  but  the  neighbors 
feeling  outraged,  he  sold  it  to  the  settler 
as  above. 

William  Costley,  his  son,  also  Wil- 
liam Costley,  afterwards  known  as  the 
Major,  and  Robert  Means,  came  to  the 
neighborhood  south  of  the  Macoupin 
creek,  in  Kane  township,  in  1819, where 
they  made  a  settlement.  The  elder  Mr. 
Costley  died  the  following  year;  his  son 
was  for  many  years  a  leading  and  influ- 
ential citizen  of  the  county.  He  died 
in  1869. 

John  Greene  made  a  settlement  south 
of  Macoupin  creek,  in  1819,  on  the 
northwest  quarter  of  S.  20,  T.  9,  R.  11. 
Here  he  remained  until  his  death.  Mr. 
Greene  was  very  prominent  in  the 
affairs  of  the  county,  and  in  common 
with  nearly  all  of  these  pioneers,  is 
noticed  at  length  in  their  proper  place 
elsewhere. 

Francis  Bell  came  with  his  family  to 
this  county,  in  1819,  and  settled  on 
Apple  creek  prairie,  north  of  the  creek. 
He  was  a  native  of  Tennessee.  He  died 
in  1866,  at  Talula,  111. 

Joel  Johnson   settled  upon  a  farm  on 

section  21,  of  Linder  township,  in  1819. 

Robert  Whitaker  came  to  the  county 

in  1819,  and  made    an  improvement  in 


57() 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


what  is  now  Wrights  township.     Whit- 
aker's  creek  is  named  after  him. 

Thomas  Allen,  one  of  the  prominent 
figures  in  the  history  of  the  early  clays, 
came  to  what  is  now  New  Providence  or 
Belltown,  1819,  where  he  built  a  mill, 
and  resided  until  he  died,  about  1833. 

Elam  Bowman  came  to  Greene  county 
from  Ohio,  in  1819.  He  was,  at  the  time 
a  young  man,  but  afterwards  married 
here,  and  later  removed  to  California, 
where  he  became  quite  rich.  He  was 
the  father  of  two  sons,  who  became 
quite  prominent  on  the  Pacific  slope. 

Jesse  Morrow  made  a  settlement  in 
Greene  county,  during  the  year  1819, 
and  resided  here  until  his  death. 

Martin  and  Young  Wood  made  a  set- 
tlement in  this  county  in  1819.  Young 
Wood  was  afterwards  the  sheriff  of  the 
county. 

Captain  James  Whitlock  came  to 
Greene  county  in  1819,  and  settled  in 
what  is  now  Kane  township,  where  he 
entered  some  900  acres  of  land.  In 
1850,  he  started  for  California  and  died 
on  the  way,  of  cholera. 

Cyrus  Tolman  came  to  Greene  county 
in  1820,  and  located  upon  120  acres  of 
land  near  White  Hall,  where  he  resided 
several  years.  He  died  in  Jersey 
county  in  1876. 

Ransom,  Jesse  and  Edward  Flatt 
came  to  Greene  county  the  same  year, 
and  pitched  their  tents  upon  land  which 
they  settled  in  Bluffdale  township,  and 
became  permanent  residents  of  the 
county. 

In  1820,  John  Drum  located  near  Car- 
rollton,  where  he  lived  several  years. 
He  afterward  removed  to  Rubicon  town- 
ship, where  he  resided  some  years.  He 
is  long  been  numbered   with  the  dead. 


Hartwell  Hunnicutt  located  in  what 
is  now  Bluffdale  township,  in  1820, 
among  the  first  in  that  section  of  the 
county.  He  was  a  resident  here  until 
his  death. 

Benjamin  Smith  came  to  Greene 
county  in  1820,  and  made  a  settlement 
on  section  12,  in  White  Hall  township. 
He  was  a  native  of  Connecticut,  born 
in  1799,  and  came  to  Alton  in  1818, 
where  he  resided  until  coming  here. 

Charles  Kitchen,  afterward  a  Baptist 
preacher,  Lewis  Roberts  and  John 
Thompson,  came  to  this  county  in  1820, 
settling  in  T.  12,  R.  12,  in  what  is  now 
White  Hall. 

Among  the  settlers  of  1820  was  Wil- 
liam Kincaid,  who  settled  in  Rock- 
bridge township,  one  of  the  earliest  in 
that  neighborhood,  where  he  resided 
until  called  on  to  cross  the  dark  river. 
These  summons  came  to  him  in  1S7(>. 
Andrew  Kincaid  settled  the  same  year. 
The  place  of  their  settlement  was 
known  for  many  years  as  Kincaid's 
point,  an  angle  of  timber  projecting 
into  the  prairie  at  that  place. 

Daniel  Henderson  came  to  this  county 
in  1820,  and  settled  in  what  is  now 
Wrights  township,  on  section  7.  He 
lived  in  this  county  until  his  death. 

Carrollton  township  received  several 
settlers  during  the  year  1820,  among  the 
more  prominent  of  whom  were  James 
and  Andrew  Pinkerton,  Peter  Dodgson, 
M.  Bowman,,  and  William  Pinkerton. 
These  all  made  permanent  improve- 
ments, and  long  resided  in  this  county, 
being  largely  identified  with  its  growth 
and  development. 

Thomas  Lorton,  one  of  the  pioneers 
of  Greene  county,  came  here  from  Cum- 
berland county,  Ky.,  in   1820,   and  be- 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


r.71 


coming  the  owner  of  some  land  on  sec- 
tion 8,  in  Wrights  township,  built  there 
his  cabin,  and  resided  on  that  Bpot until 
his  death,  in  1863. 

Among  the  pioneers  of  the  year  1820 
was  Davis  Carter,  with  his  family,  who 
came  from  Edwardsville,  but  who  was  a 
native  Tennessean.  He  located  in 
what  is  now  Bluffdale  township,  then 
moved  to  Walkerville,  where  he  lived 
until  1847,  when  he  died. 

A  man  by  the  name  of  Swanson  made 
a  settlement  in  1820,  within  the  territory 
now  embraced  in  Patterson  township. 

Elijah  Little  came  to  Greene  county, 
and  located  in  the  same  neighborhood, 
in  the  same  year. 

George  W.  Clendennen,  a  Virginian, 
settled  in  what  is  now  Woodville  town- 
ship in  1820,  taking  up  a  farm  on  section 
27.  where  he  lived  the  balance  of  his 
life.  He  was  quite  prominently  identi- 
fied with  the  early  history  of  the  town- 
ship, having  been  the  first  justice  of  the 
peace  therein.     He  died  in  1841. 

William  Potts,  in  1820,  located  in 
White  Hall  township,  on  section  33, 
and  lived  here  until  1862,  when  he  died. 
John  Dodson,  a  native  of  England, 
came  to  America  in  1820,  and  coming 
direct  to  Greene  county,  made  his  set- 
tlement in  Carrollton  township  the  same 
year.     In  1848  he  died  in  this  county 

Robert,  Charles  and  Solomon  Baines 
made  settlements  in  White  Hall  town- 
ship, north  of  Apple  creek,  during  this 
eventful  year,  and  resided  here  for  the 
balance  of  their  lives. 

James  Caldwell  and  Thomas  Crane, 
looking  for  a  home,  came  to  Greene 
county  in  1820,  and  in  the  fall  of  that 
year  had  their  cabins  built  east  of  Car- 
rollton, in  Linder  township. 


David  Hodges  settled  in  1821.  He 
kept  a  store  on  Apple  creek  prairie;  also 
built  a  mill.  He  afterward  went  to  Ga- 
lena. He  is  now  dead.  Mr.  Hodges 
was  a  party  in  the  first  marriage  that 
occurred  in  the  county  after  its  organi- 
zation. 

David  Heaton  came  to  Greene  county 
in  1821,  and  selected  land  in  Wright's 
township  on  which  to  make  a  home, 
where  he  lived  for  many  years. 

Martin  Burt  made  a  settlement  in 
1821,  in  what  is  now  Rubicon  township, 
making  improvements. 

Charles  Gregory,  afterward  so  prom- 
inently indentified  with  the  history  of 
the  county  and  state,  made  a  settlement 
in  White  Hall  township  in  1821,  where 
he  resided  until  taken  from  here  by 
death  in  1845. 

About  the  year  1821,  Janus  H.  White- 
side, who  had  been  living  in  what  is 
now  Jersey  county,  since  1817,  moved  to 
Apple  creek  prairie,  in  White  Hall 
township,  in  this  county,  where  he 
lived  until  March,  1862,  when  he   died. 

David  Pierson  came  from  the  state  of 
New  York  in  1821,  and  cast  his  lot 
among  the  pioneers  of  Greene  county, 
selecting  a  farm  north  of  Carrollton, 
where  he  lived  for  several  years,  when 
he  removed  to  Carrollton,  where  he  is 
now  living.  He  has  been  for  many 
years  connected  with  the  mercantile  and 
banking  interests  of  the  county. 

Rev.  C.  J.  Gardiner  came  to  Greene 
county  in  1821,  locating  in  what  is  now 
Kane  township. 

In  the  springof  1821,  Richard  Robley 
came  to  Greene  county,  and  taking  up 
his  residence  in  what  is  now  Bluffdale 
township,  lived  there  until  in  the  full- 
ness of  time  he  was  called  "home.'- 


572 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


Asahel  North  located  upon  a  farm  on 
a  farm  on  section  8,  in  what  is  now 
White  Hall  township,  in  1821,  and  he- 
came  one  of  the  early  settlers  of  the 
county.     He  died  here  in  1846. 

John  Morfootand  Richard  Ward  were 
among  the  band  of  pioneers  who  came 
to  Greene  county  in  1821.  They  located 
in  Carrollton  township. 

John  Johnson  made  a  settlement  in 
1821,  in  a  part  of  section  3,  Linder 
township,  which  he  had  entered.  He 
was  a  native  of  North  Carolina,  and  a 
veteran  of  the  war  of  1812.  He  died  in 
this  county. 

Ward  Eldred  and  a  cousin  left  their 
home  in  New  York  state,  in  1818,  and 
journeyed  on  foot  to  Greene  county,  in 
search  of  a  home.  They  remained  all 
the  winter,  and  in  the  spring  returned 
to  their  eastern  home.  In  1821,  Wil- 
liam, Elon  and  Ward  Eldred  came  to 
this  county,  and  took  up  their  residence 
here,  becoming  permanent  settlers. 
The  name  of  Eldred  is  quite  a  promi- 
nent one  in  the  annals  of  the  county. 

Alexander  King  was  among  those 
hard)'  pioneers  of  1821,  who  came  to 
this  county.  He  settled  in  Linder 
township,  where  he  resided  until  1872, 
when  he  died,  full  of  years. 

Thomas  Meek  made  a  settlement  in 
what  is  now  Carrollton  township,  in 
1821,  casting  in  his  lot  with  the  pioneers 
of  this  section  of  the  state. 

Absalom  Frames  and  William  Hudson 
came  to  the  same  locality,  in  1821,  and 
made  a  settlement. 

Redmond  Strickland  made  a  settle- 
ment in  T.  12,  R.  11,  during  the  sum- 
mer of  1821.  He  died  a  resident  of  this 
county,  in  1849. 

David  Williams  was  a  settler    of  the 


year  1821,  locating  on  section  11,  in  the 
eastern  part  of  Kane  township,  where 
he  died  in  Nov.,  1828. 

William  J.  Brown,  in  1822,  made  a 
settlement  in  what  is  now  Carrollton 
township,  about  two  miles  south  of  the 
county  seat,  where  he  lived  until  1846, 
when  he  removed  from  the  county. 
Nov.  3,  1853,  he  returned  to  this  county, 
and  now  resides  in  section  16,  in  Linder 
township. 

Edward  Prathor  came  to  this  county 
in  1822,  and  settled  in  what  is  now 
known  as  Athensville  township,  the 
first  in  that  section  of  the  county. 
There  he  resided  for  some  years. 

During  the  year  1822,  Archibald  Lee 
and  an  uncle  came  to  this  section  of  the 
country,  in  search  of  a  home,  and  re- 
turned to  Hamilton  county,  111.,  that 
fall.  In  the  spring  of  the  following 
year,  he  and  his  young  wife  came  here 
and  settled  on  Cook's  prairie.  Later 
he  removed  to  Greenfield  and  engaged 
in  mercantile  pursuits,  where  he  died. 

Lindsey  H.  English  came  to  Greene 
county  about  the  year  1822.  He  was  a 
native  of  Kentucky,  and  was  a  son  of 
Elisha  English.  When  but  a  young 
man  he  came  to  this  county,  where  he 
afterward  became  quite  prominent  in  the 
development  of  this  section  of  the  state. 
He  probably  worked  as  a  farm  hand  on 
coming  here,  but  subsequently  became 
an  auctioneer  and  trader.  The  first 
office  he  ever  held  was  that  of  district 
constable.  When  the  Black  Hawk  war 
broke  out  he  was  serving  as  deputy 
sheriff,  hut  immediately  went  to  the 
front.  After  the  war  he  built  a  sub- 
stantial building  in  Carrollton  and  be 
came  the  successful  proprietor  of  the 
Greene  County  House.     For  the  greater 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


573 


part  of  his  life  he  lived  in  Carrollton. 
His  first  wife  was  Arabel  Turney,  whom 
married  in  1828,  but  who  died  in 
1864,  leaving  11  children.  In  1870  Mr. 
English  married  Emily  Brunk,  and  re- 
moved to  Springfield,  where  he  died  in 
1S80,  in  affluent  circumstances. 

Benjamin  Smith  came  to  Greene 
county  in  1822,  and  settling  upon  a  farm 
southeast  of  where  White  Hall  now 
stands,  opened  up  a  farm,  where  he 
lived  until  Aug.  7,  1879,  when  he  died. 
His  widow  still  survives  him. 

In  1822,  quite  a  colony  of  English 
people,  men,  women  and  children  left 
their  homes  on  that  island  and  came 
direct  to  Greene  county,  by  way  of  New- 
York.  Their  names  were — Elizabeth, 
Peter,  John,  Thomas,  Mary,  Robert, 
James,  and  C.  F.Hobson,  David,  Will- 
iam,  Thomas,  Margaret,  John,  and 
Elizabeth  Black,  Isaac,  Ruth,  Jere- 
miah and  Elizabeth  Richardson,  and 
George  Baty.  They  settled  in  what  is 
now  Carrollton  township.  Many  of 
them  became  quite  prominent  in  the 
history  of  the  county,  as  a  perusal  of 
these  pages  will  show. 

David  Wooley,  a  native  of  New 
York,  with  his  family,  traveled  by  team 
from  Washington  county,  to  Olean,  in 
that  state,  at  the  head  waters  of  the  Al- 
leghany river,  and  building  two  flat 
boats,  floated  down  that  river  into  the 
Ohio,  and  thus  to  Shawneetown.  From 
there  they  moved  to  Hamilton  county, 
and  from  there  here.  They  settled,  at 
first,  in  1822,  on  Sec.  21,  T.  10,  R.  13, 
where  they  resided  until  March,  1826, 
when  they  removed  to  Bluffdale  where 
Mr.  Wooley  lived  until  1860,  when  he 
died. 

William    Hart    settled    on    Lorton's 


prairie,  in  1822,  where  he  lived  some  30 
years.  He  moved  to  Piatt  county,  111., 
but  in  his  later  years  came  back  and 
died  here. 

William  Crane  was  among  the  early 
settlers  of  what  is  now  known  as  Lin- 
der  township,  coming  there  in  the  spring 
of  1823. 

Anthony  Stewart  Seeley,  afterward  so 
prominently  identified  with  the  official 
and  business  life  of  the  county,  came  to 
Greene  county,  in  1823,  and  located  in 
Patterson  township,  where  he  lived 
until  the  fall  of  1885,  when  he  was 
called  on  to  put  on  immortality. 

Reuben  Martin  settled  in  the  same 
township  the  same  year. 

During  the  summer  of  1818,  John  W. 
Huitt,  and  his  brother,  Hiram,  came  to 
this  part  of  the  state,  locating  in  what 
is  now  Ruyle  township,  Jersey  county. 
He  was  a  native  of  Franklin  county, 
Ga.;  his  wife,  Rosanna  (Harriford) 
Huitt,  of  Tennessee.  The  brothers 
entered  a  half  section  of  land  at  that 
place,  where  they  remained  until  1823. 
In  the  spring  of  that  year,  John  W. 
purchased  80  acres  of  land  in  Linder 
township,  where  he  removed,  and 
where  he  resided  until  1S7S,  when  he 
removed  to  the  city  of  Carrollton.  It 
was  in  this  latter  place  that  his  death 
occurred,  April  21,  1880. 

David  Norton  was  among  the  settlers 
in  Carrollton,  in  the  year  1823.  Here 
he  took  up  a  farm  and  made  some  fine 
improvements. 

Jesse  Stout,  a  native  of  New  Jersey, 
and  a  veteran  of  the  last  war  with  Cheat 
Britain,  moved  to  Tennessee  at  the  close 
of  that  conflict,  but  afterwards  removed 
to  Madison  county,  111.  In  1823,  he 
came    to    this    county    and   settled   in 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


Wrights  township,  where  he  died,  in 
1854. 

Samuel  Gates  settled  on  section  21, 
Bluffdale  township,  in  1823.  He  was 
a  native  of  Maine,  but  came  here 
from  Ohio.  He  died  here  in  1836.  He 
was  a  man  of  family,  and  raised  two  sons 
and  four  daughters.  Two  live  in  Mor- 
gan county,  one  in  Scott,  and  one  in  the 
state  of  Iowa. 

About  the  year  1824,  Jesse  White  lo- 
cated in  Kane  township,  where  he  died 
at  a  later  day. 

Chuza  Bushnell  and  William  Mc- 
Adams  settled  in  Bluffdale  township,  in 
the  year  1824,  and  took  an  active  part 
in  the  developement  of  that  part  of  the 
county.  Mr.  Bushnell  was  a  local 
preacher,  and  raised  a  large  family. 

James  Kincaid  came  to  the  county  in 

1823,  and  located  in  Rubicon  township. 
He  was  always  quite  a  prominent  figure 
here. 

hinder  township  had  another  settler 
in  1824,  in  the  person  of  A.J.  Johnson. 
He  went  to  Eureka  springs  in  Aug., 
1884,  for  health,  he  having  a  cancer, 
and  died  there  in  that  month  and  year. 

John,  James,  William  and  Edward 
Hardcastle,  came  to  Greene  county  in 

1824,  and  locating  at  the  village  of  Car- 
rollton  opened  a  cabinet  and  carpenter 
shop.  They  also  had  farms  which  they 
tilled.  They  were  all  largely  identified 
with  the  growth  of  the  county. 

Dudley  Brannan  was  a  settler  of  1824, 
in  Wrights  township.  He  resided  in 
Kentucky  previous  to  his  coming  here, 
although  he  is  believed  to  have  been  a 
Virginian  by  birth.  He  resided  here 
until  his  death. 

Samuel  Martin,  a  native  of  Kentucky, 
settled  in  what  is  now  Woodville  town- 


ship, in  1824  or  5,  under  the  bluff.  He 
died  while  a  resident  of  the  township. 

Ephraim  and  Temple  Nix,  Henry 
Cook,  John  Barnett  and  others  made  a 
settlement  in  the  eastern  part  of  Linder 
township,  in  1825.  All  these  parties 
are  numbered  with  the  dead. 

Among  the  settlers  of  1825,  was 
George  Meldrum,  who  located,  with  his 
family,  in  Linder  township.  He  lived 
here  until  December,  1841,  when  he  was 
called  away  by  death. 

Jesse  Rogers,  in  1825,  came  to  this 
county  and  settled  in  what  is  now  Bluff- 
dale township,  where  he  died  in  August, 
1838. 

Joseph  Buck,  the  same  year,  made  a 
settlement  in  the  northwestern  part  of 
the  county,  in  Patterson  township. 

Charles  Gooding  came  to  Carrollton 
township  in  1825  and  made  a  settle- 
ment, where  he  died  in  1834. 

William  Lee,  another  old  settler, 
came  to  Greene  county,  in  1826,  and 
made  a  settlement  in  Carrollton  town- 
ship. 

Elisha  Stout,  a  native  of  Pennsylva- 
nia, came  to  this  county  from  Ohio  in 
1826,  and  made  a  home  in  Linder  town- 
ship, where  he  resided  many  years. 

Isaac  and  Alfred  Wood  came  to  the 
county  in  1826,  and  located  in  Rock- 
bridge township.  Alfred  died  here  at 
an  early  day. 

David  Miller  settled  at  the  same  time 
in  the  same  township. 

Among  the  settlers  of  1826,  was  Absa- 
lom Clark  with  his  family,  among  whom 
was  his  son  Joshua.  They  settled  in 
what  is  now  Carrollton,  on  the  farm  now 
owned  by  Jackson  Tunnell,  where  Ab- 
salom paid  the  debt  of  nature.  Joshua 
also  died  in  the  county  in  1866. 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY 


575 


William  and  Thomas  Finley  were 
also  settlers  of  the  year  1826,  they  com- 
ing here  and  locating  in  what  is  now 
Rockbridge  township  in  the  fall  of  that 
year. 

James  Miller  was  a  settler  in  what  is 
now  hinder  township  in  1826.  He  was 
a  resident  of  that  part  of  the  county  for 
many  years  and  finally  died  there,  full 
of  years. 

Thomas  Piper  was  the  first  settler  in 
what  is  now  Ruhicon  township,  settling 
there  in  1826,  on  section  10,  where  he 
died. 

Benjamin  (1.  Tompkins  settled  in 
Kane  township  as  early  as  1826,  on  a 
farm  on  section  28,  where  he  resided 
until  his  death  in  1878. 

John  N.  Whitlock  came  from  beneath 
the  genial  skies  of  Tennessee  in  1826, 
and  settled  in  what  is  now  Rockbridge 
township,  where  he  made  his  residence 
until  his  death. 

Howard  was  also  among  the  early 

settlers  of  1826,  locating  at  Carrollton. 
Jordan,  Stephen,  Eliakim,  Tilton,  Jane 
and  Katie  were  children  of  this  pioneer. 

Franklin  Witt  settled  in  what  is  now 
Kane  township  in  1826,  where  he  made 
his  home  until  his  death,  in  1851.  He 
was  both  a  representative  and  senator 
in  the  general  assembly  of  the  state, 
and  is  noticed  at  length  in  that  connec- 
tion. 

Elisha  Brown  made  a  settlement  in 
that  part  of  the  county  now  known  as 
Patterson  township,  in  1826. 

Thomas  Sharp  was  among  the  pio- 
neers of  the  year  1826,  coming  to  the 
county  at  that  time,  and  locating  in 
what  is  now  Athensville  township, 
where  he  at  once  commenced  making 
improvements. 


Among  the  settlers  of  the  county  in 
1827  was  Lemuel  Stubblefield,  who  came 
from  Randolph  county,  111.,  where  he 
had  been  living  for  some  six  or  seven 
years,  and  settled  in  White  Hall  town- 
ship, arriving  there  some  time  in  March. 
He  was  a  North  Carolinian.  He  died  in 
Greenfield,  in  1859. 

Thomas  Groce,  an  early  settler  of 
Patterson  township,  located  there  in 
1827,  on  coming  to  this  county. 

Andrew  Hamilton,  with  his  wife,  for- 
merly Elizabeth  Kincaid,  came  to  this 
county  in  1837,  and  settled  near  the  site 
of  the  town  of  Greenfield.  They  were 
residents  of  Bourbon  county,  Ky.,  but 
Mr.  Hamilton  was  a  native  of  the  Brit- 
ish Isles,  born  June  12,  1776.  Mrs. 
Hamilton's  natal  day  was  July  P.),  of 
same  year.  They  died  at  the  home  of 
their  daughter,  Mrs.  John  Hardeastle, 
in  Linder  township. 

Jeremiah  Hand  made  a  settlement  in 
what  is  now  called  Rockbridge  town- 
ship, in  1827,  and  made  some  improve- 
ments. 

Isaac  Landis  was  also  one  of  the  set- 
tlers of  1827,  locating  in  Linder  town- 
ship.    He  now  lives  near  Carrollton. 

William  Gough,one  of  the  settlers  of 
1827,  moved  to  Linder  township  that 
year,  and  improved  a  farm  on  section 
15.     He  is  long  since  dead. 

Leonard  Brace,  a  New  Yorker,  came 
west  in  1828  and  located  in  Greene 
county,  on  land  now  included  in  the 
town  of  Carrollton,  where  he  soon  died. 

John  Russell,  one  of  the  most  tal- 
ented men  of  this  section  of  the  country 
at  that  time,  came  to  Greene  county  in 
1828  and  settled  under  the  bluff,  at 
what  is  called  Bluffdale,  where  he  died, 
at  a  later  day. 


576 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


William  Halbirt  settled  the  same 
year  in  Bluffdale  township,  as  did,  also, 
his  In-other,  John.  The  latter  was  mur- 
dered some  years  since  by  a  tramp. 

John  Stevens,  a  native  of  Virginia 
and  a  Baptist  minister,  made  a  settle- 
ment on  Sec.  9,  T.  9,  R.  11,  in  1828. 
He  made  this  his  residence  until  his 
death  in  1853. 

Henry  Brooks  came  to  this  county  in 
1828,  making  a  location  about  three- 
quarters  of  a  mile  west  of  Carrollton, 
where  he  lived  for  many  years  and 
finally  paid  the  debt  of  nature. 

Robert  Scroggins,  with  his  family, 
came  to  Greene  county  in  1828,  and 
located  in  Woodville  township,  where 
he  lived  for  some  time,  when  he  moved 
to  Carrollton  township.  He  subse- 
quently removed  to  Kane  township, 
where  he  resided  some  four  years,  when 
he  removed  to  the  American  Bottom. 

William  Thomasson,  a  Tennessean 
by  birth,  made  Greene  county  his  home 
in  1828,  settling  first  in  T.  9,  R.  12,  but 
later  removed  to  Bluffdale  township. 
In  1847,  after  a  winter  spent  in  Texas, 
he  removed  to  Sec.  18,  T.  9,  R.  12, 
Woodville  township,  where  he  died. 

James  Ashlock  made  his  settlement 
in  Greene  county  in  1828,  on  section  22, 
Linder  township.  He  died  a  resident 
of  this  place,  April  12,  1862. 

David,  Joel  and  Eri  Edwards,  three 
brothers,  from  Vermont,  came  to  Greene 
county  in  1828,  and  after  a  short  stay 
in  the  neighborhood  of  Carrollton,  in 
the  fall  of  1829,  settled  on  sections  28 
and  33,  Rubicon  township.  There  they 
lived  and  died — David,  in  185(5,  Joel,  in 
1859,  and  Eri,  in  I860. 

William  Mason,  came  to  Greene 
county  in  1828,  and  located  upon  a  farm 


near  Rockbridge,  where  he  lived  for  12 
years.  He  then  removed  to  Macoupin 
county,  and  later  to  Jersey  county,  but 
about  1856,  he  came  back  to  this  county, 
settling  in  Kane  township,  where  he 
resided  until  his  death,  in  1870. 

James  Curnutt  was,  also,  among  the 
settlers  of  1829,  settling  for  a  time  in 
Rockbridge  township,  but  later,  he 
moved  to  Rubicon,  where  he  died  in 
1851. 

R.  Stoddard  made  a  settlement  in 
1829,  in  what  is  now  Athensville  town- 
ship. 

David  Hahn  came  to  Greene  county, 
in  1829,  and  located  in  the  northwestern 
part  of  the  county,  in  that  sub-division 
known  as  Patterson,  where  he  lived 
many  years. 

Among  those  who  settled  in  Rock- 
bridge township  in  1829,  were  Ichabod 
Valentine,  Howard  Finley,  Joel  Griz- 
zle and  Herod  Grizzle.  Most  of  these 
parties  lived  here  for  many  years. 

Louis  J.  Ballard,  a  native  of  North 
Carolina,  but  for  sometime  a  resident  of 
Tennessee,  came  to  this  county  in  1829, 
and  settled  upon  section  7,  of  Wrights 
township,  where  he  lived  until  1878, 
when  he  died. 

William  H.  Goode  opened  a  farm  on 
section  31,  in  Wrights  township,  locat- 
ing there  in  1829.  In  1856,  he  moved 
to  Davis  county,  la.,  where  he  died  in 
1874. 

Among  the  pioneers  of  Greene  county 
was  William  Winn,  who  located  about 
four  miles  west  of  the  town  of  Carroll- 
ton, Nov.  12,  1829.  Here  he  lived  until 
his  death,  Nov.  27,  1866. 

J.  Harvey  Weisner  came  to  this 
county  from  Tennessee,  in  1829,  and  lo- 
cated in  Rockbridge  township.     He  was 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


577 


a  North  Carolinian,  and  died  in  Green- 
field, in  1884. 

Marvil  Morris  became  a  resident  of 
Greene  county,  in  1829,  locating  upon  a 
farm  on  Sec.  26,  T.  9,  R.  12,  now  Kane 
township,  where  he  lived  many  years. 

Jacob  Young  came  to  Greene  county, 
and  settled  in  what  is  now  Rubicon 
township,  in  1829,  where  he  lived  until 
his  death,  in  1863. 

John  Reynolds,  a  native  of  Washing- 
ton county, Va.,  came  to  Greene  county, 
in  1829,  and  made  a  temporary  settle- 
ment in  Carrollton  township,  but  after- 
wards moved  to  what  is  now  Rockbridge 
township.  In  1838,  he  removed  to  what 
is  now  Woodville  township,  where  he 
died  March  15,  1858. 

Elder  Stephen  Coonrod,  in  1829, 
settled  with  his  family,  on  the  north- 
west quarter  of  the  northeast  quar- 
ter of  section  33,  in  what  is  now  Rubicon 
township.  Here  he  resided  until  his 
death,  in  1872,  of  small-pox.  His  wife 
survived  him  until  1879. 

John  Brown,  and  Elizabeth,  his  wife, 
with  their  family  left  Kentucky, in  1829, 
and  came  to  Greene  county,  which  they 
made  their  home  for  many  years. 

Willis  Hardwick,  with  his  family, 
settled  in  Woodville  township,  in  1829, 
about  two  miles  south  of  the  village  of 
that  name,  where  Mr.  Hardwick  and  his 
wife  died  at  an  advanced  age. 

James  Wood  and  family  came  to 
Greene  county  about  the  year  1830,  from 


the  neighborhood  of  Lexington,  Ky., 
and  made  a  settlement  in  what  is  now 
Woodville  township. 

Solomon  Dixon  settled  in  Rockbridge 
township,  in  1830,  and  lived  there  until 
1870,  when  he  immigrated  to  Kansas, 
where  he  died. 

Isham  Adcock  came  to  Greene  county, 
in  1830,  and  settled  in  what  is  now 
Bluffdale  township. 

David  Griswold  was  also  a  settler  of 
this  year,  taking  up  his  residence  in 
what  is  now  White  Hall  township,  on 
section  9,  where  he  died  in  1876. 

William  Askins  settled  in  Rubicon 
township,  the  same  year. 

John  Mason  and  G.  H.  Hopkins 
made  settlements  in  Athensville  town- 
ship, where  Mr.  Hopkins  died,  in  1866. 

Leonard  Carriger  located  in  Patter- 
son township,  in  1830. 

Moses  Wylder,  an  old  Revolutionary 
veteran,  with  his  family  came  to  Greene 
county  in  1830,  settling  in  Rockbridge 
township.  In  1832,  he  returned  to 
Tennessee,  and  there  died,  in  1839. 

Peter  M.  Brown,  in  1830  came  to  the 
town  of  Carrollton  and  worked  at  his 
trade  of  carpenter.  He  was  afterwards 
engaged  in  the  mercantile  trade,  but 
shortly  engaged  in  farming.  He  is 
now  in  the  land  of  the  hereafter. 

David  I.  Brown  and  his  family  came 
to  Greene  county  in  1830.  They  were 
natives  of  Tennessee,  who  had  immigra- 
ted to  Madison  county  at  an  early  day. 


578 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY 


GHAPTRR    IV. 


GOVERNMENT  AND  OFFICIAL  MATTERS. 


The  annoyance  and  inconvenience  of 
going  some  30  miles  to  Edwardsville  to 
transact  any  business  was  strongly  felt, 
and  early  in  the  year  1820,  the  subject 
of  county  organization  began  to  be  dis- 
cussed. The  feeling  on  the  subject 
grew  stronger  and  stronger  and  steps 
were  taken  to  further  that  end.  The 
matter  was  brought  to  the  notice  of  the 
general  assembly,  which  convened  the 
winter  of  1820-21,  at  Vandalia,  and  in 
January  of  the  latter  year  the  following 
bill  was  introduced  in  the  house,  passed 
and  approved  by  the  governor,  Jan.  20, 
1821: 

AN     ACT      ESTABLISHING    THE    COUNTY     OF 
GREENE. 

"Section  1.  Be  it  enacted  by  the 
people  of  the  state  of  Illinois  represent- 
ed in  the  general  assembly,  that  all  that 
tract  of  country  within  the  following 
boundaries,  to-wit:  Beginning  at  the 
southeast  corner  of  T.  7  N.,  R.  10,  west 
of  the  third  principal  meridian;  thence 
north  between  ranges  9  and  10  to  the 
northeast  corner  of  T.  12  N.;  thence 
west  along  the  line  between  townships 
12  and  13  to  the  middle  of  the  Illinois 
river;  thence  down  said  river  to  its 
junction  with  the  Mississippi  river; 
thence  down  the  middle  of  the  Missis- 
sippi river  to  a  point  parallel  with  the 
southwest  corner  of  T.  6  N.,  R.  10  \V.; 
thence  north  with  the  range  line  be- 
tween 10  and    11  to  the  township  line 


between  6  and  7;  thence  east  with  said 
township  line  to  the  place  of  beginning, 
shall  constitute  a  separate  county  to  be 
called  Greene. 

"Sec.  2.  Be  it  further  enacted,  that 
for  the  purpose  of  establishing  the  seat 
of  justice  for  said  county,  the  following 
persons  shall  be  commissioners,  to-wit: 
Thomas  Rattan,  John  Allen,  Thomas 
Carlin,  John  Green,  and  John  Huitt, 
Si'.;  and  the  said  commissioners,  or  a 
majority  of  them,  shall,  at  some  con- 
venient time,  between  the  passage  of 
this  act  and  the  1st  day  of  March  next, 
meet  at  the  house  of  Isaac  Pruitt,  in 
said  county,  and  proceed  to  fix  the  per- 
manent seat  of  justice  of  said  county, 
and  give  the  same  some  appropriate 
name;  provided  the  owner  or  owners  of 
the  land  whereon  said  seat  of  justice  is 
about  is  to  be  fixed  give  to  the  county 
commissioners  of  the  county  a  good 
deed  of  conveyance,  in  fee  simple,  for 
not  less  than  20  acres  of  land,  for  the 
use  of  the  county.  If  the  owner  or 
owners  of  said  land  refuse  or  neglect  to 
give  the  same,  then  to  fix  the  seat  of 
justice  on  the  next  suitable  place  where 
the  said  owner  or  owners  will  give  the 
quantity  of  land  aforesaid,  and  in  all 
cases  the  said  commissioners  shall  take 
into  consideration  the  situation  and 
geography  of  the  country,  and  the  future 
population  of  the  county,  to  have  the 
same  as  near  the  centre  of  the  county 
as  practicable. 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


579 


"Sec.  3.  Be  it  further  enacted,  that 
the  said  commissioners,  or  a  majority 
of  them,  shall  make  a  report  of  their 
proceedings  to  the  next  county  commis- 
sioners' court  of  the  county,  and  have 
the  same  recorded  on  the  records  of 
said  county. 

Sec.  4.  Be  it  further  enacted,  that 
all  that  tract  of  country  within  the  fol- 
lowing boundaries,  to-wit:  Beginning 
at  the  southwest  corner  of  T.  7 
N.,  R.  9.  west  of  the  third  prin- 
cipal meridian;  thence  east  to  the 
southeast  corner  of  T.  7  N.,  R.  6 
\\\;  thence  north  to  the  northeast 
corner  off.  12  N.;  thence  west  to  the 
northwest  corner  of  T.  12,  R.  7  W.; 
thence  along  the  prairie  between  the 
waters  of  Sangamon  and  Mauvaisterre 
to  the  head  of  Balance  creek;  thence 
down  said  creek  to  the  Illinois  river; 
thence  down  the  said  river  to  the  north- 
west corner  of  said  county,  shall  be  at- 
tached to  said  county,  and  shall  consti- 
tute and  be  a  part  of  said  county  for  all 
purposes,  until  otherwise  disposed  of 
by  the  general  assembly  of  this  state. 

"Sec  5.  Be  it  further  enacted,  that 
said  county,  and  the  attached  part 
of  the  same,  be  and  compose  a  part 
of  the  first  judicial  circuit  of  this  state, 
and  the  inhabitants  of  the  same  shall  be 
entitled  to  all  the  privileges  of  other 
counties  of  this  state. 

"See.  6.  Be  it  further  enacted,  that 
the  commissioners  appointed  to  perform 
the  services  required  by  this  act  shall  be 
allowed,  out  of  the  county  funds  four 
dollars  for  each  day's  labor  and  attend- 
ance in  performing  such  services. 

Approved  Jan.  20,  1821. 

Shadrach  Bond,  Governor. 

By  this  it  will  be  seen  that  the  Greene 


county  of  that  day  was  made  to  include 
all  of  what  is  now  Jersey,  and  to  this 
was  attached,  temporarily,  the  present 
counties  of  Macoupin,  Scott  and  Mor- 
gan. 

The  newly  created  county  was  named 
in  honor  of  General  Nathaniel  Greene, 
of  Revolutionary  fame. 

Of  course  the  first  thing  to  be  done 
toward  organization  was  the  selection  of 
a  site  for  the  future  seat  of  government, 
and  some  of  the  enterprising  land- 
owners of  the  county,  began  to  plan 
how  they  could  get  the  county  seat  lo- 
cated on  their  land.  About  a  mile  and 
a  half  west  and  one  south  of  the  pres- 
ent site  of  Carrollton  lay  the  town  of 
Mount  Pleasant,  the  first  town  ever 
laid  out  in  the  county.  This  was  a 
beautiful  site.  An  article  in  the  Car- 
rollton Press,  of  1860,  written  by  W.  A. 
Tunnell,  in  speaking  of  it  says:  "It 
was  located  on  a  beautiful  mound  in  the 
midst  of  as  fine  country  as  ever  occu- 
pied a  place  on  the  map  of  the  globe, 
in  the  prairie,  just  where  a  cool,  shady 
grove  or  point  of  timber  had  found  its 
way  up  the  east  side,  nearly  to  the  sum- 
mit. *  *  The  deep,  cool  shade  af- 
forded a  delicious  retreat  to  the  wearied 
huntsman  as  he  reposed  on  the 
moss  covered  logs  'neath  the  tall  waving 
trees.  The  gentle  slopes  shone  in  the 
bright  sunshine,  beneath  a  clear,  blue 
sky,  like  some  enchanted  spot,  clothed 
in  all  the  gaudy  colors  of  the  rainbow. 
It  is  probable  that  the  sun  in  all  his 
wanderings  has  seldom  shone  on  a  love- 
lier spot  of  earth  since  the  day  on  which 
the  flaming  sword  was  placed  at  the 
gates  of  Eden.  This  mound  at  present 
is  deprived  of  every  vestige  of  its  prim- 
itive beauty  except  its  elevation.  " 


580 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY 


The  public  lands  in  this  district  were 
offered  for  sale  at  the  land  office  at  Ed- 
wardsville,  in  January,  1821,  and  the 
place  above  mentioned  was  one  of  the 
places  for  the  possession  of  which  there 
was  a  friendly  contest.  The  principal 
parties,  however,  were  John  Evans,  an 
Irishman,  and  Robert  Hobson,  an  Eng- 
lishman; both  men  of  means.  Mr. 
Hobson,  however,  bought  off  his  rival 
for  $50  and  purchased  the  coveted  prop- 
erty. He  immediately  marked  out  a 
town  site,  naming  it  Mt.  Pleasant, 
erected  a  dwelling  and  a  store  building, 
and  in  the  latter  placed  a  stock  of  goods. 
With  commendable  enterprise  he  offered 
liberal  inducements  to  settlers  to  make 
their  homes  in  his  town.  When  the 
county  was  organized  a  strong  effort  was 
made  to  have  the  seat  of  county  gov- 
ernment located  here.  Another  eligi- 
ble site  was  a  wooded  mound  a  mile  or 
more  southeast  of  the  present  court 
house.  It  was  claimed  for  it  that  it  was 
nearer  the  center  of  the  county,  etc. 
Mr.  Clement  L.  Clapp,  in  a  previous 
history  of  Greene  county,  in  speaking 
of  this  location  of  the  county  seat,  says: 
"  But  the  man  who  held  in  his  hands  the 
key  to  the  situation  was  Thomas  Carlin. 
In  a  struggle  with  such  a  man  as  he  was, 
for  the  location  of  the  county  seat,  Rob- 
ert Hobson  suffered  from  every  disad- 
vantage. He  had  money,  but  in  every 
other  regard  his  cause  was  very  weak. 
He  was  an  immigrant  fresh  from  Eng- 
land, and  that  was  sufficient  to  win  for 
him  the  dislike  of  all  native  Americans. 
The  war  with  England  had  ended  but  a 
few  years  before,  and  hatred  for  Britain 
and  the  British  still  rankled  in  the 
hearts  of  all  the  sons  of  Revolutionary 
fathers.     The  situation  of  Mount  Pleas- 


ant was  a  beautiful  one,  but  had  its 
site  been  doubly  enchanting,  and  had  it 
possessed  every  advantage  over  the  rival 
location,  Thomas  Carlin's  personal  pop- 
ularity would  have  carried  everything 
before  it.  Few  natives  would  have 
courted  a  struggle  with  him,  but  a  for- 
eigner, and  particularly  an  Englishman, 
could  hope  for  nothing  but  defeat.  But 
besides  this  it  was  urged  against  Mount 
Pleasant  that,  although  its  site  was 
beautiful,  the  mound  on  which  it  was 
proposed  to  build  the  town  was  far  too 
small  to  furnish  eligible  building  lots 
for  the  capital  of  a  great  county.  More- 
over, Mount  Pleasant  was  some  distance 
west  of  a  direct  road  from  Alton  to  Jack- 
sonville, and  from  the  entire  centre  of 
the  county.  Few  then,  except  the  circle 
of  personal  friends  with  which  Mr.  Hob- 
son was  surrounded,  had  any  doubt 
what  would  be  the  decision  of  the  com- 
missioners, appointed  by  the  legislature 
to  locate  the  seat  of  justice. 

"The  first  movement  that  was  made 
toward  perfecting  the  organization  of 
the  county,  was  the  meeting  of  the  com- 
missioners appointed  by  the  general 
assembly, to  select  a  place  for  the  county 
seat.  These  gentlemen  assembled  at 
the  residence  of  Isaac  Pruitt,  one  of  the 
most  substantial  members  of  the  settle- 
ment. He  had  entered  land  a  few  miles 
west  of  Carrollton,  and  built  a  cabin 
very  near  the  present  position  of  the 
David  Black  residence.  Thence,  after 
some  preliminaries,  they  rode  to  the 
land  of  Thomas  Carlin. 

"The  commission  was  a  representa- 
tive body.  Thomas  Rattan  had  been  a 
pioneer  all  his  life, and  was  an  excellent 
business  man  and  money-maker.  He 
was  reared  on  Rattan's  prairie,  in  Mad- 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


581 


ison  county,  whither  his  parents  had 
came  among  the  earliest  settlers.  Here 
he  entered  land,  hut  soon  left  it,  and 
for  some  time  owned  and  managed  a 
ferry  at  Carlisle, where  he  was  very  suc- 
cessful in  a  financial  point  of  view. 
Subsequently  he  sold  his  land  in  Mad- 
ison county,  and  made  a  settlement  in 
Greene  county,  north  of  Apple  creek, as 
previously  mentioned.  Here  Cyrus 
Tolman  and  Charles  Gregory,  after- 
ward opulent  farmers,  were  in  his  em- 
ploy. Mr.  Rattan,  soon  after  the  orga- 
nization of  the  county,  moved  to  Car- 
rollton,  and  kept  the  first  hotel  there. 
He  was  short  and  heavy,  but  a  thorough 
man  of  business.  John  Allen  was  from 
Kentucky. and  was  a  cousin  of  Zachariah 
Allen,  mentioned  elsewhere.  John 
Greene  was  a  brother  of  William 
Greene,  and  father  of  Singleton  F. 
Greene,  afterwards  sheriff  of  the  county, 
and  the  oldest  native  of  Greene  county 
now  living.  He  was  tall  and  spare. 
John  Huitt,  Sr.,  was  the  father  of  John 
W.  Huitt,  and  had  followed  his  son  to 
this  county.  He  was  a  Georgian,  and 
an  upright  man  of  good  mind.  Mr.Carlin 
was  one  of  the  commissioners,  but  he 
was  interested  and  refused  to  act  in 
the  matter.  After  some  consultation,  it 
became  evident  that  the  commissioners 
were  unanimous  in  their  opinion  that 
the  court  house  should  be  built  on  the 
land  of  Mr.  Carlin.  They  were  stand- 
ing near  the  east  side  of  the  present 
square  when  they  reached  that  decision. 
Whereupon,  John  Allen  paced  50  yards 
to  the  west,  drove  a  stake,  and  said, 
"Here  let  the  court  house  In-  built."  And 
so  it  was  decided.  The  town  was  im- 
mediately laid  out,,  and  named  in  honor 
of  Charles  Carroll,  of  Carrollton,  Md." 


At  this  time  there  was  not  a  house 
upon  the  site  of  the  town,  as  will  be 
seen  in  the  history  of  Carrollton. 

On  the  first  Monday  in  April,  1821, 
an  (lection  was  held,  the  polls  being  at 
the  house  of  Thomas  Rattan,  for  county 
officers.  This  resulted  in  the  choice  of 
Seymour  Kellogg,  Jehu  Brown  and  John 
Allen,  for  county  commissioners;  Thos. 
Carlin  for  sheriff,  and  Jacob  Waggoner, 
coroner. 

The  first   entry  upon   the    records  of 
the    county    commissioners'    court      of 
Greene  county  is  the  following: 
State  of  Illinois: 

Be  it  remembered,  that  the  county  of 
Greene  having  been  established  by  an 
act  of  the  general  assembly  of  the  state 
of  Illinois,  and  John  Allen,  Jehu  Brown 
and  Seymour  Kellogg  having  been  duly 
elected  county  commissioners  for  said 
county,  and  having  taken  the  several 
oaths  required  by  law,  before  Samuel 
Lee,  Jr.,  clerk  of  the  circuit  court  of 
said  county,  whereupon  a  special  term 
of  the  county  court,  for  the  county  of 
Greene,  is  begun  and  held  at  Carrollton, 
the  seat  of  justice  of  said  county,  on  the 
1st  day  of  May,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord 
one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  twenty- 
one." 

At  this  meeting  there  were  present 
John  Allen,  Jehu  Brown  and  Seymour 
Kellpgg,  all  three  of  the  newly  elected 
commissioners.  Samuel  Lee,  Jr.,  being 
appointed  clerk  of  the  court,  qualified 
for  that  position  by  the  usual  oaths. 
He  also  presented  his  bond,  with  Jacob 
Linder  and  Jacob  Rattan  as  sureties, 
for  the  faithful  performance  of  his 
duties  in  connection  with  that  office. 
The  first  business  that  came  before  the 
court  is  recorded  as  follows: 


582 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


"On  application  of  John  Wilkins,  it 
is  ordered  that  license  be  granted  him 
to  keep  a  tavern  at  his  place  of  resi- 
dence, on  the  Piasa  creek,  in  said 
county,  upon  his  entering  into  bond, 
with  Samuel  White,  his  security,  in  the 
sum  of  $100,  conditioned  as  the  law 
directs,  and  paying  a  tax  of  five  dollars 
for  the  use  of  the  county  and  the  clerk's 
fees."  This  bond  was  entered  and  tax 
paid  the  clerk  in  court. 

Thomas  Rattan  was  also  granted  a 
license  for  a  tavern,  to  be  kept  in  the 
town  of  Carrollton. 

It  was  also  ordered  "that  the  follow- 
ing rates  for  tavern  keepers  of  this 
county  be,  and  the  same  are  hereby  al- 
lowed and  established,  to-wit:  For 
each  meal  of  victuals,  25  cents;  for 
lodging  in  a  bed,  per  night,  12  cents; 
for  keeping  a  horse,  with  corn  or  oats, 
and  hay  or  fodder,  per  night  or  12  hours, 
37i  cents;  for  keeping  a  horse,  without 
hay  or  fodder,  per  night  or  12  hours, 
18;  cents;  for  each  feed  for  a  horse,  12 
cents;  for  French  brandy  or  wine,  per 
half  pint,  50  cents;  for  gin  or  rum,  per 
half  pint,  25  cents;  for  apple  brandy, 
cherry  bounce,  or  cordials,  per  half 
pint,  18,'  cents;  for  whiskey,  per  half 
pint,  12    cent." 

By  the  act  of  the  general  assembly 
that  organized  the  county,  Thomas  Car- 
lin,  Thomas  Rattan,  John  Allen,  John 
Green  and  John  Huitt,  St.,  were  ap- 
pointed commissioners  to  fix  the  perma- 
nent seat  of  justice  of  the  county,  and 
they  came  before  this  court,  on  the  day 
and  date  above  mentioned,  and  reported 
that  "having  met  at  the  house  of  Isaac 
Pruitt,  as  required  in  said  act,  and  after 
examining  the  most  eligible  situations  of 
said  county,  giving  due  consideration  as 


set  forth  in  said  act,  as  to  the  present 
and  future  population,  situation,  geo- 
graphy, etc.,  of  the  county,  are  of  the 
opinion  that  a  point  88  poles  south  from 
the  northeast  corner  of  Sec.  22,  T.  10, 
north,  R.  12,  west,  of  the  3d  princi- 
pal meridian,  is  the  most  suitable  place 
for  the  said  seat  of  justice,  and  accord- 
ingly, and  in  pursuance  of  said  act,  have 
fixed  the  permanent  seat  of  justice,  for 
the  said  county  of  Greene,  at  the  point 
or  place  above  described,  the  same 
being  on  the  line  between  sections  22 
and  23.  Tbomas  Carlin,  the  owner  of 
the  land  whereon  the  said  seat  of  jus- 
tice is  fixed,  having  executed  a  deed  to 
the  county  commissioners  of  the  county, 
for  the  use  of  said  county,  as  required 
in  said  act,  for  22  acres  of  land,  which 
is  bounded  as  follows:  Beginning  88 
poles  south  of  the  northeast  corner  of 
section  22,  as  above  described,  thence 
running  east  10  poles,  thence  north  10 
poles,  thence  west  90  poles,  thence 
south  43  poles,  thence  east  80  poles,  to 
the  line  between  sections  22  and  23; 
thence  north  23  poles,  thence  east  10 
poles,  thence  north,  to  the  first  corner 
mentioned  after  the  place  of  beginning; 
and  have  given  to  the  said  seat  of  jus- 
tice the  name  of  Carrollton."  This  re- 
port was  signed  by  all  five  of  the  com- 
missioners. 

The  20  lots  in  the  new  town  of  Car- 
rollton, belonging  to  the  county,  were 
directed  to  be  placed  on  sale  by  this 
court,  the  sale  to  take  place  on  the  12th 
day  of  June,  1821,  and  the  terms  of 
sale  to  be  6  and  12  months  credit. 
Seymour  Kellogg  was  also  recommended 
to  the  governor  as  a  suitable  person  to 
act  as  a  justice  of  the  peace. 

The  next  meeting  of  the  county  com- 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


583 


missioners'  court  was  hold  on  the  4th 
of  June,  1821,  when  the  court  proceeded 

to  lay  the  county  off  into  company  dis- 
tricts, in  pursuance  of  the  first  section 
of  an  act  entitled  "  An  act  amending  an 
act  entitled  an  act  organizing  the  militia 
of  this  state."  Whereupon  it  was 
ordered,  that  the  first  company  district 
should  consist  of  the  following  terri- 
tory: The  territory  south  of  the  line 
between  townships  7  and  8;  the  second 
company  district,  to  consist  of  T.  8,  R. 
10,  11,  12,  13  and  14;  the  third  company 
district,  from  the  southeast  corner  of  T. 
9,  R.  10,  thence  north  to  the  Macoupin 
(orMaquapin,  as  it  isspelled  upon  the 
records)  creek,  thence  down  the  same  to 
its  mouth,  and  south  to  the  line  divid- 
ing townships  8  and  9;  the  fourth  com- 
pany district  was  to  he  bounded  as  fol- 
lows; Beginning  where  the  line  be- 
tween ranges  9  and  10,  crosses  tin-  Ma- 
coupin creek,  thence  north  with  said 
line  to  the  line  between  the  fourth  and 
fifth  tier  of  sections  in  T.  10,  R.  10, 
thence  west  to  the  Illinois  river;  the 
fifth  district,  hounded  as  follows:  Com- 
mencing four  miles  south  of  the  north 
line  of  T.  10,  R.  10,  thence  north 
to  Apple  creek,  thence  down  said  creek 
to  the  Illinois  river,  thence  down  the 
river  to  a  point  due  west  of  the  point  of 
beginning;  the  sixth  district  bounded  as 
follows:  Commencing  at  the  range  line 
between  range  9  and  10,  where  the 
same  crosses  Apple  creek,  thence 
north  to  the  north  of  township  12, 
thence  west  to  the  Illinois  river  and 
down  the  same  to  the  mouth  of  Apple 
creek,  thence  up  said  creek  to  the  place 
of  beginning;  the  seventh  company  dis- 
trict was  to  include  all  persons  liable  to 
military  duty  that  reside   within  that 


part  of  the  attached  part  of  Greene 
county,  in  the  tract  of  country  known 
by  the  name  of  Mauvaisterre,  east  of  a 
line  to  run  five  miles  east  of  the  range 
line  between  ranges  10  and  11  ;  the 
eighth  company  district  included  all  that 
part  of  the  Mauvaisterre  settlement 
within  eight  miles  west  of  the  west  line 
of  the  above  district;  the  ninth  com- 
pany district  included  all  that  part  of 
the  same  settlement  within  12  miles 
west  of  the  eighth  district,  and  the  tenth 
included  all  of  the  same  settlement 
between  the  latter  and  the  Illinois  river. 
Elections  were  at  the  same  time  ordered 
to  be  held  in  every  company  district 
for  company  officers,  on  the  last  Satur- 
day in  June,  1821.  The  court  then  ap- 
pointed the  judges  of  election  inthethe 
several  districts,  which  were  as  follows: 
1st  dist. — John  D.  Gillham,  John  Wad- 
dle  and  Samuel  Kinkadc;  2d  dist. — Ger- 
shom  Patterson,  William  Adair,  and 
Nathaniel  Rowden;  3d  dist. — John 
Green,  Walker  Daniel  and  Harrison 
Higgins;  4th  dist. — Joel  Meachem,  J  as. 
Colwell  and  Absalom  Clark;  5th  dist. — 
John  Drum,  Young  Wood  and  Philip 
Fry;  6th  dist — James  McNeary,  Alvin 
Coe  and  William  Potts;  7th  dist. — Sam- 
uel Scott,  Benjamin  Berkman  and  Peter 
Shcphard.  The  balance  were  not  in  this 
county  as  at  present  constituted. 

At  this  term  of  court  was  also  chosen 
the  first  jury  in  the  county.  Zachariah 
Allen,  Francis  Bell  and  Daniel  Duval] 
were,  at  the  same  time,  appointed 
trustees  of  the  lands  reserved  for  the 
use  (if  schools  in  T,  11,  R.  12  west; 
John  Stout,  Walker  Daniel  and  Joseph 
Piggott,  trustees  of  the  same  in  T.  9.  H. 
12;  Benjamin  C.  Brown,  Philip  Grimes 
and  James  Whiteside    to   be  trustees  in 


584 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


T.  8,  R.  12;  and  Martin  Woods,  Philip 
Fry  and  Joel  Meacham,  trustees  in  T, 
10,  R   12. 

John  W.  Scott  was  also  appointed 
treasurer  of  the  county  of  Greene  at  this 
term  of  court,  and  he  tiling  his  bond,  en- 
tered upon  the  discharge  of  his  duties. 

On  the  6th  of  June  of  the  same  year 
the  court  proceeded  to  lay  the  county 
oft' into  townships  and  thus  divide  the 
county  :  All  of  the  territory  south  of 
the  line  between  townships  7  and  8 
was  to  be  known  as  Otter  Creek  town- 
ship; all  that  part  of  the  county,  and 
the  attached  part  of  the  same  lying 
north  of  the  north  line  of  township  7,  and 
south  of  Macoupin  creek,  to  be  known 
as  Macoupin  township;  that  part  of  the 
county,  with  the  attached  parts  of  the 
same,  lying  between  Macoupin  and  Ap- 
ple creeks,  to  be  known  as  Centre  town- 
ship; all  lying  north  of  Apple  creek  to 
the  north  line  of  what  is  now  Greene 
county,  to  be  known  as  Apple  Creek 
township.  Diamond  Grove  and  Mau- 
vaisterre  townships  were  north  of  these, 
in  what  is  now  Scott  and  Morgan  coun- 
ties. 

The  first  warrants  drawn  on  the  county 
treasury  were  to  John  Allen  and  Thomas 
Rattan,  and  were  for  $4  each,  compen- 
sation for  two  days'  work,  locating  the 
county  seat  of  Greene  county. 

At  a  special  meeting  of  the  commis- 
sioners' court,  held  on  the  13th  of  June, 
1821,  a  contract  was  let  to  William  and 
Thomas  Finley,  to  build  a  court  house 
for  the  sum  of  $380.  And  in  the  follow- 
ing September,  a  contract  was  entered 
into  with  Thomas  Rattan  for  the  erection 
of  a  chimney  to  the  same,  for  $55,  he  to 
have  6,000  bricks  delivered  to  him  by  Mr. 
Eldred, other  material  to  be  furnished  by 


the  contractor.  This  building  was  fin- 
ished about  the  1st  of  June,  1822.  Asa 
court  house  without  the  adjunct  of  a 
jail  was  not  quite  the  thing,  at  a  session 
of  the  court  held  on  the  21st  of  Dec, 
1821,  the  contract  to  build  a  jail  for  the 
use  of  the  county  was  let  to  John  Dee 
and  Henry  Teagardner,  the  lowest  bid- 
ders, for  the  sum  of  $240.  The  latter 
building  was  12x22  feet  in  ground  area, 
one  story  high,  and  had  an  upper  and 
lower  floor.  It  was  partitioned  through 
the  center.  It  was  built  of  square 
hewed  timbers,  floors  and  partitions  in- 
cluded, each  of  which  was  10  inches 
thick,  well  and  closely  laid  up.  White 
oak  was  the  kind  of  wood  used.  The 
building  was  covered  with  a  good 
shingle  roof. 

At  the  regular  session  of  the  county 
commissioners'  court  held  on  the  2d  of 
Sept.,  1822,  Joseph  Piggott,  Thomas 
Arnett  and  Charles  Gregory,  the  newly 
elected  county  commissioners,  took 
their  seats,  and  proceeded  to  the  trans- 
action of  the  business  of  the  county. 
These  gentlemen  entered  into  a  settle- 
ment with  John  W.  Scott,  the  county 
treasurer,  at  the  March  term,  1823, 
whereby  it  was  shown  that,  ''the  sheriff 
had  paid  into  the  county  treasury,  the 
county  tax  of  '22,  amounting  to  $436.16! ; 
amount  paid  over  for  fines,  etc., 
$76.50;  amount  remaining  in  the  treas- 
ury at  the  settlement  in  March,  1822, 
$86.22  ;  in  all  amounting  to  $598.89. 
From  which  deduct  county  orders  paid, 
amounting  to  $545.39,  and  the  treasurer's 
per  cent.,  amounting  to  $29.74,  leaves 
in  the  treasury  the  sum  of  $23.76." 

At  the  June  session  of  the  court, 
John  Dunn  took  his  place  as  one  of  the 
august  commissioners,  in  the  place  of 


tuc£.*} 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


587 


Thomas  Arnett.  The  usual  routine 
business  of  the  court  was  carried  on, 
and  roads  located  and  laid  out, .and  the 
bills  against  the  county  audited  and 
paid. 

On  thefith  of  Sept.,  1824,  a  new  com- 
missioners' court  came  into  being,  con- 
sisting of  Jehu  Brown,  Abraham  Bow- 
man and  Charles  Gregory.  At  this  first 
meeting  came  up  the  alj  important  sub- 
jects of  roads,  the  laying  out  of  which 
is  so  necessary  for  the  development  of 
a  new  country.  All  through  the  records 
of  this  time  runs  the  petitions,  etc.,  for 
new  roads,  and  the  appointments  of 
viewers  and  locations  of  the  same. 
These,  with  the  settlement  of  claims 
against  tbr  county,  make  up  the  greater 
part  of  the  business  of  the  court. 

On  the  7th  of  June,  1825,  in  pursuance 
of  an  act  of  the  general  assembly,  the 
court  proceeded  to  lay  the  county  off 
into  school  districts,  which  were  to  be 
known  by  their  respective  numbers. 

These  districts  were  10  in  number, 
they  occupying  a  large  extent  of  terri- 
tory, as  the  settlers  were  but  few  and 
scattered  over  what  now  constitutes  two 
counties  or  more.  They  also  laid  off 
the  county  into  13  road  districts,  and 
appointed  the  following  supervisors: 
Alfred  W.  Caverly,  for  district  No.  1; 
A.  P.  Scott,  district  No.  2;  Calvin  Tun- 
nel, No.  3;  Uriah  Miller,  No.  4;  Rich- 
ard Robley,  No.  5;  Joseph  Reynolds, 
No.  ti;  David  Norton,  No.  7;  Thomas 
Rattan,  No.  8;  David  Barrow,  No.  9; 
Cyrus  Griswold,  No.  10;  Charles  Kitch- 
ens, No.  11;  Dennis  Carrico,  No.  12; 
and  John  Barnett,  No.  13.  Previous  to 
this  the  roads  were  as  districts,  with  a 
supervisor  having  control  of  one  only. 
September    4,    1826,     the     incoming 

37J 


county  commissioners'  court  was  com- 
posed of  Joseph  Piggott,  Jeremiah 
Smith  and  Jehu  Brown.  At  this  term 
of  the  court  the  sheriff  of  the  county 
was  allowed  fees  "for  attending  the 
special  term  of  the  circuit  court,  for  the 
trial  of  Simons  and  for  whipping  said 
Simons." 

At  a  meeting  of  this  court,  held  upon 
the  7th  of  March,  1828,  the  clerk  was 
instructed  to  give  notice,  ''by  putting 
up  advertisements,  that  a  special  term 
of  this  court  will  be  held  on  the  first 
Monday  in  April  next,  for  the  purpose 
of  receiving  proposals  for  the  building 
of  a  brick  court  house  for  this  county." 
Nothing  came  of  it  at  this  time.  They 
also,  in  levying  a  tax,  this  same  term, 
laid  a  tax  of  one-half  per  centum  on 
town  lots  in  Carrollton,  on  slaves,  and 
indentured  and  registered  negro  or  mu- 
latto servants,  and  other  property. 

The  county  commissioners  entering 
upon  the  duties  of  office  Sept.  1,  1828, 
were  John  Barnett,  Alexander  King  and 
Charles  Gregory. 

Again,  on  the  2d  of  March,  1830,  did 
the  subject  of  a  more  substantial  court 
house,  in  the  center' of  the  square,  come 
up.  The  commissioners  decided  to  hold 
a  special  meeting  for  the  better  consid- 
eration of  the  subject,  and  for  the  pur- 
pose of  receiving  proposals  for  the 
building  of  the  same.  Moses  Stevens 
at  the  same  time  was  instructed  to  draft 
a  plan  of  a  building  for  the  purpose. 

At  the  special  session  in  question,  a 
contract  for  the  erection  of  a  brick  court 
house  was  entered  into  with  Thomas 
Rattan,  who  agreed  to  finish  the  same 
and  deliver  it  to  the  county,  except  the 
painting  of  it,  for  the  sum  of  $7,000,  to 
be  paid  to  him  in  yearly  sums  of  SI  ,000 


5S8 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


or  more.  The  contract  also  contained 
a  proviso,  that  if  a  special  tax  was 
levied  of  one-half  per  cent  that  year, 
that  when  $5,500  was  collected,  Mr. 
Rattan  agreed  to  accept  that  in  full  sat- 
isfaction for  his  bill.  Work  was  at  once 
commenced  on  the  building. 

Cavil  Archer,  Cyrus  Tolman  and 
Thomas  Cummings  constituted  the  court 
which  came  into  power  on  the  6th  of 
Sept.,  1830.  At  a  special  term  of  this 
court  held  in  March,  1832,  a  contract  to 
build  a  county  jail  was  let  to  William 
Meldrum  for  $3,560,  said  jail  to  be 
located  in  the  town  of  Carrollton. 

John  Lorton,  Cyrus  Tolman  and  Jesse 
Y.  Mounts  were  the  next  county  com- 
missioners, taking  their  places  as  such  in 
Sept.  1832.  At  the  September  term  of 
their  court,  in  1833,  they  received  and 
spread  upon  the  records,  the  incorpora- 
tion of  the  town  of  Carrollton.  The 
finances  of  the  county  not  being  in  a 
satisfactory  condition,  the  court  bor- 
rowed, on  Sept.  21,  1833,  the  sum  of 
$200,  of  George  Finney,  giving  the  note 
of  John  Lorton,  Cyrus  Tolman,  as 
county  commissioners,  and  William 
Meldrum.  This  was  done,  only  as  a 
temporary  expedient,  as  the  note  only 
ran  for  five  months,  but  12  per  cent,  in- 
terest had  to  be  paid. 

At  the  special  term  of  this  court,  held 
on  Monday,  Jan.  27,  1834,  the  office  of 
clerk  was  proclaimed  as  vacant,  accord- 
ing to  the  law,  for  the  reason  that  Mor- 
timer Kennett,  had  failed  to  renew  his 
official  bond  at  the  regular  September 
term,  and  Moses  O.  Bledsoe  was  ap- 
pointed to  fill  the  vacancy.  Mr.  Ken- 
nett strongly  objected,  and  gave  notice 
of  appeal  to  the  circuit  court. 

On  the  1st  day  of  Sept.,  1834,   a  new 


county  commissioners'  court  was  or- 
ganized with  Alexander  King,  Thomas 
McDow  and  Cyrus  Tolman  as  the  com- 
ponent parts  thereof.  They,  after  due 
qualification  for  the  office,  took  their 
places,  and  entered  upon  the  business  of 
the  county.  Permission  was  given  by 
this  court,  in  Oct..  1835,  for  the  erection 
of  a  market  house  on  the  west  side  of 
the  court  house  square  at  Carrollton. 

Thomas  McDow,  Alexander  King  and 
Cyrus  Tolman,  having  been  re-elected 
to  the  office  of  county  commissioners, 
took  their  places  on  the  5th  of  Sept., 
1836,  and  proceeded  to  reorganize  the 
court.  This  court,  at  a  special  term, 
holden  in  Dec,  1837,  appointed  three 
commissioners  to  manage  the  funds  re- 
ceived by  Greene  county,  under  the  in- 
ternal improvement  law.  The  county, 
for  this  purpose,  was  divided  into  three 
districts;  all  that  south  of  the  Macoupin 
creek  was  placed  under  the  management 
of  John  W.  Slaten  ;  between  Macoupin 
and  Apple  creek,  that  of  Moses  O. 
Bledsoe  ;  and  north  of  the  latter  stream, 
Charles  Gregory.  These  commissioners 
were  instructed  to  loan  the  funds  placed 
under  their  care,  hut  in  no  case  to  place 
more  than  8200  with  any  one  person. 

At  the  county  commissioners'  court, 
held  in  the  court  house,  at  Carrollton, 
on  the  3rd  of  Sept.,  1838,  Alexander 
King,  John  Thompson  and  Chilton 
Smith  appeared  and  severally  took  the 
oath  of  office,  and  their  respective 
seats,  having  been  elected  to  thereto 
Aug.  6,  1838.  A  change  having  taken 
place  in  the  law  governing  county  com- 
missioners' courts,  by  which  that  officer 
was  to  hold  office  for  three  years,  one 
to  be  elected  each  year,  therefore  to 
definitely  determine  who  was  to  go  out 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


589 


of  office  first,  lots  were  cast,  according  to 
statute  in  such  cases  made  and  provided 
and  Alexander  King  drew  the  three 
years  term;  Chilton  Smith  the  two 
years,  and  John  Thompson  the  term 
for  one  year.  In  November,  following, 
Franklin  Witt. who  had  been  appointed 
agent  and  attorney  for  the  county, to  re- 
ceive of  tin- state  fund  commissioners, 
the  share  of  Greene  county  in  the  in 
ternal  improvement  fund, made  a  report 
that  he  had  received  the  sum  of  $30,205. 
The  court  rescinding  the  appointments 
made  at  a  previous  session,  for  agents  to 
loan  the  fund,  the  court  made  new  ap- 
pointments: Charles  Kitchens,  for  the 
district  north  of  Apple  creek:  William 
Carlin,  the  district  between  that  stream 
and  Macoupin  creek, and  Thomas  Vance, 
in  what  is  now  Jersey  county.  These 
were  instructed  to  loan  only  $100  to  each 
person,  for  one  year  only,  on  approved 
security,  at  10  per  cent  interest, payable 
semi-annually,  in  advance,  and  to  keep 
the  principal  and  interest  continually 
loaned. 

It  was  under  the  administration  of 
this  court  that  the  question  of  the  sepa- 
ration of  Jersey  county  from  that  of 
Greene  was  submitted  to  the  people, 
and  being  endorsed  by  them,  consum- 
mated. The  vote  on  the  question  of  the 
division  was  as  follows:  For  the  erection 
of  Jersey  county.  1,239;  against  the 
same,  714,  a  (dear  majority  of  525  votes 
in  favor  of  the  measure.  Martin  Bow- 
man was  the  new  member  of  the  court, 
in  place  of  Chilton  Smith,  who  took  his 
place  in  the  fall  term,of  1839,  Mr. Smith 
living  in  Jersey  county,  his  term  of  ser- 
vice ceased  when  that  county  was 
erected. 

A    the    September    session,    1840,    of 


this  court,  Masheck  Browning  took  his 
place  as  commissioner,  vice  Martin 
Bowman.  The  usual  amount  of  routine 
business,  such  as  ordering  the  viewing 
of.  roads,  building  bridges,  auditing 
claims,  etc.,  was  transacted,  but  little  of 
any  general  interest  occurs  upon  the 
records  of  that  term. 

In  Sept.,  1841,  two  new  commissioners 
took  their  places,  William  Blair  and 
Thomas  S.  Blair,  who,  with  Mesheck 
Browning,  constituted  the  court  at  its 
organization.  The  internal  improve- 
ment fund,  or  the  interest  thereof,  was 
sometimes  used  toward  building  bridges, 
or  in  improvements  on  important  county 
roads.  In  the  spring  of  1842,  Masheck 
Browning  living,  at  the  March  term  of 
that  year,  Anthony  S.  Seely,  who  had 
been  elected  to  fill  the  vacancy,  ap- 
peared and  took  his  place  as  a  member 
of  the  court.  It  is  under  this  court  that 
the  first  mention  of  the  county  poor- 
house  occurs,  and  it  is  then  recorded 
that  George  Pegram  was  appointed  as 
superintendent  of  such.  The  bridge 
across  the  Macoupin  creek,  on  the  road 
from  Carrollton  to  Alton,  was  built  this 
year  by  Thomas  Rattan,  and  he  was 
paid  therefor,  out  of  the  internal  im- 
provement fund,  the  sum  of  $5,978.91. 

lsham  Binder,  in  Sept.,  1842,  took  his 
place  as  county  commissioner,  in  place 
of  William  Blair,  whose  term  had  ex- 
pired. At  this  term  of  the  commission- 
ers' court,  the  purchase  of  a  farm  for  a 
poor  farm  for  the  county,  of  Benjamin 
M.  Pegram,  was  consummated.  The 
purchase  money  paid  was  $800.  In  De- 
cember it  was  determined  to  let  out  the 
poor-house  and  the  keeping  of  the  pau- 
pers of  the  county  therein,  to  the  lowest 
bidder,  and   bids  were   advertised  for. 


William  Goode  was  awarded  the  contract 
for  $300,  on  the  basis  of  four  paupers,  at 
that  time  at  the  poor-house,  with  pro- 
portionate increase  or  decrease  with  any 
changes  in  the  number.  Thos.  S.  Booth 
was  appointed  to  oversee  the  matter, 
and  see  that  Mr.  Goode  performed  his 
duty  to  the  paupers  in  a  proper  manner. 
The  county  commissioners'  court, 
which  organized  for  the  first  time  in 
Sept.,  1843,  was  composed  of  the  same 
gentlemen  as  the  year  previous,  A.  S. 
Seely,  whose  term  had  expired,  being 
re-elected,  and  took  his  place.  They 
transacted  the  usual  business. 

The  court  that  met  for  the  first  time 
Sept.  2,  1844,  consisted  of  Isham  Lin- 
der,  Anthony  S.  Seely  and  Thomas  S. 
Booth,  the  latter  having  been  re-elected. 
For  the  next  few  years  but  little  of  in- 
terest took  place,  the  whole  business  of 
the  court  being  taken  up  with  the  neces- 
sary but  tiresome  routine  business  of 
the  county.  The  following  gentlemen 
composed  the  county  commissioners' 
court,  for  the  years  indicated,  commenc- 
ing with  Sept.,  1845: 

Thomas  S.  Booth,  Anthony  S.  Seely 
and  James  Cannady. 

1846— Thomas  S.  Booth,  James  Can- 
nady and  Charles  Bradshaw. 

1847 — The  same,  Thomas  S.  Booth, 
having  been  re-elected. 

1848 — Charles  Bradshaw,  Thomas  S. 
Booth  and  Joshua  W.  Armstrong.  This 
was  the  last  commissioners'  court  un- 
der this  law,  as  under  the  state  consti- 
tution of  1848,  a  new  mode  of  adminis- 
tering the  affairs  of  the  county  was 
adopted.     This  was  known  as 

THE    COUNTY    COURT. 

The  first  meeting   of  this   court   was 


held,  according  to  law,  on  the  fust 
Monday  in  Dec,  1849,  and  was  com- 
posed of  Mathias  S.  Link,  judge  and 
Adam  I.  Whiteside  and  Anthony  S. 
Seely,  associate  justices.  These  gen- 
tlemen, with  the  clerk  of  the  court, 
Francis  P.  Vedder,  constituted  the  gov- 
erning power  of  the  county.  This 
court,  at  the  September  term,  1850, 
divided  this  county  into  new  precincts 
and  election  districts,  to  which  were 
given  the  names  of  Carrollton,  North- 
western, White  Hall,  Walkerville,  Min- 
eral Springs,  Mount  Airy,  Greenfield, 
Eastern,  Fayette,  Kane,  Bluffdale  and 
Woodville.  Under  head  of  March 
term,  1852,  is  the  following  entry: 

"At  the  request  of  M.  S.  Link, 
county  judge,  one  of  members  of  this 
court,  the  following  protest  is  spread 
upon  the  records  of  said  court,  which 
is  as  follows — to-wit: 

"  In  order  that  the  people  of  Greene 
county  may  understand  the  reason  why 
I  cannot,  at  this  term  of  court  settle,  aid 
or  assist  our  county  court  in  a  set- 
tlement with  our  sheriff,  and  receive  all 
the  county  orders  and  jury  certificates, 
offered  by  said  sheriff,  to  our  county 
court,  on  his  liability  for  the  revenue 
of-said  county  for  the  year  1851,  is  that 
our  sheriff  fails  to  make  his  monthly 
payments  in  which  he  collects  of  the 
tax  payers,  into  the  county  treasury, 
according  to  my  understanding  of  the 
44th  section  of  the  revenue  laws  of 
1848.  And  for  the  purpose,  and  in  or- 
der that  the  county  treasurer  may  be 
enabled  to  pay  over  cash  on  county 
orders,  as  the  law  directs,  which  I 
charge  is  not  done,  owing  to  a  neglect 
of  duty  on  the  part  of  our  sheriff,  our 
county  treasurer,  and  our  county  court. 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


591 


I  hold  that  it  is  the  law,  that  all  the 
gold,  silver  and  current  money,  that  is 
paid  over  to  our  sheriff  as  taxes,  should 
be  paid  over  to  our  county  treasurer, 
which  I  charge  is  not  done,  and  against 
which  I  solemnly  protest,  for  the  reason 
that  I  believe  a  grave  evil  hath  been 
going  on  in  this  way,  injuring  Greene 
county  and  her  fiscal  affairs  and  pro- 
fiting the  sheriff  over  and  above  his 
lawful  per  cent." 

At  a  special  term  of  the  court,  held 
on  the  16th  day  of  Feb.,  185:5,  called  for 
that  purpose,  the  following  order  was 
made: 

"Ordered,  That  an  election  be  held 
on  the  19th  of  March,  1853,  in  said 
Greene  county,  by  the  qualified  voters, 
to  determine  whether  said  county  shall 
subscribe  $50,000  to  the  capital  stock  of 
the  Jacksonville  &  Carrollton  Railroad 
Co." 

These  bonds,  if  used,  were  to  be  for 
stock,  for  the  county,  were  to  run  until 
1S75,  drawing  6  per  cent  interest.  The 
election  was  held  at  the  time  appointed, 
and  as  there  was  1,662  votes  cast  in 
favor  of  such  subscription  by  the  county, 
and  330  against  it,  the  court  ordered 
Judge  Link  to  subscribe  for  $50,000 
worth  of  stock  in  the  name  of  Greene 
county,  and  also  authorized  him  to  issue 
the  necessary  bonds. 

The  court  as  above  constituted  held 
until  Dec,  1853,  when  it  was  succeeded 
by  a  county  court,  of  which  Charles  D. 
Hodges  was  county  judge,  and  L.  E. 
v  Worcester  and  Thomas  J.  Short  were 
associate  justices. 

It  appearing  that  Judge  Link,  who 
had  been  instructed  to  subscribe  for  the 
$50,000  worth  of  stock  in  the  Jackson- 
ville &    Springfield   railroad,  and  issue 


county  .bonds  to  pay  for  the  same,  had 
gone  out  of  office  without  doing  so,  the 
court  instructed  Judge  Hodges  to  do  it, 
and  to  cast  the  vote  of  the  county  for 
directors  at  an  election  to  he  held  at 
Carrollton  on  the  27th  of  Dec,  1853. 
In  Sept.,  1857,  in  response  to  a  petition 
signed  by  John  Amos  and  120  others, 
an  order  was  made  submitting  to  the 
qualified  voters  of  the  county  the  ques- 
tion of  Greene  county  subscribing  for 
$50,000  worth  of  the  capital  stock  in  the 
extension  of  the  Rock  Island  &  Alton 
railroad,  the  county  to  again  issue 
bonds  for  such  stock,  payable  March  1, 
1875,  and  to  bear  interest  at  the  rate  of 
7  per  cent,  per  annum.  The  election 
was  to  be  held  at  the  same  time 
as  the  general  election  in  Novem- 
ber. At  this  same  term  of  court 
the  Jacksonville,  Alton  &  St.  Louis 
Railroad  Company,  the  successors  to 
the  Jacksonville  &  Carrollton  Rail- 
road Company,  presented  a  re- 
quest for  the  $50,000  bonds  voted  to 
that  road,  and  the  same  were  issued 
under  the  seal  of  the  court  and  delivered 
to  the  company. 

At  the  regular  election  in  1857,  the 
county  judge  and  both  associate  justices 
were  re-elected  to  the  same  positions. 

Judge  Hodges  resigning  his  position, 
a  special  election  was  held,  Feb.  22, 
1859,  to  fill  the  vacancy,  and  Thomas 
H.  Boyd  was  chosen  to  fill  the  position 
of  county  judge.  Early  in  the  year 
1859,  it  becoming  evident  that  the  old 
jail  was  entirely  unfit  for  the  purpose 
used,  the  county  determined  to  build  an 
edifice  of  that  character.  Therefore, 
bids  were  advertised  for,  and  at  the 
April  term  of  the  county  court  held  that 
year,  bids  were  received  and  opened  as 


follows:  Edgerton  &  Sages,  $9,000; 
Headrick  &  Martin,  $9,339;  Alfred  Hin- 
ton,  $9,875;  and  Speaks  &  Hudson, 
$10,200.  The  first  mentioned  firm  hav- 
ing made  the  lowest  figures,  were 
awarded  the  contract.  Francis  P. 
Vedder,  T.  H.  Boyd  and  E.  H.  Prine 
weri  appointed  to  purchase  a  town  lot 
in  the  town  of  Carrollton  on  which  to 
eicet  the  new  jail,  dwelling,  barn, 
smoke-house,  etc.,  and  to  superintend 
the  erection  of  the  building. 

In  December,  1859,  Levi  T.  White- 
side succeeded  L.  E.  Worcester  as  asso- 
ciate justice  of  this  court,  and  took  his 
seat  accordingly. 

At  the  general  election  of  1861  Thom- 
as H.  Boyd  was  re-elected  county  judge 
and  Robert  Green  and  John  Ruyle 
chosen  associate  justices,  and  on  the  2d 
day  of  December  they  took  their  places, 
and  at  once  opened  court.  For  several 
years  back  nothing  but  gold  and  silver 
had  been  received  for  taxes  in  the 
county,  with  the  possible  exception  of 
notes  of  the  State  Bank  of  Missouri,  but 
in  June,  1862,  the  court  authorized  the 
treasurer  to  receive  treasury  notes  of 
the  United  States  for  the  taxes  and  other 
debts  due  the  county.  A  war  tax  of 
fifteen  cents  on  each  $100  of  taxable 
property  in  the  county  was  levied  for 
the  support  of  the  families  of  volun- 
teers in  the  service  of  the  United 
States. 

At  the  January  term,  1865,  the  ques- 
tion of  the  recent  call  for  troops  for  the 
service  of  the  United  States,  made  De- 
cember 19,  preceding,  and  the  order  for 
a  draft  to  fill  quotas,  came  up  for  dis- 
cussion and  the  court  ordered  the  issuing 
of  bonds  enough  to  purchase  substitutes, 
or    pay    recruits    a   bounty   to    induce 


enlistments,  not  to  exceed  SKKI.IHH)  in 
amount,  and  placed  in  the  hands  of 
Judge  Boyd  the  matter  of  distributing 
them,  in  sums  not  to  exceed  $450  per 
recruit.  H.  L.  Clay  was  appointed 
agent  to  procure  recruits.  The  bonds 
were  issued  and  the  necessary  men  pro- 
cured, and  the  danger  of  the  draft  re- 
moved, 

Thomas  H.  Boyd  was  re-elected  to 
the  office  of  county  judge  at  the  general 
election  of  1865,  and  together  with  Lem- 
uel J.  Patterson  and  Frederick  M.  Fish- 
back,  his  new  associates,  opened  court 
on  the  4th  day  of  December,  1865. 
Judge  Boyd  remained  on  the  bench  until 
the  fall  of  1866,  when  he  resigned  and 
was  succeeded  by  Judge  Alfred  Hinton. 

The  county  court  ordered  in  June, 
1868,  another  special  election  on  the 
question  of  the  advisability  of  the 
county  subscribing  $50,000  worth  of 
bonds  toward  the  capital  stock  of  the 
R.  I.,  A.  A  St.  L.  R.  R.  Co.,  The  bonds 
to  bear  eight  per  cent,  interest,  and  to 
run  for  10  years.  For  the  full  vote  on 
these  bond  questions  the  reader  is  re- 
ferred to  the  official  vote  of  the  county. 

The  court  that  met  for  the  first  time 
time  on  the  6th  of  December,  1869,  was 
composed  64' John  Ruyle,  county  judge, 
F.  M.  Fishback,  and  J.  H.  Rives,  asso- 
ciate justices. 

COUNTY    COMMISSIONERS. 

The  first  session  of  the  commission- 
er's court  commenced  upon  the  1st  of 
Dec,  1873,  when  Joseph  F.  Ballinger, 
William  H.  Barrow,  and  Curtius  W. 
Brace,  after  due  qualification,  took  their 
place.  On  organization,  they  cast  lots 
as  to  the  length  of  time  each  was  to 
serve,    when    Mr.     Ballinger   drew   the 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


593 


three  year,  and  Mr.  Barrow,  the  two 
year  term.  Mr.  Ballinger  was  elected 
chairman  of  the  hoard.  This  court 
was  composed  of  the  following  gentle- 
men for  the  years  succeeding  this: 

1875— Joseph  F.  Ballinger,  \V.  H. 
Marrow  and  J.  H.  Greene.  Mr.  Bal- 
linger still  in  the  chair. 

1876— George  H.  Amos,  John  H. 
Greene  and  William  B.  Robinson.  The 
latter  gentleman  was  chosen  chairman. 
1877— George  H.  Amos,  John  H. 
Greene  and  William  M.  Morrow.  J. 
H.  Greene  was  honored  with  the  chair- 
manship. 

1878— George  H.  Amos,  W.  M.  Mor- 
row and  Singleton  F.  Greene.  W.  M. 
Morrow  was  chosen  to  fill  the  chair. 

1879— W.  M.  Morrow,  S.  F.  Greene 
and  W.  M.  Maherry.  Mr.  Morrow, 
re-elected  chairman. 

1880—  S.  F.  Greene,  W.  M.  Maherry 
and  George  H.  Amos.  S.  F.  Greene 
was  chosen  to  fill  the  position  of  chair- 
man for  the  year. 

1881— W.  M.  Maherry,  G.  H.  Amos 
and  L.  F.  Williams.  Mr.  Maberry 
was  the  chairman. 

1882— George  H.  Amos,  L.  F.  Will- 
iams and  John  Snyder.  The  first 
named  was  chosen  to  fill  the  chair. 

1883— John  Snyder,  L.  F.  Williams 
and  William  P.  Gilmore.  Mr.  Williams 
was  elected  chairman. 

1SS4— John  Snyder,  W.  P.  Gilmore 
and  James  H.  Smith.  John  Snyder 
was  chosen  as  chairman  for  the  year. 

1885— On  the  1st  of  Dec,  1884,  the 
board  met  for  the  first  time.  It  con- 
sisted <>f  W.  P.  Gilmore,  James  H. 
Smith  and  Elon  H.  Eldrcd.  Mr.  Gil- 
more was  chosen  chairman.  This  was 
the  last  board  of  commissioners. 


BOARD    OF    COUNTY    SUPERVISORS. 

The  first  meeting  of  this  body  took 
took  place  upon  the  13th  day  of  July, 
1885,  when  the  following  members  took 
their  seats:  J.  G.  Pennell,  F.  M.  Fish- 
back,  E.  A.  Eldred,  M.  C.  Thompson, 
W.  B.  Robinson,  J.  D.  McLain,  J.  H. 
Rives,  Robert  Vantuyle,  J.  B.  Robards, 
J.  M.  Otey,  Henry  Tunison,  E.  B. 
Pegram,  J.  L.  Johnson.  W.  P>.  Robin- 
son was  elected  chairman. 

MATRIMONIAL. 

Marriage  licenses  have  always  been 
required  in  the  state  of  Illinois,  and  the 
facts  given  here  are  taken  from  the 
records  in  the  office  of  the  county  clerk. 
The  first  marriage  in  the  county,  of 
which  there  is  any  record,  is  that  <>t' 
David  Hodges  and  Louisa  Wentworth. 
On  the  first  day  of  May,  1821.  Mr. 
Hodges  made  an  application  for  a  mar- 
riage license,  which  was  cheerfully 
granted,  and  upon  the  6th  of  the  same 
month, John  Allen,a  justice  of  the  peace, 
united  the  happy  pair. 

The  second  license  was  issued  to 
John  Johnson  and  Rachel  Buchanan,  on 
the  26th  of  June,  1821,  but  when  and  by 
whom  the  ceremony  was  performed,  the 
records  bear  no  testimony. 

Robert  Piper  and    Rebecca    Lynn    re- 
ceived a  license  on  the  2d  of  July,  1821. 
Morris  Welch  and  Mary  Shelly,  July 
11,  1821. 

William  Moore  and  Huldah  Hunni- 
cutt,  July  24,  1821,  and  were  united  in 
marriage  the  same  day  by  Lev.  Aaron 
Smith. 

Whitmell  Ryley  Crane  and  Elizabeth 
Crane,  July  30,  1821. 

Joseph  Pierce  and  Sally  Ennis,  July 
31,  1821. 


594                                HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 

William  Stockton   and  Margaret   Mc- 

May  15;  married  by  John  Allen, county 

Fadgin,  Aug.  4,  1821.* 

During  the    remainder   of    the    year. 

commissioner,  May  16. 

Joseph  Vanmeter  and   Peggy  Taylor, 

licenses  were  granted  to   the   following 

May  28,    married   June   2,  by    Samuel 

people: 

Robert  Sinclair    and    Anna    Vaughn, 
Aug.  IS,  married  Aug,  23,  by  John  Allen, 

Lee,  Jr.,  a  justice  of  the  peace. 

George  Finney  and  Margaret  Criswell, 
May  29. 

a  justice  of  the  peace. 

John    Medford    and    Rachel     Little, 
Sept.  3. 

Robert  James  and    Eleanor  Pea,  June 
17. 
Alfred    Hinton    and    Letitia    Pruitt, 

William  Allen    and   Polly  Pinkerton, 

June  19. 

Sept.  4;  they  were    married   the   6th   of 

Jedediah  Webster  and   Lucy   Smith, 

the  same  month,  by  John  Allen,  J.  P. 
Hugh-Carlin  and  Sally  King,  Oct.  13. 

July  9. 

James    Dulen    and   Betsey   Handley, 

David   Miller    and  Mourning  Finley, 
Oct.  13;  married  Oct.  14,  by  Rev.  Aaron 

July  20. 

Stephen  Pierce  and  Edie  Lee,  Aug.  8. 

Smith. 

Andrew  Bowen  and  Peninah  Harding, 

John  Piper  and  Juliana  Fahnestock, 

Aug.  16. 

Oct.  23. 

Jacob  Tabor  and  Matilda  Ammonds, 

Levi    Larrison   and    Rebecca    Ennis, 

Sept.  3. 

Oct,  24. 

James    Williams    and    Mary  Gragen, 

Robert    McDow    and    Esther  Lofton, 

Oct.  5. 

Oct,  30. 

James  Scott  and  Mary  Cowhick,  Oet. 

John  Williams  and   Chaney  Johnson, 

14. 

Dec.  25. 

Felix  French  and  Polly  Thomas,  Nov. 

During  the  year  1822,    licenses   were 

5. 

issued  as  follows: 

Nathaniel  Pinekardand  Sally  Lindsey 

Borden  Wilcox  and  Almira   Kellogg, 

Nov.  6. 

Jan.  10. 

Thomas   Asher   and    Sally    Swanson, 

Peter  Barrow  and  Nancy  Pullam,  Jan. 

Dec.  5. 

10. 

Isaac  Morrow  and  Betsey  Cox,  Dec.  7. 

Jacob  Young  and  Jenny  Kincaid,Jan. 

Joseph  Wasson  and   Phoebe  Barrow, 

22. 

Dec.  18. 

John  Costley  and   Peggy  Allen,  Feb. 

Hiram    Duff    and    Lucinda    Thacker, 

PI;    married    by    Jehu   Brown,    county 

Dec.  25. 

commissioner. 

Archibald    Cooper    and    Poll}'    Mont- 

John Vaughn  and  Hester  Crane,  Feb. 

gomery,  Dee.  26. 

19. 

James    M.    Lyon   and    Polly    Miller, 

Samuel    Pinkney    and    Polly    Reed, 

March  28. 

Dec.  30. 

The  following  table  shows  the    num- 

Oliver Lund  and  Eulalie  Ruble,  April 

ber  of  marriages  contracted  in    Greene 

24. 

county  from    1821,  to  1884,   both    years 

Isaac    Sinclair   and   Melinda    Pruitt, 

inclusive.       This   is   believed   to    be   a 

HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


595 


complete  record,  with  th 
the  years  1828  and  1829, 
fective  upon  the  records  : 


e  exception  of 
which  are  dc- 


1821 

17 

1853 

1822    

28 

1854 

1823 

:;s 

1855 

1S24 

91 

1856 

1825  

34 

1857 

1826  

45 

1S5S 

1827 

56 

1859 

1828  imperfect 

30 

1860 

1829  imperfect 

14 

1861 

1830 

74 

LSI  12 

1831 

73 

1863 

1832 

82 

1864 

1S33 

84 
109 

1865 

is;;  i 

1866 

1835 

112 

1867 

1836 

146 

1868 

1837 

157 

1869 

1838 

124  1870 

1839  

167 

1871 

1840  

122 

1S72 

1811  

124 

1873 

1842 

114 

1874 

1843  .... 

121 

1875 

1S44 

121 

1876 

1845 

111 
123 

1877 

1846 

1878 

is  17 

121 

1879 

1848 

144 

l.SSd 

1849 

128 

1881 

1850 

139 

1882 

1851 

136 

iss:; 

1852 

139 

1884 

Total 


152 
155 
1(17 
157 
151 
160 
158 
167 
188 
170 
206 
185 
204 
280 
262 
201 
189 
184 
266 
2(13 
193 
242 
214 
208 
196 
218 
222 
252 
223 
221 
234 
231 


8,515 


POPULATION. 

The  first  census  taken  after  the  or- 
ganization of  the  county  was  that  of  1830, 
and  in  this  the  population  of  the  entire 
county,  now  constituting  Greene  and 
Jersey,  was  set  down  as  7,674.  In  1840 
a  second  census  was  taken,  and  notwith- 
standing that  the  county  of  Jersey  had 
been  cut  oft' from  Greene,  in  the  interim 
the  population  was  shown  to  have  in- 
creased to  11,951.  In  1850  it  had  12,421); 


in  I860,  16,093,  and  in  1870,  20,277.  In 
1880,  by  the  United  States  census  the 
popula'tion  is  fixed  at  23,010,  of  whom 
21,462  are  of  American  birth,  and  1,548 
of  foreign. 

The  population  of  1880  was  distributed 
among  the  precincts  and  towns  of  the 
county,  as  follows: 

Atliensville  precinct 1,842 

Berdan  precinct 47 1 

Bluffdale  precinct 903 

Carrollton  precinct,  including  city 4.'-'-'"> 

Carrollton  city 1,934 

Fayette  precinct 316 

Greenfield  precinct,  including  town. . .  1,977 

Greenfield  town 983 

Kane  precinct,  including  village 1,336 

Kane  village -ins 

Etoodhouse  precinct,  including  city. . .  3,214 

Sheffield  precinct ■>:',*> 

Walkerville  precinct 880 

Wlnte  Hall  precinct 4,148 

Wilmington  precinct 1,504 

Wdddville  precinct 1,430 

Wrightsville  precinct 144 

REGISTRY    OF    DEEDS. 

Samuel  Lee,  Jr.,  was  the  first  recor- 
der of  the  county  of  Greene,  having 
been  appointed  to  that  office  in  the  sum- 
mer of  1821. 

The  first  instrument  recorded  is  a 
mortgage  which  was  filed  for  record  on 
the  2d  of  May,  1821.  This  was  dated 
Feb.  24,  1821,  and  by  it  Richard  Wil- 
helm  conveyed  to  Elizabeth  Seymore 
the  east  half  of  the  southeast  quarter 
of  Sec.  24,  T.  7  north,  R.  7  west,  which 
contained  80  acres,  and  was  given  to 
secure  the  payment  of  $100.  This 
property  lies  in  what  is  now  Jersey 
county. 

The  first  deed,  to  land  within  the 
present  limits  of  Greene  county,  was 
given  in  1822,  and  by  it  Robert  Hobson 


596 


HISTORY   OF   GREENF  COFNTY. 


conveyed  to  Elijah  Woodman  the  tract 
tit'  land  known  as  Mount  Pleasant, 
whereon  the  original  proprietor  had 
hopes  of  placing  the  county  scat. 


The  plats  of  the  original  towns  in 
the  county  were  filed  for  record  on  the 
dates  given  below.  To  nearly  all  of 
them  additions  have  been  made,  but 
space  forbids  the  mention  of  them,  and 
as  they  are  a  matter  of  record,  it  is 
needless. 

Carrollton  was  surveyed  March  13, 
1821,  for  Thomas  Carlin,  but  the  plat 
was  not  filed  for  record  until  July  30, 
1825. 

White  Hall,  filed  for  record  March  9, 
1832,  by  David  Barrow. 

Camden,  filed  for  record  May  11,  1832. 
by  George  Finney. 

Zenith,  filed  Feb.  17,  1834,  by  Joseph 
Piggott. 

Athensville,  filed  Oct.  2,  1834,  by 
( I  reen  Weaver. 

Greenfield,  filed  Dec.  5,  1834,  bv 
George  W.  Allen. 

Shippings  Port,  filed  May  11,  1835, 
by  John  and  William  Beeman. 

"  Fayette,  filed  Sept.  19,  1835,  by  Man- 
oah  Bostwick,  James  Metcalf  and  Wil- 
liam Blair. 

Columbiana,  recorded  Sept.  24,  1835, 
by  Salmon  Bushnell. 

Rives ville,  filed  for  record  Nov.  11, 
1835,  James  Rives,  proprietor. 

Delaware,  filed  Nov.  27,  1835,  by 
Charles  Gregory  and  Henry  Floyd. 

Woodville,  filed  March  36,  1836,  by 
Anion  Wood,  Seawright  Wood,  Cyrus  A. 
Davis,  Squire  Wood  and  Harrison  S. 
Poindexter. 

Albany,  filed  April  4,   1836,  by   Res- 


carrick  Ayers,  Sherman  (loss,  Enos 
Ayers  and  Lafayette  McCrillis. 

Newport,  filed  April  3U,  1836,  by  John 
and  William  Beeman,  Jesse  H.  Rogers, 
Robert  S.  Negus  and  John  W.  Scott. 

Wilmington,  filed  May  21,  1836,  by 
Messrs.  Young,  Henderson,  Lane, 
Higby,  Thomas  Hanks  and  Groce. 

Walkerville,  filed  for  record  July  18, 
1836,  by  John  Walker. 

Bluffdale,  filed  Aug.  26,  1836,  by  John 
A.  and  Jordan  Calvin. 

Concord,  filed  Sept.  13,  1836,  by 
Daniel  Maynard. 

Norwalk,  filed  for  record  Oct.  25, 1836, 
by  Robert  Close  and  Gabriel  Manly. 

Middleton,  filed  March  6,  1837,  by 
John  Barnett. 

Centerville,  filed  April  18,  1S37,  by 
Charles  Maxfield. 

Bloomficld,  filed  Oct.  28,  1837,  by 
Amasa  Vamatre. 

Holliday's  Station,  recorded  Nov.  12, 
1864,  by  Tobias  Holliday.  Yacated 
Nov.  2,  1865. 

Berdan,  filed  Sept.  20  1865,  by  Wil- 
liam R.  Kellogg,  Lewis  S.  Olmstead  and 
Linus  E.  Worcester. 

Hollidaysburgh,  filed  Nov.  2,  1865, 
by  Tobias  Holliday.  This  was  after- 
ward changed  to  Kane. 

New  Providence,  filed  Feb.  20,  1866, 
by  F.  M.  Bell,  Jesse  L.  Allen  and  John 
Bell. 

Kane,  filed  Sept.  4,  1866,  by  Thomas 
H.  Boyd. 

Mount  Pleasant,  filed  for  record  Nov. 
8,  1840. 

Roodhouse,  filed  iur  record  Feb.  15, 
1869,  by  John  Roodhouse. 

Thompson  City,  filed  March  18,  1870, 
by  Robert  Thompson. 

Homer,  filed  Dec.    14,    1837,    by    Na- 


thaniel  M.  Perry,  Abram  B.  Harris  and 
W.  W.  Myrick. 

Barrow,  filed  March   1,    1871,    by    A. 
Barrow. 

Sheffield,  filed  July  18,  1871. 


Hank's  Station,  filed  for  record  July 
21,  1871,  by  Thomas  Hanks. 

Rockbridge,  laid  out  in  the  spring  of 
1871,  by  Sheffield  ami  Hudson,  the  plat 
being  filed  in  May  of  that  year. 


CHAPTER    V. 


THE  COURTS  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


Man  in  his  proneness  to  go  astray  re- 
quires the  strong  arm  of  law  for  his 
government.  If  he  had  no  law,  and  no 
penalties  attached  to  the  violation  of 
such  law,  he  would,  in  the  license  of 
such  a  state  of  society,  degenerate  into 
a  state  of  barbarism,  yes,  worse  than 
barbarism.  From  the  fiist  creation  of 
man.  humanity  has  been  placed  under 
the  restraining  hand  of  law,  and  penal- 
tics,  more  or  less  severe,  have  been 
affixed  to  the  violation  of  the  statute,  he 
the  same  oral  or  written.  "In  the  day 
whereof  thou  eateth,  thou  shalt  surely 
die,"  was  as  much  a  law  and  a  penalty 
fur  its  violation,  as  is  the  whole  statute 
book  of  the  state  of  Illiaois.  The  ex- 
istence of  laws  necessarily  implies  the 
creation  and  existence  of  courts  for  the 
interpretation  of  all  questions  involved 
in  obscurity,  and  for  the  impartial  trial 
of  the  violators  of  the  safeguards  of  civ- 
ilization. 

The  first  constitution  of  the  state  de- 
clared that  the  judicial  power  should 
lie  vested  in  a  supreme  court,  and  such 
inferior  courts  as  the  general  assembly 
should  ordain  and  establish.  The  su- 
preme court  then  consisted  of  one  chief 


justice  and  three  associates,  who,  in  ad- 
dition to  their  duties  as  an  appellate 
court,  were  required  to  hold  the  circuit 
courts  in  the  several  counties.  The 
state  was  accordingly  divided  into  four 
judicial  circuits,  within  which  the  chief 
justice  and  associate  justices  were  as- 
signed to  hold  circuit  courts.  This  they 
did  until  Dec,  1824,  when  five  circuit 
judges  were  appointed  by  the  general 
assembly,  and  the  state  divided  into  five 
judicial  circuits,  but  the  circuit  judges 
were  only  permitted  to  remain  in 
office  two  years,  as  all  the  act  creating 
them  was  repealed  Jan.  12,  1827,  and 
the  circuit  courts  once  more  placed  in 
the  hands  of  the  judges  of  the  supreme 
court.  In  1829,  one  circuit  judge  was 
appointed  by  the  general  assembly  to 
hold  court  north  of  the  Illinois  river, 
the  5th  judicial  district  being  created 
for  the  purpose,  the  justices  of  the  su- 
preme court  continuing  to  perform  their 
duties  in  the  other  four  circuits.  These 
courts  were  held  in  this  manner  until 
January,  1835,  when  five  additional  cir- 
cuits were  established,  and  six  circuit 
judges  appointed  to  perform  the  duties 
therein. 


598 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY 


The  judiciary  of  the  state  remained  in 
this  shape,  additional  circuits  being 
organized,  and  additional  judges  ap- 
pointed from  time  to  time,  as  the  grow- 
ing business  seemed  to  warrant,  until 
1841,  when,  by  act  of  legislature,  the 
circuit  judges  were  legislated  out  of  ex- 
istence, and  their  duties  again  placed 
upon  the  supreme  judges,  now  increased 
in  number  to  nine,  the  state  being  di- 
vided into  that  number  of  judicial  cir- 
cuits. It  thus  remained  until  1848, 
when  circuit  judges  became  a  perma- 
nent part  of  the  judiciary  of  the  state. 

The  first  term  of  the  circuit  court 
held  in  Greene  county  commenced  on 
the  2(>th  day  of  April,  1821,  and  was 
presided  over  by  Hon.  John  Reynolds, 
at  that  time  associate  justice  of  the 
supreme  court.  Samuel  Lee,  Jr.,  was, 
by  the  judge,  appointed  clerk  of  the 
court,  and  had  filed  his  bond  with 
Thomas  Rattan,  Thomas  Carlin  and 
Willis  Webb,  as  sureties,  and  took  his 
place.  After  opening  the  court  Thomas 
Carlin,  sheriff  of  the  county,  presented 
to  the  court  a  venire  of  grand  jurors, 
and  the  following  gentlemen  having 
been  elected  were  empaneled  as  the 
first  grand  jury  and  duly  "sworn  to  en- 
quire for,  and  in  behalf  of,  the  county  of 
Greene:"  John  Finley,  foreman;  Mar- 
tin Wood,  Thomas  Gilliland,  Nathaniel 
Wass,  Cyrus  Tolman,  Isaac  Pruitt, 
James  McFadgin,  John  Morfoot,  Walter 
McFarland,  Hugh  Jackson,  Jacob  Fry, 
Charles  Gregory,  Willis  Webb,  Chris- 
tian Link,  John  Costley,  William  Webb, 
William  Costley  and  Philip  Fry.  There 
being  no  jury  room,  these  gentlemen 
retired  to  the  prairie  to  consider  over 
the  matter  laid  before  them,  and  soon 
returned    with    the     following     indict- 


ments, each  endorsed  "true  bill:"  Peo- 
ple of  the  state  of  Illinois,  vs.  William 
Greene,  assault  and  battery;  the  same 
vs.  Thomas  Lumlev,  assault  and  bat- 
tery; the  same  vs.  William  Morris, 
same  offence.  There  being  no  further 
business  before  the  grand  jury  they 
were  discharged  and  capias  ordered  to 
issue  against  each  of  the  above  defend- 
ants, returnable  at  the  next  term  of 
court.  There  being  no  cases  upon  the 
docket,  court  adjourned  to  court  in 
course. 

The  second  term  of  the  circuit  court 
commenced  Oct.  4,  1821,  Hon  John  Rey- 
nolds presiding  as  judge.  A  grand  jury 
was  empaneled,  consisting  of  the  fol- 
lowing gentlemen:  John  »G.  Lofton, 
foreman;  Nathaniel  Wass,  Cyrus  Tol- 
man, Thomas  Finley,  Robert  Whitaker, 
John  Moore,  Hughston  Reynolds,  Sam- 
uel Costan,  James  Davidson,  John 
Wiatt,  Thomas  Gilliland,  Zachariah 
Allen,  William  Pruitt,  Joseph  Rey- 
nolds, Henry  Teagarden,  Hugh  Jack- 
son, Thomas  G.  Lofton,  Clark  Beebe 
and  John  Huitt.  These  gentlemen  re- 
tired for  deliberation,  and  court  pro- 
ceeded to  try  the  cases  on  the  docket. 
The  first  one  called  was  that  of  the 
state  against  William  Green,  who  was 
indicted  at  the  last  term  of  court,  as 
having  committed  an  assault  and  bat- 
tery. The  defendant  appeared  in  court 
and  plead  not  guilty  of  the  misde- 
meanor, as  charged,  so  a  jury  was  em- 
paneled to  try  the  case.  This,  the  first 
petit  jury  in  Greene  county,  was  com- 
posed of  the  following  gentlemen  : 
Young  Wood,  John  Finley,  John  Drum, 
James  Whiteside,  William  Davidson, 
James  Colwell,Joel  Meacham,  William 
Hoskins,  Calvin  Tunnel,  Gershom  Pat- 


IIISTOUY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


599 


terson,  Walker  Daniel  and  Alvin  Cue. 
After  hearing  the  evidence  in  the  case, 
and  been  charged  by  the  court,  they 
gave  in  a  verdict  of  guilty,  and  the 
court  assessed  a  fine  of  five  dollars  and 
costs  against  the  defendant. 

The  next  two  cases  were  of  a  similar 
nature.  The  first  civil  suit  on  the 
docket  was  that  oi  Samuel  L.  Irwin  vs. 
Rowland  Shephard,  but  the  defense  not 
being  entirely  prepared,  asked  for  and 
was  granted  a  continuance.  The  next 
case  was  that  of  Jason  Whiting  vs. 
Ebenezer  Horton,  and  was  a  suit  for 
debt  on  attachment.  The  defendant  not 
appearing,  judgement  in  default  was 
rendered  for  the  plaintiff  in  the  sum  of 
$300.57,  and  costs.  Judgement  was  is- 
sued, and  the  constable  who  had  charge 
of  the  goods  was  ordered  to  turn  them 
over  to  the  sheriff,  who  was  ordered  to 
sell  the  same  at  public  sale.  There  were 
quite  a  number  of  other  cases  tried  at 
tin-  term.  The  grand  jury  made  a  pre- 
sentment against  William  B.  Whiteside 
and  Robert  Sinclair,  for  burglary.  This 
was  one  of  tlie  most  celebrated  ease-  of 
those  early  days,  and  grew  out  of  the 
following  circumstances.  Many  of  the 
pioneers  of  this  country  brought  with 
them  considerable  sums  of  money,  to 
purchase  land  with.  This  was  mostly 
in  gold  and  silver  coin,  and  although 
inconvenient,  it  was  necessary,  in  the 
total  absence  of  banks, to  keep  it  in  their 
cabins.  Such  was  the  general  character 
for  honesty  and  integrity  possessed  by 
these  early  pioneers,  that  but  little  care 
was  taken  to  conceal  it,  nor  was  it  safely 
secured  with  barred  doors  or  locked  re- 
ceptacles. In  1821,  however,  this  mu- 
tual confidence  in  each  other  received  a 
severe  shock,  by  a   heavy   robbery   that 


took  place  in  the  southern  part  of  the 
county.  It  seems  that  there  lived  at 
Lofton's  prairie,  an  Englishman  ami  his 
wife  by  the  name  of  Dixon,  people  well 
advanced  in  years,  who  were  known  to 
have  considerable  money  in  their  pos- 
session. One  night  several  men  came 
to  the  cabin  of  this  couple,  which  was 
some  distance  from  any  neighbor,  and 
by  threats  and  demonstrations  of  per- 
sonal violence,  extorted  from  the  old 
gentleman,  some  $1,200,  and  then  made 
off.  As  soon  as  they  were  gone,  the  old 
man  communicated  with  his  neighbors, 
an  alarm  was  raised  and  a  number  of 
men.  headed  by  Judge  Lofton,  started 
in  pursuit.  Mr.  Dixon  recognized  two 
of  the  men,  Robert  Sinclair  and  Wil- 
liam B.  Whiteside.  The  latter  was  a. 
resident  of  Madison  county,  had  been 
sheriff',  and  a  prominent  citizen  of  that 
locality:  Major  Sinclair  was  also  a  quite 
a  prominent  citizen  of  Madison  county. 
They  were  overtaken  near  Alton  and 
brought  to  trial  at  Carrollton.  On  be- 
ing placed  in  the  dock,  Mr.  Whiteside, 
pleaded  "  not  guilty ,"  and  asked  for  a 
continuance  of  the  ease,  but  was  over- 
ruled by  the  court.  Sinclair  pleaded 
the  same,  and  asked  the  same  indul- 
gence, but  was  also  overruled.  The 
state's  attorney,  however. asking  the  con- 
tinuance of  the  case  it  was  granted.  At 
the  term  of  the  court  which  commenced 
April  25,  1822,  William  B.  Whiteside 
was  placed  on  trial,  before  the  following 
jury  and  tried  for  his  offense:  Lewis 
Abrams,  Joseph  Klein,  Charles  Kitch- 
ens, Ruloff  Stephens,  Abraham  bowman, 
Daniel  Duvall,  John  Finley,  Francis 
Hell,  Charles  Gregory,  William  Eldred, 
Timothy  Ladd  and  James  Beeman. 
Thomas     H.    Benton,     then     a    rising 


600 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


young  lawyer,  appeared  for  the  prosecu- 
tion. On  this  jury  was  a  strong  friend 
of  the  prisoner,  Charles  Kitchens,  who 
is  said  to  have  hung  the  jury.  This, 
of  course,  caused  delay  which  was 
taken  advantage  of  by  the  attorneys 
for  the  defense,  and  soon  the  death 
or  departure  of  important  witnesses, 
and  finally  the  decease  of  Mr.  Dixon, 
left  the  state  without  any  testimony, 
and  the  case  was  dropped.  Robert 
Sinclair  was  also  tried  and  convic- 
ted of  burglary,  the  value  of  the 
property  being  placed  at  $1,209.33, 
but  while  either  out  on  bail,  or  the 
hands  of  the  sheriff,  accounts  differing 
in  this  particular,  he  contrived  to  slip 
away,  and  mounting  a  fine,  fast  race 
horse,  which  was  placed  in  readiness 
for  him  near  the  David  Black  farm,  he 
sped  away  to  the  southward,  hotly  pur- 
sued by  the  sheriff,  but  the  speed  and 
bottom  of  his  noble  steed  gave  him  the 
insiile  track,  and  he  finally  escaped. 
He  went  to  Arkansas,  where  he  after- 
wards arose  to  distinction.  The  court 
that  tried  these  men  was  presided  over 
by  Hon.  Joseph  Phillips,  at  that  time 
chief  justice  of  the    supreme   court   of 

the  state. 

At  the  September  term  of  the  circuit 
court,  in  1823,  Judge  Thomas  Reynolds 
presided.  This  gentleman  was  a  very 
talented  lawyer  of  his  day.  the  peer  of 
Benton,  Marshall  and  others.  He  re- 
moved to  Missouri  and  attained  consid- 
erable reputation,  and  was  finally  elect- 
ed governor  of  that    state. 

Judge  John  Reynolds  again  presided 
over  the  September  term,  1823,  and 
faithfully  discharged  his  duties.  He 
was  one  of  the  foremost  men  of  his 
time.     In  1822  he  was  made   chief  jus- 


tice of  the  supreme  court.  In  1830  he 
was  elected  governor  of  Illinois  on  the 
democratic  ticket,  and  afterward  served 
three  years  in  congress.  He  was  a 
I'ennsylvanian  by  birth,  born  in  1788, 
and  came  to  Illinois  with  his  parents 
when  but  12  years  of  age.  He  died  at 
Belleville,  St.  Clair  county,  in  1865. 

John  York  Sawyer,  one  of  the  circuit 
judges  appointed  by  the  general  assem- 
bly, was  commissioned  January  19, 1825, 
and  assigned  for  duty  in  the  1st  judi- 
cial circuit,  in  which  (ireene  county 
then  was.  The  first  term  of  court  in 
this  county  over  which  he  presided  com- 
menced on  the  16th  of  May,  1822.  He 
held  the  office  of  judge  until  January, 
1827,  when  circuit  judges  were  legis- 
lated out  of  office. 

At  the  April  term,  1827,  Samuel  D. 
Lockwood,  one  of  the  associate  justices 
of  the  supreme  court,  presided  as  cir- 
cuit judge.  Judge  Lockwood  was  quite 
a  popular  lawyer,  and  was  attorney-gen- 
eral of  the  state  during  the  years  of 
1821,  and  1822,  and  on  the  19th  of  Jan- 
uary, 1825,  was  appointed  to  the  su- 
preme court,  and  remained  upon  that 
bench  until  Dec.  4,  1848. 

In  1835,  Stephen  T.  Logan  was  ap- 
pointed circuit  judge  of  the  1st  judicial 
circuit,  under  the  law  of  Jan.  7,  of  that 
year,  and  entered  upn  the  discharge  of 
his  duties,  with  the  spring  term  of 
court  in  this  county.  Judge  Logan, 
was  a  finished  scholar,  a  deep  student, 
but  of  a  retiring  disposition,  and  served 
but  a  short  time,  resigning  in  the  spring 
of  1837.  He  was  succeeded  on  the 
bench  by  William  Brown,  who  was 
commissioned  March  20,  1837,  but  re- 
signed the  office  July  20,  of  the  same 
year. 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


601 


The  next  to  hold  the  office  of  circuit 
judge  in  this,  the  1st  judicial  circuit, 
was  Jesse  B.  Thomas,  Jr.,  who  was  ap- 
pointed in  July,  1837,  and  remained  on 
the  bench  until  early  in  1839,  when  he 
resigned  the  office.  Judge  Thomas  was 
afterward  quite  a  prominent  member  of 
the  supreme  court  of  this  state,  being 
appointed  in  1843,  to  succeed  Stephen 
A.  Douglas. 

Hon.  William  Thomas  was  the  next 
judge  of  the  circuit  court,  being  com- 
missionedas  such  on  the  25th  of  Feb., 
1839,  and  remained  upon  the  bench  un- 
til the  reorganization  of  the  judicial^ 
in  1841,  again  legislated  these  judges 
out  of  office.  Judge  Thomas  was  an 
able  lawyer,  and  quite  a  prominent 
man. 

On   the  abolishment   of    the  offii f 

circuit  judges,  in  1841,  the  duty  of 
bidding  the  circuit  court  again  devolved 
upon  the  judges  of  the  supreme  court, 
and  Judge  Stephen  I>.  Lock  wood,  again 
came  upon  the  circuit,  and  held  court 
until  the  first  electionfor  circuit  judges, 
under  the  constitution  nf  1848. 

The  first  judge,  elected  under  this 
law  in  the  1st  judicial  circuit,  was  Hon.  ! 
David  Meade  Woodson,  who  was 
eh  cted  in  Sept.,  1848, and  commissioned 
on  the  4th  of  Dec,  of  the  same  year. 
He  performed  the  duties  of  this  respon- 
sible office  so  impartially,  and  to  the 
satisfaction  of  the  people,  that  he  was 
twice  re-elected  to  the  position,  holding 
the  same  for  18  successive  years,  and 
declined  the  tendered  nomination  for  a 
fourth  term  in  1867. 

lion.      David     Meade      Woodson,     late 

judge  of  tin-  1st  judicial  circuit  in  the 
state  of  Illinois,  was  born  in  Jessamine 
county,   Ky.,   May    IS,    18U6.     He  was 


a  son  of  Samuel  H.  Woodson,  an  emi- 
nent lawyer  of  that  state.  David  re- 
ceived his  education  at  the  classical 
schools  near  Lexington,  and  at  Tran- 
sylvania University,  and  at  the  age  of 
17  began  the  study  of  law  under  one  of 
the  professors  of  tli at  institution.  He 
finished  the  term  in  his  father's  office, 
but  in  1827  his  father  died,  and  the  care 
of  a  large  and  complicated  estate,  anil 
that  of  a  mother  and  7  minor  children, 
devolved  upon  him  and  his  brother,  so 
he  was  compelled  to  L'ive  up  his  pro- 
fession for  the  time  being.  In  1832  be 
was  elected  to  the  legislature  over  a 
large  democratic  majority,  and  there 
cast  one  of  tin-  votes  which  sent  Henry 
(lav  to  the  l*.  S.  senate.  He  was  the 
youngest  member  in  the  legislature. 
()ct.  6,  1832,  he  was  married  to  Lucy 
McDowell,  daughter  of  Maj.  John  Mc- 
Dowell, of  Fayette  county,  Ky.  In  the 
fall  of  1833  he  came  to  Illinois  and 
selected  Carrollton  as  his  future  home. 
Here  he  practiced  law  in  partnership 
with  Charles  D.  Hodges,  tor  14  years, 
and  in  1848  was  elected  to  a  judgeship. 
In  1835  he  returned  to  Kentucky  and 
spenl  another  session  in  Transylvania 
University,  where  he  graduated  with 
honor.  In  Aug.,  1836,  his  wife  died  in 
Kentucky.  She  left  one  child — now 
the  Hon.  John  M.  Woodson,  of  St. 
Louis.  On  Nov.  1,  1838,  he  was  again 
married  to  Julia  Kennett,  daughter  of 
Dixon  II.  Kennett.  They  had  one 
daughter — now  the  wife  of  H.  C. 
Withers,  late  partner  of  her  father. 
In  the  legislature  of  1838-39,  he  was 
elected  to  the  office  of  state's  attorney, 
to  fill  a  vacancy.  He  continued  in  this 
office  until  1840,  when  be  was  elected 
by  the  people  of    Greene  county  to  the 


602 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


legislature,  over  a  democratic  majority 
of  from  400  to  500 — a  flattering  success. 
In  1843  he  was  nominated  to  a  seat  in 
congress,  but  was  unsuccessful  on  ac- 
count of  the  popularity  of  his  opponent, 
Stephen  A.  Douglas.  In  1817  he  was 
elected  to  the  convention  called  to 
amend  the  constitution,  and  did  all  in 
his  power  to  oppose  the  result  of  the 
convention,  which  was  the  degrading  «f 
the  primary  law  of  our  state.  He  then 
devoted  himself  to  his  profession  until 
1848,  when  he  was  elected  circuit  judge, 
and  filled  the  position  with  ability  and 
impartially  until  1867,  when  he  again 
engaged  in  practicing  law.  He  was 
again  elected  to  the  legislature  on  the 
democratic  ticket,  in  1868,  thus  shewing 
the  popularity  and  estimation  in  which 
he  was  held,  both  personally  and 
politically.  Judge  Woodson  died  in 
1877. 

Hon.  Charles  D.  Hodges  was  elected 
to  the  bench  of  the  circuit  court,  in  the 
spring  of  1867,  and  was  duly  commis- 
sioned upon  the  27th  of  June,  1867,  and 
served  six  years.  Judge  Hodges  rep- 
resented this  district  in  the  55th  con- 
gress,  and  is  noticed  under  that  head. 


The  general  assembly  by  act  of  March 
28,  1873,  divided  the  state  into  26  judi- 
cial districts,  in  each  of  which  one  judge 
of  the  circuit  court  was  elected  on  the 
2d  day  of  June,  1873,  for  the  term 
of  six  years.  Greene  county  was  placed 
in  the  18th  judicial  circuit,  and  Hon. 
Cyrus  Epler  elected  to  the  office  of  cir- 
cuit judge. 

The  general  assembly,  in  1877,  how- 
ever, reduced  the  number  of  circuits, 
placing  two  together,  and  giving  each 
circuit  three  judges.  By  this  Greene 
county  became  a  part  of  the  7th  circuit, 
having  forjudges  Hon.  Cyrus  Epler  and 
and  Hon.  Lyman  Lacy,  and  on  the  elec- 
tion  for  the  third  judge,  Hon.  Albert  G. 
Burr,  of  Carrollton,  was  elected.  All 
three  of  these  gentlemen  were  elected 
in  1879.  Albert  G.  Burr  was  the  rep- 
resentative of  the  district  in  the  40th 
and  41st  congresses  of  the  United  States, 
and  a  sketch  of  this  eminent  gentleman 
is  given  elsewhere. 

At  the  election  of  June,  1885,  Hon. 
Lyman  Lacy,  Hon.  Cyrus  Epler  and 
Hon.  George  W.  Herdman,  were  elected 
to  the  bench,  and  occupy  the  positions 
at  the  present  writing. 


GHAPTER    VI. 


EDUCATIONAL. 

In  respect  to  educational  facilties  the  j  differs  much  from  that  of  early  days, 
county  of  Greene  is  fully  up  to  the  '  and  is  a  great  improvement,  for,  as  it 
average  of  the  other  counties  of  the  always  is  with  all  innovations, the  law  in 
state.  The  present  method  of  govern-  this  respect  has  run  the  gauntlet,  and 
ment   (if    public    or     common    schools     finally   arrived  at  what   must    be    con- 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


603 


sidered  as  nearly  filling  about  all  the 
requirements. 

The  educational  system  of  Illinois 
has  reached  a  degree  of  perfection  and 
efficiency  attained  by  but  few  states  in 
the  Union,  and  surpassed  by  a  less 
number,  and  those  the  newer  ones, 
where  no  early  prejudices  existed  to 
overcome. 

COMMISSIONERS    OF    SCHOOL    LANDS. 

In  the  pioneer  days,  when  the  county 
of  Oreene  was  organized,  there  was  no 
such  thing  as  public  schools,  the  rough 
cradles  of  learning  of  those  times  be- 
ing supported  by  subscription,  or  were 
private  schools  The  office  of  county 
superintendent  of  schools  was  not  yet 
created.  The  only  officer  connected 
with  the  schools,  in  any  way,  under  the 
constitution  of  1818,  was  the  com- 
missioner of  the  school  lands,  who  had 
charge  of  the  funds  arising  from  the 
rent  or  sale  of  the  16th  sections  donated 
in  each  congressional  township  for  ed- 
ucational purposes.  This  officer  was 
appointed  by  the  county  commissioners' 
court,  who  were  empowered  to  fix  the 
compensation  of  the  same. 

For  some  years  after  the  organization 
of  the  county,  these  lands  were  placed 
in  the  hands  of  trustees  in  each  town- 
ship, but  about  the  year  1835,  the  com- 
missioners' court  appointed  Samuel 
Smith  as  the  commissioner  of  the  school 
lands  of  the  county.  He  served  in  this 
capacity  until  the  year  1838,  when  he 
was  succeeded  by  Moses  0.  Bledsoe,  so 
long  connected  with  the  official  life  of 
the  county,  in  the  most  responsible  po- 
sitions. A  sketch  of  him  is  given  else- 
where and  need  not  be  repeated. 

In  1840,  Luther  Tunnel  was  elected  to 


this  office  and  served  for  about  a  year 
and  was  succeeded  by  Janus  (>.  Craves 
in  the  month  of  Sept.,  1841,  and  served 
until  the  spring  of  1842,  when  Calvin 
Tunnel  was  installed  in  the  office  and 
served  three  years,  until  his  successor 
was  appointed. 

D.  Pinkerton  was  the  next  to  fill  the 
position  and  held  it  for  two  years. 

Joseph  Pierson  served  as  county  com- 
missioner of  school  land  for  the  next 
10  years,  from  1847,  being  re-appointed 
his  own  successor  every  alternate  year. 
He  was  an  excellent  man  and  a  faithful 
officer. 

Dr.  J.  B.  Samuel,  a  sketch  of  whom 
appears  in  the  Medical  chapter  of  this 
work,  was  the  next  incumbent  of  the 
office,  being  elected  in  1857,  and  filled 
it  for  two  years. 

Stephen  F.  Corrington  was  elected  to 
the  office  of  commissioner  of  the  school 
lands  in  1859,  and  re-elected  in  1861, 
1863,  1865  and  1867,  occupying  the  office 
for  ten  years.  Mr.  Corrington  is,  at 
present,  a  prominent  member  of  the 
bar  of  Greene  county,  and  is  noticed  at 
length  in  that  connection. 

SUPERINTENDENT    OF    schools. 

Rev.  C.  A.  Worley  was  the  first  elected 
to  this  office,  in  1869.  He  was  a  well 
educated,  able  officer,  and  served  the 
county  in  this  capacity  for  four  years. 

Mrs.  Catherine  Hopkins  succeeded 
Mr.  Worley  in  this  office,  defeating  S. 
F.  Corrington  at  the  general  election  of 
1873.  She  served  one  term  of  four  years, 
most  creditably. 

D.  F.  King,  the  present  state's  attor- 
ney, was  elected  to  the  office  of  super- 
intendent of  schools  in  Nov.,  1877,  and 
ably  filled  the   position  for  the  succeed- 

>' 


■7TT 


cm 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


ing  four  years.  Mr.  King  is  also  noticed 
at  length  in  the  chapter  devoted  to  the 
Bar  of  Greene  county,  in  this  volume, 
to  which  the  reader  is  referred. 

W.  J.  Roberts,  the  present  affable  su- 
perintendent of  schools,  was  elected  to 
fill  that  office  in  Nov.,  1882.  He  is  no- 
ticed in  connection  with  the  Press  of 
the  county. 

DEVELOPMENT. 

Greene  county,  like  all  new  counties, 
in  its  infancy  was  not  blessed  with  pub- 
lic or  district  schools,  and  the  rising 
generation  was  limited  to  draw  what 
knowledge  they  did  attain  from  spas- 
modic attempts  at  subscription  schools, 
that  were  established  wherever  the  pop- 
ulation was  large  enough  to  warrant 
the  attempt,  and  which  sprang  up  and 
died  out  with  surprising  regularity.  The 
rude  log  cabin  school,  the  only  "benign 
mother"  of  some  of  the  most  eminent 
men  of  the  country,  and  the  foundation 
of  the  education  of  most  of  the  mem- 
bers of  the  older  resident  families  was 
laid  in  these  humble  cradles  of  learn- 
ing. The  16th  section  of  land  in  each 
congressional  district  was  granted  to 
each  county  for  educational  purposes, 
but  there  was  little  or  no  sale 
for  it.  at  more  than  the  govern- 
ment price,  of  SI. 25  per  acre,  and  the 
income  from  that  source  was  small. 
About  the  year  1835,  public  attention 
was  drawn  to  the  matter  of  educational 
advantages,  and  the  district  schools  be- 
gan to  dot  the  prairie,  or  nestle  in  the 
woods  throughout  the  county.  Here  and 
there  they  were  scattred,  log  cabins  of 
humble  appearance,  often  miles  apart, 
while  mischievous  urchins,  of  both  sex, 
trudged  through  dust  or  mud,    for   long 


distances,  to  receive  the  rudiments  of 
an  education.  With  the  progress  of 
years,  the  development  of  the  school 
system  went  on,  until,  to-day,  it  is  not 
inferior  to  any  county  in  the  state  of  a 
like  age  and  population.  The  following 
statistics  are  taken  from  the  report  of 
the  county  superintendent  of  schools  for 
the  year  ending  June,  1885.  At  that 
time  there  were: 

Number  of  males  in  the  county  between 

the  ages  of  (i  and  21 4,070 

Number  of  females 3,843 

Number  of  districts  in  the  county 93 

Number  of  graded  schools 6 

Number  of  ungraded  schools 87 

Number  of  male  teachers  employed 07 

Number  of  female  teachers  employed..  '.n 
Number  of  males    enrolled    in     graded 

schools 1,030 

Number  of  females 1,137 

Number  of  males  enrolled  in   ungraded 

schools 2,054 

Number  of  females 1.77:1 

Whole  number  enrolled "i,ii!)4 

Whole  number  of  public  high  schools. . .         3 

Number  of  brick  school  houses 11 

Number  of  stone  school  houses 1 

Number  of  frame  school  houses 81 

Number  of  school  houses  built  dining 

the  year 3 

Number  of  districts  having  libraries 0 

Number  of  volumes  in  same 261 

Average  monthly  wages  paid  male 

teachers 8        51.04 

Average  for  female  teachers 35. 1 1 

Amount  of   district  tax    levy  for 

schools 56,253.21 

Estimated  value  of  school  property  131,590.00 
Estimated  value  of  school  libraries.  595.00 
Estimated  valueof  school  apparatus  1,667.00 
Holders  of  state  certificates  employed  in 

county 2 

Number  of  first  grade  teachers*  certifi- 
cates  issued 25 

Number  of  second  grade 101 

Number  teachers'  certificates  to  males  56 
Number  to  females 70 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


605 


Number  of  male  applicants  rejected. . . . 

Number  of  females 

First  grade  certificates  renewed  during 

the  year 

Second  grade  certificates 


15      Number    of    days    spent     in     institute 

Ki  j      work 

Number  of  teachers'  meetings   held  in 

4         the  county 

12     Amountof  bonded  school  debt $  5,5 


CHAPTER    VII. 


COUNTY  SOCIETIES. 

Greene  county  has  two  societies  that  j  northwest  of  the  city  of  Carrollton,  on 
arc  county  institutions,  and  of  which  the  12th  of  Oct.,  1854.  Judging  from 
they  are  justly  proud.  These  are  the  :  the  newspapers  of  the  day,  this  was  a 
Agricultural  Association  and  the  Old  :  brilliant  success  in  every  way,  and  the 
Settlers'  Society.  No  history  would  be  !  display  of  stuck,  especially  horses,  was 
complete  without  an  account  of  each  of  j  superior  to  most  anything  in  any  other 


county  or  state  fair.  Among  the  lead- 
ing competitors  for  premiums,  were 
most  of  the  leading  citizens  of  the 
period,  among  whom  were  Anthony 
Potts,  James  J.  Eldred,  Eri  Edwards, 
Silas  Eldred,  James  W.  Gregory.  Jere- 


them  and  they  are  herewith  given. 

GREENE   COUNTY    AGRICULTURAL   SOCIETY. 

On  the  15th  of  April,  1854,  was  insti- 
tuted a  society,  known  as  the  Greene 
County  Agricultural  and  Mechanical 
Association.  The  first  officers  were  as  miah  Turpin,  Elon  Eldred,  Elijah  Dee, 
follows:  Luman  Curtius,  president;  R.  N.  Neece,  William  Crane,  J.  H. 
Joshua  C.  Winters,  vice  president;  A.  Waller,  Michael  Kinser,  J.  P.  Hender- 
W.  Bridges,  treasurer;  Francis  P.  Ved-  son,  Daniel  Morfoot,  Benjamin  Rood- 
der,  secretary;  and  Samuel  Thomas,  house,  Anthony  S.  Seeley,  Peter  Rood- 
Jacob  Bowman,  Linus  E.  Worcester,  B.  house,   William  Black,  G.    L.   Burruss, 


Baldwin,  L.  J.  Patterson,  A.  J.  White- 
side, A.  Sweeten,  Michael  Kinser,  Wil- 
liam Halbert,  J.  W.  Calvin,  T.  W. 
Vigus,  W.  L.  Greene,  Samuel  Long- 
street,  David  Thompson,  J.  H.  VanArs- 


L.  H.  Thomas,  J.  E.  Brace,  Samuel 
Longstreet,  and  others.  Neither  were 
the  ladies  behind-hand  in  their  depart- 
ments, premiums  being  awarded  to  Mrs. 
J.  J.  Thomas,  Mrs.  William  Potts,  Mrs. 


dale,  G.  L.  Burruss,  W.  H.  Ellis,  I.  R.  Benjamin  Baldwin,  Mrs.  J.  I.  Thomas, 
[Strom,  John  Rives,  Martin  Thorpe,  T.  Mrs.  E.  Morfoot,  Mrs.  John  T.  Wil- 
J.  Short,  Benjamin  King,  Perry  McCon-  liams.  Mrs.  Dr.  Hardtner,  Mrs.  Luman 
athy,  J.  D.  Martin,  Elon  Eldred  and  Curtius,  Misses  Pierson,  Mrs.  J.  B.  El- 
William  Black,  executive  committee.  dred,  Mrs.  David  Dodgson,  and  others. 
The  first  annual  fair  was  held  on  the  \  At  that  time  the  society  numbered  some 
farm  of  J.   E.   Brace,  a   short  distance  |  230   members,    which    kept  rapidly  in- 


606 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


creasing.  Since  the  organization  of  the 
association  the  following  gentlemen 
have  filled  the  position  of  president: 
D.  M.  Woodson,  George  L.  Burruss, 
Joseph  Ballinger,  Jacob  Bowman,  B. 
F.  Baldwin,  E.  M.  Husted,  L.  S.  Eldrde, 
Benjamin  Roodhouse,  George  W.  Davis. 
Benjamin  Roodhouse  is  the  present 
president,  and  N.  J.  Andrews,  secre- 
tary. 

The  second  annual  exposition  was 
held  on  grounds  belonging  to  the  soci- 
ety, or  to  160  stockholders,  south  of 
Carrollton,  near  the  present  site  of  the 
public  school  building.  They  had 
fenced  this  in  and  built  stalls,  and  other 
conveniences,  and  it  was  used  by  the 
society,  until  the  fairs  grew  to  such 
a  magnitude  that  the  place  was  incon- 
veniently small,  so,  in  1860,  the  present 
large  and  beautiful  grounds  were  pur- 
chased by  the  association.  The  im- 
provements from  the  old  park  were 
moved  here,  and  many  new  ones  added. 
One  beautiful  and  convenient  feature  of 
these  grounds,  is  the  great  abundance  of 
trees,  affording  a  delightful  shade  from 
the  midsummer  sun,  and  adding  to  the 
beauty  and  picturesqueness  of  the 
place. 

The  first  financial  statement  of  which 
there  is  any  record,  is  that  of  the  year 
1856.  It  is  as  follows:  Receipts  from 
annual  fair,  $950.15;  paid  for  premiums, 
$500;  expenses,  $45.95;  balance  on 
hand,  after  paying  all  indebtedness, 
$404. '20. 

At  the  earlier  exhibitions,  the  premi- 
ums were  almost  always  of  silverware, 
and  frequently,  on  running  over  the  old 
treasurer's  reports,  there  is  often  found 
a  list  of  silverware  left  on  hand.  Dur- 
ing successive  years  the  receipts  of  the 


fairs  were  as  follows:  1857,  $1,338.15; 
1858,  $1,615.37;  1859,  $1,882.85;  1860, 
$2,025.82,  and  so  on,  the  expenses",  of 
course,  increasing  in  the  same  propor- 
tion. 

In  1866,  the  present  neat,  tasty  and 
convenient  amphitheater  was  built.  In 
1872,  the  name  of  the  association  was 
changed  to  that  of  Greene  County  Agri- 
cultural Board.  During  the  dark  days 
of  the  war,  when  people's  minds  were 
filled  with  other  things  besides  fairs, 
these  exhibitions  did  not  pay,  and  when 
brighter  days  dawned,  which  was  not 
until  1874,  the  board  found  itself  ham- 
pered with  a  debt  something  like  $6,000. 
In  order  that  this  might  be  paid  off, 
and  that  the  future  prosperity  of  the  as- 
sociation insured,  in  the  fall  of  the  year, 
a  resolution  was  passed  to  form  a  new 
corporation,  and  D.  M.  Woodson,  J.  W. 
Gregory,  G.  L.  Burruss,  J.  H.  Rives, 
S.  F.  Greene,  L.  F.  Wheeler  and  John 
Kaser  were  appointed  incorporators. 
License  was  issued  Feb.  27, 1875,  which 
authorized  G.  W.  Davis,  J.  F.  Ballinger, 
L.  S.  Eldred,  G.  L.  Burruss,  N.  J. 
Andrews,  J.  H.  Rives  and  George  W. 
AVitt,  as  commissioners,  to  open  the 
books  of  subscription,  to  the  capital 
stock  of  the  Greene  County  Agricul- 
tural and  Mechanical  Association. 
Eighty-three  persons  subscribed  for 
stock,  at  $50  per  share'.  With  this,  the 
$6,000  of  indebtedness  was  paid  off,  and 
the  charter  of  the  association  was 
granted,  by  the  secretary  of  the  state, 
bearing  date  March  26,  1875.  The  cap- 
ital stock  was  afterward  increased  to 
$8,000.  The  new  society  took  posses- 
sion of  the  property  of  its  predecessor, 
and  a  more  prosperous  era  dawned. 
The  more  recent  fairs  have  beeen  highly 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY 


607 


successful,  until  to-day,  the  county  fairs 
of  Greene  county  have  been  raised  to 
such  a  degree  that  they  are  now  ranked 
among  the  first  in  the  state. 

old  settlers'  association. 

The  society  grew  out  of  ameetinglield 
in  Oct.,  1871,  in  response  to  the  follow 
ing  invitation  which  appeared  in  the 
Carrollton  Gazette,  in  the  issue  of  Sept. 
30,  of  that  year: 

"As  the  matter  has  been  so  often  spoken 
of  in  the  papers,  and  by  a  large  number 
of  the  old  settlers  of  Greene  county. and 
it  would  seem  appropriate  that  such  a 
meeting  should  be  held  on  my  farm,  a 
cordial  invitation  is  hereby  extended  to 
all  citizens  who  were  residents  of  the 
county  before  the  deep  snow,  to  assem- 
ble in  the  grove  one-quarter  of  a  mile 
south  of  my  residence,  it  being  on  the 
south  end  of  the  first  80  acres  of  land 
settled  in  this  county,  on  Saturday, Oct. 
21,  1871,  at  10  o'clock  a.  m.  The  object 
of  the  meeting  will  be  to  organize  an 
Old  Settlers'  Association  for  Greene 
county, and  to  listen  to  addresses  appro- 
priate for  the  occasion.  Should  the 
weather  prove  unfavorable  for  an  out- 
door meeting  at  the  time,  I  am  requested 
to  say  that  the  meeting  will  be  held  at 
the  court  house,  in  Carrollton,  instead 
of  the  grove  on  my  premises.  As  this 
matter  has  now  been  so  generally  agreed 
upon  by  our  old  citizens,  it  is  expected 
th.it  a  large  and  interesting  meeting  will 
be  held,  and  that  all  will  give  special 
heed  to  this  first  meeting  of  the  old 
settlers.         Respectfully, 

Samuel  Thomas." 
The  21st  of  Oct.  was   a   bright,  pleas- 
ant day,  and  about  150  old   settlers,   to- 
gether with  a  large  concourse  of  younger 


persons,  assembled  in  the  beautiful 
Thomas  grove,  southwest  of  Carrollton. 
This  wood  is  located  on  the  south  end 
of  the  first  80  acres  of  land  entered  by 
Mr.  Thomas,  in  1818,  and  selected  as  a 
squatter's  claim  some  time  previous. 
At  about  11  o'clock  the  Carrollton  cor- 
net band  played  an  old  time  selection, 
and  the  company  was  called  to  order  by 
David  Pierson.  Col.  Jacob  Bowman 
was  chosen  chairman,  and  on  taking 
the  chair,  invited  Rev.  C.  J.  Gardiner, 
to  offer  prayer.  This  venerable  and 
reverend  gentleman  kneeled  upon  the 
grass  and  leaves  in  front  of  the  speaker's 
stand,  and,  while  the  many  aged  heads 
were  bowed, a  solemnity  was  manifested 
befitting  the  occasion,  and  words  appro- 
priately impressive  were  uttered,  in- 
voking the  blessing  of  God  upon  those 
whose  lives  had  been  so  long  spared  in 
his  mercy, and  beseeching  a  continuance 
of  divine  favor.  The  chair  then  sug- 
gested that  the  appointment  of  a  com- 
mittee on  permanent  organization  would 
be  in  order.  Whereupon,  Hon.  David 
Pierson,  Thomas  Black,  C.J.  Gardiner, 
Jordan  Howard,  and  T.  J.  Short  were 
chosen.  On  motion,  Hon.  D.  M. Wood- 
son, Judge  A.  Hinton,  Peter  Hobson, 
Isham  Linder,  and  Martin  Bowman 
were  selected  as  a  committee  on  resolu- 
tions. At  this  point,  the  chairman, 
than  whom  there  is  none  more  skilled 
in  the  management  of  a  dinner  party, 
remarked  that  the  committees  would 
need  some  little  time  in  which  to  pre- 
pare their  reports — that  the  good  wives 
and  daughters  were  present  with  bounti- 
fully ladened  baskets — that  the  hour 
had  arrived  and  the  tallies  would  be 
spread  upon  the  green,  and,  while  the 
band  struck  up  another  good  old  tune, 


the  meeting  adjourned  for  dinner.  The 
dinner  was  bountiful  in  quantity,  dainty 
in  preparation,  and  the  best  in  quality, 
and  was*  thoroughly  enjoyed  by  all. 
After  an  intermission  of  an  hour,  the 
band  rendered  another  selection,  and 
that  being  finished,  Col.  Bowman  called 
the  meeting  to  order,  and  asked  for  the 
report  of  the  committee  on  permanent 
organization.  David  Pierson,  the  chair- 
man of  the  same,  presented  the  fol- 
lowing: 

Your  committee  would  respectfully 
recommend: 

1.  That  a  society  be  formed  to  be  de- 
nominated the  Old  Settlers'  Society  of 
Greene  county. 

2.  That  the  officers  consist  of  a  presi- 
dent, 10  vice-presidents,  a  secretary, 
and  a  treasurer. 

3.  That  the  following  persons  be 
chosen  as  such  officers:  Capt.  Jacob 
Robley,  of  Bluffdale,  president;  Sam- 
uel Thomas,  Judge  Alfred  Hinton,  Gen- 
eral Jacob  Fry,  Major  J.  C.  C.  Parks, 
Anthony  Potts,  Peter  Hobson,  Martin 
Bowman,  Rev.  C.  J.  Gardner,  Judge 
Thomas  J.  Short  and  David  Pierson, 
vice-presidents,  H.  S.  Clay;  secretary, 
Col.  Jacob  Bowman,  treasurer. 

Remarks  and  addresses,  chiefly  rem- 
iniscences and  anecdotes  of  early  times, 
were  then  made  by  Samuel  Thomas,  the 
pioneer  of  the  pioneers  of  Greene 
county,  Alfred  Hinton,  J.  C.  C.  Parks, 
Jacob  Fry,  David  M.  Woodson,  and 
several  others.  These  occupied  the 
time  until  quite  late,  and  the  interest 
was  fully  kept  up.  In  the  course  of 
these  various  remarks,  it  became  known 
that  Marvel  Morris  and  Isham  Linder 
had  been  residents  of  what  now  con- 
stitutes the  state  of  Illinois   longer  than 


anyone  present,  the  former  for  62,  the 
latter  for  61  years.  Richard  Robley 
was  the  oldest  person  present,  having 
been  born  in  1790. 

On  Nov.  11th,  at  meeting  held  in  Car- 
rollton,  held  according  to  a  resolution 
passed  at  the  first  meeting,  I).  W. 
Woodson,  Isham  Linder,  Dr.  J.  B. 
Samuel,  Alfred  Hinton,  and  T.  W. 
Vigus  were  appointed  a  committee  to 
draft  a  constitution  and  set  of  by-laws 
for  the  government  of  the  organization. 
The  meeting  then  adjourned. 

At  an  adjourned  meeting  held  at  Car- 
rollton  on  the  8th  Jan.,  1872,  the  above 
committee  presented  the  following  con- 
stitution, which  was  adopted: 

Constitution. 

Article  I. — This  society  shall  be 
called  the  "  Greene  County  Old  Settlers' 
Association,"  and  shall  consist,  1st.  Of 
all  persons,  who,  at  any  time  prior  to 
the  year  1830,  were  residents  of  Illinois, 
and  such  persons  upon  signing  the  con- 
stitution, shall  be  designated  as  senior 
members.  2d.  All  persons  residents  of 
Illinois,  who  shall  have  resided  in  the 
county  of  Greene  since  1845.  Such  per- 
sons upon  signing  the  constitution,  shall 
be  designated  as  junior  members.  The 
rights  privileges  and  immunities  of  the 
senior  and  junior  classes  shall  be  held 
in  common,  without  distinction  or  pref- 
erence. 3d.  Honorary  members,  who 
may  he  received  by  vote  at  any  regular 
meeting  of  the  association. 

Art.  II. — The  officers  of  the  associa- 
tion shall  be  a  president,  vice-president, 
secretary,  assistant  secretary,  and  treas- 
urer, to  be  chosen  annually,  and  whose 
duties  are  indicated  in  their  titles.  Also 
one  vice-president  in    each   precinct   in 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


609 


the  county,  whose  duty  it  shall  be  to 
aid  the  other  officers  of  the  association 
in  obtaining  historical  incidents,  bio- 
graphical sketches,  and  statistical  in- 
formation of  our  pioneer  history,  and 
also  to  ascertain  and  report  to  the  sec- 
retary from  time  to  time,  all  the  deaths 
or  removals  from  the  county  of  mem- 
bers of  the  association,  that  may  occur 
in  their  several  precincts  during  the 
year. 

Art.  III. — This  association  shall  hold 
its  annual  meeting  at  some  convenient 
place  in  the  county,  to  be  selected  by 
the  president  of  the  association,  on  the 
last  Wednesday  of  August  in  each  year. 
The  president  and  secretary  shall  have 
power  to  call  special  meetings  of  the  as- 
sociation. 

Art.  IV.  Every  member  of  the  asso- 
ciation on  signing  the  constitution,  shall 
furnish  the  secretary,  either  orally  or 
in  writing,  a  statement,  giving  the  time 
and  place  of  his  birth,  the  year  in  which 
he  became  a  resident  of  Illinois,  and  of 
Greene  county,  and  shall  pay  to  the 
treasurer  the  sum  of  50  cents,  and  annu- 
ally thereafter  the  sum  of  50  cents, 
which  shall  constitute  membership  tor 
himself  and  wife.  The  money  thus 
[iaid  shall  be  used  to  defray  the  contin- 
gent expenses  of  the  association,  and 
for  no  other  purpose. 

Art.  V. — The  treasurer  shall  report 
at  each  annual  meeting,  a  statement  of 
all  receipts  and  expenditures,  and  no 
moneys  shall  be  paid  out  by  him,  ex- 
cept by  vote  of  the  association,  or  by 
the  unanimous  consent  of  the  president, 
vice-president  and  secretary,  who  are 
hereby  constituted  the  executive  com- 
mittee of  the  association. 

Art.  VI. — The  association  by    a  vote 


of  a  majority  present  at  a  regular  meet- 
ing, may  expel  any  member  for  habitual 
intoxication  or  grossly  immoral  con- 
duct. 

Art.  VII.— It  shall  be  the  duty  of 
each  member  of  the  association,  as  far 
as  may  be,,  to  furnish  in  a  form  suitable 
for  preservation,  such  facts  and  inci- 
dents of  his  early  life,  and  in  relation  to 
the  first  settlement  of  the  county,  as  be 
may  deem  of  sufficient  interest  to  be 
preserved;  and  the  secretary  shall  pre- 
serve them  in  such  form  as  he  may  deem 
proper. 

Art.  VIII. — The  secretary  shall  keep 
a  book,  to  be  called  "  The  Old  Settler's 
Record,"  in  which  he  shall  enter  this 
constitution,  and  keep  the  proceedings 
of  each  meeting  of  the  association  ;  he 
shall  also  keep  a  register  of  the  names 
of  the  different  members,  the  place  of 
their  birth,  the  year  they  became  resi- 
dents of  Illinois,  so  far  as  be  can  ascer- 
tain the  same,  and  at  each  annual  meet- 
ing he  shall  read  the  names  of  those 
who  have  died,  or  who  have  removed 
from  the  county  during  the  year. 

Art.  IX. — This  constitution  may  be 
amended  at  any  regular  meeting  of  the 
association.  A  vote  of  two-thirds  of 
the  members  present  at  such  meeting 
shall  be  required  in  favor  of  such  amend- 
ment. 

An  election  was  then  held,  which  re- 
sulted in  the  choice  of  the  following 
officers:  Samuel  Thomas,  pres.;  Alfred 
Hinton,  vice-pres.;  II.  L.  Clay,  sec; 
Dr.  Clinton  Armstrong,  ass't  sec;  Jor- 
dan Howard,  treas.;  and  John  W.  Huitt, 
of  Carrollton;  James  W.  Gregory,  of 
White  Hall;  Isham  Linder,  of  Green- 
field; N.  M.  Perry,  Kane;  John  Rood- 
house,  Uoodhouse;  Martin  Thorpe,  Fay- 


610 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


ette;  Richard  Robley,  Bluffdale;  G.  L. 
Biirrass,  Eastern;  JesseC.  Parks,  Mount 
Airy:  L.  J.  Patterson,  Northwestern; 
Perry  McConathy,  Mineral  Springs; 
Perry  Olendennen,  Woodville;  Michael 
Kinser,  Walkervil'le;  and  Michael  Wal- 
trip,  New  Providence,  precinct  vice- 
presidents. 

The  second  regular  meeting  of  the 
association  was  held  at  the  fairgrounds, 
at  Carrollton,  and  the  pioneers  listened 
to  addresses  by  Dennis  Davis,  of  Mis- 
souri, Judge  D.  M.  Woodson,  Cyrus 
Tolman  and  others.  In  1873,  a  third 
meeting  was  held,  and  was  very  inter- 
esting. Remarks  were  made  by  Col. 
Joshua  ('.  Winters,  Everett  Griswold, 
Rev.  H.  A.  Guild  and  others. 

In  1874,  one  of  the  most  interesting 
meetings  of  the  society  was  held,  on  the 
authority  of  the  county  newspapers,  and 
was  one  of  the  largest  ever  held,  of  the 
kind.  Dr.  S.  H.  Culver,  Dr.  B.  C. 
Wood,  D.  M.  Woodson,  and  Newton 
Cloud,  of  Morgan  county,  enlivened  the 
proceedings  with  addresses.  Appropri- 
ate resolutions  were  passed,  on  receipt 
of  the  announcement  of  the  death  of 
Samuel  Thomas,  Heman  Goodrich, 
Titus  Vigus,  J.  C.  C.  Parks,  and  Ever- 
ett Griswold. 

In  1*75,  the  annual  meeting  was  held 
at  the  fairground,  when  about 3,500 per- 
sons were  present.  The  speakers  were 
Rev.  B.  B.  Hamilton,  of  White  Hall; 
Hon.  W.  C.  Flagg,  of  Madison  county; 
and  Hon.  Joseph  Morton,  of  Morgan 
county.  The  death  of  Dr.  J.  B.  Samuel 
was  duly  reported.  A  special  commit- 
tee made  a  report  of  those  present  who 
were  over  70  years  of  age;  there  were 
3  over  90,;  7  over  80,  and  46  between  70 
and  80. 


Every  year  these  pleasant  reunions 
have  been  kept  up,  the  last  occurring  on 
the  26th  of  Aug.,  1885,  when  a  large 
number  were  present. 

The  call  to  order  was  made  by  the 
president,  Edwin  Woolley,  at  noon. 

Mr.  McPherron,  of  Carrollton,  led  in 
singing. 

Re,r.  Davidson  made  a  short  prayer, 
and  the  president,  after  a  few  remarks, 
appointed  the  following  committees: 

On  resolutions  and  obituaries,  Rev.  D. 
H.  Stubblefield,  Ed.  Miner,  E.  J.  Pearce 
and  T.  J.  Price. 

On  nominations,  N.  J.  Andrews,  Alex. 
King,  W.  H.  Cannedy,  Edgar  Griswold 
and  S.  F.  Greene. 

On  finance,  to  assist  the  vice-presi- 
dents, F.  M.  Fishback  and  Edgar  Gris- 
wold. 

The  president  then  announced  that  no 
further  business  would  be  transacted 
until  after  dinner. 

The  speakers  were  James  Slaten,  B. 
B.  Hamilton,  Nelson  English,  J.  C. 
Winters,  R.  H.  Davis  and  Nathan  Mi- 
ner. 

The  addresses  were  all  short,  but  were 
in  the  main  quite  interesting. 

The  following  are  the  present  officers, 
chosen  at  this  meeting: 

President —  Edwin  Woolley,  Green- 
field. 

Secretary — Ed.  Miner,  Carrollton. 

Treasurer — John  Howard,  Carrollton. 
And  the  following  vice-presidents: 

Athensville — F.  M.  Grider. 

Rubicon — M.  S.  Melvin. 

Rockbridge — L.  F.  Williams. 

Kane — S.  G.  Gardiner. 

hinder — G.  L.  Burruss. 

Wrights— A.  J.  Wright. 


Roodhouse— E.  M.  H  listed. 
White  Hall— J.  C.  Winters. 
Carrollton — C.  Armstrong. 
Woodville — W.  Maberry. 
Bluffdale— F.  M.  Fishback. 


Walkerville— R.  Gillingham. 

Patterson — A.  S.  Seely. 

Executive  committee — N.  J.  Andrews, 
T.  J.  Carlin,  John  Hardcastle,  Oman 
Pierson,  A.  M.  Cunningham. 


CHAPTER    VIII. 


THE   WAR  OF    THE    REBELLION. 


From  the  commencement  of  the  gov- 
ernment there  have  been  two  antago- 
nistic principles  contending  for  mastery 
— slavery  and  freedom.  Sometimes 
smouldering  and  even  invisible;  but  the 
seeds  were  there  and  ever  and  anon 
would  burst  into  flames,  carrying  de- 
struction, death  and  desolation  with  it. 
A  repetition  of  that  great  conflict  which, 
fur  ages,  agitated  our  globe — the  conflict 
between  aristocratic  usurpation  and 
popular  rights.  History  is  crowded 
with  descriptions  and  scenes  of  this 
irrepressible  conflict.  Two  thousand 
years  ago,  when  the  aristocracy  of  Rome 
was  headed  by  Caius  Pompey,  Julius 
Caesar,  espousing  the  cause  of  the  peo- 
ple, unfurled  the  banner  of  equal  rights, 
and  striding  through  oceans  of  blood 
which  tossed  their  surges  over  every 
portion  of  the  habitable  globe,  over- 
threw the  aristocratic  commonwealth 
and  reared  over  the  ruins  the  imperial 
commonwealth.  Again  on  the  field  of 
Pharsalia,  the  aristocratic  banner  was 
trailed  in  the  dust,  and  democracy, 
although  exceedingly  imperfect,  became 
victor.  It  was  aristocracy  trying  to 
keep  its  heel  on  the  head  of  democracy 


which  deluged  the  Roman  empire  in 
blood. 

But  the  nobles  regained  foothold,  and 
regardless  of  these  lessons,  renewed 
their  oppression.  Again  they  com- 
menced sowing  the  seed  which  must 
surely  bring  forth  terrible  fruit.  Over 
200  years  ago  the  aristocracy  of  France, 
housed  in  magnificent  palaces,  mounted 
on  war  horses,  with  pampered  men-at- 
arms  ready  to  ride  rough-shod  on  every 
embassage  of  violence,  trampled  upon 
the  suffering  serfs,  until  humanity  could 
no  longer  endure  it.  The  masses  of  the 
people  were  deprived  of  every  privi- 
lege, save  of  toiling  for  their  masters. 

The  aristocracy  so  deprived  the  peo- 
ple, whose  wives  and  daughters,  through 
their  brutality  were  forced  to  go  to  the 
field  bare-headed  and  bare-footed,  and 
be  yoked  to  the  plow  with  the  donkey, 
that  they  never  dreamed  that  the 
wretched  boors  would  dare  even  to  look 
in  defiance  toward  the  massive  and 
stately  castles  whose  noblemen  proudly 
strode  along  the  battlements  in  meas- 
ureless contempt  for  the  helpless  peas- 
antry below.  But  the  pent  up  vials  of 
vengeance   of  ages  at  last  burst  forth. 


612 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


These  boors,  these  Jacques,  rose  and 
like  maddened  hyenas,  rushed  upon 
their  foes.  Imbruted  men,  who  for 
ages  had  been  subjected  to  the  most  out- 
rageous wrongs,  rose  by  millions  against 
their  oppressors,  and  wreaked  upon 
them  every  atrocity  which  fiend-like 
ingenuity  could  devise.  All  the  brutal 
and  demon  passions  of  human  nature 
held  high  carnival,  and  it  can  truly  be 
said  France  ran  red  with  blood.  But  at 
length  disciplined  valor  prevailed.  Al- 
ter one-half  of  the  peasantry  of  France 
had  perished,  the  knighted  noblemen, 
the  aristocrats  had  resumed  their  sway, 
and  the  hellish  bondage,  worse  than 
slavery,  was  again  placed  on  the  peo- 
ple. This  war  or  rebellion  of  the 
Jacquerie  is  one  of  the  most  interesting 
and  warning  events  of  the  past,  yet  it 
was  all  unheeded. 

The  oppression  went  on,  growing 
more  and  more  outrageous;  the  people 
were  kept  ignorant  that  they  might  not 
know  of  their  wrongs;  poor  that  they 
might  not  resent  them.  That  the  lords 
might  Live  in  castles,  and  be  clothed  in 
purple,  and  fare  sumptuously, the  people 
were  doomed  to  rags,  hovels  and  black 
bread.  The  peasant  must  not  place  the 
bit  of  dough  on  the  ashes  by  the  fire- 
side— he  was  compelled  to  have  it  baked 
at  the  bakery  of  his  lord,  and  there  pay 
heavy  toll.  He  dare  not  scrape  to- 
gether the  few  crumbs  of  salt  from  the 
rock  of  the  ocean's  shore,  he  must  buy 
every  particle  from  his  lord  at  an  ex- 
horbitant  price.  "Servants  obey  your 
masters,"  was  interpreted  to  apply  to 
all  save  of  noble  birth;  religion  was  con- 
verted into  a  method  of  subjecting  the 
masses.  As  associates  for  lords  the 
idea    would   have    been   considered  as 


contrary  to  reason.  Louis  XV,  sur- 
rounded by  one  of  the  most  dissolute 
courts  in  Europe,  once  said  :  "I  can 
give  money  to  Voltaire,  Montesquieu  or 
Fontanelle,  but  I  can't  dine  or  sup  with 
these  people."  If  the  peasant,  with  his 
wife  and  child,  toiling  in  the  field,  in 
cultivation  of  a  few  acres  of  land 
managed  to  raise  650  francs  worth 
of  crops  during  the  year,  600  of  it  went 
to  king,  duke,  seigneur,  baron  and 
and  church,  while  the  50  francs  was  left 
to  clothe  and  feed  the  emaciated  family. 
Thomas  Jefferson,  in  the  year  of  1775, 
wrote  from  Paris  to  a  friend  in  Phila- 
delphia: 

"Of  20,000,000  of  people  supposed  to 
be  in  France,  I  am  of  the  opinion  that 
there  are  19,000,000  more  wretched, 
more  accursed  in  every  circumstance  of 
human  existence,  than  the  most  con- 
spicuously wretched  individual  in  the 
whole  United  States." 

It  was  this  state  of  affairs  that 
brought  on  the  wars  of  the  French  rev- 
olution, inaugurating  the  most  terrific 
of  all  time's  battles.  Such  combats 
earth  never  saw  before,  probably  never 
will  see  again.  Two  worlds,  as  it  were, 
came  clashing  together.  Twenty  mil- 
lions of  people,  trampled  in  the  mire, 
rose  ghastly  and  frenzied,  and  the 
flames  of  feudal  castles,  and  the  shrieks 
of  haughty  oppressors,  appalled  the 
world.  All  the  combined  aristocracy  of 
Europe  were  on  the  other  side  to  crush 
the  demand  of  the  people  for  the  equal- 
ity of  man.  Russia,  Austria,  Prussia, 
England,  Sweden  and  Spain — all  the 
kings  rallied  their  armies  to  the  assist- 
ance of  the  aristocracy  of  France,  to 
help  them  to  subdue  an  uprisen  people, 
who,  believing   in    the  right,   marched 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


613 


heroically  onward  to  Valmy  and  Jem- 
appes,  and  to  the  victories  of  Marengo, 
Wagram  and  Austerlitz.  But  in  the 
final  victories  of  the  despots,  aristo- 
cratic privilege  again  triumphed  in 
Europe.  In  the  mean  time,  a  similar, 
though  less  hloody  and  terrific,  battle 
had  taken  place  in  England;  the  same 
ever-rising  conflict  between  the  united 
courtiers  and  cavaliers  under  Charles  I, 
and  the  Puritans  under  Cromwell. 

With  prayer,  fasting  and  hymn,  the 
common  people  who  had  for  ages  been 
under  the  yoke  of  servitude,  took  to 
arms  in  defense  of  their  rights,  and 
many  cavaliers  bit  the  dust  through 
their  sturdy  blows.  Rut  Charles  II., 
returned  to  his  throne,  and  again  aris- 
tocracy triumphed.  The  oppressed 
were  our  Puritan  fathers;  again  they  were 
trodden  under  foot.  Then  it  was  that  the 
heroic  resolution  was  adopted  to  cross 
the  ocean  3, 000  miles,  and  therein  exile 
establish  and  found  a  republic  where  all 
men  in  the  eye  of  the  law  should  be 
equal.  The  result  is  too  well  known  to 
need  rehearsal.  How  they  fought  their 
way  through  all  the  dangers  of  the  sav- 
age new  world,  and  succeeded  in  the 
object.  How  the  aristocracy  of  Eng- 
land made  the  desperate  efiort  to  again 
bring  the  yoke  to  bear;  to  tax  us  with- 
out allowing  us  to  be  represented  in 
parliament — to  place  the  appointment 
of  all  important  offices  in  the  hands  of 
the  king,  who  would  send  over  the  sons 
of  England's  noblemen  to  be  our  gov- 
ernors and  our  judges,  and  who  would 
fill  all  the  posts  of  wealth,  dignity  and 
power  with  the  children  of  the  lords. 

Hence  the  war  of  the  Revolution. 
We,  the  people,  conquered,  and  estab- 
lished our  government,   independent   of 


all  the  world,  placing  as  corner-stone  of 
the  edifice,  that  "all  men  are  born  free 
and  equal,  and  are  alike  entitled  to  life, 
liberty  and  the  pursuit  of  happiness." 

Then  coining  down  to  the  great  conflict 
of  America,  the  Rebellion,  it  was  a 
continuance  of  that  irrepressible  con- 
flict which  has  shaken  the  world  to  its 
uttermost  depths  for  ages.  It  was 
based  upon  slavery,  that  which  has 
caused  the  shedding  of  oceans  of  blood, 
and  making  millions  of  widows  and  or- 
phans. 

The  Constitution  under  which  we  are 
bound  together,  is,  in  its  spirit  and  le- 
gitimate utterance,  doubtless  one  of  the 
most  noble  documents  ever  produced  by 
the  mind  of  man,  and  even  now,  when 
the  advancement  of  a  century  has 
dawned  upon  its  use,  not  a  paragraph 
requires  changing  to  make  it  true  to 
humanity.  But  yet,  ingloriously  and 
guiltily,  we  consented  to  use  one  phrase 
susceptible  of  a  double  meaning,  "held 
to  labor."  So  small,  and  apparently  so 
insignificant,  were  the  seeds  sown,  from 
which  such  a  harvest  of  misery  has 
been  reaped.  In  the  North,  these  hon- 
est words  meant  a  hired  man  or  an  ap- 
prentice. In  the  South,  they  were 
taken  to  mean  slavery,  the  degradation 
and  feudal  bondage  of  a  race.  A  privi- 
leged class  assumed  that  the  constitution 
recognized  it,  and  the  right  of  property 
in  human  beings.  This  class  endeav- 
ored to  strengthen  and  extend  their 
aristocratic  institution,  which  was 
dooming  ever  increasing  millions  to 
life-long  servitude  and  degradation. 
All  wealth  was  rapidly  accumulating  in 
tiie  hands  of  these  few  who  owned  their 
fellow  man  as  property.  The  poor 
whites,  unable  to  buy  slaves,  and    con- 


(514 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


sidering  labor  which  was  performed  by 
them  degrading,  were  rapidly  sinking 
into  a  state  of  frightful  misery.  The 
sparse  population  which  slavery  al- 
lowed, excluded  churches,  schools  and 
villages.  Immense  plantations  of  thou- 
sands of  acres,  tilled  by  as  many  slaves, 
driven  to  work  by  overseers,  consigned 
the  whole  land  to  but  few.  The  south- 
ern country  generally  presented  an  ap- 
pearance of  desolation  which  Christian- 
dom  no  where  else  could  parallel.  The 
slaveholders  claimed  the  right  to  extend 
the  institution  over  new  territory,  and 
the  conflict  of  free  labor  and  slave 
labor  began,  as  it  was  impossible  for 
those  men,  with  the  sentiment  of  equal- 
ity could  live  on  peaceful  terms  with 
those  who  claim  aristocratic  privileges. 
From  the  year  1790,  the  strife  grew 
hotter  and  hotter  every  year.  The 
questions  arising  kept  congress,  both 
the  senate  and  house,  in  one  incessant 
scene  of  warfare.  There  could  be  no 
peace  in  the  land  until  this  aristocratic 
element  was  effectually  banished. 

The  Hon.  Mr.  Iverson,  of  Georgia, 
speaking  of  the  antagonism  of  the  two 
systems,  aristocracy  and  equality,  said, 
in  the  senate  of  the  United  States,  Dec. 
5,  1860: 

"Sir,  disguise  the  fact  as  you  will, 
there  is  enmity  between  the  northern 
and  southern  people,  which  is  deep  and 
enduring,  and  you  can  never  eradicate  it 
— never!  Look  at  the  spectacle  exhibited 
on  this  floor?  How  is  it?  There  are  the 
northern  senators  on  that  side;  here  are 
the  southern  senators  on  this  side.  You 
sit  upon  your  side  silent  and  gloomy; 
we  sit  upon  our  side  with  knit  brows 
and  portentous  scowls.  Here  arc  two 
hostile  bodies  on  this  floor,  and  it  is  but 


a  type  of  the  feeling  which  exists  be- 
tween the  two  sections.  We  are  enemies 
as  much  as  if  we  were  hostile  states. 
We  have  not  lived  in  peace.  We  are 
nut  now  living  in  peace.  It  is  not  ex- 
pected that  we  shall  ever  live  in  peace." 

Hon.  Mr.  Mason,  of  Virginia,  in  con- 
tinuation of  the  same  debate  said:  "This 
is  a  war  of  sentiment  and  opinion,  by 
one  form  of  society,  against  another 
form  of  society." 

This  feeling  continued  to  grow  stron- 
ger. One  incessant  cry  became,  "  Ab- 
jure your  democratic  constitution,  which 
favors  equal  rights  to  all  men,  and  give 
us  in  its  place  an  aristocratic  constitu- 
tion, which  will  secure  the  rights  of  a 
privileged  class."  They  insisted  that 
the  domestic  slave  trade  should  be 
nurtured  and  the  foreign  slave  trade 
opened,  saying  in  the  coarse  and  vulgar 
language  of  one  of  the  most  earnest 
advocates  of  slavery!  "The  north  can 
import  jackasses  from  Malta,  let  the 
south,  then,  import  niggers  from 
Africa." 

The  reply  of  the  overwhelming  ma- 
jority of  the  people  of  the  United 
States  was  decisive.  Lincoln  was  elec- 
ted and  inaugurated,  despite  the  con- 
spiracy to  prevent  it. 

Volumes  could  be,  and  have  been 
written  upon  these  actions,  but  they 
are  well  known.  We  will  merely  men- 
tion the  most  prominent  features,  tran- 
spiring until  the  havoc  of  war  actually 
set  in. 

On  the  7th  of  Nov.,  I860,  it  was 
known  that  Abraham  Lincoln  was  elec- 
ted president  of  the  United  States,  and 
was  to  enter  upon  his  duties  on  the  4th 
day  of  the  following  March.  In  the 
meantime    the    executive     government 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


615 


was  virtually  in  the  hands  of  the  slave 
power.  James  Buchanan,  the  president, 
had  been  elected  to  the  office,  openly 
pledged  to  pursue  tin- general  policy  the 
slave-holders  enjoyed.  The  cabinet 
where  all  slave-holders  and  slave-mas- 
ters. The  United  States  navy  was 
scattered  all  over  the  face  of  the  several 
oceans,  leaving  only  two  war-vessels  for 
the  defense  of  the  country;  the  treasury 
was  left  barren:  the  army  was  so  scat- 
tered in  remote  fortresses  in  the  far 
west,  as  t"  leave  all  the  forts  where  they 
would  be  needed,  defenseless;  the  U.  S. 
arsenals  were  empty,  the  secretary  of 
war  sending  their  guns  to  the  slave 
states,  where  hands  of  rebels  were 
organized  and  drilling,  prepared  to  re- 
ceive them.  One  hundred  and  fifteen 
thousand  arms,  of  the  most  approved 
pattern,  were  transferred  from  Spring- 
field, Mass.,  and  from  Watervleit,  X. 
Y.,  together  with  a  vast  amount  of  can- 
non, morter,  balls,  powder  and  shells 
were  also  forwarded  to  the  rebels. 

On  the  18th  of  Feb.,  1861,  the  inaug- 
uration of  Jefferson  Davis,  as  president 
of  the  Southern  Confederacy,  took  place 
at  Montgomery,  Ala.  Four  days  later 
the  collector  of  customs,  appointed  by 
the  Confederate  government  in  Charles- 
Ion,  S.  ('.,  issued  the  manifesto  that  all 
vessels,  from  any  state  out  of  the  Con- 
federacy, would  be  treated  as  foreign 
vessels,  and  subject  to  the  port  dues, 
and  other  charges  established  by  the 
laws  ,,f  the  Confederate  States.  Tims 
by  a  stroke  of  the  pen ,  the  immense 
•commerce  of  the  northern  states  was 
declared  to  be  foreign  commerce,  be- 
neath the  guns  of  the  forts  which  the 
United  States  had  reared,  at  an  expense 
of  millions  of  dollars. 


Already  a  number  of  states  had  pass- 
ed the  ordinance  of  secession. 

On  the  4th  of  March,  1861,  Abraham 
Lincoln  was  inaugurated  president,  and 
assumed  official  duties. 

At  half-past  four  o'clock  on  the  morn- 
ing of  the  12th  of  April,  1861,  the  rebels 
opened  fire  upon  Fort  Sumter,  and, 
after  enduring  terrific  bombardment 
from  all  sides,  the  heroic  defenders 
abandoned  it.  and  were  conveyed  to 
New  York.  Fort  Sumter  was  the 
Bunker  Hill  of  the  civil  war.  In  both 
eases,  a  proud  aristocracy  were  deter- 
mined to  subject  this  country  to  its 
sway.  In  both  eases  the  defeat  was  a 
glorious  victory. 

On  the  next  Monday,  April  1-3,  Presi- 
dent Lincoln  issued  a  call  for  3  months' 
service  of  75,000  volunteers.  The  effect- 
was  electrical.  Within  15  days  it  is  es- 
timated that  350,000  men  offered  them- 
selves in  defense  of  our  national  flag. 

Thus  the  civil  war  had  burst  upon 
the  United  States,  with  almost  the  sud- 
denness of  the  meteor's  glare.  It  was, 
however,  but  like  the  eruption  of  the 
volcano,  whose  pent-up  tires  had  for 
ages  been  gathering  strength  for  the 
final  explosion.  The  conspirators  had 
for  years  been  busy  preparing  for  the 
conflict.  In  the  rebel  convention, 
which  met  in  South  Carolina  to  con- 
sumate  the  conspiracy,  Mr.  Inglis  said: 
"Most  of  us  have  had  this  subject 
under  consideration  for  the  last  30 
years."  Mr.  Keitt  said:  ''I  have  been 
engaged  in  this  movement  ever  since  I 
entered  political  life."  Mr.  Rhett  said: 
"It  is  nothing  produced  by  Mr.  Lin- 
coln's election,  or  the  non-execution  of 
the  fugitive  slave  law.  It  is  a  matter 
which  has  been  gathering  for  30  years." 


616 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


But  more  need  not  be  said;  the  result  is 
too  well  known.  Call  followed  call  in 
quick  succession,  the  number  reached 
the  grand  total  of  3,339,748.  The  calls 
were  as  follows: 

April  15,  1861,  for  three  months 75,000 

.May  4.  1861,  for  rive  years ( 14.74s 

July,  1861,  for  three  years 500,000 

July  18,  1862,  for  three  years 300,000 

August  4, 1862,  for  nine  months 300,000 

June.  1863,  for  three  years 300,000 

October  17. 1863,  for  three  years 300,000 

February  18,  1864,  for  three  years 500,000 

July  10,  1864,  for  three  years 200,000 

July  16,  isii4.  for  one.  two  and  three 

years 500,000 

December  21,  1864,  for  three  years 300,000 


Total 3,339,748 

Greene  county  was  not  in  the  rear  of 
her  sister  counties  of  the  state  in  pour- 
ing out  men  and  money  to  sustain  the 
cause  of  the  Union,  furnishing  1,371 
men  to  the  United  States  army.  Of 
these,  195  were  killed,  or  died  '  of 
wounds  or  disease,  during  their  term  of 
service. 

In  1862,  a  war  tax  was  levied  in 
Greene  county,  for  the  purpose  of  pro- 
viding a  fund  for  the  support  of  the 
families  of  the  volunteers,  who  might 
be  in  need  of  the  necessaries  of  life, 
and  at  the  January  term  of  the  county 
court,  the  sum  of  $1,555  was  placed  in 
the  hands  of  commissioners  for  distri- 
bution in  the  quarters  where  most 
needed. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  county  court,  held 
in  March,  1862.  the  following  preamble 
and  order  was  made  and  spread  upon 
the  records  of  that  court: 

"Whereas,  many  of  the  brave  and  worthy 
citizens  of  this  county,  who  have  volunteered 
and  are  now  patriotically  righting  the  battles 
Of  our  common  country,  have  left  families  in 


our  midst,  many  of  whom  are  dependent  up- 
on the  charities  of  their  neighbors  for  the 
common  necessaries  of  life; 

It  is  ordered,  That  for  the  support  of  such 
families,  the  sum  of  $150  be  appropriated  out 
of  the  county  funds,  not  otherwise  appropri- 
ated. Hiram  Keach,  Dr.  J.  Hardtner  and  W. 
A.  Davis  are  constituted  a  committee  for  the 
proper  distribution  of  the  same;  and  are  or- 
dered to  report  their  proceedings  herein,  at  the 
next  June  meeting  of  this  court." 

Appended  is  given  a  roster  of  the  gal- 
lant sons  of  Greene  county  who  partici- 
pated in  the  war,  compiled  from  the 
official  report  of  the  adjutant-general  of 
the  state,  and  corrected  by  parties  liv- 
ing in  the  county.  A  history  of  some 
of  the  regiments  having  been  given  in 
connection  with  the  history  of  Jersey 
county,  in  this  volume,  is  omitted  in 
this  connection,  as  needless. 

SEVENTH  ILLINOIS  INFANTRY. 
COMPANY  F. 

Private: 

John  White. 

NINTH  (CONSOLIDATED)  INFANTRY. 

COMPANY    G. 

Private: 

Thomas  O'Reilly. 

TWELFTH  ILLINOIS  INFANTRY. 

COMPANY    A. 

Private: 

Henry  Jackson. 

FOURTEENTH  ILLINOIS  INFANTRY. 

Adjutant: 

Robert  P.  McKnight. 

COMPANY    B. 

Private: 
A.  T.  Whittemore. 

COMPANY    l>. 

Captains: 
Thomas  J.  Bryant,       James  E.  Williams, 
Carlos  C.Oox. 
Lieutenants: 
Robert  P.  .McKnight.    James  E.  Williams. 
C.  C.  Cox,  Thomas  A.  Weisner. 

Sergeants: 
William  R.  Love,  Richard  D.  Bibb. 


" 

1 — 

HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY.                                 617 

Corporals: 

YETEKAX  BATTALION   14th  AND    L5th 

Thomas  A.  Weisner,    Reuben  E.  Weisner, 

IXFAXTRY. 

John  II.  Hogan,            Robert  .larvis. 

Major. 

Joseph  C.  Carroll,         Thomas   A.  Millhouse. 

Carlos  ( !.  Cox. 

William  II.  Wilson. 

Commissary  Sergeant: 

Isaac  Melton. 

Privates: 

COMPANY  A. 

.lames  \V.  Altune,         Jacob  Bowman, 

Private: 

W.  s.  (lark.                   C  B.Cash, 

John  A.  Kilpatrick. 

John  Cunningham,       Samuel  Culbertson, 

COMPANY   B. 

John  Dunn,                    George  11.  Davidson. 

Privates: 

Jasper  Dennis.                VV.  II.  Davidson. 

Ceo.  W.  Thompson,      Seymour  E.  'Wirts. 

Ahnarine  Farmer,        James  Kelly. 

COMP  \NY   I>. 

W.  A.  I, akin.                 Michael  Lynch, 

(  aptaiu: 

J.  X.  Montgomery,       B.  V.  Myiinger, 

Carlos  C.  Cox. 

F.  M.  Mytinger,            George  McDonald, 

Sei  geants: 

I.  X.  Melton.                  Samuel  Monder, 

Jos.  C.  Carroll.               David  Baker. 

James  Neeee.                Thomas  Patterson, 

Corporals: 

Ellis  Xeeee.                   E.  s.  Reynolds, 

Isaac  X.  Melton.           Chas.  Drown. 

Michael  Rowen,            T.  .1.  short. 

Walter  0.  Watson.        James  M.  Daring. 

Cornelius  Scott.              (!.  !'».  Wilder, 

Musician: 

Bluford  Wylder,           Robert  Wylder, 

Isaac  P.  Barton. 

Robert  Walker.            Henry  Backus, 

Privates: 

David  linker.                 J.  M.  Baring, 

.l.iuies  Altune.              Eugene  Carroll, 

Charles  Brown.               John  L.  Dell. 

.1.  11.  Cannedy.                Patrick  Cannon. 

I).  M.  Cox.                      John  ( lonley, 

John  <  'onley.                   I  (aniel  M.  Cox. 

Eugene  L.  Carroll.       Patrick  Cannon, 

1  [enry  1  .  1  lox,               John  Dunham, 

J.  II.  Cannedy.              John  Durham, 

J.  .1.  Evans,                   W.  il.  Elson, 

James  J.  Evans,            John  Griswold, 

A.  Farmer,                    A.  Grisworld, 

John  Heiner.                 W.  L.  Halbert, 

Roswell  Harden.            W.  L.  Halbert. 

Roswell  Harden.           James  L.  Hill. 

.1.  W.  Henderson.          J.  S.  Hill. 

J.  W.  Henderson.          John  Jeffries. 

James  Xeeee,                   K.  C.  Xeece. 

John  A.  Mytinger.        W.  1'.  Neece, 

William  Neece,              sand.  Pitman. 

Samuel  Pitman,            John  II.  Pitman, 

John  II.  Pitman.           J.  P.  Pinegar, 

J.  P.Pinegar,                 C.  D.  Taylor. 

C.  D.  Taylor.                  (i.  1!.  Wylder. 

A.  .1.  Worcester,            W.  0.  Watson, 

('( IMPAX  Y  P. 

George  B.  Wylder. 

Captain: 

COMPANY  P. 

Thos.  A.  Weisner. 

Privates: 

Corporal: 

|      Charles  Court.                William  Wilson. 

W.  D.  Close.                   Julius  Eldred, 

W.  II.  Dawson.              W.  II.  Klson, 

Private: 

Seymour  Wirts. 

Alonzo  Wells. 

COMPANY  11. 

A  history  of  the  14th  infantry  is  given 

Private: 

in  the  history  of  Jersey  count}',  in  this 

Christopher  C.  Wright 

volume,  to  which  the  reader  is  referred. 

COMPANY    K. 

SIXTEE  XT  1 1   I X  F  A  XT  Y. 

Privates: 

COMPANY  C. 

W.  D.  Close.                  Julius  Eldred, 

Privates: 

Lorenzo  A.  Wells. 

Samuel  Kemmis,            Mathcw  Proude. 

wmm^m^m^ 

COMPANY   E. 

Private: 

Thus.  Davenport. 

EIGHT E E X Til  I XF ANTR Y. 

COMPANY   1>. 

Corporal: 
J.  \V.  Bleakley. 

COMPANY   E. 

Private: 
Gallant  A.  Bonswell. 

COMPANY  G. 

Lieutenant: 
Edward  M.  Pates. 
.Sergeant: 
Peter  Williams. 
Corporals: 
C.  S.  Cotter,  Thos.  Watson. 

Musician: 
F.  V.  Close. 
Privates : 
Francis  Biehin,  C.  B.  Ely, 

John  Ryan,  Henry  Wells. 

NINETEENTH  INFANTRY. 

Private: 

Bernard  Walbery. 

T  W  EXT  Y-SE<  '<  >X  D    I X  F  A  XT  1!  Y. 

( Jarterm a ster  Sergeant : 

David  C.  Barrow. 

T  W  E  X  T  V  -  s  E  V  E  NTH    IX  F  A  X  T  H  Y. 

COMPANY   K. 

Private : 
Thos.  O'Reilly. 

TWENTY  -  EIGHTH  CONSOLIDATED 
INFANTRY. 

COMPANY  A. 

Private: 
Alfred  Kodgers. 

COMPANY"  C. 

Private: 
Isaac  Allen. 

COMPANY    I). 

Private: 
B.  F.  Wright. 

COMPANY     E. 

Private: 
Patrick  Brannon. 

COMPANY    K. 

Private: 
.lames  Quackenbush. 


TWENTY-NINTH   INFANTRY. 

COMPANY    K. 

Private: 

Frank  Foils. 

THIRTIETH    IXFAXTKY. 

COMPANY    I. 

Private: 

Samuel  Drake. 

THIRTY-SECOND  IXFAXTKY. 

Colonel: 

(ieorge  II.  English. 

Assistant  Surgeon: 

John  J.  Gilmer. 

Commissary  Sergeant: 

John  E.  Barnard. 

COMPANY    A. 

Privates: 
Charles  T.  Backus.        E.  D.Scott, 
John  Gerry,  Henry  Melville, 

M.  J.  M.  Sessler,  L.  H.Turk. 

COMPANY  B. 

J.  B.  Brewer.  J.  M.  Galbraith, 

K.  .I.Stewart. 

COMPANY  C. 

A.  J.  ( (strum,  R.  A.  Rushen. 

COMPANY  I>. 

Captains: 
(ieorge  II.  English,        Daniel  McLennan. 
Jefferson  Dunn. 
First  Lieutenants: 
Daniel  McLennan.        Thomas  A.  Smith, 
Francis  M.  Walton. 
Second  Lieutenants: 
S.  S.  Sampson,  Jefferson  Dunn. 

James  Gibbons. 
Sergeants: 
Thomas  A.  Smith.         Josephus  Moore. 
Robt.  A.  Smith,  S.  S.  Patterson. 

Corporals: 
John  A.  Reeves,  Richard  Tyas, 

Dwight  Reynolds,  John  E.  Barnard, 

Richard  A.  Hall.  A.J.  Wilder. 

Musicians: 
Frederick  Dick,  Frank  Sackston. 

Privates: 
Francis  M.  Allen,  Thomas  Barnett, 

Henry  C.  Boring.  Samuel  Brasher, 

Charles  W.  Boring,        Thomas  Bagwell, 
James  Black,  John  Brown. 

R.  J.  Carlton,  J.  M.  Cooper, 


Charles  Carroll,  John  ( 'lardy. 

J.  N.Cole,  D.  W.  Calaway, 

(i.  B.  Crane,  Jefferson  Dunn. 

s.D.  Edwards,  James  Gibbins, 

J.  M.  Gearheart,  Win.  Heaton, 

A.  .1.  Hill.  Jonathan  Jordan, 

Willis  Jackson,  .1.  M.  Jackson, 

Edward  Keating,  (has.  Lynch, 

Augustus  Lewis,  John  Lenard, 

Piter  Lee.  W.  II.  Melvin. 

T.J.  Melton.  William  McNeil, 

John  Medford,  J.G.  McBride, 

.1.  .1.  Norris,  .John  Oar, 

W.  B.  l'iper.  M.  11.  Bobbins, 

<;.  M.  Baney,  Levi  stringer. 

Newton  Spradley,         .1.  M.  Sanders, 
C.  B.  B.  Thomas,  .1.  II.  Taylor, 

s.  S.  Temple,  Joseph  VanMeter, 

G.  W.  Wylder,  F.  M.  Walton. 

Frederick  Dick,  I!.  A.  Hall.  , 

W.  T.  Pickett,  Stephen  Rives, 

Dwight  Reynolds.  II.  1!.  Harnett, 

W'm.  P.  Caapen,  1!.  .1.  Carlton. 

Edward  Clary,  <;.  T.  Smith. 

i  '  (MP ANY  K. 

First  Lieutenant: 

John  P.  ( lampbell. 

Second   Lieutenant: 

John  W.   Lee. 

Sergeant : 
.1.  (',.  Gilmer. 
Corporals: 
Martin  Hughes,  Anderson  Reaughr, 

Privates: 
William  Allen,  Patrick  Carroll, 

Vinton  Allen.  Robert  father. 

Chas.  Atwoml.  Wesley  Cat  her. 

F.lisha  Barrett,  Henry  Huffman, 

.Michael' Holing,  .1.  B.  Ileadrick. 

1.  1.  Holmes,  ,1.  W.  Lee, 

M.  W.  Moore.  -I.  II.  Bobinet, 

Daniel  Reedy.  T.  F.  Wills, 

Edward  Williams,        James  Watson. 
Theo.  X.  Watts.  Edwin  A.  Woodman, 

Thos.  W.  Roberts. 

THIKTY-SECONI)    ILLINOIS    INFANTRY. 

This  gallant  regiment  was  organized 
at  Camp  Butler,  near  Springfield,  111., 
by  Col.  John  Logan,  and  mustered  into 


the  service  of  the  United  States,  Dec. 
31,  1861,  with  the  following  staff  offi- 
cers: John  Logan,  colonel;  John  W. 
Ross,  lieutenant-colonel;  Wm.  Hunter, 
major;  James  F.  Drish,  adjutant :  ('has. 
A.  Morton,  quartermaster;  "W.  S.  Ed- 
gar, surgeon;  and  A.  C.  Vanderwater, 
chaplain.  Co.  I).  was  almost  wholly 
made  up  of  volunteers  from  Greene 
county,  beside  others  scattered  through 
the  various  other  companies. 

On  the  28th  of  Jan..  1862,  it  moved 
for  the  seat  of  war,  by  way  of  Cairo 
and  Bird's  Point,  and  on  the  9th,  ar- 
rived at  Fort  Henry.  Here  it  was  as 
signed  a  place  in  the  1st  Brig.,  4th 
Div.,  the  latter  under  command  of  Gen. 
8.  A.  Hurlbut.  Fromhereit  proceeded 
to  Pittsburg  Landing,  where  it  arrived 
on  the  15th  of  March,  and  went  into 
camp.  The  regiment  bore  a  conspicu- 
ous and  honorable  part  in  the  battle  of 
Shiloh,  April  6  and  7. 1S62,  losing  some 
40  killed,  and  200  wounded.;  Lieut. - 
Col.  Ross,  mortally  wounded;  Lieut. 
J.  S.  Rice,  killed;  Lieut.  John  Laboy- 
teaux,  killed;  Lieut.  C.  A.  Eames, 
killed;  and  Lieut.  John  York,  killed.  It 
was  also  engaged  in  the  advance  on  Co- 
rinth, and  pursuit  to  Cold  Water,  Miss., 
and  returned  to  Lagrange,  and  from 
there  to  Memphis,  arriving  at  the  latter 
place,  July  21.  On  the  loth  of  Sept., 
was  ordered  to  Bolivar,  and  on  the  20th 
to  Grand  Junction,  but  were  forced  to 
retire  to  Bolivar,  from  the  latter  place. 
by  an  overwhelming  force  of  the  enemy, 
and  on  the  4th  of  Oct.,  was  ordered  to 
Corinth,  to  reinforce  General  Rosecrans. 
The  next  day,  at  the  crossing  of  the 
Hatch ie,  they  met  a  force  of  the  enemy 
five  times  their  own  number,  and  engag- 
ing  them,   were  victorious    over   them; 


022 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


this  is  called  the   battle  of  Matamora. 
The  32d  did  good  service,  losing  7  killed, 

and  29  wounded.  They  returned  to 
Bolivar,  the  next  day,  where  they  re- 
mained until  Nov.  3,  when  they  moved 
to  Lagrange.  On  the  8th,  making  a 
forced  march  southward,  they  surprised 
and  captured  over  100  cavalry  at  Lamar, 
and  routed  the  enemy  at  that  place. 
They  were  marched  to  within  four  miles 
of  Holly  Springs,  by  way  of  Lumpkin's 
Mill,  and  Yacona  creek,  but  finding  the 
former  place  in  the  hands  of  the  enemy, 
and  themselves  on  half  rations,  the}' 
retraced  their  steps.  On  their  arrival 
at  Lumpkin's  Mill  they  commenced 
to  subsist  on  the  country,  and  Jan., 
1863,  again  moved  to  Holly  Springs,  by 
this  time  again  in  our  hands.  They  did 
considerable  marching  now,  moving 
upon  the  enemy  wherever  he  was  found, 
cutting  off  supplies,  etc.,  until  in  March, 
when  they  were  ordered  to  Memphis, 
where  they  remained  until  May  11, 
when  they  were  removed  to  Young's 
Point,  La.,  and  on  the  15th  joined  the 
division  10  miles  below  Vicksburgh. 
The  next  day  they  were  sent  to  Grand 
Gulf,  where  they  remained  as  garrison 
until  June  12,  when  that  point  was 
abandoned,  when  they  returned  to  the 
lines  about  Vicksburg,  where  they  par- 
ticipated in  the  siege  operations  until 
the  27th  of  June,  when  Col.  Logan  was 
ordered  with  the  32d  Illinois  and  114th 
Ohio,  and  a  section  of  artillery,  to  com- 
mand the  post  at  Warrenton.  On  the 
4th  of  July  they  were  ordered  to  join 
their  brigade,  and  on  the  5th,  started 
with  Gen.  Sherman's  column  toward 
Jackson.  This  was  the  most  trying 
march  the  regiment  made,  as  they  were 
tired  and  worn  out    during    the    siese. 


During  this  summer  they  did  considera- 
ble marching,  assisting  in  the  capture 
of  several  places,  among  which  were 
Harrisonburg  and  Natchez.  In  Jan- 
uary, 1864,  moved  to  Vicksburg,  where 
the  regiment  mustered  as  a  veteran  or- 
ganization, and  on  the  4th  of  February, 
started  with  Gen.  Sherman  on  the  Me- 
ridian expedition,  with  the  1st  Brig.  4th 
Div.,  17th  Army  Corps,  and  with  it 
marched  some  300  miles.  On  the  Kith 
the  regiment  started  for  home  on  their 
veteran  furloughs,  after  enjoying  which 
on  the  28th  of  April  they  reassembled  at 
Camp  Butler,  and  again  started  for  the 
front,  joining  Gen.  Sherman's  army  at 
Ackworth,  June  11,  1864.  On  the  12th 
the  siege  of  Kenesaw  mountain  began, 
and  the  17th  corps,  of  which  the32d  was 
a  part,  occupied  the  left  of  the  line,  and 
this  regiment  the  most  exposed  position. 
On  the  2d  of  July  the  corps  was  trans- 
ferred to  the  right  of  the  line,  where 
it  skirmished  with  the  enemy  on 
the  4th  and  5th.  On  the  latter  date 
the  4th  division  assaulted  the  ene- 
my's works  at  Nickajack  creek;  the  32d 
was  the  first  to  plant  its  colors  thereon. 
The  enemy  then  withdrew  to  the  Chat- 
tahoochie,  and  on  the  17th  to  Atlanta. 
July- 18,  the  regiment  was  transferred  to 
the  2d  brigade  and  Col.  Logan  made  the 
commander  of  the  brigade,  Lieut. -Col. 
English  commanding  the  regiment.  The 
2d  brigade  was  now  sent  to  Marietta  to 
guard  the  depot  of  supplies  at  place. 
September  8,  a  party  of  30  men 
under  Lieut.  Alexander  Campbell, 
while  out  foraging,  were  captured,  after 
a  spirited  resistance,  only  nine  escaping. 
On  the  1st  of  October  the  regiment 
moved  to  a  point  near  Kenesaw  moun- 
tain.    On  the  3d,  the  enemy,   in  strong 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


623 


force,  attacked  the  line,  and  driving 
back  the  guard,  killed  and  captured  12 
men.  The  regiment  lay  in  camp  near 
Marietta  until  the  commencement  of 
"Sherman's  march  to  the  sea,"  when  it 
moved  from  Atlanta,  Nov.  15,  1864, 
having  moved  to  that  place  two  days 
previous.  They  accompanied  that 
matchless  soldier,  Sherman,  on  his  tri- 
umphant march  through  the  heart  of 
the  confederacy,  and  while  engaged  in 
the  siege  of  Savannah,  from  Dec.  10  to 
21,  lost  Capt.  E.  C.  Lawson,  and  four 
men  wounded.  From  the  Nth  to  the 
18th  the  regiment  was  on  less  than  one- 
fourth  rations,  some  days  not  even  hav- 
ing that.  They  remained  in  camp  here 
until  Jan.  5,  1865,  when  they  embarked 
for  Beaufort,  South  Carolina,  where 
they  remained  until  Feb.  1.  On  the  3d 
of  that  month,  the  division  under  the 
command  of  Gen.  Giles  A.  Smith,  waded 
the  Salkahatchie  river,  at  a  point  where 
it  had  been  deemed  impossible,  by  the 
enemy,  to  cross.  The  river  here  spread 
out  some  two  miles  wide,  was  from  two  to 
five  feet  deep,  and  ice-cold,  but  general, 
staff  and  line  officers  as  well  as  men 
waded  across,  and  after  half  an  hour's 
skirmishing  on  the  opposite  bank,  com- 
pelled the  enemy  to  evacuate  their 
strong  line  of  defense. 

On  the  12th  of  Feb.,  they  arrived  at 
the  North  Edisto  river.  The  bridge 
being  strongly  guarded,  the  32d  was  or- 
dered one  mile  above,  where  it  waded 
the  stream,  and  the  enemy  finding  some 
of  our  troops  on  that  side  of  the  river, 
fled,  and  Orangeburg  was  occupied  by 
the  17th  corps.  On  the  16th,  the  divis- 
ion arrived  on  the  south  bank  of  the 
Congaree  river,  opposite  Columbia, 
S.  C,    and    our    batteries    commenced 


shelling  the  enemy,  who  were  still  in 
the  city.  During  the  night  the  confed- 
erates evacuated  the  place,  and  in  the 
morning  two  companies  of  the  13th  la. 
Inf.,  and  Co.  C,  of  the  32d  111.,  crossed 
the  river  in  fiats,  with  the  colors  of  each 
regiment.  The  flag  of  the  13th  la.,  was 
placed  on  the  State  House,  and  that  of 
the  32d  111.,  on  the  City  Hall.  From 
here  the  corps  engaged  in  its  northward 
march;  were  engaged  at  Bentonville,  N. 
C,  where  the  32d  lost  heavily  while  on 
the  skirmish  line.  And  still  moving 
northward  until  the  close  of  the  war, 
took  part  in  the  grand  review  at  Wash- 
ington, May  24,  1865.  It  then  pro- 
ceeded west  to  Fort  Leavenworth  and 
Kearney,  and  returning  to  the  former, 
was  mustered  out  Sept.  16,  1865,  and 
were  ordered  to  Camp  Butler  for  final 
pay  and  discharge. 

THIRTY-THIRD    IX  FAX  THY. 

COMPANY   D. 

William  II.  Boring,      Anthony  Campbell. 
Samuel  Campbell. 

COMPANY  II. 

Wilton    Rislev. 
COMPANY   I. 

Enos  W".  Wood. 

T 1 1 1  KT  Y-F(  >l'  RTH    1 X  FANTRY. 

COMPANY   B. 

Dennis   Collins. 
C  IMI'ANY   G. 

P.  A.  Davenport.  'J'.  '1'.  Middleton, 

Samuel  Alexander.       James  Callon. 

THIRTY-EIGHTH   IXFAXTRY. 

Colonel : 
William  1'.  Carlin. 

COMPANY   A. 

Lieutenant  ami  Captain: 

Walter   E.  Carlin. 

FORTY- NINTH    IXFAXTRY.  ' 

Chambers,  Jeffrey. 

FIFTIETH    IXFAXTRY. 

COMPANY    C. 

M.  F.  Carrico,  II.  C.  Cooper. 


62  1 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY 


FIFTY-THIRD    INFANTRY. 

COMPANY   B. 

Fred.  A.   Kenneth. 
FIFTY-FIFTH  INFANTRY. 

( '(IMP ANY  A. 

Corporal: 
Myron  Wheeler. 

Privates: 
L.  P.  Hendryx,  T.  Hendryx, 

William  Wheeler,  Allen  Wheeler. 

COMPANY  G. 

Joseph  Wheeler. 
FIFTY-EIGHTH   INFANTRY. 

COMPANY  B. 

Mandeville  Winslow 

FIFTY-NINTH   INFANTRY. 
Lieutenant  Colonel: 
Joshua  C.  Winters. 

COMPANY   E. 

Privates: 
Presley  Edwards,  F.  M.  Jackson, 

II.  P.  Powell,  James  Welsh. 

COMPANY   G. 

Captains: 
Joshua  C.  Winters,       Joseph  S.  Hackney, 
Horace  W.starkey,       S.  S.  Burrows. 

Lieutenants: 
Joseph  S.  Hackney,       Horace  W.  Starkey, 
Hiram  Wendt,  S.  S.  Burrows, 

Thos.  1>.  Johnson,  Marion  H.  Walker. 

First  Sergeants: 
S.  S.  Burrows,  Horace  W.  Starkey. 

Sergeants: 
Daniel  Potter,  W.  W.  Oaks, 

W.  R.  March,  P.  V.  Adine. 

Corporals: 
.lames  Cade.  James  II.  Day, 

William  Hines,  Grace  Holder, 

Charles  II.  Cudman,      Henry  Griffin, 
John  C.  Wells,  Aaron  S.  Davis. 

Musicians: 
(i.  R.  Strickland,  Simeon  Ross. 

Privates: 
James  Admire,  Andy  Adnar, 

Henry  Beiterman,        Daniel  Bee, 
A.C.Barber,  S.S.  Burrows, 

Calvin  Blackburn,         Andrew  Barton, 
George  Hills.  W.  A.  Cornelius, 

Wm.  Cummins,  R.  A.  Cummins, 


.lames  Catlier,  Chas.  Dodson, 

Ceo.  Dawson,  W.  P.  Davis, 

Isaac  Emlev,  John  Edwards, 

J.  I).  Flora,  John  Gilbert, 

Joseph  Gering,  James  Gibson, 

Joseph  Garrison,  Wm.  Henson, 

Michael  Hargin,  John  Henson, 

Admo  Hankins,  Wm.  Hankins, 

Frank  Hankins,  Englehart  Ive, 

Richard  Isoon,  William  Keine, 

Robert  Lyman,  R.  Millhouser, 

W.F.  McLemmin,  James  Medford, 

Robert  Patterson,  John  Ratclitf, 

James  Reed,  J.  F.  Robertson, 

Mathew  Swan,  Jesse  Suttles, 

Win.  Silkwood,  John  Simpson, 

John  Thomas,  Marion  Walker, 

Hiram  Wendt,  Joseph  Fegar, 

Henry  Griffin,  Wm.  Hines, 

Geo.  W.  Lowrance,  M.  A.  Powell, 

Simeon  Ross,  G.  R.  Strickland, 

John  C.  Wells,  W.  P.  Admire, 

Joseph  Buck,  Elam  Rain. 

J.  R.  Chainplin,  James  Davis, 

Obediah  Denhain  Woodson  Denham. 

Isam  Edwards,  Alfred  Fuller, 

H.  L.  Fields.  Thomas  Ford, 

Elijah  Henson,  Sol.  Henson, 

II.  Huanicutt,  W.  L.  Ilerron, 

William  Keiln,  Frank  Kendall, 

Chas.  Martin,  II.  J.  McCIenning, 

F.  M.  Myers.  William  McDonald, 

James  McCIenning,  James  Mahlone, 

Samuel  McCIenning,  Davidson  May. 

Abram  Pruitt,  S.  15.  Silkwood, 

Samuel  Turner,  James  Silkwood, 

S.  W.  Winters,  F.  M.  Winters, 

Zach.  T.  Walker,  J.  W.  Walker, 

William  Hankins,  James  Powell, 

W.  A.  Powell,  W.  F.  Powell. 

COMPANY  K. 

Luther  Dickerson,  Jacob  Downs. 

William  Looker.  T.  F.  Reynolds, 
Philip  Wells. 

FIFTY-NINTH    ILLINOIS    INFANTRY. 

In  Aug.,  1861,  a  company  for  service 
in  the  United  States  service  was  raised 

in  Greene  county,  of  which  Joshua   C. 
Winters  was  chosen  captain.      On   his 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


62S 


proceeding  to  Springfield,  it  was  found 
that  the  quota  was  full  from  this  state, 
and  one  of  the  officers  proceeded  to  St. 
Louis, where  a  contract  was  entered  into 
with  Gen.  Fremont,  that  this  company, 
with  nine  others,  should  be  mustered 
into  the  service  of  the  United  States, se- 
curing their  officers  from  the  regular 
army.  On  the  18th  of  Dec.,  1861,  the 
regiment  was  organized,  and  John  C. 
Kelton,  of  the  regular  service  made  col- 
onel, but  the  other  staff  officers  were 
taken  from  the  Missouri  militia,  and 
were  but  luke-warm,  to  say  the  least,  in 
the  cause  of  the  Union.  The  regiment 
was  mustered  in  as  the  9th  Mo.  Inf. 
Charles  C.  Frederick  was  lieutenant- 
colonel;  D.  McGibbon, major;  P.  Sidney 
Post,  adjutant;  Frederick  Brasher,  quar- 
termaster; J.  D.  S.  Haslett,  surgeon, 
and  Nathan  Shumette,  chaplain.  The 
companies  composing  the  regiment  had 
been  mustered  at  various  times  in  Aug- 
ust and  September,  and  the  organization 
effected  as  above.  On  the  21st  of  Sep- 
tember they  were  ordered  to  Jefferson 
City,  and  on  the  30th  the  regiment  was 
moved  to  Booneville,  where  it  was 
placed  in  the  same  brigade  with  the  27th 
111.  Inf.,  5th  la.  Inf.,  1st  Kan.  Inf.,  and 
Davidson's  111.  Bat'y.  This  brigade 
was  placed  under  the  command  of  Col. 
J.  C.  Kelton,  and  the  division,  to  which 
it  was  attached,  by  Gen.  John  Pope. 
Oct.  13,  marched  via  Syracuse  to  Otter- 
ville,  arriving  at  the  latter  place  four 
days  later,  and  on  the  21st  set  out  for 
Springfield,  Mo.,  where  they  went  into 
camp  on  the  3d.  Nov.  9,  they  started 
back  for  Syracuse.  On  the  20th  of  the 
same  month,  Col.  Worthington,  of  the 
5th  la.  Inf.,  took  command  of  the 
brigade,  only  to   turn   it   over   to   Col. 


Julius  White.of  the  37th  111.  Inf.  About 
this  time  there  arose  much  dissatisfac- 
tion with  the  staff  officers,  and  Col.  Kel- 
ton withdrawing,  Gov.  Gamble  commis- 
sioned P.  Sidney  Post  as  colonel  of  the 
regiment. 

Feb.  12,  1862,  by  an  tinier  of  the  war 
department,  the  regiment  was  changed 
to  the  59th  111.  Inf.,  a  name  which  it 
bore  until  the  end  of  the  war.  It  was 
at  this  time  engaged  with  the  army  un- 
der Major-General  Samuel  Curtis,  in  the 
pursuit  of  General  Price,  and  on  the  22d 
moved  to  a  place  called  Cross  Hollows. 
On  the  6th  of  March  they  marched, 
through  snow  and  sleet,  to  Pea  Ridge, 
where  on  the  7th,  the  division  of  Gen. 
Jeff.  C.  Davis,  to  which  the  59th  be- 
longed, was  engaged  with  the  enemy  all 
day.  Here  it  was  that  Maj.  P.  Sidney 
Post  was  severely  wounded.  The  next 
day  they  moved  to  reinforce  Gens.  As- 
both  and  Carr,  who  had  been  forced  to 
take  up  a  new  position  in  the  rear  of 
their  old  one,  and  were  soon  hotly  en- 
gaged. Lieut. -Col.  Frederick  was 
wounded,  and  Capt.  Hale  commanded 
the  regiment  during  the  balance  of  the 
day.  On  the  10th  the  regiment  moved 
to  Sugar  creek,  and  on  the  15th  to  Cross 
Timbers.  Considerable  marching  and 
counter-marching  was  now  done  by  this 
regiment,  and  on  the  28th  they  found 
themselves  at  West  Plains,  from  whence 
Capt.  Ellett,  three  lieutenants  and  50 
men  were  detached  to  serve  with  Col. 
Ellett's  ram  fleet.  The  division  arrived 
at  Cape  Girardeau  on  the  20th  of  May, 
and  there  embarked  for  Hamburg  Land- 
ing, Tenn.,  and  on  the  27th  moved  to 
Farmington,  and  were  placed  in  reserve 
on  the  left  of  Gen.  Poj>e's  army,  near 
Corinth.       On    the    evacuation    of   that 


626 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


place,  pursued  the  enemy  as  far  as 
Booneville,  and  then  returned  to  Clear 
creek.  On  the  5th  of  August  they  had 
a  smart  skirmish  with  the  enemy's  cav- 
alry at  Bay  Springs,  Miss.,  and  arrived 
at  Iuka  on  the  8th.  On  the  18th  they 
crossed  the  Tennessee  river,  at  Eastport, 
and  camped  at  Waterloo.  Col.  Post, 
who  had  returned,  now  took  charge  of 
the  brigade,  and  Gen.  R.  B.  Mitchell  of 
the  division.  They  marched  to  Florence, 
Ala.,  and  from  there  to  Franklin, 
Tenn.,  and  to  Murfreesboro,  and  on 
the  3d  day  of  September,  commenced 
the  northward  march  with  Gen.  Buell, 
arriving  at  Louisville,  Sept.  26.  Here 
they  rested  a  few  days,  and  on  the  1st 
of  Oct.,  the  59th,  74th  and  75th  111. 
Inf.,  and  the  2d  Ind.  Inf.,  were  placed 
in  one  brigade,  known  as  the  30th  Brig., 
Army  of  the  Ohio,  and  assigned  to 
the  9th  Div.,  3d  A.  C.  They,  now, 
with  the  army  under  Buell,  moved  out 
after  Gen.  Bragg,  and  on  the  8th  of 
Oct.  met  him  at  Chaplin  Hills,  where 
there  was  a  hotly  contested  battle,  the 
59th  losing  113  men,  killed  and  wound- 
ed, out  of  361  going  into  action.  Maj. 
Joshua  C.  Winters  was  in  command  of 
the  regiment.  On  the  10th  they  were 
engaged  in  pursuit  of  the  enemy,  and 
(in  the  14th  found  him  at  Lancaster, 
Ky.,  and  had  a  severe  skirmish.  They 
then  returned  to  Nashville,  where  they 
went  into  winter  quarters. 

VETERAN  ORGANIZATION. 

The  59th  Reg.  111.  Vet.  Inf.,  was  at- 
tached to  the  1st  Brig.,  1st  Div.,  20th 
A.  C,  and  on  the  25th  of  Oct., 
L862,  was  in  camp  eight  miles  from 
Nashville.  This  brigade  was  composed 
of  the  59th,  74th  and  75th   111. 'inf.,  22d 


Ind.       Inf.,       and     5th      Wis.     Bat'y. 
The  brigade  was    commanded  by  Col. 

P.  S.  Post,  the  division  by  Gen.  Jeff. 
C.  Davis,  and  the  corps  by  Gen.  A.  M. 
McCook.  On  the  25th  of  Dec.,  Col. 
Post's  brigade,  to  which  was  added  the 
21st  111.  Inf.,  made  a  reconnoissance 
toward  Franklin,  and  skirmished  with 
the  enemy  all  day.  The  59th  pressed 
down  the  road  from  Brentwood  toward 
Nolensville  On  the  2(>th  the  army  of 
the  Cumberland  was  put  in  motion  for 
the  Stone  river  campaign,  Col.  Post's 
brigade  taking  the  advance  toward 
Nolensville.  The  59th  was  deployed  as 
skirmishers  and  drove  the  enemy  be- 
fore them  for  nine  miles,  until  it  was 
found  in  force  at  Nolensville.  It,  also, 
took  part  in  the  assault  on  that  town, 
from  which  the  Confederates  were 
driven  in  confusion,  and  also  in  the 
combined  attack  of  Cols.  Post's  and 
Carlin's  brigades  on  Pilot  Knob.  On  the 
27th,  the  enemy  was  driven  to  Triune, 
where  our  regiment  lay  until  the  29th. 
when  it  marched  toward  Murfreesboro. 
On  the  30th,  the  enemy  was  found  in 
force  and  entrenched.  An  unsuccessful 
attempt  was  made  to  drive  him  from 
his  position,  and  the  regiment  lay,  dur- 
ing the  night  of  the  30th,  within  a  few 
hundred  yards  of  the  enemy's  works. 
Early  on  the  morning  of  the  31st,  the 
enemy  turned  the  right  flank  of  the 
20th  corps.  The  59th  changed  front  to 
the  rear,  and  supporting  the  5th  Wis. 
Bat'y,  for  a  long  time  held  the  enemy 
in  check,  and  when  withdrawn,  brought 
with  it  the  guns  of  the  battery,  from 
which  the  horses  had  all  heen  killed. 
It  was  then  put  in  position  on  the  Mur- 
freesboro pike,  which  it  held  until  Jan- 
uary 2,  when  Col.  Post's  brigade  crossed 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


627 


the  Stone  river,  to  the  extreme  left  of 
the  arm}',  to  drive  back  the  enemy,  who 
had  succeeded  in  turning  the  left  flank. 
The  regiment  forded  the  river,  swollen 
by  recent  rains,  and  assisted  in  driving 
back  the  enemy,  and  held  their  posi- 
tion on  the  extreme  front,  until  the 
morning  of  January  4,  when  it  recrossed 
Stone  river,  and  the  enemy  evacuated 
Murfreesboro. 

On  the  23d  of  June,  the  Tullahoma 
campaign  was  commenced.  Col.  Post's 
brigade  marched  to  Liberty  Gap,  and 
engaged  the  enemy  from  the  24th  to  the 
27th,  when  he  pressed  the  enemy  back 
to  Winchester.  He  remained  at  this 
latter  place  until  August  17,  when  the 
brigade  set  out,  and  during  the  night  of 
17th  and  day  of  the  ISth,  was  engaged 
in  hauling  a  train  of  200  wagons  up  the 
Cumberland  mountains.  On  the  20th, 
they  reached  Crow  creek,  near  Steven- 
son, and  ID  days  later  it  left  here,  and, 
crossing  the  Tennessee  river,  ascended 
Sand  mountain,  and  then  pushed  out 
for  Lookout  valley,  and  reached  Wins- 
ton's on  the  4th.  On  the  18th,  the 
brigade  marched  26  miles  to  Steven's 
Gap,  and  from  thence  to  Crawfish 
Springs,  bringing  it  directly  in  the  rear 
of  the  enemy.  Hastening  on  to  rein- 
force Chattanooga,  now  threatened  by  a 
daring  enemy,  Col.  Post  and  his  gallant 
brigade  reached  that  point  on  the  22d,  a 
march  over  rough  country  of  122  miles. 
Lining  the  siege  of  Chattanooga,  the 
59th  was  constantly  under  the  tire  of  the 
enemies  batteries.  On  the  21st  ofOct., 
the  army  of  the  Cumberland  was  re- 
organized, and  the  59th  became  a  part 
of  the  3d  Brig.,  1st  Div.,  4th 
A.  C.  On  the  25th  the  regiment, 
with  the  brigade,  was  ordered  to  White- 


sides,  Tenn.,  and  on  the  23d  of  Nov. 
the  regiment  started  on  the  Lookout 
Mountain  campaign.  On  the  25th  the 
59th  led  the  brigade  in  the  assault  on 
on  Mission  Ridge,  from  which  the 
enemy  was  driven  in  confusion.  Pursu- 
ing the  fleeing  confederates  for  15  miles. 
to  Ringgold,  where  they  were  again 
brought  to  a  stand  but  soon  routed. 
On  the  30th  of  Nov.  the  regiment  was 
sent  to  the  battlefield  of  Chickamauga, 
to  bring  the  dead  that  thickly  strewed 
that  plain.  From  there  they  returned 
to  Whitesides.  Jan.  12,  1864,  the  reg- 
iment was  mustered  as  a  veteran  or- 
ganization, and  on  the  27th  marched  to 
to  Chattanooga  and  on  the  6th  of  Feb. 
started  for  Springfield,  111.,  which  it 
reached  on  the  10th,  to  enjoy  the  fur- 
lough granted  to  all  veteranizing  troops. 
On  the  19th  of  March,  the  regiment . 
fully  reorganized,  left  Springfield  for 
the  front,  and  arrived  at  Cleveland, 
Tenn.,  in  a  day  or  two.  On  the  -'id  of 
May  the  Atlanta  campaign  commenced, 
and  on  the  7th,  the  regiment  supported 
the  attack  upon  Tunnel  Hill,  and  on 
the  8th,  commenced  the  attack  on  Rocky 
Faced  ridge,  where  it  was  constantly 
engaged  until  the  13th,  when  the  enemy 
abandoned  the  position.  On  the  14th 
and  15th  the  59th  was  warmly  engaged 
at  Resaca,and  on  the  Kith  again  came  in 
contact  with  the  enemy,  at  Adairsville; 
thence  to  crossing  the  Chattahoochie, 
the  59th  was  engaged  at  Kingston, 
Dallas,  Ackworth,  Pine  Top,  Kene- 
saw  Mountain,  Smyrna  Camp-meeting 
groun  besides  innumerable  skirmishes, 
On  the  12th  of  July, the  regiment  crossed 
the  Chattahoochie,  and  presented  itself 
before  the  fortifications  that  surrounded 
Atlanta,   and   from  that  time  until  the 


028 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


25th  of  Aug.  it  was  continually  assailing 
the  works  of  the  enemy,  and  was  under 
fire  night  and  day. 

On  the  18th  of  Aug.,  the  59th  was 
assigned  for  duty  to  the  2d  Brig.,  3d 
Div.,  4th  A.  C,  and  was  well  and  ably 
commanded  by  Col.  P.  Sidney  Post.  On 
the  25th  of  August, the  regiment  marched 
round  Atlanta,  with  the  army,  in  the 
direction  of  Jonesboro,  and  on  the  28th 
and  29th,  was  engaged  in  skirmishing 
with  the  enemy  at  Red  Oak.  On  the 
31st  it  reached  the  enemy's  line  of  com- 
munication, and  destroyed  the  railroad 
at  Rough-and-Ready.  On  the  2d  of  Sep- 
tember, the  battle  of  Lovejoy's  Station 
was  fought,  and  the  59th  gained  fresh 
laurels  to  her  deathless  crown.  On  the 
6th  the  regiment  started  for  Atlanta, 
and  encamped  on  the  8th,  between  that 
city  and  Decatur,  where  it  remained  un- 
til Oct.  2,  when  Gen.  Hood's  army  hav- 
ing evacuated  Atlanta,  had  commenced 
destroying  the  railroad  between  Atlanta 
and  Chattanooga,  they  set  out,  with 
other  troops  in  pursuit.  On  the  3d  the 
Chattahoochie  was  crossed,  and  the 
enemy  first  found  at  Pine  Top.  The 
chase  was  now  continued  through 
Kingston,  Rome,  Resaca,  and  across  the 
mountains  to  Snake  Creek  Gap,  and  to 
Galesville,  which  latter  it  reached  on 
the  20th.  On  the  27th  the  regiment 
started  for  Chattanooga,  but  left  the  lat- 
ter almost  on  arrival,  for  Athens,  Tenn. 
It  marched  to  Pulaski,  and  commenced 
fortifying  that  place,  Nov.  1,  but  on 
the  23d  it  was  deemed  best  to  evacuate 
the  place,  and  on  the  24th  they  com- 
menced a  skirmish  with  the  enemy  at 
Columbia.  Shortly  after  this,  Col. 
Post  crossed  Duck  river,  and  with  his 
brigade  attacked  the  Confederate    ariny 


in  the  flank,  as  it  was  marching  toward 
Spring  Hill.  The  fight  continued  all 
day,  and  at  night  the  regiment  marched 
20  miles,  and  reached  Spring  Hill  on 
the  morning  of  the  30th.  Resting  here 
but  an  hour,  the  little  force  was  pushed 
on  to  Franklin,  where  a  fierce  and 
bloody  battle  was  fought  that  afternoon. 
On  the  morning  of  Dec.  1,  the  regiment 
reached  Nashville,  which  they  helped 
to  fortify. 

Dec.  15,  the  battle  of  Nashville 
commenced.  Col.  Post's  brigade  as- 
saulted Montgomery  hill,  and,  in  the 
language  of  Gen.  Thomas,  "took  the 
initiative  in  the  brilliant  deeds  of  that 
day."  The  59th  was  in  the  first  line  of 
the  assaulting  column,  and  planted  the 
first  colors  on  the  captured  works.  In 
the  afternoon  it  assaulted  and  captured 
the  enemy's  works  on  the  Hillsboro 
pike.  The  next  day,  Dec.  16,  Col. 
Post's  brigade  made  the  ever  memorable 
assault  upon  Overton's  hill.  In  this 
battle  the  regiment  lost,  in  killed  and 
wounded,  one-third  of  the  number  en- 
gaged, among  whom  were  nine  officers, 
including  Col.  Post,  who  was  severely 
wounded  by  a  grape  shot.  The  regi- 
ment started  in  pursuit  of  the  flying 
enemy,  driving  them  across  the  Tennes- 
see, and  on  the  3d  of  January,  camped 
at  Huntsville,  Ala.  On  the  31st  it  re- 
turned to  Nashville,  but  was  sent  back 
to  Huntsville,  in  February.  March  15, 
it  was  moved  to  Strawberry  plains, 
East  Tennessee,  thence  to  Greenville, 
in  the  same  state,  and  on  the  6th  of 
April,  to  Warm  Springs,  N.  C,  and 
from  there  back  to  Greenville  and  Nash- 
ville. On  the  16th  of  June,  the  regi- 
ment left  Nashville  for  New  Orleans, 
and  on  the  9th  of  July,   arrived  at  In- 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


629 


dianola,  Tex,  from  whence  it  marched 
to  San  Antonio,  and  was  stationed  at 
New  Braunfels,  Tex.,  until  the  8th  of 
Dec,  1865,  when  it  was  mustered  out  of 
service,  and  ordered  to  Springfield,  111., 
for  final  payment  and  discharge. 

SlXTY-FfRST  INFANTRY. 
Colonels: 
Jacob  Fry,  Jerome  B.  N  niton, 

Majors: 
Daniel  S.  Keeley,  S.  P.  Ohr. 

Adjutant: 
Francis  M.  Mytinger. 
Quartermasters: 
Francis  1'.  Vedder,        William  M.  Polls. 
Chaplain: 
Benjamin   B.  Hamilton. 
Sergeant-Majors : 
('has.  II.  Ayres,  William  Caldwell. 

Commissary  Sergeants: 
W.  II.  Bonfoy',  Thomas  F.  Pierce. 

Hospital  Steward: 
Henry  M.  MoiTison. 

COMPANY    A. 

Captains: 
Green  P.  Hanks,  William  H.  Armstrong. 

Lieutenants: 
David  <!.  Culver,  W.  M.  Potts, 

W.  II.  Armstrong,         Charles  II.  Ayres, 
William   .1.  Allen. 

Sergeants: 
Marshall  Potts,  S.  V.  Winters, 

T.  J.  Warren,  II.  M.  Morrison, 

J.  B.  Dodgson. 

Corporals: 
John  Dinwiddie,  1>    F.  Higbee, 

W.  II.  Garrison,  T.  T.  Crabtree, 

F.  Wortliington,  A.  W.  Jackson, 

T.  B.   Cochrane. 

Musicians: 
Morton  Campbell,         N.J.  Polaski. 

Privates: 
('.  II.  Ayres,  William  Clariday, 

Kuny  Allen.  John  Cockson, 

J.  N.  Ashiock.  William  Fugle, 

N.  L.  Ballard,  G.  M.  D.  Fugle, 

James  Blankfield,         Thomas  Edwards, 
Stephen  Crow,  William  Francis, 

George  Griswold,  Gregory  Garrison, 


John  Holland, 

F.  L.  Ilager, 
Wm.  Huffman, 
W.  1).  Holland, 

R.  Jones, 
I.  F.  Lister. 
Israel  Long, 
John  Marshall, 
William  Moore, 
John  Nichols, 
Richard  Pruitt, 
W.  A.  Polaski. 
Squire  Reamer, 
J.  K.  Rogers, 
J.  J.  Biggs, 
J.  M.  Swaggerty, 
Jacob  Sallow, 
D.  R.  Walker, 
Isaac  Williams, 
Dennis  Welch, 
Reuben  Allen, 
S.J.  Fears. 
John  S.  Harrison, 
Josiah  Siples, 
Henry  Brown, 
A.  Campbell, 
Alvis  Fetlig, 
Samuel  Gates, 
Flisha  Howard, 
J.  W.  Hastings, 
Reuben  Kesinger, 
J.  S.  Marshall, 

G.  W.  Ryno, 
Henry  Stockman, 
T.  W.  Vinson, 


J.  s.  Harrison, 
J.  M.  Humphrey, 
<;.  1'.  Hanks, 
('has.  Jewett, 
Samuel  Lockhart, 
Franklin  Long, 
John  Mullins. 
K.  II.  Malone, 
G.  W.  Mason, 
Zailoc  Overberry, 
T.  F.  Pierce, 
John  Romines, 
J.  A.  Robbing, 
J.  II.  Reeday, 
L.  M.  Starkey. 
L.  C.  Spaulding, 
D.  W.  Wells, 
John   Woods, 
s.  A.  Warner, 
J.  N.Williams, 
A.  Campbell, 
Wm.  Huffman, 
W.  D.Holland, 
John  Allen, 
W.  L.  Bonas, 
Wm.  Clark, 
G.  II.  Freeman, 
Leonard  Green, 
Wm.  Hutchison, 
F.  M.  Jones, 
F.  W.  Lee, 
W.  II.  Pinkerton, 
Wm.  Swainey, 
II.  R.  Taylor, 
R.  Warriinack, 


Root.  Warren. 

COMPANY   B. 

Captains: 

Martin  J.  Mann,  Samuel  T.  Carrico, 

Alfred  1).  Nash. 
Lieutenants: 
George  Chism,  Samuel  T.  Carrico, 

('has.  W.  Mann. 
Privates: 
James  I).  Adams,  James  Donnelly, 

George  C.  Bybraud,        I.  <'.  Devault, 
J.  A.  Bradley,  John  Donnally, 

Lewis  Rartlett,  Warren  English, 

Jacob  Rowers,  Wm.  Fbnore, 

J.S.  Benner,  Ralph  Elmore, 


630 

HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 

Conrad  Bush, 

•lames  England, 

J.  11.  Mavhall,                Wm.  Powell, 

W.  T.  Billbrook, 

M.  V.  Gamble, 

G.  W.  Rowden,            J.  W.  Seago. 

Joseph  Breine, 

George  Guthery, 

COMPANY   E. 

R.  n.  Crane, 

G.  S.  Gunn, 

Captain : 

R.  L.  Clark, 

A.  C.  Gamble, 

Henry  W.  Manning. 

John  Copeley, 

Jacob  Green, 

Lieutenants: 

■I.  1 1.  Clark, ' 

J.  M.  Hill. 

Henry  W.  Manning,     Luther  Grundy, 

E.  J.  Clark, 

J.  Hilderbrandt, 

James  I).  Hallow.           W.  II.  IJonfoy, 

W.  R.  Campbell, 

P.  R.  Hill, 

Piivates: 

Paul  Covier, 

Chas.  Ervin, 

Leven  Atkins,                J.  Q.  Adams, 

A.  T.  Johnson, 

J.  S.  Johnson. 

W.  II.  Bonfoy,               James  I).  Ballow, 

John  Jones, 

W.  T.  Jowidan, 

George  Boyle,                A.  C.  Branson, 

Alex.  Johnson, 

W.  1!.  King, 

W.  S.  Band,                    S.  A.  Brown, 

John  Keayton, 

T.  W.  Kennedy, 

Wm.  Caldwell,                W.  1!.  Clarke, 

Ilenny  Kuhn, 

G.  T.  Kirkwood, 

P.  R,  Cooke,                  Mordecai  Cooke, 

J.  V.  Lawhouse, 

Jacob  Laubscher, 

M.  S.Cory,                     J.  W.  Dujan, 

J.  W.  Lorance, 

J.  R,  Matheny, 

Harrison  Estes,             F.J.  Foulbeauf, 

T.  E.  Martin, 

C.  W.  Maim, 

T.  M.  Forbush,              L.  Grundy, 

John  Marsh, 

J.  Musselman, 

J.A.Gentry,                  Jas.  Hayes, 

G.  W.  Marsh, 

John  Maier, 

W.  H.  Hart,                   S.  S.  Hughes, 

J.  1).  MeClimans 

J.  F.  Nelson, 

W.  Z.  Howard,              C.  Irwin, 

John  Ott, 

W.  M.  Pope, 

Frank  Keller,                John  Lowndes, 

C.  H.Perry, 

E.  Pennington, 

James  Miller,                Peter  Moore, 

T.  B.  Pains, 

Wm.  Rogers, 

Newman  Xewliamor,  Wm.  Potts, 

James  Reno, 

G.  W.  Reyno, 

Stone  Simon.                 Robert  Seward, 

Louis  Siller, 

Henry  Smith, 

George  Scroggins,        T.  M.  snow, 

Joseph  Stul 'er, 

J.  W.stailey, 

George  Seward,             Ludwell  Snow, 

T.  T.  Stine, 

II.  W.  Taylor, 

I.  H.  Smith,                   Amos  Talbott, 

S.  D.  Thompson, 

W.  J.  Whiteside, 

T.  J.  Thompson,           Wm.  Vernon, 

P.  M.  Wear, 

R.  P.  Whiteside, 

W.  R,  Walker,               J.  W.  Winkler, 

J.  N.  Ward, 

James  Clark. 

Joel  Whiteside,             Lawrence  Carey, 

J.  H.  Elkinton, 

I).  J.  Goodpasture, 

L.G.Davis.                    W.J.  Hunt, 

Isaac  McMillan, 

Alfred  1).  Nash, 

John  Milner,                L.  T.  McGee, 

James  Rodgers, 

James  Smith, 

W.  B.  Smith,               L.  D.  WeisLer. 

F.  Stubblefield, 

Parhani  Thaxtuii, 

COMPANY  F. 

B.  Trimble, 

W.  F.  Ward, 

Lieutenants: 

F.  M.  Ward, 

J.  H.  Whiteside. 

X.  A.  Corrington,        E.  B.  Corrington. 

COMPANY   C. 

Privates: 

Privates: 

N.  A.  Corrington,           E.  B.  Corrington, 

Geo.  W.  Margerum,     J.  D.  Shephard, 

I.  N.  Corrington,           Nimrod  Bartlett, 

F.  M.  Mytinger, 

Henry  W.  Williams. 

D.  H.  Gilsoii,                   M.  1).  McKinney, 

Company  d. 

J.  II.  Ruark,                 C.  11. Sturman. 

Captain : 

COMPANY    G. 

Daniel  S.  Keeley. 

Lieutenants: 

Privates: 

W.  P..  Taylor,                Thos.  II.  Dayton, 

Lester  B.  Filley, 

Thomas  Ilagen, 

P.  T.  Rice,                      J.  L.  Marshall, 

1  >.  S.  Keeley, 

E.  Pitchford, 

Privates: 

Philip  Potter, 

James  W.  Jones, 

James  Abuey,               Joseph  Abney, 

Benj.  Noe, 

Wm.  Curry, 

R.  S.  Austin,                  W.  L.  Brooks, 

Owen  McGrath, 

P.  D.  Mills, 

R.  E.    Carpenter,          Andrew  Cummings, 

HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


631 


N.  J.Cummings,  J.  <'.  Cummings, 

Elias  (lark,  Nathan  Cockrell, 

.1  til  in  Cape,  W.  S.  Dayton, 

Haston  Davis,  T.  II.  Dayton, 

George  Epler,  Henry  Franby, 

John  D.  Fleak,  R.  II.  Fields, 

Josepli  (! omuls,  T.  J.  Gaffney, 

II.  Giberson,  Samuel  Henson,  Jr., 

Keller  Hust,  J.  W.  Harmon, 

Thos.  Hargett,  J.  N.  Handashett, 

G.  A.  Harmon.  S.  M.  Johnnessee, 

R.  H.  Jones.  Jesse  Kimball, 

Chris.  Lachmund,  George  Lenow, 

J.  L.  Marshall,  W.  M.  McCalla, 

A.  S.  Milson,  T.  J.  Miller, 

J.  F.  Mattison,  Robert  Owens, 

Patrick  O'Keefe,  Isaac  Rayfleld, 

Wm.  Rayfleld,  J.  L.  Reynolds, 

P.  T.  Rice,  J.  P.  Rice, 

Nathaniel  Rigsby,  Henry  Richardson, 

.1.  L.  Robinett,  S.  M.  Sanders, 

W.  H.  Scroggins,  J.  F.  Simms, 

I ).  E.  Smith,  Elisha  Stout, 

Leroy  Stephenson,  J.  D.  Stewart. 

D.E.Stone,  W.H.Taylor. 

\V.  J.  Tally.  Reuben  Townsend, 

A.  J.  Thomasson,  J  abba  Taylor, 

Philip  Varble,  Samuel  Alexander, 

Geo.  Barlow,  John  Bucknell, 

Oscar  Clendennin,  Perry  Crotchett, 

P.  M.  Jones,  J.  E.  McGovern, 

J.  A.  Thomasson,  N.  B.  Trimble. 

John  Tully,  B.  T.  Trimble, 

Geo.  "W.  Warren. 

COMPANY  H. 

Captain: 

Thomas  H.  Dayton. 

Privates: 

John  T.  Miles.  F.  B.  Roberts, 

S.  1).  Eldred. 

COMPANY  I. 

Privates: 

Thomas  W.  Hester,  J.  F.  Lytle, 

T.  J.  Murray.  S.  B.  Smith. 

Parham  Thaxton,  J.  W.  Tucker. 

Franz  Alier,  P.  Caldwell. 

C.  McGaughnay,  John  Miller, 

Nicholas  Rider,  P.  15.  Thompson. 


COMPANY     K. 


S.  A.  ( 'arrico, 
Charles  Potter, 


Patrick  O'Keefe, 
Anthony  Vogels. 


SIXTY-KIKST    ILLINOIS    INFANTRY. 

During  the  winter  of  1861-2,  a  move- 
ment was  put  on  foot  at  Carrollton,  111., 
to  organize  a  regiment  of  men  from 
Greene  and  adjoining  counties,  by  Jacob 
Fry  and  others.  Three  full  companies 
were  mustered  into  the  service,  Feb.  5, 
1862.  On  the  21st  of  the  same  month, 
the  regiment,  still  uncomplete,  was 
ordered  to  Benton  Barracks,  where  re- 
cruits enough  were  received  to  make 
nine  full  companies.  Here  the  regi- 
ment completed  its  organization,  with 
the  following  staff  officers:  Jacob  Fry, 
lieutenant-colonel,  commanding;  Simon 
P.  Ohr,  major;  F.  M.  Posey,  adjutant; 
Francis  P.  Vedder,  quartermaster;  Leo- 
nidas  Clemmons,  surgeon;  Edward  Rut- 
ledge,  chaplain.  On  the  26th  of  March, 
1862,  the  regiment  embarked  for  Pitts- 
burgh Landing,  where  our  troops  lay, 
and  upon  their  arrival  there  were  as- 
signed to  the  brigade  commanded  by 
Col.  Madison  Miller,  of  the  18th  Mo., 
in  the  division  of  Brig.  Gen.  B.  M. 
Prentiss.  On  the  morning  of  Sunday, 
April  (>,  1862,  came  the  impending  con- 
flict, the  fierce  and  sanguinary  battle  of 
Shiloh,  so  often  and  so  well  described, 
that  it  is  not  necessary  to  give  any  ex- 
tended history  of  it  here.  Some  400 
men  of  the  61st  were  formed  in  line  in 
time  to  receive  the  first  assault  of  the 
confederate  soldiers,  the  forerunner  of 
the  general  engagement  that  struck 
Gen.  Prentiss'  division  first,  as  it  was 
the  most  advanced  in  that  part  of  the 
field.  The  61st  stood  their  ground 
right  manfully  for  about  an  hour  and  a 
quarter,  and  until  every  other  regiment 
in  the  division  had  given  way,  when  it 
was  ordered  to  retire.  Upon  falling  back 
from  this   position,  it  was   highly  com- 


632 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


plimented  by  Gen.  Prentiss,  for  its  gal- 
lant stand,  and  when  it  is  remembered 
that  these  were  entire  raw,  green  troops, 
scarcely  a  month  from  their  peaceful 
homes,  the  verdict  will  be  that  they 
deserved  high  credit  for  their  gallantry. 
The  regiment  was  then  detached  from 
Prentiss'  division,  and  ordered  to  the 
support  of  the  1st  Mo.  Batt'y,  which 
saved  it  from  the  disaster  that  compelled 
the  surrender  of  the  brave  and  daunt- 
less division  of  Gen.  Prentiss,  and  its 
commander,  who  so  long  had  stood  in 
the  front  and  gave  our  troops  time  to 
make  a  new  disposition  of  their  forces. 
The  61st,  at  one  o'clock  in  the  afternoon, 
were  ordered  to  the  support  of  Gen. 
Stephen  A.  Hurlbut's  hardly  pressed 
division,  coming  upon  the  ground  at  a 
very  critical  moment,  and  helped  main- 
tain his  line  until  relieved  by  a  fresh 
regiment,  and  when  its  ammunition  was 
entirely  exhausted.  When  the  second 
line  broke,  the  regiment  retired  in  good 
order,  and  took  a  position  supporting 
the  heavy  battery  of  siege  guns.  Its 
loss  upon  this  bloody  day  was  80  killed, 
wounded  and  missing,  including  First- 
Lieut.  David  G.  Culver,  of  Co.  A,  killed, 
and  two  other  commissioned  officers, 
wounded.  On  the  7th  of  April,  when 
our  forces  victoriously  swept  the  enemy 
from  the  field,  the  61st,  resting  on  its 
well  earned  laurels,  was  in  the  reserve. 
On  the  18th  of  April,  the  61st  was  as- 
signed to  the  1st  Brig.,  commanded  by 
Col.  L.  F.  Ross,  of  the  17th  111.,  and  in 
the  3d  Div.,  which  was  shortly  after 
placed  under  command  of  John  A. 
Logan,  then  brigadier-general.  On  the 
6th  of  June  the  brigade  moved,  in  obe- 
dience to  orders,  to  Bethel,  Tenn.,  un- 
der the  command  of  Col.  Haynie,  of  the 


48th  111.  Inf.  On  the  16th  they  moved 
to  Jackson,  and  on  the  day  following, 
being  placed  in  Ross'  Brig,  of  Logan's 
Div.,  again  moved  to  Bolivar,  Tenn. 
On  the  16th  of  Sept.,  1862,  they  traveled 
by  rail  to  Brownsville,  Miss.,  by  the 
way  of  Jackson  and  Corinth,  and  re- 
turned to  Bolivar,  after  the  battle  of 
luka,  Sept,  25. 

On  the  10th  of  Oct.  Brig. -Gen. M. Bray- 
man  was  assigned  to  the  command  of  the 
brigade,  and  Lieut. -Col.  Fry,  of  the 
61st,  ordered  to  take  command  of  the 
post  at  Trenton,  where,  Dec.  20,  he  was 
captured  by  Gen.  Forrest,  and  paroled. 
The  brigade  remained  at  Bolivar,  the 
general  commanding  having  charge  of 
the  post.  Dec.  18,  1862,  a  part  of  the 
men  of  the  regiment,  to  the  number  of 
240,  proceeded  to  Jackson,  by  rail,  and 
from  there  moved  out  on  the  Lexington 
road,  with  the  43d  111.  Inf.  and  a  detach- 
ment of  cavalry,  all  under  command  of 
Col.  Engelman.  They  took  a  position 
at  or  near  Salem  cemetery,  and  here,  on 
the  morning  of  the  19th,  met  and  re- 
pulsed the  enemy  under  Gen.  Forrest, 
with  three  pieces  of  artillery,  and  on 
receiving  re-inforcements  from  Gen. 
Sullivan, pursued  the  Confederates  some 
distance.  They  then  returned  to  Boli- 
var. 

On  the  21st  of  May,  the  regiment, 
with  the  balance  of  the  16th  corps, 
moved  to  Vicksbnrg  by  rail,  via  Mem- 
phis, and  from  thence  by  transports. 
On  the  3d  of  June  it  readied  Chicka- 
saw, and  from  that  time  took  part  in  all 
the  siege  operations.  On  the  4th  they 
went  up  the  Yazoo  river,  with  an  expe- 
dition, landed  at  Sartartia,  and  march- 
ing four  miles  out,  to  Mechtinicsburg, 
captured  some  prisoners.       On  the  6th 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


633 


they  were  ordered  to  Haynes'  Bluff, 
where  they  remained  until  the  20th, 
when  they  were  moved  to  Snyder's 
Bluff.  Lieut. -Col.  Fry  having  resigned 
the  command  of  the  regiment,  and  his 
commission,  Maj.  Simon  P.  Ohr  was 
appointed  to  till  the  vacancy,  to  take 
rank  from  May  14,  1863. 

On  the  17th  of  July  the  regiment 
moved  to  Black  River  Bridge,  but  on 
the  22d  returned  to  Snyder's  Bluff, 
where  it  remained  until  the  27th,  when 
it  proceeded  to  Helena,  Ark.  On  the 
13th  of  August,  the  regiment  was  as- 
signed to  the  column  of  Maj. -Gen. 
Steele,  destined  for  the  capture  of  Lit- 
tle Rock,  and  started  via  Duvall's  Bluff 
and  Brownsville  for  the  capital  of  Ar- 
kansas, skirmishing  with  the  enemy 
after  leaving  Brownsville,  hut  reaching 
Little  Rock  Sept.  10,  which  they  en- 
tered next  day.  It  may  not  be  generally 
known  that  this  Arkansas  expedition  of 
Gen.  Steele's  was  one  of  the  most  de- 
structive of  life,  of  any  campaign,  of 
equal  duration,  during  the  war.  Steele 
started  with  1,200  men,  and  received  re- 
inforcements  of  at  least  three  brigades, 
making  at  least  15,000  effective  men. 
Of  this  force,  100  would  cover  all  his 
loss  in  killed  and  wounded,  and  yet,  by 
the  time  he  had  possession  of  Little 
Rock,  and  was  fairly  settled  clown  to 
his  gambling  and  horse-racing,  he  had 
barely  5,100  effective  men.  Of  Gen. 
Steele,  the  writer  has  the  best  authority 
for  saying,  that  he  had  no  sympathy  in 
common  with  the  Union  soldier,  save 
his  opposition  to  the  abstract  idea  of 
secession. 

The  regiment  was  mustered  out  at 
Nashville,  Tenn.,  Sept.  8,  1865,  and  ar- 
rived at  Camp  Butler,   Springfield,  111., 


on  the  12th    of  the    same  month,  where 
they  received  final  pay  and  discharge. 
SIXTY-SECOND    IXFANTKY. 

COMPANY    C. 

David  S.  Martin. 
SIXTY-FOURTH    I  XFA  NTUY. 

COMPANY    C. 

.lames  England,  <!.  F.  Moore. 

SIXTY-SIXTH    IXFANTKY 

COMPANY    A. 

William  Edwards,         Owen  Mullen. 

SEVENTY-SIXTH    INFANTRY. 
William  Baker. 

X  I  X  ETY-FIRST    INFANTRY. 

Chaplain: 

John  ('.  Sargent. 

Musician: 
George  S.  Gosnell. 

COMPANY  G. 

( laptain: 

Ebenezer .).  Pearce. 

Lieutenants: 

John  C.  Sargent,  Isaac  N".  Oaks, 

Eben  izer  J.  Pearce. 

Sergeants: 
F.  .1.  Pearce,  I.  X.  Oaks. 

( lorporals: 
.lames  Allen.  .1.  H.Seelej, 

T.  L.  Pankey,  .John  ('.  Gillespie. 

Privates: 
J.  B.  Askins.  Joseph  Ambrose, 

.1.  II.  Benear,  William  Blair, 

John  Beathard,  F.  M.  Bigham, 

James  L.  Bandy,  C.  1'.  Cole, 

John  Crabtree,  -I.  T.  Dougherty, 

.1.  F.  Davidson,  Ernest  Eggert, 

Alex.  Edwards,  John  Edwards, 

Robert  Holt,  David   Linderman, 

A.J.  Lakin,  G.A.Lee, 

It.  I!.  Meek.  Joseph   Millies. 

S.  I'..  McBride,  X. -I.  McMahon, 

Thos.  McCabe,  <i.  W.  McMahon, 

Chesley  Neely,  Elisha  Ogle. 

T.  W.  Pritchett,  W.  M.  II.  l'inkerton, 

William  Kens.  .1.  M.  Smith. 

A.  A.  Shumway,  W.  W.  Thaxton, 

Jesse  Tetterton,  J.  O  Tetterton, 

R.  M.  Thaxton,  Howell  Vinyard, 

Isaac  Davidson.  W.  ('.  Ferguson, 


634                                 HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 

F.  M.  Kirkpa  trick,       Patrick  Me  Elroy. 

James  Sikes,                 J.  W.  Scott, 

Elisha  Maberry,            X.  E.  Steannett. 

J.  C.  Wells,                    William  Scott, 

COMPANY   11. 

W.  L.  Wells,                  W.  H.  Wiggins, 

Captains : 

Henry  E.  Wood,            James  Brissay, 

Jordan  Lakin,              Joseph  A.Wells. 

Wm.  Crane,                    W.  R.  Cunningham, 

Lieutenants: 

JohnGorings,                 J.  R.  Hazelwood, 

James  Coats,                  Jos.  A.  AVells, 

S.  F.  M.  Hicks,               William  Hazelwood, 

Massy  Cox,                     John  Jones. 

W.  P.  Hitch,                  Edward  Martin, 

W.  A.  Wells. 

John  Pickett,                 W.  F.  Strickland, 

Sergeants: 

Joseph  Vinyard,            John  R.  Vinyard. 

Joseph  A.  Wells.          Wm.  Wilkerson, 

COMPANY     I. 

W.  F.  Wood.                 AV.  H.  Hall. 

Captains : 

Corporals: 

Slocum  H.  Culver,         Robert  Dennis. 

Massy  Cox.                     F.  M.  Gurley, 

Lieutenants: 

R.  C.  Lovelace,               Robert  Henry. 

Robert  Dennis,              Theo.  P.  Hackney, 

John  W.  Jones,            George  Garrison, 

John  S.  Judd,                  Samuel  Martin, 

Peter  Smith,                 F.  M.  Smith, 

Thomas  M.  Wallace,     Warren  T.  Monroe. 

X.  Evermont. 

Sergeants: 

Musician: 

T.  M.  Wallace,               John  S.  Judd, 

E.  A.  Almon. 

Samuel  Martin,              AV.  T.  Monroe, 

Privates: 

Wesley  C.  Peter,            W.  B.  Shanklin, 

Henry  Bandy,                Newman  Bandy, 

Thos.  A.  Bell,                W.  P.  Smith. 

Andrew  Berline,           J.  M.  lieverly. 

Corporals : 

Henry  Brently,             S.  S.  Beaman, 

Levi  Fuller,                   A.  0.  Vossler, 

George  Brant,               Felix  Brown, 

J.  R.  Toneroy,                Win.  Hawk, 

Robert  Boyd,                 A.  J.  Carter. 

W.  L.  Lawrence. 

Alex.  Cumby,                G.  W.  Cunningham, 

Musician: 

James  Conner,              D.  G.  Cole. 

Joseph  Seavey. 

John  Criswell,               L.  Deshazer, 

Privates: 

James  Deeds,                 Mathew  Dorman, 

Amasa  Armstrong,       Rollin  J.  Adams, 

Wm.  Dagley.                 Elias  Dagley, 

Finsa  Armstrong,         G.  R.  Adams, 

J.  M.  Edwards,              E.  E.  Edwards, 

George  Armstrong,       Stephen  Andrews, 

W.  II.  Edwards.             (J.  II.  Fry, 

Daniel  Allen,                  AV.  R,  Hates, 

Peter  Geis,                     James  Gaskill, 

Joseph  Allen,                 W.  II.  Boggess, 

James  Gardenshire,      Pleasant  Grimes. 

J.  M.  Allen,                  J.J.Bell, 

G.  W.  Garrison,            B.  S.  Hughes, 

AV.  P.  Allen,                   Philip  Brantzel, 

J.  R.  Henson,                Riley  Hamilton, 

Chas.  Brown,                 J.  C.  Baker, 

Isaac  Henson,               J.  X.  Hogan. 

S.  II.  Bacon,                   AV.  P.  Ballard, 

R.  F.  Henson,              W.  L.  Hazlewood, 

C.  X.  Baker,                   Isaac  Harnett. 

Stephen  Hiet,                 G.  T.  Hazelwood, 

P.  R.  Benear,                  Wm.  Beathard, 

John  Hancock,              W.  1).  Hazelwood, 

Alfred  Conway,            James  Cullimore, 

John  Johnson,               James  Link. 

J.  II.  ( dleman,               AVm.  A.  Cullimore, 

J.C.Lewis,                   James  Morrison, 

Manland  <  Iraig,             J.  AV.  <  'ampbell, 

George  Martin.              Sylvester  Moore, 

Ralph  Dodsworth,         G.  J.  Delauy, 

Benjamin  Martin,         Jeremiah  Moore, 

I.  If.  Fisher,                    B.  F.  Dinwiddie, 

Reuben  Martin,            Daniel  Marsh, 

(J.  W.  Dinwiddie,           W.  H.  Fridley, 

Benj.  Ogle,                    s.  I!.  Prior, 

G.  S.  Gasnell,                  Sebastian  Gropp, 

M.  Pointer.                     J.  A.  Perine. 

AV.  H.  Grimes,                J.  R.  Guthrey, 

W.  (i.  Hex  mat,               John  Rains, 

Mark  Heaton,              Chas.  Holliday. 

Jacob  Shinwault,         S.  E.  Skinner, 

A.  B.  Hubbard.             ('has.  Hasso, 

HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


635 


Wm.  Kelly,  H.C.Lewis. 

J.  F.  Lewis,  .lames  Lodge, 

II.  N.  Lorton,  John  May. 

.lames  Martin.  UriahMoore, 

T.  .1.  Martin.  8.  D.  Moore, 

Andrew  McDonald.  .1.  M.  McConathy, 

J.  R.  Monroe,  .1.  B.  Neece, 

Wm.  Osborn.  A.  X.  Neece; 

Lewis  Oswald.  Philip  Reamer, 

F.  Pinkerton,  Geo.  Robertson. 

Benj.  Rodgers,  Lawrence  Rody, 

.1.  M.  Russell,  W.  A.  Stark. 

P.  G.  Shanklin.  J.  L.  Stout, 

Isaiah  Spangenburg,  11.  C  stout. 

.1.  X.  Thurmau,  Daniel  II.  Stout. 

W.J.Tucker,  W.  B.  Vreeland, 

J.  P.  Vossler,  G.  W.  Winn, 

W.C.Wells,  C.  B.  Baker, 

C.  L.  Williams,  W.  C.  Baker, 

W.  P.  J^^p'.ster.  Ileulien  Barrow, 

Binj^Bmrip.  Joseph  Barnett, 

J.'RTFarnahan,  Wm.  Goodall, 

Jacob  Hampton,  John  Hefferman, 
,M.  W.  McCollister,        D.  L.  Smith, 

J.  S.  Shankin.  Wm.  Teter, 

Thomas  Tuft,  W.  J.  Vanderheyden, 
William  Weaver. 
COMPANY  K. 

Captain: 
John  Barks. 
Lieutenants: 
John  F.  Collins.  John  Parks, 

.lames  W.  Walker,        A.S.  Denton. 
John  W.  Kidd,  C.  II.  Robinson. 

Sergeants: 
John  W.  Kidd,  John  Parks, 

J.  W.  Walker. 

Corporals: 
C.  II.  Wilhite,  Wm.  Derose, 

F.  P.  Hudson.  C.  II.  Robinson. 

Henry  <  iaswell,  W.  L.  Kincaid, 

James  A.  Piper.  D.S.Wilson. 

Musician: 
Wm.  O.  Secor. 

Privates: 
Bryant  Buffaloe,  E.  M.  Bradley, 

Leonard  Bower,  S.  J.  Bowman, 

Anderson  Barnard,       F.  M.  Cameron, 
Edmund  Craw,  II.  L.  Coonrod, 

J.  B.  Corrington,  Sanford  Crouch, 

W.  H.  Drake,  Anderson  Keef, 


.1.  (i.  Dryden,  John  Kirby, 

J.  C.  Dryden,  Joshua  Kelly. 

J.  P.  B.  Dryden,  Win.  Louragin, 

I).  G.  DeWitt,  Thomas  Lawrence, 

M.  W.  Dickerman,  Axmisted  Lewis, 

.1.  W.  Elkinton,  W.  II.  Maxfield, 

Jasper  Ertbal,  W.  S.  Moore, 

A.  L.  French,  J.  C.  Mens, 

Nathan  Fesler,  J.W.  Martin, 

Benj.  Grizzle,  L.  B.  Million. 

R.  L.  (iill,  Geo.  E.  Mason, 

.lames  Hogan,  Joseph  Miller, 

George  Hall.  David  L.  XTix, 

A.  F.  H'enson,  H.  W.  Philip, 

D.  B.  Henderson.  W.  E.  Pridgen, 
Columbus  Howard,  T.  M.  C.  Plogger, 
S   D.  Juda,  J.L.  Parks. 

B.  F.  Piper.  Saml.  Piper, 
.I.e.  RafEerty,  T.  A.  Rafferty, 
W.  C.  Raney,  W.  T.  Saxton, 
W.  II.  Rafferty,  .lames  Sturman, 
Jacob  Shelt,  J.  T.  Slaughter, 
John  Speelman.  Wyatt  Scott. 

E.  B.  Short,  R.  B.  Strawn,- 
George  Shlosser,  W.  II.  Thorp, 
Wm.  I.  Taylor.  Samuel  Taylor, 
.lames  Tanner.  A.  T.Thomas. 
Frank  Yancil.  G.  C.  Weisner, 
Richard  Wilhite,          Jacob  Winters, 
Joseph  R.  Walton,  II.  I.  Yarned, 
D.  W.  Bulk,                     .I.H.  Cranlield, 
John  Hancock.  J.  M.  Rich, 
A/.ariah  Baker,               Perry  Cade, 

J.  R.  Vinyard.  Wm.  Webb. 

NINETY-FIRST    INFANTRY. 

The  91st  111.  Inf.  Regt.  was  organized 
at  Camp  Butler,  111,  in  Sept.,  1862,  by- 
Col.  Henry  M.  Day,  and  was  mustered 
in  Sept.  8,  1862. 

It  was  ordered  to  Louisville,  Ky., 
Oct.  1,  and  was  assigned  to  duty,  guard- 
ing the  L.  &  N.  R.  R.,  in  Gen.  Gilbert's 
division. 

On  Dec.  27,  1862,  at  Elizabethtown, 
Ky.,  after  a  fierce  engagement,  the  regi- 
ment was  captured  by  Morgan,  and  after 
being  paroled,  was  sent  to  Benton  Bar- 
racks, Mo. 


July  24,  1863,  having  been  exchanged, 
it  arrived  at  Vicksburg,  Miss.  It  moved 
to  Port  Hudson  on  the  26th.  Aug.  12  it 
marched  to  Carrollton,  La.  Embarking 
for  Morganzia  Sept.  6,  it  arrived  there 
on  the  6th,  and  moved  out  toward  Atch- 
afalaya  river.  It  had  a  skirmish  with 
the  enemy  under  Col.  Greene,  losing  six 
or  seven  wounded.  The  enemy  was  re- 
pulsed. On  Oct.  10,  it  moved  to  Mor- 
ganzia. 

The  regiment  was  in  the  2d  Brig., 
Col.  H.  M  Day  commanding;  2d  Div., 
Maj.-Gen.  N.  J.  T.  Dana  commanding, 
of  the  13th  A.  C.  It  embarked  for  New 
Orleans,  going  into  camp  Oct.  12. 

The  91st  was  then  transferred  to  the 
1st  Brig.,  and  embarked,  Oct.  22,  for 
Brownsville.  It  landed  at  Brazos  San- 
tiago, Nov.  3,  and  at  once  proceeded  to 
Brownsville,  capturing  the  fortandcity, 
and  driving  the  enemy,  under  Gen.  Bee, 
from  that  part  of  Texas. 

In  July,  1864,  the  division  was  or- 
dered to  leave  Texas,  and  the  91st  111. 
Inf.,  and  two  regiments  of  colored 
troops,  were  left  at  Brazos  Santiago,  as 
garrison,  Col.  Day  commanding  the 
post. 

About  the  last  of  December,  the  regi- 
ment was  relieved  by  the  34th  lnd.  Inf., 
and  sent  to  New  Orleans,  where  they 
were  placed  on  provost  duty,  and  was 
assigned  to  the  2d  Brig.,  3d  Div.,  13th 
A.  C. 

In  February,  the  91st  111.  Inf.  joined 
the  corps  at  Fort  Morgan, Col  Day  being 
placed  in  charge  of  the  brigade. 

Toe  91st  111.  Inf.,  also  took  an  active 
part  in  the  campaign  which  resulted  in 
the  capture  of  Spanish  Fort  and  Fort 
Blakeley,  and  caused  the  surrender  of 
Mobile. 


After  the  surrender  of  Mobile,  the 
division  moved  up  the  Tennessee  river, 
some  60  miles,  in  pursuit  of  the  enemy, 
and  overtook  the  rear  guard  at  Eight- 
Mile  creek,  the  91st  111.  Inf.  being  in 
advance.  At  this  place  a  sharp  en- 
gagement took  place,  the  enemy  being 
driven  from  the  field  at  the  point  of  the 
bayonet,  the  regiment  losing  a  few 
men  wounded.  This  engagement  was 
probably  the  last  one  of  the  war,  east  of 
the  Mississippi  river. 

The  regiment  was  mustered  out  of 
service  July  12,  1863,  at  Mobile,  and 
arrived  at  Camp  Butler,  111.,  July  22, 
when  it  received  final  payment  and  dis- 
charge. 

NINETY-SEVENTH  INFANTRY. 

COMPANY    a. 

Sergeant: 
James  E.  Hobson. 
ONE  HUNDRED    AND    FIRST    INFAN- 
TRY. 

COMPANY  F. 

Privates: 
Wm.  Haywood,  J.  S.  Webb, 

W.  J.  Wallace,  Thos.  Davenport. 

COMPANY  I. 
Privates: 
B.  F.  Martin,  James  Marshall, 

S.  Neighbors,  W.  T.  Neighbors, 

Thomas  Shaw,  T.  B.  Benton, 

■Jeremiah  Ruyle. 
ONE  HUNDRED  AN!)  SIXTH    INFAN- 
TRY. 

COMPANY    K. 

Private: 

Sidney  Ewing. 

ONE    HUNDRED    AND    THIRTEENTH 

INFANTRY. 

COMPANY   F. 

Private: 

Levi  Gearhart. 

ONE    HUNDRED   AND    FOURTEENTH 

INFANTRY. 

COMPANY  C. 

Private: 

W. .!.  Blackledge. 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


637 


ONE    HUNDRED    AND    NINETEENTH 
INFANTRY. 

COMPANY   O. 

Privates: 
Erastus  Perry,  David  Stuart, 

LaFavette  Vance. 

ONE  HUNDRED  ANDTWENTYSECOND 
INFANTRY. 
Quartermaster  Sergeant: 
Charles  II.  Mervine. 
company  rs.  . 
Corporal: 
<;.  W.  Castleberry. 
Privates: 
Franklin  Castleberry,   T.  B.  Hicks. 
H.  H.  Wilkinson,  Nathaniel  Walker. 

company  o. 
Captains: 
Lucian  King,  Jacob  L.  Pope. 

Sergeants: 
Clayton  Gaskill,  .lames  W.  Waddell, 

(i  entry  Scroggins. 
Corporals: 
('has.  E.  Mervine,  C.  W.  Adams. 

J.  I).  Woolsey,  George  stokes, 

W.  15.  Swain,  E.  R.  King, 

Boswell  Brown. 
Musicians: 
James  A.  Adams,  C.  E.  Berry. 

Privates: 
E.  W.  Allen,  Joseph  A.  Harris, 

James  Antrobos,  William  Hays, 

J.  A.  Adams,  Arthur  Hagon, 

().  II.  Baugh,  J.  L.  Irwin, 

Richard  Brown,  Garrett  Kelly, 

E.  W.  Bullis,  Martin  King. 

G.  W.  Bridges,  James  E.  Lovelace, 

J.C.  Berry,  II.  B.  Lovell. 

( '.  W.  ( lurry,  J.  G.  Luckey, 

J.  T.  Curry,  ('has.  McCow, 

II.  P.  Cook.  Samuel  Massy, 

Israel  Coon,  Perry  Miller, 

J.  T.  Dodson,  Thos.  Magee, 

J.  R.  Kstes.  John  McKabney, 

W.  T.  Kstes.  John  Oakley, 

John  II.  (iambic,  Samuel  Pope, 

John  Greenfield,  Lewis  I'latto, 

C.  A.  Holmes.  Alex.  Page, 

B.  F.  Haven.  W.  A.  Rutherford, 

Joseph  Rutherford,       Edward  Race, 


W.  F.  Stiles,  James  Utt, 

George  Woolsey,  G.  W.  Wagstaff, 

Western  Wright. 

COMPANY    G. 

Private: 

Francis   H.  Clark. 

COMPANY  K. 

Private: 
W.  II.  II.  Drish,  George  (icrsten. 

Henry    Warren. 

A  history  of  the  122d  111.  Inft.  regi- 
ment is  given  in  the  history  of  Jersey 
county,  in  this  volume,  in  connection 
with  the  gallant  "  boys  in  blue"  from 
that  county,  in  this  favorite  regiment, 
to  which  the  reader  is  referred. 

ONE      HUNDBED      AND     TWENTY- 
FOU  RTI1  1 X  FAX  TR  Y. 

COMPANY  C. 

Privates: 
\V.  F.  Xorris,  .1.  M.  VanArsdale, 

A.  J.  Cornell. 
ONE  HUNDRED  AX1)  TWENTY-SIXTH 
INFANTRY. 
Private: 
Benjamin   F.  Wright. 
ONE      HUNDRED     AXD     TWENTY- 
SEVENTH    INFANTRY. 

COMPANY    1). 

Privates: 
Thos.  \\.  Gage,  C.  1.  Pope, 

M.  Sarslield,  John  Tinsman. 

John  VV.  Phinney,         E.  L.  Train. 

ONE       HUNDRED      AND      TWENTY- 
EIGHTH    INFAXTRY. 
COMPANY   I. 

Sergeant: 
J.T.   Blunt. 

Privates: 
John  Alexander,  1!.  B.  Aullspaugh, 

Joseph  Hunter,  Jesse  Kimball, 

Robert  Moore,  Daniel  Wroughton. 

ONE     HUNDRED      AXD      TWENTY- 
NINTH    INFAXTRY. 


Miller, 


COMPANY  II. 

Privates: 

Philip  Goller. 


i;;;s 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


ONE   HUNDRED  AXI)  THIRTY-THIRD 
INFANTRY. 

COMPANY  B. 

Privates: 

Prank  Kindel,  Joseph  Pierce. 

company  c. 

Captain: 

Walton  M.  Collins. 

Lieutenants: 
W.  II.  Carroll,  M.  A.  Patterson. 

Sergeants : 
W.  T.  Piper,  Geo.  W.  Rives, 

E,  ]'..  Smith. 

Corporals: 
S.  M.  Wilhite,  G.  W.  Piper, 

W.  R.  Chany,  H.  A.  Barnett, 

(i.  W.  Jones,  W.  A.  Yiney. 

John  Hand. 

Privates: 
.1.  F.  Barton,  John  N.  Bacon, 

F.  N.  Barnett,  J.  T.  Barrow, 

George  Cole,  J.  A.  Coonrod, 

\Y.  [.Crow,  B.  F.  Crow. 

T.C.  Cooley,  A.  W.  Gushing, 

J.  W.Calhoun,  F.  M.  Dunn. 

F.  A.  Griswold,  Timothy  Hurd, 

J.  W.  Henderson,  Adam  Jackson, 

Daniel  March,  D.  W.  Melton, 

J.  K.  Maxfleld,  W.  M.  Mason, 

F.  M.  Peck.  R.  A.  Piper, 

G.  W.  Palmer,  J.  P.  Ruark. 
John  Rouen,  "\V.  J.  Reeve, 
Edmund  Sherman.        W.  J.  Slaughter, 
.T.T.Shipley,                 J.  II.  Scott, 

B.  F.  Scott,  s.  II.  Smith, 

J.  A.Smith,  N.  M.  Smith. 

J.  F.  Sanders,  J.  H.  Whitman, 

Isaac  Walton,  Marion  Wright. 

COMPANY    F. 

Private: 

James  Simpson. 

company  G. 

Lieutenant: 

J.  II.  Valentine. 

Sergeant: 
T.  B.  Robinson. 
Corporals: 
D.  W.  Campbell,  E.  A.  Shannon. 

Privates: 
Hardin  Armstrong.      Lucius  Bowman. 
George  Brown,  Thomas  Draper, 


Jacob  Dohan,  E.  C.  Fletcher, 

Moses  Freer,  J.  L.  Gilliland, 

Isaac  Hardin,  J.  II.  Huller. 

(ieo.  F.  Henry,  W.  F.  Honer. 

Robt.  Jewell,  J.  M.  Kinby, 

Daniel  Naurion,  J.  L.  Norman. 

W.  R.  Nizner,  Wm.  Rysby, 

R.  V.  Smith,  liufus  Smith, 

Franklin  Witt,  Geo.  Wilt, 
James  K.  Washburn. 

COMPANY-  H. 

Sergeant : 

Malcolm  Tunstall. 

Private: 

Francis  Molair. 

COMPANY  K. 

Privates: 
Lawson  Pettijohn.        W.  M.  Patterson. 

133d  ILLINOIS  INFANTRY. 

During  the  summer  of  1864,  Gens. 
Grant  and  Sherman  being  actively  en- 
gaged with  large  armies  against  the 
enemy,  the  governors  of  the  northwest- 
ern states  proposed  to  the  authorities  of 
the  war  department,  to  send  into  the 
field  a  considerable  number  of  troops 
for  a  short  term  of  service,  who  might 
relieve  others  on  guard  and  garrison 
duty  at  the  rear,  thus  adding  largely  to 
the  force  of  drilled  and  disciplined  men 
at  the  front.  This  proposition,  after  a 
time,  was  accepted,  and  the  term  of 
service  was  placed  at  100  days.  The 
governor  of  this  state  issued  a  procla- 
mation for  the  requisite  number  of  men, 
who  were  soon  forthcoming.  The  133d 
111.  Inf.  was  organized  under  this  call, 
at  Camp  Butler,  Springfield,  111.,  by 
Col.  Thaddeus  Phillip,  and  mustered 
into  the  service  for  100  days,  May  31, 
1864. 

On  the  3d  of  June,  the  regiment  was 
moved  to  Rock  Island  barracks,  and 
was  assigned  to  the  duty  of  guarding 
prisoners  of   war.     The   regiment  per- 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


639 


formed  its  duty  faithfully  and  efficient- 
ly during  its  term  of  service,  and  was 
mustered  out  Sept.  24,  1864,  at  Camp 
Butler. 

ONE  HUNDRED  AND  FOBTY-FOUB.TH 
INFANTRY. 
COMPANY  B. 

W.  L.  Cry,  Z.  T.  Harris. 

Timothy  Hogan. 

COMPANY  I). 

Seth  Fuller. 

C<  i-VP  ANY  ]•:. 

Lieutenant : 
George  B.  Sargent. 
Privates: 
I.  M.  Ashford,  C.  F.  Benton, 

Jos.  Brooks,  Richard  Blaloek, 

W.  F.  Coyl,  W.  H.  Carrigo, 

James  Cummings,        A.  J.  Cummings, 
W.  H.  Dullany,  B.F.  Day. 

s.  F.  Gilliland,  J-O.  Hendrickson, 

.Michael  Harrigan,         Cyrus  Hazel, 
D.  A.  Johnson,  J.  B.  Ladd 

B.  F.  Marshall,  W.  E.  Martin, 

James  Perry,  R  0.  Perry, 

A.  J.  Rutherford,  J.  M.  Seago, 

.1.  A.  Taylor,  B.  T.  Taylor, 

.lames  Whiie,  I-  R.  Williams. 

COMPANY   F. 

A.  .1.  Holmes. 

COMPANY   G. 

Edward  Adams,  Win.  Adams, 

(has.  Dewes,  J.  W.  Hicks. 

James  Kinser,  Wm.  Stevenson. 

COMPANY    II. 

Martin  Cannedy,  George  Meister, 

Jackson  Odell,  Morris  Ambrose. 

COMPANY  I  . 

M.  Braenninger,  J.  R.  Adams. 

COMPANY    K. 

W.  K.  Ash. 
EN  ASSIGNED    RECRUITS. 

Wm.  Dorris,  John  King. 

Geo.  Ham  y.  John  Stephens. 

A  history  of  the  144th  111.  Inf.  Regt. 
is  given  in  the  history  of  Jersey  county 
in  this  volume,  and  is  omitted  in  this 
connection  to  avoid  needless  repetition. 


ONE    HUNDRED    AND   FORTY-FIFTH 

INFANTRY. 

COMPANY    C. 

Private: 

H.B.  Metcalf. 

(INK    HUNDRED   AND    FORTY-SIXTH 

INFANTRY. 

COMPANY  D. 

L.H.Kilmer.  E.L.Sutton. 

ONE  HUNDRED    AND    FORTY-NINTH 
INFANTRY. 

COMPANY  G. 

Private: 

Alon/.o  White. 

ONE  HUNDRED  AND    FIFTY-SECOND 

INFANTRY. 

COMPANY    1>. 

Privates: 

James  Band.  R.  W.  Taylor, 

John  Johnson.  J.  ('.  Ballard. 

Newton  Hilley. 

COMPANY  E. 

Private: 

George  Schraag. 

ONE  HUNDRED  AND  FIFTY-FOURTH 

INFANTRY. 
COMPANY  G. 

Privates: 
J.  S.  Dailey,  W.  E.  Leonard. 

COMPAN1      K. 

Privates: 
Thomas  Draper,  Isaac  Hardin. 

W.  G.  Hunter,  John  Lawrence. 

Wm.  Hunter,  Harvey  Mitchell. 

THIRD  CAVALRY. 
i  OMPANY   II. 

Private: 
John  Jones. 
COMPANY  G. 

Privates: 

W.  F.  Brown,  Horatio  Hobson, 

T.  K.  dine.  F.  M.  Painter. 

Wm.  Guinn.  II.  N.  Robb, 

W.D.Grigg,  D.  II.  Root, 

John  S.  Wood. 

COMPANY    H. 

Privates: 
B.  F.  Beck,  Wm.  Miller, 

Thos.  B.  Root. 


640                           *     HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 

SIXTH   CAVALRY. 

Unassigned : 

COMPANY    C. 

George  Hornback. 

Lieutenant: 

TWELFTH  CAVALRY. 

W.  P.  Rigg. 

COMPANY     A. 

.Sergeant: 

Privates: 

I).  K.  Spencer. 

J.F.  Duncan,                   Shubael  Gear, 

Corporal: 

Patrick  Maber,              J.  R.  Sparks, 

Wm.  Rigg. 

Thos.  Skaggs. 

Privates: 

COMPANY    F. 

A.  .1.  Craig,                   G.  W.Holladay, 
J.  N.  McDonald. 

Captains: 

Ephraim  M.  (iiluiore.    Henly  L.  Reans, 

Jackson  Drennan. 

COMPANY  H. 

Lieutenants: 

Private: 

II.  L.  Beans,                     Jackson  Drennan, 

T.J.  Mitchell. 

J.  M.  Matlock,                Dennis  Palmer. 

COMPANY   L. 

Jasper  Johnson. 

Privates: 

Sergeants: 

Robert  E.  Forester,        A.  Mytinger, 

Jackson  Drennan,          X.  B.  Kemper, 

1 ).  K.  Spencer. 

J.  M.  Matlock.               H.  M.  George, 

Unassigned : 

Samuel  Spradley,            B.  C.  W.  Wooldridge. 

John  M.  Allied,             Jolin  Burns, 

Corporals: 

Henry  Brown.                John  Mackey, 

R.  E.  Forrester,              T.  J.  Kemper, 

J.  N.  Martin.                   1).  R.  Spencer. 

J.  M  Goodpasture,        J.L.Abbott, 

SEVENTH  CAVALRY. 

Jesse  Goodpasture,        Sam"!  Montgomery, 

COMPANY  E. 

Buglers : 

Private: 

Joseph  K.  Simpson,       Asa  Grizzle. 

Henry  Myers. 

Saddler: 

NINTH  CAVALRY. 

Abram  Belknap. 

Unassigned: 

Wagoner: 

Peter  Shephard,              James  Smith. 

A.  G.  Kinkead. 

Privates: 

TENTH  CAVALRY'. 

W.G.  Allen,                   David  Bartley, 

COMPANY   B. 

W.  H.  Barrow,              N.  s.  Brunsou, 

Privates: 

W.  W-  Clark,                   Philip  Caton, 

P.  II.  Hill,                      C.  C.  Hill, 

W.  P.  Farmer,               G.  D.  P.  Coonrod, 

A.  S.  Hill. 

W.  F.  Goodwin,              J.  F.  Duncan, 

COMPANY    G. 

William  Morris,            0.  B.  Edwards, 

Private : 

William  Wilkerson,       Thos.  Evans, 

Edward  McCarty. 

William  Woods,            S.S.  Garratt, 

COMPANY  H. 

W.R.  Byxbe,                 A.C.  Hattwell, 

Privates: 

W.  B.  Challacomlie,       Jasper  Johnson, 

A.  J.  Merriman,            K.  II.  Malone. 

James  H.  Barrow,          Leonard  Ketchum, 

William  Malone. 

J.  M.  Cameron,              Isham  Liuder, 

COMPANY  M. 

Jesse  Davis,                    J.  B.  Mullen, 

Privates: 

Joseph  Byxbe,                Newton  Mitchell, 

B.F.  Toller,                   Delos  Patten. 

B.  B.  Byxbe,                     Richard  Maxlield, 

ELEVENTH  CAVALRY*. 

I).  II.  Brown,                  Joseph  McCann, 

COMPANY  A. 

A.  S.  Yost,                       Grannis  Pitchford, 

Privates: 

John  Wall,                       D.  A.  Simmons, 

Win.  Hess,                     Henry Lappe, 

Joseph  Werney,               Thos.  Skaggs. 

John  Utlie,                      Win.  Voland. 

E.  L.  Woodbridge,           Albert usSilby. 

HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


641 


Claybourne  Easley, 
Ai'iiiiii  Gordon, 
J.M.  Hill, 
Moses  1 1  ay  lies, 

Cyrus  Hayward, 
David  Ketchum, 

.1.  \V.  Mauley, 
W.  II.  Pitchford, 
W.  L.  Roach, 
.1.  II.  Rhoades, 
.Iiilm  Rogers, 
E.  M.  Sherman, 
(i.  w.  Samples, 
W.H.  Wils.ni, 

AsC 


G.  L.  CifYi.nl, 
J.  M.  Grizzle, 
Richard  Hill, 
Abner  Haynes, 
Wm.  Hand, 
W.  T.  Mitchell. 
Isaac  Odell, 
.).  R.  Patton, 
I.  H.  Rhoades, 
A.  E.  Rhoades, 

.lames  Scott, 
W.  ('.  Spurlock, 
Hardin  Skaggs, 

('has.  Ileliern. 

onsolidated. 


COMPANY   D. 

Lieutenant: 

Patrick  Malier. 

COMPANY    F. 

Lieutenant : 

Allen  C.  Ilaitwell. 

Sergeant : 

James  F.  Duncan. 

A.  C.  Ilaitwell. 

Blacksmith: 

15.  C.  W.  Wooldridge. 

Privates: 

David  Ketchum, 
Jos.  McCann. 
.J.  W.  Manly. 
Richard  Maxfteld, 
N.  L.  Mitchell, 
1.  Odell. 

J.  R.  Patton, 
Wm.  Roach, 
J.  II.  Rhoades, 
Hardin  Skaggs, 
('has.  Skaggs, 
E.  M,  Sherman. 
\V.  c.  Spurlock, 
<;.  W.  Samples, 
W.  II.  Wilson, 
John  Wall. 
Wm.  Hand. 
(has.  Hebeni. 
COMPANY  '■. 

Privates: 
J.  M.  Cameron,  J.  M.  Goodpasture, 

W.  P.  Goodwin,  Wm.  Hand. 

Richard  Wallis. 


L.  Ketchum, 


B.  13.  Byxl.e. 
Joseph  Byxl.e, 
W.  R.  Byxbe, 
J.  II.  Barrow, 
(i.  I).  P.  Coourod, 
W.  B.  Challacombe 
Jesse  Davis, 
J.  M.  Grizzle, 
Asa  Grizzle, 
C.L.  CilYord. 
Abrain  (lord.. n, 
.].  M.  Hill. 
Richard  Hill, 
Moses  Hayi.es, 
Abner  Haynes, 

C.  W.  Hayward. 
.1.  M.  Cameron, 


COMPANY   H. 

Privates: 
J.  M.  Goodpasture,        Wm.  Pitchford, 
I.  II.  Rhoades,  A.  E.  Rhoades. 

FIRST  ARTILLERY. 

BATTERY     A. 

Private: 

Barnet  Baxter. 

SECOND   ARTILLERY. 

BATTERY     A. 

Privates: 
C.  riimeorsou,  J.  E.  Robertson. 

BATTERY    B. 

Private: 
John  Keramer. 

BATTERY    E. 

Private: 
Gottlieb  Hermann. 

BATTERY    F. 

Private: 
Fred  Domes. 

BATTERY    K. 

Sergeant: 
Frank  Schrackner. 

29th  TJ.    S.  COLORED   INFANTRY. 


Thomas  Dorsey 


COMPANY    A. 

Privates: 

Thomas  Smith. 


Oliver  Mahue, 


COMPANY   B. 

Private: 
Albert  North. 

COMPANY   D. 

Privates: 

Samuel  Pendegrass, 

COMPANY    E. 

Private: 
James  Bradley. 

COMPANY  F. 

Private: 
James  Pendegrass. 

COMPANY  G. 

Private: 
Robert  Maytield. 

COMPANY    K. 

Private: 
(has.  Fisher. 
Inassigned. 
James  Allen. 


612 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


2nd    REG.   U.  S.   VETERAN  VOL. 

COMPANY    A. 

Private: 
William  Evans. 

COMPANY    II. 

Private: 
Nathaniel    Owens. 

4th  REtt.U.  S.  VETERAN  VOL. 

COMPANY    I!. 

Private: 
Thomas  Shannon. 

ROLL  OF  HONOR. 

The  following  comprises  a  list  of 
those  gallant  soldiers  who  left  their 
homes,  their  wives  and  babies  and  took 
up  the  musket  for  the  defense  of  their 
their  country's  honor,  never  to  return, 
finding  graves  in  southern  soil;  who 
laid  down  their  lives  in  defense  of  the 
Union.  ''It  is  sweet  and  honorable  to 
die  for  one's  country,"  should  be  en- 
graved over  the  grave  of  each,  in  char- 
acters that  will  perpetuate  throughout 
nil  coming  time,  and  proclaim  to  the 
future  generations  their   noble  sacrifice: 

Henry  Jackson,  died  July  30,  1862. 

A.  T.  Whittemore,  died  in  Oct.,  1862. 

Reuben  E.  Weisner,  died  April  21, 
1862,  of  wounds  received  atShiloh. 

John  Dunn,  killed  in  action,  at 
Shiloh,  April  6,  1862. 

Geo.  H.  Davidson,  died  April  17, 
1862,  of  wounds  received  at  Shiloh. 

James  Kelly,  died  May  14,  1862,  of 
wounds  received  at  Shiloh. 

Benjamin  F.  Mytinger,  killed  at  the 
battle  of  Shiloh,  April  6,  1S62. 

John  A.  Mytinger,  died  Feb.  17,  1862. 

William  H.  Dawson,  died  March  25, 
1862. 

Sergeant  David  Baker,  died  April  18, 
1865. 


James  S.  Hill,  died  Nov.  30,  1864. 

John  A.  Reeves,  killed  at  the  battle 
of  Shiloh,  April  6,  1862. 

Samuel  Brasher,  killed  at  battle  of 
Shiloh,  April  6,  1862. 

John  Clardy,  died  at  Memphis,  Tenn., 
July  31,  1862. 

Andrew  J.  Hill,  died  of  wounds,  Oct. 
5,  1662. 

Jonathan  Jordan,  died  at  Pittsburg 
Landing,  March  25,  1862. 

Edward  Keating,  killed  at  battle  of 
Shiloh,  April  6,  1862. 

Charles  Lynch,  died  of  wounds,  Oct. 
5,  1862. 

William  H.  Melvin,  died  at  Memphis, 
Tenn,  Aug.  4,  1862. 

John  G.  McBride,  killed  in  action  at 
Shiloh,  April  6,  1862. 

Newton  Spradley,  died  at  home,  Sept. 
8, 1863. 

DeWitt  C.  Callaway,  died  at  Louis- 
ville, Ky.,  Feb.  25,  1865. 

Edward  Clary,  killed  at  the  battle  of 
Shiloh,  April  6,  1862. 

Lieut.  John  W.  Lee,  killed  July  7, 
1864,  near  Atlanta,  Ga. 

Martin  Hughes,  died  April  20,  1862, 
of  wounds  received  at  Shiloh. 

William  Allen,  killed  at  the  battle  of 
Shiloh,  April  6,  1862. 

Elisha  Barrett,  died  at  Marietta,  Ga., 
Aug.  7,  1864. 

Milton  Risley,  died  at  Pocahontas, 
Ark.,  May  22,  1862. 

Percy  A.  Davenport,  killed  at  the  bat- 
tle of  Shiloh,  April  7,  1862. 

Chambers  Jeffrey,  died  at  Camp  But- 
ler, Springfield,  111.,  March  29,  1865. 

Morris  M.  Carrico,  died  at  Louisville, 
Ky.,  March  26,  1862. 

L.  P.  Hendryx,  died  at  St.  Louis,  Mo., 
April  17,  1863. 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY.                                 648 

Francis  M.  Jackson,  killed  at  Perry- 

William   Francis,   died  at   Memphis, 

ville,  Ky.,  Oct.  8,  1862. 

Tenn.,  Sept.  13,  1863. 

James  Welch,  died  Dec.  10,  1863. 

Gregory  Garrison,   killed  at    Shiloh, 

Sergeant  William  R.  March,  killed  at 

April  6,  1862. 

Chaplin  Hills,  Ky.,  Oct.  8,  1862. 

John  Holland,  died  at  St.  Louis,  Mo., 

James  Cade,  killed  at   Chaplin  Hills, 

March  25,  1862. 

Ky.,  Oct.  8,  1862. 

Edward  L.  Hager,  died  May  30,  1862. 

Charles  H.    Cudman,    killed   at    Pea 

R.  Jones,  killed  at  Shiloh,    April  6, 

Ridge,  Ark.,  March  8,  1862. 

1862. 

Sergeant  Alfred  C.    Barber,  killed    at 

John  Mullins,  died  at  Snyder's  Bluff', 

Stone  River,  Dec.  31,  1862. 

Miss.,  June  28,  1863. 

Calvin  Blackburn,  died  at   Otterville, 

Jacob  Sallow,  died  at  Pittsburg  Land- 

Mo., Jan,  20,  1862. 

ing. 

Joseph  Gering,  killed  at  Chaplin  Hills, 

David  W.   Wells,  died    at    Pittsburg 

Oct,  8,  1862. 

Landing,  April  1,  1862. 

Joseph  Garrison,  died  at  Linn  Creek, 

John  Woods,  died  at  St.  Louis,  April 

March  15,  1862. 

10,  1862. 

John  Henson,  died  at  St.  Louis,  Mo., 

Dennis  Welch,  died  at  Corinth,  Nov. 

April  2,  1862. 

1,  1862. 

Admo  Hankins,  died  at  Syracuse,  Mo., 

John  Allen,    died  at  St.    Louis,    May 

Dec.  20.  1861. 

22,  1862. 

Frank  Hankins,  died  at  Ozark  Moun- 

Samuel  Gates,   died  at   Little    Rock, 

tains,  Ark.,  Nov.  16,  1861. 

Ark.,  Sept.  16,  1864. 

James    Medford,    killed   at  Lookout 

Elisha    Howard,    died     at     Duvall's 

Mountain,  Nov.  20,  1863. 

Bluff,  Dec.  20,  1862. 

Henry  Griffin,  died  at  home,  Feb.  8, 

Elisha  W.  Lee,   died  at  Quincy,  111., 

1865. 

May  24,  1862. 

William  Hines,  drowned  Feb.  7, 1864. 

W.  H.  Pinkerton,  died  at  Little  Rock, 

John  R.  Champlin,  died  April  4,  1864. 

Ark.,  Feb.  24,  1864. 

William   Looker   died  at  Greenville, 

Lewis    Bartlott,    died    at    St.    Louis, 

Ala.,  April  17,  1865. 

March  25,  1862. 

Lieut.  David  G.  Culver,  killed  at  Shi- 

Conrad  Bush,  died  at  Carrollton,  111., 

lob,  April  6,  1862. 

Feb.  23,  1862. 

John    Dinwiddie,   died   at  Memphis, 

Joseph  Breine,  died  at  Duvall's  Bluff, 

Tenn..  Oct.  18,  1863. 

Oct.  5,  1863. 

Tyler  B.  Cochran,  died  at  St.    Louis, 

Richard  L.  Clark,  died  at  White  Hall, 

Mo.,  May  32,  1862. 

111.,  May  20,  1862. 

Morton   Campbell,  died  at  St.  Louis, 

Elijah   J.   Clark,   died    at    Savannah, 

Mo.,  Oct,  16,  1863. 

Tenn'.,  April  20,  1862. 

William  Claridy,  died  at  Quincy,  111., 

James   Donnelly,   killed  accidentally 

June  22,  1862. 

at  Bolivar,  Tenn.,  Oct.  21,  1862. 

Thomas  Edwards,   died   at  Pittsburg 

John  Donnelly,   killed   at   Gregory's 

Landing,  Tenn. 

Landing,  Sept.  5,  1864. 

644 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


Martin  V.  Gamble,  died  at  St.  Louis, 
Mo. 

Alexander  Johnson,  died  at  Hender- 
son, Ky.,  June  7,  1862. 

John  V.  'Lawhouse,  died  at  Duvall's 
Bluff;  August  31,  1863. 

J.  D.  MeClimans,  died  at  White  Hall, 
May  15,  1862. 

John  Ott,  mortally  wounded  at  Shi- 
loh, April  6,  1S62. 

William  M.  Pope,  died  at  St.  Louis, 
August  8,  1862. 

E.  Pennington,  died  in  Missouri, 
Sept,  6,  1862. 

James  Reno,  died  at  Bolivar,  Tenn., 
May  13,  1862. 

Henry  Smith,  died  at  St.  Louis,  Feb. 
27,  1862. 

Joseph  Stuber,  died  May  10,  1862. 

Samuel  D.  Thompson,  died  at  St. 
Louis,  May  12,  1862. 

Jacob  Laubscher,  died  at  Franklin, 
Tenn.,  May  29,  1865. 

Isaac  McMillan,  died  at  St.  Louis, 
May  10,  1862. 

George  W.  Margerum,  wounded  at 
Shiloh,  supposed  to  have  died. 

John  D.  Shepherd,  di«d  May  3,  1862. 

Thomas  Hagan,  died  January  17, 
1864. 

Philip  Potter  died  of  wounds,  Dee.  8, 
1864. 

J.  W.  Seago  died  at  St.  Louis,  Mo., 
May  24,  1862. 

Lieut.  James  D.  Ballow,  died,  place 
and  date  not  given  in  report. 

Stephen  A.  Brown  died  at  Little  Rock, 
Ark.,  Feb.  24,  1864. 

Marshall  S.  Cory,  killed  at  Shiloh, 
April  6,  1862. 

Clifford  Irvin,  died  Aug.  21,  1863. 

Frank  Keller,  died  at  Jefferson  Bar- 
racks. Aug.  14,  1863. 


Ludlow  Snow,  died  at  Bolivar,  Tenn., 
May  16,  1862. 

Amos  Talbott,  died  at  St.  Louis,  June 
25,  1862. 

T.  J.  Thompson,  missing  since  battle 
of  Shiloh,  and  believed  to  have  fallen. 

William  B.  Clark;  died  at  Annapolis, 
Md.,  a  paroled  prisoner,   June  11,  1865. 

James  H.  Gentry,  died  at  Little  Rock, 
Ark.,  May  21,  1864. 

Robert  Seward,  died  in  Andersonville 
prison  pen,  April  15,  1865. 

Lieut.  Elijah  B.  Corrington,  killed 
Dec.  4,  1864. 

Charles  H.  Sturman,  died  at  Duvall's 
Bluffs,  Ark,  July  18,  1864. 

James  Abney  killed  Dee.  14,  1862. 

William  L.  Brooks,  diedat  Milliken's 
Bend,  July  29,  1863. 

Andrew  Cummings,  died  at  Jackson, 
Tenn.,  July  1,  1862. 

N.J.  Cummings,  died  at  Keokuk,  la., 
of  wounds  received  at  Shiloh. 

J.  C.  Cummings,  killed  at  the  battle 
of  Shiloh,  April  6,  1862. 

John  Cape  died  while  a  prisoner  at 
Macon,  Ga.,  Sept.  20,  1862. 

John  D.  Fleak,  died  at  Jefferson  Bar- 
racks, Nov.  16,  1863. 

Samuel  Henson,  Jr.,  died  at  Evans- 
ville,  Jan.  14,  1863. 

John  W.  Harmon  died  at  St.  Louis, 
May  14,  1862. 

James  N.  Handashelt,  died  while  a 
prisoner,  date  not  known. 

James  F.  Mattison,  died  at  St.  Louis, 
May  5,  1862. 

Robert  Owen  died,  date  and  place  not 
reported. 

John  L.  Reynolds,  died  at  Jackson, 
Tenn.,  July  1,  1862. 

Sergt.  Joseph  P.  Rice,  died  at  Pitts- 
burg Landing,  April  6,  1862. 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


645 


James  L.  Robinett,  killed  at  Shiloh, 
April  6,  1862. 

Elisha  Stout,  killed  at  Jackson,  Term., 
Dec.  19,  1SG2. 

Daniel  E.  Stone,  died  at  St.  Louis, 
June  1,  1862. 

Reuben  Townsend,  died  at  St.  Louis, 
July  is,  1862. 

Perry  Crotchett,  drowned  in  the  Cum- 
berland, Nov.  25, 1864. 

Reuben  Carpenter,  died  of  wounds  re- 
cieved  Dec.  7,  1864,  near  Nashville, 
Tenn. 

Nathaniel  Rigsby,  died  of  wounds  re- 
cieved  Dec.  15,  1864,  at  Nashville. 

William  Rayfield,  died  of  wounds  re- 
ceived at  Nashville,   Dec.  15,  1864: 

Thomas  W.  Hester,  died  in  Pike 
county,  111.,  Dec.  21,  1863. 

James  F.  Lytle,  died  at  Benton  Bar- 
racks, March  23,  1862. 

Thomas  J.  Murray,  died  at  Jefferson 
Barracks,  May  24,  1862. 

Seth  B.  Smith,  died  at  Jefferson  Bar- 
racks, July  13,  1862. 

George  F.  Moore,  died  at  Fort  Schuy- 
ler, Jan,  31,  1805. 

Thomas  L.  Pankey,  died  at  Carroll- 
ton,  111.,  Jan.  16,  1864. 

John  C.Gillespie,  died  at  White  Hall, 
111.,  Oct.  22,  1862. 

Francis  M.  Bigham,  died  at  Carroll- 
ton,  111.,  Nov.  14,  1863. 

Lieut.-Col.  S.  P.  Ohr,  died  Sept.  14, 
1864. 

George  A.  Lee,  died  at  Brownsville, 
Tex.,  Dec.  16,  1863. 

W.  M.  H.  Pinkerton,  died  at  New 
Orleans,  Sept.  24,  1863. 

A.  A.  Shumway,  died  at  Carrollton, 
La..  Oct.  3,  1863. 

Jesse  Tetterton,  died  at  Carrollton, 
La.,  Nov.  18,  1863. 


Rowell  Vineyard, died  at  Brownsville, 
Tex.,  Nov.  28,  1863. 

Sergt.Wm.  F.Wood, died  Jan.  13, 1S63. 

Henry  Bandy,  died  at  Brownsville, 
Tex.,  May  31,  1864. 

Andrew  Berline,  died  at  Carrollton, 
La.,  Aug.  13,1863. 

James  Conner, died  at  Bowling  Green, 
Ky.,  Dec.  30,  1862. 

William  H.  Edwards,  died  at  Brazos 
Santiago,  Tex.,  Nov.  18,  1864. 

James  R.Henson,died  at  New  Albany, 
Oct.  20,  1862. 

Isaac  Henson,  killed  at  Elizabeth- 
town,  Ky.,  Dec.  27,  1862. 

Riley  Hamilton,  died  at  Cairo,  111., 
Sept.  25.  1863. 

W.L.Hazelwood,died  at  Brownsville, 
Tex.,  July  8,  1864. 

George  T.Hazelwood,died  at  Browns- 
ville, Tex.,  May  4,  1864. 

James  Link,  died  at  New  Orleans, 
Nov.  19,  1863. 

James  C.  Lewis,  died  at  Brownsville, 
Tex.,  June  22,  1864. 

Benjamin  Martin, died  at  Brownsville, 
Tex.,  Jan.  5,  1864. 

Benjamin  Ogle,  died  at  Brownsville, 
Tex.,  May  6,  1864. 

John  W.  Scott,  died  of  wounds,  Jan. 
10,  1863. 

William  Scott  died  at  New  Orleans, 
Feb.  10,   1865. 

John  C.  Wells,  died  at  Benton  Bar- 
racks, July  9,  1863. 

Sergeant  Wesley  C.  Peter,  died  at 
Memphis,  Tenn.,  Aug.  21,  1863. 

Amasa  Armstrong,  died  at  Carrollton, 
La.,  Oct.  5,  1863. 

James  C.  Baker,  died  at  home,  April 
27,  1S63. 

William  Beathard,  died  at  Elizabeth- 
town,  Ky.,  Dec.  27,  1862. 


616 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


Benjamin  P.  Dinwiddie,  died  at 
Brownsville,  Tex.,  July  17,  1864. 

Henry  C.  Lewis,  died  at  Shephards- 
ville,  Ky..  Dec.  13.  1862. 

James  Martin,  killed  at  Elizabeth- 
town,  Ky.,  Dec.  27,  1862. 

Thomas  J.  Martin,  died  at  Cairo, 
111.,  Sept.  25,  1863. 

Unah  Moore,  died  at  Brownsville, 
Tex.,  April  8,  1864. 

W.  J.  Vanderhayden,  died  at  Browns- 
ville, Tex.,  May  23,  1864. 

Frank  P.  Hudson,  killed  at  Spanish 
Fort,  Ala.,  March  27,  1865. 

Sergeant  Charles  Wilhite,  died  at 
New  Orleans,  of  wounds,  April  28, 
1863. 

Bryant  Buffaloe,  died  at  Brownsville, 
Tex.",  June  10,  1864. 

Edgar  M.  Bradley,  died  at  Cairo,  111., 
Feb.  IS,  1863. 

Francis  M.  Cameron,  killed  at  Eliza- 
bethtown,  Ky.,  Dec.  27,  1862. 

Henry  L.  Coonrod,  died  at  Browns- 
ville, Tex.,  April  3,  1864. 

James  B.  Corrington,  died  at  Browns- 
ville, Tex.,  March  6,  1864. 

Sanford  Crouch,  died  at  Greenfield, 
111.,  Jan.  18,  1863. 

John  W.  Elkinton,  died  at  Browns- 
ville, Tex.,  Jan.  24,  18114. 

Jaspir  Erthal,  died  at  Vieksburg, 
Miss.,  Aug.  4,  1863. 

Nathaniel  Fessler,  died  at  Brazos 
Santiago,  Tex.,  Oct.  30,  1864. 

Columbus  Howard,  died  at  Browns- 
ville, Tex.,  Dec.  23,  1863. 

John  Kirby,  died  at  New  Orleans, 
Aug.  27,  1863. 

John  W.  Martin,  died  at  St.  Louis, 
July  21,  1864. 

L.  B.  Million,  killed  in  Greene 
county,  111.,  Feb.  2,  1865. 


James  L.  Parks,  drowned  Feb.  25, 
1864. 

William  C.  Kaney,  died  Nov.  20, 
1861. 

R.  B.  Strawn,  died  at  Brownsville, 
Tex.,  Nov.  18,  1863. 

George  Shlosser,  died  at  Dover,  111., 
Mar.h  9,  1864. 

Richard  E.  Wilhite,  died  Nov.  19, 
1864. 

James  S.  Webb,  died  at  Bridgeport, 
Ala.,  Feb.  8,  1864. 

Samuel  Neighbors,  died  at  Memphis, 
Tenn.,  Jan.  15,  1863. 

Levi  Gearhart  died  in  Andersonville 
prison  pen,  Oct.  1,  1864. 

Sergeant  James  W.  Waddle,  died  in 
Andersonville  prison  pen,  Aug.  25, 
1864. 

Ezra  W.  Bullis,  died  at  Carlinville, 
111.,  May  12,  1863. 

Charles  McCow,  died  at  Benton  Bar- 
ricks,  April  26,  1863. 

Perry  Miller,  killed  at  Fort  Blakeley, 
Alabama,  April  9,  1865. 

Alexander  Page,  died  at  Corinth, 
Miss.,  July  27,  1863. 

John  W.  Phinney,  died  Aug.  13, 
1863. 

Edwin  L.  Train,  died  at  Chicago, 
Oct.  31,  1862. 

Philip  G oiler,  died  at  Chattanooga, 
Tenn.,  July  3,  1864. 

Francis  M.  Dunn,  died  at  Rock 
Island,  July  26,  1864. 

William  M.  Mason,  died  at  Rock 
Island,  Aug.  20,  1864. 

William  Nizner,  died  at  Rock  Island, 
July  24,  1864. 

Joseph  Brooks,  died  in  Greene  county, 
111.,  Jan.  25,  1865. 

James  White,  died  at  St.  Louis,  Feb. 
16,  1865. 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


647 


William  Hunter,  died  at  Camp  But- 
ler, Springfield,  Feb.  20,  1865. 

John  Lawrence,  died  at  Murfrees- 
boro,  Tenn.,  March  14.  1865. 

Lieutenant  James  M.  Maddox,  died 
Feb.  9,  1864. 

Sergeant  N.  B.  Kemper,  died  of 
wounds,at  Culpepper  Court  House,  Va., 
Sept.  14,  1863. 

Thomas  J.  Kemper,  died  Nov.  8, 
1863. 

Joseph  K.  Simpson,  died  at  Harper 
Ferry,  Va.,  Sept.  20,  1862,  of  wounds. 

Philip  Catton,  died  at  Camp  Butler, 
in  April,  1862. 


Albertus  Silby,  died  at  Quincv,  111., 
Feb.  23,  1862. 

William  Woods,  died  at  Camp  But- 
ler, Feb.  16.  1862. 

Clayburne  Easley,  died  at  St.  Louis, 
Feb.  24, 1864. 

William  T.  Mitchell,  died  at  St. 
Louis,  April  26,  1864. 

John  Rogers,  died  at  Napoleonville, 
La.,  July  18,  1864. 

Asa  Grizzle,  suicided,  March  30,  1866. 

David  Ketchum,  died  at  Summer- 
ville,  111.,  Dec.  1,  1865. 

Oliver  Mahue,  died  in  New  Orleans, 
June  30,  1865. 


GHAPTRR    IX. 


POLITICAL. 


The  following  is  as  complete  an  ab- 
stract of  the  vote  of  the  county  as  could 
be  made  by  a  thorough  search  through 
the  records  in  the  office  of  the  county 
clerk,  and  an  exhaustive  analysis  of 
tons  of  matter  in  that  of  the  secretary 
of  state,  at  Springfield,  would  yield. 
Some  points  are  yet  missing,  but,  in  the 
absence  of  the  papers,  the  historian  is 
entirely  without  the  data  upon  which  to 
write.  This  is,  as  far  as  it  goes,  entirely 
official: 

ELECTION  OF  MILITIA  OFFICERS,  J7NE  80,  1H21  . 

Colonel . 
Thomas  Rattan 107 


Majors. 

Willis  Webb 191 

Thomas  G    Lofton I'M 

Stephen  Spencer 93 

James  Colwell 85 


ELECTION,    AUOU8T,    182 


Cougress. 

Daniel  P.  Cook 344—    188 

John  McLean 156 

Governor. 

Edward  Coles 438—    391 

Joseph  Phillips 47 

Thomas  C.  Brown 4 

James  B.  Moore  SO 

Lieutenant-Governor. 

James  Leman.  Jr 211 —      10 

John  G .  Lofton   231 

Adolphus  Hubbard b 

State  Senator. 

John  Allen 259-      20 

George  C'adwell  239 

Representative. 

Thomas  ilattan  310—    138 

Jehu  Brown 182 

Sheriff. 

YoungWood 294—      49 

James  Carlin 145 

Stephen  Spencer 47 

Coroner. 

Christian  Link 385—    334 

Turner  Lurton 51 

County  Commissioners. 

Charles  Gregory 316 

Thomas  Ainett 275 

Joel  Meacham 1L3 


648                                 HISTORY  OF 

GREENE  COUNTY. 

296 

1 

809 

o; 

113 

75 
87— 
33 
10 

363— 

161 

9 

366— 

171 

3 

272— 

265 

4 

20 

444— 

12 

342— 

10 
44 

28 

303 
302 
289 
190 
252 
38 

164 
379— 

89— 
6 

314— 
124 

29 

406— 
810 
36 

858 

325— 
12 

4 
381- 

4 
24:>— 

it 

800 
195 

17 

432 
898 

215 
83 

190 

160 

61 

373 
244 

Jehu  Br.wu 

1 
250- 

1 
286 

1 
183 

4 
157 

1 
101 
68 

403— 
154 

1 
3 

1 

582— 
1 

419— 

6 

484— 
803 

493— 

274 

342 

318 
805 
887 
226 
192 
115 
126 

91) 

76 

11 

559— 
97 
21 

455- 

310 

12- 
10 

816-- 

303 

432— 
592 
32 

4»7 
396 
225 
3.6 
343 
164 
141 

249 

243 

581 

121 

281 
219 

441 

145 
2 

513 
130 

ELECTION,  MAT,  1823. 

County  Commissioner. 

John  Pruitt 

William  King 

JohnStnll ,. 

Coroner. 

P.  FronK 

ELECTION,    AUGUST,     1824 

Congress. 
Daniel  P.  Cook 

Sheriff. 
State  Senator. 

ELECTION.    1828. 

President. 

State  Seuator. 

Representative. 

Sheriff. 

Young  Wood  

Coroner. 

State  Senator. 

A   W.  Carerly 

County  Commissioners. 

Alex.  Kins; 

KlishaK.  Wood 

County  Commissioner. 

Jehu  Brown   

Samiie'.  C.  Pierce  

Elijah  Bn>tow 

On  the  Question  of  a  Convention. 
For 

SPECIAL  ELECTION,  OCTOBER,   1824. 

Sheriff. 

SPECIAL  ELECTION,   DECEMBER,  1824. 

State  Senator. 

Coroner. 

C.  Link 

Sheriff. 

B.C.  Pierce 

J  ustice  of  the  Peace. 

KLECTION,  1830. 

Governor. 

Isaac N.   Piggott 

A.  W.Caverly  

ELECTION,  AUGUST,  1826. 

Governor. 

Lieutenant-Governor. 
R    B    Slocumb 

Representative,  General  Assembly 
S.  C.  Pierce 

Young  Wood 

Lieuteuamt-Governor. 

County  Commissioners. 

Jo-eph  Piggott ... 

HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


649 


Coroner. 

PeterFronk 8 

Leon  Rceder 34 

P.  N.  Rampv 515-    123 

John  Whitlock  82 

Heurv  Whitlock  ...   35 

Heury  Brantley   348 

County  Commissioner. 

John  Armstrong 411 

CvrnaTolman.: 441 

Cavil  Archer 445 

Thomas  CnnniLgham 515 

D  Strong  : 39 

Sheriff. 

Jacob  Frv 625-    119 

Jeremiah  Smith  317 

L.N. English 189 

ELECTION,  ACGCST,  1831. 

Congress. 

Joseph  Duncan  5"'_!~    lii 

James  Turnev  4-' 

Kdwanl  Coles 186 

Sidney    Breesc 77 

Alexander  P.  Field 4 

ELECTION,  NOVEMBER.  18)2. 

President. 

Andrew  Jackson 693—    406 

Henry  Cay  28b 

Congressman. 

Joseph   Duncan 1091  —    952 

J.H.  Pugh ™ 

Sheriff. 

Jacob  Fry  (no  opposition  1 1004—  1004 

ELECTION,    1831. 


Governor. 


Joseph  Duncan  — 
William  Kinnev... 
K.  K.  McLaughlin. 
James  Adams 


797—     234 

422 

HO 


Lien  tenant-Governor. 

Alexander  M.  Jenkins 371 

James  Kvans 5^ 

W.B.Archer 304 

Scattering 9 

Sheriff. 

JacobFrv 1213-1149 

M.  S.  Link 84 

Coroner. 


John  Whitlock 456— 

Arch. Wiggins JJ6 

W.D.  Scroggins I'l 

Thomas  Pritchett '» 

County  Commissioner. 

Cvrus  Tolman 1076— 

Thomas  Mc  Daw  Wfi 

Alexander  King 442 

James  II    t'orrington 343 

Isnam  Edwards 32S 

John  Lee 251 

John  Walker 26 

Thos.  Hudson     lu6 

Representatives. 

Lewis  W.Link 84»— 

Calvin  Tnnnell 822 

Charles  Gregory 6i3 

Janes  Turner 58U 

John  Allen 363 

Jesse  V.  Mounts 321 

S.Reese 245 

J.  Blackwell  5tf 


93 


ELECTION.  1835. 

County  Recorder. 

David  Pierson      670— 

c   A.  Davie  486 

V. inns;  Wood 263 

Benj.  Askins  107 

Connty  Surveyor. 

JobColline 712— 

C.C.Dodge 417 

W.  R    Pankev 195 

G.  M.   Richards 136 

SPECIAL  ELECTION,  18:15. 

Member  General  Assembly,    to   fill  vacancy  caused  by 
resignation  of  .Mr.  Link. 

James  Turney 947—    457 

Samuel  Smith 477 

Stephen  Taylor 13 

ELECTION,  AIGC9T.  1836. 

CongresB. 

William  L.  Mav  '202—    501 

John  Stuart 701 

State  Senator— Greene  County. 

James  Turney 1158 —    533 

Thomas  Kattan 625 

Senator— Greene  and  Calhoun. 

John  Allen 1078-    341 

Charles  Gregory  737 

Representative— Greene  County. 

Franklin  Witt  1518 

CyrnsA    Daws  1118 

Revel  W     English 990 

William  Carliu 388 

John  Drum   627 

William  M     Holiday 366 

Sherman  Gobs 58 

Antibus 348 

Representative— Greeue  and  Calhoun. 

William  Lane 920—    1T3 

Calvin  Tnnnell 747 

Johu  Beaman 43 

Sheriff 

Jacob  Fry  (no  opposilion)  1706 

County  Commissioner. 

Cyrus  Tolman ]°M 

Alexauder  liing '364 

Thomas  McDow '» 

PhilipJarbo »?3 

M    L    Link 4,1 

Alexander  Smith ?'" 

Josah  T.  Askew »'« 

John  Bristow  H0 

Coroner 

PeterFronk J00 

John    W.  Whitlock 464—      64 

ELECTION.    NOVEMBER,    1836. 

President. 

Martin  Van  Buren 1037—    326 

William  H.  Harrison (11 

ELECTION.   JULY,  1337 . 

Representative— Greene  and  Calhoun  Counties. 

John  Shaw 483 

John  Greeue 683—    200 

ELKC  HON,  1 838. 

Governor. 

Thomas  Carlin 1354—    317 

Cyrus  Edwards 1037 


650                                 HISTORY  OF 

GREENE  COUNTY. 

305 
276 

590 

52 

319 
S55 

170 

387 

503 

75 
1003 

Lien  tenant  Governor. 

1328- 

326 

365 
423 

440 

33 

1886 
41 

313 

53 
481 

ELECTION,  NOVKMBKR,  1810. 

President. 
W.  H.  Harrison,  w 

1175— 

870 

962— 

686 

1454 
469 
322 

254 
474 

1050— 
460 
129 

Congressman. 
John  T.  Stuart 

1018 

ELECTION,   AUGUST,   1841. 

C  ngress. 

State  Senator. 
Franklin  Witt  

Representative,  General  Aseembl. 

Revel  1  \V.   English 

1 

1397— 
974 

1422 
1332 
1153 

1077 
946 

897 

1146— 
705 
55 

1065 
693 

598 

1438 
1327 
1029 
964 

County  Commissioner. 
Thomas  Booth  (regular  term)  

Martin  Bowman 

J.   C.  C.  Parks 

William  Blair 

Recorder. 
J.  D.Frv 

Coroner. 
John  W.  Wbitlock 

Sheriff. 

David  Pierson  

M.  L.  Link 

School  Commissioner. 
James  O.  Graves 

John  W.  Scott 

58 

222 

224 

276— 

172 

26 

19 

16 

746 
1065— 

705 
1060— 

s. 
749 
919— 

743— 
205 
24 

SPECIAL   ELECTION,   FEBRUARY    1842 

County  Commirsioners. 
Anthony  S   Seely 

County  Commissioner. 
Alexander  King  

Chilton  Smith 

Stephen  W.  Spencer 

J.J.  Lakin   

George  w.  Cannedy 

ELECTION,   AUGUST,    1812. 

Governor. 

ELECTION,   1839. 

State  Senator  (special). 

192 
104 

542- 
449 

188S— 

878- 

832 

1104— 

791 

nties. 
1153 

960 

968 

869 

661 

641 

4ouu. 
914 
967— 

249 
136 
917— 

1615 

756 

Lieutenant-Governor. 
William  11.  Henderson,  w 

County  Recorder. 

County  Surveyor. 
C.C.  Dodge  

Senator— Greene  and  Jersey  Countie 

Alfred  W.  Caverlv,  d 

Senator— Greene  and  Calhoun. 
R  W.  English 

ELECTION,   AUGUST  1840. 

State  Senator. 

Thomas  Rattau 

J.  N.  Whitlock 

B.  F.  Child 

Representative—Greene,  and  Jersey  Coi 
R.  W.  Euglish 

John  Shaw 

17 
291 

n. 
1063— 
560 

940 
1187 
205 
280 
507 
104 

551 
241 

626— 
222 

1144— 

141 
137 

Representative— Greene  and  Calhou 

Representative— Greene. 

Representative— Greene,  Jersey  and  Cal 
John  McDonald 

Alfred  Hinton 

Smith  Post 

County  Commissioner. 

David  S.  Griswold 

Commissioner 
W    C     Raney 

M.  Browning  

Sheriff. 

Coroner. 
John  Wbitlock  (no  opposition) 

Coroner. 

Silas  Sweet 

HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY 


651 


Sheriff. 
Hugh  Jackson  (no  opposition)  d  

On  the  question  of  a  Convention. 

For     

Against 

ELECTION,   AUGUST.    1843. 

Congress. 
Stephen  A.  Doujlas,  d 


ing, 


William  Carlin.d   . 
George   W.  Allen,  < 


Probate  Justice. 


Treasurer  and  Assessor. 

R.  B.  Allen  (no  opposition)  

School  Commissioner. 


1609 
1093-   536 


C.  C.  Dodge  . . . 
.lames  A.  Paine 
O.  W.  Jerome  . . 


On  the  question  of  comity  division. 

For  ' 228 

Against 1636— 140S 

ELECTION,  NOVEMBER,   1844. 

President. 

James  K  Polk 1250-150 

Henry  Clay 800 

Congressman . 

Stephen  A.  Dotielas 1207 

D.M.Woodson.; 839 

Richard  I. His 1 

T.J.  Moore 

State  SenUor. 

RevellW.  English  856 

Alfred  W.  Cavcrly 871—      15 

Representative,  General  Assembly. 

Calvin  Ttinnell £50 

F   P   Vertdcr 653 

H.H.Witt 75 

J.  Eoff 798 

J.Johnson 126 

J.  Hopkins...     53 

A.  En  slow     59 

John  N".  IlHitt !2. 

John  McDonald 831 

Coroner. 

J    N    Whitlock  1012—    253 

Anderson  Headrick 728 

s.  Hale 21 

Sheriff. 

Hugh  Jackson 1141—    318 

El. Cooper  741 

D.  Pinkerton 74 

M.  F.Kelley 8 


JamesC. nuadv. 
Ishain  Linder".     ... 
Edmund  L.  Cooper. 


ELECTION,   AUGUST,  1845. 

Countv  Corumissionti . 


School  Commissioner, 

James  O    Graves — 241 

David  Pinkerton 608— 

Scattering 31 

ELECTION,  AUGUST.  18W). 

Congress. 

Stephen  A.  Douglas,  d 1166— 

J   Vaudeventer,\v  637 

Governor. 

Augustus  C.  French,  d 1147— 

Thomas  M.  Kilpatrick,  w 636 

Lieutenant-Governor. 

Joseph  B.  v.  ells,  d 1138- 

N'athauiel  (J.  Wilcox,  w 612 

Representative—  Greene  and  Calhoun  Counties. 

.1    D    Frv.cl  lia— 

John  Caldwell.w  700 

Representative— Greene  County. 

Stephen  Coourod 536 

Josiah  Caswell   987 

J.  L.  Eoff 627 

Ue.itvBrogg  629 

J.  H.  Henderson 603 

County   Commissioner. 

Charles  Rradshaw,  d 955  — 

E    R.  Melcalf.w  620 

Sheriff. 

H.  Jackson,  d 1(00— 

T .  F.Jerome  w 719 

Coroner. 

Richard  Ellis,  rt 936— 

.1    N    Whitlock,  w 271 

Benjamin  Johnson  190 

William  J.  McAdams  32 

Recorder. 

Andrew   Kelley 315 

Abraham  Spencer 746— 

.1     .1    I, raves   464 

T.J    Robiuson  204 

On  the  Onestion  of  a  Convention. 

For      .' 1163-  : 

Against   278 

ELECTION.   AUGUST   1847 

Congress. 

William  A   Richardson,d 1283- 

N    G    Wilcox,  w  296 

Couuty  Commissioner 

T.  S.  Bo-'th   557 

David  Woolley 542 

M    E.  Rattan' 268 

I'M     KTi-iish 216 

Robert  Green  14 

Clerk. 

F    P.  Vedder,  d 1091— 

J    F.  Simpson,  w  492 

Charles  Hobson  38 

School  Commissioner, 

Joseph  Pierson.  d B73  - 

Nathan  Sa\agc,  w 322 

Treasurer  and  Assessor. 

David  Pinkerton  534— 

T.J.  Robinson   482 

J.I.I.akin   438 

.IS.  Benear 117 

Allen  Bell     5 

Recorder. 

Abraham  Spencer,  d 1133— 

Charles  Spandrel  t.  w  498 


652 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


Surveyor. 

C.C.  Dodge  630 

William  11.  Ellis 669— 

Probate  Justice. 

M.  S.  Link  (do  opposition)  d 1316 

Scattering 7 

ELECTION,   AUGUST,   1848. 

Governor. 

Augustus  C.  French,  (no  opposition)  d 1241 

Lieutenan' -Governor. 

William  McMurtry,  (no  opposition)  d 1216 

Secretary  of  State. 

Horace  S.  Coo'ey,  (no  opposition)  d 1209 

Auditor  of  State. 

Thomas  H.  Campbell,  (no  opposition)  d 1210 

Treasurer  of  State. 

Milton  Carpenter,  (no  opposition)  d 1211 

Congress. 

William  Richardson,  (no  opposition)  d 1403 

Scattering    2 

State  Senator. 

Franklin  Witt,  d 1152- 

James  Metcalf,  w 548 

Scattering 3 

Representative. 

John  D.  Fry 1226 

Isaac  Darueille  966 

Lnman  Curtius.. 665 

Hawkins  Hendricks  86 

George  N.  Morgan 146 

Sheriff. 

Z.  A.  Morrow 958— 

William  A.  J.  Rnssell 860 

Coroner. 

James  Medford 583— 

William  U.  Able 205 

Commissioner. 

IsraelPiper 381 

James  Ounnedy 313 

T.N.Patterson 1B6 

Joshua  W.  Armstrong 747 

ELECTION,   8EPTEMBBR,   1848. 

Supreme    Judge. 
Samuel  II .  Treat,  (no  opposit'on)  d 1191 

Supreme  Clerk. 

Mason  Broyman.  d.  ..   710 — 

William  B    Warren,  w 451 

Circait  Judge. 

D.  M.  Woodson,  d 834- 

Alfred  W.  Caverly,  w 601 

Prosecuting  Attorney. 

Mark  W.  Delnhav.  d  662— 

Clark  H    Goodrich,  w 428 

Circuit  Clerk. 

William  t'arliu.  d 802— 

K.  B.  Hill,  w  647 

ELECTION,   NOVEMBER,  1849. 

County  Judge. 

M.  S.  Link 868— 

It.  W.  English : 566 

County  Justices  of  the  Peace. 

A.. J    Whiteside 671 

A.  S.  Scelv , R38 


J.  W.  Arms'rnng 350 

David  Wooley  374 

James  Caunadr 16C 

Abraham  Knslow ]20 

Thomas  S.  Booth 264 

Samuel  Boyd 61 

T.  M    bnglish 58 

County  Clerk. 

F.  P.  Vedder  (no  opposition) 1473 

County  Surveyor. 

W.  H.  Ellis  (no  opposition) 1410 

Coroner. 

K.  R.  Nichols 471—    103 

William  Harrows 368 

J.N.  Whitlock 68 

G.  B.  Doty 42 

School  Commissioner. 

Joseph  Pierson 963—    869 

A.  C.  Kirwan 91 

County  Treasurer. 

P  MeConathv 725 302 

J.  K.  Hollidav 4-£5 

T.  A.  Bell 251 

James  Eames 55 

On  the  Question  of  Township  Organization. 

For 322 

Against 500—    225 

ELECTION  NOVEMBER,    1850. 

Congress. 

William  A.  Richardson,  d 818—    300 

Orville  H.  Browning,  w 548 

State  Senator. 

Franklin  vVitt,  d 761 —    392 

John  A.  Logan,  w 369 

Treasurer 

John  Moore,  d    (no  opposition) 1250—1250 

Representative. 

CharlesD.  Hodges,  d 708 

Joshua  C.  Winters 536 

Mark  W.  Delahav 280 

A.  S.  Wyckoff..... ...„  362 

Matthew  Cvrus 261 

Scattering 4 

Circuit  Clerk. 

Z.  A.  Morrow,  d 941—     589 

James  1).  Graves 026 

Abraham  Bowman 123 

Scattering: 3 

Sheiiff. 

William  Halbut 747—    195 

John  A.  Amen 553 

Scattering f 

Coroner. 

Marshal  Oulanev 623 

R.  R.  Nichols....'. 320 

Scattering 2 

ELECTION.   NOVEMBER,  1851. 

State  Senator  (to  fill  vacancy. ) 

John  M.  Palmer  (no  opposition) 1086 

County  Treasurer. 

Perry  McConathy 701 

William  C.  Rainey 402 

School  Commissioner. 

Joseph  Pierson  (no  opposition) 1087 

County  Surveyor. 

William  H.  Ellis 309 

Ksniiu-1  Heaton 77'—    4f,2 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY 


655 


On  the  Question  of  a  General  Bankiag  Law. 

For 437 

Against 635—    198 

On  the  Question  of  Establishing  a  New  Boundary 
Line  for  Jersev  County. 

For 597—    282 

Against 315 

ELECTION,   NOVEMBER,  1852, 

President. 

Franklin  Pierce,  d 1297-    433 

Winfleld  Scott,  w 864      • 

John  P.  Hale  f  s 12 

Governor. 

Joel  A.  Matteeon,  d 1264—    436 

E.  B    Webb,  w 848 

D.  A.  Knowltou,  f.  s 12 

Lieutenant-Governor. 

Gns    Koerner,  d 1271 

J   L.  D.  Morrison,  w 845 

Philo  Carpenter,  f.  e 12 

Secretary  of  state. 

Alexander  Starne,  d 1277—    431 

BuckuerS.  Morris,  w 846 

Erastue  Wright,  f.  s 12 

State  Auditor. 

Thos.  H  Campbell, d 1283—    441 

Cbas   A.  BKtts,  w 842 

E.  J.  Smith,  f.  s 12 

state  Treasurer. 

John  Moore,  d 1283—    447 

Francis  Aver/.w 836 

,Mose^  Pettingill,  r.  s 12 

Congressman. 

John  Calhoun,  d 1186—    233 

Richard  Yates,  w 953 

Representative. 

Giles  H.  Turner,  d 1327—    904 

A.  L   Knapp,  w 423 

H.  R.  Webb.  I    s 57 

Charles  I).  Hodaes,  d 1164—    386 

Truman  W.  Brydia,  w Tli 

Jacob  Lurton.f.  s 110 

State's  Attorney. 

MahlonRoss 233 

Cvrus  Epler 769 

William  WTeer.  Jr 977—    211 

Clerk  of  Circuit  Court. 

Alfred  Hinton 483 

Abraham  Spencer 695—    140 

Lewis  W.  Link 555 

Thomas  A    Mclutyre 338 

Sheriff. 

Zachariah  A.  Morrow 1033—    477 

Hugh  Jackson 556 

Damon  Griswold 535 

Coroner. 
Marshal  Dulanev 13  3—    9*4 

Reason  Ii    Nichols 389 

William  F.  Flowers 173 

On  the  question  of  an  amendment  to  the  constitution. 

For 1S65—  1714 

Against 151 

ELECTION .    1853. 

County  J'idge. 

Mathias  s.  Link,  w 457 

Charles  D.  Hodges,  d 1137—    680 

Associate  Justices. 

Fielding  Mitchell 90 

Thomas  J    short 781 


County  Clerk. 
Francis  P.  Vedder,  (no  opposition) 1635 

Surveyor. 

Samnel  Heaton,  d 1280— 

Brtcen  Pursley.  w 293 

School  Commissioner. 

Joseph  Pierson,  (no  opposition)  d 1601 

Assessor  and  Treasurer, 
iam  L.  Greene 381 


James  Hudson.. 
Edmund  L.  Cooper.. 
Edward  McGoorin... 


-41" 


ELECTION,   NOVEMBER,   1854. 

Congress. 


State  Treasurer. 

lames  Miller,  w 562 

John  Moore,  d 1481— 

State  Senator. 

B.  T.  Burke,  d 1030- 

John  M.  Palmer,  w 9c9 

Representative. 

Z   A.  Morrow,  n 915 

J.  W.  Pursley.  d 1051— 

Sheriff. 

Hugh  Jickson 724 

K.  I.  Ostrom 509 

Hiram  Keach 154 

Lemuel  J.  Patterson 683 


Coroner. 


115 


589 


ELECTION.  JUNE  4,  1855. 

On  the  Question  of  Prohibiting  the  sale  of  Liquor. 

For  Prohibition 173 

Against  Prohibition 71t—    541 

Judge  of  Supreme  Court,  to  till  vacancy  caused  by 
the  resignation  of  Judge  Treat. 

O.  0.  Skinner 1217—    519 

S.  T.  Logan 698 

Clerk,  Supreme  Court. 

W.A   Turney 1583-  1301 

S.  A.  Corneau _ _ 283 

Circuit  Judge. 

D  M.Woodson 1787—  1757 

.1   M    Pursley 23 

Scattering 7 

ELECTION.  NOVEMBER.  1856. 

President. 

James  Buchanan,  d 1565 —    846 

Millard  Fillmore,  a 719 

John  C.  Fremont,  r 245 

Congress. 

Thomas  L.  Harris,  d 1562 —    657 

.lohu   Williams.r 905 

Governor. 

William  A.   Richardson,  d 1656—    830 

William  A.  Bissell,  r 826 

Lieutenant-Governor. 

Richard  .1.  Hamilton,  d 1605—    771 

John  Wood,  r 834 


656 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


Secretary  of  State. 

William  TI.  Snyder,  d -  .. 

Oziae M.  Hatch,  r 


State  Auditor. 

Samuel  K.  Casey,  d 1704 — 

Jesse  K.  Dubois,  r 827 

State  Treasurer. 

John  Moore,  d  1620— 

.lames  Miller,  r 825 

Superintendent  of  Public  Instruction. 


State  Senator. 
Linus  E.  Worcester,  (no  opposition)  d 1884 

Representative. 

John  W.  nuitt,  d 1380— 

Richard  Yates, r 783 

State's  Attorney. 

J.  W.  English,  d 1435— 

A.  (i.  Burr,  r 783 

Sheriff. 

Lemuel  J.  Patterson,  d 1268 — 

Perry  McConathv 504 

I.   B.  Ostroni 573 

Circuit    Clerk. 

Abraham  Spencer,  d 1051— 

Hugh  Jackson 911 

Mclntyre 443 

Coroner. 

Marshal  Dulaney,  d 1354 — 

Reed,  r 1096 

On  the  Question  of  a  Convention. 

For 441 

Against 1414- 

El.ECTION,  NOVEMBER.  1857. 

County  Judge. 

Charles  D.  Hodges,  (no  opposition)  d 2197 

Associates. 

L.  E.  Worcester,  (no  opposition)  d 2165 

Thomas  Short  (no  opposition)  d 2118 

Countv  Clerk. 

F.  P.  Vedder,  d 1330— 

F.  M.  Ristime,  d 904 

School  Commissioner. 

Joseph  Pierson.  (no  opposition)  d 1943 

Surveyor. 

H.  Bonfoy,  (no  opposition)  d U96 

Assessor. 

William  L.  Greene,  d 1358— 

William  Halbirt,  r 855 

ELECTION  NOVEMBER  1858. 

Congress. 

Thomas  L.  Harris,  d 1517— 

James  H.  Matheuy.  p  T'.ir, 

State  Treasurer 

William  R.  Fondey.  d If  12 — 

James  Miller. p 7*5 

Superintendent  of  Public  Instruction. 

Augustus  C.  French,  d 1509— 

Newton  Bateman,  p Tlil 

State  Senater. 

Anthony  L.  Knapp.  d 1465— 

Alexander  B.  Moreau,   p  7S* 

Representative. 

Alexander  King,  Jr..  d 1499— 

Joshua  W.  Armstrong,  p 75JJ 


Sheriff. 

Zechriah   Morrow 958 

Jordan  Likin 1077—    119 

McNall Dai 

Coroner. 

Anderson  HeadriCK 1042—    388 

Tuustall 654 

Brown 158 

ELECTION,  NOVEMBER,  1859. 

Congress. 

John  A.  McClernand,  d 1279—    621 

John  M.  Palmer,  r 658 

Associate  Judge. 

Levi  T.  Whiteside,  d 114s—    450 

Potts,  r 699 

County  Treasurer. 

William  L.  Greene,  d 1142—    377 

Cobb,  r 765 

School  Commissioner. 

Stephen  F.  Corrington,  d 1006—    104 

J.  B.  Samuel,  r 902 

Surveyor. 
Henry  Bonfoy,  d.,  (no  opposition) 1896 

ELECTION,  NOVEMBER.    1860. 

President. 

Stephen  A.  Douglas,  d 2173—  1194 

Abraham    Lincoln,  r 979 

John  C,  Breckenridge,s.  d  4 

John  Bell,  u    c 67 

Congress. 

John  A.  McClernand,  d 2186—1077 

Henry  Case IOCS) 

Governor. 

John  C.  Allen,  d 2196—1079 

Richard  Yates, r 1017 

Lieutenant-Governor. 

Lewis  W.  Ross,  d    ..   2193—1186 

Francis  A-  Hoffman,  r 1007 

Secretary  of  State . 

George  H.  Campbell.d 2188—  1182 

O.  M.  Hatch,  r 1006 

Auditor. 

Bernard  Arutzec.d 2184—  1175 

Jesse  K.  Dubois,  r 1(09 

Treasurer. 

Hugh  Maher,  d  2183—  1173 

William  Butler,  r 1010 

Superintendent  ol   Public  Instruction. 

Edward  R    Roe.  d 2179—  1163 

>ewtou  Bateman,  r 1016 

Attorney. 

James  W.  English,  d 2154-  1155 

Robert  Hitt,  d  27 

James  Lee,  r 999 

Representative. 

Benjamin  Baldwin, d 2069—  1038 

Linus  E.  Worcester,  r 1031 

Circuit  Clerk. 

James  S.  Vedder,  d 2'64—  1164 

Calvin  Tunuell,r 1000 

Sheriff. 

Jacob  Bowman,  d 2  46—  1119 

G.  L.  Burruss,  r 102? 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


657 


On  the  qneitlon  of  a  Convention. 

For «9 

Against 8089-  130(1 

ELECTION,  JUNE,  1861. 

Clerk  of  Supreme  Court. 

W.A.Turnev 377—    364 

A.  W.  Turnev 4 

Scattering 9 

Circuit  Judge. 

David  Mead  Woodson 120-    117 

Scattering 3 

ELECTION,  NOVEMBER,  1861. 

Anthony  L    Kn  app. mo  opposition)  d 1821 

Scattering —     5 

Delegate  to  Constitutional  Convention. 

John  M    Woodson,  d 1885—  1582 

James  Hudson,  r 303 

County  Judge. 

Thomas  H     Bovd,  d 1996—  1747 

S  ocumH.  Culver,  r 249 

Associate  Judges. 

John  Kuvle,  d 1799—  1426 

Robert  Green,  d 1880-  1534 

H     B      Ellis,  r : 373 

John   Grimes,  r 296 

County  Clerk. 

W    A.  Davis. d 1680—1091 

F.   P   Yedder,  d 589 

Assessor  and  Treasurer 

N.  J.  Andrews,  d 1726—  1434 

William  L.  Gretn.r        492 

Surveyor. 

HenrvBo^fov.  d 2098—1957 

Samuel  Heaton.  r  141 

School  Commissioner. 

S.  F.  Cornngton.  (no  opposition)  d 2247 

Coroner 

J.  E    Tridges,  (no  opposition)  d 2144 

On  the  question  of  a  banking  law. 

Against  7  .'....'    '.'.'.'.'.'.'.■.'.'.'.•'.'.'.".'.'.'.'.■.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.:  1486-1479 

SPECIAL  ELECTION,  JUNE.  1862. 

On  the  question  of  a  new  Constitution. 

For    1S"-1183 

Against ™ 

On  the  Question  of  Prohibiting  Banks. 

Por     1841—1183 

Against  ~r,8 

On  the  Question  of  Excluding  Negroes  and  Mulattoes. 

For  2342—2201 

Against  141 

On  the  Question  of  Negroes  Voting  and  Holding  Office 

For  18 

Against 2570-2552 

On  the  Question  of  Laws  for  Excluding  Negroes  from 
Coming  to  the  Slate. 

Fnr     2575—  S558 

Against 1^ 

On  the  Question  of  Congressional  Apportionment. 

BY>r  1815—10."5 

A  gains* 750 


ELECTION,    NOVEMBER.   1862. 

Congress. 

Anthonv  L.  Krapp,  d 1734—  1150 

S.  W.  iloulton,  r 584 

Congress— At  Large. 

James  C.   Allen,  d 1745—  1160 

E.  C.  Ingersoll,  r 585 

State   Treasurer. 

Alexander  Starne.  d 1746—  1181 

William  Butler,  r 565 

Superintendent  of  Public  Instructions. 

John  P.  Brooks,  d  1758—  1189 

Newton  Bateman,  r 569 

Senator. 

Linns  E.  Worcester,  d 1797—  1281    . 

N.  M.  Knapp,  r 516 

Representative. 

William  P    Witt,  d 1500-    806 

Alexander  Bowman,  r 694 

Sheriff. 

Hush  Jackson,  d 1068 

William  L.  Greene,  r m>0—      92 

Coroner 
John  D.  Jackson  (no  opposition) 2286 

ELECTION.   NOVEMBER.  1863. 

Assessor. 

Nathaniel  J.  Andrews  (no  opposition),  d 1023—  1009 

Scattering u 

School  Commissioner 

Stephen  F.  Corrington  (no  opposition),  d 972— -    915 

Scattering 57 

Snrvevor. 

Samuel  Heaton,  r 290 

LM    Dyer,  d  728—    438 

Scattering 15 

Coroner. 

Parham  Thaxton.  d 992-     917 

Scattering 45 

ELECTION.   NOVEMBER,   1864. 

President. 

Georee  B.  McClellan.  d 2249-  1271 

Abraham  Lincoln,  r 978 

Qovernor. 

James  C.  Robinson,  d 2251—  1273 

Richard  J.  Oglesby,  r 978 

Lieutenant-Governor 

S.  Corni"g  Judd.d 2249-  1272 

William  Bross,  r 977 

Secretary  of  Slate. 

William  A.  Turney.  d 2248—  1878 

Sharon  Tyndale,  r 978 

Stale   Auditor. 

John  Hise.  d 2248-  1270 

0.  II    Miner,  r 978 

Treasurer. 

Alexander  Starne,  d 224«—  1269 

JameB  H.  Beveridge,  r 979 

Superintendent  of  Public  Instruct  on. 

J.  hn  P.  Brooks,  d 2-48-  1270 

Newton  Batem.m,  r 978 

Congress— At  Large. 

James  C.  Allen,  d 2248-  1270 

S.  W.  Moulton,  r 978 


r,.-,s 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


Congress— 10th  District. 

Anthony  Thornton,  d 2247— 

R.  M.  Knapp,  r 97b 

Slate's  Attorney. 

William  Brown,  d 2247— 

Thomas  G.  Taylor,  r 979 

Representative. 

N .  M.  Perry,  d  2244— 

James  M.  Davis,  r  977 

Sheriff. 

George  W.  Coonrod,  d -22)0— 

William  H.  Hudson. r 946 

Coroner. 

Parham  Thaxton  (no  opposition) — 

Circuit  Clerk. 

Thomas  J.  Carlin,  d 2208— 

AllredJ.  Worcester,  r  959 

ELECTION,  NOVEMBER  1S65. 

County  Judge. 

Thomas  H.  Boyd,  d 1373— 

Marshall  Potts,  r 831 

Associate  Judges. 

1.    J.  Patterson,  d 1376— 

J.  F.  Collins,  r 793 

P.  M.  Fishback  d  1407 — 

W.  B.  Taylor,  r 810 

Clerk. 

Geo.  W.  Davis,  d 1406— 

E.J.Pearce.r 791 

Assessor  and  Treasurer. 

N.J   Andrews,  d 1419— 

W.  T.  Monroe,  r ...   795 

School  Commissioner. 

S.  F.  Corriugton,d 1110— 

M.  L.  Wood,  r 802 

Surveyor. 

Samuel  Heaton,  d '. 1371— 

William  Dcwes,r 821 

election,  1866. 
Congress— At  Large. 

T.  Lyle  Dickey,  d 1961— 

John  A.  Logan,  r 1113 

Congress— 10th  District. 

Albert  G.  Burr,  d 1972— 

Henry  Case,  r 1092 

State  Treasurer. 

Jesse  J.Phillips  d 1971— 

George  W.  Smith,  r 1101 

Superintendent  of  Public  Instruction. 

.Inlin  M.  Crebs,  d 1967— 

N.  Bateman,  r 1104 

State  Senator. 

William  Shephard,  d 1971— 

E.  G.  Miner,  r 1100 

Representative. 

Henry  C.  Withers,  d 1928— 

Joshua  C.  Winters,  r 1113 

Count"  Judge. 

Alfred   Hiuton,  d 1929— 

Hiram  B.  Ellis,  r 1088 

Sheriff. 

S    Fostei  Greene,  d 1967— 

George  L.    Burrnss,  1 1083 

Coroner. 

Thomas  Wright,  d 1962— 

Anthony  Connole,  r 1U99 


ELECTION,. TUNE,  1867. 

Judge  of  Supreme  Court. 

Pinck-uey  H.  Walker,  d 982—    709 

Charles  Emmerson,  r 273 

Clerk  Supreme  Court. 

William  A.  Tnrney,  d 982-    709 

John  M.  Snyder,  r 273 

Circuit  Judge. 
Charles  D.  Hodges  (no  opposition)  d 1137 

ELECTION,    NOVEMBER,  1867. 

County  Treasurer. 

N.  J.  Andrews  (no  opposition)  d 987 

Scattering  4 

County  Surveyor. 

J.  C.  White,  (no  opDosition)  d 980 

Scattering 3 

ELECTION,    NOVEMBER,  1868. 

President. 

Horatio  Sevmour,  d 2569—  1206 

TJ.    S.  Grant,  r 1863 

Governor. 

John  R.  Eden,  d 2584—  1221 

John  M.  Palmer,  r 1363 

Lieutenant-Governor. 

William  H.  Van  Epps,  d 2581—  1222 

John  Dougherty,  r  1362 

Secretary  of  State. 

Gu8tavus  Van  Hornbeke,   d  2584—1222 

Edward  Runimel,  r 1362 

Auditor. 

John  R.    Shannon,  d  2584—  1226 

Charles  E .  Lippincott,  r  ...  1361 

Treasurer. 

Jesse  J.  Phillips,  d 2585—  1222 

Eraetus  N.  Bates,  r 1363 

Attorney  General. 

Robert  E.  Williams,  d 2584—  1221 

Washington   Buerinell,  r 1363 

Penitentiary    Commissioners. 

John  W.  Connett.  d 2584 

W .  M .  Garrard,  d  2583 

Caluep  Znrley,  d  2.182 

Andrew  Shannon.  , 1362 

John  Kcirt.  r  1362 

Robert  E .    Logan,  r 1363 

Congress— At  Large. 

WW.  O'Brien  d 2582—  1217 

John  A.  Logan,  r 1362 

Congress— 10th  District. 

AlbertG.  Burr,  d  8582—  1217 

J.  B.  Turner,  r 1365 

State's  Attorney. 

William  Brown,  d 25S8—  1231 

Isaac  L.  Morrison,  r 1357 

Member  of  Board  of  Equalization. 

William  n.  Reed,  d 2580—  12  2 

J.  H.  VanArsdale,  r 1354 

Representative. 

David  M    Woodson,  d 2581—1215 

David  I'ierson,  r 1336 

Clerk  of  Court. 

Thomas  J.  Carlin.  d 2625—  1325 

P.  Jt.  Mytinger,  r 1297 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


650 


Sheriff 

James  S.  Vedder.  d  2571-  1296 

W.  M.  Fry,  r 1275 

Coroner. 

Henry  Mash,  d 2483—  1233 

James  H.  Taylor,  r  1350 

On  the  question  of  a  convention. 

For  1222 

Against 2408—1186 

ELECTION,   NOVEMBER.  1869. 

Delegate  to  State  Convent  on. 
J.  W.  English,  d 1886—    940 

E.  A.  Gill.  r.  r  946 

County  Judge. 

JohnRnvle.d 1848—    881 

G.  L.  Burruss.  r 967 

Associate  Justices. 

F.  If.  Fishback,  d        1787 

J.  H.    RiveB.  d 1833 

Anthnnv  Potts    r 1041 

Martin  Thorpe,  r 944 

County  Clerk. 

George  W.  Davis, d 1901—    952 

C.  W.  Brace,  r 939 

Treasurer 

N.J.  Andrews,  d 1889—    955 

C.  W.  Keeley,  r 934 

Surveyor. 

J.C.Whitc.d 1878—    929 

Henry  Black,  r 949 

Superintendent  of  Schools. 

C.  A.  Worlev.d 1575—    426 

M.  L    Wood",  r 1149 

On  the  question  of  subscriptions  to  railroads. 

ForP.C.C.&C 1404—      79 

Against 1325 

For  L.  A  W 1365—      10 

Against 1955 

ForP.  &L 1001 

Against  1738—    737 

For  R    R.   I.  &  St.  L 850 

Against 1881—  1031 

On  the   Question  of  an   Amendment  to   the  Constitu- 
tion. 

For 2144—  2080 

Against 64 

ELECTION,  NOVEMBER,   1S70. 

Congress — At  Large. 

William  B.  Anderson  1542-    718 

John  A.  Logan 824 

Congress— 10th  District 

E.  Y.  Rice 1541—    708 

J     W.  Kitchell 833 

State  Senator. 

William  Shephard.  d 1543—    715 

J    Merrick  Bush,  d 1510—    718 

Georse  Warren,  r  828 

Thomas.  H.  Flynn.  r 822 

Representative. 

Thomas  H.  Bovd.d 1546—    733 

Ostrom.r 813 

Penitentiary  Commissioners. 

Francis  T.  Sherman,  d 1549—    725 

Thomas  Redmond,  d 1515—    721 

Casper  But/.,  r  SJ4 

Elmer  Washbnrn,  r  824 

Superintendent  of  Public  Instruction 

Charles  Feinse.d 1543—    716 

Newten  Bateman.  r : 827 


State  Treasurer. 

Charles  Ridgelv.  d 1545—    721 

E.  N.  Bats.-,  r" 824 

Sheriff. 

Francis  M.  Bell,  d 1307—    274 

Eldred.  r 1033 

Coroner. 

HenrvP    Nash,  p 1539—    715 

Mclutyre,  r 824 

ELECTION,  NOVEMBER.    1871. 

Congress— At  Large. 

S     s    [lays,d 1256—    533 

J.  L.   Beveridge,  d 721 

State  Senator. 

William  H.  Allen.d 1152—    525 

William  A    Grimshaw,  d 727 

County  Treasurer. 

Alfred  M.  Browning,  d 1242—    523 

Edward  A.  Giller,  r 720 

Surveyor. 

Jay  C.  White,  d 1261—    567 

John  C .  Burruss,  r 694 

On  the  question  of  township  organization. 

For 6»3 

Aginst 1216—    533 

ELECTION,  NOVEMBER,    1872. 

President. 

rj.  S.  Grant,  r  1371 

Horace  Greeley,  I. d 2197 —    826 

Charles  O'Connor.d  26 

Governor. 

Richard  J .  Oglesby,  r 1369 

Gustavus  Koeruer,  d 2256—    887 

B    G.Wright 25 

Lieutenant-Governor. 

John  L.  Beveridge,  r 1378 

John  C.  Black,  d 2256—    878 

D.  G.  Starr 26 

Secretary  of  State. 

George  H     Harlow,  r 1378 

Edward  Rummel.d 2251—    873 

Ethan  Sutton 26 

State  Auditor. 

Charles  E.  Lippincott,  r 1377 

Daniel  o'Hara,  d  2250—    873 

C.  A.  Ullaterman 26 

State  Treasurer. 

Edward  Rutz.  r 1380 

Charles  H.  Lamphier.  d 2250—    870 

Henry  West 24 

Attorney-General . 

James  K.  Edsa!l,  r  1375 

John  V.  Eustace,  d 2250—    675 

George  W.Meech  26 

Congress. 

AC.  Mathews,  r   1385 

Robert  M    Knapp.d 2246—    861 

J.  M.  Darragh 16 

Member  of  Board  of  Equalization. 

Charles  H    Eldred.  r 1391 

L.T.  Whiteside,  d 2266—    875 

State  Senator. 

John  C.  Salter,i 1376 

William  Blown, d  2258—    883 

Representative. 

Jerome  B.  Nultoo 3628 

John  W.  Meacham 2510 

Richard  S.  Cole 40S8 

John  Gordon 447 


GOO 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


Supreme  Clerk. 

E.  C.  Hamburgher.  r 1380 

D.vid  A,  Brown,  d 2310 

i  .  H.  Palmer     14 

State's  Attorney. 

Albert  Lee,  r 1475 

John  J.  Fitzsimons,  d 1730—    255 

Circuit  Clerk. 

George  L.  Williams,  r 1455 

Thomas  J.  Carlin,  d 2111—     65 

Sheriff. 

John  H    Seelev.r 1357 

Nathaniel  J.  Andrews.d 2267—    900 

Coroner. 

Resin  R.  Nichols,  r 14^7 

Henry  P.  Nash,  d 2183—    766 

A.C'onnole 8 

On  the  ques'.ion  ol'  horses  running  at  large 

For • 2125—  1304 

Against '...- 821 

On  the  question  of  mules  running  at  large. 

For 192—    146 

Against 4b 

On  the  question  of  asses  running  at  large. 

For 193—    147 

Against 45 

ELECTION,    JUNE,    1873. 

Supreme  Judge. 

John  Schofield  '. 1811—  1721 

A.  P.  Kingsbury 90 

Circuit  Judge. 

David  M.  Woodson,  d 1838—  1309 

N.  M.Knapp,  d  529 

Cyrus  Epler.d 16 

ELECTION,  NOVI'MBER,  1873. 

County  Judge. 

Linus  E.  Worcester,  d 1823—    196 

Tiiomas  H.  Boyd,  r 1627 

Clerk. 

George  W.  Davis,  d 1448 

Leander  R.  Lukin 3087—    639 

Treasurer. 

James  J   McClimans,  d 1453 

William  11.  Pickart 21169—    616 

Superintendent  of  Schools. 

Stephen  F.  Corriiigton 1384 

Mrs.  Catherine  Hopkins  1879—    495 

Commissioner. 

N .  M .  Perry      1424 

,'ohn  H.  Rives  1356 

Henry  l'unison lail 

J.  F    Ballenger 2047—    623 

t.  W.  Brace 2158—    802 

W    II.  Barrow 2044—    513 

ELECTION.   NOVEMBER,   1874. 

Congress. 

Scott  Wike.d 2344—  1137 

David  E.  Beaty,   r 1207 

State  Senator. 

Charles  D    Hodges,  d  2025—    416 

Edward  A.Giller,  r.  and  i 1609 

Representative. 

Andrew  J.  Thompson,  d 2.°40 

Samuel  Woods,  d 28321$ 

1!    Q    I'nlver,  d.  and  p 4Ke.ll>., 

V.  P.  Williams,  r.  and  i 428 

John  Gordon,  r 4 


Treasurer. 

Charles  Carroll,  d 2280— 

Thomas  S.  Ridgeway,  r  1230 

David  Gorr,i   19 

James  F.  Simpson, p 12 

Superintendent  of  Public  Instruction. 

Samuel  M.  Etter,  d.  and  i 8313 — 

William  B.  Powell,  r 1193 

Sheriff. 

Frank  M.  Budges,  d 1918— 

Charles  H    Eldred,  r.  and  p  1763 

County  Commissioners. 

John  H.  Gr-eno,  d  1974— 

Thomas  J.  Enslow,  d.  and  p 1694 

Coroner. 

Henry  P.  Nash,  d 3574— 

Benjamin  F.  Baldwin,  d.  and  p 30 

On  the  Question  of  Township  Organization. 

For 1417— 

Against  ..   1406 

ELECTION,   NOVEMBER,  1675. 

County  Commissioner. 

George  H.  Amos.d 1560— 

Steelman,  r  870 

William  B    Robinson,  d 1604— 

Efiwards,  r 875 

Treasurer 

Richard  A.  Short,  d 1592— 

Shipman.r 899 

Surveyor. 

JayC. White, d  1630— 

Sackctt,  r 816 

On  the  question  of  Township  organization. 

For 1195— 

Against 1170 

ELECTION,  NOVEMBER,  1876. 

President. 

Rutherford  B    Hayes,  r 1695 

Samuel  J.  Tilden,  d 3160— 

Congress. 

Robert  M.  Knapp,  d 3154— 

Joseph  Robbius,  r 1693 

Governor. 

Shelby  M.Cullom.r  1688 

Lewis  Stewart,  d   3164— 

Scattering 14 

Lieutenant-Governor. 

Andrew  Shuman,  r  1691! 

Archibald  A.  Glenn,  d 3171— 

Secretary  of  State. 

Georee  II .  Harlow,  r  1692 

Stephen  Y.  Thornton,  d 3160— 

State  Auditor. 

Thomas  B.  Needles,  r 1698 

John  Uisc,  d  3168— 

State  Treasurer. 

Edward  Rutz.r  1691 

George  Gundlach,  d 8171 — 

Attorney-General . 

James  K.  Edsall,  r  ...   1692 

Edmund  Lynch,  d  3162— 

Member  Board  of  Equalization. 

LeviT.  Whiteside,  d 3181  — 

William  Graumer,  r 1668 


1470 
1613 


Representative,  General  Assembly . 

W    P    Callon.  d  4468 

Lncien  Kiug.d 4190 

I    L.    .Morrison,  r 4711 

John    Gordon 379 

Prosecuting  Attorney. 

James  K    Ward,  d  3289—  1624 

Duncan  C.  Mclver.  r  1605 

Circuit  Clerk. 
James  II    Short,  d 300:1—  U78 

Williams.r 1825 

Sheriff. 

John  Jones,  d  3214—  1U30 

Hudson,  r 1584 

Coroner. 
Anderson  Headrick,  d 3144—  1456 

Kiugsley,  r ..  1698 

County  Commissioner. 

William  M.  Morrow,  d 3166—  1503 

King,   r 166:1 

On  the  question  of  stock  running  at  large. 

For 2S28—  1306 

Against 1MB 

ELECTION,  NOVEMBER,   1877. 

County  Judge. 

"  I.lnus  E.Worcester,  d 3336 

Scattering  1 

County  Clerk. 

LeanderR.  Lakin,  d  2381—  1337 

Manoah  Bostwick.  r 1044 

John  C.  Hardcastle 201 

County  Treasurer. 

William  D    Gnllett.  d 18S2—    191 

Elon  A.  Eldred.  r 1691 

Solomon  Henson 9 

Superintendent  of  schools. 


Scattering 1 

County  Commissioner. 

Sing'etor.  F  Greene,  d 3300 

Scattering 9 

On  the  question  of  an  appropriation. 

For 1192 

Against 2039—    847 

On  the  question  of  a  tax  npon  dogs. 

For 1590 

Against 188>-    290 

On  the  questiou  of  township  organization. 

For    1517 

Against 1869—    372 

ELECTION. NOVEMBER,   1878. 

Congress. 

James  W  .Singleton,  d  1690—    840 

Wil  iam  H    Pogue.  p 216 

James  P.  Dimmilt,  r  850 

State  Senator. 

William  P.  Callon,  d 1618-    691 

James  M.  Davis,  r 927 

John  H.  Rives 97V4 

John  R.  Miller 128 

(Representative. 

Francis  M    T.ridges 2674'i 

Richardson  Vasey 2296V4 

Isaac  L.  Morrison 2529}4 

UenryM.  Miller 68u 


State   Treasurer. 

John  C.  Smith,  r 827 

Edward  LConkntf.d 1724—    897 

ErastusN.  Hates.p 14St 

Jerome  R.  Gorin 85 

Suneriutendeut  Public  Instruction. 

Kate  L.  Hopkins 1-1 

James  P.  Siade,  r 822 

Samuel  M.  Etter.  d 17:>k<—    916 

FraukH.  Hall,  p 133 

Supreme  Clerk. 

Ethan  A.  Sniveley,  a  1737—    925 

Mervin  B.  Converse,  r BI2 

Albert  F.  Smith 86 

Thomas  S.  Knowles  Hu 

Appellate  Clerk. 

George  W.  Jones,  d 1734—    991 

Montraville  M.  Duncan,  r 843 

C.E.Schoff 221 

Sheriff. 

John  Jones,  d  1884—  1205 

Thomas  A   Smith,  r 670 

Thomas  Doyle 241 

Coroner. 

Anderson  Headiick,  d  1713—    912 

Andrew  J  .  Bruner.  r 801 

Sylvester  A.  Vedrier 128 

Donald  Carmichael 143 

County  Commissioner. 

William  M   Maberrv.  d 1677—    62-* 

Enoch  Littlefleld,  r  949 

Samu.lJ.  Hopkins 152 


For  1113—    387 

Against 726 

ELECTION,   JfNE,   1879. 

Supreme  Judge. 
John   Schofield,  democrat,  received   the  full 
vote  of  the  county,  having  no  opposition. 

Circuit  Judge. 

Cvrns  Epler.  d  1 139 

Albert  U.  Burr,  d lno 

Lyman  Lacy,  d 1392 

Nathaniel  W.  Branson,  r 588 

James  T    Hoblit.  r    5 

Herbert  G.  Whitlock,  r 406 


ELECTION,   NOVEMBER,   1879. 

County  Commissioner. 


222;- 
13<'9 


County  Surveyor. 

J.  C    White,  (no  opposition)  d  3567 

Assessor  and  Treasurer. 

W.  D.  Gulbeit.  d 1857— 

E.  A.  Eldred,  r  1T64 

On  the  Question  of  an  Appropriation. 

For  1755 

Again6t 1922— 

On  the  question  of  Township  Organization 

For 1536 

Against 2114— 


Winfleld  S.  Hancock,  d  3160—  1295 

James  A.  Garfield,  r 1865 

James   B.    Weaver,  g 49 

Scattering 10 


662 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


Governor. 

Shelby  M.  Cullotn,  r 1871 

Lyman  Trumbull,  d  3143—  1272 

Alson  J.  streator,  g 50 

Scattering.... 11 

Lieutenant-Governor. 

JohuM.  Hamilton,  r 1864 

Lewis  B.    Parsons,  d 3153—    339 

Andrew  Ii.  Adair,  g 52 

Scattering...    10 

Secretary  of  State. 

Henry  D    Dement,  r 1860 

John  II.  Oberly,  d  3152—  129.' 

J.M.    Thompson, g 51 

Scattering 10 

State  Auditor. 

Charles  F    Swigert,  r  1863 

Lewis  C.  Starkel,  d 3154—1291 

William  T.  Ingram,  g 51 

Scattering 10 

State  Treasurer. 

Edward  Rutz.  r 1863 

Themas  TSuttei  worth,  d 3155—  1292 

George   W.  Evans,  g 51 

Scattering 10 

Attorney  General . 

James  McCartney,  r  187  S 

Lawrence  llarmbn.  d  3140—  12-) I 

G.    H.  Whillock  g 51 

Scattering...   10 

Congress . 

James  W.  Singleton,  d 3144—  1285 

William   D.  Edgar,  r 1860 

A.  B.  Allen, g 45 

Scattering 3 

Member  of  Board  of  Equalization. 

E.  B.  Brown,  d 3147—  1280 

C.  M.  Grammar,  r 1867 

Scattering 3 

Representatives. 

Joseph  S.  Carr,  d 4310J4 

Oliver  Coultas,  d 4089»4 

David  Pierson,  r 5503 

Caldwell  360J4 

State's  Attorney. 

David  F.  King,  d  3000—  106 J 

W .  M.  Ward,  r 1937 

Circuit  Clerk. 

Thomas  J.  Albert,  d 2832—    77S 

Dauforlh,  r 3054 

Scattering 3 

Sheriff. 

George  W.  Witt,  d 2825—    67? 

Williams,  r 2148 

Scattering 3 

Coroner. 

George  W.  Thomp -on.  d 2878—    847 

Peter  Dunbar,  r 2031 

Scattering 3 

County  Commissioner. 

Lewis  F.  Williams,  a 2918—    907 

Edwards,  r 2011 

Scattering , 7 

On  the  Question  of  an  Amendment  to  the  State 
Constitution. 

For  1788 

Against 2259—    471 

On  the  Question  of  Township  Organization. 

For 2221 

Against 2M0—      69 


On  the  Question  of  Taxation  to  Erect  a  New  Court 
House. 

For  1520 

Against 3110—1590 

ELECTION,   NOVEMBEK,  1881. 

County  Commissioner. 
John  Snyder  (no  opposition),  d 492 

ELECTION,  NOVEMBER,  1882. 

Superintendent  of  Public  Instruction. 

Henry  Raab,  d 3016—  1587 

Charles  T.  Stratum,  r 1429 

Elizabeth  B.  Brown 70 

State  Treasurer. 

Alfred  Oreudorff,  d 3000—  1542 

John  C.  Smith,  r 1458 

JohnC.  Irwin,  g 86 

Congress. 

James  M.  Riggs.  d 2479—  1338 

James  W.  Singleton,  r 1141 

Philip  N  .  Minear,  g 878 

State  Senator. 

Frank  M.  Bridges,  d 2889—1329 

Thomas  A.  Smith,  r  1560 

Representatives. 

Walter  E.  Carliu.d 4397 

George  W.  Murray 4253 

John  II.  Coats 4671l/i 

County  Judge. 

Leander  R.  Lakin,  d 3130—  1748 

Edwin  A.  Doolittle,  r 1382 

County  Clerk. 

John  Jones,  d 3011—  1610 

Edward  Miner,  r 1401 

Sheriff. 

William  M.  Morrow,  d 3215—  1914 

Joseph  M.  Valentine, r 1301 

Coroner. 

George  W.  Thompson,  d 2943—1402 

James  B.Hays,  r 1541 

Treasurer  and  Assessor. 

Richard  A.  Short,  d 3087—1631 

Curtius  W.  Brace,  r 1456 

Superintendent  of  Schools. 

William  J.  Roberts,  d , 3058—1613 

George  W,  Smith,  r 1445 

County  Commissioner. 

William  P.  Gilmore,  d 2959—  1422 

Bainbridge    Giilinghaui,  r  1537 

On  the  question  of  a  Taxation  for  the  Erection  of  a  new 
Court  House 

For • 2033 

Against 2430—    397 

On  the  question  of  Township  Organization. 

For 1705 

Against 2713—  1008 

On  the  Question  of  an  Appropriation  to  Complete  the 
State    Capitol. 

For 2182—    255 

Against 1927 

On  the  Question  of  Ceding  the  Illinois  and   Michigan 
Canal  to  the  United  States. 

For 2272—    669 

Against 1303 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


663 


ELECTION,  NOVEMBER,   1883. 

County  Commissioner. 

James  H.  Smith 2876— 

James  Barnard 2337 

ELECTION,   NOVEMBER,    1884. 

President. 

JamesG    Blaine,  r 2010 

Grover  Cleveland,  d 3205- 

John  P.  St.  John,  p  73 

Benjamin   F.  Butler,  g 54 

Congressman. 

J.  Milton  Riggs.d 3227— 

Thomas  G.  Black,  r 2016 

J.  A.  Wallace,  p 65 

Scattering 47 

Governor. 

Richard  J    Oglcsby,  t 2032 

Carter  H.  Harrison,  d 3205— 

James  B.  Hobbe,  p 65 

Scattering 47 


Lieutenant-Governor. 


John  C.  Smith,  r 
Henry  Seiter,  d  . 
Janies  L.  Perrymi 
Scattering 


2032 

3209- 

68 


23 

Secretary  of  State. 

Henry  D.  Dement,  r 2011 

Michael  J.  Daugherty,  d 8202— 

Charles  W.   Euos,  p 62 

Scattering 53 

Auditor. 

Charles  P.  Swigert,  r 2024 

Walter  E    Carliu.  d  3190- 

AlexanderB.  Irwin,  p  69 

Scattering 53 

Treasurer. 

Jacob  Gross,  r  2026 

Alfred  Ollendorff,  d 3205- 

Uriah  Capp  72 

Scattering 53 

Attorney  General. 

Robert  L.  McKinlev,  d 3206,- 

George  Hunt,  r 2029 

Hale  Johnson,  p 70 

Scattering 53 

Member  Board  Equalization. 

Samuel  R.  Chittenden,  d 3217- 

William  H.  Ellis,  r 2040 


Representative. 

HeiirvC.  Massey,  d 4679 

Theodore  S.  Chapman,  r 5993"2 

John  H.  Rives,  p.... 579 

i'.vi McEvers,  d 4652M 

Scattering ■■       15 

Clerk  Supreme  Court. 

Ethan  A  Snivelev,  d 3228—1188 

Thomas  J.  McGra'th,  r 2040 

Shuman,  p r 2 

Clerk  Appellate  Court. 

George  W.Jones,  d 2831—  1192 

Leven  P.  Shepherd,  r  2038 

Smith,  p 2 

State's    Attorney. 

David  P.  King,  d  3051-    868 

Edwin  A.  Dooliitle,  r 2183 

Scattering 1 

Circuit  Clerk. 

Anthony  Connote,  d 3037-    893 

George  W.  Armstrong,  r 2144 

Coroner. 

George  W.  Thompson,  d 3125—1059 

Giles  F.  Campbell, r ■■  2006 

Andrew  J.  Wright,  p 60 

County  Surveyor. 

Jay  C.  White,  d 3220-  1170 

Parke  W.  Jackson,  r 2030 

Scattering 3 

County  Commissioner. 

Benjamin  F.  Mann,  d 2586 

Elon  A.  Eldred.r  2609-      23 

John  H    Stout,  p 40 

On  the  question  of  township  organization. 

For 2705—    708 

Against".'. 1997 

On  the  question  of  an  amendment  to  the  constitution. 

For 8271—  2609 

Against 602 

On  the  question  of  an  appropriation. 

For • 3774—  3179 

Against 84 

ELECTION,    JUNE,  1885. 

Circuit  Judge. 

Lyman  Lacy,  d 1087 

Cyme  Bpler,  d 1093 

George  W.  Herdman,  d 1086 


GHAPTER    X. 


The 


NATIONAL,  STATE   AND  COUNTY  REPRESENTATION, 
public  officeholder,  in    this  free  j  as  his  right,  in  his  individual  capacity, 


America,    is    the    truly    representative 
man  of  the  country. 

Standing,  as  he  does,  in  the  relation 
of  the  people's  representative,  he  claims 


the  respect  we  owe   to  the  people  col- 
lectively, whose  servant  he  is. 

In    this    connection     are     presented 
sketches  of  many  who  have   served   the 


county  in  official  capacity.  In  some 
instances  the  sketches  are  short,  and 
lark  much  of  doing  full  justice  to  their 
subject,  but  in  no  case  is  this  the  fault 
of  the  historian.  The  materials  were 
lacking  or  inaccessible  for  more  ex- 
tended sketches. 

GOVERNOR. 

Among  the  18  eminent  and  distin- 
guished gentlemen  who  have  filled  the 
gubernatorial  chair  of  the  state  of 
Illinois,  since  its  admission  as  a 
state  into  the  American  union,  was 
Thomas  Carlin,  one  of  the  pioneers  of 
this  county. 

Thomas  Carlin  was  born  near  Shelby- 
ville,  Ky.,  in  1786.  His  parents  were 
genuine  Kentuckians,  and  their  son  was 
brought  up  to  love  adventure  and  inured 
to  all  the  hardships  of  a  backwoods- 
man's life.  In  1803  the  family  removed 
to  Missouri,  and  the  next  year  the 
young  man's  father  died.  Mr.  Carlin 
served  as  a  ranger  during  the  war,  and 
was  among  the  first  to  settle  in  Greene 
county,  north  of  the  Macoupin  creek, 
his  improvements  being  made  just 
south  of  the  present  site  of  Carrollton. 
His  mother,  a  very  worthy  woman,  his 
stepfather,  Mr.  Savage,  and  his  two 
brothers,  James  and  William  Carlin, 
came  with  him.  The  latter  was  the 
father  of  Gen.  William  Passamore  Car- 
lin, of  the  U.  S.  army,  and  of  Thomas 
J.  Carlin,  ex-eircuit  clerk  of  Greene 
county.  All  these  gentlemen  have  held 
important  official  positions  in  the  coun- 
ty. In  1814,  Thomas  Carlin  owned  a 
ferry  across  the  Mississippi  river,  near 
where  Edwardsville  Junction  is  now 
situated,  and  while  living  there  he  mar- 
ried Rebecca  Huitt,  sister   of  John   W. 


Huitt.  Mr.  Carlin  was  a  man  of 
medium  height,  not  heavily  built,  but 
possessed  of  a  pair  of  powerful  shoul- 
ders. His  hair  and  full  beard  were 
sandy  and  his  cheery  face  was  always 
florid  and  full  of  blood.  He  was  a  man 
of  iron  nerve,  much  natural  shrewdness 
and  skill  in  dealing  with  his  fellow 
men,  admired  and  regarded  as  a  friend 
by  every  one.  He  was  from  the  first, 
and  for  many  years,  perhaps  the  most 
popular  man  in  the  region,  and  was 
universally  regarded  as  a  natural  leader. 
His  honesty  is  spoken  of  as  beyond  re- 
proach, and  when  he  was  register  of 
lands,  at  Quincy,  his  square  dealing 
with  the  government  was  repeatedly 
remarked.  While  he  held  this  office 
he  frequently  drove  a  team  of  two  heavy 
horses  before  a  wagon  load  of  gold  and 
silver  (the  proceeds  of  the  land  sales) 
through  the  lonely  regions  between 
Quincy  and  Carrollton,  often  in  the 
night,  entirely  alone  and  unattended. 
He  did  not  know  what  fear  meant.  He 
was  elected  first  sheriff  of  the  county, 
held  various  other  local  offices,  was 
chosen  state  senator,  and,  finally,  in 
1838,  was  elected  governor.  He  died 
Feb.  14,  1852,  at  his  home  in  Carroll- 
ton, on  the  land  which  he  had  entered 
more  than  30  years  before. 

STATE  TREASURER. 

On  the  3d  of  Dec,  1836,  John  Dement, 
at  that  time  state  treasurer,  resigning 
his  office,  Hon.  Charles  Gregory,  of 
Greene  county  was  duly  appointed  to 
fill  that  office  for  the  unexpired  portion 
of  the  time,  and  on  the  5th  of  Dec. 
1836,  qualified  for  the  same  and  entered 
upon  the  discharge  of  his  duties.  He 
held  the  office  until  the  qualification  of 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


(■,<;.-> 


his  successor  John  D.  Whiteside,  March 
4,  1837. 

Charles  Gregory  was  born  in  Connec- 
ticut. May  28,  1797.  He  emigrated  to 
Ohio  with  his  father  when  small,  and 
resided  in  that  state  until  1818,  when  he 
started  for  the  far  west  to  seek  his  for- 
tune with  the  old  pioneers  of  Illinois. 
He  came  down  the  Ohio  in  a  canoe  with 
a  young  man  by  the  name  of  Elam 
Brown,  landing  at  Shawneetown,  111., 
and  walked  from  there  to  Wood  river, 
near  Alton.  When  he  landed  there  he 
had  the  small  sum  of  50  cents.  He 
staid  in  Illinois  one  year,  and  made 
enough  money  to  buy  a  horse  and  pay 
his  expenses  back  to  Ohio,  where  he  re- 
mained a  short  time  and  returned  to 
Madison  county,  living  there  and  in 
Missouri  till  1821,  then  entered  land  in 
Greene  county,  which  he  improved. 
He  was  married,  in  1825,  to  Elizabeth 
Woodman,  who  was  born  March  20, 
1804,  in  Vermont,  and  the  fruit  of  this 
union  was  six  children.  Mr.  Gregory 
was  in  the  Black  Hawk  war  of  1831-2; 
acted  as  state  treasurer  in  early  day; 
was  a  member  of  the  legislature,  and 
colonel  of  state  militia  in  1844.  Three 
of  his  children  grew  to  manhood. 

coMiKESSIONAL. 

Until  the  year  1832,  all  of  the  great 
state  of  Illinois  constituted  but  one  con- 
gressional district,  and  was  represented 
in  the  national  councils  by  the  follow- 
ing gentlemen  :  Daniel  P.  Cook,  in  the 
15th,  16th,  17th,  18th  and  19th  con- 
gresses; and  Joseph  Duncan  in  the  20th, 
21st  and  22d  congresses.  In  1832 under 
an  apportionment  act,  approved  Feb.  13, 
1831,  the  state  was  divided  into  three 
districts,  and  the  county  of  Greene,    to- 


gether with  those  of  Morgan,  Sangamon, 
Tazewell,  Macon,  McLean,  LaSalle, 
Cook,  Putnam,  Peoria,  Henry,  Knox, 
Jo  Daviess,  Mercer,  Warren,  Hancock, 
McDonough,  Fulton,  Schuyler,  Adams, 
Pike  and  Calhoun,  were  erected  into  the 
3d  district,  and  was  represented  by  the 
Hon.  Win.  L.  May,  of  Springfield,  who 
was  a  member  of  the  24th  and  22th  con- 
gresses. In  the  history  of  Jersey  county 
a  detailed  account  of  each  successive 
congress,  with  the  representative  from 
this  district  has  been  given,  and  to  avoid 
needless  repetition,  the  reader  will  sim- 
ply be  referred  to  the  chapter  on  Na- 
tional, State  and  County  Representation 
in  the  history  of  that  county  in  this  vol- 
ume, except  where  the  representative 
has  been  a  resident  of  Greene  county. 
In  the  35th  congress,  that  was  organ- 
ized on  the  4th  of  March,  1857,  this,  the 
6th  district,  composed  of  Morgan,  Scott, 
Sangamon,  Macoupin,  Greene,  Mont- 
gomery, Christian,  Shelby,  Cass,  Me- 
nard and  Jersey,  was  represented  by 
Hon.  Charles  D.  Hodges,  who  was 
elected  January  20,  1859,  to  succeed 
Hon.  Thomas  L.  Harris,  who  had  died 
in  November,  1858. 

Hon.  Charles  D.  Hodges  was  born  on 
the  4th  of  Feb.,  1810,  in  Queen  Anne 
county,  Md.,  and  there  resided  dur- 
ing the  early  years  of  his  life.  He 
was  an  intelligent  and  studious  young 
man,  and  thus  graduated  from  Trin- 
ity college,  of  Hartford,  Conn.,  at 
the  early  age  of  19  years.  He  studied 
law  with  Alexander  Randall,  a  prom- 
inent attorney  of  Annapolis,  as 
preceptor,  and  was  soon  admitted  to 
practice  before  the  courts.  After  thor- 
oughly acquainting  himself  with  his 
profession,  his  attention  was  turned  to 


the  west,  and  Nov.,  1838,  found  him  in 
Carrollton,  111.  The  town,  then  small 
in  population  and  business,  owes  much 
of  its  prosperity  to  him  who  came  here 
when  young,  and  with  limited  means, 
by  his  energies  and  constant  attention  to 
business  earned  for  himself  a  just  com- 
pensation of  liberal  riches,  not  forgetful 
of  the  interests  of  bis  home  and  town, 
and  moulded  a  character  worthy  of  imi- 
tation by  any  young  man.  Here  Mr. 
Hodges  established  himself  perma- 
nently in  business,  and  afterward  be- 
came acquainted  with  Ellen  Hawley, 
who,  with  her  parents  had  removed 
from  Syracuse,  N.  Y.,  to  Jersey  county, 
two  years  previous,  and  on  Jan.  8,  1839, 
she  became  his  wedded  partner  for  life. 
In  his  legal  profession  Mr.  Hodges  was 
very  successful,  and  by  bis  character  as 
an  honorable  gentleman,  he  won  the 
highest  esteem  of  all  members  of  the  bar. 
In  1854  he  was  elected  county  judge  of 
Greene  county,  and  by  re-election 
served  four  years.  In  1859  he  was 
elected  a  member  of  congress  to  fill  va- 
cancy caused  by  the  death  of  Major  Har- 
ris, and  to  accept  this  honor  bestowed 
upon  him  by  his  fellow  citizens  he  re- 
signed the  position  of  county  judge- 
In  1867  he  was  elected  circuit  judge, 
and  served  the  people  in  a  highly  satis- 
factory manner,  for  a  term  of  six  years. 
In  1874,  he  was  elected  state  senator, 
and  served  one  term.  He  always 
worked  in  the  interest  of  Greene  county, 
and  was  instrumental  in  the  construc- 
tion of  the  C.  &  A.  R.  R.,  through  Car-' 
rollton.  He  was  a  heavy  stock-holder, 
and  worked  in  the  railroad,  serving  as 
secretary  and  treasurer,  and  when  the 
C,  A.  &  St.  L.  tookVharge  of  the  road, 
he  was  elected  a  director,  which  position 


he  held  at  the  time  of  his  demise.  His 
death  took  place  April  1,  1884,  and  the 
funeral  services  were  conducted  from 
the  Trinity  Episcopal  church,  of  which 
he  is  a  worthy  member.  His  widowed 
wil'e  survives  him  in  life.  The  children 
of  Hon  Charles  I),  and  Ellen  Hodges 
are — Virginia,  who  died  at  the  age  of 
two  years,  Louise,  married  W.  A.  Davis; 
Belle,  married  J.  D.  Wright,  a  grocer 
of  Petersburg,  111.;  Charles  H.;  Adele, 
married  Charles  H.  Weaglcy;  Morean, 
died  in  infancy;  Beverly  C,  Harry  M., 
ensign   in  the   U.  S.  Navy;  and  Hattie. 

The  next  gentleman  from  Greene 
county,  to  represent  this  district  in  the 
national  house  of  representatives  was 
Albert  G.  Burr,  of  Carrollton,  who  was 
a  member  of  the  40th  congress,  which 
organized  March  4,  1SB7.  He  was  re- 
elected and  served  in  the  41st  congress. 

Hon.  Albert  G.  Burr,  was  born  in 
Western  New  York,  in  1839,  and  was 
brought  by  his  mother  to  Illinois,  when 
only  one  year  old.  His  mother,  a 
widow,  settled  near  Springfield,  where 
Albert  grew  up,  a  stranger  to  the  luxu- 
ries of  wealth.  He  had  little  or  no 
facilities  of  securing  an  education,  but 
early  seeing  the  necessity  of  securing  a 
schooling,  commenced  the  battle  with 
that  end  in  view.  He  purchased  books 
and  by  close  study  of  their  contents 
soon  mastered  them,  and  thus  by  appli- 
cation and  diligent  inquiry  educated 
himself.  So  well  had  he  profited  by  his 
self  instruction,  that  while  yet  a  young 
man,  he  was  enabled  to  teach  school, 
which  he  did  near  Vandalia.  In  1850, 
he  removed  to  Winchester, Scott  county, 
and  engaged  in  mercantile  pursuits,  and 
later,  by  the  advice  of  General  Case, 
began  the   study  of  law.      He  was  ad- 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY 


667 


mitted  to  the  bar  in  1856,  and  com- 
menced the  hard  struggle  for  advance- 
ment in  his   chosen   profession,   and  in 

1860,  was  elected  a  member  of  the  gen- 
eral assembly,  and  while  there  distin- 
guished himself  and  was  re-elected,  and 
was  also  a  member  of  the  constitutional 
convention  of  1862.  In  1868  he  located 
at  Carrollton,  where  he  resided  until 
his  death,  June  10,  1882.  While  here 
he  steadily  grew  in  popular  favor  and 
was  chosen  to  represent  this  district 
upon  the  floors  of  the  national  house  of 
representatives,  of  the  40th  congress, 
which  he  did  with  so  much  favor,  that 
he  was  re-elected  to  the  list  congress. 
In  1877,  he  was  elected  circuit  judge, 
and  ascending  the  bench,  he  adorned  it, 
and  elevated  the  position.  At  the  time 
of  his  death  he  was  serving  his  second 
term  in  this  position.  At  a  jurist  he  had 
but  few  peers,  and  as  an  orator,  but  few 
superiors  in  this  part  of  the  state.  He 
was  twice  married.  His  first  wife  he 
was  united  with,  at  Yamlalia.  She  was 
a  Miss  Anderson,  and  of  this  marriage 
he  reared  two  children — Louis  L.  and 
Lucy  B.  His  second  wife  was  Mary 
Harlin,  of  Winchester,  who  survives 
him.  His  funeral  services  were  con- 
ducted under  the  auspices  of  the  .Masonic 
order,  of  which  he  was  a  prominent  and 
worthy  member. 

LEGISLATURE. 

The  3d  general  assembly,  which  con- 
vened at  Vandalia,  Dec.  2,  1822,  con- 
tained, for  the  first  time,  a  representa- 
tive from  the  district  of  which  the  newly 
created  county  of  Greene  was  a  part. 
This  county,  with  that  of  Pike,  consti- 
tuted the  senatorial  district,  which  was 
then  without  a  number,  and  was    repre- 


sented in  the  senate  by  George  Cad- 
well,  and  the  county,  in  the  lower  house, 
by  Thomas  Rattan,  one  of  the  promi- 
nent men  of  that  day.  This  general 
assembly  adjourned  Feb.  18,  1823. 
Thomas  Rattan,  one  of  the  commission- 
ers to  locate  the  county  seat,  is  men- 
tioned in  that  connection. 

The  4th  general  assembly  convened 
at  Vandalia,  Nov.  13,  1824,  and  ad- 
journed Jan.  IS,  1825;  a  second  session 
met  .Jan.  2,  lSi'fj,  and  adjourned  Jan.  28, 
following.  In  the  senate,  the  district 
composed  of  the  counties  of  Greene, 
-Morgan,  Pike  and  Fulton,  was  repre- 
sented by  Hon.  Thomas  Carlin,  after- 
wards governor  of  this  state.  In  the 
lower  house.  Job  Archibald  represented 
the  district  composed  of  Greene  and 
Morgan  counties. 

Tlie  5th  general  assembly  met  at  Van- 
dalia, Dee.  4,  1826,  and  remained  in 
session  until  Feb.  P.),  1827.  Hon.  Thos. 
Carlin  was  still  in  the  senate.  In  the 
house,  John  Allen  represented  the  dis- 
trict composed  of  the  counties  of  Greene 
and  Calhoun.  Mr.  Allen  was  one  of 
the  commissioners  who  located  the  seat 
of  justice  of  this  county,  in  1821,  and  is 
spoken  of  in  that  connection. 

The  6th  general  assembly  was  con- 
vened at  Vandalia,  Dec.  1,  1828,  and 
adjourned  Jan.  23,  1829.  Hon.  Thomas 
Carlin  still  occupied  a  distinguished 
place  in  the  senate,  from  the  senatorial 
district  embracing  Greene  and  Calhoun 
counties.  John  Allen  also,  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  lower  house,  representing 
this   district. 

Tin'  7th  general  assembly  convened 
Dec.  6,  1830,  and  remained  in  session 
until  Feb.  16,  1831.  The  counties  of 
Greene,  Calhoun,   and   Macoupin,    con- 


668 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


Btituting  one  senatorial  district,  was 
represented  by   Hon.   Thomas    Carlin. 

Charles  Gregory  represented  the  same 
district  in  the  house. 

The  8th  general  assembly  metatVan- 
dalia,  December  3,  1832,  and  adjourned 
March  2,  1833.  Thomas  Rattan  was  the 
representative  of  this  county  in  the  sen- 
ate, and  William  Goode,  in   the   house. 

The  9th  general  assembly  held  two 
sessions,  the  first  meeting  on  Dec.  1, 
1834.  and  adjourning  Feb.  13,  1835.  On 
the  7th  of  December  of  the  latter  year 
they  again  convened,  and  remained  in 
session  untilJanuary  18,  1836.  Thomas 
Rattan  was  in  the  senate,  and  Charles 
Gregory,  Lewis  W.  Link  and  Calvin 
Tunnell  in  the  house.  Link  resigning, 
his  place  was  occupied  by  James  Tur- 
ney.  Messrs.  Link  and  Tunnell  are 
noticed  underthehead  of  county  judges, 
which  office  they  occupied. 

Among  the  other  distinguished  men 
who  have  adorned  the  bar  of  Greene 
county  in  the  past,  perhaps  there  has 
been  none  the  peer  of  James  Turney. 
A  Tennessean  by  birth,  but  one  of  the 
pioneers  of  Illinois,  he  was  identified 
with  the  bar  of  this  state  all  the  latter 
part  of  his  life.  He  came  to  Washing- 
ton county,  111.,  at  a  very  early  day, 
where  lie  practiced  law.  In  January, 
1823,  he  was  made  attorney-general  of 
the  state,  and  served  nearly  two  years, 
when  he  resigned,  but  within  ten  days 
was  re-appointed  and  served  until  the 
close  of  the  year  1828.  He  came  to 
Greene  county  about  this  time. 

Two  sessions  were  held  by  the  10th 
general  assembly,  the  first  convening 
Dec.  5,  1836,  and  adjourning  March  6, 
1837,  and  the  second  meeting,  July  10, 
1837,   and    adjourning    July   22,    1837. 


John  Allen  represented  this  district 
in  the  senate,  and  Cyrus  A.  Davis,  the 
county,  in  the  lower  house. 

The  Fourth  of  July,  1852,  is  well  re- 
membered in  Carrollton,  as  a  day  of 
mourning.  On  that  day,  instead  of  the 
rejoicings  that  usually  attend  that  an- 
niversary, the  people  of  Carrollton  and 
surrounding  country,  paid  the  last  sol- 
emn offices  to  a  departed  friend,  and 
bore  to  the  grave  the  remains  of  one 
whose  loss  they  deeply  deplored.  Dr. 
Cyrus  Addison  Davis,  was  a  native  of 
Kentucky,  born  in  Mercer  county,  Feb. 
14,  1799.  He  resided  in  his  native  state 
till  1832,  then  immigrated  to  the  state 
of  Illinois,  settled  in  Greene  county, 
and  for  a  time  tried  farming  in  Rich- 
woods  township.  He  was  fond  of 
hunting,  and  being  an  excellent  marks- 
man with  the  rifle,  he  never  went  out 
without  bringing  home  some  game.  He 
killed  a  great  many  deer  and  wild 
turkey,  and  occasionally  a  bear,  besides 
smaller  game,  such  as  squirrel.  He, 
however,  in  a  few  years,  removed  to 
Carrollton,  where  he  soon  acquired  an 
extensive  practice  in  his  profession, 
that  of  medicine.  The  estimation  in 
which  he  was  held  by  the  citizens  of 
Greene  county,  is  sufficiently  indicated 
by  the  fact  that  in  1836  he  was  elected 
to  represent  them  in  the  state  legisla- 
ture, and  that,  too,  without  any  solici- 
tation on  his  part.  The  course  he  pur- 
sued was  satisfactory  to  his  constitu- 
ents, and  he  won  the  confidence  of  both 
parties.  But,  believing  that  other 
duties  had  a  higher  claim  upon  his  time 
and  attention,  lie  abandoned  the  field  of 
politics,  and  devoted  himself,  with  his 
accustomed  energy,  to  the  practice  of 
medicine.      In  that  profession   he  was 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


669 


remarkably  successful.  His  careful  ob- 
servations of  the  diseases  of  the  west, 
his  experience,  and  his  unwearied  ap- 
plication to  the  duties  of  his  profession 
procured  for  him  an  extensive  practice. 
His  anxious  attention  to  his  patients 
and  the  alacrity  with  which  he  visited 
the  poor,  the  sympathizing  kindness 
which  he  manifested  to  the  sick  who 
were  unable  to  pay  a  physician,  are 
well  remembered.  Many  Btories  illus- 
trative of  t lie  kindness  of  his  heart  are 
familiar  to  the  people,  and  show  the 
characteristics  of  the  man.  It  is  said 
that  on  one  stormy  night,  when  the 
mercury  stood  at  zero  :ind  the  the  wind 
blew  fiercely  from  the  northwest,  he 
was  aroused  at  midnight  by  a  man  who 
wished  him  ti>  visit  a  sick  neighbor  of 
his,  nearly  eighteen  miles  distant.  The 
storm  howled  fiercely  and  the  doctor, 
who  had  gone  to  bed  with  a  sick  head 
ache,  hesitated  to  obey  the  summons, 
and  was  about  to  send  him  to  another 
physician,  when  he  heard  the  name  of 
the  patient,  whom  he  knew  to  be  too 
pooreverto  pay  tor  medical  attendance. 
With  one  bound  his  feet  were  on  the 
floor,  and  in  II)  minutes  he  was  facing 
the  storm.  Dr.  Davis  early  took  a 
prominent  part  in  the  temperance  cause 
and  did  much  to  bring  about  the  strik- 
ing reform  which  was  early  effecred  in 
Greene  county.  He  was  an  active 
member  of  the  S.  of  T.,  honored  with 
the  highest  offices  within  their  gift.  As 
a  Free  Mason,  his  praise  was  in  all  the 
lodges  of  that  order  in  the  state  of  II 
linois,  and  at  the  time  of  his  death  was 
master  of  Carrollton  lodge.  With  him 
Free  Masonry  was  a  living  principle, 
which  he  carried  out  in  every  day  life. 
He  has  buried   with    Masonic  honors. 


In  the  subject  of  free  schools  he  took  a 
deep  interest,  and  strenuously  insisted 
that  as  high  a  grade  of  education  ought 
to  be  offered  to  those  who  depend  upon 
these  schools,  as  the  children  of  the 
rich  could  obtain  in  private  schools. 
As  a  man  and  citizen  Dr.  Davis  was 
universally  esteemed.  He  was  frank, 
open-hearted,  and  spoke  his  opinion 
without  disguise  or  concealment.  As  a 
husband  and  father,  it  may  be  said  that 
the  kindness  of  his  heart  shone  most 
conspicuously  in  the  privacy  of  his  own 
domestic  circle.  Mrs.  D.  R.  Davis, 
wife  of  Dr.  0.  A.  I 'avis,  deceased,  was 
born  in  the  state  of  Virginia.  She  was 
formerly  Diana  R.  Montague.  She  re- 
moved to  Mercer  county,  Ky.,  with  her 
parents,  and  was  there  married  to  C.  A. 
Davis,  with  whom  she  came  to  the  state 
of  Illinois.  Eleven  children  were  born 
to  them,  10  of  whom  attained  their  ma- 
jority. These  were  Virginia,  married 
John  M.  Woodson,  died  in  the  year 
1857;  Elizabeth,  married  Jair.es  II. 
Henderson,  divd  in  1851;  Mary  L..  wife 
of  J.  P.  Rogers;  Robert  H.,  James  M., 
John  ('.,  Samuel  W.,  George  W., 
banker  in  Carrollton;  Ophelia,  wife  of 
A.  0.  Bowman;  Harvey  H.;  and  Wil- 
liam A.  who  died  in  1866.  Eight  chil- 
dren were  living  at  the  time  of  Mrs. 
Davis'  death,  which  occurred  on  the 
24th  of  December,  1879. 

The  11th  general  assembly  also  held 
two  sessions,  the  first  meeting  at  Van- 
dalia,  Dec.  3,  1S3S,  and  adjourned  March 
4.  1839,  and  the  second  convening  at 
Springfield,  the  new  state  capital,  Dec. 
9,  1839,  and  remained  in  session  until 
Feb.  3,  1840.  Manoah  Bostwick  was 
the  senator  representing  the  district 
composed   of    the   counties   of    Greene 


670 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


and  Jersey,  in  the  latter  session,  having 
succeeded  James  Turney,  of  Greene, 
who  had  resigned  after  the  first  session. 
John  Allen  was  the  representative. 

John  Allen  represented  this  county 
in  the  senate  of  the  12th  general  assem- 
lily,  and  Alfred  W.  Caverly  in  the 
house. 

A.  W.  Caverly  was  an  attorney  of 
considerable  note,  and  came  to  Carroll- 
ton  in  1822,  and  locating  in  the  then  in- 
fant village,  hung  out  his  ''shingle" 
and  commenced  the  practice  of  law. 
He  was  a  native  of  Massachusetts.  He 
was  one  of  the  most  prominent  men  of 
his  time  in  this  section  of  the  state; 
served  in  many  offices  of  trust  and  re- 
sponsibility with  credit  to  himself  and 
friends.  He  remained  in  practice  in 
Carrollton,  for  many  years,  and  removed 
to  Ottawa,  111.,  where  he  died  about 
1882,  He  practiced  law  to  the  time  of 
his  death,  and  was,  at  that  time,  the 
oldest  member  of  the  bar  of  the  state. 

In  the  13th  general  assembly,  A.  W. 
Caverly,  represented  Greene  and  Jer- 
sey counties,  in  the  senate.  In  the 
house,  Greene  county  was  at  first  repre- 
sented by  John  Greene,  but  he  dying 
Feb.  3,  1843,  was  succeeded  by  Hon. 
Alfred  Hinton.  This  assembly  met 
Dec.  5,  1842,  and  adjourned  March  6, 
1843. 

John  Greene,  deceased,  a  native  of 
Bowling  Green,  Ky.,  wos  born  in  17N7, 
his  parents  being  George  and  Lucy 
(Jones)  Greene.  His  youth  was  spent 
in  his  native  state,  where  he  remained 
until  coming  to  Illinois,  which  was  be- 
fore 1S12.  He  located  in  Madison 
county,  near  Edwardsville,  where  he 
remained  until  coming  to  this  county; 
where  he  spent  the  time  improving  his 


farm.  He  was  in  the  Ranger  service  in 
1812,  serving  under  Gen.  Whiteside. 
In  1819,  he  with  his  family  left  Madison 
county,  and  coming  up  through  what  is 
now  Jersey  county,  took  up  a  location 
and  made  a  settlement  on  the  southwest 
quarter  of  Sec.  20,  T.  9,  R.  11,  where  he 
built  a  house  and  made  improvements. 
That  was  his  place  of  residence  until 
his  death.  He  was  married  in  Madison 
county,  about  the  year  1813,  to  Nancy 
Mains,  a  native  of  Georgia.  Her  par- 
ents were  Robert  and  Margaret  (Find- 
ley)  Mains.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Greene  were 
the  parents  of  14  children — Jones,  who 
moved  to  Texas  in  1844,  and  died  in 
1862;  Melinda,  wife  of  William  Fruitt, 
living  in  Texas;  S.  F.,  whose  sketch 
appears  in  this  work;  James  R.,  who 
lived  and  died  in  this  township,  his 
death  occurring  in  March,  188o;  William 
E.,  living  in  Rockbridge  township;  Lur- 
ana,  wife  of  Wade  H.  Witt,  died  in 
Texas  in  1864;  Evans  N.  and  Thomas 
(twins),  the  former  living  in  Kane  town- 
ship, the  latter  dying  in  infancy;  Mary, 
died  in  this  township  in  1855;  Elias, 
living  in  Kane  township;  Wade  H., 
died  in  Rockbridge  township  in  March, 
1885;  Anderson  P.,  who  married  Delia 
Johnson,  died  May  1,  1846;  Lucy,  de- 
ceased wife  of  Enoch  Littlelield;  Joseph 
B.,  died  Feb.  20,  1874.  Mr.  Greene  was 
elected  a  member  of  the  legislature 
three  terms;  first,  of  the  10th  general 
assembly,  which  convened  at  Vandalia 
in  1836;  next,  of  the  11th  assembly, 
at  Springfield  in  1838,  and  then  of  the 
13th  assembly,  in  1842.  During  this 
session  he  died,  at  Springfield,  Feb.  3, 
1843,  and  was  buried  in  Jalappa  ceme- 
tery, which  is  situated  on  Sec.  16,  T.9, 
R.  11.       He  was  one  of  the   first  com- 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


671 


missioners  appointed  by  the  legislature, 
in  1821,  to  select  a  site  for  the  county 
seat,  and  Carrollton  was  the  location 
chosen  as  the  most  suitable.  He  was  a 
member  of  the  legislature  that  set  off 
Jersey  county,  in  1839. 

Hon.  Alfred  Hinton  was  born  in 
Frederick  county,  Md.,  Feb.  15,  1800, 
being  the  second  child  of  James  and 
Catharine  Hinton,  who  had  a  family  of 
12  children.  The  ancestors  of  Mr. 
Hinton,  in  consequence  of  religious 
persecution,  came  to  America  at  an 
early  day  and  settled  in  the  colony  of 
Maryland.  Four  of  the  brothers  of 
Catharine  Hinton  were  soldiers  in  the 
American  army  during  the  Revolution. 
In  1806,  James  Hinton  removed  with  his 
family  to  Wellsburg,  Va.,  and,  four 
years  after,  moved  to  Delaware  county, 
O.  In  1816,  he  became  a  resident  of 
Ghent,  Gallatin  county,  Ky.,  where  his 
death  occurred  in  1819.  Mrs.  Hinton 
outlived  all  her  children,  except  the 
subject  of  this  sketch,  and  one  son, 
Otto,  who  died  in  California  later,  and 
died  at  the  advanced  age  of  80  years. 
at  Carrollton.  Judge  Hinton,  quite 
early  in  life,  commenced  learning  the 
trade  of  carpenter,  and,  in  the  fall  of 
1818,  came  to  Edwardsville,  111.  He 
lived  there  about  two  years,  and,  in 
Sept.,  1821,  became  a  citizen  of  Greene 
county.  In  1822,  he  entered  a  tract  of 
land  on  Apple  Creek  Prairie,  about  three 
miles  west  of  where  White  Hall  now 
stands.  In  March  of  the  same  year  he 
married  Lucretia  Pruitt,  daughter  of 
William  and  Sarah  Pruitt,  and  imme- 
diately after  his  marriage  he  built  a 
cabin  and  commenced  the  improvement 
of  his  land.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hinton  had 
11  children,  of  whom  only  five  are  liv- 

41 


ing — all  daughters,  and  they  are  mar- 
ried and  settled  in  life.  Their  son, 
Emanuel  J.  Hinton,  after  his  marriage, 
settled  on  a  farm  three  miles  south  of 
Carrollton,  and  in  Aug.,  1858,  was  mur- 
dered within  a  few  rods  of  his  house. 
Court  being  then  in  session,  the  mur- 
derers were  promptly  arrested,  tried, 
convicted  and  hung  within  30  days.  In 
1835,  Mr.  Hinton  was  elected  justice  of 
the  peace,  and  by  re-election  held  that 
office  about  12  years.  In  the  fall  of 
1842,  he  was  elected  a  member  of  the 
legislature  from  Greene  county.  In  the 
spring  of  1843,  for  the  purpose  of  edu- 
cating his  children,  he  settled  in  Car- 
rollton, and  soon  after  was  appointed 
postmaster,  which  office  he  retained 
about  nine  years.  In  the  fall  of  1846, 
he  was  again  elected  to  the  legislature. 
and  in  March,  1830  or  31,  he  superin- 
tended the  building  of  the  present 
court  house  at  Carrollton.  In  1865,  he 
was  elected  judge  of  the  county  court 
of  Greene  county,  and  filled  that  office 
four  years.  Since  the  expiration  of  his 
term  of  office,  he  has  been  justice  of 
the  peace  most  of  the  time  until  about 
1880.  In  1832,  Judge  Hinton  and  wife 
became  members  of  the  Christian 
church,  at  Carrollton,  and  for  many 
years  he  has  been  an  elder  in  the  church. 
In  politics,  the  judge  has  always  been 
a  straight  democrat.  His  first  vote  for 
president  was  cast  for  John  Quincy 
Adams,  in  the  memorable  contest  of 
1824.  On  the  18th  of  Feb.,  1869,  the 
beloved  partner  of  his  bosom  breathed 
her  last,  and  in  March,  1870,  Judge 
Hinton  was  married  to  Mrs.  Amy  Hol- 
liday,  of  Kane,  when  he  became  a  resi- 
dent of  that  town.  His  second  wife 
died  in  1881,  and  he  again  returned  to 


672 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


Carrollton,  where  he  now  resides.  He 
has  five  children  living — Maria,  mar- 
ried Johnson  W.  Davis;  Sophia,  now 
the  wife  of  M.  J.  Frank;  Louise,  now 
the  wife  of  H.  V.  Jackson;  Harriet, 
wife  of  James  B.  Morrow;  Elizabeth, 
wife  of  W.  A.  Morrison. 

In  the  14th  general  assembly,  which 
convened  Dec.  2,  1844,  and  adjourned 
March  3,  1845,  Alfred  W.  Caverly  was 
in  the  senate,  and  John  McDonald  in 
the  house,  both  representing  the  dis- 
tort composed  of  the  counties  of 
Greene  and  Calhoun. 

The  loth  general  assembly  convened 
Dec.  7,  1846,  and  adjourned  March  1, 
1847.  In  the  senate  A.  W.  Caverly 
still  continued  to  represent  this  district. 
Henry  Bragg  was  the  representative  in 
the  house,  from  Greene  county. 

The  16th  general  assembly,  the  first 
one  under  the  new  constitution  held 
two  sessions,  the  first  convening  Jan.  1, 
1849,  and  adjourning  Feb.  12,  the  same 
year;  the  second  meeting  Oct.  22,  1849, 
and  adjourning  the  7th  of  Nov.  In  the 
senate, the  loth  district  was  represented 
by  Franklin  Witt.  The  22d representa- 
tive district  composed  of  the  counties 
of  Greene  and  Jersey  was,  at  first  repre- 
sented in  the  house  by  Isaac  Darnielle 
and  John  D.  Fry,  but  Mr.  Darnielle 
dying,  and  Mr.  Fry  resigning,  they 
were  succeeded  by  Joel  Cory  and  Thos. 
Carlin.  Mr.  Darnielle  is  noticed  in  the 
Jersey  county  history,  under  this  head, 
and  J.  D.  Fry  under  the  head  of  county 
officers,  further  on. 

Many  of  the  old  pioneers  remember 
with  warm  admiration,  Franklin  Witt, 
a  leader  among  men  in  earlier  times, 
and  who  afterward  became  noted  in  the 
annals  of  tht'  state  and  nation.      He  was 


a  native  of  Tennessee,  where  he  was 
born  in  1804.  His  parents  gained  a 
livelihood  by  the  products  of  the  farm, 
and  in  1814,  to  better  their  finances, 
perhaps,  moved  westward  and  settled 
in  Polk  county, in  the  extreme  southern 
portion  of  Illinois.  Franklin  Witt- 
passed  his  boyhood  among  pioneer  as- 
sociations,and  imbibed  there  that  spirit' 
of  self  reliance  that  led  to  successful  re- 
sults. He  was  married  in  his  19th  year 
to  Melinda  Perry,  a  native  of  Indiana, 
and  a  daughter  of  Capt.  Franklin  Perry. 
In  182(i,  he  sought  broader  fields,  and 
packing  his  household  goods  upon  the 
two  horses  he  owned,  after  some  days 
spent  in  travel,  he  landed  in  Greene 
county  with  scarcely  a  dollar.  He  now 
began,  in  an  humble  way  to  gain  a  foot- 
ing in  Illinois,  at  a  time  when  horse- 
mills  were  the  fashion, and  rough  round 
log  cabins  the  only  habitations  in  the 
pioneer  settlements.  His  was  an  ener- 
getic nature,  and  he  accumulated  prop- 
erty rapidly.  In  subsequent  years  he 
became  a  justice  of  the  peace,  and  about 
18o5  he  became  the  regular  nominee  of 
the  democratic  party,  and  received  the 
election  of  legislator,  serving  through 
this  session.  Probably  no  man  in  his 
day  swayed  the  popular  heart  more 
than  he,  and  on  three  subsequent  occa- 
sions he  received  the  election  to  repre- 
sent this  county  in  the  legislature,  and 
presided  as  a  member  when  Springfield 
became  the  capital.  As  a  representative 
lie  has  proved  so  efficient  that  he  now 
received  the  nomination  for  state  sena- 
tor. Serving  through  one  session  and 
receiving  a  re-election, he  was  a  member 
of  that  body  when  he  died,  at  his  home, 
in  Greene  county,  in  1851.  To  the  care 
of  his  wife  he  left  a  family  of  four  chil- 


dren.  Mrs. Witt  departed  this  life  Feb. 
1877,  at  the  house  of  her  son,  Geo.  W., 
in  Kane  township. 

The  17th  general  assembly  convened 
on  the  6th  of  Jan.,  1851,  for  its  first  ses- 
sion, and  adjourned  Feb.  17;  a  second 
session  was  held  from  June  7,  18-r)2,  to 
June  23,  following.  Hon.  Franklin 
Witt  was  the  senator  at  first,  but  dying 
during  his  term  of  office  was  succeeded 
by  Hon.  John  M.  Palmer,  afterward 
governor  of  the  state,  at  that  time  a  res- 
ident of  Macoupin  county.  Charles  D. 
Hodges  and  J.  C.  Winters  represented 
this,  the  22d  district,  in  the  house. 

Col.  J.  C.  Winters,  one  of  the  most 
prominent  citizens  of  Greene  county, 
was  born  in  St.  Clair  county,  111..  July 
11,  1816.  He  is  a  son  of  Nathan  and 
Ruth  (Lindsay)  Winters,  natives  of 
Tennessee.  They  came  to  the  then 
territory  of  Illinois,  in  the  year  1815, 
locating  in  St.  Clair  county,  where 
Nathan  Winters  engaged  in  farming 
until  the  breaking  out  of  the  Indian 
troubles,  in  which  he  was  engaged  in 
three  campaigns  as  an  officer,  and  four 
times  as  a  private,  under  Andrew  Jack- 
son. He  departed  this  life  in  the 
month  of  July,  1866,  and  Mrs.  Winters, 
in  the  year  1867.  The  early  years  of 
Col.  Winter's  life  were  spent  upon  the 
old  homestead,  where  he  learned  the 
duties  pertaining  to  farm  life.  In  the 
year  1846,  when  war  was  declared  be- 
tween Mexico  and  the  United  States, 
he  enlisted  in  Co.  C,  1st  111.  Inf.,  under 
Col.  J.  J.  Hardin.  He  was  elected  2d 
lieutenant,  and  proceeded  to  the  front 
and  took  part  in  the  famous  battle  of 
Buena  Vista.  After  being  discharged 
he  returned  home,  and  resinned  his 
agricultural    duties    until    the    war    of 


the  Rebellion  broke  out,  when  he* 
organized  Co.  G,  59th  111.  Inf.,  and  pro- 
ceeded to  Missouri.  He  first  ranked 
as  captain,  butthrough  meritorious  con- 
duct became  the  popular  lieutenant-  col- 
onel, and  acting  colonel  of  the  regiment. 
He  had  entered  for  three  years'  service, 
and  when  his  regiment  veteranized,  he 
resigned  his  commission  on  account  of 
ill  health,  and  retired  from  the  exciting 
scenes  of  war  to  the  more  peaceful  pur- 
suits of  agriculture.  In  the  year  1850, 
while  a  member  of  the  legislature,  he 
was  one  of  those  who  voted  in  favor  of 
the  I.  C.  R.  R.  Since  his  retirement 
from  the  legislature  the  name  of  Col. 
Winters  has  been  frequently  mentioned 
in  connection  with  other  responsible 
civic  offices,  but  he  has  always  declined, 
preferring  to  look  after  his  farm  inter- 
ests, he  being  the  possessor  of  317 acres 
in  T.  12,  R.  11.  Mr.  Winters  split  rails 
for  a  living  MS  years  ago,  and  to-day  is 
proud  of  the  success  which  followed  as 
a  result  of  his  unswerving  energy  and 
good  management.  In  the  year  1837 
Mr.  Winters  was  married  to  Cynthia 
Cochran,  born  Dec.  22,  1S12.  She  was 
a  daughter  of  George  and  Margaret  (Fal- 
lis)  Cochran,  her  mother  born  in  Penn- 
sylvania, her  father  near  Harrodsburg, 
Mercer  county,  Ky.  During  the  war  of 
1812  Mr.  Cochran  was  in  the  United 
States  service,  in  a  light  horse  brigade 
under  Col.  Richard  M.  Johnson,  and 
was  present  at  the  killing  of  Tecumseh. 
He  died  in  the  year  1863,  and  Mis. 
Cochran  in  the  year  1878.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Winters  are  the  parents  of  seven 
children  :  Frank,  Samuel,  Lafayette. 
Solon.  Joshua,  Josephine  and  Byron, 
The  colonel  and  his  wife  are  members 
of  the  M.  E.  church.     Col.  Winters  is  a 


G74 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


charter  member  of  White  Hall  lodge, 
No.  80,  A.  F.  and  A.  M.,  and  is  a  de- 
mitted  member  of  Jacksonville  chapter. 
He  also  is  a  member  of  the  G.  A.  R. 
In  connection  with  the  history  of  Col. 
Winters  is  an  incident  which  should  not 
be  omitted,  and  which  points  unmistak- 
ably to  the  character  of  the  gentleman. 
His  father  moved  to  Missouri  in  1839, 
and  offered  his  son,  the  colonel,  ahome- 
stead  if  he  would  come  there  to  live. 
He  would  not  accept,  preferring  to  rear 
his  family  where  white  labor  was  re- 
spected. Dmingthe  Rebellion, bis  father, 
mother  and  two  brothers  were  with  the 
South  in  sentiment,  while  the  colonel 
and  two  other  brothers  fought  on  the 
Union  side.  One  of  his  brothers  was  a 
minister  of  the  M.  E.  church  south,  and 
be  wrote  very  strong  scriptural  letters 
to  the  colonel  to  have  him  stop  murder- 
ing, as  he  called  it. 

In  the  senate  of  the  18th  general  as- 
sembly, when  it  met,  Jan.  3,  1853,  was 
found  as  representative  of  the  13th  dis- 
trict, of  which  Greene  county  formed  a 
part,  John  M.  Palmer,  of  Macoupin. 
Charles  D.  Hodges  was  also  a  member 
of  the  house. 

Under  the  apportionment  act  of  1854, 
Greene,  Macoupin  and  Jersey  counties 
were  re-organized  into  the  14th  senator- 
ial district,  and  Greene  county  into  the 
■_'-'!d  representative  district.  In  the  gen- 
eral assembly  which  convened  Jan.  1, 
1855,  the  district  was  still  represented 
in  the  senate  by  John  M.  Palmer,  and  in 
the  house  was  represented  by  J.  M. 
Pursley. 

Linus  E.  Worcester,  of  Greene  county, 
was  the  representative  in  the  senate  of 
the  20th  general  assembly,  which  con- 
vened Jan.  5,  1857,  and  adjourned  Feb. 


9.     John  W.  Huitt  was  the  member  of 
the  house  from  this  county. 

Among  Greene  county's  most  promi- 
nent and  influential  citizens,  is  Linus  E. 
Worcester,  of  White  Hall.  He  is  a  sun 
of  Elijah  and  Lucy  (Ely)  Worcester, 
and  was  born  in  Windsor,  Vt.,  Dec.  5, 
1811.  His  father,  Elijah,  was  twice 
married,  first  to  Lucy,  daughter  of  Aaron 
Ely,  of  Windsor,  Vt.  Her  death  occur- 
red Oct.  13,  1813,  leaving  six  children. 
His  second  marriage  was  to  Anna  Cady, 
by  whom  one  child  was  born.  Elijah 
Worcester  was  a  carpenter  and  farmer 
by  trade,  his  death  occurring  Feb.  25, 
1861.  He  was  a  son  of  Asa  Worcester, 
who  was  born  in  Groton,  Mass.,  in 
April,  1771,  the  latter  being  a  son  of 
Asa,  born  in  Haverhill,  Jan.  27,  1738. 
He  was  a  son  of  Benjamin,  born  in 
Bradford,  in  Aug.,  1709,  who  was  a  son 
of  Francis,  born  in  Rowley,  Mass. 
Francis  was  a  son  of  Samuel,  who  was 
born  in  England,  and  came  with  his 
father,  William,  to  the  United  States, 
between  the  years  1638  and  1640.  It 
will,  therefore,  be  seen  that  by  direct 
descent  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  Judge 
Worcester,  is  of  English  extraction  on 
his  father's  side.  William  Worcester 
was  a  clergyman,  and  Francis  was  very 
devout.  In  fact  much  attention  seems 
to  have  been  given  by  the  ancestery  of 
the  judge  to  things  of  the  spiritual  life, 
which  will,  no  doubt,  account  for  the 
fact  that  he  is  so  doubtful  upon  re- 
ligious subjects.  Linus  was  educated 
in  the  common  schools  of  Vermont, 
and  in  Chester  Academy,  which  be 
attended,  when  he  was  twenty-three 
years  of  age.  Prior  to  coming  west  he 
felt  the  necessity  of  more  learning,  and, 
therefore,  at  this  age   he  attended  the 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


academy,  as  above.  He  had  been  con- 
tent with  farm  life  in  Vermont,  but  on 
immigrating  to  this  county  in  1836,  en- 
gaged in  teaching  school  for  three  years, 
when  he  became  a  clerk  in  the  dry 
goods  store  of  Chester  Swallow,  at 
White  Hall,  andtwoyears  later  entered 
into  partnership  witli  his  former  em- 
ployer. This  firm  existed  butoneyear, 
as  the  death  of  Mr.  Swallow  occurred 
at  that  time,  andthe  business  was  closed 
out.  He  then  formed  a  co-partnership 
with  Simeon  Bros.,  who  engaged  in  the 
sale  of  general  merchandise  for  about  10 
years,  doing,a  very  profitable  business. 
For  some  three  or  four  years  he  was 
then  engaged  in  the  retail  of  drugs, 
groceries  and  hardware,  and  for  five 
years  following  in  the  manufacture  of 
agricultural  implements.  He  has  also 
been  interested  in  the  lumber  business 
at  this  place,  Roodhouse  and  Manches- 
ter, for  about  30  years.  Perhaps,  there 
are  few  men  in  the  state  of  Illinois  who 
have  held  more  commissions  than  Mr. 
Worcester.  In  1S43  he  was  elected 
justice  of  the  peace,  which  he  held  for 
some  six  years.  Nov.  11,  1843,  he  was 
commissioned  postmaster,  and  re-com- 
missioned Dec.  31,  1845,  which  office  he 
held    12    consecutive    years-  Jtle    was 


elected  and  commissionea'county  judge 
Nov.  16,  1853,  continuing  in  that  capac- 
ity by  re-election  for  six  years.  He 
was  elected  and  served  as  a  member  of 
the  constitutional  convention  of  the 
state,  in  1847,  and  was  appointed  as  one 
of  the  state  trustees  of  the  deaf  and 
dumb  asylum,  in  1859,  being  re-appoint- 
ed in  1863  and  1867;  holding  the  office 
12  years.  In  1859,  while  sitting  in  the 
state  senate,  he  was  appointed  notary 
public,  which  he  has   since  been  regu- 


larly re-appointed  to  every  four  years, 
and  which  office  he  still  holds.  He 
was  elected  to  the  state  senate  in  185ii, 
to  fill  a  vacancy,  occasioned  by  the 
resignation  of  John  M.  Palmer,  for  two 
years.  In  4-§+*Rie  was  again  elected  to 
that  office,  and  was  one  of  the  five  dem- 
ocrats in  the  senate  who  dared  vote  to 
ratify  President  Lincoln's  proclamation 
of  emancipation.  He  was  elected  county 
judge  in  ld&t,  and  re-elected  in  18^7, 
with  but  one  opposing  vote,  serving 
nme  years.  In  1852,  he  was  appointed 
township  school  trustee,  which  office  he 
still  holds,  having  handled  some  $250,- 
000  of  school  funds  during  that  time. 
He  was  a  member  of  the  national  demo- 
cratic convention  at  St.  Louis,  in  1876, 
which  nominated  Samuel  J.  Tilden  for 
tin1  presidency.  He  is  now  and  has 
been  for  25  years  a  director  of  the 
Jacksonville  branch  of  the  C.  &  A.  R. 
P.  Co.  He  lias  been  engaged  for  the 
past  30  years  as  administrator  and  ex- 
ecutor of  estates,  and  guardian  of  chil- 
dren, all  of  which  trusts  reposed  in  him 
have  been  faithfully  discharged  to  the 
satisfaction  of  all  parties  interested.  In 
Feb.,  1840,  in  White  Hall,  Mr.  Worces- 
ter was  married  to  Martha  A.  Jackson, 
of  Apple  creek,  and  a  native  of  Ver- 
mont. Two  children  were  born  to 
them — Allied  J.  and  William  P.  Mrs. 
Worcester's  death  occurred  Feb.  17, 
1S45.  In  Feb.,  1848,  Mr.  W.  was  mar- 
ried to  Sarah  M.  Hull,  a  native  of  Con- 
necticut. By  this  union  there  were  two 
Children — Maurice  H.,  deceased,  and 
Wentworth.  His  wife,  Sarah  M.,  died 
in  1854,  and  in  Feb.,  1856,  he  married 
Luthera,  daughter  of  Timothy  and 
Diadama  (Swallow)  Ladd,  a  native  of 
Vermont.     She  was  the  widow  of  Geo. 


G76 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


Smith,  by  whom  she  had  two  children 
— Eugene  and  Timothy  L.  By  the  mar- 
riage with  Judge  Worc'ester,  five  chil- 
dren have  been  born — Lucy  E.,  wife  of 
Michael  Gahula;  Henry  C,  Richard  S. 
and  Irene,  and  Lucius  Y\\,  deceased. 
The  judge  has  always  been  identified 
with  the  democratic  party,  is  a  member 
of  no  secret  organization  or  church,  be- 
ing a  free  thinker.  His  religion  consists 
of  humanitarian  principles,  honor  and 
integrity,  fidelity  to  friends  and  good 
will  to  all. 

John  W.  Huitt,  deceased,  was  a  native 
of  Franklin  county,  Ga.,  and  was  born 
Nov.  15,  1793.  He  was  the  fourth  of  a 
family  of  John  and  Elizabeth  (Ratliff) 
Huitt,  the  former  of  whom  was  a  native 
of  Brunswick,  Va.,  and  the  latter  of 
Franklin  county,  N.  C.,  she  being  of 
genuine  English  stock.  With  his  pa- 
rents John  W .  came  to  Illinois  in  1804, 
arriving  at  Cahokia  in  December  of  that 
year.  From  there  they  immediately 
started  for  what  was  then  known  as  the 
Goshen  settlement.  Here  they  re- 
mained until  the  fall  of  1805,  then  re- 
moved to  the  bluff  opposite  the  conflu- 
ence of  the  Missouri  river  with  the 
Mississippi.  On  the  breaking  out  of 
the  war  of  1812,  John  W.  Huitt  enlisted 
in  ('apt.  Judy's  company  of  rangers, 
which  were  stationed  to  guard  the  front- 
iers, from  the  Mississippi  river  to  Vin- 
cennes,  against  the  depredations  of 
marauding  bands  of  Indians.  After  the 
war  was  over,  Mr.  Huitt  returned  to  the 
quieter  pursuits  of  farm  life.  June  13, 
1818,  he  was  united  in  marriage  with 
Rosanna  Harriford,  of  Chariton  county, 
Mo,  Their  marriage  took  place  in  the 
old  town  of  Chariton.  She  was  a  daugh- 
ter of  James  Harriford,    and   was   born 


in«Wayne  county,  Ky.,  Dec.  27,  1798. 
In  Oct,  1818,  Mr.  Huitt,  with  his  young 
bride  settled  on  a  tract  of  prairie  land 
near  Phill's  creek,  now  in  the  present 
limits  of  Jersey  county,  111.  There  he 
built  a  small  log  cabin  and  started  out 
in  life  on  his  own  account.  After  the 
land  was  surveyed  and  came  into 
market,  he,  with  his  brother,  entered  a 
half  section.  His  capital  was  limited 
upon  starting  out  in  life,  consisting  prin- 
cipally of  a  well-developed  physical  or- 
ganization and  active  mental  faculties, 
combined  with  energy  and  perseverance, 
but  by  industry  and  economy  he  accu- 
mulated a  fair  share  of  this  world's 
goods.  He  continued  to  reside  at  the 
point  where  he  first  located  until  1823, 
when  he  bought  80  acres  of  land  in  Lin- 
der  township,  on  which  he  lived  until 
removing  to  Carrollton,  in  1878.  He 
departed  this  life  at  the  latter  named 
place,  Oct.  22,  1882,  having  survived  his 
wife  two  years,  she  having  died  April 
21,  1880.  "During  the  Black  Hawk  war, 
in  1832,  Mr.  Huitt  volunteered  in  Capt. 
Thos.  Carlin's  company,  which  was 
joined  to  what  was  termed  the  "  spy 
battalion  "  of  the  service.  He  re- 
mained in  that  capacity  until  his  term 
of  service  expired,  and  was  then  honor- 
ably discharged.  His  first  vote  for  pres- 
ident was  east  for  James  Madison,  and 
he  voted  at  every  subsequent  presiden- 
tial election  up  to  that  of  Gen.  McClel- 
lan,  which  was  his  last  vote  for  presi- 
dent. For  the  dissenters  from  the  old 
school  of  democracy  he  not  only  had  no 
sympathy,  but  felt  like  branding  them 
us  traitors  to  their  party.  Mr.  Huitt 
was  never  an  aspirant  for  political  pre- 
ferment, though,  in  the  fall  of  1856,  he 
was  elected  as  the  candidate  of  the  dem- 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


677 


ocratic  party,  to  a  seat  in  the  legislature, 
and  proved  to  be  an  active  and  efficient 
legislator.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Huitt  joined 
the  Baptist  church  in  1853,  and  were 
consistent  members  of  the  same  up  to  the 
time  of  their  death.  They  had  born  to 
them  13  children,  some  of  whom  still 
reside  in  the  county,  and  are  mentioned 
in  the  proper  places  in  this  volume. 

Convening  at  Springfield,  Jan.  3,  1859, 
the  -1st  general  assembly  contained 
within  its  senate,  as  the  representative 
from  this  district,  the  person  of  Anthony 
L.  Knapp,  and  in  the  house,  Alexander 
King.  Mr.  Knapp  has  a  honorable 
sketch  in  the  history  of  Jersey  county 
and  its  reputation  here  is  needless: 

Alexander  King,  justice  of  the  peace, 
Roodhouse,  is  a  native  of  the  state  of 
Indiana,  and  was  born  Jan.  13,  1820. 
He  was  a  son  of  Alexander  and  Nancy 
(Gordon)  King,  the  former  of  whom 
was  a  native  of  North  Carolina,  ami  the 
latter,  of  Virginia,  and  whom  were 
married  in  Tennessee,  to  which  state 
they  had  previously  removed,  with 
their  parents.  Some  time  after  their 
marriage,  they  removed  to  Indiana, 
where  our  subject  was  born.  In  1821, 
the  family  came  to  Greene  county,  111., 
where  Alexander,  Sr.,  followed  agri- 
cultural pursuits  up  to  the  time  of  his 
death,  which  occurred  about  1873,  his 
wife  following  him  to  that  better  world, 
one  year  later.  Alexander  King,  Jr., 
received  his  education  in  the  Greene 
county  schools,  and  followed  farming 
until  1853,  in  which  year  he  engaged  in 
the  merchandise  business,  at  Athens- 
ville,  carrying  a  general  stock.  This 
business  he  continued  for  some  nine 
years,  then  sold,  and  again  returned  to 
farm    life,    which    he    continued    until 


1881,  and  then  retired.  Mr.  King  was 
elected  constable  of  Carrollton,  in  1844, 
justice  of  the  peace  in  1852,  and  repre- 
sentative to  the  state  legislature  in  1858, 
in  each  of  which  positions  he  fulfilled 
the  duties  thereof  with  entire  satisfac- 
tion to  his  constituents,  and  honor  to 
himself.  In  the  fall  of  1881  be  was 
elected  justice  of  the  peace.  On  town- 
ship organization  going  into  effect,  in 
the  spring  of  1885,  he  was  re-elec- 
ted to  the  office,  and  is  giving  gen- 
eral satisfaction.  Oct.  30,  184",  Alex- 
ander King  was  united  in  marriage 
with  Mary  Waggoner,  a  native  of  Ken- 
tucky. She  was  a  daughter  of  William 
and  Sarah  Waggoner,  and  was  born 
Sept.  17,  1825.  Seven  children  have 
been  born  to  this  union,  four  of  whom 
are  now  living — David  Fanning,  mar- 
ried; Stephen  A.  Douglas,  married  ami 
lives  on  the  old  homestead;  Sally, 
widow  of  George  Wood;  and  Samuel 
Thomas,  married,  and  living  in  Kansas. 
Mr.  King  is  a  kind,  genial  gentleman, 
and  is  much  respected  by  many  friends 
and  accpuaintances.  Mrs.  King  is  a  con- 
sistent member  of  the  Baptist  church. 

The  22d  general  assembly  held  two 
sessions.  The  first  convened  Jan.  7, 
1861,  and  adjourned  Feb.  22.  The  sec- 
ond convened  April  23,  1861,  and  re- 
mained in  session  until  May  3,  follow- 
ing. A.  L.  Knapp  was  still  the  senator. 
Benjamin  Baldwin  represented  Greene 
county  in  the  house.  An  extended 
notice  of  this  worthy  gentleman  will  be 
found  in  the  history  of  White  Hall  and 
vicinity,  further  on. 

On  the  convocation  of  the  23d  general 
assembly,  Jan.  5,  1S63,  anew  apportion- 
ment of  the  state  having  placed  Jersey, 
Calhoun,  Scott,  Greene   and  Pike  in  the 


678 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


6th  senatorial  district,  it  was  represented 
in  the  senate  by  Linus  E.  Worcester 
William  B.  Witt  was  in  the  house,  rep- 
resenting this,  the  23d  district. 

The  24th  general  assembly  convened 
Jan.  2,  1865,  and  adjourned  Feb.  16, 
1865.  Linus  E.  Worcester  occu- 
pied a  place  in  the  senate,  and  Na- 
thaniel M.  Perry,  of  Kane,  in  the 
house,  as  the  representatives  of  the 
county.  A  sketch  of  Mr.  Perry  appears 
in  connection  with  the  history  of  Kane, 
of  which  he  was  a  prominent  merchant 
and  business  man. 

The  25th  general  assembly  of  1866- 
68,  contained  as  the  representatives 
from  this  district,  William  Shephard, 
of  Jersey  ville,  in  the  senate,  and  Henry 
C.  Withers,  of  Carrollton,  in  the  house. 

Hon.  Henry  C.  Withers  was  born  in 
Girard  county,  Ky.,  on  the  10th  of  Jan., 
1839.  His  father,  William  Withers, 
whs  a  son  of  Abijah  Withers,  and  a 
grandson  of  William  Withers,  who  at  an 
early  period  removed  from  Virginia  to 
Kentucky,  where  the  family  thereafter 
resided.  His  paternal  ancestors,  orig- 
inally natives  of  England  and  Scotland, 
came  to  America  and  settled  in  Virginia 
prior  to  the  Revolution.  His  mother, 
Elizabeth  Withers,  was  the  daughter  of 
Hon.  Horatio  Bruce,  a  distinguished 
politician  of  the  democratic  party  in 
Kentucky,  and  Elizabeth  Beasley,  of 
Ohio.  Mr.  Bruce  was  one  of  the  first 
men  of  Kentucky,  of  any  prominence, 
to  advocate  a  repeal  of  the  laws  impris- 
oning for  debt,  and  it  was  mainly 
through  his  influence  and  exertion  while 
a  member  of  the  legislature  that  it  was 
accomplished.  He  was  born  in  Vir- 
f.i  iia,  and  at  an  early  age  removed  into 
Kentucky.    His  father,  John  Bruce,  and 


eight  sons,  older  brothers  of  Horatio, 
served  through  the  war  for  independ- 
ence under  Gen.  Geo.  Washington,  and 
he  served  during  the  war  of  1812.  He 
was  a  cousin  of  Henry  Clay,  and  an 
uncle  of  Judge  Horatio  W.  Bruce,  of 
Louisville,  Ky.  His  grandfather  Bruce 
had  eight  brothers  who  were  lawyers, 
four  of  whom  were  legislators,  and  some 
of  them  especially  distinguished,  and 
an  admiration  for  his  character,  more 
than  anything  else,  influenced  our  sub- 
ject to  choose  the  legal  profession.  In 
1846  his  parents  left  Kentucky  and  set- 
tled on  a  farm  in  Greene  county,  111., 
and  here  he  attended  the  common 
school  during  the  winter  mouths  only, 
working  on  the  farm  the  remainder  of 
the  year,  but  so  great  was  his  zeal  and 
ambition  that  his  progress  was  equal  to 
those  of  his  class-mates  who  attended 
throughout  the  entire  year.  His  early 
tastes  were  for  reading  and  acquiring 
knowledge,  with  a  constant  craving  for 
opportunities  of  higher  intellectual  at- 
tainments. At  the  age  of  17  he  went  to 
Berean  College,  at  Jacksonville,  111., 
then  under  the  management  of  Rev. 
Jonathan  Atkinson,  at  which  he  com- 
menced a  classical  course  of  study. 
After  two  years  diligent  application  he 
had  become  tolerably  proficient  in 
the  Greek,  Latin  and  German  lan- 
guages and  mathematics.  Lack  of 
means  on  the  part  of  his  parents  made  a 
further  prosecution  of  the  collegiate 
course  impossible.  He  subsequently 
taught  a  common  school  for  three 
months,  near  Alexander  station,  Mor- 
gan county.  In  the  summer  of  1858  he 
worked  as  a  farm  laborer  in  Greene 
county,  making  a  full  "hand''  at  all 
kinds  of  farm  work   during  the  season. 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


679 


The  following  winter  he  commenced  the 
study  of  law  in  the  office  of  Hon.  James 
W.  English,  at  Carrollton.  In  1867  he 
formed  a  law  partnership  with  Hon. 
David  M.  Woodson,  which  continued 
till  the  death  of  Judge  Woodson,  in 
1877.  He  then  pursued  his  calling, 
alone,  till  1884,  when  he  associated  as 
partner  Thomas  Henshaw,  of  White 
Hall,  which  partnership  still  continues. 
Mr.  Withers  residing  at  Carrollton,  and 
Mr.  Henshaw  at  White  Hall,  the  firm 
having  an  office  at  each  place.  The  po- 
litical career  of  Mr.  Withers  has  been 
conspicuous  from  the  time  he  attained 
his  majority.  In  1855-6  he  edited  the 
Carrollton  Democrat,  and  supported  the 
democratic  candidates  and  measures. 
In  1860  he  became  an  active  supporter 
of  Stephen  A.  Douglas  for  the  presi- 
dency, and  has  ever  since  been  an  earn- 
est and  active  democrat.  At  the  same 
time  he  favored  the  emancipation  of  the 
colored  race,  and  the  suppression  of  the 
Rebellion  in  the  most  speedy  manner 
anil  with  the  least  possible  bloodshed. 
He  heartily  acquiesced  in  the  several 
constitutional  amendments  on  the  slav- 
ery question.  In  1866,  at  the  age  of  27, 
he  was  elected  to  the  house  of  repre- 
sentatives from  Greene  county.  In 
1872  he  was  a  delegate  to  the  Baltimore 
convention,  and  endorsed  the  platform 
there  made.  In  1874  he  was  elected  as 
an  independent  candidate  to  the  office 
of  state's  attorney  for  Greene  county. 
He  now  owns  a  full  set  of  abstract  books 
of  Greene  county,  and  in  his  legal  pur- 
suits has  a  large  and  lucrative  practice. 
On  the  18th  of  March,  1863,  Mr.  With- 
ers was  united  in  marriage  with  Fanny 
W.  Woodson,  only  daughter  of  Judge 
David    M.    Woodson.     Two    sons   have 


blessed  this  union — Mead  W.,  who  died 
at  the  age  of  18  years,  and  William  H., 
who  is  still  living.  Mr.  Withers  is  a 
Knight  Templar  and  a  member  of  the 
I.  0.  0.  F.  He  is  a  man  who  is  easily 
approached;  courteous  to  all,  and  while 
he  may  have  some  enemies,  he  is  sur- 
rounded by  a  host  of  warm  and  admir- 
ing friends. 

The  26th  general  assembly,  which 
convened  Jan.  4,  1869,  contained  as  the 
representatives  of  this  district,  William 
Shephard,  in  the  senate,  and  David  M. 
Woodson,  of  Carrollton,  in  the  house. 
A  sketch  of  D.  M.  Woodson  is  given  in 
the  chapter  of  this  work,  entitled, 
"Courts  of  Greene  County,"  and  Mr. 
Shephard,  in  the  history  of  Jersey 
county,  in  this  volume. 

In  Jan.,  1870,  the  27th  general  assem- 
bly, was  first  convened.  William  Shep- 
hard, at  first  represented  the  district  in 
the  senate,  but  resigning,  was  succeeded 
by  William  H.  Allen,  of  Grafton,  Jer- 
sey county.  In  the  house,  Thomas  H. 
Boyd  attended  to  the  interests  of  this 
county,  then  the  39th  representative 
district.  Judge  Allen  is  noticed  at 
length  in  the  history  of  Jersey  county, 
and  Thomas  H.  Boyd,  under  the  head  of 
county  judge  of  Greene  county. 

The  28th  general  assembly  convened 
Jan.  8,  1873,  and  in  the  senate,  the  39th 
district,  embracing  the  counties  of 
Greene  and  Morgan,  was  represented  by 
William  Brown,  of  Jacksonville,  and 
in  the  house,  by  Jerome  B.  Nulton,  of 
Carrollton,  John  W.  Meacham,  of  Wav- 
erly,  and  John  Gordon,  of  Lynnville. 
This  was  the  first  assembly  under  the 
winkings  of  the  constitution  of  1870, 
and  contained  one  senator  and  three 
representatives  from  each  district,  one 


680 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


of    the   latter    being    of    the    minority 
party. 

Col.  J.  B.  Nulton  is  a  native  of  Wash- 
ington county,  ().,  born  in  1835.  Of  his 
parent,  it  will  be  well  to  enter  into  a 
short  description.  Jacob  Nulton,  the 
father  of  our  subject,  was  born  in  Penn- 
sylvania, where  he  followed  agricultural 
pursuits.  In  an  early  day  he  moved  to 
Ohio,  and  while  here  formed  the  ac- 
quaintance of  and  wedded  Parmelia 
Cheedle,  by  whom  he  had  eleven  chil- 
dren, nine  of  whom  attained  the  age  of 
maturity,  and  six  of  whom  afterward 
became  residents  of  this,  Greene  county. 
Miles  came  in  1841,  and  here  followed 
agricultural  pursuits  until  his  death; 
Susan,  wife  of  Beeman  North,  died  in 
Jersey  county  ;  George  died  in  Greene 
county;  Marshall  went  to  California 
about  the  year  1850,  and  sometwoyears 
later  was  murdered  by  a  Spaniard;  Eliz- 
abeth married  John  Clatlin  and  is  still  a 
resident  of  this  county.  The  family 
came  to  Greene  county  in  1841,  where 
they  have  since  resided,  and  where  Ja- 
cob Nulton  and  wife  lived  until  called 
upon  to  pay  the  debt  of  nature  by  the 
cold  and  unrelenting  hand  of  death.  In 
early  life  the  subject  of  this  sketch  fol- 
lowed agricultural  pursuits.  When  the 
war  of  the  Rebellion  came  on,  Col.  Nul- 
ton disposed  of  his  farm  property  and 
was  commissioned  by  Gov.  Richard 
Yates  as  captain  of  Co.  G.,  Gist  111.  Inf. 
Marching  from  Illinois  into  Missouri,  a 
temporary  halt  was  made  at  St.  Louis, 
from  which  place  the  company  proceed- 
ed to  Pittsburg  Landing,  was  assigned 
to  Gen.  Prentiss'  division,  and  was  the 
first  company  under  fire  from  the  enemy. 
Col.  Nulton  became  a  participant  in 
many  important    battles,   and    received 


the  promotion  of  major  after  the  en- 
gagement at  Little  Rock,  and  when  the 
noted  battle  of  Murfreesboro  drew  to 
a  close,  our  subject  wan  promoted  to 
colonel  of  the  61st  regiment,  July  1, 
1865,  through  meritorious  conduct.  Al- 
though the  regiment  was  commanded 
by  Jacob  Fry,  S.  P.  Ohr,  and  Daniel 
Crass,  they  only  held  commissions  as 
lieutenant-colonels,  consequently  Mr. 
Nulton  was  the  only  colonel  the  regi- 
ment ever  possessed.  At  the  close  of 
the  war  he  returned  to  Greene  county, 
and  located  at  Carrollton  where  he  re- 
ceived the  appointment  of  deputy  rev- 
enue assessor.  After  serving  in  this  ca- 
pacity for  two  years  be  entered  into 
partnership  with  R.  H.  Davis,  in  the 
transaction  of  a  grain  business,  con- 
trolling a  larger  trade  than  any  similar 
firm  in  the  county.  In  1872  Col.  Nulton 
was  elected  to  the  house  of  representa- 
tives from  the  39th  district,  serving  one 
term,  and  although  urgently  persuaded 
by  his  many  friends  to  enter  the  contest 
for  re-election  he  declined  to  become  a 
candidate  for  the  legislature  a  second 
time,  but  again  entered  the  grain  trade, 
discontinuing  this  however,  in  1875.  He 
then  obtained  some  real  estate  in  Kan- 
sas and  for  some  time  spent  most  of  his 
time  in  that  state.  He  afterward  spent 
two  years  in  Colorado  as  superintend- 
ent of  a  mining  company  and  being  in- 
duced to  go  to  New  Mexico  to  look  after 
mining  interests,  spent  the  major  por- 
tion oi'  his  time  in  that  territory  for 
three  years,  where  he  stills  owns  min- 
ing property.  In  September,  1871,  he 
was  united  in  marriage  with  Henrietta 
Sieverling,  a  daughter  of  H.  C.  Siever- 
ling.  Of  this  marriage  two  children 
were  born — Guy,  deceased,  and  Nettie. 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


681 


Col.  Nulton  is  commander  of  Carroll- 
ton  post,  No.  442,  G.  A.  R.  and  has 
been  an  active  member  of  the  Masonic 
order  for  twenty  years,  serving  three 
years  as  commander  of  Hugh  de  Payen 
commandery,  No.  29.  Politically  the 
colonel  is  an  ardent  supporter  of  the 
principles  of  the  democratic  party,  vot- 
ing for  Stephtn  A.  Douglas  in  It 60  and 
strenuously  opposed  to  secession. 

On  the  6tb  of  Jan.,  1875,  the  29th 
general  assembly  met  and  remained  in 
session  until  April  15th,  following. 
Charles  D.  Hodges  represented  the  dis- 
trict in  the  senate,  Andrew  J.  Thomp- 
son, Samuel  Woods  and  John  Gordon 
in  the  house. 

The  30th  general  assembly  met  at 
Springfield,  Jan.  3,  1877,  and  remained 
in  session  until  May  24,  1877.  In  its 
senate,  this  district  was  still  represented 
by  Hon.  Charles  D.  Hodges.  In  the 
house  the  interests  of  the  inhabitants 
of  these  counties  were  in  the  hands  of 
Isaac  L.  Morrison  and  William  P. 
Gallon,  of  Jacksonville,  and  Lucian 
King,  of  Kane. 

Capt.  Lucian  King  was  born  in  New 
York,  in  1817,  and  his  early  life  was 
there  spent,  on  a  farm.  In  1842  he  re- 
moved to  Cleveland,  O.,  where  he  was 
employed  as  clerk  one  year,  and  then 
took  charge  of  his  brother's  boat  for 
one  year.  He  then  came  to  Greene 
county  and  worked  as  a  farm  hand,  and 
during  this  time  married  Alniira  Lemon, 
daughter  of  Elder  Moses  Lemon,  a 
pioneer  minister,  of  Greene  county. 
This  union  had  been  blessed  with 
seven  children — Lottie  E.,  Mattie  L., 
Martha  E.,  Adele,  Sadie  B.  and  two 
deceased,  When  the  civil  war  broke 
out,   Mr.   King  organized  Co.  C,   122d 


111.  Inf.,  and  proceeded  to  the  front 
with  the  rank  of  captain.  He  participa- 
ted in  many  important  battles,  famous 
in  history,  and  in  May  18G5.  was  hon- 
orably discharged,  and  returned  to 
Greene  county,  where  he  engaged  in 
farming.  In  1870,  Capt.  King  was  elec- 
ted to  the  state  legislature,  from  the 
39th  district,  by  an  overwhelming  ma- 
jority, and  served  with  decided  satis- 
faction to  all. 

In  the  senate  of  the  31st  general 
assembly,  which  met  Jan.  8,  1879,  and 
remained  in  session  till  May  31,  w:as 
found  Hon.  William  P.  Callon,  of  Mor- 
gan county,  as  the  representative  of 
this  district,  and  in  the  house,  Isaac  L. 
Morrison,  Richardson  Vasey  and  Fran- 
cis M.  Bridges.  The  two  former  of 
Morgan  county,  the  latter  of  Greene. 

The  32d  general  assembly  convened 
at  Springfield  in  Jan.,  1881,  and  this 
district  was  represented  in  the  senate  by 
F.  M.  Bridges,  and  in  the  house  by 
Joseph  S.  Carr,  Oliver  Coultas  and 
David  Pierson. 

Frank  M.  Bridges,  deceased,  was  born 
in  Greene  county,  111.,  July  27,  1834, 
his  parents  being  Archibald  and  Dor- 
leska  (Eldred)  Bridges,  his  father  a  na- 
tive of  South  Carolina,  his  mother  of 
Connecticut.  His  parents  were  among 
the  first  settlers  of  Greene  county,  and 
entered  600  acres  of  land,  all  in  one 
tract,  when  they  came  here*  on  which 
they  built  a  little  log  cabin,  where  they 
lived  a  number  of  years.  His  father 
afterwards  built  a  large  two-story  frame 
house,  in  which  he  resided  until  his 
death,  in  1861.  Mrs.  bridges  survived 
him  until  1870.  Both  are  buried  in  the 
Carrollton  cemetery.  Frank  was  reared 
to  farm  life,  remaining  with  his  parents 


682 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


until  22  years  of  age,  and  receiving  his 
education  partly  in  the  district  schools 
and  partly  in  those  of  Carrollton,  until 
about  1856,  when  he  attended  the  Shurt- 
leff  college,  at  Upper  Alton.  After  fin- 
ishing his  education,  he  went  to  Mem- 
phis, Mo.,  where  he  was  employed  as 
clerk  in  a  dry  goods  store  for  two  or 
three  years,  when  he  purchased  an  in- 
terest in  the  store,  and  the  firm  became 
Bridges  &  Billups.  This  partnership 
continued  until  1862,  when  he  disposed 
of  his  stock  of  goods,  and  began  buying 
up  a  lot  of  horses,  which  he  took  across 
the  plains  to  California,  and  there  dis- 
posed of  them.  He  and  his  wife  then 
remained  there  one  year,  keeping  a 
hotel.  From  there  they  removed  to 
Virginia  City,  Nev.,  where  he  remained 
about  two  years,  engaged  in  a  quartz 
mill.  In  May,  1864,  his  wife  returned 
to  Memphis,  and  Mr.  Bridges  followed 
about  four  months  later,  and  after  stay- 
ing there  a  short  time  they  returned  to 
Greene  county,  111.,  where  they  resided 
with  his  mother  about  two  years.  He 
then  purchased  85  acres  of  land  near 
the  old  homestead,  built  a  house,  and 
resided  there  about  five  years.  After 
his  mother's  death,  he  bought  out  the 
heirs,  and  moved  on  to  the  homestead, 
where  he  resided  the  remainder  of  his 
lifetime.  His  marriage  occurred  Oct. 
11,  1860,  when  he  was  united  with  Lena 
Hudnall,  daughter  of  Dr.  Moses  L.  and 
Minerva  (Henderson)  Hudnall.  This 
union  was  blessed  with  six  children, 
three  of  whom  are  living — Helen,  Arch- 
ibald and  Jessie.  Those  deceased  are — 
Edgar,  Nellie  and  Ruth.  Mr.  Bridges 
was  elected  sheriff  of  Greene  county, 
Nov.  21,  1874,  and  served  four  years.  In 
1878  he  was  elected  to  the  house  of  rep- 


resentatives, and  to  the  senate  in  1882. 
When  elected  senator,  his  majority  was 
2,300.  Mr.  Bridges  took  his  senatorial 
seat  at  the  commencement  of  the  ses- 
sion, in  Jan.,  1883,  and  as;ain,  in  1885, 
for  his  second  term;  but  during  the  ex- 
citement, then  at  its  highest  pitch,  over 
the  election  of  a  U.  S.  senator,  he  was 
stricken  down  with  paralysis,  and  died 
March  20,  1885.  He  was  a  very  promi- 
nent man,  active  in  politics,  who  made 
many  friends  and  few  enemies,  and  stood 
high  in  the  estimation  of  all  who  knew 
him.  He  left  a  farm  of  245  acres,  which 
is  now  owned  and  controlled  by  his 
widow,  Mrs.  Lena  Bridges,  an  intelli- 
gent lady,  who  is  a  devout  member  of 
the  Episcopal  church  at  Carrollton. 

Joseph  S.  Carr  is  a  native  of  St. 
Charles,  Mo.,  where  he  was  born  in  the 
year  1832.  His  parents  were  John 
Carr,  a  native  of  Lexington,  Ky.,  and 
Elizabeth  Mary  Ann  (Sumner)  Carr, 
who  was  born  in  North  Carolina.  John 
Carr  was  murdered  in  the  Old  City  Ho- 
tel, at  St.  Louis,  in  1840.  Mrs.  Carr 
died  in  1873.  The  subject  of  this  sketch 
was  reared  in  St.  Charles,  receiving  a 
liberal  education,  and  graduating  at  the 
old  St.  Charles  College.  In  1869,  he 
came  to  Illinois,  and  located  in  Kane, 
Greene  county,  where  he  engaged  in 
the  practice  of  law  until  1883.  He  then 
removed  to  Jersey  county,  continuing 
the  practice  of  his  profession  in  Jersey- 
ville,  where  he  now  resides.  May  10, 
1857,  he  was  united  in  marriage  with 
Georgie  Ann  Logan,  a  native  of  Calk- 
way  county,  Mo.  They  had  11  children, 
nine  of  whom  are  now  living — Bettie 
E.,  Lois,  Ernest  H.,  Louis  M.,  John, 
Josephine,  Fritz,  Festus,  and  Georgie 
E.     He  was  bereaved  by  the   death  of 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


68a 


his  wife,  in  1881,  and  in  1883,  was  mar- 
ried to  Etta  Cory,  a  native  of  Jersey 
county.  By  this  marriage  there  is  one 
child— Etta  May.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Can- 
are  members  of  the  M.  E.  church.  In 
1881,  Mr.  Carr  was  chosen  to  represent 
his  district  in  the  state  legislature  and 
served  one  term.  He  is  deputy  grand 
m  s  er  of  the  state  in  the  I.  0.  0.  F., 
and  a  member  of  the  K.  of  H.,  also  of 
the  K.  of  P. 

David  Pierson,  the  pioneer  banker, 
was  born  inCazenovia,  Madison  county, 
N.  Y.,  July  '■),  1806,  and  is  a  sun  of 
Josiah  and  Naomi  Pierson.  When  13 
years  of  age  Ids  parents  immigrated 
west,  arriving  at  St.  Louis,  Mo.,  on  the 
3d  of  June,  1820,  and  after  a  short 
sojourn  removed  across  into  Illinois, 
locating  near  Collinsville,  Madison 
county.  In  1821,  his  father,  Josiah, 
died  of  bilious  fever,  after  an  illness  of 
only  five  days,  leaving  bis  widow  ami  a 
family  of  Jive  children — two  daughters 
and  three  sons — in  a  strange  land  and 
among  strangers,  in  rather  destitute 
circumstances.  After  the  death  of  Mr. 
Pierson,  the  family  removed  to  Greene 
county,  settling  two  and  a  half  miles 
north  of  Carrollton,  about  the  close  of 
the  year  1821.  In  the  spring  of  1827, 
after  having  got  a  portion  of  the  farm 
into  a  state  of  cultivation,  David 
rented  it  out,  and  with  others,  went  to 
the  lead  mines  near  Galena,  and  en- 
gaged in  mining,  but  returned  to  the 
farm  in  the  fall  of  1828,  where  he  re- 
mained with  his  mothertmtil  her  death, 
in  Sept.,  1829.  On  the  25th  of  Aug., 
1830,  Mr.  Pierson  was  married  to  Eliza 
J.  Norton,  a  daughter  of  David  Norton, 
an  early  settler  of  Illinois,  from  Her- 
kimer county,    N.   Y.,    who  continued 


the  faithful,  trusting  partner  of  his  joys 
and  sorrows  for  over  50  years.  Mr. 
Pierson  continued  to  reside  upon  his 
farm  until  the  beginning  of  1834,  when 
he  disposed  of  the  same  and  entered 
into  the  merchandising  business  in  the 
then  village  of  Carrollton,  with  a  capital 
of  less  than  $2,000,  coming  into  compe- 
tition with  several  experienced  mer- 
chants who  were  worth  many  times  as 
much  as  he  was.  In  politics  Mr.  Pier- 
son was  from  early  youth  a  Clay  whig, 
but  with  the  disruption  of  that  party  he 
became  a  republican,  and  acted  with 
the  Union  party  during  the  war  of  the 
Rebellion.  In  1843,  he  extended  his 
business  operations  largely,  purchasing 
stock  and  grain,  sometimes  on  a  large 
scale.  From  1848  to  1854,  he  was  the 
owner  of  the  capital  and  the  leading 
member  of  the  firm  of  Mark,  Pierson  & 
Co.,  who,  in  addition  to  the  dry  goods 
trade,  did  a  large  business  in  the  pur- 
chase and  shipment  of  grain.  About 
the  commencement  of  the  year  1854, 
Mr.  Pierson  closed  his  connection  with 
the  firm  and  entered  into  the 
banking  business  in  connection  with 
the  dry  goods  trade.  In  1855  his 
banking  business  had  increased  so 
much  that  he  procured  a  ne.v  sal'  , 
happily  just  before  the  night  of  the  :;<i 
of  April,  1855,  when  a  gang  of  robbers 
from  Calhoun  county,  broke  into  the 
store,  probably  hoping  to  obtain  a  large 
amount  of  gold  belonging  to  the  sheriff 
of.  the  county;  but  fortunately,  they 
were  unable  to  force  the  safe,  and  es- 
caped with  only  about  $280,  which  they 
found  in  the  desk.  Mr.  Pierson  imme- 
diately raised  a  company  of  10  men, 
crossed  over  into  Calhoun,  and  captured 
the  whole  gang,  five  in  number,    all  of 


(1S.| 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


whom  were  finally  convicted,  and  landed 
in  the  penitentiary.  It  was  said  by  the 
slate's  attorney,  that  he  manifested  a 
large  amount  of  skill,  not  only  in  cap- 
turingthe  robbers,  but  in  having  them 
convicted.  In  Jan.,  1858,  Mr.  Pierson 
disposed  of  the  dry  goods  business,  and 
turned  his  attention  exclusively  to 
banking,  and  in  1859,  erected  the  large 
and  commodious  house  which  has  since 
been  occupied  by  the  bank.  He  was 
appointed  special  agent  for  the  sale  of 
United  States  bonds,  during  the  time 
the  government  was  borrowing  money 
to  crush  out  the  rebellion,  and  while 
many  who  sympathized  with  the  South, 
opposed  and  ridiculed  the  idea  of  loan- 
ing money  to  the  government,  to  coerce 
our  southern  brethren,  Mr.  Pierson  suc- 
ceeded in  selling  about  $600,000  worth 
of  b  >nds  of  the  different  issues,  to  the 
citizens  of  the  county.  He  was  also 
collector  of  internal  revenue  for  sev- 
eral years,  and  paid  more  taxes  for  the 
poor  than  the  receipts  of  his  office 
amounted  to.  In  1862,  Mr.  Pierson 
purchased  the  Carrollton  flouring  mill, 
which  he  ran  with  great  success  for 
some  years.  In  1862-3  he  aided  in 
building  a  woolen  factory,  which  was 
destroyed  by  lire  in  the  fall  of  1872 
causing  a  severe  loss  to  him.  Mr.  Pier- 
son and  wife  are  members  of  the  Bap- 
tist church,  having  been  connected  with 
that  organization  since  1832.  Mr.  Pier- 
son was  a  director  of  the  construction 
company,  in  the  building  of  the  L.,  C. 
&  W.  R.  R.,  and  at  present  owns  $10,- 
000  worth  of  the  stock,  and  is  also  vice- 
president,  chairman,  and  financial  agent 
of  the  same.  His  wife  died  May  11, 
1879.  Four  children  survived  her — 
Oman,  David  D.,  Robert  and   Mary  J. 


And  now,  taking  into  view  the  poor  pi- 
oneer boy,  shivering  with  chills  and 
fever,  in  the  rough  log  cabin,  partaking 
of  the  humble  fare  of  the  backwoods- 
man, more  than  50  years  ago,  and  what 
he  accomplished  in  life,  it  can  but 
raise,  in  the  estimation  of  all  good 
men,  the  straightforward  principles  that 
has  actuated  his  business  career  through 
life.  He  is,  ostensibly,  a  self-made 
man,  and  needs  no  eulogy  at  our  hands, 
as  the  work  of  his  life  speaks  more  elo- 
qni  ntly  for  itself. 

Under  the  newapportionment,in  1882, 
Greene,  together  with  the  counties  of 
Scott  and  Jersey,  was  placed  in  the 
37th  district  and  in  the  33d  general 
assembly,  which  met  in  Jan.  1883,  the 
new  district  was  represented  in  the 
senate  by  Frank  M.  Bridges.  Walter 
E.  Carlin,  George  W.  Murray  and  John 
H.  Coats,  were  the  representatives  in 
the  house.  Most  of  these  gentlemen 
are  noticed  elsewhere  in  this  volume. 

The  general  assembly  conveyed  Jan. 
I>,  1885,  and  in  its  senate  contained 
Frank  M.  Bridges,  but  in  the  latter  part 
of  March,  that  gentleman  dying  while 
in  the  discharge  of  his  duties  in  Spring- 
field. Robert  H.  Davis  was  elected  to 
succeed  him.  He  is  the  present  state 
senator.  In  the  house  the  district  was 
represented  by  Henry  C.  Massey  and 
Theodore  S.  Chapman,  of  Jersey  county, 
and  Byron  McEvers,  of  Scott  county. 

Hon.  Robert  H.  Davis  was  born  in 
Mercer  county,  Ky.,  now  known  as 
Boyle  county.  He  came  with  his  par- 
ents, Cyrus  A.  and  Diana  R.  (Montague) 
Davis,  to  Greene  county,  111.,  in  1832, 
and  here  grew  to  manhood,  being  edu- 
cated principally  in  private  schools. 
He  subsequently  removed  to  St.  Louis, 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY 


r,s.-, 


and  foT  nix  or  seven  years  was  a  clerk  in 
a  wholesale  dry  goods  house,  after 
which  he  entered  into  a  large  wholesale 
grocery  and  commission  business,  un- 
der the  firm  name  of  R.  II.  Davis  & 
Co.,  which  he  vigorously  continued  un- 
til 1867.  At  that  time  he  returned  to 
Carrollton,  and  in  1869,  with  J.  B.  Mil- 
ton, as  partner,  and  under  the  firm 
name  of  Davis  A-  Nulton,  engaged  in 
the  grain  trade.  When  Col.  Nulton 
withdrew,  Mr.  Davis  continued  alone 
until  1883,  when  he  became  manager 
of  the  grain  trade  of  1).  R  Sparks  & 
Co.,  and  also  associated  D.  M.  Fishback 
as  partner,  and  under  the  firm  style  of 
Fishback  &  Davis,  engaged  in  the  sale 
of  Hour,  feed,  fuel  andall  kinds  of  grain, 
except  wheat.  Feb.  4,  18  7,  .Mr.  Davis 
was  united  in  marriage  with  Mary  C. 
Newson,  of  Petersburg,  Va.,  whose 
death  occurred  Feb.  is.  1872,  leaving 
four  children — Anna  M,  Cornelia,  Liz- 
zie and  Roberta  L.  Politically,  Mr. 
Davis  is  a  democrat.  In  1872,  Mr. 
Davis  was  selected  by  a  oon-paHy  vote 
to  serve  the  city  of  Carrollton  as 
mayor.  On  retirement  from  that  office, 
he  ;tt  nded  quietly  to  his  large  inter- 
ests n  the  grain  trade  until  again  called 
upon  to  serve  as  mayor  in  LS77,  receiv- 
ing a  large  majority  of  the  votes  cast. 
In  1885  Mr.  Davis  was  honored  with  the 
election  to  succeed  Frank  M.  Bridges, 
as  state  senator,  whose  death  occurred 
in  March  of  this  year,  and  was  the 
unanimous  choice  of  the  voters  of  this 
district,  there  being  no  opposing  candi- 
date. Of  Senator  Davis'  short  term  in 
the  senate  the  Missouri  Republican  paid 
him  the  following  compliment  at  the 
close  of  the  34th  general  assembly: 
'This  general  assembly-contained  many 


good  and  reputable  men,  and  none  more 
so  than  Senator  Davis,  of  Greene,  who 
was   elected  to  fill  the  unexpired  term 

of  late  Senator  Frank  Bridges,  of  that 
county.  Mr.  Davis,  although  a  new 
member,  and  taking  his  seat  long  after 
the  work  of  the  session  had  begun, 
proved  a  most  careful  and  efficient  leg- 
islator, always  at  his  post  and  always 
on  the  right  side  of  those  questions  in 
which  the  people  are  most  interested. 
He  has  done  SO  well  for  the  short  term, 
his  constituents  would  render  a  deserved 
compliment  to  a  good  democrat  and  a 
faithful  senator  by  giving  him  a  long 
term."  While  a  resident  of  St.  Louis 
Mr.  Davis  was  four  years  a  director  of 
tin'  Mercantile  Library  Association,  and 
two  years  vice-president.  He  always 
manifested  an  active  interest  in  the 
same,  and  is  still  an  energetic  worker  in 
literary  affairs.  Mr.  Davis  is  a  cour- 
teous, sociable  and  agreeable  gentleman, 
is  a  warm  advocate  and  supporter  of 
the  temperance  cause,  but  not  a  prohi- 
bitionist. He  manifests  a  great  deal  of 
interest  in  anything  pertaining  to  edu- 
cational matters  and  its  advancement, 
and  is  now  serving  bis  sixth  years  as  a 
member  of  the  board  of  education,  and 
the  third  year  as  president  of  the  same. 
He  is  a  fori  aide  and  fluent  speaker  and 
always  commands  attention. 

CONSTITUTIONAL    CONVENTIONS. 

A  convention  for  the  purpose  of  draft- 
ing a  new  constitution  of  the  state  of 
Illinois,  convened  at  Springfield,  June 
7.  1847,  at  which  there  were  162  dele- 
gates present,  among  whom  were 
Franklin  Witt,  Linus  E.  Worcester  ami 
D.  M .  Woodson,  of  and  for  the  county 
of  Greene.     The   convention   adjourned 


use 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


Aug.  31,  1847.  The  constitution  drafted 
by  this  convention  was  submitted  to  the 
people  of  the  state  and  ratified  by  them 
March  6,  1848,  and  went  into  effect 
April  1,  of  the  same  year. 

A  convention  was  held  at  Springfield, 
commencing  Jan.  7,  1862,  which  lasted 
until  March  24,  of  that  year,  at  which 
were  75  delegates  from  the  state,  John 
M.  Woodson  representing  Greene  coun- 
ty. The  people  of  the  state  refused  to 
ratify  the  work  of  their  hands. 

The  present  constitution  is  the  work 
of  a  convention  held  for  that  purpose, 
which  assembled  at  Springfield,  Dec. 
13,  1869,  and  remained  in  session  until 
May  13,  1870.  Eighty-five  delegates 
were  present,  among  them  James  W. 
English  represented  the  county  of 
Greene.  The  constitution  so  drafted 
was  submitted  to  the  people  at  a  special 
election  held  on  the  2d  of  July.  1870, 
and  by  them  accepted,  and  went  into 
operation  Aug.  8,  1870.  A  sketch  of 
Mr.  English  will  be  found  further  on  in 
this  volume. 

COUNTY   JUDGES. 

When  the  county  of  Greene  was  or- 
ganized, in  1821,  this  office  was  simply 
a  probate  judge  or  justice,  and  had  no 
power  outside  of  these  matters.  The 
first  to  fill  the  position  was  John  G. 
Lofton,  who  entered  upon  the  discharge 
of  his  official  duties,  May  5,  1821.  A 
sketch  of  this  gentleman  occurs  in  the 
history  of  Jersey  county,  he  residing  in 
that  part  of  Greene  county  afterward 
included  in  Jersey.  He  held  the  office 
for  less  than  a  year. 

He  was  succeeded  by  Abram  Bow- 
man, in  1822.  This  gentleman  came 
from    Warren   county,    0.,    to    Greene 


county,  in  1820,  and  settled  on  a  farm 
west  of  Carrollton,  where  he  passed  the 
remainder  of  his  life.  He  had  a  family 
of  10  children,  and  some  of  his  descend- 
ants are  still  residents  of  this  county. 

A.  W.  Caverly  was  the  next  to  fill  the 
office,  being  elected  thereto  in  1823,  and, 
was  re-elected  in  1825,  filling  the  office 
for  the  term  of  four  years.  Mr.  Cav- 
erly was  one  of  the  prominent  and  early 
attorneys  of  this  section  of  the  state, 
and  is  mentioned  at  length  in  this  chap- 
ter, under  head  of  representatives  to  the 
general  assembly. 

In  1827,  Jehu  Brown  was  elected  to 
this  office,  and  was  re-elected  to  the  of- 
fice in  18211,  1831  and  1833,  filling  the 
position  satisfactorily  for  six  years.  He 
was  an  early  settler  in  what  is  now  Jer- 
sey county,  and  is  treated  of  it  in  that 
connection. 

Lewis  W.  Link  was  the  next  judge  of 
probate  of  Greene  county,  entering  upon 
the  duties  of  the  office  in  1835.  He  re- 
moved from  this  county  years  ago,  it  is 
believed  to  Missouri,  and  is  doubtless 
dead  by  this  time.  He  only  held  the 
office  for  two  years. 

Judge  Link  was  succeeded  by  David 
M.  Woodson,  in  1837.  This  latter  gen- 
tleman acted  in  this  capacity  for  two 
years.  A  sketch  of  Judge  Woodson  is 
given  at  length  in  the  chapter  in  re- 
lation to  the  courts  of  Greene  county, 
he  having  served  for  many  years  as  cir- 
cuit judge  in  this  region.  • 

In  1839  Calvin  Tunnell  was  elected  to 
to  the  office  of  probate  judge  and  served 
in  that  capacity  for  four  years.  He  was 
a  native  of  North  Carolina,  born  Octo- 
ber 4,  1791, and  was  one  of  the  large  fam- 
ily of  William  and  Mary  (Massey)  Tun- 
nell, who  were  married  in  1771,  in  Fair- 


/£  £  -t\   /JJ-        /&. 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


689 


fax  county,  Va.,  their  ancestors  being 
formerly  from  England.  When  their 
son  Calvin  was  only  four  years  old,  Mr. 
Tunnel!  and  his  wife  moved  to  Ander- 
son county,  Tenn.,  locating  on  a  wild 
tract  of  land  there,  where  he  made  a 
farm.  It  was  in  that  county  anil  state 
that  Calvin  was  educated,  his  learning 
being  such  as  the  schools  of  that  day  af- 
forded. Quite  early  in  life  he  became 
inured  to  the  toils  and  hardships  of 
frontier  life.  On  the  25th  of  August, 
1811,  he  was  married  to  Jane  Adair,  a 
native  of  West  Virginia,  born  July  28, 
1795.  After  his  marriage,  Mr.  Tunnell 
started  out  in  life  on  his  own  account, 
continuing  to  reside  there  until  1817. 
He  then  removed,  with  his  wife  and  two 
children,  to  Madison  county,  Illinois, 
where  they  staid  until  late  in  the  fall  of 
1818,  and  early  in  the  spring  of  1819, 
came  up  to  Greene  county.  Here  he 
located  on  a  piece  of  land  and  made  an 
improvement,  and  was  one  among  the 
early  settlers  of  the  township  where  he 
resided.  Like  the  majority  of  pioneers 
of  this  county,  he  came  here  very  poor. 
He  had  hardly  any  money,  and  but 
three  head  of  horses,  and  they  died  be- 
fore he  was  able  to  make  any  improve- 
ment;  and  in  order  to  break  up  his  first 
piece  of  ground,  he  found  it  necessary 
to  work  for  a  neighbor  by  the  day  to  get 
his  first  tram  of  oxen  to  plow  with.  A 
few  months  previous  to  making  a  set- 
tlement here,  he  came  and  selected  this 
piece  of  land,  and  by  some  it  has  been 
said  that  he  split  the  first  rails  north  of 
Macoupin  creek.  Mr.  Tunnell  and  wife 
had  fourteen  children,  nine  of  whom  are 
yet  living,  and  are  married  and  com- 
fortably settled  in  life.  Not  many  years 
after  they  came  to  Greene^  county,  'Mr. 


Tunnell  and  wTife  joined  the  Baptist 
church.  He  also  preached  a  few  Ber- 
moiis  in  the  earlier  part  of  his  pioneer 
life.  He  was  a  member  of  the  9th 
general  assembly  which  met  at  Vanda- 
lia,  in  1834—5,  and  also  of  the  14th  gen- 
eral assembly  of  1844-6,  and  when  the 
democratic  convention  met  in  1866,  his 
name  was  presented  for  the  same  posi- 
tion, but  was  positively  declined  by 
him.  He  died  on  the  7th  of  April,  1867, 
mourned  by  a  large  circle  of  friends  and 
regretted  by  all  who  knew  him. 

Mathias  S.  Link  succeeded  Judge  Tun- 
nell in  the  office  of  judge,  in  1843.  In 
1847  he  was  re-elected.  In  1849  he  was 
re-elected  again,  but  in  the  meantime 
the  office  had  become  a  much  more  im- 
portant one.  By  the  constitution  of 
1848,  the  county  commissioners'  court 
was  abolished,  and  a  county  court  con- 
sisting of  ;i  county  judge  and  two  asso- 
ciates, given  jurisdiction  over  the  fiscal 
and  other  affairs  of  the  county,  and  pos- 
sessing all  the  powers  of  the  commis- 
sioners' court,  as  well  as  attending  to 
probate  matters,  as  formerly.  Judge 
Link  with  Adam  I.  Whiteside  and  An- 
thony S.  Seely,  as  associates  were  the 
first  to  open  the  new  court,  which  they 
did  in  December,  1849.  Judge  Link 
served  in  this  office  four  years.  A  long 
time  ago  he  left  this  county,  and  is  sup- 
posed to  have  died  in  Missouri. 

C.  D.  Hodges,  one  of  the  most  prom- 
inent of  the  sons  of  Greene  county,  was 
elected  to  the  office  of  county  judge  in 
1853,  and  again  in  1857,  but  in  the  early 
part  of  1859  he  resigned  the  position  to 
accept  a  seat  in  the  United  States  con- 
gress, in  connection  with  which  posi- 
tion, a  sketch  of  this  worthy  gentleman 
is  given  in  detail. 


690 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY 


On  the  resignation  of  Judge  Hodges, 
in  Feb.,  1859,  a  special  election  was 
held  to  fill  the  vacancy,  which  resulted 
in  elevating  Thomas  H.  Boyd  to  the 
place.  He  was  re-elected  in  1861,  and 
again  in  1865.  serving  in  this  capacity 
nearly  eight  years,  he  resigning  the  po- 
sition in  the  fall  of  1866.  He  was  a  na- 
tive of  Alexandria,  Va.,  born  in  1817. 
His  father,  John  Boyd,  was  a  saddler 
and  harness-maker  by  trade,  who  mar- 
ried Mary  Kirk,  a  native  of  Philadel- 
phia, Pa.  In  an  early  day,  they  moved 
to  Washington  city,  where  they  passed 
the  remainder  of  life.  Thomas  was  but 
10  years  old  when  he  accompanied  an 
emigrant  train  to  Illinois,  in  1834.  At 
25  he  entered  into  the  mercantile  busi- 
ness at  Columbiana,  Greene  county, 
where  he  started  a  small  store,  and  be- 
came a  dealer  in  cord-wood,  and  also  a 
successful  grain  shipper.  He  transacted 
a  good  business  here  until  1S56.  About 
this  time  he  married  Mary  Ann  Ellis,  a 
native  of  North  Carolina.  By  this  union 
there  were  six  children,  of  whom  three 
are  living — Oily  A.,  Carrie  and  Thomas. 
In  1859  Mr.  Boyd  was  elected  probate 
judge;  faithfully  discharging  the  mani- 
fold duties  of  this  office,  he  received  a 
re-election.  In  1872  he  was  elected  by 
a  large  majority  to  the  state  legislature, 
serving  four  sessions. 

On  the  resignation  of  Judge  Boyd,  he 
was  succeeded  by  Alfred  Hinton,  in 
1866,  who  occupied  the  bench  until 
1869.  He  was  succeeded  in  that  year 
by  John  Ruyle,  one  of  the  early  settlers 
of  Greene  county.  He  was  born  in 
Jacksonville,  111,,  April  2,  1824.  His 
father,  who  was  a  native  of  Davidson 
county,  Tenn.,  was  born  in  1793.  His 
chances  for  obtaining  an  education  were 


extremely  limited,  so  that  he  could  only 
read  print  and  write  his  name.  He  was 
reared  on  a  farm,  and  engaged  in  agri- 
cultural pursuits,  in  Sumner  as  well  as  in 
Davidson  county,  Tenn.  When  about 
22  years  of  age,  he  was  married  to  Lucy 
Dyer,  daughter  of  Edward  Dyer,  form- 
erly of  Virginia.  For  about  8  years  after 
his  marriage,  he  remained  in  Tennessee, 
engaged  in  farming;  but  being  an  anti- 
slavery  man  by  instinct,  though  born  in 
a  slave  state,  he  left  his  native  state  in 
order  to  found  a  home  where  his  chil- 
dren might  not  be  brought  in  contact 
with,  or  exposed  to  the  influences  of, 
slavery.  Consequently,  in  1823,  he 
started  for  Illinois,  and  on  the  3d  of 
November  of  that  year,  without  a  single 
dollar  in  his  possession,  he  arrived  at 
Mauvaisterre  creek,  Morgan  county. 
The  subject  of  this  sketch  was  born  the 
following  year,  at  the  location  of  his 
father,  in  Morgan  county.  For  the  first 
seven  years  of  his  life  he  was  without 
any  means  of  obtaining  an  education,  as 
there  was  not  a  single  school-house  or 
church  in  the  neighborhood.  In  1830, 
when  John  was  six  years  of  age,  Mr, 
Ruyle  removed  to  Greene  county,  and 
located  in  Mount  Airy  precinct.  In 
this  locality  John  Ruyle  attended  school 
for  the  first  time.  His  first  teacher, 
Western  Scruggs,  labored  faithfully 
with  him,  and  implanted  in  his  young 
mind  many  principles  which  he  never 
forgot.  His  education  was  wholly  ob- 
tained in  the  common  schools  of  Greene 
county,  and,  by  studying  at  nights  and 
at  odd  times,  he  was  fitted,  in  a  great 
measure,  for  the  honorable  career  which 
has  marked  his  maturer  years.  On  the 
14th  of  Feb.,  1848,  Mr.  Ruyle  was  mar- 
ried to  Elizabeth  Whitlock,  daughter  of 


Charles  Whitlock,  an  early  settler  of 
Mount  Airy  precinct.  Immediately 
after  marriage,  he  commenced  farming 
on  his  own  account,  and  his  career  as  a 
farmer,  we  might  say,  dates  from  his 
marriage.  In  1844  he  was  elected  con- 
stable, and  his  journeys  as  an  officer 
often  extended  over  a  large  portion  of 
the  county.  In  1849  he  made  his  first 
purchase  of  land — a  tract  containing 
about  40  acres.  In  this  year,  also,  he 
received  from  Gov.  French  a  commis- 
sion as  a  second  lieutenant  in  the  18th 
Regt.  111.  Mil.  This  was  at  the  period 
of  the  Mexican  war.  Previous  to  this 
he  had  volunteered  in  the  1st.  111. 
Regt.,  and  started  to  go  to  Mexico,  but 
on  account  of  sudden  illness,  contracted 
at  Alton,  was  discharged,  and  returned 
home.  In  1853,  Mr.  Ruyle  was  elected 
a  justice  of  the  peace  for  his  precinct, 
and  his  career  as  a  justice  extended  over 
a  period  of  12  years.  In  1861  he  was 
elected  associate  justice  of  the  county 
court.  His  term  of  four  years  was  very 
acceptable  to  the  people  at  large,  as 
they  regarded  him  as  an  honest,  upright 
and  high-minded  magistrate.  In  1869 
he  received  the  nomination  of  the  dem- 
ocratic party  for  county  judge,  and  was 
elected  by  a  very  large  majority.  He 
died  in  1876. 

In  1873  the  county  commissioners  be- 
ing again  vested  with  the  power  of  gov- 
ernment, the  office  of  county  judge  was 
divested  of  some  of  its  prerogatives,  but 
still  remained  a  very  important  office. 
Linus  E.  Worcester  was  elected  this 
year,  and  occupied  the  bench  until  1882, 
a  most  efficient  and  able  officer.  Mr. 
Worcester  lias  already  been  noticed,  at 
length,  in  this  chapter. 

Judge  Leander  R.  Lakin,  the  present 


incumbent  of  the  office  of  county  judge 
was  elected  in  1882. 

Judge  Leander  R.  Lakin,  among  the 
most  prominent  of  Greene  county's 
citizens,  was  born  in  this  county,  Dec. 
17,  1847,  his  parents  being  Jordan  and 
Eliza  Ann  (Myers)  Lakin,  the  former  a 
native  of  Ohio,  the  latter  of  Pennsylva- 
nia. His  father  was  born  Dec.  1,  1817, 
and  was  a  son  of  John  M.  Lakin.  He 
received  his  education  in  the  common 
schools  of  Fidelity,  O..  and  was  reared 
to  the  duties  of  farm  life.  In  1827  they 
came  to  Illinois,  lojating  in  Greene 
county,  on  section  35,  near  what  is  now 
the  village  of  Berdan,  where  Jordan 
was  occupied  at  farming.  He  was 
united  in  marriage  with  Eliza  A.  Myers' 
and  by  this  union  there  were  nine  child- 
ren, of  whom  our  subject  was  the  young- 
est son.  In  1861  he  organized  Co.  II, 
91st  111.  Inf.,  and  proceeded  to  the  front 
with  the  rank  of  captain.  He  partici- 
pated in  the  battle  at  Elizabethtown, 
against  Morgan,  and  there  became  dis- 
tinguished for  his  great  bravery.  He 
resigned  before  the  close  of  the  Rebellion 
and  returned  to  his  home  in  Greene 
county,  where  he  engaged  in  farming 
until  death  called  him  to  his  happy 
home,  July  29,  1869.  He  was  buried  at 
the  Hopewell  cemetery,  near  the  old 
homestead,  and  a  fine  monument  was 
erected  to  the  memory  of  one  who  stood 
high  in  the  estimation  of  all.  Leander's 
mother,  a  daughter  of  Jacob  and  Sarah 
(Rogers)  Myers,  died  May  30,  1860.  She 
was  known  for  her  gentleness  of  dispo- 
sition and  her  kindness  to  the  poor  and 
needy,  and  was  beloved  by  all  who 
knew  her.  Judge  Lakin  was  educated 
in  the  common  schools  of  this  county, 
and  engaged  in   farming  until  his  elec- 


692 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


tion  a?  county  clerk,  in  Nov.,  1873.  He 
served  thai  term  with  such  ability  and 
gave  such  satisfaction  that  he  was  again 
elected  in  1877  to  fill  the  same  import- 
ant position.  At  the  expiration  of  that 
term  of  office  he  was,  in  Nov.,  1882, 
elected  to  the  office  of  county  judge,  in 
which  capacity  he  is  now  officiating. 
He  was   united  in  marriage,    Nov.    28, 

1874,  with  Henrietta  Sayles  Brace,  a 
daughter  of  Dr.  and  Emily  (Sayles) 
Brace,  both  natives  of  New  York  state. 
This  marriage  has  been  blessed  with 
five  children,  four  of  whom  are  living — 
Jesse,  Jordan,  Eliza  and  Emily.  The 
one  deceased  is    Leela,    born   in   Dec, 

1875,  died  in  Aug.,  1877,  and  is  buried 
in  the  Carrollton  cemetery.  Judge 
Lakin  is  one  of  our  most  liberal  minded 
citizens,  and  his  past  life  has  been 
characterized  by  official  ability,  and  by 
a  generosity  of  spirit  which  makes  for 
him  many  friends. 

COUNTY    CLERK. 

During  the  first  years  of  the  county's 
existence,  this  office  was  more  generally 
known  as  the  clerk  of  the  county  com- 
missioners' court,  and  has  always  been 
one  of  the  most  important  offices  in  the 
county.  The  first  to  fill  it  was  Samuel 
Lee,  Jr.,  who  was  appointed  to  the  of- 
fice at  the  first  meeting  of  the  commis- 
sioners, in  1821.  He  held  this,  and 
several  other  offices  until  his  death, 
which  occurred  in  1829.  He  was  a  man 
of  considerable  ability,  and  had  the  re- 
spect and  esteem  of  all,  and  at  one  time 
held  the  position  of  county  clerk,  clerk 
of  the  circuit  court,  county  record  r, 
justice  of  the  peace,  notary  public  and 
postmaster  of  Carrollton. 

On  the  death  of  Mr.  Lee,  the  commis- 


sioners appointed  George  P.  Kenrcv  to 
the  position  of  county  clerk,  which  he 
filled  until  June,  1832,  when  he,  too, 
was  removed  by  the  hand  of  death.  On 
his  dying,  the  commissioners  appointed 
Edward  D.  Baker,  as  clerk,  pro  tern. 
This  was  afterward  the  famous  senator 
from  Oregon,  and  colonel  of  the  1st 
Cal.  Reg,  who  was  killed  at  the  battle 
of  Ball's  Bluff,  while  acting  brigadier- 
general.  He  was  brought  up  in  Greene 
county,  although  of  English  birth. 

Mortimer  Kennett  was  appointed  to 
this  position  in  1832,  to  succeed  Mr. 
Baker.  He  occupied  the  place  until 
Jan.,  1834,  when  he  was  removed,  by 
the  same  power  that  appointed  him,  and 
Moses  O.  Bledsoe,  at  that  time  clerk  of 
the  circuit  court,  appointed  in  his 
stead.  To  this  removal  Mr.  Kennett 
demurred,  and  contested  the  matter  for 
a  short  time,  but  finally  gave  it  up. 
Mr.  Bledsoe  acted  as  county  clerk  until 
the  fall  of  1837.  He  is  noticed  under 
head  of  circuit  clerk,  further  on,  an 
office  which  he  filled  for  many  years. 

On  the  27th  of  Sept.,  1837,  James 
Reno  was  inducted  into  this  office,  but 
held  it  only  about  six  weeks,  resigning 
it  on  the  17th  of  Oct.,  1837.  Mr.  Reno 
was  a  noted  hotel  keeper  of  Carrollton, 
in  those  early  days. 

R.  \V.  English  was  appointed  to  fill 
out  the  term  until  the  next  election,  and 
entered  upon  the  duties  of  the  office, 
which  he  followed  for  a  month  or  two. 
He  is  noticed  elsewhere. 

Philip  N.  Rampy  was  the  next  incum- 
bent, being  elected  in  1837,  and  served 
nearly  two  years. 

On  the  2d  of  Sept.,  1839,  William 
Carlin  entered  upon  the  duties  of  this 
office,    and    continued     therein     until 


: — ; 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


693 


March  4,  1S47,  when  lie  resigned  the 
same.  Mr.  Carlin  was  a  native  of 
Fredericksburg,  Va.,  born  May  31, 
1804,  and  was  a  brother  of  Thomas 
Carlin,  governor  of  Illinois.  Mr.  Car- 
lin, while  quite  young,  removed  with 
his  parents  to  the  territory  of  Illinois, 
and  settled  at  the  Wood  river  settle- 
ment in  Madison  county,  where  they 
resided  several  years.  In  the  fall  of 
1820,  William  became  a  citizen  of 
Greene  county,  and  purchased  a  piece 
of  land  near  Carrollton.  On  the  6th  of 
Dec,  1826,  he  was  united  in  marriage 
with  Mary  Goode,  also  a  native  of  Vir- 
ginia. Politically  a  democrat  he  was 
always  a  favorite  with  his  party.  He 
was  elected  to  the  above  office  as  men- 
tioned. On  his  resignation  he  retired 
to  his  farm  eight  miles  west  of  Carroll- 
ton.  In  1848,  while  on  his  way  to  New 
Orleans  with  stock,  he  was  nominated 
by  the  democratic  party  for  the  office  of 
circuit  clerk,  and  elected.  He  entered 
upon  the  duties  of  this  office  in  Dec, 
1848,  and  while  serving  in  this  capacity 
was  cut  off  by  the  hand  of  death,  on 
the  20th  of  April,  1850.  No  man  in  the 
county,  perhaps,  had  the  esteem  of  his 
fellow-citizens  to  a  greater  degree  than 
he,  and  his  death  was  mourned  by  all. 

On  the  resignation  of  Mr.  Carlin,  on 
March  4,  1847,  Francis  P.  Vedder  was 
appointed  to  till  the  vacancy.  In  Sep- 
tember of  the  same  year  he  was  elected 
for  a  full  term,  and  re-elected  to  the 
same  office  in  1849,  1853  and  1857,  thus 
holding  the  office  for  14  years  and  six 
months. 

In  1861,  W.  A.  Davis  was  inducted 
into  this  important  office,  and  served 
for  four  years. 

William  A.   Davis,  deceased,  at  one 


time  the  most  active  business  man  in 
Carrollton,  engaged  in  the  mercantile 
business  in  1852,  being  then  22  years  of 
age.  He  engaged  in  handling  grain, 
pork-packing  and  in  purchasing  all 
kinds  of  country  produce,  and  this  con- 
tinued until  1865,  when  he  sold  out 
here,  and,  going  to  St.  Louis,  opened 
up  a  commission  house,  which  business 
he  carried  on  until  his  death.  He  was 
married  in  1858  to  Louisa  Hodges, 
daughter  of  Judge  C.  D.  and  Ellen 
(Hawley)  Hodges.  Judge  Hodges  was 
a  native  of  Maryland.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Davis  were  the  parents  of  three  chil- 
dren— Jennie,  Charles  H.  and  Ella, 
wife  of  W.  C.  Wertheimer,  of  St.  Louis- 
In  1861,  Mr.  Davis  was  elected  to  the 
office  of  county  clerk,  which  position 
he  filled  for  a  term  of  four  years,  with 
honor  to  himself,  and  satisfaction  to 
all.  He  was  regarded  as  a  man  of  per- 
haps the  finest  business  tact  in  the 
county,  and  at  the  time  of  his  death, 
being  then  only  in  his  36th  year,  had 
amassed  a  fine  property.  Mr.  Davis 
was  a  member  of  the  Masonic  fraternity. 
He  fell  a  victim  to  that  dread  scourge, 
cholera,  and  was  deeply  mourned,  not 
only  by  his  family  and  immediate  re- 
latives, but  by  the  people  generally, 
throughout  the  county.  His  widow  is 
still  a  resident  of  Carrollton. 

G.  W.  Davis  was  the  next  to  occupy 
the  office  of  county  clerk.  He  entered 
upon  the  duties  of  the  office  in  1865, 
and  was  re-elected  in  18(1'.),  serving  the 
people  in  that  capacity  for  eight  years. 

George  W.  Davis,  aprominent  citizen 
of  Carrollton,  was  horn  in  Woodville 
township,  Greene  county,  111.,  Aug.  9, 
1839.  He  is  a  son  of  Dr.  Cyrus  A.  and 
Diana  R.  (^Montague)   Davis,  his    father 


a  native  of  Kentucky,  and  his  mother  of 
Virginia.  They  were  early  settlers  here 
and  a  sketch  of  their  lives  will  appear 
in  this  volume.  George  was  educated 
in  the  district  schools  of  his  native  place, 
and  afterward  clerked  in  his  brother's 
store  for  some  time,  but  upon  the  elec- 
tion of  his  brother  to  the  office  of  county 
clerk,  he  was  appointed  by  him  to  the 
position  of  deputy.  He  was  thus  em- 
ployed duringthat  term  of  office,  and  in 
1865  was  himself  elected  county  clerk, 
and  in  1869  was  re-elected  to  the  same 
important  office.  At  the  expiration  of 
that  term  Mr.  Davis  engaged  in  a  family 
grocery  business,  but  his  health  failing 
him  he  was  obliged  to  retire  from  busi- 
ness for  a  few  years.  In  April,  1883, 
he  became  connected  with  that  thriving 
institution,  the  Carrollton  Bank,  as  its 
president,  a  position  he  still  holds. 
Dec.  27,  1865,  Mr.  Davis  was  united  in 
marriage  with  Jennie  Lane,  of  Louis- 
ville, Ky.,  a  daughter  of  W.  F.  and  Lo- 
retta  (Baker)  Lane.  They  have  an 
adopted  child  in  their  family — Mattie 
L.  Mr.  Davis  was  a  member  of  the 
school  board  for  some  years,  and  was 
the  principal  mover  in  the  erection  of 
the  very  fine  school  house  which  this 
city  can  now  boast  of;  he  also  superin- 
tended the  building  of  it.  For  12  years 
Mr.  Davis  has  been  secretary  of  the 
Agricultural  Association,  and  was  its 
president  for  two  years.  He  has  been 
pn-sident  of  the  L.,  C.  &  W.  R.  R.  Co., 
for  the  past  three  years.  He  is  a  mem- 
ber of  Carrollton  lodge  No.  50,  A.  F.  & 
A.  M.,  of  chapter  No.  77,  and  of  Hugh 
DePayen  commandery,  No.  29,  and 
has  occupied  the  highest  position  in 
each  of  these  lodges.  He  is  now  master, 
and  has  for  several  years  past  been  dis- 


trict deputy  for  the  22d  district.  Mr. 
Davis  is  a  member  of  the  Presbyterian 
church,  with  which  he  united  in  1857, 
and  since  1874  has  been  elder  therein. 

Leander  R.  Lakin  was  elected  to  the 
office  of  county  clerk  in  1873,  and  serv- 
ing to  the  general  satisfaction  of  the 
people  of  the  county,  was  re-elected  to 
the  same  office  in  1877,  by  a  majority  of 
1.337  over  two  candidates.  Mr.  Lakin, 
at  present,  occupies  the  important  posi- 
tion of  county  judge,  and  is  spoken  of 
in  that  connection. 

John  Jones,  the  present  occupant  of 
the  office  of  county  clerk,  was  elected 
to  this  office  in  1881,  and  has  occupied 
it  ever  since. 

Among  the  officers  of  Greene  county, 
none  are  more  worthy  of  notice  than 
the  worthy  county  clerk,  John  Jones,  a 
life-long  resident  of  this  county.  He 
was  born  on  the  old  homestead  of  his 
parents,  Josiah  and  Elizabeth  Jones,  in 
1839.  The  early  years  of  his  life  were 
spent  upon  the  farm,  situated  near 
Wilmington,  now  known  as  Patterson, 
where  he  obtained  a  liberal  education  in 
the  district  schools  of  his  native  place, 
and  afterward  attending  a  graded  school 
in  the  city  of  Jacksonville.  Proceeding 
to  Chicago,  he  later  entered  upon  a 
course  of  classical  studies.  In  the 
counties  of  Morgan  and  Sangamon,  Mr. 
Jones  for  some  time  followed  the  voca- 
tion of  school  teacher.  In  Aug.,  1862, 
he  enlisted  in  Co.  H,  91st  111.  Inf.,  and 
was  elected  second  lieutenant,  and 
served  in  that  rank  until  he  was  dis- 
charged, in  Oct.,  1863,  on  account  of 
disability.  Returning  from  the  service, 
he  was  united  in  marriage,  in  1865,  with 
Minerva  E.,  a  daughter  of  Lemuel  J. 
Patterson,  by  whom  five  children  have 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


695 


been  born — Minnie  F.,  Norman  L., 
Lucy  M.,  Howard  K.,  and  Cora  M.  In 
181)6,  Mr.  Jones  entered  into  partner- 
ship with  L.  J.  Patterson  and  James 
Howard,  for  the  transaction  of  a  general 
merchandising  business,  the  firm  name 
being  Jones,  Patterson  &  Co.  In  1871, 
the  firm  dissolved  by  mutual  consent, 
the  senior  member  retiring  to  his  farm, 
there  following  the  duties  pertaining  to 
this  independent  calling.  In  1868,  he 
was  elected  to  the  office  of  justice  of  the 
peace,  which  position  he  held  until 
Dec,  1872,  when  he  received  the  ap- 
pointment as  county  superintendent  of 
schools  and  deputy  sheriff.  In  the 
separate  capacities  he  proved  equal  to 
the  duties  incumbent  thereto,  serving 
two  years  as  deputy  sheriff  under  N.  J. 
Andrews,  and  two  years  under  F.  M. 
Bridges.  In  1876,  his  ability  was 
recognized  and  he  became  the  popular 
candidate  upon  the  democratic  ticket 
for  the  responsible  position  of  sheriff', 
being  elected  by  the  largest  majority 
ever  polled  for  the  sheriffs  office.  In 
1878,  by  the  earnest  wish  of  his  many 
friends,  he  accepted  the  nomination  to 
again  serve  in  this  capacity,  and  was 
re-elected.  In  July,  1880,  he  entered 
the  Farmer's  and  Drover's  bank,  at 
Roodbouse,  as  cashier.  In  1882,  he 
was  chosen  by  the  citizens  of  the  county 
to  represent  their  interests  as  county 
clerk,  in  which  capacity  he  still  serves 
with  his  characteristic  ability  and 
efficiency,  and  with  complete  satisfac- 
tion to  his  constituency.  Mr.  Jones  is 
a  member  of  the  board  of  education  in 
Carrollton,  is  a  member  of  the  Baptist 
church,  the  Masonic  fraternity,  and  the 
subordinate  and  encampment  of  the  I. 
0.  0.  F.  society. 


CLERK   OF   THE    CIRCUIT    COURT. 

Samuel  Lee,  Jr.,  was  the  first  to  fill 
this  responsible  position,  as  has  been 
already  stated,  being  appointed  in  1821, 
and  holding  the  same  until  his  death  in 
1829. 

Moses  0.  Bledsoe  was  his  successor, 
being  appointed  on  the  death  of  Mr. 
Lee,  in  1829.  One  of  the  most  able  men 
of  his  time,  he  was  continued  in  this 
office  until  1848.  He  afterward  removed 
to  Springfield,  111.,  where  he  died  many 
years  ago.  It  has  been  impossible  to 
gather  any  authentic  biographical 
sketch  of  this  truly  representative  man, 
as  most  of  his  friends,  who  were  ac- 
quainted with  his  antecedents,  have 
passed  to  the  other  shore. 

William  Carlin, for  many  years  county 
clerk,  was  the  third  to  occupy  this 
office.  While  away  from  home  he  was 
nominated  for  that  office  and  elected. 
He  entered  upon  the  duties  of  the  office 
and  remained  therein  until  his  death, 
as  mentioned  before.  He  was  one  of 
the  most  popular  men  of  his  time,  and 
enjoyed  the  respect  and  esteem  of  all. 
He  was  a  brother  of  Hon.  Thomas  Car- 
lin, governor  of  the  state  of  Illinois. 

Shortly  after  the  death  of  Mr.  Carlin, 
Judge  Woodson  appointed  his  son,  Thos. 
J.  Carlin, to  fill  out  the  unexpired  term, 
which  he  did  to  the  satisfaction  of  all, 
but  as  he  was  a  young  man,  he  felt  fear- 
ful of  running  for  the  office  the  next 
election,  preferring  to  give  way  to  older 
men,  and  bide  his  time. 

At  the  election  in  Nov.,  1850,  Z.  A. 
Morrow  was  chosen  to  (ill  the  office  of 
circuit  clerk. 

Zachariah  A.  Morrow  was  born  in 
Rutherford  county,  Tenn.,  Jan.  9,  1809, 
being  a  son  of  John  and  Mary  Morrow, 


696 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


the  former  of  whom  was  a  native  of 
North  Carolina,  and  the  latter  of  South 
Carolina.  Zachariah's  mother  died  in 
Tennessee,  in  1831,  and  his  father  came 
with  him  to  this  state,  and  made  his 
home  with  him,  until  his  death,  April 
13,  183-1.  Oct.  18,  1832,  Z.  A.  Morrow 
and  Rebecca  Eddelman,  daughter  of 
Boston  and  Sarah  Eddelman,  were 
united  in  marriage.  In  1828,  Mr.  M. 
made  a  prospecting  trip  to  thi,s  county, 
and  remained  one  year  with  his  uncle, 
William  Morrow,  at  Apple  creek  bridge. 
He  then  returned  to  Tennessee,  and  in 
1833  made  a  permanent  settlement  in  this 
county,  locating  on  a  farm  near  Whit- 
aker's  creek.  In  1835  he  entered  land 
in  the  northeast  part  of  the  county,  on 
Apple  creek,  where  he  resided  until 
1848.  In  Aug.  of  that  year,  he  was 
elected  sheriff,  and  at  the  expiration  of 
his  term  of  office,  was  elected  to  fill  a 
vacancy  in  the  office  of  circuit  clerk, 
occasioned  by  the  death  of  Win.  Carlin. 
After  serving  through  this  unexpired 
term,  he  was  again  elected  sheriff,  in 
the  fall  of  1852.  At  the  expiration  of 
his  official  life,  he  purchased  a  tract  of 
land  adjoining  the  town  of  Carrollton, 
and  laid  out  an  addition,  known  as 
Sharon,  Calvin  &  Morrow's  addition  to 
the  city  of  Carrollton.  In  the  winter  of 
1852,  Mr.  Morrow  and  wife  united  with 
the  Baptist  church,  and  for  several 
years  he  served  as  deacon.  Mrs.  Mor- 
row died  Nov.  13,  1871. 

Abram  Spencer  was  elected  circuit 
clerk  in  1X52,  and  re-elected  in  1856,  oc- 
cupying the  office  for  eight  years,  and 
was  an  efficient  servant  of  the  people. 

James  S.  Yedder  succeeded  Mr. 
Spencer,  in  1860,  and  served  the  peo- 
ple in  that  capacity  for  four  years. 


In  the  fall  of  18G4,  the  democratic 
convention  nominated  Thomas  J.  Car- 
lin for  circuit  clerk,  and  the  republican, 
Alfred  J.  Worcester.  Mr.  Carlin,  at 
the  November  election,  carried  the  day, 
winning  by  1,247  majority.  He  entered 
upon  the  duties  of  the  office,  and  was 
duly  re-elected  in  1868  and  1872. 

Thomas  J.  Carlin  was  born  in  Car- 
rollton, Greene  county,  111.,  Dec.  13, 
1827,  being  a  son  of  William  and  Mary 
(Goode)  Carlin.  William  Carlin  was  a 
brother  of  Gov.  Carlin,  and  was  a 
native  of  Fredericksburg,  Mo.,  having 
been  born  May  31,  1804.  With  his 
parents,  William  removed  to  Illinois  at 
an  early  day,  they  settling  in  Madison 
county.  In  the  fall  of  1820,  he  became 
a  resident  of  Greene  county,  buying  a 
tract  of  land  now  within  the  corporate 
limits  of  Carrollton.  On  the  6th  of 
Dec,  1826,  he  was  married  to  Mary 
Goode.  In  politics  he  was  a  democrat 
and  was  repeatedly  elected  to  the  office 
of  county  clerk,  serving,  in  all,  17 
years,  then  resigning.  After  serving 
his  term  of  office,  he  removed  to  his  farm 
near  Carrollton,  and  again  engaged  in 
farming.  Two  years  later,  while  away 
from  home,  he  was  nominated  by  the 
democrats  for  the  office  of  circuit  clerk. 
He  was  elected,  and  in  Dec,  1849,  re- 
moved to  Carrollton  and  assumed  the 
duties  of  the  office.  April  20,  1850,  he 
de*parted  this  life,  beloved  and  respected 
by  all  his  acquaintances.  Thomas  J. 
Carlin  attended  the  common  schools  of 
Greene  county,  and  on  the  death  of  his 
father,  Judge  Woodson  appointed  him 
circuit  clerk,  to  fill  the  vacancy  until 
the  next  general  election.  On  the  expi- 
ration of  the  term  he  was  appointed 
deputy   sheriff,  and  served   two  years. 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


697 


In  April,  1851,  he  was  married  to  Mary 
J.  Kelly,  of  Carrollton.  At  the  expira- 
tion of  his  service  as  deputy  sheriff,  he 
removed  to  the  farm  left  by  his  father. 
In  Nov.,  1864,  he  was  elected  to  the 
office  of  circuit  clerk,  and,  by  re-elec- 
tion, held  the  office  up  to  1880. 

J.  Henry  Short  was  elected  to  the 
office  in  1876,  and  filled  the  same  for 
four  years.  He  is  a  native  of  Greene 
county,  born  in  1839. 

His  early  years  were  spent  in  agricul- 
tural pursuits.  He  received  a  liberal 
education  in  the  common  schools  of  his 
native  place.  In  1863  he  was  united  in 
marriage  with  Lenora  Ferguson,  a 
daughter  of  G.  B.  and  Mary  Ferguson, 
whose  maiden  name  was  Maberry.  who 
were  among  the  early  settlers  of  Greene 
county.  Mr.  Short  became  a  successful 
farmer,  but  in  1876,  on  his  election  to 
this  office,  he  removed  to  Carrollton. 

T.J.  Albert  was  the  next  to  occupy 
this  post  being  elected  to  the  same  in 
1S80,  and  serving  four  years, 

Anthony  Connole,  the  present  incum- 
bent of  the  office,  was  elected  in  1884. 

Anthony  Connole  is  a  native  of  county 
Clare,  Ireland,  born  in  Ballyoaghan, 
July  3,  1842.  His  parents  reared  a  fam- 
ily of  seven  children,  two  of  whom  died 
in  Ireland.  Of  the  surviving  members  of 
the  family,  Thomas  removed  to  Aus- 
tralia; Mary  still  resides  in  Ireland, and 
Patrick,  Ann  and  Anthony,  came  to  the 
United  States.  The  latter,  who  crossed 
the  Atlantic  when  17  years  of  age, 
landed  in  the  city  of  New  Orleans. 
From  the  Crescent  city  he  made  his  way 
to  Carrollton,  where  he  first  worked  as  a 
farm  hand  for  David  Black, and  attended 
school  during  the  winter,  having  previ- 
ously received  a  liberal  education  in  his 


native  land.  When  the  war  broke  out 
Mr.  Connole  enlisted  in  Co.  F,  1st  Mo. 
Cav.,  and  subsequently  re-enlisted  as  a 
veteran  in  Co.  A,  53d  111.  Inf.,  and  was 
detailed  as  a  sergeant.  He  participated 
in  the  battles  of  Pea  Ridge,  Sugar 
Creek  Hill,  Ark.;  Nashville,  Thompson 
Station  and  Carter  Creek,  Tenn.;  Willis 
Cross  Roads,  N.  C,  and  Corinth,  Miss. 
After  the  close  of  the  war  he  returned 
to  Carrollton,  and  soon  afterward  pro- 
ceeded to  Springfield, where  he  officiated 
as  clerk  in  the  office  of  the  United 
States  marshal  until  1869.  He  then  re- 
turned to  Carrollton,  and  in  July  of  the 
same  year  was  married  to  Mary  Mark- 
ham, a  daughter  of  Matthew  and  Hannah 
Markham.  He  then  entered  into  mercan- 
tile business  at  Berdan, which  he  prose- 
cuted vigorously  until  1877,  when  he 
was  appointed  deputy  county  clerk 
under  L.R.Lakin,and  was  re-appointed 
to  that  position  under  John  Jones.  In  * 
Nov.,  1884,  he  was  chosen  by  the  citizens 
of  the  county  as  clerk  of  the  court  and 
recorder, which  position  he  still  retains, 
to  the  entire  satisfaction  of  his  constitu- 
ency. In  politics  Mr.  Connole  has 
always  affiliated  with  the  democratic 
party, and  is  a  member  of  the  A.O.U.W., 
and  G.  A.  R.  societies.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Connole  are  the  parents  of  six  children 
Mary  V.,  Michael  II.,  Lydia,  Anna, 
Anthony  E.  and  Mattie  L. 

COUNTY    TREASURERS. 

John  W.  Scott  was  the  first  treasurer 
of  the  county,  being  appointed  to  that 
office  by  the  county  commissioners' 
court  in  1821.  He  was  re-appointed  the 
following  year.  He  has  been  dead 
many  years. 

Luther  Tunnell  was  the   next  to  oc- 


698 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


eupy  the  office,  receiving  his  appoint- 
ment in  1823,  and  held  it  one  year. 

Jacoh  Linder  was  appointed  the  suc- 
cessor of  Mr.  Tunnell,  in  1824,  and 
served  three  years. 

In  1827,  J.  W.  Scott  was  again  ap- 
pointed to  this  office,  and  held  it  for  one 
year. 

He  was  succeeded  by  Cyrus  Tolman, 
in  1828,  and  held  it  for  one  year.  He 
was  a  native  of  Massachusetts,  born  in 
17U6.  Coining  westward  as  early  as  1817, 
he  proceeded  to  Utica,  in  the  state  of 
Indiana,  and  one  year  later,  though 
comparatively  without  means,  he  landed 
in  Edwardsville,  this  state,  and  first 
secured  employment  in  helping  toward 
the  survey  of  the  town  of  Gibralter.  In 
1821,  he  entered  a  piece  of  land  near 
the  present  town  of  White  Hall.  In 
connection  with  Carl  Gregory,  he  erected 
the  first  two  frame  blocks  in  Greene 
county.  Jan.  30,  1828,  he  was  married 
to  Polly  Eldred,  a  daughter  of  Jehoso- 
phat  and  Polly  Eldred.  In  1830  he  was 
elected  assessor  and  treasurer  of  Greene 
county,  receiving  for  his  services  $75. 
A  short  time  after,  he  was  elected  judge 
of  Greene  county,  and  in  1840,  moved 
to  Jerseyville,  where,  during  the  fall  of 
the  year,  he  was  elected  to  fill  the  same 
office.  As  a  farmer,  Judge  Tolman  was 
more  than  ordinarily  successful,  few  of 
the  old  settlers  having  come  to  the  state 
under  more  trying  circumstances.  Mrs. 
Tolman  passed  away  on  Oct.  17,  1860. 
Mr.  T.  was  laid  at  rest  in  1877,  after  a 
long  life  fraught  with  no  ordinary  in- 
terest. 

Richard  Rattan  was  the  successor  of 
Mr.  Tolman,  having  been  appointed  in 
1829,  and  again  in  1830.  He  held  the 
office  two  years. 


Philip  N.  Rampy,  appointed  treas- 
urer in  1831,  by  the  county  commis- 
sioners' court,  was  re-appointed  in  1832, 
and  held  the  office  for  a  term  of  two 
years. 

Richard  Day  was  the  treasurer  in  1833, 
holding  the  office  but  one  year. 

In  1834,  Richard  Rattan  was  again 
appointed  treasurer,  and  held  it  by  suc- 
cessive appointments  until  1837,  a  term 
of  three  years. 

He  was  succeeded  by  Amos  H. Squires, 
who  was  appointed  in  1837;  he  was  re- 
appointed in  1838,  1839,  1840,  1841   and 

1842,  but  in  March,  1843,  he  absconded 
with  some  $3,000  in  hand.  He  had  held 
offices  of  trust  before,  and  was  regarded 
as  one  of  the  most  upright  men  in  the 
community.  For  nearly  a  year  he  could 
not  be  found.  At  last  he  was  appre- 
hended for  trial,  and  in  the  April  term, 
1844,  the  county  brought  an  action  for 
debt  against  him  and  his  bondsmen, 
Alfred  Hinton,  John  W.  Scott,  Wylie 
Wilder,  William  Rainey  and  Young 
Wood.  The  suit  was  successful,  and 
the  county  obtained  a  verdict  of 
$3,038.48.  A  new  trial  was  granted,  and 
the  case  was  taken  to  Jersey  county. 
The  final  result  was  that,  by  means  of 
some  technicality,  Squires  escaped  pun- 
ishment, and  the  county  pocketed  the 
loss. 

On  the  absconding  of  Mr.  Squires, 
Luther  Tunnel  was  made  treasurer,  in 
March,  1843,  and  held  the  office  for  a 
few  months,  when  he  was  succeeded  by 
R.  B.  Allen,  the  first  elected  treasurer 
of  the  county,  who  was  chosen  to  fill 
that   position  at  the  general   election  of 

1843.  He  held  the  office  for  four  years. 
David  Pinkerton  was   elected  to  this 

office  as  the  successor   of  Mr.  Allen,  in 


the  fall  of  1847,  and  served  two  years. 
Mr.  Pinkerton  came  to  the  county  at  an 
early  date,  and  settled  on  Sec.  25,  T. 
10,  R.  12,  where  he  entered  500  acres  of 
land,  on  which  he  built  a  log  cabin.  He 
continued  to  reside  on  this  farm  until 
October  4, 1853,  when  he  departed  this 
life.  His  wife  survived  him  until  April 
6,  1863.  Mr.  Pinkerton  was  elected  to 
the  office  of  county  treasurer  in  the  fall 
of  1847,  and  in  the  discharge  of  the  du- 
ties of  the  office,  he  gave  entire  satis- 
faction to  the  people  of  the  county,  irre- 
spective of  political  faith,  and  his  death 
was  a  sad  blow  to  his  family  and 
friends. 

Id  1849,  Perry  McConathy  was  elected 
to  this  office  and  served  two  years.  Mr. 
McConathy  was  born  in  Lexington,  Ky., 
Aug.  17,  1813.  He  was  the  youngest 
son  of  Jacob  and  Eunice  McConathy. 
At  the  age  of  15  he  became  apprenticed 
to  the  trade  of  a  saddler,  serving  his 
time.  In  his  20th  year  he  became  a 
journeyman.  For  a  considerable  length 
of  time  he  worked  as  a  journeyman, 
and  also  opened  a  shop  for  a  time. 
While  a  resident  here,  he  was  married 
to  Matilda  Jane  Alverson.  In  1839,  he 
made  his  way  to  Greene  county,  where 
he  worked  in  a  co-partnership  way  with 
Benjamin  Alverson.  For  a  number  of 
years  he  rented  property,  and  then 
moved  on  to  the  farm  he  now  owns,  con- 
sisting of  some  .">(HJ  acres.  In  1846,  Mr. 
McConathy  was  appointed  agent  for  the 
International  Improvement  Fund.  His 
ability  for  any  position  he  might  aspire 
to  being  recognized,  he  was  elected  to 
the  responsible  office  of  county  assessor 
and  treasurer,  and  for  20  years  or  more 
served  as  justice  of  the  peace,  and  has 
held  the  position  of  notary  public.     As 


a  public  officer,  Mr.  McConathy  has 
left  behind  him  an  honest  record  which 
is  held  in  grateful  remembrance  by  the 
citizens  of  this  county.  In  conclusion, 
it  may  be  said  that  Mr.  M.  is  one  of 
the  most  liberal  of  men,  whose  large 
heart  goes  out  toward  all  appeals  of  a 
public  nature.  Of  14  children  born  of 
this  marriage,  11  are  living — -Benjamin 
F.,  John  M.,  Mary  Jane,  Emma  V., 
Clarissa,  Jacob,  Edgar,  Robert  Perry, 
Joseph  H.,  Samuel  R.  and  Lucy  A. 

Jesse  Morrow  was  elected  treasurer 
of  Greene  county,  in  1851,  and  served 
two  years.  He  was  born  in  North  Car- 
olina, Aug.  4,  1812,  and  removed  to  this 
state  in  the  fall  of  1819,  settling  within 
the  limits  afterward  contained  in  Greene 
county.  He  may  thus  be  regarded 
as  one  of  the  earliest  settlers,  and 
one  closely  identified  with  this 
county's  growth  and  development. 
He  was  married  Nov.  19,  1836,  to 
Margerie,  daughter  of  'Squire  Allen, 
of  Greene  county,  born  Dec.  17,  1817. 
This  union  was  blessed  by  two  children 
—Marshall,  born  April  28,  1838,  and 
Martha,  Jane,  born  June  28,  1840,  died 
Aug.  5,  1864.  Mrs.  Morrow  died  Aug. 
6,  1842.  Mr.  Morrow  married  again 
Nov.  19,  1845,  to  Elvira,  daughter  of 
Charles  and  Mary  Bradshaw,  born  Feb. 
22,  1821.  By  this  union  11  children 
were  born,  seven  of  whom  are  living — 
Alex  R.,born  Aug.  27.  1846;  George  \\\, 
Feb.  9,  1851;  Sarah  Ann,  Nov.  14,  1852; 
Nancy  E.,  Nov.  10,  1854;  John  B.,  July 
26,  1856;  Zac.  I).,  Sept.  15,  1838,  and 
Oliver  A.,  April  29,  1863.  Their  mother 
died  March  5,  1866.  Mr.  Morrow  mar- 
ried his  third  wife  Dec.  27,  1868, 
Nancy  Nettles,  born  Dec.  7,  1828.  Mr. 
Morrow,  during  the  greater  part  of  his 


7(H) 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


active  life,  has  been  engaged  in  the  mill- 
ing business,  havingfirst  bought  theold 
Ruyle  mill  nearly  40  years  ago.  lie 
has  been  rstired  from  active  business 
about  10  years.  He  held  various  posi- 
tions of  trust,  such  as  county  treasurer, 
superintendent,  justice  of  the  peace, 
etc.,  etc  ,  ever  discharging  his  duties 
satisfactorily  and  with  honor. 

E.  L.  Cooper  was  elected  to  this 
office  in  1857,  and  entering  upon  the 
discharge  of  its  duties,  was  re-elected  in 
1859.     He  served  in  all  four  years. 

Edmund  L.  Cooper  came  to  Greene 
county,  April  16,  1836,  settling  about  a 
mile  west  of  Wrightsville,  on  the  place 
now  owned  by  Mrs.  Margaret  Cooper, 
which  he  purchased  of  James  Davidson, 
but  which  was  originally  settled  by  Dr. 
Thaxton.  Mr.  Cooper  was  born  in 
Lawrence  county,  Va.,  Sept.  24,  1799. 
He  was  a  son  of  James  and  Mildred 
(Smith)  Cooper,  also  natives  of  Vir- 
ginia. When  six  years  of  age  our  sub- 
ject, with  his  parents,  removed  to  Ken- 
tucky, where  he  lived  until  coming  to 
this  county.  His  father  died  in  Ken- 
tucky, in  1826,  and  his  mother  in  1823. 
Edmund  Cooper  was  married,  in  Ken- 
tucky, Nov.  28,  1822,  to  Mary  M.  Perry, 
a  native  of  Lawrence  county,  Va.  They 
were  the  parents  of  nine  children — 
Mildred  A.,  deceased;  James  P.,  de- 
ceased; William  T.,  deceased;  Robert 
R.,  Emeline  E.,  Edmund  M.,  Adrienne 
A.,  Cornelia  F.,  deceased,  and  Varinda 
J.,  deceased.  Mr.  Cooper  was  assessor 
and  treasurer  of  the  county  during  the 
years  1853  and  1854.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Cooper  are  still  living,  and  make  their 
home  with  their  daughter,  Emeline  E. 
Cunningham.  They  are  about  the  old- 
est  couple    living   in   the    county,    the 


former  being  in  his  87th  year,  and  the 
latter  in  her  93d  year. 

William  L.  Greene  was  the  next 
treasurer  of  this  county,  being  elected 
in  1855.  He  was  re-elected  in  1857,  and 
again  in  1859,  serving  the  people  in  this 
capacity  for  six  years. 

N.  J.  Andrews,  in  1861,  entered  upon 
the  duties  of  this  office,  was  re-elected 
in  1863,  in  1865,  1867  and  1869,  filling 
the  office  for  10  years.  Mr.  Andrews 
was  born  in  Sumner  county,  Ky.,  in 
1830.  He  was  but  five  years  old  when 
his  mother,  Mary  T.  Andrews,  set  out 
in  company  with  friends  for  Illinois. 
His  father,  Baker  Andrews,  a  man  of 
wealth  and  position  in  his  native  place, 
died  in  Kentucky.  To  the  care  of  his 
wifj  he  left  a  family  of  six  children; 
M  is.  Andrews  became  a  resident  of  Car- 
rollton  in  1835,  where  Nathaniel  J.  An- 
drews, grew  to  manhood.  Receiving  a 
liberal  education,  he  ventured  forth  as  a 
farmer,  which  he  followed  very  success- 
fully many  years  of  his  life.  In  1861, 
he  was  elected  assessor  and  county 
treasurer,  a  position  he  filled  to  the 
satisfaction  of  all  for  a  period  of  10 
years.  With  Jas.  S.  Vedder,  Mr.  An- 
drews became  identified  with  the  grocery 
trade,  doing  a  prosperous  business  for 
one  year,  when  Mr.  Andrews  disposed 
of  his  interest  to  Mr.  Vedder.  The  fol- 
lowing year  he  was  elected  sheriff  of 
the  county,  holding  this  responsible 
position  two  years.  After  his  retire- 
ment from  official  duties.  Mr.  Andrews 
turned  his  attention  to  his  farm,  com- 
prising .".(H)  acres  of  choice  land.  In 
1852  he  was  married  to  Elizabeth 
Jones,  a  daughter  of  Dr.  Jones,  of 
Greene  county.  Of  11  children  born 
of  this  marriage,  nine  are  living — Cath- 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


701 


crine,  Benjamin  B.,  Lizzie,  JohnB., 
Mattie  V.,  Mary  H.,  Nathaniel  L., 
Lela  Belle,  and  Beatrice.  He  in  com- 
pany with  Col.  Jacob  Bowman,  laid 
out  the  town  knows  as  Brown's  Grove, 
Pawnee  county,  Kan. 

A.  M.  Browning  was  duly  elected 
county  treasurer  in  1871,  and  tilled  this 
responsible  office  for  a  term  of  two 
years. 

Joseph  Rickart  was  the  successor  of 
Mr.  Browning,  entering  the  office  of 
treasurer  in  the  fall  or  winter  of  ls7.">. 
where  he  served  two  years. 

Joseph  Rickart  is  the  seventh  child  of 
a  family  of  11  children.  Hi>  father  was 
Joseph  Rickart,  and  his  mother  Delila 
Crooks.  A  few  years  ago  Joseph  Rickart 
run  the  entire  farm,  consisting  of  400 
acres.  With  the  exception  of  the  hard 
times  of  1857,  Mr.  It's  career  through 
life  has  been  one  of  continued  prosper- 
ity. Lately  he  erected  a  handsome  res- 
idence near  the  town  of  White  Hall. 
In  1873  he  was  assessor  and  treasurer  of 
the  county.  When  the  Louisana  branch 
of  the  C.  &  A.  1!.  R.  was  contemplated, 
Mr.  R.  was  among  the  first  in  favor  of 
locating  the  road  here.  He  was  mar- 
ried to  Mary  E.  Baskin,  a  daughter  of 
Charles  E.  Baskin;  there  wen-  born  of 
this  marriage  eight  children,  seven  of 
whom  are  living. 

Richard  A.  Short  was  elected  treas- 
urer in  1875,  and  entering  upon  the 
duties  of  the  office,  fulfilled  them  for 
two  years. 

W .  1).  Oullett  became  treasurer  of 
Greene  county  in  1877,  was  re-elected 
in  1879,  and  owing  to  the  change  in  the 
time  of  the  election  served  in  all  five 
years. 

R.  A.  Short,  the    present    treasurer  of 


Greene  county,  was  elected  in  1S82,  for 
four  years. 

RECORDERS. 

When  this  county  was  organized,  and 
until  the  adoptiou  of  the  constitution  of 
1848,  the  office  of  recorder  was  a  sep- 
arate one,  although  sometimes  held  by 
another  officer. 

The  first  to  occupy  the  position  of  coun- 
ty recorder  was  John  G.  Lofton,  who 
was  appointed  to  this  office  Dee.  4,  1821, 
and  who  held  it  for  about  two  years. 

He  was  succeeded  by  Samuel  Lee,  Jr., 
in  1823.  This  gentleman  held  a  number 
of  offices  in  that  early  day,  as  is  al- 
ready mentioned,  and  died  while  in 
possession  of  this  and  other  offices,  in 
1829. 

William  B.  Whitaker  succeeded  Mr. 
Lee  in  this  office,  in  1830,  and  served 
but  a  short  time. 

John  W.  Skidmore  was  appointed  to 
this  position  in  1830,  and  served  as 
such  for  about  a  year.  He  was  the  first 
merchant  in  the  town  of  Carrollton, 
and  is  spoken  of  at  length  in  that  con- 
nection. 

John  Evans,  also  one  of  the  pioneer 
merchants  of  the  county,  was  the  next 
recorder,  being  appointed  as  such  in 
1831,  and  for  four  years  bad  the  custody 
of  the  records  of  the  county. 

David  Pierson,  now  one  of  the  promi- 
nent citizens  of  Carrollton,  and  of 
Greene  county,  succeeded  Mr.  Evans, 
in  1835,  and  held  the  office  for  almost 
four  years.  Mr.  Pierson's  sketch  ap- 
pears under  the  head  of  members  of  the 
general  assembly  in  a  previous  part  of 
this  chapter. 

Mr.  Pierson  was  succeeded  by  Charles 
Lancaster,  in  1839,  but    removed    from 


702 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


the  count)'  in  Aug.,  1841,  and  was  duly 
succeeded  by  John  D.  Fry,  who  was 
elected  at  the  election  of  1841.  The 
hitter  gentleman  was  re-elected  in  1848, 
and  held  the  office  in  all,  five  years. 

Abram  Spencer  succeeded  Mr.  Fry  in 
this  office  in  1846,  and  was  re-elected  in 
1847.  Owing  to  a  change  in  the  organic 
law  of  the  state,  in  1848,  he  was  the 
last  to  serve  in  this  capacity,  the  office 
of  recorder  being  merged  into  that  of 
circuit  clerk,  who  now  perforins  the 
functions  of  county  recorder,  in  addi- 
tion to  his  other  duties. 

SHERIFFS. 

This  has  always  been  one  of  the  most 
important  positions  in  the  gift  of  the 
people  of  the  count)7,  as  it  also  included 
the  collection  of  county  taxes. 

Thomas  Carlin,  afterwards  governor 
of  the  state  of  Illinois,  was  elected  in 
1821,  to  fill  this  honorable  position,  and 
was  the  first  sheriff  of  the  county.  He 
only  held  it  about  a  year.  A  sketch  of 
liim  is  given  elsewhere. 

Young  Wood,  his  successor,  was 
elected  in  1822,  and  re-elected  to  this 
office  in  1824  and  1826.  This  man, 
from  some  accident  in  his  youth  was 
not  of  a  prepossessing  appearance,  and 
with  his  hands  distorted  and  drawn  out 
of  shape  was  anything  but  a  beauty,  but 
he  was  honest,  upright  and  true,  and 
understood  and  carried  out  the  duties  of 
his  office.  Of  him  it  is  said  that  the 
first  public  whipping  in  Greene 
county  was  done  by  him.  There  were 
three  public  whipping  posts  in  the 
court  house  square,  one  near  the  north- 
west, and  two  near  the  northeast  cor- 
nels. One  of  the  culprits  punished  by 
him  was    Thomas    Anderson,    who   had 


been  convicted  of  horse-stealing  and 
ordered  to  be  whipped.  He  was  led  out 
by  Sheriff  Wood  and  his  deputy,  Jacob 
Fry.  The  patient's  hands  were  tied  to 
the  top  and  the  feet  to  the  bottom  of 
the  posts,  with  the  shoulders  bared  to 
the  wandering  breeze.  Then,  as  the 
convict  buried  his  head  between  his 
arms,  Wood  grasped  a  heavy  raw-hide 
in  his  deformed  hands,  commenced 
slowly  to  lay  the  lashes  upon  the  back 
of  the  shrinking  victim,  man-of-war 
fashion,  diagonally  and  horizontally,  so 
that  they  crossed  each  other.  The 
deputy  coolly  stood  by  and  kept  tally 
aloud  until  the  sum  of  50  had  been 
reached,  when  the  stripes  ceased  and 
the  prisoner  released. 

Jacob  Fry,  who  had  been  deputy  un- 
der Mr.  Wood,  was  elected  to  the  office 
of  sheriff  in  1828,  and  re-elected  four 
different  times,  in  1830,  1832,  1834  and 
1836.   He  made  a  most  excellent  officer. 

Gen.  Jacob  Fry  was  born  in  Fayette 
county,. Ky.,  on  the  20th  day  of  Sept., 
1799.  His  father  was  Barnhardt  Fry,  a 
Revolutionary  soldier,  and  a  native  of 
Maryland.  He  was  of  German  origin, 
a  farmer  by  occupation,  and  served  five 
years  in  the  Continental  army.  He  was 
married  to  a  Miss  Swigert,  who  bore 
him  six  children,  of  whom  the  subject 
of  this  sketch  was  the  youngest.  At  the 
early  age  of  20  he  became  a  resident  of 
Greene  county,  his  total  possessions 
footing  up  to  37  cents.  He  it  was  who 
commenced  the  first  house  in  Carrollton. 
On  the  25th  of  May,  1S26,  he  was  mar- 
ried, at  Carrollton,  to  Emily  Turney,  a 
daughter  of  the  late  Gen.  James  Tur- 
ney, formerly  of  Tennessee.  At  the 
first  county  court  ever  held  in  Greene 
county,  he  was  appointed  constable,  and 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


70:5 


subsequently,  deputy  sheriff.  Holding 
this  position  six  years,  he  became  sher- 
iff of  the  county,  and  for  five  terms  of 
two  year's  duration,  he  held  the  position 
to  the  satisfaction  of  all.  In  1831,  oc- 
curred the  Black  Hawk  war,  and  Gov- 
ernor Reynolds,  with  his  usual  prompt- 
ness, ordered  out  a  brigade  of  mounted 
volunteers  to  the  disputed  territory,  to 
repel  the  Indians.  In  this  brigade.  Col. 
Fry  received  the  appointment  of  lieu- 
tenant-colonel. In  1832,  Col.  Fry  was 
again  called  upon  to  take  the  Held,  and 
commanded  a  regiment  of  Gen.  Samuel 
Whiteside's  brigade.  Col.  Fry  pro- 
ceeded to  LaSalle,  where  he  was  elected 
colonel  of  a  regiment  of  new  levies,  and 
subsequently  formed  a  part  of  Gen. 
Henry's  brigade.  Shortly  after,  the 
regiment  received  marching  orders,  their 
objective  point  being  Mud  lake,  near 
Rock  river,  whence  they  joined  the  reg- 
ular troops,  under  Gen.  Atkinson.  They 
overtook  the  enemy  at  the  Wisconsin 
river,  where  a  sharp  conflict  of  short 
duration  took  place,  and  late  in  the  af- 
ternoon the  enemy  escaped  across  the 
river.  At  the  close  of  the  Indian  troubles 
in  the  northwest.  Col.  Fry  took  charge 
of  the  brigade,  and  proceeded  to  Dixon, 
where  they  were  mustered  out  of  the 
service.  He  was  soon  after  made  brig- 
adier-general, and  subsequently  major- 
general,  of  the  militia  of  Illinois.  He 
was  elected  by  the  state  legislature,  dur- 
ing the  sessions  of  1836-7,  as  acting 
canal  commissioner,  and  accordingly 
removed  to  Lockport  during  the  winter 
of  1837.  He  served  until  1846,  a  period 
of  nine  years,  in  this  capacity.  Re- 
maining in  Lockport,  he  entered  upon  a 
mercantile  career,  and  in  l*-r>n,  started 
for  the  gold   mines  of  California;   start- 


ing from  Lockport  on  the  1st  of  April, 
he  reached  Sacramento  on  the  2d  of 
Aug.  Here  he  remained  for  a  period  of 
three  years,  entering  into  mercantile 
pursuits,  and  turning  his  attention  to 
mining,  he  became  quite  successful.  He 
then  returned  to  Illinois,  locating  at  Ot- 
tawa. By  James  Buchanan,  and  through 
the  direct  influence  of  his  old  friend, 
Judge  Douglas,  he  received  the  appoint- 
ment of  the  responsible  position  of  col- 
lector of  customs,  at  Chicago,  and  re- 
ceived, while  the  holder  of  this  import- 
ant position,  the  first  unbroken  cargo 
that  entered  that  port.  However,  Gen. 
Fry  was  outspoken  in  favor  of  his  old 
friend,  Stephen  A.  Douglas,  then  a 
member  of  the  United  States  senate, 
and  was  accordingly  superseded  by  a 
more  pliable  successor.  He  then  re- 
turned to  his  old  home  in  Greene 
county,  where  he  was  quietly  pursuing 
the  duties  appertaining  to  his  farm, 
when  the  war  of  the  Rebellion  came. 
He  was  well  advanced  in  years,  but  he 
had  a  reverence  for  the  old  tlag  that  had 
floated  over  many  a  battle-field  in  the 
Revolutionary  struggle,  and  now,  when 
the  tramp  of  armed  men  resounded 
through  many  of  our  cities  and  towns, 
through  the  solicitation  of  Gov.  Yates, 
he  organized  the  (ilst  Reg.  of  111.  Vol. 
Inf.,  and  received  from  him  the  appoint- 
ment of  colonel.  Proceeding  to  the 
front  from  Carrollton,  he  bore  a  promi- 
nent part  in  the  Rebellion,  where  he 
became  a  participant  in  many  import- 
ant battles,  especially  that  of  Pittsburg 
Landing.  Resigning  his  commission 
through  disability,  he  returned  to 
Greene  county,  where  he  has  since 
died.  His  marriage  to  Miss  Turney 
was  blessdwith  five  children:  James,  a 


704 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


graduate  of  West  Point,  and  holds  a  po- 
sition in  the  regular  army;  Sarah;  Wm. 
M.;  Edward  M.;  and  Julia  A. 

Mr.  Fry  quitting  the  office  of  sheriff 
previous  to  the  expiration  of  his  term, 
Young  Wood  occupied  the  office  for 
about  a  year. 

John  D.  Fry  was  the  next  sheriff  of 
the  county,  being  elected  in  1838,  and 
remained  in  office  two  years. 

Hugh  Jackson  was  first  elected  to  the 
office  of  sheriff,  in  1840,  and  was  re- 
elected his  own  successor,  at  several 
general  elections,  remaining  in  the 
office  until  1848. 

Zachariah  Morrow,  in  1848,  assumed 
the  duties  of  the  office  of  sheriff  and 
served  the  people  of  the  county,  in  this 
capacity,  for  two  years.  Mr.  Morrow 
is  noticed  under  the  head  of  circuit 
clerk. 

Hugh  Jackson  was  again  called  on  by 
the  people  of  Greene  county  to  take  the 
office  of  sheriff,  in  1854,  and  served 
another  term  of  two  years. 

He  was  succeeded  by  Lemuel  J.  Pat- 
terson, who  served  two  years  from  1856. 
Mr.  Patterson  was  born  in  St.  Louis 
county,  Mo.,  June  19,  1816,  and  resided 
there  until  the  autumn  of  the  year  1843. 
He  was  there  united  in  marriage  with 
A.  E.  Hume,  and  in  the  year  1844 
moved  to  Greene  county,  and,  in  com- 
pany with  A.  S.  Seely  and  George 
Schutz.  leased  of  John  Coats,  the  David 
Hodges'  mill  on  Hurricane  creek,  and 
started  a  steam  distillery,  the  first  in 
the  county,  and  a  great  novelty  at  the 
time.  They  bought  thousands  of  bush- 
els of  corn  at  10  cents  per  bushel.  They 
ran  it  till  the  spring  of  1849,  when  Mr. 
Patterson  sold  out  his  interest  to  Geo. 
Schutz,  and  moved  to   Wilmington  and 


engaged  in  the  mercantile  business. 
He  was  elected  justice  of  the  peace  that 
fall,  served  six  years,  and  in  1856  was 
elected  sheriff,  and  served  two  years, 
living  in  Carrollton.  In  1858,  he  had 
to  discharge  one  of  the  most  disagreea- 
ble tasks,  that  of  hanging  Hall  and 
Goffner,  for  the  killing  of  Current  Hin- 
ton.  He  then  removed  to  his  farm, 
near  Wilmington,  and  in  1862,  was  ap- 
pointed government  inspector.  In  the 
fall  of  1864  he  was  elected  one  of  the 
county  judges  of  Greene  county,  for 
four  years.  In  1860,  he  was  appointed 
postmaster  at  Breese,  in  Greene  county, 
and  has  held  the  office  ever  since. 

Jordan  Larkin  was  the  next  called 
upon  to  officiate  as  sheriff  of  Greene 
county,  entering  upon  the  duties  of  the 
office  in  the  last  of  1858,  and  serving 
two  years. 

Jacob  Bowman,  in  1860,  entered  the 
office  of  sheriff,  in  response  to  the  call 
of  his  fellow-citizens,  and  served  two 
years.  He  was  a  native  of  Ohio,  and 
settled  here  about  1818.  In  his  27th 
year  he  was  united  in  marriage  with 
Letitia,  daughter  of  John  Fry.  He  was 
more  than  ordinarily  successful  as  a 
farmer,  and  as  a  public  officer  was  de- 
servedly popular.  He  removed  to  Kan- 
sas about  1875.  He  had  seven  chil- 
dren— Samuel,  George,  John,  Julia, 
Catherine,  Rosie  and  Alice. 

W.  L.  Greene  was  elected  to  the  office 
of  sheriff,  in  1862,  and  served  two 
years. 

The  next  to  fill  this  position  was  G. 
W.  Coonrod,  who  was  elected  in  1864, 
and  served  two  years   most  efficiently. 

Geo.  W.  Coonrod,  of  Greenfield,  111., 
an  old  settler,  and  one  of  the  promi- 
nent men  of  Greene  county,  was   born 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


7(1.3 


in  Wayne  county,  Illinois,  Septembers, 
1827.  He  is  the  son  of  Stephen  and 
Candis  (Lee)  Coonrod,  both  natives  of 
Kentucky,  his  father  being  born  in  1798, 
and  his  mother  in  1800.  His  father  was 
a  Baptist  preacher.  In  the  year  1829  he 
moved  his  family  from  Wayne  county  to 
Greene  county,  where  he  made  his  first 
entry  of  land,  on  the  northeast  quarter 
of  the  northwest  quarter  of  See,  33, T.  11, 
R,  Id,  on  which  he  built  his  first  cabin, 
afterward  entering  the  40  acre  tracts,  ad- 
joining the  first  entry,  north  and  south, 
and  purchasing  the  40  acres  adjoining 
east,  where  he  built  a  more  commodi- 
ous house,  and  moved  into  it,  in  the  year 
1835,  where  he  died  in  1872  of  that 
dreadful  disease — small  pox,  his  wife 
surviving  him,  dying  at  her  son  Jeffer- 
son Coonrod's,  in  Greenfield,  in  the  fall 
of  1879.  George  W.  was  the  fourth 
child  in  the  family  of  11  children. 
He  received  his  education  in  the 
common  schools  of  that  early  day, 
becoming  proficient  enough  in  the 
branches  then  taught  to  teach,  himself, 
and  followed  the  profession  of  common 
schoolteacher,  interspersed  with  teach- 
ing classes  in  penmanship  in  Greene 
and  the  adjoining  counties,  from  1847 
to  1852,  when  he  went  to  Texas  and  fol- 
lowed the  same  calling  until  1855,  when 
he  came  back  to  Illinois  and  engaged  in 
the  fall  of  that  year  in  the  mercantile 
business,  in  company  with  G.  N.  Kin- 
kead  under  the  firm  name  of  Kinkead  & 
Coonrod,  at  Greenfield.  In  1858, having 
been  appointed  postmaster,  he  retired 
from  the  firm  and  connected  with  the 
post  office  a  confectionery,  notion  and 
grocery  business  in  company  with  a 
younger  brother.  In  1861  he  resigned 
the  postmastership,  continuing   in    the 

T3 


mercantile  business.  In  February,  1858, 
he  was  married  to  Mary  A.  Parks, 
born  Dec.  28,  1887,  in  Meredosia,  Mor- 
gan county,  111.  By  this  union  they  had 
five  children,  four  of  whom  are  living — 
Arthur  G.,  born  Jan.  6,  1859,  at 
Greenfield;  Louis  P.,  horn  Oct,  5,  1860; 
Catharine  E.,born  April  17,  1863,  died 
Oct.  8,  1864;  Mary  E.,  horn  at  Carroll- 
ton,  July  12,  1865,  and  Helen  G..  also 
horn  there,  Dec.  14,  1868.  Mrs  Coon 
rod  died  at  Greenfield,  111.,  June  2, 
1870.  Mr.  Coonrod  was  again  married 
Dec.  25.  1871,  to  Mattie  E.  Nutting,  a. 
native  of  Portland,  Me.,  born  March  3, 
1847.  By  this  union  were  four  children, 
three  of  whom  are  living  —  Edith 
J.,  born  Jan.  3,  1873,  died  Nov.  22," 
1873;  Curtis  M.,  born  June  24,  1875; 
William  J.,  born  Aug.  5,  1S77  ;  Guy 
X.,  horn  Feb.  14,  1879.  Mr.  Coonrod 
in  1864  was  elected  sheriff  of  Greene 
county  on  the  democratic  ticket, 
and  in  November  of  that  year  moved 
to  Carrollton.  After  his  term  of 
office  expired  he  engaged  in  the  family 
grocery  business  at  that  place,  closing 
out  the  same  in  the  spring  of  1875,  and 
moving  back  to  Greenfield  he  engaged 
in  the  same  business  in  partnership 
with  J.  W.  Piper,  under  the  firm  name 
of  Coonrod  &  Piper.  In  1876  he  ret  ire, I 
from  mercantile  business.  He  had  held 
several  positions  of  trust  in  the  city,  hav- 
ing served  many  years  on  the  board  of 
education;  was  twice  elected  president 
ofthe  town  council;  in  1877  was  elected 
police  magistrate,  and  served  four  years. 
In  18S3  he  was  appointed,  by  the  gov- 
ernor, a  notary  public,  which  office,  with 
insurance  and  general  agency  business 
now  occupies  his  time,  together  with 
seeing   after    his    farming    interests  in 


706 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


Greene  county ,  Illinois,  and  Bates 
county,  Missouri.  He  was  elected  in 
1884,  tlir  attorney  for  the  city  of  Green- 
field "ii  its  adopting  a  city  government, 
anil  compiled  the  code  of  ordinances 
governing  that  young  city.  Was  one 
of  the  commissioners  to  divide  the 
county  into  political  townships  after  the 
adoption  of  township  organization.  In 
politics  he  has  usually  acted  with  the 
democrats,  but  votes  independently  for 
the  man  he  conceives  to  be  the  best 
qualified  for  the  office.  He  belongs  to 
no  church,  believing  more  in  practical 
Christianity  than  creeds  and  dogmas  of 
sects.  Independent  in  thought  and  ac- 
tion, regardless  of  popularity,  prefering 
always  to  be  right  as  his  best  judgment 
dictates.  He  belongs  to  no  secret  or- 
ganization, and  by  strict  attention  to 
business  has  made  life  a  success  finan- 
cially. 

S.  Foster  Greene,  in  1866,  became 
sheriff  of  Greene  county,  and  served 
in  that   capacity  for  two  years. 

S.  F.  Greene,  who  bore  a  prominent 
part  in  the  growth  and  development  of 
the  flourishing  county  of  Greene,  is  a 
native  of  the  county,  born  Dec.  13,  1820, 
and  is  in  all  probability  the  first  white 
child  born  south  of  the  Macoupin  creek. 
He  was  the  son  of  John  and  Nancy 
(  .Mains)  Greene,  whose  sketch  appears 
in  another  chapter  of  this  work,  and 
was  the  third  child  born  to  them. 
Growing  to  manhood  upon  the  old  farm 
homestead,  he  received  such  education 
as  the  facilities  of  a  log  cabin  offered. 
On  the  5th  of  Nov.,  1846,  he  was  united 
in  marriage  to  Polly  Witt,  a  daughter  of 
Franklin  Witt.  One  child  was  born  to 
them— John  II.,  who  married  Maria 
Pope,  and  lives  in  Kane  township.    Mrs. 


Greene  departed  this  life  Sept.  11, 1850, 
and  two  years  later  Mr.  Greene  was 
married  to  Eliza  J.  Witt,  a  cousin  of 
his  first  wife,  and  daughter  of  William 
P.  Witt.  They  are  the  parents  of  six 
children — William  R.,  Hattie  L.,  Rob- 
ert W.,  Mary  E.,  Justina  and  Walter 
B.  During  the  autumn  of  1866,  Mr. 
Greene  received  the  nomination  and  was 
elected  sheriff  of  this  county,  and  serv- 
ing one  term  gave  general  satisfaction  to 
the  law-abiding  portion  of  the  commu- 
nity, and  in  1877  he  was  elected  county 
commissioner  by  a  large  majority. 
Ranking  among  the  prominent  farmers 
of  the  west,  Mr.  Greene  is  the  owner  of 
706  acres  of  valuable  land,  and  also 
holds  a  controlling  interest  in  the  pri- 
vate banking  institution  known  as  S. 
F.  Greene  &  Co. 

The  office  of  sheriff  of  Greene  county 
was  filled  from  1868  to  1870,  by  J.  S. 
Yedder,  who  did  it  most    satisfactorily. 

In  1870,  F.  M.  Bell  was  elected  to 
this  office,  and  entering  upon  the  duties 
of  the  office,  filled  it  for  two  years. 
Mr.  Bell  is  noticed  elsewhere. 

N.  J.  Andrews  was  the  next  sheriff, 
filling  it  for  two  years,  from  1S72. 
Mr.  Andrews  has  already  been  noticed 
at  length  under  the  head  of  treasurer. 
an  office  which  he,  also,  graced. 

F.  M.  Bridges,  in  1874,  was  elected 
sheriff,  and  served  two  years.  This 
gentleman  afterward  occupied  a  promi- 
nent place  as  senator  from  Greene 
county  in  the  general  assembly,  in  con- 
nection with  which  a  sketch  of  him  has 
already  been  given. 

John  Jones,  the  present  genial  county 
clerk,  was  elected  to  the  office  of  sheriff 
in  1876,  and  was  re-elected  in  1878, 
serving  in  this  office  four  years. 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


707 


Mr.  Jones  was  succeeded  in  1880  by 
George  W.  Witt,  who  served  two  years. 
George  W.  Witt  was  horn  in  Greene 
county,  April  21,  1841,  his  parents 
being  Franklin  and  Malinda  (Perry) 
Witt,  his  father  a  native  of  Tennessee, 
and  his  mother,  of  Indiana.  His  father 
came  to  Greene  count}'  in  1826,  and 
located  on  section  13.  remaining  there 
one  year,  then  removing  to  Carrollton 
township,  locating  on  section  .">4,  where 
he  bought  20  acres.  To  this  he  added 
until  he  had  120  acres,  on  which  he 
lived  until  1836,  when  he  traded  it  for 
a  half  interest  in  Thomas  Rattan's 
farm  of  600  acres.  He  removed  to  that 
place  and  spent  the  remainder  of  his 
life  there.  He  died  in  1851,  and  his 
wife  survived  him  26  years,  her  death 
occurring  on  the  10th  of  Feb.,  1877,  at 
the  home  of  her  son,  George  "Witt. 
Our  subject  remained  with  his  parents 
until  21  years  of  age,  assisting  on  the 
farm.  He  then  started  out  for  himself, 
buying  140  acres  of  land  on  section  13, 
and  afterward  80  acres  on  section  12. 
He  then  bought  160  acres  on  section  13, 
adjoining  his  other  tracts,  and  which 
was  set  off  as  his  mother's  dower. 
Here  he  has  resided  and  farmed  since 
he  was  of  age.  Mr.  Witt  has  been  three 
times  married;  first  on  the  15th  of 
March,  1865,  to  Eliza  J.  Moore.  By 
this  union  there  were  four  children,  one 
of  whom  is  living — Toinette.  His  wife 
died  in  1873,  and  he  was  again  married 
June  24,  1874,  to  Margaret  A.  Gardiner. 
Three  children  were  born  to  them,  one 
of  whom,  Freddie  T.,  is  living.  His 
second  wife  died  March  7,  1879,  and  on 
the  29th  of  Sept.,  1880,  he  was  again 
married  to  Louisa  A.  Williams,  daugh- 
ter of  William  P.  and  Rachel  Williams. 


To  them  three  children  have  been  given 
—Thomas  K.,  Alta  M.  and  Rachel  J. 
In  1875  Mr.  Witt  built  a  tine  two-story 
frame  house  52x54  feet,  costing  about 
$9,00(1.  This,  with  its  pleasant  sur- 
roundings, show  him  to  be  an  intelli- 
gent, enterprising  citizen,  and  one  who 
has  made  a  success  of  farming,  he  now 
owning  650  acres  of  land.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Witt  are  members  of  the  M.  E. 
church.  He  is  a  member  of  the  A.  F. 
&  A.  M.  lodge;  is  a  democrat  in  polities; 
was  elected  and  served  one  term  as 
sheriff  of  the  county,  from  1880  to  1882, 
and  is  among  the  prominent  men  of  the 
county. 

William  M.  Morrow,  the  present 
efficient  sheriff  of  the  county, was  elected 
in  1882,  and  has  held  the  position  ever 
since. 

William  M.  Morrow, the  present  sher- 
iff of  Greene  county,  is  a  son  of  Aimer 
and  Mary  (Ward)  Morrow,  and  was 
born  near  Athensville,  Greene  county, 
111.,  on  the  1st  of  Dec,  1842.  Mis 
early  life  was  spent  on  the  farm,  and  as 
he  was  left  an  orphan,  at  the  age  of  13 
years,  he  went  to  make  his  home  with 
Peter  Roodhouse,  with  whom  he  re- 
mained for  four  years.  He  then  started 
out  to  "paddle  his  own  canoe,"  en- 
gaging by  the  month,  at  farm  work, 
until  Nov.,  1861,  when  he  was  united  in 
marriage  with  Emeline  Smith,  daughter 
of  James  Smith.  When  he  was  mar- 
ried he  had  hardly  a  dollar,  but  two 
years  later  he  received  $600  from  the 
estate  of  his  father.  He  then  purchased 
his  father's  old  homestead,  and  a  year 
later  sold  the  same  at  a  gain  of  $1 , oik  I. 
During  the  war  he  made  some  other 
deals  in  land,  and  thus  got  a  star)  in 
life,    still  engaging  in   tilling  the   soil. 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


His  farm  now  contains  460  acres  of  land, 
on  which  he  raises  a  great  deal  of  stock. 
He  also  engages  in  shipping  stock 
and  horses.  Besides  the  farm,  he  also 
owns  property  in  Roodhouse.  In  1869 
his  wife  died,  leaving  four  children — 
Mary  I'.,.  James  A.,  Harry  C.  and  Anna. 
In  Sept.  1871,  he  was  again  united  in 
marriage  with  Ellen  Maberry,  daughter 
of  William  M.  Maberry,  and  this  union 
has  been  blessed  with  a  family  of  four 
children — Edith,  Blanche,  Claude  and 
Ernest.  In  politics  Mr.  Morrow  is 
a  staunch  democrat.  He  served  three 
years  as  county  commissioner,  and  in 
the  fall  of  1882  was  elected  sheriff  of 
the  county.  He  then  left  his  eldest  son 
to  manage  the  farm  and  moved  to  town 
t<>  enter  upon  the  duties  of  his  office, 
which  he  manages  with  the  utmost  sat- 
faction  to  all.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
A.  F.  and  A.  M.,  the  I.  0.  0.  F.  and  K. 
of  H.  lodges.  He  is  one  of  the  direct- 
ors of  the  Carrollton  bank,  and  also 
of  the  Greene  County  Loan  Association. 
Activity,  honesty  and  liberality  have 
won  for  him  the  position  he  now  occu- 
pies in  business  and  social  circles. 

CORONERS. 

The  office  of  coroner    has   been  held 


by  many  eminent  men  in  the  county,  at 
various  times,  men  identified  with  the 
growth    of  the    county,   and    who  have 
honored   the   office,   while    it.    honored 
them.     The  following  is  a  list  of  them, 
with  the  years  they  served:    John  Wag- 
goner,  1821;  Christian    Link,   1822-4-6; 
Peter  Fronk,  1827-8;  Philip  N.  Rampy, 
1831-2;  J.  N.  Whitlock,    1832-6;  James 
G.    Berry,    1836-8;     J.    N.    Whitlock, 
1838-42;  James  Hopkins,  1842-44;  John 
N.    Whitlock,    1841-6;     Richard    Ellis 
1846-8;    James    Medford,    1848;     R.    R 
Nichols,    1849-50;    Marshall    Dulaney 
1850-8;    Anderson    Headrick,    1858-61 
J.   E.   Bridges,   1861-2;    John  D.   Jack 
1862-3;      Parham      Thaxton,      1863-6 
Thomas   Wright,   1866-8;  Henry  Nash 
1868-76;    Anderson  Headrick,   1876-80 
George  W.  Thompson,   1880,  and  pres- 
ent coroner. 

COUNTY    SURVEYORS. 

Among  those  who  have  filled  the  office 
of  county  surveyor  of  Greene,  have 
been  the  following  named  gentlemen: 
Robert  Avery,  who  was  the  first;  Wil- 
liam Scott,  Samuel  Smith,  Job  Collins, 
Jay  M.  Hurd,  C.  C.  Dodge,  William  S. 
Ellis,  Samuel  Heaton,  Henry  Bonfoy, 
L.  M.  Dyer  and  J.  C.  White. 


GHAPTER    XI. 


THE  BAR  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 
Perhaps  there  is  no  part  of  this  history 
of  more  general  interest  than  the  record 
of  the  bar  of  the  county.      It   is  well 


known  that  the  peace,  prosperity  and 
w-ell  being  of  every  community  depends 
upon  the    wise    interpretation    of    the 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


709 


laws,  as  well  as  upon  their  judicious 
framing,  and  therefor  the  records  of  the 
various  parties,  who  have  at  various 
times,  made  up  the  bar,  will  lie  no  un- 
important part  of  the  county  record. 
Upon  a  few  principles  of  natural  justice 
is  erected  the  whole  superstructure  of 
civil  laws,  tending  to  meet  the  desires 
and  relieve  the  wants  of  all  alike.  It 
lias  been  said,  that  "The  business  of 
the  lawyer  is  not  to  make  tin.'  laws,  but 
to  apply  them  to  the  daily  affairs  of 
men."  But  the  interests  of  men  are  of 
so  diverse  a  nature,  and  so  intermingled 
and  complex,  that  the  problem  presented 
to  both  lawyer  and  judge  often  seems  to 
need  the  judgment  of  an  oracle.  Change 
is  everywhere  the  order  of  the  day. 
The  relations  of  life  are  changing  with 
each  revolution  of  the  earth,  and  the 
law,  that  yesterday  met  the  wishes  of 
the  people,  will  no  longer  suit  the  ne- 
cessities of  to-day.  New  and  more  sat- 
isfactory laws  must  be  enacted  to  keep 
pace  with  the  unprecedented  stride  taken 
in  science,  art  and  mechanics.  The  ex- 
igencies of  law  are  those  of  to-day,  and 
a  lawyer  is  essentially  a  man  of  the 
present,  and  must  meet  the  issues  of  the 
hour.  His  capital  is  his  ability,  and 
when  he  lies  down  and  divests  himself 
of  mortal  clay,  the  characteristics  that 
distinguish  him  above  his  fellow  men, 
are  lost  to  his  successors,  to  whom  he 
could  not  bequeath  them. 

In  1878,  in  an  address  to  the  Illinois 
State  Bar  Association,  Anthony  Thorn- 
ton, the  venerable  president  of  the  so- 
ciety, thus  speaks  of  the  lawyer: 

"In  the  American  State,  the  greatand 
good  lawyer  must  always  be  prominent, 
for  he  is  one  of  the  forces  that  move 
and  control  society.     Public  confidence 


has  generally  been  reposed  in  the  legal 
profession.  It  has  ever  been  the  de- 
fender of  popular  rights,  the  champion 
of  freedom  regulated  by  law,  the  firm 
support  of  good  government  In  the 
times  of  danger  it  has  stood  like  a  rock 
and  breasted  the  mad  passions  of  the 
hour,  and  finally  resisted  tumult  and 
faction.  No  political  preferment,  no 
mere  place,  can  add  to  the  power  or  in- 
crease the  honor  which  belongs  to  the 
pure  and  educated  lawyer.  The  fame 
of  Mansfield,  and  Marshall  and  Story 
can  never  die.  Time's  iron  feet  can 
print  no  ruin  trace  upon  their  char- 
acter. Their  learning  and  luminous  ex- 
position of  our  jurisprudence  will  al- 
ways light  our  pathway.  It  is  our  duty 
to  preserve  the  prestige  of  the  profes- 
sion. The  past,  at  least,  secure;  the 
present  and  future  summon  us  to  action. 
With  the  progress  of  society,  and  the 
increase  of  population,  wealth  and 
trade,  varied  interests  arise  and  novel 
questions  requiring  more  thought  con- 
front us.  A  disregard  for  the  law  has 
been  developed,  crime  meets  us  un- 
abashed, and  corruption  stands  un- 
masked in  the  high  places  of  the  land. 
It  is  no  fancy  picture  that  the  law  has, 
to  some  extent,  lost  its  authority,  and 
it  is  only  the  shade  of  that  which  was 
great.  Hence  new  duties  are  imposed 
and  firmer  courage  is  required.  *  *  * 
"  The  exaltation  is  a  duty  enjoined 
upon  us.  It  is  a  debt  that  only  death 
can  discharge.  Lord  Bacon  has  said  : 
Every  man  is  a  debtor  to  his  profession* 
from  the  which,  as  men  of  force  do 
seek  to  receive  countenance  and  profit, 
so  ought  they  of  duty,  to  endeavor 
themselves,  by  ways  of  amends,  to  he  a 
help    and    ornament    thereto.       Every 


710 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


lawyer  is  a  debtor  to  his  profession.  If 
worthy,  it  gives  him  an  honorable  char- 
acter  and  position.  The  lawyer  should 
prize  and  love  his  profession.  He 
should  value  its  past  renown  and  cher- 
ish the  memory  of  great  men,  whose 
gigantic  shadows  walk  by  us  still.  He 
should  love  it  for  the  intrinsic  worth 
and  innate  truth  of  the  fundamental 
truths  which  adorn  it.'' 

The  bar  of  Greene  county  has  num- 
bered among  its  members  some  who  have 
been  an  honor,  not  only  to  the  county, 
but  to  the  profession  and  the  state  as 
well.  So  far  as  material  was  accessible, 
sketches  are  given  of  each  attorney  who 
has  practiced  at  the  bar  of  the  county, 
being  residents  thereof.  Not  one  has 
been  omitted  with  intention;  and  of 
some,  more  would  have  been  gladly 
written  were  the  proper  data  at  hand 
from  which  to  do  so.  The  peculiarities 
and  personalities  which  form  so  inter- 
esting and  pleasant  a  part  of  local  his- 
tory, and  particularly  of  the  lives  of 
the  members  of  the  bar,  are  in  some 
measure  lacking,  more  from  the  nature 
of  the  case  than  from  a  lack  of  interest 
or  labor.  Unlike  the  fair  plaintiff'  in 
the  famous  Bardell  vs.  Pickwick,  we 
have  no  painstaking  "sergeant  to  relate 
the  facts  and  circumstances  of  the  case." 

One  of  the  first  attorneys,  if  not  the 
very  first,  to  settle  in  Greene  county, 
was  Alfred  W.  Caverly,  who  located  in 
Carrollton  as  early  as  1822.  He  prac- 
ticed law  there  for  many  years,  and  was 
quite  a  prominent  figure  in  the  political 
world.  He  is  noticed  under  the  head  of 
members  of  the  general  assembly,  in 
the  chapter  on  National,  State  and 
County  representation. 

James  Turney,  at  one  time   attorney 


general  of  this  state,  was  a  member  of 
the  bar  of  Carrollton,  coming  here 
about  1828.  He  is  spoken  of,  more  fully 
in  the  chapter  on  representation. 

David  M.  Woodson,  for  so  many 
years  the  circuit  judge  of  this  judicial 
circuit,  was  also  numbered  among  the 
brighter  lights  of  the  Greene  county  bar. 
A  full  biographical  sketch  of  this  emi- 
nent jurist  is  given  in  connection  with 
the  courts  of  the  county. 

James  Pursley,  one  of  the  legal  fra- 
ternity of  Greene  county,  came  to  Car- 
rollton about  the  year  1850.  He  was 
quite  a  politician,  and  was  elected  to 
represent  the  county  in  the  19th  general 
assembly,  which  he  did  to  the  satisfac- 
tion of  his  friends.  He  afterward  re- 
moved to  Memphis,  Tenn.,  where  he 
died. 

J.  M.  Woodson,  a  son  of  Judge  D. 
M.  Woodson,  practiced  law  in  Carroll- 
ton for  some  years.  He  is  now  a  resi- 
dent of  St.  Louis,  Mo. 

Charles  D.  Hodges,  ex-member  of 
congress,  county  judge,  etc.,  was  for 
many  years  a  practicing  attorney  at  Car- 
rollton, where  he  died  in  1884.  A  full 
sketch  of  him  is  given  elsewhere. 

James  W.  English  was  born  in  Mason 
county,  Virginia,  March  11,  1829.  His 
father,  Nathaniel  English,  was  a  prom- 
inent physician,  who  married  Hannah 
Worth.  James  was  but  eight  years  old 
when  his  parents  moved  from  West  Vir- 
ginia to  St.  Louis,  from  which  point 
they  made  their  way  to  Jacksonville, 
Morgan  county,  111.,  in  1836,  In  1S44 
Mr.  English  entered  upon  a  classical 
course  of  study  at  the  Illinois  College, 
graduating  with  honor  in  1848.  He 
now  took  up  the  study  of  law  in  the 
office  of  Richard  Yates,  afterward  gov- 


ernor  of  Illinois,  and  William  Brown. 
In  I860  he  was  admitted  to  practice  as 
an  attorney  in  the  state  of  Illinois,  and 
in  1860,  in  the  Federal  courts  and  the 
supreme  court  of  the  United  States  in 
1873.  For  five  years  the  young  but  able 
attorney  struggled  for  a  foothold  among 
such  legal  lights  as  Murray,  McConnell 
and  others.  In  1856  he  came  to  Car- 
rollton,  where  his  ability  was  soon  rec- 
ognized and  the  following  year  he  was 
elected  to  till  the  responsible  position 
of  state's  attorney.  He  served  in  this 
capacity  in  an  able  manner  until  I860, 
entering  upon  his  law  studies  with  re- 
newed zeal.  In  1871  he  moved  to  Leav- 
enworth, Kansas,  remaining  a  number 
of  years.  On  being  apprised  of  the 
mortal  illness  of  his  old  friend  and  col- 
league, Judge  Woodson,  of  Carrollton, 
and  at  the  solicitation  of  his  many 
friends  in  this  enterprising  town,  he  de- 
cided to  return  here.  He  practiced  here 
for  a  period  of  twenty  years,  and  his 
course  was  marked  by  no  ordinary  abil- 
ity. Mr.  English  married  Eliza  Stri- 
ker, a  daughter  of  Henry  Stryker,  for- 
merly a  merchant  of  Jacksonville,  Oct. 
6,  1852.  Mr.  English  is  now  a  resident 
of  Jacksonville,  Morgan    county,  111. 

Benjamin  Mason,  an  attorney,  came 
to  Carrollton  about  1858,  and  remained 
in  practice  until  cut  off  by  the  hand  of 
death  in  1866.  or  1867. 

Albert  G.  Burr  came  to  Carrollton 
from  Scott  county,  in  1868,  and  opened 
an  office  for  the  practice  of  law.  He 
represented  this  district  on  the  floor  of 
the  40th  and  41st  congresses,  and  a 
sketch  of  him  occurs  in  that  connection. 

Asa  Potter,  now  of  Brighton,  Macou- 
pin county,  practiced  here  in  Carrollton, 
for  several  years. 


Giles  H.  Turner  practiced  law  at  the 

bar  of  Greene  county,  and  was  a  resi- 
dent of  Carrollton  for  several  years. 
He  is  now  a  resident  of  DesMoines,  la., 
where  he  enjoys  a  large  practice. 

Josiah  Lamburn  was  a  very  bright  and 
shining  light  of  the  legal  fraternity  of 
Greene  county,  but  like  many  another 
man,  he  took  to  drink,  and  died  of  de- 
lirium tremens. 

John  J.  Fitzsimons,  a  young  lawyer 
of  much  promise,  died  in  Carrollton.  in 
1874,  while  holding  the  office  of  state's 
attorney.  He  had  not  been  in  practice 
long,  but  gave  evidence  of  rare  ability 
and  judgment. 

John  J.  Fitzsimons,  deceased,  was 
born  in  county  Meath,  Ireland,  on  the 
1st  day  of  Nov.,  1843,  his  parents  being 
Robert  ami  Mary  (Toney)  Fitzsimons. 
His  mother  died  before  he  had  reached 
the  age  of  2  years,  and  when  John  J. 
was  in  his  12th  year,  he  came  to  Ameri- 
ca, whither  his  father  had  preceded 
him  some  10  years.  He  was  transferred 
from  school  at  Cork  to  the  St.  Louis 
University,  and  remained  in  attendance 
at  that  institution  until  lie  graduated, 
at  the  age  of  18  year.-.  The  civil  war 
had  then  come  on,  and  he  went  into  the 
Confederate  service  as  a  clerk  in  the 
quartermaster's  department.  He  re- 
mained in  the  service  about  one  year, 
when  he  was  taken  sick,  and  brought 
home.  He  was  employed  in  a  clerical 
capacity  for  a  time  in  one  of  the  Federal 
army  stations,  at  St.  Louis,  hut,  his 
father  being  a  sculptor,he  went  into  the 
marble  business  at  Belleville.  From 
there  he  came  to  Carrollton,  where  he 
was  also  employed  for  a  time  in  the 
marble  business.  This,  however,  did 
not  agree  with  him,  and  he  commen I 


712 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY 


the  study  of  law,  and  soon  after  gave  up 
the  marble  business  for  the  legal  pro- 
fession. He  studied  with  Benj.  Mason, 
and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  Nov.  4, 
1864,  at  Carrollton.  He  continued  the 
practice  of  his  profession  in  this  city 
until  the  time  of  his  death.  In  June, 
1872,  he  was  appointed  by  the  governor 
to  the  office  of  state's  attorney,  to  fill 
the  vacancy  caused  by  the  resignation  of 
William  Brown.  At  the  election  in 
November  following,  he  was  elected  to 
the  office  by  the  people  of  the  county, 
on  the  democratic  ticket,  and  was  hold- 
ing that  position  at  the  time  of  his 
death.  He  was  married  on  June  16, 
1S74,  to  Mary  Walker,  a  native  of 
Christian  county,  Ky.,  and  daughter  of 
Joseph  and  Delia  (Coffman)  .  Walker. 
Her  father  died  in  Carrollton,  in  1871, 
on  the  6th  day  of  August.  Mr.  Fitzsi- 
mons  died  on  the  16th  day  of  June,  1874. 
He  was  a  leading  member  of  the  bar, 
and  was  rapidly  rising  in  his  profession. 

Edward  P.  Gilson  came  to  Carrollton, 
enrolling  himself  among  the  legal  fra- 
ternity, in  1878,  and  remained  several 
years.  He  was  a  native  of  Macoupin 
county,  111.,  born  in  1853.  His  father 
was  a  grain  merchant  at  Brighton, 
where  Edward  passed  his  early  years. 
He  graduated  from  Blackburn  Univer- 
sity, in  1875,  and  going  to  Chicago 
studied  law  in  the  office  of  Lyman 
Trumbull.  He  was  admitted  to  the  bar 
in  1877,  and  came  to  Carrollton  sooii 
after. 

In  1878,  a  law  firm  under  the  name  of 
Root  &  Gardner  opened  an  office  in 
Carrollton  and  practiced  for  some  little 
time.  II.  T.  Root  was  a  native  of 
Michigan,  born  Nov.  5,  1853.  When  he 
was  still  young  his  parents  removed  to 


New  York  state,  but  when  14  years  of 
age  the  subject  of  this  sketch  came  to 
Illinois.  He  took  a  preparatory  course 
of  study  at  Shurtleff  College,  but  en- 
tered Princeton  College,  New  Jersey,  in 
1872,  graduating  therefrom  two  years 
later.  He  then  became  a  student  at  the 
Columbia  Law  Institute  from  which  he 
graduated.  J.  C.  F.  Gardner  was  a  na- 
tive of  Nantucket,  Mass.,  and  also  a 
graduate  of  Columbia  Law  Institute. 

S.  G.  Lewis  came  to  Carrollton  about 
the  year  1880,  and  commenced  the 
practice  of  law.  He  removed  from 
here  to  Taylorville,  Christian  county, 
where  he  now  lives. 

Edward  D.  Baker,  afterward  member 
of  congress  from  this  state,  U.  S.  senator 
from  Oregon,  and  colonel  of  the  1st  Cal. 
or  71st  Penn.  Reg.  in  the  late  war,  and 
who  fell  upon  the  field  of  battle,  at 
Ball's  Bluff,  in  1861,  was  long  connected 
with  the  bar  of  this  county,  having 
been  almost  raised  in  Carrollton. 

R.  L.  Doyle  was  also  one  of  the  legal 
fraternity  of  Greene  county. 

Among  the  lawyers  who  have  prac- 
ticed at  the  bar  in  this  county,  was  F. 
E.  Huddle.  He  was  born  at  Tiffin,  Sen- 
eca county,  0.,  March  6,  1856.  He 
was  the  son  of  Benj.  Huddle,  a  carpen- 
ter and  joiner  by  occupation,  and  Rachel 
Kagy.  When  four  years  old,  his  par- 
ents moved  to  Marion  county,  111., 
where  a  purchase  of  land  was  made. 
On  the  old  homestead  young  Huddle 
remained  until  he  had  attained  his  16th 
year,  when  he  received  full  permission 
from  his  father  to  go  out  into  the  world. 
On  leaving  the  parental  roof,  he  had  §50 
in  money.  Proceeding  to  Tiffin,  0.,  he 
entered  the  Heidleberg  College,  where 
he  worked  for  his  board  and  tuition,  re- 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


713 


maining  one  year.  In  the  meantime  he 
received  the  news  of  a  serious  accident 
that  had  befallen  his  father,  and  he  re- 
turned home,  where  he  obtained  a  posi- 
tion as  clerk  in  a  dry  goods  store.  Af- 
terward, becoming  a  school  teacher,  he 
took  up  the  practice  of  law,  the  dream 
of  the  farmer  boy  being  to  become  a 
successful  lawyer,  and  he  accordingly 
applied  himself  with  diligence.  June 
8,  1877,  at  the  June  term  of  the  supreme 
court,  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar  at  Mt. 
Vernon,  111.  Locating  at  White  Hall  in 
July,  he  entered  upon  a  very  successful 
practice,  when  but  22  years  of  age.  Mr. 
Huddle  married  Ida  B.  Lester,  of  Ma- 
rion county;  one  child — Edwin  B.  He 
is,  at  this  writing,  engaged  in  running 
the  Bloomington  Through  Mail,  a  lite- 
rary magazine,  of  no  small  merit. 

LAWYERS    OF    THE    PRESENT. 

Among  the  prominent  attorneys  of 
Greene  county,  of  the  present  day, 
there  are  the  following  gentlemen:  H. 
C.  Withers,  J.  R.  Ward,  John  G.  Hen- 
derson,  S.  F.  Corrington,  H.  H.  Mont- 
gomery, E.  A.  Doolittle,  Leander  R. 
Lakin,  in  Carrollton;  W.  M.  Ward,  in 
Greenfield;  M.  Meyerstein,  and  T.  R. 
Henshaw,  in  White  Hall,  and  Patterson 
&  Starkey,  D.  F.  King  and  Duncan  C. 
Mclver,  in  Roodhouse. 

James  R.  Ward,  one  of  the  most 
able  and  leading  attorneys  of  this  con- 
gressional district,  is  a  son  of  McKin- 
ley  and  Eliza  A.  (Jones)  Ward.  He 
was  born  on  a  farm  in  Madison  county, 
111.,  May  7,  1852,  where  he  grew  to 
manhood,  laboring  upon  the  farm,  and 
received  his  early  education.  In  1867 
and  1868  he  attended  the  Lincoln  Uni- 
versity, and  later  at  Jacksonville,  where 


in  June,  1873,  he  graduated  from  the  Il- 
linois College  at  that  place.  He  then 
proceeded  to  Columbia,  Missouri,  and 
began  a  course  of  law  studies  under 
Philemon  Bliss,  who  at  one  time  was 
chief  justice  of  the  supreme  court  of 
that  state.  He  was  admitted  to  the  bar 
in  the  state  of  Illinois  at  Mt.  Vernon, 
in  June,  1874,  and  was  licensed  to  prac- 
tice by  the  supreme  court  of  Missouri, 
at  St.  Louis,  June  21,  of  the  same  year. 
On  September  23,  following,  he  located 
at  Carrollton  and  here  first  began  the 
practice  of  his  profession.  In  Novem- 
ber, 1876  he  was  elected  state's  attorney 
for  Greene  county,  by  a  greater  vote  and 
majority  than  was  cast  in  the  county  for 
the  president,  Samuel  J.  Tilden.  His 
business  now  increased  so  rapidly  in 
civil  cases  that  at  the  expiration  of  his 
term  as  state's  attorney  he  declined  to 
be  a  candidate  for  re-election  and  sup- 
ported D.  F.  King  for  that  position,  the 
latter  having  been  a  law  student  of  Mr. 
Ward's.  During  this  term  of  office, 
however,  he  established  the  reputation 
of  being  an  able  and  successful  prose- 
cutor of  criminals,  rarely  losing  a  case, 
and  since  that  time  he  has  been  retained 
to  defend  nearly  all  of  the  important 
cases  of  that  character  in  this  county. 
He  has  been  engaged  as  counsel-  in  the 
most  important  civil  cases  arising 
since  he  began  the  practice  of  his 
profession.  His  earnest  and  faithful 
efforts  for  his  clients,  his  careful  and 
adroit  management  of  a  case,  his  knowl- 
edge of  men  which  he  utilizes  in  the  selec- 
tion of  juries,  have  in  civil  and  crim- 
inal cases  secured  victories  for  his  cli- 
ents. Possessing  a  thorough  knowledge 
of  the  law,  a  retentive  memory  and  uni- 
formly giving  to  every  case,    regardless 


714 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


of  the  amount  involved,  or  the  wealth 
or  poverty  of  his  client,  a  thorough  and 
exhaustive  examination  and  prepara- 
tion, have  characterized  his  eminent  suc- 
cess as  a  lawyer  and  given  him  the  ap- 
pellation of  "  the  poor  man's  lawyer 
friend." 

John  G.  Henderson,  a  prominent  at- 
torney of  Carrollton,  was  horn  near 
White  Hall,  Greene  county,  111.,  Sept. 
22,  1837.  His  father,  John  P.  Hender- 
son, was  a  native  of  Kentucky,  and  a 
son  of  Rev.  John  Henderson,  one  of 
pioneer  Christian  preachers,  of  Greene 
county.  His  mother,  Susan  (Green) 
Henderson,  was  a  native  of  Ohio.  John 
G.  spent  his  early  life  on  the  farm.  He 
was  educated  at  Jacksonville,  111.,  and 
subsequently  taught  school  during  which 
time  he  also  studied  law.  He  after- 
wards read  law  with  John  L.  McCon- 
nell,  of  Jacksonville,  and  on  the  10th  of 
Aug.,  1858,  though  not  yet  21  years  of 
age,  was  admitted  to  the  bar  at  Jackson- 
ville, to  practice  in  Illinois.  He  sub- 
sequently practiced  law,  and  also  taught 
school,  in  Morgan  county,  until  1861, 
when  he  opened  a  law  office  at  Griggs- 
ville,  Pike  county,  and  entered  upon 
the  duties  of  the  legal  profession  in  ear- 
nest. But  he  afterwards  engaged  at 
teaching  for  a  while,  his  last  term  being 
taught  in  1868,  at  Naples,  Scott  county, 
where  he  practiced  law  until  1866.  He 
then  located  at  Winchester,  and  in  1877 
was  elected  county  judge  of  Scott 
county,  serving  in  that  capacity  five 
years.  Since  that  time  he  has  given 
his  entire  attention  to  the  legal  pro- 
fession, practicing  in  both  Scott  and 
Greene  counties,  and  his  practice  in- 
creased so  largely  in  Greene  county,  he 
decided  to  remove  to  Carrollton,  which 


he  did  in  Feb.,  1884,  and  his  office  and 
residence  are  now  there,  although 
he  still  practices  in  Scott  county, during 
each  term  of  court.  He  was  married 
April  10,  1884,  to  Isabel  Springer,  nee 
Hanback.  In  1878,  at  the  St.  Louis 
meeting  of  the  American  Association,  of 
Science,  Judge  Henderson  became  a 
member,  and  for  two  years,  was  secre- 
tary of  the  anthropological  sub-section 
of  the  association,  and  at  the  Boston 
meeting  was  elected  a  fellow  of  the 
association.  He  has  written  for  that 
society  several  papers,  mostly  on  the 
subject  of  anthropology,  of  which  he 
has  made  a  life  study,  and  has  accumu- 
lated a  fine  library  of  works  on  that 
particular  subject.  He  is  also  said  to 
possess  the  finest  library  in  the  Miss- 
issippi valley,  of  French  and  Spanish 
works  on  the  early  history  of  said  valley. 
He  has  now,  at  thepointof  completion, 
a  work  on  ancient  names  of  the  United 
States  and  British  provinces,  which  has 
occupied  much  of  his  time  for  the  past 
20  years.  Politically  speaking,  he  is  an 
active  democrat,  and  has  taken  a  promi- 
nent part  in  politics  since  he  attained 
his  majority.  Judge  Henderson  is  a 
member  of  the  Illinois  Natural  History 
Society,  and  an  honorary  member  of  the 
St.  Louis  Historical  Society.  Several 
of  his  articles  have  been  published  by 
the  Southwestern  Society,  under  which 
institute  he  has  done  considerable  scien- 
tific research. 

Stephen  F.  Corrington  came  to  Greene 
county  in  1858,  and  located  at  Carroll- 
ton, where  he  has  since  resided,  thus  be- 
ing one  of  the  old  settlers  of  the  county. 
He  immediately  opened  up  a  law  office, 
and  entered  upon  its  duties.  In  1859, 
he  was  elected  county  superintendent  of 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


ri5 


schools,  and  justice  of  the  peace,  both 
of  which  he  held  until  1869,  his  duties 
as  justice,  however,  not  expiring  until 
L873.  In  1870,  he  was  fleeted  city 
clerk,  and  continued  in  that  capacity, 
with  the  exception  of  one  year,  until 
1883.  In  1872  he  was  appointed  mas- 
ter in  chancery,  which  office  he  still 
continues  to  hold.  In  Oct.,  1881,  Mr. 
Corrington  entered  into  the  business  of 
insurance  (tire,  tornado,  and  life),  and 
real  estate,  in  connection  with  W.  H. 
Barnett,  the  style  of  the  firm  being 
Barnett  &  Corrington.  In  Oct.,  1883, 
Barnett  sold  his  interest  in  the  business 
to  C.  H.  King,  the  firm  then  being  Cor- 
rington &  King.  In  Aug.,  1884,  S.  F. 
Corrington  bought  out  the  interest  of 
Mr.  King,  and  gave  it  to  his  son,  Frank, 
The  firm  then  being  Corrington  &  Son. 
This  firm  is  probably  doing  quite  as  ex- 
tensive a  business  as  any  other  concern 
of  the  kind  in  the  county.  Mr.  Cor- 
rington was  born  in  Millersburg,  Bour- 
bon  county,  Ky.,  Feb.  1,  LS30,  his  par- 
ents being  Rev.  Elijah  and  Ailsie(Gray) 
Corrington,  the  former  of  English,  ami 
the  latter  of  Irish,  descent,  but  the 
health  of  Mr.  Corrington  being  poor, 
they  returned  to  Kentucky,  the  mother 
carrying  her  son  on  horseback  to  their 
native  home.  In  1833, the  family  again 
came  to  Illinois,  coming  first  to  Greene 
county,  where  Rev.  E.  Corrington  en- 
tered and  bought  quite  an  extensive 
tract  of  land,  and  then  settled  in  Jack- 
sonville, Morgan  county,  going  into 
business  at  that  place.  He  continued 
in  business  there  for  a  little  over  a  year, 
when  he  joined  the  Illinois  conference 
of  the  M.  E.  church,  and  was  assigned 
to  various  charges  in  Morgan  and  other 
counties.      He    afterward    removed    to 


Carrollton,  where  he  lived  until  his 
death,  which  occurred  in  1863.  His 
wife  preceeded  him  in  Dec,  1862.  Ste- 
phen F.,  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  re- 
ceived his  early  education  in  a  private 
school  in  Jacksonville,  and  in  1848,  he 
entered  McKendree  college,  at  Lebanon, 
111.,  where,  on  account  of  bis  previous 
preparation,  he  was  enabled  to  graduate 
three  years  later.  He  then  taught  school 
about  six  months,  in  connection  with 
his  sister,  now  the  wife  of  Hon.  Thus. 
B.  Redding,  a  prominent  lawyer  and 
scientist  of  Newcastle,  Ind.  He  then 
began  the  study  of  law  with  Judge  Wil- 
liam Brown,  and  was  admitted  to  the 
bar  in  1854.  He  afterward  entered  into 
partnership  with  William  String,  which 
continued  about  a  year.  While  in  Jack- 
sonville, he  was  also  engaged  in  the 
mercantile  business  about  one  year,  but 
this  proving  unsatisfactory,  he  disposed 
of  his  interest  in  the  business  to  his 
partner.  While  there  he  was  nominated 
for  county  judge,  but  withdrew,  and  was 
nominated  and  ran  for  county  clerk,  but 
as  he  was  a  young  man,  and  opposed  by 
an  old  and  popular  candidate,  he  was 
defeated  by  a  small  vote.  He  was  mar- 
ried in  Jacksonville,  in  18.56,  to  Susan 
F.  Bell,  a  daughter  of  Jeremiah  Bell,  now 
of  Jersey  county.  They  are  the  parents 
of  nine  children,  eight  of  whom  are 
living — Rosa,  wife  of  W.  A.  Albright; 
Ailsie,  wife  of  T.  P.  Clemmons,  both 
living  in  Carrollton;  Annie  L.,  died  at 
the  age  of  15,  in  Dec,  1876;  S.  Emma, 
by  profession  a  stenographer,  and  as- 
sisting her  father  in  his  office;  Frank 
F.,  the  active  member  of  the  firm  of 
Corrington  &  Son,  insurance  and  real 
estate  agents,  located  at  Carrollton,  111.; 
Eliza   E.,  William   J.,    Mabel   R.,   and 


'16 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


Stephen  N.  Mr.  Corrington  is  a  mem- 
ber  of  the  I.  0.  0.  F.  society,  having 
been  honored  as  a  representative  to  the 
grand  lodge  for  the  past  10  years,  and  is 
now  representing  his  encampment  for 
the  seventh  term.  He  is  also  a  member 
of  the  M.  E.  church,  having  been  a  trus- 
tee of  the  same  for  many  years.  In 
politics,  he  affiliates  with  the  demo- 
cratic party.  He  has  always,  without 
exception,  voted  the  democratic  ticket, 
and  is  considered  by  his  party  a  thor- 
oughbred, iron-clad,  unflinching  demo- 
crat of  the  old  school. 

H.  H.  Montgomery,  A.  M.,  has  been 
a  resident  of  this  county  since  1875. 
He  was  born  in  Scottville,  Macoupin 
county,  111.,  and  is  a  son  of  Joseph  and 
Elizabeth  (Sharp)  Montgomery,  the 
former  a  native  of  West  Virginia,  and 
the  latter  of  East  Tennessee.  They 
settled  in  Macoupin  county  in  1840,  and 
at  present  are  residents  of  Carlinville. 
The  subject  of  this  sketch  was  reared 
upon  a  farm,  attaining  his  education  at 
the  university  at  Galesburg,  and  in  the 
Blackburn  University  at  Carlinville, 
graduating  from  the  latter  institution 
of  learning  in  June,  1873,  and  three 
years  later  the  university  conferred 
upon  him  the  degree  of  master  of  arts. 
In  1874-5  be  had  charge  of  the  schools 
at  Brighton,  and  the  following  six  years 
of  the  Greenfield  schools.  In  1880  he 
was  also  appointed  county  superintend- 
ent of  schools,  but  at  the  expiration  of 
six  months  resigned  this  office  to  accept 
the  editorial  management  of  the  Car- 
rollton  Gazette ;  although  bis  political 
friends  afterward  placed  his  name  be- 
fore the  state  convention  for  nomination 
of  superintendent,  and  out  of  eight 
contesting   candidates    he    was    second 


only  to  the  one  who  was  successful,  viz: 
Prof.  Raab,  the  present  incumbent.  He 
continued  editorial  duty  on  the  Gazette 
for  two  years,  since  which  time  he  has 
been  in  the  law  office  of  H.  C.  Withers. 
On  Thanksgiving  day,  1880,  lie  united 
bis  destinies  with  Minnie,  a  daughter  of 
G.  T.  W.  Sheffield,  of  Greenfield,  the 
result  of  which  was  the  birth  of  one 
son — Kenyon.  Mr.  Montgomery  takes 
an  active  part  in  whatever  pertains  to 
the  advancement  of  education,  and  in 
politics  is  a  strong  adherent  to  the 
principles  of  the  democratic  party.  He 
is  also  a  Knight  Templar,  and  at  pres- 
ent, High  Priest  of  Carrollton  chapter, 
Royal  Arch  Masons. 

Duncan  C.  Mclver  was  born  near 
Murray ville,  Morgan  county,  111.,  Aug. 
VI,  1831,  being  a  son  of  William  and 
Matilda  (Cain)  Mclver,  natives  of  North 
Carolina.  When  Duncan  C.  was  an 
infant  his  parents  removed  to  Tennes- 
see, and  eight  years  later  returned  to 
Illinois,  and  located  in  Jacksonville. 
Two  years  later  they  removed  to  Mc- 
Donough  county,  and  lived  near  Macomb 
until  Duncan  C.  attained  his  14th  year. 
While  there  he  was  a  schoolmate  of 
Congressman  Neece.  His  parents  then 
removed  to  a  point  near  Carlinville, 
Macoupin  county,  where  they  resided 
some  four  years,  then  going  to  Mont- 
gomery county,  where  Duncan  O.  at- 
tained his  majority.  At  the  age  of  18 
years,  Duncan  began  teaching  school, 
which  profession  he  followed  steadily 
some  five  years.  Sept.  17,  1854.  lie 
was  united  in  marriage,  near  Hillsboro, 
Montgomery  county,  with  Mary  A. 
Tennis,  a  daughter  of  William  and 
Nancy  (Raleigh)  Tennis.  By  this  union 
they    have    been    blessed    with    seven 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


717 


children,  five  of  whom  are  now  living — 
Frances  Alice,  Charles  E.,  William  T., 
Minnie  M.  and  John  A.  From  the 
time  of  his  marriage  until  the  breaking 
out  of  the  war,  Mr.  Mclver  made  his 
home  in  Montgomery  county,  where  he 
was  elected  county  surveyor  in  1857, 
holding  the  same  for  four  years,  having 
been  re-elected  at  the  expiration  of  his 
first  term,  in  1862  he  enlisted  in  Co. 
F.,  122d  111.  Inf.,  as  a  private,  and  six 
months  later  was  promoted  from  the 
ranks  to  second  lieutenant.  While 
serving  with  a  small  detachment  of  his 
company,  at  Trenton.  Tenn..  he  was 
captured,  with  his  command,  by  For- 
rest's forces.  Two  days  after  they 
were  paroled,  and  remained  in  parole 
cam]),  Benton  Barracks,  at  St.  Louis, 
until  Sept.  1863,  when  they  were  ex- 
changed, and  returned  to  their  command 
at  Salisbury,  Tenn.  At  that  point,  the 
captain  of  his  company  having  been 
placed  under  arrest,  and  the  first 
lieutenant  having  been  detailed  as  divis- 
ion quartermaster,  Mr.  Mclver  was 
thin  left  in  command  of  the  company, 
which  he  continued  up  to  the  20th  of 
March,  186t,  when  he  was  detailed  by 
order  of  the  secretary  of  war  as  assist- 
ant commissary  of  musters  of  the  west- 
ern district  of  Kentucky,  and  was  placed 
on  the  staff  of  Gen.  Hugh  T.  Reed,  and 
at  different  times  was  on  the  stall'  of 
Gens.  Brayman,  Prince,  Payne  and 
Meredith,  serving  in  that  capacity  until 
the  close  of  the  war,  when  he  was  hon- 
orably discharged.  At  the  close  of  the 
war  he  settled  with  his  family  at  Nil- 
wood,  111.,  where  heengagedin  mercan- 
tile pursuits  for  two  years.  During  that 
time,  and  previous  thereto,  he  had  been 
studying  law,    and,    in    1868,    was    ad- 


mitted to  the  bar  by  the  supreme  court. 
He  then  began  the  practice  of  his  pro- 
fession, which  he  followed  until  1877. 
In  1875  he  came  to  Roodhouse,  and  two 
years  later,  embarked  in  the  newspaper 
field,  which  he  continued  until  some 
two  years  ago,  sinee  which  time  he  has 
been  practicing  law.  In  1876,  he  was 
the  nominee  of  the  republicans  for  the 
position  of  county  attorney,  his  oppo- 
nent being  J.  R.  Ward,  who  was  elected, 
his  party  being  largely  in  the  majority, 
hut  Mr.  Mclver  ran  ahead  of  his  ticket. 
Mr.  Mclver  is  a  member  of  the  Girard, 
Macoupin  county,  lodge  of  I.  O.  0.  F.,; 
also  of  the  Jacob  Fry  Post  No.  193,  G. 
A.  R.  He  was  also  a  member  of  the 
K.  of  P.  lodge  at  the  time  of  the  sur- 
render of  its  charter,  and  was  chancel- 
lor commander  at  that  time.  Mrs. 
Mclver  is  a  member  of  the  M.  E. 
church,  as  are  also  her  two  daughters. 

Mark  Meyerstein,  one  of  the  mem- 
bers of  the  bar  of  White  Hall,  was  born 
at  Murawano  Goshlin, province  of  Posen, 
Prussia,  on  the  27th  day  of  October, 
1836.  His  parents  were  William  and 
Sbenetta  (Lcshinsky )  Meyerstein,  both 
natives  of  Poland.  They  both  died  in 
their  native  country,  about  1883.  Mark 
was  educated  in  the  gymnasium  at  Po- 
sen, finishing  at  the  "Real  Schule,"  in 
Meseritz,  where  he  graduated  in  1853. 
In  the  spring  of  1854  he  came  to  the 
United  States,  and  after  spending  a 
short  time  in  New  York,  he  went  to 
Kentucky,  where  he  engaged  at  Simp- 
sonville  as  a  salesman.  In  1855,  he 
went  to  St.  Louis,  in  the  same  business, 
remaining  there  until  I860.  He  then 
went  to  Scottsville,  Macoupin  county, 
111.,  and  engaged  in  the  mercantile  bus- 
iness for  himself.     In  the  month  of  Sep- 


ns 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


tember,  1863,  he  removed  to  White  Hall , 
and  engaged  here  in  the  mercantile  bus- 
iness.  This  he  continued  until  the 
spring  of  1865,  when  he  removed  to 
Carrollton.  From  there  he  went  to  St. 
Louis,  in  January,  1*66,  and  engaged  in 
the  wholesale  clothing  trade.  After  one 
year  in  that  business,  he  returned  to 
"White  Hall  and  engaged  in  the  retail 
dry  goods  trade,  which  he  continued 
two  years.  In  his  store  he  studied  law, 
having  determined  to  devote  his  life  to 
the  legal  profession  and  devoted  his  at- 
tention to  his  studies  with  such  assidu- 
ity that  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in 
fall  of  1867,  while  yet  selling  goods. 
He  opened  an  office  in  1869  and  has 
since  continued  the  practice  of  law.  In 
this  profession  he  has  made  for  himself 
a  reputation  second  to  none  in  this  part 
of  the  state.  On  the  17th  day  of  May, 
1861,  he  was  married  to  Mary  Hettick, 
a  daughter  of  Perry  and  Sarah  (Arm- 
strong) Hettick,,  natives  of  Ohio  and 
Tennessee,  respectively.  Mr.  Hettick 
was  an  extensive  farmer  near  Scottville. 
He  died  in  1883.  By  this  marriage  there 
are  four  children — Sarah  S.,  William, 
Yetta,  and  Mark.  Mr.  Meyerstein  is  a 
member  of  Carrollton  lodge  No.  50,  A., 
F.  it  A.  M.  In  his  profession  he  holds 
an  enviable  position  and  enjoys  an  ex- 
cellent reputation. 

D.  F.  King,  the  present  state's  attor- 
ney, residing  in  Roodhouse,  is  a  native 
of  Texas,  born  Jan.  9,  1853.  He  was  tin- 
third  child  of  a  family  of  seven  chil- 
dren of  Alexander  ami  Mary  (  Wagoner) 
King,  of  whom  mention  is  made  in  the 
Representative  chapter.  David  was  ed- 
ucated in  Blackburn  University,  at 
Carlinville,  111.,  after  which  he  taught 
school   ami   read    law  under  M.   Meyer- 


stein, of  White  Hall,  and  then  taught 
school  and  studied  law  at  home  until 
1S7C>,  when  he  removed  to  Texas,  and 
was  there  admitted  to  the  bar  during 
the  same  year.  He  remained  in  Texas 
less  than  one  year,  returning  to  Greene 
county,  where  he  was  admitted  to  the 
bar  in  1879.  In  1877,  he  was  elected 
county  superintendent  of  schools,  which 
office  he  held  until  Dec,  1880,  when  he 
resigned.  In  the  fall  of  the  same  year 
he  was  elected  state's  attorney  for  the 
county,  which  office  he  still  retains, 
having  been  re-elected  in  1884.  In 
Sept.,  1874,  he  was  married  to  Nancy, 
a  daughter  of  Jesse  Morrow.  She  was 
born  in  Greene  county.  By  this  union 
there  are  four  boys — Jesse  A.,  John  B., 
Oliver  and  Frank.  Mrs.  King  is  a 
member  of  the  Campbellite  church.  Mr. 
King  is  a  member  of  the  Roodhouse 
lodge,  No.  681,  I.  0.  0.  F.,  and  of  the 
Worcester  lodge,  No.  113,  K.  of  P.  He 
has  represented  the  Odd  Fellows  lodge 
in  the  grand  lodge  of  the  state  one 
term,  and  has  been  a  member  of  several 
democratic  state  conventions,  and  of  all 
the  county  conventions  since  1876. 

James  L.  Patterson,  of  the  law  firm  of 
Patterson  &  Starkey,  Roodhouse,  is  a 
native  of  St.  Louis  county,  Mo.,  was 
born  Aug.  29,  1846,  being  a  son  of 
Lemuel  J.  and  Ann  E.  (Hume)  Patter- 
son, both  natives  of  Missouri.  Lemuel 
J.  came  to  Illinois  in  1844,  and  settled 
at  Schutz's  Mill,  Greene  county.  For 
many  years  he  was  engaged  in  the  mer- 
chandise business,  and  was  one  of  the 
representative  men  <>f  the  county,  hav- 
ing served  the  people  in  the  capacity  of 
sheriff  four  years,  and  justice  of  tin.' 
peace  several  terms,  in  each  of  which 
positions  he  gave  entire  satisfaction  to 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


719 


his  constituents.  He  is  now  a  resident 
of  the  city  of  Roodhouse,  and  is  much 
respected  by  his  neighbors  and  friends. 
James  L.  Patterson,  the  subject  of  this 
sketch,  received  his  preliminary  educa- 
tion in  t  lie  district  schools  of  this  county, 
and  Inter  attended  the  Winchester  High 
School.  In  his  18th  year  he  began 
reading  law,  under  Judge  Hodges,  at 
Carrollton,  and  five  years  later,  in  1870, 
was  admitted  to  the  bar.  He  had  pre- 
viously taught  school  for  nine  years,  was 
deputy  assessor  for  the  same  length  of 
time,  and  township  treasurer  for  five  ; 
years,  in  T.  12,  R.  13,  now  Patterson 
township,  named  so  in  honor  of  his 
fit  her.  In  Oct..  1877,  he  came  to  the 
city  of  Roodhouse,  and  engaged  in  the 
practice  of  his  chosen  profession,  in 
which  he  has  been  eminently  successful, 
now  being  rated  as  one  of  the  mosl  suc- 
cessful  attorneys  in  this  part  of  the 
state.  Mr.  Patterson  has  been  attorney 
for  the  C.  &  A.  II.  1!.  for  the  past  eight 
years,  and  has  a  very  extensive  railroad 
practice,  in  addition  to  his  general.  The 
firm  of  which  lie  is  the  head,  was  estab- 
lished Feb.  3,  1882,  and  has  ever  since 
practiced  in  the  various  courts  of  Illinois 
and  Missouri, their  practice  being  second 
to  no  other  firm  in  this  part  of  the 
state.  In  March,  1868,  .lames  L.  Pat- 
terson and  Mary  E.  Wilmington  were 
united  in  marriage.  She  is  a  Dative  of 
St.  Louis  county,  Mo., and  a  daughter 
of  Edwin  Wilmington,  a  native  of  Eng- 
land. By  their  union,  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Patterson  have  been  blessed  with  two 
children — Buell  and  Harry.  Mis.  Pat- 
terson is  a  member  of  the  M.  E.  church, 
and  Mr.  Patterson  the  Baptist,  hav- 
ing united  with  that  organization  in 
1867.       He  is  also  a  member   of  White 


Hall  lodge  No.  SO,  A.  F.  &  A.  M.,  of 
White  Hall  lodge,  ].  0..0.  F.,  A.  0.  U. 
\\\,  and  K.  of  P.,  in  two  of  which  he 
has  held  most  of  the  offices,  at  different 
times.  He  has  been  superintendent  of 
the  Baptist  Sunday  school  ever  since 
the  organization  of  that  society  in  Rood- 
house,  and  under  his  efficient  manage- 
ment, the  school  has  flourished,  now 
having  large  classes  and  a  fineorchestra. 
Mr.  Patterson  was  president  of  the 
town  hoard  at  the  time  of  the  organiza- 
tion of  Roodhouse  as  a  city,  and  for  the 
years  has  been  clerk  of  the  district 
board  of  education.  In  politics  he  is  a 
democrat,  and  has  been  chosen  as  a  del- 
egate to  every  congressional  convention 
held  in  the  12th  district,  and  has  at  var- 
ious times  acted  as  chairman  of  the 
same.  Since  coming  to  Roodhouse,  Mr. 
Patterson  has  done  much  toward  the 
improvement  of  the  city,  being  associ- 
ated with  Mr.  Roodhouse  in  the  erection 
of  many  of  the  best  buildings  in  the 
city.  They  laid  out  the  public  square, 
and  did  much  toward  bringing  trade  to 
the  city.  Truly,  it  may  be  said  that  he 
is  a  representative  man. 

W.  M.  Ward,  a  practicing  attorney  at 
Greenfield,  is  a  son  of  Jesse  and  Mary 
Ward,  the  former  a  native  of  Kentucky 
and  the  latter  of  Virginia.  The  father 
of  W .  M.  was  a  fanner  by  occupation 
and  was  among  the  first  settlers  of  Jer- 
sey county.  \Y .  M.  was  born  Dec.  24, 
1838,  and  attended  the  common  schools 
until  he  was  18  years  of  age.  He  then 
took  a  trip  to  the  Rocky  mountains, 
where  he  spent  eight  years  in  various 
occupations.  He  was  first  engaged  in 
mining,  then  was  in  the  attorney-gen- 
eral's office,  and  was  out  on  an  expedi- 
tion   after   the   Red   men  and    followed 


720 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


thrm  into  their  mountain  fastnesses,  and 
had  some  practical  experience  in  Indian 
fighting.  During  his  stay  m  the  west 
he  had  a  varied  and  checkered  exper- 
ience. In  the  winter  of  1867,  he  re- 
turned to  Brighton,  and  soon  after  en- 
tered the  office  of  Asa  Potter  and  en- 
gaged in  the  study  of  law,  in  which  he 
continued  about  three  years.  On  July 
26, 1870,  he  was  united  in  marriage  with 
Louisa  Prosser.  By  this  union  they 
have  had  three  children,  of  whom  two 
are  now  living — Louisa  M.  and  Jessie 
W.     He  left  the  office  of  Asa  Potter  in 


1872,  and  went  into  the  employ  of  the 
R.  &  R.  I.  R.  R.  Co.,  as  a  machinist, 
where  he  remained  one  year.  He  then 
moved  his  family  to  Greene  county  and 
engaged  in  the  milling  business,  which 
he  followed  until  1875,  at  which  time 
he  sold  out  his  interest  and  located  at 
Greenfield.  On  May  10,  1875.  he  re- 
ceived an  appointment,  as  postmaster, 
and  June  5,  got  his  commission.  In 
1876,  he  received  the  appointment  of 
notary  public,  was  admitted  to  the  bar 
in  Jan.,  1877,  and  has  since  been  en- 
gaged in  the  practice  of  law. 


CHAPTER    XII. 


THE    MEDICAL    PROFESSION    OF    GREENE  COUNTY. 

From  time  immemorial  the  medical 
profession  has  been  held  in  highest  re- 
pute by  all  men,  civilized  or  barbarous. 
Whether  he  is  the  learned  disciple  of 
Galen  or  Hippocrates,  who  has  made  a 
professional  study  of  the  healing  art  in 
all  its  branches,  or  the  medicine  man  of 


ing  for  the  ray  of  sxistaining  hope. 
The  medical  fraternity  of  Greene  county, 
have,  with  but  very  few  exceptions, 
been  an  honor  to  this  honorable  pro- 
fession. Ever  ready  to  respond  to 
the  call  of  duty,  they  have  defied  the 
cold    of    winter's   chilling   breath,   the 


the    untutored    savages,  who,  from  the  summer's  heat,  or  rain  and  darkness  of 

experience  gathered  from  years   of  ob-  all  times.     They  have   been  compelled 

servation,  uses  the  healing  properties  to  thread  the  mazes  of  the  primeval  for- 

of  the  herbs  and  roots  about  him,  honor  ,  ests,   or   to  cross   the  trackless  prairie, 

awaits    him  on  ever}'  hand,  while  the  facing  the  fierce  snow    storm  from   the 

power  of  life  and  death,  so  far  as  it  can  north,  at  risk  of  life  or  limb,  often  with 

be  cummanded  by  finite  man,  is  placed  !  no  hope  of  fee  or  reward,  but  only  the 

in   his  keeping.     The   .vearv,   suffering  consciousness  of    having    performed   a 

patient,  lying  upon  his  bed  of  pain,  and  good  action,  in  listening  to  the   cry   of 

the    no    less   weary,    anxious    watcher,  anguish  of  those  in  distress.     All  this 

await   the    coming  of   the   doctor    with  j  has    been    done    by    the    physicians    of 

eagerness,    and  upon   his    arrival    note  '  Greene  county,  without  complaint.     If 

every  movement  and  expression,  seek-  the    good  deeds   done   by  these    noble, 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


723 


self-sacrificing  members  of  the  pro- 
fession arc  not  now  remembered 
by  those  whom  they  have  rescued 
from  pain  and  suffering,  the  time  is 
coming  when  they  will  be.  When  the 
names  of  the  pioneer  doctors  are  called 
to  mind,  it  is  hoped  that  the  hearts  of 
the  old  settlers  will  be  touched,  and 
none  fail  to  respond,  "  May  God  bless 
them." 

The  pioneer  physician  in  the  county 
of  Greene  is  believed  is  have  been  Dr. 
Potts,  who  lived  about  one  and  a  half 
miles  west  of  Carrollton.  He  came  here 
about  1821.  In  about  1823  or  24,  he  re- 
moved to  near  the  site  of  White  Hall, 
where  he  died. 

Dr.  Joseph  Piggott  came  to  what  is 
now  Greene  county  in  1818, and  was  con- 
sequently one  of  the  first  settlers.  He 
first  settled  near  what  is  now  called 
Old  Kane,  where  he  bought  and  im- 
proved a  farm.  In  1831,  he  removed  to 
a  place  called  Eminence,  a  small  vil- 
lage in  Elsah  township,  Jersey  county, 
on  the  Mississippi  river,  which  was  so 
named  from  the  fact  that  it  was  situated 
on  one  of  the  highest  bluffs  in  the  Mis- 
sissippi valley.  He  here  built  and  ran 
a  hand  ferry,  which  plied  between 
Eminence  and  Portage  des  Sioux,  on  the 
Missouri  side,  continuing  in  that  busi- 
ness some  three  years,  when  his  wife 
died,  leaving  him  with  a  family  of  five 
small  children,  when  he  became  dissat- 
isfied and  went  to  farming  near  by,  and 
also  opened  a  small  store  of  general 
merchandise.  He  remained  here  about 
two  years,  when  he  removed  to  ({ill- 
ham's  Mound,  in  Mississippi  township, 
where  he  followed  farming  and  the  prac- 
tice of  medicine,  as  he  had  been  a  prac- 
ticing physician  since  1830,  a  fact   that 


should  have  been  previously  mentioned. 
He  lived  there  until  his  death,  which 
occurred  Oct.  17,  1850. 

Dr.  Throckmorton  came  to  the  county 
of  Greene  m  1823.  and  shortly  after- 
ward located  in  the  village  of  Carrollton 
where  he  soon  had  an  extensive  prac- 
tice. At  a  later  date  he  moved  to 
Texas,  of  which  state  his  son  was  the 
governor. 

Among  some  of  the  physicians  who 
have  practiced  in  Carrollton  in  the  past, 
not  mentioned  as  yet,  have  been  the 
following  disciples  of  Galen :  Drs. 
Pegram,  Dulaney,  DePew,  Sharon, 
Johnson,  Lashure,  Coward,  Bostwick, 
(!  lad  well,  Hardtncr,  Thompson,  Lind- 
sey  and  Kingsley. 

Dr.  DePew  was  here  but  a  short  time, 
dying  while  a  resident  of  Carrollton,  at 
an  early  age,  in  the  full  promise  of 
manhood. 

Dr.  Johnson,  also  an  allopathic  phy- 
sician, remained  here  but  a  few  years, 
removing  from  here  to  northern  Mich- 
igan. 

Dr.  Lashure  resided  in  Carrollton 
about  two  years,  but  his  health  not  be- 
ing very  robust,  he  emigated  to  Los 
Angelos,  Cal.,  where  he  now  lives. 

Dr.  J.  Coward,  was  an  Englishman 
by  birth  and  education,  who  lived  near 
the  town  of  Carrollton  for  several  years. 
He  was  quite  successful  in  his  practice. 
He  afterward  removed  to  Deseret  or 
Salt  Lake  City,  where  he  died  about 
1855  or  1856. 

Dr.  Thompson,  was  the  first  physi- 
cian of  the  homeopathic  school  to  locate 
in  Carrollton.  He  did  not  make  this 
his  home  for  very  long. 

Dr.  Bowman,  now  of  White  Hall, 
also  practiced  in  the  town  of  Carrollton. 


724 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


Dr.  John  Hardtner,  was  a  follower  of 
what  is  called  the  eclectic  school.  He 
located  here,  where  he  practiced  for  a 
time,  when  he  turned  dentist.  He  in- 
vested his  money  in  land,  which,  by 
the  rise  in  value,  made  him  wealthy. 
He  removed  to  Springfield,  where  he 
now  resides. 

Dr.O.  B.  Heaton  was  a  native  of  Ver- 
mont, and  came  to  Carrollton  about  the 
year  1830.  He  remained  in  practice 
here  for  a  number  of  years.  He  re- 
moved to  Virden,  Macoupin  county,  in 
about  1850,  and  from  there  to  Chicage, 
and  died  wealthy. 

Dr.  Chester  Gaylord  was  quite  a  well 
known  physician  in  Carrollton,  and  in 
the  surrounding  country.  He  remained 
here  in  practice  for  many  years,  and 
died  at  Cincinnati,  0.,  whither  he  had 
gone  on  the  4th  of  June,  1847,  at  the  ad- 
vanced age  of  75.  He  was  a  strong  be- 
liever in  the  temperance  movement, and 
a  prominent  member  of  the  S.  of  T. 
order  in  the  town. 

Dr.  Jesse  Chora,  a  talented  physician, 
settled  at  Carrollton,  in  1S30,  where  he 
practiced  his  profession  for  many  years. 
He  was  formerly  a  resident  of  Clark 
county,  Ky.,  and  an  excellent  doctor. 

Dr.  M.  F.  Kelly,  long  a  resident  phy- 
sician of  Woodville,  was  a  native  of 
Washington  county,  Va.,  born  in  1814. 
He  studied  medicine  with  Dr.  Snead 
in  Virginia,  but  subsequently  attended 
lectures  at  Transylvania  University, 
Ky.  He  then  came  to  Carrollton, where 
he  practiced  medicine  about  a  year,  in 
the  mean  time  being  united  in  marriage 
with  Jane  E.  Vigus.  He  removed  to 
.Madison  county,  but  after  a  two  years 
residence  there  returned  to  Greene 
county,  locating  at  Woodville,  where  he 


lived  for  many  years.  He  afterward 
moved  to  Roodhouse,  but  is  now  a  resi- 
dent of  Kansas. 

Among  the  practicing  physicians  of 
Greene  county  was  Dr.  Buel  Culver. 
He  was  born  in  this  county  in  1831,  and 
was  reared  in  White  Hall,  where  he  re- 
ceived his  early  schooling.  He  attended 
the  Rush  Medical  College,  at  Chicago, 
and  commenced  the  practice  of  medicine 
at  Kane.  He  then  removed  to  White 
Hall.  After  a  time  he  quit  the  practice 
of  medicine,  and  entered  that  of  mer- 
chandise, and  later  moved  to  Humbolt, 
Kan.,  where  he  is  now  practicing. 

The  pioneer  physician  of  Greenfield 
was  Dr.  Martin  A.  Cooper,  who  made 
his  appearance  in  that  town  in  the  win- 
ter of  183-5-6.  He  was  then  a  young, 
unmarried  man,  who  came  here  from 
Tennessee.  He  received  sufficient  en- 
couragement to  stay,  so  built  him  a 
cabin  12x14,  and  returning  to  Tennes- 
see, was  married,  and  returned  and  in- 
stalled bis  bride  in  the  mansion  pre- 
pared for  her.  He  was  an  able  practi- 
tioner, well  read,  but  a  poor  business 
manager,  and  as  a  financier,  a  decided 
failure.  Much  of  his  large  practice  was 
done  gratuitously,  much  of  it  charged, 
and  no  attempt  made  to  collect  it.  His 
rides  took  him  to  Rockbridge,  Witt's 
Mill,  Hickory  Grove,  Athensville,  Fay- 
ette, Scottsville  and  Rivesville,  an  ex- 
tent of  country  of  great  magnitude. 
Kind  in  his  disposition,  and  amiable  to 
a  fault,  he  had  many  friends.  He  en- 
joyed a  monopoly  of  the  medical  prac- 
tice at  this  point,  scarcely  disturbed  by 
the  successive  advent  of  Drs.  Metcalf, 
Mayfield  and  Rice,  who  came  here,  staid 
a  short  time,  gave  it  up,  and  left  for 
other  climes,  until  1850. 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


725 


Dr.  James  B.  Samuel  came  to  Carroll- 
ton  early  in  Feb.,  1848,  and  commenced 
the  practice  of  medicine.  He  was  a  na- 
tive of  Caroline  county,  Va.,  born  June 
2,  1798.  He  removed,  when  about  20 
years  old,  with  his  parents,  Richardand 
Margaret  Samuel,  to  Cynthiana,  Ky., 
where,  in  Dec,  1823,  he  was  united  in 
marriage  with  Agnes  Pickett.  In  1826, 
he  began  the  practice  of  medicine,  and 
in  1831  removed  to  Meredosia,  111.,  and 
in  1828.  tn  Carrollton.  In  the  meantime 
his  father  had  died,  in  1831,  of  cholera, 
and  his  mother  came  with  him  to  Car- 
rollton,  where  she  died  in  1857.  His 
wife  had  also  died  prior  to  his  coming 
here,  in  1837,  and  June  4,  1839,  he  was 
united  in  marriage  with  Lucy  Ann  Clark, 
of  Carrollton,  who  survived  him.  Dr. 
Samuel  was  a  most  excellent,  as  well  as 
popular  physician;  was  a  member  of  the 
Masonic  order  for  53  years,  and  a  char- 
ter member  of  Fletcher  lodge,  of  Car- 
rollton, and  for  many  years  the  master 
of  the  same. 

Among  the  physicians  of  the  past, 
who  have  proved  eminent,  Dr.  Cyrus 
Davis  must  not  be  forgotten.  A  full 
biographical  sketch  of  him  is  given  in 
this  work,  in  the  chapter  entitled,  "Na- 
tional, State  and  County  Representa- 
tion." 

James  M.  Davis,  M.  D.,  a  son  of  Dr. 
Cyrus  A.  and  Anna  R.  (Montague) 
Davis,  was  born  in  Boyle  county,  Ky., 
Oct.  7,  1S'_>8.  He  was  in  his  fourth 
year  when  his  parents  settled  in  Greene 
county,  111.,  'at  which  time  Carrollton 
was  a  village  composed  of  a  few  rough 
stores  and  dwellings.  Here  James  re- 
ceived the  rudiments  of  education,  and 
when  only  17  years  of  age  enlisted  in 
Co.  H,  2d  Reg.,  of  Ky.  lnft.,and  served 


in  the  Mexican  war  until  honorably 
discharged  on  account  of  general  disa- 
bility. Returning  home  he  commenced 
the  study  of  medicine,  with  his  father 
as  preceptor.  At  the  end  of  one  year 
of  unremitting  study,  he  proceeded  to 
St.  Louis  and  attended  the  medical  de- 
partment of  the  Missouri  State  Univer- 
sity, from  which  he  graduated  in  March, 
1852.  He  at  once  entered  upon  the 
duties  of  his  profession,  and  until  his 
death  was  the  medical  advisor  for  a 
large  number  of  people  of  Carrollton 
and  surrounding  country.  In  1857,  Dr. 
Davis  was  united  in  marriage  with 
Sarah  A.  Yedder,  a  daughter  of  F.  P. 
Yedder.  By  this  union  five  children 
were  born — Francis  A.,  Edgar  L.,  Net- 
tie, Belle  and  Nelia.  Dr.  Davis  was  a 
republican  in  politics,  and  at  one  time 
was  that  party's  candidate  for  state  sen- 
ator, but  was  defeated,  as  was  the  re- 
mainder of  the  ticket.  He  held  numer- 
ous responsible  positions  in  local  mat- 
ters, and  at  the  time  of  his  death  was 
one  of  the  trustees  of  the  blind  asylum, 
at  Jacksonville.  He  was  a  kind  father 
and  a  public  spirited  citizen.  His  death 
took  place  June  8,  18S5.  The  funeral 
services  were  conducted  by  the  Masonic 
fraternity,  of  which  the  deceased  was 
an  honored  member.  He  was  also  a 
member  of  the  K.  of  H. 

Dr.  Ledbrook  located  in  the  town  of 
Greenfield,  in  1850,  and  remained  there 
for  many  years,  in  the  practice  of  his 
profession. 

Dr.  Finch  came  to  Greenfield  in  1852, 
and  practiced  medicine  in  that  town  and 
vicinity  for  many  years,  being  very  suc- 
cessful. 

Dr.  Augustus  Knapp  located  in  Kane 
in  1S3G  or  37,  and  remained  there  until 


?26 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


1845.  He  was  a  regular  practitioner  of 
the  old  school, and  was  quite  successful. 
He  removed  to  Jerseyville,  and  became 
quite  prominent. 

Among  the  honored  physicians  of  the 
county,  perhaps  there  were  none  better 
known  than  Dr.  Luther  Cory,  of  Kane. 
He  was  a  native  of  New  Jersey,  born 
Feb.  18,  ITS'.).  When  he  was  but  a  few 
months  old  his  parents  moved  to  Addi- 
son county,  Vt.,  where  they  spent  the 
balance  of  their  lives.  The  doctor  was 
reared  there  among  the  rugged  hills  of 
this  his  adopted  home,  receiving  his 
literary  education  at  the  Castleton 
Academy,  Vermont.  When  about  21 
years  of  age  he  commenced  the  study  of 
medicine,  and  attended  lectures  at  Cas- 
tleton, securing  a  diploma.  He  com- 
menced the  practice  of  medicine  at 
Bridgeport,  Vt.,  in  1813.  Sept.  3,  1815, 
he  was  married  to  Hannah  Miner.  He 
served  two  terms  in  the  Vermont  legis- 
lature. He  practiced  his  profession  at 
the  above  place  over  thirty  years, when, 
in  Oct. ,1844,  he  came  to  Greene  county, 
locating  at  Kane,  carrying  on  a  farm 
and  practicing  medicine.  He  died  here 
July  20,  1850. 

Dr.  John  C.  Miller,  one  of  the  early 
physicians  and  surgeons  of  Carrollton, 
practiced  in  that  town  and  vicinity  for 
many  years.  About  1855  he  removed  to 
Cairo,  this  state,  where  he  died  at  a 
ripe  old  age,  March  4,  1870.  He  was 
much  respected,  a  zealous  christian  and 
a  member  of  the  M.  E.  church. 

Dr.  Manning  F.  DeWitt  came  to 
White  Hall  in  1858,  where  he  practiced 
medicine  successfully  until  his  sudden 
and  untimely  death,  April  21,  1870.  He 
was  born  in  Sussex  county,  N.  J.,  July 
9,  1835.     His  parents  subsequently  re- 


moved to  Luzerne  county,  Penn.,  and 
afterward  to  South  Eaton,  Wyoming 
county,  in  the  same  state.  It  was  at 
the  latter  place  that  the  doctor  received 
his  early  education.  While  yet  in  his 
teens,  he  entered  Jefferson  Medical  Col- 
lege, Philadelphia,  as  a  student  and 
graduated  thence,  with  honor,  in  1857. 
He  commenced  the  practice  of  his  pro- 
fession in  White  Hall  soon  afterward, 
and  during  some  twelve  years  built  up 
a  very  large  practice,  and  won  a  reputa- 
tion second  to  none  in  this  portion  of 
the  state  at  that  time,  not  only  as  a 
doctor  but  also  in  surgical  duties. 

Dr.  John  I.  Jones  was  born  in  one  of 
the  southern  states,  but  grew  to  man- 
hood in  Kentucky.  He  was  regularly 
educated  for  the  medical  profession,  and 
practiced  both  in  that  state  and  Louisi- 
ana, prior  to  his  coming  here.  He 
made  his  appearance  at  an  early  day. 
He  married  Bethunia  Bostwick,  daugh- 
ter of  Hon.  Manoah  Bostwick,  who  rep- 
resented this  district  in  the  senate  of 
the  11th  general  assembly. 

Dr.  Lindsey  H.  English  was  a  native 
of  Greene  county,  having  been  born  on 
a  farm  now  owned  by  A.  M.  Cunning- 
ham, near  the  southeastern  limits  of 
the  corporation  of  Carrollton.  He  was 
the  son  of  Lindsey  H.  and  Arabell 
(Turney)  English,  and  his  natal  day 
was  the  12th  of  March,  1854.  When  he 
was  about  16  years  old  his  father  moved 
with  the  whole  family  to  Springfield, 
where  the  doctor  made  his  home  until 
coming  back.  In  1870,  he  entered 
Shurtleff  College,  and  followed  his 
studies  at  that  institution  until  1877. 
He  then  entered  the  Louisville  Medical 
College,  from  which  he  graduated  with 
the  highest  honors,  in  a  class  of  100,  in 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


:-jt 


1879.  [n  August  of  the  same  year  he 
was  united  in  marriage  with  Alice 
Roberts.  The  young  couple  moved  to 
Woodville,  this  county,  where  he  en- 
tered upon  the  practice  of  his  profes- 
sion. In  1883  he  removed  to  Carrollton, 
where  he    died,    Friday,  June  26,  1885. 

Dr.  William  0.  Langdon  came  to  Car- 
rollton about  1878,  and  built  up  quite 
a  practice!  He  was  burn  in  Kentucky, 
in  1848,  but  while  a  hoy,  his  father, 
Dr.  William  S.  Langdon,  removed  to 
Nashville,  Tenn.  The  elder  Langdon 
was  in  the  Confederate  service  until  the 
close  of  the  war,  when  he  removed  to 
St.  Louis.  William  0.  graduated  from 
the  Missouri  Medical  College,  in  1870, 
and  shortly  after  established  himself  at 
Delhi,  Jersey  county.  There  he  was 
married  to  Caroline  Early,  but  in  Dec, 
1876,  this  estimable  lady  died,  leaving 
two  children— Sarah  A.  and  Susan  Y. 
The  doctor  came  to  Carrollton,  as  above, 
but  in  1881,  left  this  part  of  the  country. 

Dr.  A.  C.  McFall,  another  represent- 
ative of  the  homoeopathic  school  of 
medicine,  came  to  Carrollton  in  1876, 
and  built  up  a  fine  practice,  and  gained 
many  friends.  He  was  a  native  of 
Trumbull  county,  Ohio,  but  moved  with 
his  parents  to  Wisconsin  when  he  was 
about  10  years  old.  He  grew  to  man- 
hood in  the  "Badger  State,"  going  to 
the  Plattville  Academy  to  receive  his 
education.  lie  went  from  there  to  New 
York  and  became  a  graduate  of  Fowler 
&  Wells"  Phrenological  Institute,  and  a 
successful  lecturer  on  that  subject,  and 
accumulated  some  wealth.  He  then 
commenced  the  study  of  medicine  in 
the  office  of  Dr.  George  M.  Guernsey, 
and  subsequently  attended  lectures  at 
Cleveland,    Ohio  and   at   Chicago.     He 


was  a  scholarly  gentleman,  well  read 
in  his  profession,  and  quite  successful 
withall.  He  remained  here  until  about 
1880  or  1881, 

Dr.  S.  H.  Culver  was  for  many  years 
connected  with  the  medical  fraternity  of 
this  county.  He  was  a  native  ofRhode 
Island,  born  Sept.  26,  1803.  He  was 
married  to  Polly  Madison  in  1821,  and 
shortly  after  removed  to  Rochester,  New 
York,  where  he  began  the  study  of  med- 
icine umler  Dr.  Smith.  In  1823  he 
joined  the  Methodist  church  and  was 
licensed  to  preach.  In  1831  he  came  to 
Greene  county,  locating  near  White 
Hall,  where  he  spent  over  half  a  cen- 
tury in  his  double  capacity  of  minister 
and  physician. 

Dr.  I.  S.  Hughes,  practiced  medicine 
at  Kane.  He  was  a  native  of  this  state, 
born  in  1844.  Began  the  study  of  med- 
icine in  1860,  in  St.  Louis,  with  Dr.  J. 
D.  Hodgen,  but  in  1862,  he  enlisted  in 
Co.  I,  17th  111.  Inf.,  but  served  in  the 
medical  department.  At  the  close  of 
the  war  he  completed  Ids  studies,  grad- 
uating from  the  St.  Louis  Medical  Col- 
lege in  1852,  practicing  in  the  mean- 
time.    He  moved  to  Kane  in  1872. 

To  he  classed  with  the  medical  pro- 
fession are  the  professors  of  obstetrics, 
known  as  mid-wives,  some  of  whom 
have  proved  quite  celebrated  in  the 
annals  of  Greene  county. 

Eliza  Link,  one  of  the  earliest  mid- 
wives  in  the  county,  came  here  about 
1821,  with  her  husband,  Christian  Link, 
who  was  a  blacksmith.  They  settled. 
at  first,  about  a  mile  ami  a  half  from 
Carrollton,  but  afterwards  removed  into 
town.  Mrs.  Link  practiced  over  a  large 
section  of  territory,  and  always  rod.' 
horseback  when  on  her  errands  of  hu- 


'28 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


inanity.  She  attended  many  of  the 
wives  of  the  old  settlers  and  prominent 
people, and  indeed  the  wives  of  the  phy- 
sicians themselves.  Her  daughter  who 
married  a  man  by  the  name  of  Hudson, 
and  who  lived  on  Apple  creek,  was  a 
worthy  disciple  of  her  mother,  and 
practiced  the  same  profession  for  years. 
Mrs.  Link  died  about  the  year  1854. 

PHYSICIANS    OF    THE    PRESENT. 

Among  the  prominent  physicians  of 
Greene  county  who  are  now  engaged  in 
the  healing  of  the  people,  are  the  fol- 
lowing named  gentlemen,  sketches  of 
the  most  of  whom  will  follow: 

Drs.  Clinton  Armstrong,  George  W. 
Ross,  -lames  T.  Crow,  J.  F.  Simpson, 
C.  W.  Clemmons,  W.  D.  Turner,  C.  H. 
Rew,  C.  P.  Clemmons  and  Eberle  Wil- 
son, of  Carrollton;  Peter  Fenity,  B.J. 
Hall,  0.  K.  Reynold  and  W.  L. 
Burnett,  of  Kane;  E.  K.  Shirley,  W.  J. 
Etedwine,  A.  Bowman,  G.  W.  Burns 
and  Chapman,  Potts  and  Brewster,  of 
White  Hall;  F.  L.  Lightfoot  of  Rood- 
house;  J.  L.  Rollins,  Thomas  Finch, 
Abram  Tompkins,  Frank  A.  Stubble- 
field,  of  Greenfield;  E.  Fenity,  Adam 
E.  .Miller  and  J.  N.  Miller,  of  Rock- 
1  nidge;  J.  B.  Hayes,  of  Barrow;  and 
J.  E.  Waters,  of  Athensville  and  L.  H. 
Clampit,  Thomas  McEuen.C.  M.  Brown, 
B.  B.  Lang  and  C.  E.  Allen,  of  Rood- 
house. 

Dr.  Clinton  Armstrong,  one  of  the 
oldest  practicing  physicians  in  the 
county,  is  a  native  of  Rogersville,  Easl 
Tenn.,  born  March  10,  1823,  his  parents 
being  Clinton  and  Lucy  (Rogers)  Arm- 
strong. The  Armstrong  family  origi- 
nated in  the  north  of  Ireland,  from 
where     William    Armstrong,    Sr.,    the 


great-grandfather  of  our  subject,  emi- 
grated to  America,  and  settled  in  Vir- 
ginia, where  William,  the  grandfather 
of  our  subject,  was  born  in  the  year 
1758.  During  the  early  settlement  of 
Tennessee,  William  Armstrong,  Jr.,  re- 
moved to  that  state,  and  was  there  mar- 
ried to  Elizabeth  Galbreith,  and  by  this 
union  there  were  eight  children,  of 
whom  Clinton,  the  father  of  our  sub- 
ject, was  the  third  son.  He  was  born 
March  10,  1793,  and  on  arriving  at  the 
age  of  manhood,  he  was  united  in  mar- 
riage, in  1816,  with  Lucy  Rogers,  a  na- 
tive of  Rogersville,  Tenn.,  born  in  1798, 
and  a  daughter  of  Joseph  Rogers,  who 
laid  out  the  town  where  Lucy  was  born. 
Joseph  Rogers  was  a  native  of  the  north 
of  Ireland.  In  1786  he  emigrated  to 
the  New  World,  arriving  at  Norfolk, 
Ya.,  from  where  he  came  to  Tennessee, 
and  a  year  from  that  time,  founded  the 
town  of  Rogersville,  where  he  became 
one  of  the  most  prominent  merchants 
of  the  day.  He  died  there,  in  1833,  at 
an  advanced  age.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Clinton 
Armstrong,  Sr.,  were  the  parents  of  13 
children,  of  whom  our  subject  is  the 
fourth  eldest.  Clinton  Sr.,  removed 
from  Tennessee  to  St.  Louis,  in  1845, 
where  he  was  a  prominent  merchant  and 
farmer,  until  1853,  when  he  passed, 
away  to  his  other  home.  Dr.  Arm- 
strong departed  from  his  native  state  in 
1844,  going  to  St.  Louis,  where  be  stud- 
ied medicine  three  years,  and  graduated 
in  1847,  from  the  medical  department 
of  the  University  of  Missouri,  then 
known  as  the  McDowell  School.  He 
then  returned  to  Tennessee,  where  he 
was  united  in  marriage  with  Martha 
Lynn,  a  daughter  of  William  Lynn,  of 
Kingsport.      This    union    was    blessed 


with  four  children — William,  Clinton, 
Lucy  and  Mary.  They  resided  in  St. 
Louis  until  1849,  when  they  removed  to 
Carrpllton,  where  Dr.  Armstrong  has 
sinee  resided,  securing  in  his  profession 
a  large  and  lucrative  practice.  He  is 
one  of  our  most  liberal  citizens,  was  sec- 
retary of  the  Old  Settler's  Association, 
and  takes  a  deep  interest  in  educational 
matters.  Mrs.  Armstrong  died  in 
April,  1872,  and  was  laid  to  rest  at  Oak 
Ridge  cemetery,  Missouri.  Oct.  30, 
1878,  Dr.  Armstrong  was  united  in  mar- 
riage with  Lottie  E.  Harden,  daughter 
of  David  Harden,  late  of  California, 
and  grand-daughter  of  Gen.  Eaton,  who 
entered  the  United  States  service  dur- 
ing the  Revolutionary  struggle,  gaining 
fame  and  wealth,  and  who  was  afterward 
consul  at  Tunis.  When  the  late  civil 
war  was  in  progress,  Dr.  Armstrong 
served  two  years,  doing  noble  work  as 
an  acting  assistant  surgeon,  of  the  61st 
111.  R-g.,  from  Greene  county,  and  was 
an  eve  witness  of  the  siege  and  capture 
of  Vicksburg. 

George  W.  Ross,  M.  D.,  a  native  of 
Pittsfield,  Mass.,  was  bom  (Jet.  7,  18o(J. 
His  parents  were  Merrick  and  Mary  B. 
(Cobbj  Ross.  He  spent  his  early  life  at 
school  in  Boston,  graduating  from  the 
Boston  Latin  School  in  1874,  ami  in  1>77 
graduated  at  Amherst  as  bachelor  of 
arts.  He  afterward  entered  the  College 
of  Physicians  and  Surgeons,  in  New 
York  city,  graduating  as  doctor  of  med- 
icine, in  1879.  He  then  spent  one  year 
in  the  hospital,  and  afterward  tin  de- 
gree of  master  of  arts  was  conferred 
upon  him  at  Amherst.  In  1880  be  came 
ti>  Illinois,  locating  at  Blutfdale,  Greene 
county,  where  he  practiced  three  years, 
when   he  came  to  Carrollton,   and   has 


since  been  a  practitioner  of  this  place. 
Dr.  Ross  was  united  in  marriage,  in 
April,  1885,  with  Daisy  J.,  daughter  of 
B.  Gillingham.  He  was  one  of  the 
founders  of  the  Western  Medical  and 
Surgical  Society,  and  is,  at  preseni 
retary  of  the  same. 

Dr.  James  T.  Crow  was  born  in  Bike 
county,  Mo.,  April  14.  1827,  his  parents 
being  John  and  Mary  (Little;  Crow, 
both  natives  of  Boyle  county,  Kv.  John 
Crow  was  a  soldier  of  the  war  of  1812,  and 
died  in  Bike  county.  Mo.,  in  1875.  His 
widowed  wife  is  still  living  in  that 
county,  upon  the  old  homestead,  where 
they  settled  in  1824,  and  is  94  years  of 
age.  James  T.,  the  subject,  was  the 
seventh  of  a  family  of  10  children.  He 
resided  in  Pike  county  until  his  17th 
year,  when  he  went  to  Danville,  Kv., 
and  took  a  literary  course  at  Center 
College,  graduating  therefrom,  in  1850, 
as  bachelor  of  arts.  He  then  taught 
school  for  a  few  months,  but  soon 
turned  his  attention  to  the  study  of 
medicine,  at  Rockport,  Mo,,  with  Dr. 
George  B.  Wilcox,  lie  afterward  en- 
tered the  St.  Louis  University,  now  the 
St.  Louis  Medical  College,  graduating 
from  that  institution  in  1854,  after  which 
he  located  at  Memphis,  Scotland  county. 
Mo.,  where  he  engaged  in  practice  until 
1862.  At  that  time  he  came  to  Greene 
county,  111.,  but  spent  the  year  of  L863 
at  Quincy,  and  the  following  year  re- 
turned to  Carrollton.  In  1865,  he 
crossed  the  plains  to  California,  return- 
ing to  Carrollton  in  1806,  where  he 
practiced  until  Dec,  1882,  when  he 
again  went  to  California,  by  the  south- 
ern route,  returning  by  the  central  route 
in  June,  188;;.  He  was  accompanied 
by  his  wife  on   each   trip  to  the  Golden 


r3o 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


State,  and  the  latter  time  by  two  sons, 
also.  In  1855,  at  Memphis,  Mo.,  he 
was  married  to  Martha  E.,  a  daughter 
of  IT.  M.  Gorin,  for  many  years  circuit 
clerk  of  Macon  county,  111.,  and  an 
early  settler  of  Memphis,  Mo.  Dr.  and 
Mrs.  Crow  have  been  the  parents  of 
seven  sons,  five  of  whom  died  in  in- 
fancy. The  remaining  two  are  still  liv- 
ing— Charles  C.  and  Albert  S.  In  poli- 
tics, the  doctor  affiliates  with  the  demo- 
cratic party,  and  has  frequently  been 
chosen  by  his  fellow  citizens  to  fill  local 
positions.  He  has  been  a  member  of 
the  Masonic  fraternity  since  1850,  and 
his  religious  views  are  with  the  Episco- 
pal church. 

Dr.  James  French  Simpson,  a  native 
of  Culpepper  county,  Va.,  was  born 
Oct.  10,  1814,  his  parents  being  Hcndley 
and  Elizabeth  (Farrow)  Simpson,  both 
natives  of  Virginia,  the  former  of 
Loudon  county,  and  the  latter  of  Cul- 
pepper county.  His  father  engaged  in 
farming,  but  was  a  wealthy  gentleman 
with  associations  in  only  the  highest  so- 
ciety. In  1835  he  removed  his  family 
to  Illinois,  and  located  at  Medora,  Ma- 
coupin county,  where  he  and  his  wife 
spent  the  balance  of  their  days.  James 
F.  had  spent  the  early  years  of  his  life 
in  Virginia,  and  was  there  educated. 
He  afterward  entered  a  general  mer- 
chandise store  as  a  clerk,  and  was  thus 
engaged  until  he  was  20  years  of  age,  in 
the  meantime  beginning  the  study  of 
medicine.  Nov.  19,  1834,  he  came  to 
Medora,  111.,  where  he  finished  his  medi- 
cal studies  under  Dr.  Farrow.  In  1837  he 
came  to  Carrollton,  where  he  has  since 
remained.  He  immediately  engaged  in 
the  mercantile  business,  which  he  fol- 
lowed several  years,  and  then  bought  a 


drug  store  and  continued  in  the  drug 
business  for  eight  years,  at  the  expira- 
tion of  which  time  he  began  the  practice 
of  medicine,  in  which  he  continued 
about  27  years.  By  that  time  he  had 
accumulated  some  little  means  and 
hence  decided  to  retire  from  practice. 
In  Jan.,  1838,  Dr.  Simpson  was  united 
in  marriage  with  Harriet  C.  Miller,  a 
native  of  Ohio;  unfortunately,  she  was  a 
lady  of  very  poor  health,  and  did  no! 
survive  many  years,  dying  in  1841.  In 
1844  the  doctor  was  joined  in  marriage 
with  Jane  E.  Hopkins,  daughter  of 
James  and  Mary  (Chandler)  Hopkins, 
natives  of  Rockbridge,  Va.  By  this 
marriage  there  have  been  four  children 
— Charles  R.,  born  March  31,  1845,  now 
married;  Lionel  D.,  born  Dec.  1,  1846; 
Julian  H.,  born  Feb.  11,  1849,  died  Feb. 
28,  1865;  Jennie  Mae,  born  May  13, 
1858.  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Simpson  are  mem- 
bers of  the  Baptist  church.  Dr.  Simp- 
son is  a  strong  prohibitionist,  and  has 
received  the  highest  honors  which  that 
party  could  confer,  having  received  at 
various  times  the  nomination  for  the  re- 
spective offices  of  governor,  auditor  and 
elector,  and  penitentiary  commissioner. 
During  the  late  civil  war -the  doctor  was 
called  into  the  army  as  a  supply  surgeon 
by  Gov.  Dick  Yates,  and  remained  in 
charge  of  the  14th  111.  Reg,,  commanded 
by  Col.  Hall.  Dr.  Simpson  has,  during 
his  residence  here,  been  an  active,  en- 
ergetic citizen,  and  his  pleasant  manners 
have  made  for  him  many  friends. 

Dr.  J.  W.  Redwine  is  among  the  pres- 
ent practitioners  in  the  city  of  White 
Hall.  Although  among  the  later  acces- 
sions to  this  profession  here,  he  has 
succeeded  in  attaining  a  good  and  lucra- 
tive practice,  and  is    growing  in  popu- 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


;.;i 


larity  and  the  estimation  of  the  com- 
munity.      Dr.    Redwine    was    born   in 

Morgan  county,  this  state,  Sept.  9, 
1858,  and  is  a  son  of  Isaac  and  A.  Pru- 
itt)  Redwine.  The  former,  who  was 
left  an  orphan  when  a  small  boy,  emi- 
grated from  his  native  state,  Kentucky, 
at  an  early  day,  to  Missouri,  and  after- 
ward removed  to  Morgan  county,  this 
state,  where  he  was  married  to  A.  Pru- 
itt,  a  native  of  Tennessee.  They  are 
now  residents  of  Winchester,  Scott 
county.  The  subject  of  this  sketch  re- 
ceived his  early  education  in  the  schools 
of  Morgan  county,  and  during  the  years 
1877  and  1878  he  attended  a  private 
school  at  Chillicothe,  Mo.  In  1879  he 
entered  the  St.  Louis  Medical  College, 
for  the  purpose  of  obtaining  a  profes- 
sional education,  where  he  remained 
during  two  consecutive  sessions  of  the 
school.  In  1881  he  became  a  student  at 
the  Missouri  Medical  College,  from 
which  institution  he  graduated  in  1882. 
Mr.  Redwine  then  located  at  White 
Hall,  and  began  the  practice  of  his  pro- 
fession, where  he  has  since  resided.  He 
was  married,  March  16,  1862,  to  Mary 
R.  Tunison,  born  in  this  county  in  1857, 
and  a  daughter  of  Jacob  E.  and  Lucy 
(Griswold)  Tunison.  Mr.  Redwine  is  a 
member  of  the  Masonic  order  and  Odd 
Fellows  lodges,  and  in  politics  is  a  dem- 
ocrat. 

Prominent  among  the  members  of  the 
medical  profession  of  Greene  county,  is 
Philip  F.  Lightfoot,  of  Roodhouse.  He 
is  a  native  of  Alabama,  having  been 
born  in  that  state  on  the  23d  of  Sept., 
1823.  He  was  a  son  of  Reuben  and 
Gillie  (Meredith)  Lightfoot,  the  former 
of  whom  was  a  native  of  Kentucky,  and 
the  latter  of  Tennessee.    Reuben  Light- 


foot was  a  tanner  and  planter,  and  was 
one  of  the  prominent  men  of  his  section 
of  the  country.  His  death  occurred  in 
1824,  and  that  of  his  beloved  wife  nearly 
half  a  century  later,  in  1873.  Philip  F. 
Lightfoot  received  his  preliminary  edu- 
cation in  his  native  state,,  and  later  at- 
tended the  New  York  Medical  College, 
from  which  popular  institution  lie  grad- 
uated with  honors,  in  1S48.  In  1850  he 
began  the  practice  of  his  chosen  profes- 
sion, at  Fort  Madison,  la.,  and  it  was 
but  a  short  time  before  his  abilities  were 
recognized.  In  1852  he  came  to  Illinois, 
and  for  six  years  practiced  medicine  in 
Macoupin  county.  Then,  in  1858,he  re- 
moved to  Manchester,  Scott  county, 
where  he  remained  until  1868,  meeting 
with  deserved  success.  In  1869,  he  re- 
moved to  Munysville,  Morgan*  county, 
where  he  remained  until  1878,  when  he 
went  to  Vernon  county,  Mo.,  returning 
in  1879.  In  the  latter  year  he  came  to 
Greene  county,  locating  in  Roodhouse, 
his  present  home.  Dr.  Philip  F.  Light- 
font  and  Sarah  E.  Edwards,  a  native  of 
Morgan  county,  111.,  were  united  in 
marriage,  in  1852,  and  their  union  has 
been  blessed  with  three  children — Ann 
Ella,  wife  of  S.  D.  Masters,  of  Jackson- 
ville, 111.;  Joseph  T.  and  Beatrice. 
Mrs.  Lightfoot  is  a  member  of  the  M. 
E.  church,  while  the  doctor  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Murrayville  lodge,  Morgan 
county,  of  the  A.  F.  &  A.  M.  During 
the  war  of  the  Rebellion  the  doctor  was 
an  independent  surgeon  in  the  91st  111. 
Inft.  He  now  takes  a  place  in  the  front 
rank  of  the  medical  profession  in 
Greene  county,  having  a  very  extensive 
practice,  which  is  well  deserved. 

Dr.   E.    K.    Shirley,  one  of  the  well 
known    physicians    of    Greene  county. 


732 


HISTORY  OK  GREENE  COUNTY. 


was  born  in  Morgan  county,  this  state, 
on  the  25th  day  of  April,  1855.  He  is 
a  son  of  George  and  Emily  (Brown) 
Shirley,  natives  of  Virginia  and  Penn- 
sylvania, respectively.  Tiny  located 
in  Morgan  county  in  1S30.  The  father 
of  our  subject  was  a  physician,  by 
profession,  and  practiced  in  Mor- 
gan county  until  his  death,  which 
occurred  on  the  17th  day  of  Feb.,  1868. 
His  widow  now  resides  in  St.  Louis. 
Dr.  E.  K.  Shirley  was  educated  in  St. 
Louis,  and  there  studied  for  his  pro- 
fession. He  graduated  from  the  Homoe- 
opathic College,  in  that  city,  in  1881, 
and  has  since  that  time,  been  for  the 
most  part  a  resident  of  White  Hall,  in 
which  city  and  vicinity  he  has  built  up 
an  extensive  practice.  For  two  years, 
however,  lie  practiced  in  St.  Louis 
since  his  graduation.  Since  1884  he 
has  been  located  here  permanently. 
In  1882  he  was  united  in  marriage  with 
Annie  L.,  daughter  of  Alfred  and  Eliza- 
beth (Hubbard)  White,  natives  of  Ohio, 
and  this  county,  respectively.  There 
are  two  children  by  this  marriage — 
Allied  Harris  and  Henry  White.  Dr. 
and  Mrs.  Shirley  are  members  of  the 
M.  E.  church. 

Dr.  Benjamin  J.  Hall  was  born  at 
Lebanon,  Marion  county,  Ky.,  on  the 
19th  of  April,  1834,  his  parents  being 
Joseph  A.  and  .Mary  A.  ( Mudd)  Hall, 
natives  of  Kentucky.  Benjamin  . I.,  the 
subject  of  this  sketch,  received  his 
early  education  at  St.  Mary's  College, 
in  Lebanon,  attending  school  thereuntil 
he  was  about  16  years  of  age.  In  the 
year  1851,  he  went  to  Louisville,  Ky., 
to  attend  the  Medical  University  of  that 
city,  at  which  plaoe  lie  graduated  in  his 
chosen  profession  in  1854.     During  that 


year  he  begun  the  practice  of  his  profes- 
sion at  Raywick,  Ky.,  and  continued 
there  until  1862.  In  the  year  1864,  he 
came  to  Greene  county,  111.,  and  located 
at  Old  Kane,  where  hi'  remained  only 
one  year.  In  the  year  1865,  he  removed 
to  Hardin,  Calhoun  county,  remaining 
there  until  1881,  when  he  again  returned 
to  Greene  county,  and  located  at  Kane, 
where  he  has  since  continued  as  a  prac- 
ticing physician.  On  the  5th  day  of 
August,  1865,  he  was  married  to  Sarah 
(  Woolsey)  White,  daughter  of  Amos  and 
Eunice  Woolsey.  By  this  marriage  there 
were  seven  children,  four  of  whom  are 
now  living — Joseph  A.,  Daniel  W.,  Ida 
M.  and  Bennie  L:  Dr.  Hall  owns  prop- 
erty in  the  village  of  Kane,  and  has  a 
good  practice  which  is  constantly  in- 
creasing, and  in  which  he  has  proven  to 
be  a  very  successful  physician. 

Peter  Fenity,  M.  D.,  a  leading  phy- 
sician of  Greene  county,  located  at  the 
town  of  Kane,  is  a  native  of  the  Emer- 
ald Isle,  born  in  the  county  of  Roscom- 
mon, March  15,  18"27.  He  is  a  son  of 
John  and  Margaret  (McDonnell)  Fenity, 
both  natives  of  Ireland.  In  LS40,  his 
parents  left  the  shores  of  Erin,  bound 
for  Canada,  and  upon  arrival  there 
settled  near  the  city  of  Kingston.  The 
subject  of  this  sketch  received  the 
rudiments  of  an  English  education 
before  leaving  his  native  country — his 
first  and  only  reading  book  being  the 
New  Testament — of  which  he  commit- 
ted the  four  Gospels  and  Paul's  letter 
to  the  Hebrews,  to  memory.  Soon  after 
arriving  in  Kingston,  where  lie  had  an 
uncle  who  was  an  old  citizen,  he,  with 
the  family,  moved  west  and  settled  on 
Amherst  Island,  bay  of  Quinte,  where 
hi'  continued  at  work  for  different  farm- 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


r:::; 


ers  for  three  years.  Intemperance  drove 
the  family  to  America,  and  the  passions 

engendered  by  intemperance  in  the 
father,  drove  the  son  away  from  home 
at  the  age  of  16.  At  that  age  he  began 
a  course  of  study  and  preparation, 
studying  during  the  long  winter  nights 
by  the  light  of  pine  knots,  and  working 
on  the  farm  during  the  summer,  and 
teaching  after  sufficient  education  had 
been  acquired,  until  the  spring  of 
1846,  when,  at  the  age  of  19,  hunger- 
ing for  a  higher  life,  he  ventured  again 
among  strangers,  crossing  Lake  On- 
tario to  Niagara  Falls;  thence  to  Buflalo; 
thence  to  Cleveland  and  Oberlin,  0., 
where  he  continued  working  and  study- 
ing, until  Aug.,  1*47,  when,  in  company 
with  a  classmate,  Jos.  H.  McChesney, 
now  of  New  York  City,  he  crossed  the 
lakes  to  Chicago,  then  a  small  city,  and 
traveled  in  a  lumber  wagon  with  a 
farmer  to  Rock  Island,  and  thence  to 
the  heme  of  McChesney,  in  Mercer 
county,  where  they  both  remained  until 
the  beginning  of  the  school  year  at 
Knox  College,  Galesburg,  111.  Here 
In-  remained  five  years,  graduating  A. 
I!.,  in  June,  1852,  in  a  class  of  12. 
Through  poverty  and  hardship,  toil- 
ing in  summer's  heat  and  winter's  cold, 
nothing  ever  daunted  or  caused  him 
to  swerve  a  hair's  breadth  from  his  life 
purpose  of  gaining  knowledge.  On 
graduating  in  June,  1852,  he  came  with 
two  schoolmates — S.  Y.  White,  now  of 
Brooklyn,  N.  Y.,  and  Charles  Dougher- 
ty, to  Jersey  county.  In  Sept..  1852, 
he  began  teaching  the  first  select  male 
school  ever  taught  in  Jerseyville,  and 
at  the  close  of  his  school  visited  his 
mother  then  living  at  Troy,  N.  Y.  On 
his    return   from    Troy   he    engaged  as 


agent  for  the  American  Sunday  School 
Union,  in  organizing  Sabbath  schools. 
In  1853  and  1854,  he  again  taught  in 
Jersey  county,  and  continued  in  Jersey 
until  Feb.  20,  1855,  when  he  came  to,  and 
taught  school  in  Old  Kane  four  months, 
working  hard  all  summer  in  haying  and 
harvesting,  with  Jacob  L.,  William  and 
John  Pope,  and  in  Oct.,  1855,  after  a 
course  of  study  in  medicine  with  Dr. 
Norman  T.  Winans,  in  1853,  and  Dr. 
Charles  A.  Knapp,  in  1854,  he  attended 
lectures  and  clinics  at  the  St.  Louis 
Medical  College,  and  at  the  City  Marine 
and  Sister's  hospitals  through  the  win- 
ter of  1855-56;  studied  and  taught  in 
1856,  in  Champaign  county,  and  in 
May,  1857,  began  to  practice  at 
Old  Kane.  Married  Oct  23,  1*57,  Helen 
Ehnira  Cory,  a  daughter  of  Rev.  David 
Cory  and  Eunice  Elmira  (Wolcott) 
Cory,  both  of  whom  died  in  eastern  Illi- 
nois years  before.  Dr.  Fenity  attended 
lectures  and  clinics  again  at  St.  Louis 
Medical  College,  and  the  St.  Louis  hos- 
pitals in  1858-9;  graduating  in  March, 
1859,  In'  returned  home,  and  resumed 
his  practice  in  the  spring,  and  contin- 
ued till  the  fall  of  lsi;.",,  when  he  again 
attended  the  City  Hospital  at  St.  Louis. 
and  on  his  return  home,  has  from  that 
time  pursued  the  even  tenor  of  his  life 
in  all  kinds  of  weather  and  to  all  class- 
es of  men.  He  has  four  children  living 
— Frank  C,  nurseryman  at  Jerseyville; 
Dr.  Edward  W.,  practicing  physician  at 
Rockbridge,  this  county;  Fred.  II. ,  a 
student  of  Prof.  Pike,  Jerseyville,  and 
Clara  M.,  attending  school  at  home. 
The  doctor  commenced  practicing  in 
New  Kane,  July  12,  1866,  which  he  has 
continued  ever  since. 

Dr.  W.  D.  Turner  was   born   in    Lon- 


r:;i 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


d.m,  Eng.,  June  21,  1843.     He  was   left 

an  orphan  at  the  age  of  five  years,  and 
when  but  eight  yeas  old  was  placed  in 
charge  of  a  family  coining  to  America. 
In  due  course  of  time  he  came  to  Pike 
county,  111.,  where  he  was  reared  and 
educated.  When  the  war  broke  out  he 
enlisted  in  Co.  E.,  50th  111.  Inf.,  and 
served  gallantly  until  honorably  dis- 
charged, when  he  returned  to  Pike 
county,  where  he  entered  upon  the  study 
of  medicine,  attending  three  terms  at 
the  Cincinnati  Eclectic  College,  and  two 
clinical  courses  at  the  Commercial  Hos- 
pital. He  commenced  practice  in 
Waynesville,  DeWitt  county,  111.,  but 
in  1871,  came  to  Carrollton,  where  he 
has  attained  some  considerable  practice. 
He  was  married  Oct.  1,  18(38,  to  Miss  S. 
J.  Peebles,  by  whom  he  has  two  chil- 
dren— Walter  and  Frank. 

Dr.  0.  K.  Reynolds,  a  physician  of 
Kane,  was  born  in  Belmont  county,  0., 
March  12,  1833,  and  was  the  son  of  Ste- 
phen K.  and  Miriam  (  Kinsey)  Reynolds, 
the  second  settlers  in  that  county.  The 
doctor  attended  school  in  his  native 
place,  and  at  academies  in  the  neighbor- 
hood, and  at  Allegheny  College,  Mead- 
ville,  Pa.  His  medical  education  was 
received  at  the  Missouri  Medical  Col- 
lege, St.  Louis,  Mo.  He  commenced 
practice  near  St.  Joseph,  Mo.,  where  he 
remained  two  years.  During  the  early 
days  of  the  war,  he  found  it  difficult  to 
reside  there  and  entered  the  service  as 
assistant  surgeon.  He  afterward  served 
as  surgeon  of  the  17th  U.  S.  Inf.  In 
1865,  at  the  close  of  hostilities,  he  came 
to  Old  Kane  and  located,  and  resumed 
practice.  Four  years  after,  he  removed 
to  Johnson  county,  where  he  lived  until 
1875,    when    he    came  to  the  new   town. 


Dr.  J.  L.  Rollins,  of  Greenfield,  was 
born  in  Montgomery  county,  Mo.,  April 
1.  1838.  After  due  training  in  the  dis- 
trict schools  of  his  native  county,  the 
future  doctor  entered  the  State  I'nivers- 
ityof  Missouri,  at  Columbia, in  the  fall 
of  1875,  and  graduated  from  that  insti- 
tution in  1878.  He  commenced  the 
practice  of  medicine  in  Columbia,  Mis- 
souri, where  he  remained  until  1883, 
when  he  wenttoNew  York,  and  attended 
a  special  course  at  the  Bellevue  Hos- 
pital Medical  College.  In  February, 
1884  he  came  to  Greenfield,  and  entered 
upon  the  practice  of  his  profession. 

Dr.  E.  Fenity,  practicing  at  Rock- 
bridge, was  born  in  Kane,  this  county, 
March  27,  1861,  and  is  the  son  of  Dr. 
Peter  Fenity,  of  Kane.  Ife  was  edu- 
cated at  Shurtleff  and  Knox  Colleges, 
and  at  the  Chicago  Medical  College.  He 
commenced  practice  at  Rockbridge  Aug. 
1,  1882. 

Dr.  W.  L.  Burnett,  a  practicing  phy- 
sician of  Kane,  was  born  in  Indiana 
in  1812,  and  was  educated  principally 
at  Shurtleff  College.  When  the  war 
broke  out  he  enlisted  in  company  F., 
27th  111.  Inf.,  and  subsequently  became 
orderly  sergeant,  and  served  until  the 
close  of  hostilities."  He  then  became  a 
resident  of  Arkansas,  where  he  engaged  in 
mercantile  pursuits  until  1866,  when  he 
removed  to  Jerseyville,  Jersey  county, 
and  entering  the  office  of  Dr.  J.  (). 
Hamilton,  commenced  the  study  of 
medicine.  He  graduated  from  the  St. 
Louis  Medical  College  in  1869,  and  for 
several  years  practiced  his  profession  at 
Fidelity,  Jersey  county,  from  which 
place  he  came  to  Kane.  He  was  mar- 
ried in  1869  to  Emeline  Smith. 

Dr.   Adam  E.  Miller,  of  Rockhridge, 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


735 


was  born  in  Gaylesville,  Cherokee 
county,  Ala.,  Dec.  11,  1843.  He  re- 
mained in  the  place  of  his  nativity  un- 
til 1858,  when  the  family  removed  to 
Illinois.  He  received  his  education  at 
Shurtleff  College,  and  his  medical 
knowledge  at  Hush  Medical  College, 
Chicago,  from  which  he  graduated.  He 
commenced  practice  in  Rockbridge  in 
1869.  He  was  a  partner  in  the  drug  store 
with  the  late  Jacob  Keeley.  He  married 
Genevieve  Ludwig,  and  is  the  father  of 
six  children, five  of  whom  are  living. 

Dr.  Thomas  Finch,  the  oldest  resi- 
dent physician  in  Greenfield,  was  born 
in  Staffordshire,  England,  Feb.  12,  1823. 
In  the  summer  of  1843,  he  emigrated 
from  that  island,  and  came  to  Green- 
field in  Feb.,  1850.  He  received  bis 
early  education  in  England,  but  finished 
it  in  America.  He  studied  medicine 
partly  with  bis  step-father,  and  partly 
with  a  student  of  that  gentleman.  He 
was  married  in  Jan.,  1851,  to  Eliza  J. 
Saxton;  they  have  three  children. 

Dr.  Abram  Tompkins,  one  of  the 
physicians  of  Greenfield,  was  born  in 
Canada,  Nov.  1,  1835,  and  is  the  son  of 
John  and  N.  (Clute)  Tompkins.  He 
studied  medicine  in  his  native  country, 
and  in  1875  and  1876  attended  the  Rush 
Medical  College,  Chicago.  He  com- 
menced practice  at  Berlin,  Sangamon 
county,  in  1865.  He  came  here  from 
Scott  county,  where  he  had  spent  some 
eight  years,  in  May,  1879.  He  w;.s 
married  Dec.  10,  1870,  to  Susan  E.  Fred- 
erick. 

Dr.  Frank  A.  Stubblefield,  a  practic- 
ing physician  at  Grecnliold,  is  a  son  of 
Rev.  D.  H.  Stubblefield,  and  was  born  at 
Salem,  111.,  Nov.  12,  1852.  He  received 
his  education  in  different  public  schools. 


He  engaged  in  the  drug  business,  in 
1873,  at  Hillsborough.  111.,  which  he 
ran  until  1878,  when  he  attended  medi- 
cal lectures  at  Missouri  Medical  College, 
St.  Louis,  Mo.,  from  which  he  gradu- 
ated in  1881,  and  then  came  to  Green- 
field and  engaged  in  practice.  He  was 
married  in  Feb.,  1883,  to  May  Mont- 
gomery. 

Dr.  Edward  E.  Peter,  was  bom  near 
White  Hall,  this  county,  June  28,  1861. 
In  1871)  he  entered  the  American  Medi- 
cal College  at  St.  Louis,  remaining 
there  one  year,  when  he  entered  the 
office  of  Dr.  A.  \V.  Foreman,  at  White 
Hall.  He  read  under  him  one  year, 
and  then  returned  to  the  college  which 
he  had  previously  attended,  in  St. 
Louis,  from  which  he  graduated  in 
June,  1882.  He  then  practiced  at  Mus- 
kegon, Mich.,  about  a  year,  then  trav- 
eled with  Dr.  Crane,  through  Michigan, 
Indiana  and  Ohio,  for  about  10  months, 
and  then  worked  in  a  wholesale  drug 
store  in  Cincinnati.  In  1884,  he  lo- 
cated in  Wrightsville,  where  he  has 
since  continued  to  practice. 

Dr.  Charles  C.  Clemmons,  among  the 
present  practitioners  of  Carrollton,  is  a 
son  of  Dr.  C.  P.  and  Matilda  Clem- 
mons. He  was  born  in  Pike  county, 
111.,  Jan.  27,  1857,  and  was  brought  to 
Carrollton  by  his  parents,  in  1860,  where 
lie  was  reared  and  received  his  early 
education.  He  received  a  large  portion 
of  his  literary  training  at  Frankfort, 
Ky.,  graduating  from  the  Military  In- 
stitute at  that  place,  in  1875.  He  then 
took  a  commercial  course  at  Jones' 
Commercial  College,  St.  Louis,  gradu- 
ating in  1870.  He  then  began  the  study 
of  medicine,  and  in  1879,  graduated  as 
physician    and    surgeon,  from    the   St. 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


Louis  Medical  College,  when  he  en- 
gaged  in  practice  at  Carrollton.  In  1882 
he  went  to  Kansas,  and  later  to  Texas 
and  Louisiana,  returning  to  Carrollton 
in  the  spring  of  1885,  and  resumed 
practice  at  that  place.  He  was  mar- 
ried Oct.  26,  1882,  to  Jessie  Robards,  by 
whom  one  daughter  has  heen  born — 
Bessie.  The  doctor  is  a  member  of  the 
K.  of  P.  society. 

Dr.  Carleton  H.  Rew,  a  disciple  of  the 
homeopathic  school  of  medicine,  came 
to  Carrollton  in  Sept.,  1884,  and  opened 
an  office  for  practice.  He  is  a  native  of 
New  York,  but  studied  at  and  graduated 
from  the  Hahnemann  College,  at  Chi- 
cago, in  1884. 

Dr.  Alexander  Bowman,  a  practicing 
physician  of  White  Hall,  was  born  in 
Pennsylvania,  in  1817,  where  he  was 
liberally  educated.  In  1839,  he  re- 
moved to  Cincinnati,  and  began  the 
study  of  medicine  and  graduated  from 
the  State  Eclectic  Institute  of  that  city. 
From  there  the  doctor  came  to  Bond 
county,  111.,  and  after  four  year's  prac- 
tice came  to  Carrollton,  where  he  re- 
mained some  11  years  and  then  re- 
in >ved  to  White  Hall,  where  he  is  still 
engaged  in  the  profession   of  medicine. 

Dr.  George  W.  Burns,  long  a  physi- 
cian of  Wilmington,  but  now  of  White 
Hall,  was  born  in  Mercer  county,  Perm., 
and  is  the  son  of  Thomas  and  Sarah 
(Duff)  Burns.  Of  this  marriage  Dr. 
Burns  was  the  second  child  ;  his  educa- 
tion was  received  in  the  district  schools 
of  his  native  place;  for  some  time  he 
became  a  school  teacher,  and  then  en- 
tered the  Lebanon  Academy.  Prior  to 
the  war  he  studied  medicine  under  Dr. 
T.  H.  Fulton.  He  enlisted  in  Co.  A, 
l.'J'.Uh  Penn.  Inf.,  and  was   wounded  at 


the  second  battle  of  Fredericksburg; 
transferred  to  the  Army  Medical  Corps 
as  an  assistant  to  some  of  the  most  em- 
inent army  surgeons,  he  gained  an 
experience  that  has  helped  materially 
to  make  of  him  a  skillful  physician  and 
surgeon  ;  he  was  among  those  detailed 
to  bury  the  dead  after  the  famous  second 
battle  of  Bull  Run;  among  the  battles 
participated  in  by  him  were  Antietam 
and  Fredericksburg.  While  on  duty  at 
A  ninny  Square  hospital  he  was  the 
student  of  Prof.  G.  K.  Smith,  of  the 
Long  Island  College  hospital.  When 
the  war  closed  he  returned  to  Pennsyl- 
vania, where  he  studied  medicine  under 
Dr.  White,  of  Harlemsburg  ;  proceeding 
to  Philadelphia,  he  attended  the  medi- 
cal college  there  for  two  terms  pursuing 
the  higher  medical  studies  ;  in  1868  he 
moved  to  Wilmington,  Greene  county, 
where  his  skill  as  a  physician  is  well 
known.  In  1872  he  was  united  in  mar- 
riage with  Helen  M.  Black.  He  is  now 
numbered  among  the  physicians  of 
White  Hall. 

Dr.  J.  B.  Hays,  a  resident  physician 
of  Banow,  was  born  in  Indiana,  in  1845. 
He  there  studied  medicine  under  Dr. 
W.  H.  Price  and  A.  W.  Porter,  for  three 
years,  afterward  attending  the  American 
Medical  College,  at  St.  Louis.  At  Cin- 
cinnati he  also  attended  the  Eclectic 
Medical  Institute.  In  Indiana,  where 
he  became  a  practicing  physician,  he 
became  well  and  favorably  known  for 
skill  in  materia  medica.  In  1868  he 
was  united  in  marriage  with  Rebecca 
Crane ;  there  was  one  child  born  of  this 
marriage — George  W.  In  1861  Dr. 
Hays  enlisted  in  Co.  A,  53d  Ind.  Inf., 
serving  fourteen  months.  He  was  en- 
gaged  in  the  battles  of  Aversborough, 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


;:;: 


Bentonville  and  others.  Honorably 
discharged  when  the  war  closed,  he  r<  - 
turned  to  Indiana.  It  should  be  stated 
Dr.  Hays  twice  enlisted  in  the  service 

of  Uncle  Sam. 

Dr.  Eberle  Wilson,  a  practicing 
physician  of  Carrollton,  was  born  in 
Girard  county,  Ky..  Jan.  22,  1839. 
During  the  late  war  he  enlisted  as  a 
private  in  the  19th  Ky.  Inf.,  of  the 
Federal  army,  ami  rose  to  the  rank  of 
1st  lieutenant.  He  was  taken  prisoner 
during  Ranks'  Red  river  expedition  and 
sent  t<>  Texas  as  a  prisoner.  In  1865, 
after  being  exchanged,  commenced  the 
study  of  medicine  with  Dr.  P.  W.  Lo- 
gan, who  had  been  a  surgeon  of  some 
prominence  in  tin-  service,  and  attended 
a  three  year's  course  of  lectures  at 
Bellevue,  and  graduated  at  Brooklyn, 
N.  V.  In  the  fall  of  1867,  he  located  in 
Fayette,  where  lie  practiced  until  1872, 
then  removed  to  Rockbridge,  where  he 
practiced  until  1885,  when  he  removed 
to  Carrollton.  lie  married  Lucy  A. 
Cannedy. 

Dr.  James  X.  Miller,  now  residing  in 
Rockbridge  township,  was  born  in 
Gaylesville,  Ala.,  May  17,  1841.  He 
moved  to  this  state  with  the  family  in 
1858.  lie  was  educated  at  McKendree 
College,  and  at  the  Rush  Medical  Col- 
lege. After  graduation,  in  1862,  he  was 
appointed  1st  asst.  surg.,  and  assigned 
to  the  13th  A.  C.  '  He  was  united  in 
marriage  with  Eliza  Edmondson.  In 
Oct.,  186."),  the  doctor  located  at  Fayette, 


and  engaged  in  the  practice  of  medi- 
cine. 

Dr.  A.  J.  Bruner,  who  was  engaged  in 
the  practice  of  medicine  near  Wood- 
ville,  is  a  native  of  Tennessee,  where 
lie  was  born  in  the  year  1835.  Fie  re- 
ceived a  preliminary  education  in  the 
district  schools  of  his  native  place. 
Removingto  Kentucky,  lie  entered  upon 
a  literary  course  of  study  at  the 
Hiawatha  College.  Proceeding  to  Keo- 
kuk, la.,  he  entered  the  College  of 
Physicians,  graduating  from  the  insti- 
tution with  honor,  on  the  17th  of  Feb., 
l*7-">.  and  after  that  date  soon  secured 
a  large  practice  in  Greene  county,  and 
lived  near  Woodville,  where  be  has  be- 
come the  owner  of  a  valuable  property. 
In  1869,  he  married  Mrs.  Mary  A. 
Slaten,  a  daughter  of  Richard  and  Sarah 
J.  Spalding.  He  is  now  in  Roodhouse, 
engaged  in   mercantile  pursuits. 

Dr.  J.  E.  Waters  is  practicing  medi- 
cine in  tin1  village  of  Athensvillc; 
born  in  Morgan  county,  June  25,  1829; 
married  March  11,  1850,  to  Ann  Daw- 
son, of  Delaware.  This  union  has  been 
blessed  by  five  children,  only  one  of 
whom,  however,  is  living — lame-  M.. 
bom  July  4,  1852.  Dr.  Waters  is  a 
graduate  of  the  St.  Louis  Medical  Col- 
lege, in  the  class  of  1862,  and  has  at- 
tended several  courses  of  lectures  at 
Chicago,  St.  Louis  and  Louisville.  He 
has  lived  at  Athensville  since  1860,  and 
enjoys  a  wide  reputation,  as  a  physician 
and  gentleman,  throughout  the  country. 


'38 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


CHAPTER    XIII. 


THE  PRESS  OF  THE  COUNTY. 


What  a  power  there  is  in  that  simple 
word — the  press.  Although  but  of  re- 
cent birth  it  is  the  grand  instrumental- 
ity of  our  grander  civilization.  It  is 
the  mighty  power  that  has  stamped  its 
mark  upon  the  age,  and  leaves  its  im- 
print upon  our  everyday  history.  The 
influences  of  it  are  felt  to-day,  and  go 
"thundering  down  the  mighty  corridor 
of  time"  to  ages  yet  unborn.  No 
other  engine  of  our  later  civilization 
exerts  an  equal  force  with  it — not  even 
the  pulpit  or  thejbar — for  is  it  not  both 
these  combined,  with  its  own  sphere 
besides?  The  messenger  of  the  gospel 
truth  rises  in  his  place  upon  the  Sabbath 
day  and  discourses  of  his  subject  to  a 
few  hundred  at  the  most;  on  the  follow- 
ing morning  the  press,  reproducing  the 
the  thoughts,  spread  it  throughout  the 
length  and  breadth  of  our  fair  land,  to  be 
discussed  by  all.  The  attorney  at  the 
bar  of  justice,  pleading  the  cause  of 
some  client  arraigned  before  its  stern 
front,  utters  the  thrilling  appeal  that 
loosens  the  bonds  and  lets  the  unjustly 
held  prisoner  go  free,  or,  with  God-like 
eloquence  fastens  the  guilt  upon  the 
criminal,  and,  with  scathing,  burning 
words,  crushes  down  the  brazen  front  of 
hardened  crime.  The  press  takes  up 
the  words  that  else  must  have  perished, 
and  the  judgment  of  all  men  can  read 
them,  and  digesting  their  true  import, 
accept  them  at  their   true  worth.     The 


politician  takes  the  stand  and  addresses 
a  small  assemblage,  but,  through  the 
power  of  the  press,  his  words  are  car- 
ried to  the  uttermost  parts  of  the 
country,  and  he  thus  addresses  a  whole 
people.  By  and  through  the  press,  all 
people  and  all  lands  are  made  as  one 
nation.  The  waters  rise  and  overflow 
vast  tracts  of  fertile,  thickly  populated 
country,  leaving  many  homeless  and 
penniless;  the  devouring  flames  break 
out  in  the  over-crowded  city  and  many 
be  bereft  of  house  and  home  and  daily 
bread  ;  pestilence  may  stalk  with  grim 
visage  through  a  portion  of  the  land, 
smiting  down  the  rich  and  poor  alike  ; 
but  the  press  takes  up  the  news,  repeats 
the  burden  of  their  cry,  and  help  comes 
from  the  charitable,  a  white-winged 
messenger,  to  raise  their  fallen  hopes, 
ami  tide  them  over  the  season  of  their 
dire  distress.  At  the  demands  of  the 
press,  food,  clothing  and  money  are 
poured  out  to  relieve  these  suffering 
mortals.  Its  power  to  knit  us  all  in  one 
great  common  brotherhood  is  unques- 
tioned. Its  power  for  good  or  evil  is 
almost  limitless,  in  this  our  day  and 
hour.  It  may  hold  up  the  mirror  of 
public  opinion  and  show  therein  the 
shortcomings  or  guilt  of  the  public  man, 
or  it  may  cast  its  mantle  over  them, 
and  they  are  hidden  from  all  human 
ken.  Through  its  mighty  columns  the 
dark  deeds  and   villanies  afloat   in   our 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


7.",'.) 


land  are  brought  to  light,  and  the  evil 
doer  hates  and  fears  its  bright,  noonday 
light.  The  press  is  the  great  control- 
ing  power  in  nation,  state  and  county, 
and  the  press  of  Greene  county  is  by  no 
means  an  exception  to  this  rule.  The 
local  press  is  justly  considered  among 
the  most  important  institutions  of  every 
city,  town  or  village,  if  not  the  most 
important.  The  people  of  every  com- 
munity regard  their  particular  newspa- 
per as  of  peculiar  value,  and  then  not 
only  for  the  above  reasons,  but  because 
these  newspapers  are  the  safe  reposi- 
tories wherein  are  stored  the  facts  and 
the  events,  the  deeds  and  the  sayings, 
the  undertakings  and  achievements  that 
go  to  make  up  its  history.  One  by  one 
these  things  are  gathered  together,  and 
placed  in  type.  One  by  one  these 
papers  are  gathered  together  and  bound 
and  another  volume  of  local,  general 
and  individual  history  is  laid  away, 
imperishable.  The  volumes  thus  laid 
away  are  sifted  by  the  historian,  and  the 
book  for  the  library  is  ready.  The  peo- 
ple of  each  city  or  town  have,  or  ought 
to  have,  ajust  pride  in  their  home  news- 
paper. The  local  press,  as  a  rule,  re- 
flects the  business  enterprise  of  a  place. 
Judging  from  this  standpoint  alone,  the 
energy  and  enterprise  of  the  people  of 
Greene  county  is  commendable.  The 
many  papers  which  it  supports  are  well 
filled  with  the  advertisements  of  home 
merchants,  and  of  its  various  business 
establishments.  No  paper  can  exist 
without  this  advertising  patronage,  and 
no  community  can  successfully  cope 
with  its  neighbors  without  using  the  ad- 
vertising eolums  of  its  local  press. 
Each  must  sustain  the  other  to  live. 
Biographical  sketches   of  many   of  the 


present  editors  of  these  papers  are  given 
in  the  histories  of  the  various  towns  and 
cities  wherein  they  publish  their  re- 
spective papers,  and  are  omitted  in  this 
connection. 

CARROLLTON    ADVOCATE. 

A  paper  under  the  above  head  was 
initiated  at  Carrollton,  in  1843,  by  a 
party  named  Edward  F.  Fletcher,  who 
had  been  running  the  Backwoodsman,  in 
Jersey  ville,  in  company  with  Parentean, 
where  their  office  had  been  burned, 
shortly  before  coming  to  this  county. 
The  paper  was  not  of  very  long  life, 
and  no  copies  of  it  have  been  found  by 
the  historians.  This  was  the  first  paper 
published  within  the  present  limits  of 
Greene  county. 

THE    CARROLLTON    GAZETTE. 

This  paper  is  the  oldest  representa- 
tive of  journalism  now  being  published 
in  Greene  county.  It  was  established 
in  1846,  by  George  B.  Price,  who  was 
its  editor  and  publisher  for  many  years. 
The  first  issue  appeared  June  26,  of  the 
above  named  year,  and  contained  the 
following  salutatory: 

"This  day  we  present  to  the  people 
of  Greene  county  the  first  number  of 
the  Carrollton  Gazette,  and  we  respect- 
fully ask  from  them  a  liberal  and  gener- 
ous support.  Our  county  contains  a 
body  of  farmers  and  mechanics  as  intel- 
ligent and  thrifty  as  any  other  portion 
of  our  state,  and  strange  to  say,  we 
have  never  yet  had  a  newspaper  among 
us  at  all  adapted  to  the  wants  or  wishes 
of  the  community.  Every  effort  here- 
tofore made  to  establish  a  paper  in 
Greene  county  has  most  signally  failed, 
and  we  think  it  does  not  require  the 
gift  of  prophecy  to  tell  the  cause. 


740 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY 


"They  were  established  merely  for 
factional  purposes,  and  we  know  that  in 
a  community  as  intelligent  as  this,  no 
mere  partisan  paper  can  be  sustained. 
Newspapers  were  never  designed  to  be- 
come the  mere  tools  of  a  sect  or  party, 
but,  on  the  contrary,  were  intended  to 
stand  as  sentinels  upon  the  watch-towers 
of  the  constitution  to  warn  the  people  of 
the  designs,  and  to  warn  them  against  the 
machinations  of  mere  party  demagogues, 
who  regard  as  nothing  all  else  save 
their  own  petty  schemes  of  low  ambition. 
"We  enter  upon  our  undertaking  un- 
der more  favorable  auspices  than  our 
predecessors.  They  set  sail  when  the 
storm  of  political  strife  was  loud.  We 
set  out  upon  our  voyage  when  all  in  the 
world  is — comparatively  speaking  — 
calm.  The  great  political  excitement 
glowing  out  of  the  presidential  canvass 
of  1844,  has  died  away,  and  the  minds 
of  all  honest,  candid  men,  are  better 
prepared  to  investigate  calmly  and  dis- 
passionately those  great  questions  so 
intimately  identified  with  the  future 
prosperity  of  our  common  country. 
Great  questions  of  national  policy  are 
not,  can  never  he,  fairly  discussed  in  the 
midst  of  a  great  political  ferment;  hence 
the  necessity  of  talking  over  these  things 
in  quiet  times,  when  the  passions  of 
men  are  cool,  and  their  minds  are  open 
to  conviction. 

"There  are  two  great  questions  now 
before  the  American  people  for  their 
decision,  and  upon  the  correct  decision 
of  these  questions  mainly  depends  the 
future  prosperity  of  this  Union:  1.  The 
adjustment  of  the  tariff.  2.  The  im- 
provement of  our  western  rivers  and 
lakes.  Shall  we  make  them  ourselves, 
or  shall  the  general  government? 


"We  are  the  humble  advocates  of  the 
tariff  policy  as  understood  and  incul- 
cated by  the  ol.d  republican  party  of  the 
United  States.  We  go  for  the  protection 
of  the  labor  of  our  own  free  citizens 
against  the  pauper  labor  of  Europe. 

"We  are  for  the  speedy  improvement 
of  the  navigation  of  our  great  rivers,  and 
of  the  lakes  upon  the  northern  frontier. 
"So  far  as  our  state  affairs  are  con- 
cerned we  shall  advocate  those  meas- 
ures which  in  our  judgment  may 
best  promote  the  permanent  interests 
of  the  state  without  regard  to  party 
lines  or  distinctions. 

I'We  are  decidedly  opposed  to  the 
the  creation  of  any  banking  institutions 
by  the  state  legislature. 

"  We  regard  the  early  adjustment  of 
our  state  indebtedness  with  a  view  to 
its  future  liquidation,  as  a  measure 
alike  the  dictate  of  sound  policy,  and 
good  morals. 

"  We  are  in  favor  of  the  call  of  a 
convention  to  amend  our  present  state 
constitution. 

"But  we  do  not  design  to  make  our 
paper  exclusively  political;  we  shall 
endeavor  by  judicious  selections,  and 
otherwise,  to  make  our  humble  sheet  a 
welcome  visitant  to  the  fireside  of  every 
reading  family  in  our  county.  So  far  as 
we  may  indulge  in  political  discussions, 
we  will  treat  our  opponents  with  all  due 
respect,  and  we  never  shall  permit  our 
sheet  to  be  defiled  with  the  low  party 
slang  and  abuse  of  private  character 
that  too  often  disgraces  the  public  press 
of  the  country." 

In  this  issue  of  the  Gazette,  there  also 
appeared  the  following  military  order, 
signed  by  William  C.  Raney,  Col.,  and 
M.  S.  Link,  Adjt. 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY 


7-11 


"Whereas,  war  has  been  declared  by 
the  congress  of  the  United  States  of 
America,  and  proclaimed  to  the  world 
by  the  executive  head  of  this  republic 
against  Mexico,  the  babbler  and  tool  of 
Great  Britain  and  France,  its  present 
military  usurpers,  having  outraged  every 
principle  of  humanity,  and 

"Whereas,  the  dark  clouds  of  war 
seem  to  be  gathering  on  the  eastern  as 
well  as  southwestern  horizon,  where 
blood  has  rained  on  our  soil,  shed  by 
hostile  hands, 

"I,  William  C.  Raney,  colonel  of  the 
18th  regiment,  2d  brigade,  3d  division 
of  Illinois  militia,  do  hereby  order  and 
direct  all  her  sons  in  Greene  county, 
south  of  Apple  creek,  subject  to  mili- 
tary duty,  to  enroll  themselves  in  com- 
panies and  battalions,  according  to  the 
laws  of  Illinois,  and  elect  their  own 
commissioned  and  non-commissioned 
officers,  and  make  their  return,  in  due 
form  of  law,  all  poll  books  and  reports 
of  such  elections,  as  soon  as  practicable, 
to  M.  S.  Link,  adjutant  of  said  regiment, 
in  order  that  commissioners  maybe  had 
and  a  perfect  military  organization  take 
place.  Free  men,  prepare  yourselves 
for  w-ar,  and  be  ever  zealous  of  your 
country's  liberty  and  able  to  defend  its 
honor." 

The  Gazette  was  started  as  a  five  col- 
umn folio,  all  printed  at  home,  at  a 
subscription  price  of  SI. 50  per  year. 
"Devoted  to  politics,  agriculture,  liter- 
ature and  morality,''  was  a  motto 
which  adorned  the  first  page.  Political- 
ly, the  paper  adhered  to  the  principles 
of  the  whig  party,  until  1856,  when  the 
republican  candidate  for  president, 
John  C.  Fremont,  received  its  hearty 
endorsement   and  support.     Since  that 


campaign,  however,  it  has  been  a  con- 
sistent, ardent  advocate  and  supporter 
of  the  democratic  party,  and  still  ad- 
heres to  those  principles.  The  Gazette 
was  continued  by  Mr.  Trice  until  the 
issue  of  Nov.  8,  1851,  when  an  an- 
nouncement appeared  stating  that  he 
had  associated  with  him  R.  B.  Dedman, 
and  the  paper  was  shortly  afterward 
increased  in  size  to  a  six-column  folio. 
Mr.  Dedman,  however,  did  not  remain 
connected  with  the  paper  very  long. 
Mr.  Price  continued  its  publication 
alone  from  the  1st  of  Feb.  following, 
until  I860,  being  ably  assisted  in  the 
meantime  by  his  son,  senior  member  of 
the  present  management.  On  the  8th 
of  Dec,  of  the  above  year,  the  follow- 
ing explanatory  notice  appeared  in 
the  columns  of  the  Gazette: 

■'Owing  to  the  largely  increasing  bus- 
iness of  the  Gazette,  together  with  the 
desire  on  our  part  to  render  such  further 
services  to  our  readers  in  the  editorial 
department  as  the  times  demand,  we 
are  pleased,  with  the  present  number, 
to  announce  that  we  have  secured  the 
valuable  assistance  of  II.  L.  Clay,  Esq., 
the  recent  editor  of  the  semi-weekly 
Anns.  From  the  date  of  the  present 
issue  of  the  Gazette  he  will  be  included 
as  a  partner  in  the  office. 

"  The  former  highly  appreciated  ser- 
vices of  Mr.  Clay  rendered  to  the  dem- 
ocracy, and  the  numerous  encomiums  of 
the  press  throughout  the  state,  renders 
superfluous  an  extended  comment  upon 
his  abilities.  Uniting  in  himself  the 
qualities  of  a  gentleman  and  a  scholar, 
combining  a  thorough  knowledge  of  the 
mechanical  department  of  the  press, 
with  a  long  experience  in  the  editorial 
chair,  a  loyal  devotion  to  the  principles 


,42 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


of  the  democratic  party,  and  a  com- 
mendable spirit  of  enterprise,  his  labors 
will  add  new  attraction  to  the  columns 
of  the  Gazette. 

"With  this  accession  our  readers 
will,  doubtless,  be  delighted,  and  the 
paper  may  receive  an  extended  patron- 
age as  a  news  and  political  journal  for 
the  citizens  of  Greene  and  adjoining 
counties." 

This  firm  existed  until  1863,  when 
Mr.  Clay  retired,  the  business  being 
continued  by  Price  &  Son.  In  1868, 
(ieorge  B.  Price  retired  from  the  editor- 
ial work,  and  the  paper  was  then  con- 
ducted under  the  exclusive  management 
and  control  of  his  son,  Thomas  D. 
Price,  although  the  firm  name  remained 
the  same  until  succeeded  by  Price  & 
Montgomery,  in  1881.  In  the  issue  of 
July  9,  of  the  year,  the  following  ap- 
pears in  the  Gazette  relative  to  the 
change : 

"  When,  in  the  course  of  human 
events,  it  becomes  necessary  for  two 
parties  to  unite,  and  thus  constitute  a 
firm  for  the  promotion  of  public  good,  a 
decent  respect  to  the  opinions  of  man- 
kind require  that  they  should  declare 
the  causes  which  impel  them  to  the 
union. 

*  >;-.  *  *  *  * 

"  We,  therefore,  the  representatives 
of  this  journal,  do,  in  the  name,  and 
by  the  authority  of  the  good  people  of 
the  commonwealth,  solemnly  publish 
and  declare,  that  while  the  Gazette  will 
continue  to  be  soundly  democratic,  it 
will  he  liberal  and  charitable  to  our  re- 
publican friends,  who  are  not  respon- 
sible for  the  actions  of  their  leaders; 
that  it  will  be  a  fearless  advocate  of  the 
cause  of  temperance;  that  it  will  make 


earnest  endeavors  to  think  right,  and  to 
speak  just  what  it  thinks;  that  its  in- 
fluence can't  be  'bought' — that  the  man 
approaching  us  with  bribes  will  be 
promptly  sent  elsewhere;  that  it  will  be 
diligent  in  preparing  the  latest  news, 
and  presenting  it  in  the  most  attractive 
style;  that  it  will  be  keenly  alive  to 
every  measure  that  will  tend  to  promote 
the  interests  of  Greene  county,  and  es- 
pecially those  that  pertain  to  the  delight- 
ful city  of  Carrollton;  that  in  all  our 
dealings  with  the  outside  world  we  will 
adopt  the  golden  rule — doing  as  we 
would  be  done  by.  And,  for  the  sup- 
port of  this  declaration,  with  a  firm  re- 
liance on  the  protection  of  Divine  Prov- 
idence, and  the  support  of  all  good 
citizens,  we  mutually  pledge  to  each 
other  our  lives,  our  fortunes  and  our 
sacred  honors." 

The  firm  of  Price  &  Montgomery  con- 
tinued in  the  publication  of  the  Gazette 
in  a  successful  manner  until  May,  1883, 
when  they  were  succeeded  by  the  pres- 
ent management.  In  retiring,  Mr. 
Montgomery  paid  the  following  tribute 
to  the  new  firm,  in  an  announcement 
which  appeared  in  the  Gazette  on  the 
lDth  of  the  above  named  month: 

"  With  this  issue  I  lay  down  the  Fa- 
ber  and  sever  my  connection  with  the 
Carrollton  Gazette.  I  transfer  my  inter- 
est to  Mr.  H.  P.  Farrelly,  with  whom 
negotiations  began  two  months  ago. 
Were  I  an  older  editor,  having  had  many 
years'  connection  with  this  paper,  the 
usual  valedictory  might  be  appropri- 
ate. As  it  is,  I  simply  state  that  the 
firm  of  Price  &  Montgomery  is  this  day 
dissolved.  Mr.  Farrelly,  my  successor, 
is  a  man  of  correct  habits,  full  of  energy 
and  capable  of  making  a  great  success. 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


743 


He  has  had  experience  in  the  newspaper 
world,  and  I  have  full  confidence  that 
the  old  reliable  Gazette  will  continue 
hereafter,  as  heretofore,  to  keep  in  the 
van.  My  hearty  good  will  goes  with  the 
new  firm,    Price   &   Farrelly." 

In  the  following  publication,  May 
26,  a  short  but  pointed  salutatory  ap- 
peared, relative  to  the  new  management, 
couched  in  the  following  words  : 

"  Promises  arc  easily  made  and  often 
broken.  The  managers  o*'  this  paper, 
therefore,  have  no  new  outline  of  policy 
to  lay  before  its  readers.  We  shall 
strive  to  make  it  more  and  more  inter- 
esting from  time  to  time.  When  we 
are  wrong  we  shall  expect  criticism  and 
shall  deserve  it.  When  we  are  right, 
and  battling  for  the  right,  we  shall  ex- 
pect the  meed  of  praise.  We  kindly  ask 
such  patronage  as  we  deserve." 

The  Gazette  at  present  is  a  six-column, 
eight-page  paper,  a  form  which  was 
adopted  Nov.  30,  1878.  It  is  one  of  the 
finest  equipped  country  printing  offices 
in  the  state,  bringing  into  use  a  large 
Chicago  Taylor  cylinder  newspa- 
per press,  and  three  job  presses,  all 
of  which  are  operated  by  steam.  The 
Gazette  is  one  of  the  oldest  papers  in 
this  part  of  the  state,  and  has  practi- 
cably been  under  the  srfme  management 
during  its  entire  career.  It  is  ably  con- 
ducted by  Messrs.  Price  A:  Farrelly, 
who  make  it  a  journal  well  up  with  the 
times,  and  which  wields  considerable 
inlluence  in  the  politics  of  this  district. 

GREENE  CODNTY  BANNER. 

A  paper  bearing  the  above  title  was 
started  in  Feb.,  1848,  by  John  Fitch, 
but  which  had  but  a  short  life.  The 
Carrollton   Gazette,  in  speaking  of  it  in 


its  columns,  on  the  26th  of  Feb.  of  that 
year  says: 

"  We  have  before  us  the  first  num- 
ber of  a  democratic  paper,  just  started  in 
this  place,  entitled  the  Greene  county 
Banner.  In  the  mechanical  execution 
of  the  Banner  there  is  some  taste  dis- 
played, and  its  spirits — if  we  can  judge 
of  its  future  course  by  its  present — will 
be  moderate  and  courteous,  though  de- 
cidedly democratic.  The  proprietor, 
John  Fitch,  is  a  young  man  from  the 
state  of  Vermont,  has  been  but  a  short 
short  time  in  the  west,  anil  as  he  is 
a  stranger  among  us,  we  trust  that  he 
will  meet  with  the  usual  kind  feeling, 
which  ever  emanates  from  the  warm 
hearts  of  the  sons  of  the  west.  Ver- 
mont the  Green  Mountain  state,  is  noted 
for  producing  men  of  remarkable  eDergy 
of  character  and  intelligence — such  men 
we  want  among  us." 

CARROLLTON    DEMOCRAT. 

During  the  year  1855,  a  bright  and 
brilliant  paper  known  by  the  above 
name,  was  started  in  Carrollton.  It 
was  ably  edited  by  H.  C.  Withers,  now 
a  leading  member  of  the  bar  of  the 
county,  who  then  was  but  a  young  man. 
but  had  already  a  clear  style  and  a 
trenchant  pen.  It  did  not  live  long,  but 
expired  some  time  in  the  following 
year. 

c  LRROLLTON    PRESS. 

In  1857-58,  the  issues  that  led  to  the 
civil  war,  absorbed  the  attention  of  the 
people  of  the  country,  and  the  newly 
formed  party,  known  as  free-soil  or 
republican,  in  Greene  county,  desiring 
an  organ  of  their  views,  which  were  in 
opposition  to  the  administration,  ami 
which  would  represent  the,  as  yet,  infant 


UA 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


party.  Therefore,  in  1858,  certain  par- 
tics,  among  whom  was  David  Pierson, 
established  a  journal  at  Carrollton,  the 
county  seat,  under  the  editorial  charge  of 
S.  P.  Ohr,  and  which  bore  the  name  of 
the  Carrollton  Press.  This  was  a  crisp 
and  newsy  sheet,  ably  edited,  and  in 
mechanical  make-up,  fully  equal  to  its 
cotemporaries.  The  editor  was  a  man 
of  ability,  and  upon  the  breaking  out  of 
the  Rebellion,  being  willing  to  endorse 
the  principles  he  advocated  even  with 
bis  life,  he  entered  the  service  of  the 
general  government,  and  made  a  gal- 
lant soldier.  Shortly  after,  under  the 
auspices  of  the  Union  League,  of  Car- 
rollton, and  assisted  by  some  excellent 
contributions  from  the  pens  of  memhers 
of  that  organization,  the  paper  was  re- 
vived under  the  name  of  the 

CARROLLTON    PATRIOT, 

under  the  editorial  management  of  E. 
L.  Craig,  who  ran  it  for  several  years. 
He  was  succeeded  by  William  B.  Fair- 
ehilds,  and  afterward  by  others  It 
then  fell  under  the  management  of  Lee, 
Lusk  &  Pratt,  Shortly  afterward  the 
firm  became  Lee  &  Pratt,  who,  through 
some  lack  of  business  tact  or  other 
cause,  allowed  it  to  decline  until  it  no 
longer  had  any  influence  or  standing  in 
the  community.  At  this  stage,  in  the 
spring  of  1874,  Edward  Miner  and  Ed- 
ward Lindley  purchased  the  paper,  and 
on  Friday,  April  17,  1874,  the  first 
issue  under  their  management  made  its 
appearance!  Heretofore,  the  Patriot  had 
In  i  n  published  as  a  seven-column  folio, 
but  these  gentlemen  changed  it  to  a  five- 
column  quarto.  In  this  paper  Mr. 
Miner,  now  the  talented  deputy  county 
clerk,  and  secretary  of  the  Old  Settlers' 


Association,  who  had  the  editorial  con- 
trol, indulges  in  following  salutatory: 

"In  assuming  editorial  charge  of  the 
Patriot,  we  are  not  without  a  keen  ap- 
preciation of  the  responsibility  that 
attaches  to  the  office,  and  more  espe- 
cially do  we  feel  this  when  we  consider 
the  ends  to  be  met  before  we  can  reason- 
ably expect  to  retrieve  the  paper  from 
the  disfavor  into  which  it  has,  to  some 
extent,  fallen,  by  reason  of  the  unfortu- 
nate management  of  our  predecessors, 
and  before  we  can  again  establish  it  in 
the  confidence  of  the  citizens  of  Greene 
county.  But  we  enter  upon  our  duties 
in  full  faith  that,  with  the  kindly  favor 
of  our  republican  friends,  and  all  others 
in  the  county  who  desire  to  have  an- 
other good  local  paper  at  the  county 
seat,  we  shall  soon  succeed  in  re-estab- 
lishing the  Patriot  upon  a  sound  and 
permanent  basis.  It  will  be  our  pur- 
pose to  make  it  a  paper  particularly  de- 
voted to  the  interests  of  Greene,  a  home 
paper  that  will  be  welcome  in  every 
household  in  the  county. 

"Although  we  came  to  your  city  a 
stranger,  still  we  have  found  many  who 
have  spoken  words  of  encouragement 
and  furnished  other  evidence  of  good 
will,  and  we  already  begin  to  feel  at 
home  in  your  midst.  It  shall  be  our 
earnest  endeavor  to  always  so  conduct 
the  Patriot  in  the  interests  of  progress, 
temperance,  law  and  order,  as  to  com- 
mand your  respect  and  material  and 
and  liberal  support,  without  which  the 
efforts  of  the  editor,  however  earnest 
and  untiring  they  may  be,  will  lie  in 
vain.  Presenting,  then,  this  our  first 
issue,  and  asking  for  it  a  friendly  recep- 
tion, and  charitable  criticism,  we  leave 
it  with  you." 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


745 


In  this  issue  of  the  paper  appears  the 
advertisements  of  Hodges  &  Burr,  John 
J.  Fitzsimons,  attorneys;  Dr.  Bull; 
Carrollton  Clothing  Manufacturing  Com- 
pany, Stohr,  Hartley  &  Co.,  then  lo- 
cated on  the  west  side  of  the  square, 
Miss  Mary  Day,  dealer  in  hairwork; 
Hodges  &  Keeley,  groceries;  Davis  & 
Bushnell,  lumber,  and  others.  It  was 
a  neat  and  tasty  sheet,  and  bears  the 
marks  of  Mr.  Miner's  ability  as  a  writer 
and  genial  humor. 

Messrs. Miner  &  Lindley,\vith  a  char- 
acteristic energy,  backed  by  ability  and 
good  business  tact,  built  up  the  journal 
until  it  was  upon  a  most  excellent  foot- 
ing. They  continued  to  run  it  until 
Oct.  1,  1875,  when  they  disposed  of  it  to 
Clement  L.  Clapp.  In  bidding  adieu  to 
his  readers,  Mr.  Miner  penned  the  fol- 
lowing words: 

"With  this  issue  of  the  Patriot  our 
connection  with  the  paper  ceases  and  we 
resign  the  editorial  and  business  man- 
agement to  Mr.  Clement  L.  Clapp,  of 
Jacksonville,  who  has  purchased  the 
office. 

"We  part  with  the  Patriot  with  reluct- 
ance. After  18  months  of  close  labor 
we  have  succeeded  in  bringing  it  up  out 
of  the  slough  of  disfavor  in  which  it  had 
long  lain,  by  reason  of  its  unfortunate 
management  in  the  hands  of  our  prede- 
cessors, and  now  have  the  satisfaction 
of  seeing  it  planted  on  agood basis,  with 
its  subscription  patronage  daily  increas- 
ing, and  its  advertising  and  job  work 
enhanced  300  per  cent.  However,  we 
feel  that  we  arc  leaving  it  in  good  hands, 
and  can  assure  our  patrons  that  they 
will  lose  nothing  by  the  change — on  the 
other  hand  we  confidently  expect  they 
will    be   the  gainers.      The   gentleman 


who  succeeds  us  is  a  graduate  of  Iowa 
College,  and  recently  a  tutor  in  Illinois 
College  at  Jacksonville;  also  editor  of 
"College  notes,"  which  have  for  the 
past  year  formed  a  prominent  feature  in 
the  Jacksonville  Jon  run!.  He  has  bad 
two  years  experience  on  the  editoral 
staff  of  an  eastern  daily,  and  is  other- 
wise well  posted  in  the  duties  pertaining 
to  his  position;  therefore,  we  expect  the 
Patriot  to  still  live  and  thrive  and  con- 
tinue to  grow  in  favor  with  the  people 
of  the  county.  Thanking  the  good  peo- 
ple of  Carrollton  and  vicinity  for  the 
many  manifestations  of  their  good  will 
toward  us,  and  their  appreciation  of  our 
labors  in  the  attempt  to  furnish  an  ac- 
ceptable paper,  and  with  special  ac- 
knowledgements to  our  neighbors  of  the 
Gazette  for  courtesies,  timely  and  sub- 
stantial, we  bid  adieu." 

On  Friday,  Oct.  1,  1875,  was  issued 
the  first  paper  under  the  control  of  the 
present  able  editor,  Clement  L.  Clapp. 
He  has  brought  the  office,  both  in  its 
paper  and  its  job  departments  to  a  high 
state  of  efficiency,  while  the  paper  man- 
ifests the  hand  of  a  born  journalist,  one 
of  the  blighter  lights  of  Illinois  news- 
paperdom. 

WHITE    II A  1. 1,    REGISTER. 

This  paper,  one  of  the  representative 
journals  of  Greene  county,  was  first 
issued  Aug.  21,  1869,  by  S.  H.  Davis 
and  F.  Glossop,  the  former  in  the  editor- 
ial chair.  It  was  a  very  mat  seven-col- 
umn folio,  at  that  time,  and  well  gotten 
up,  both  mechanically  and  editorially. 
In  obedience  to  time-honored  custom, 
the  editor  opens  with  the  following  salu- 
tatory: 

"When,  in  the  course  of  human 
events,  it  is   deemed   proper   by  one  or 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


more  individuals,  to  dissolve  the  bands 
theretofore  connecting  them  with  the 
vest  of  the  human  family,  and  to  enter 
upon  the  business  of  conducting  a  news- 
paper, a  decent  respect  for  the  opinions 
of  mankind  requires  that  he,  she,  or 
they,  should  declare  the  causes  which 
impel  him,  her,  or  them,  to  make  so 
rash  a  venture;  or,  in  other  words,  not 
farther  to  travesty  that  venerable  docu- 
ment, the  Declaration  of  Independence, 
do  what  candidates  for  office  assume  to 
do  in  their  long-winded  speeches,  to- 
wit:  define  their  position,  though  heaven 
knows,  if  to  define  be  to  make  definite, 
these  latter  personages  are  guilty  of 
gross  perversion  of  language,  when  they 
apply  the  phrase  just  quoted.  Comply- 
ing with  the  demand  aforesaid,  and  with 
the  common  practice  of  individuals  in 
our  situation,  and  greeting  the  good 
people  of  White  Hall  in  particular,  and 
of  Greene  county,  in  general,  we  pro- 
ceed to  state  that  we  have  established 
the  White  Hall  Register.  First,  because 
we  expect  to  make  it  pay  ourselves;  sec- 
ondly,  because  we  expect  to  make  it  pay 
our  patrons;  and  third,  because  we  ex- 
pect  to  make  it  pay  White  Hall. 
Whether  or  not  our  expectations  shall 
be  fulfilled  is  contingent  upon  two 
things,  to-wit:  The  manner  in  which 
this  paper  shall  be  conducted,  and  the 
measure  of  patronage  and  encourage- 
ment which  it  shall  receive  from  the 
public.  If  we  did  nothing  ourselves 
capable  of  satisfactorily  meeting  the 
first  named  condition,  we  should  not 
have  made  the  attempt.  And  were  we 
not  reasonably  ceitain  that  the  latter 
condition  would  be  satisfactorily  met 
we  should  not  be  wasting  stationery 
upon  this  salutatory.     As  touching  the 


whole  matter,  we  have  to  say  that  we 
shall  labor  earnestly  and  with  all  our 
abilities  to  make  the  Register  such  a 
journal  as  no  intelligent  resident  of 
this  county,  and  especially  of  this 
town,  can  afford  not  to  take  and  pay  for, 
ami  we  rely  upon  our  efforts  in  this  be- 
half, and  upon  the  public  spirit  and 
enterprise  of  our  fellow  citizens,  to  se- 
cure the  needed  patronage.  Now  a  few 
words  as  to  the  editorial  conduct  of  the 
paper,  its  policy,  its  principles,  if  you 
please.  First  and  foremost, that  conduct 
will  regard  the  interests  of  White  Hall. 
The  leading  principles  will  be  that 
whatever  is  good  for  White  Hall  is  good 
for  the  Register ;  and  our  policy  will  be 
squared  bv  that  sound  doctrine.  We 
shall  do  all  in  our  power  to  make  this  a 
live,  go-ahead  town.  We  shall  show  up 
its  advantages,  natural  and  artificial,  its 
desirability  as  a  place  of  residence,  its 
facilities  as  a  trading  point,  its  adapta- 
tion for  manufacturing  purposes,  and, 
in  a  word,  in  every  way  possible,  shall 
advertise  it  to  the  world.  Of  whatever 
will  inure  to  the  benefit  of  White  Hall, 
we  shall  be  the  persistent  advocate,  and 
as  persistent  an  opponent  of  whatever 
threatens  the  prosperity  of  the  town. 
This  is  our  town.  We  have  come  here 
to  live  and  we  mean  to  aid  in  making 
our  home  a  good  one.  As  to  politics, 
the  Register  will  be  democratic.  In  this 
respect  we  shall  not  be  'red-hot'  if  to 
attain  and  maintain  that  high  degree  of 
temperature  it  be  requsite,  in  writing  of 
our  political  opponents,  t  >  use  the  lan- 
guage of  the  Billingsgate  fish-wives, 
and  to  deal  in  personal  abuse.  We  have 
no  taste  for  the  'Parson'  Brownlow  and 
'Brick'  Pomcroy  style  of  journalism.  To 
all    such     who    do,     we  will  give     the 


HISTORY  OF  (IREENE  COUNTY. 


747 


friendly  advice  not  to  subscribe  for  the 
Register.  While  our  political  opinions 
are  as  above  indicated,  and  those  of  the 
present  National  administration  are  dif- 
ferent, we  shall  not  for  that  reason  feel 
called  upon  to  oppose  every  act  of  that 
administration.  The  good  things  that 
President  Grant  or  congress  may  do — 
and  we  hope  they  may  be  many — we 
shall  heartily  endorse.  And  the  evil 
things — whereof  we  pray  there  may  be 
few — we  shall  earnestly  condemn.  And 
generally  we  shall  not  commend  a  polit- 
ical scoundel  as  a  saint,  because  he  is  a 
democrat,  or  call  an  honest  man  a  thief, 
because  he  is  a  republican.  So  saying, 
good  people,  we  introduce  to  your  ac- 
quaintance the  White  Hall  Register, 
hoping  that  you  and  it  may  become  fast 
friends,  and  that  from  the  friendship 
may  result  much  advantage  to  you  and 
to  us." 

This  firm  continued  the  business  but 
a  short  time,  Frank  Glossop  retiring 
Nov.  6,  1869,  and  S.  H.  Davis  carrying 
on  the  paper  until  May  28,  1870,  when 
he  disposed  of  the  office  and  material  to 
Charles  H.  Johnson.  Mr.  Davis  had 
conducted  the  paper  in  a  very  able  man- 
ner, some  very  fine  editorials  appearing 
from  time  to  time  from  his  pen. 

Johnson  commenced  with  the  follow- 
ing address  to  the  patrons  of  the  paper 
and  the  public,  as  is  the  manner  of  the 
craft: 

"The  undersigned,  with  the  retire- 
ment of  Mr.  Davis,  assumed  charge  of 
the  Register  this  week,  and  merges  his 
individuality  into  the  editorial  "we." 
In  so  doing,  we  have  no  lengthy  pro- 
fessions to  make,  or  lavish  promises  to 
give.  The  politics  of  the  paper  will  be 
unchanged.     Its  local  policy  will  be  as 


heretofore,  and  the  editor,  to  the  full 
measure  of  his  ability,  will  strive  to 
merit  and  to  win  public  approval.  We 
have  been  with  the  Register  since  its  es- 
tablishment, and  its  successive  issues, 
together  with  the  job  work  done  in  the 
office,  are  the  witnesses  to  our  know- 
ledge of  typography.  We  think  we 
know  what  the  demands  of  the  people 
here  are  in  the  way  of  a  newspaper,  and 
shall  labor  to  supply  those  demands, 
with  reasonable  hope  of  success.  In 
the  performance  of  our  duties,  we  ask 
the  indulgent  criticism  of  our  patrons, 
and  of  the  press.  So  saying,  we  doff 
our  hat  in  greeting  to  the  public,  and 
utter  our  'How  d'ye  do?'  " 

Mr.  Johnson  was  an  enterprising,  go- 
ahead  man,  and  with  the  issue  of  Sept. 
3,  1870,  the  paper  was  enlarged  to  eight 
.columns  and  presented  a  neat  appear- 
ance. He  continued  to  publish  the 
journal  until  the  month  of  Jan.,  1875, 
when  the  White  Hall  Register  Company 
was  formed,  with  Henry  Johnson,  as 
president,  and  Charles  H.  Johnson,  as 
secretary  and  treasurer.  This  company 
continued  the  paper  from  the  issue  of 
Jan.  9,  until  March,  1882,  when  Fletcher 
Cain  became  editor  and  proprietor.  He 
commenced  well,  but  July  28,  1883,  the 
office  passed  into  the  hands  of  Palmer 
&  Roberts,  Mr.  Cain  stepping  down  and 
out,  with  the  following  witty  valedic- 
tory, under  the  heading,  "We've  quit." 

"With  this  issue  of  the  White  Hall 
Register  we  step  down  from  the  editorial 
chair,  and  walk  out  of  the  reporter  office. 
We  are  done. 

"In  our  brief  career  as  editor,  we 
have  doubtless  made  mistakes.  If  so, 
we  do  not  beg  that  your  criticism  be 
lenient,   but   harsh  and   cutting;  and  if 


r4s 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


our  course  has  met  the  approbation  of  a 
single  individual,  we  beg  his  pardon,  as 
it  was  entirely  unintentional  on  our 
part.  If  we  have  said  anything  we  are 
sorry  for,  we  are  glad  of  it,  and  if  we 
had  the  opportunity,  would  say  it 
again. 

"In  retiring,  we  turn  over  the  busi- 
ness to  Messrs.  Hiram  H.  Palmer  and 
Prof.  William  J.  Roberts,  of  the  Rood- 
house  Journal,  two  gentlemen  of  ability 
and  integrity.  Their  personal  beauty 
is  perhaps  not  equal  to  our  own,  but 
they  are  men  with  heads  on,  and  know 
what  they  arc  about. 

"To  satisfy  the  idle  curiosity  of  out- 
siders, and  save  the  office  from  the  tor- 
ture of  impertinent  questions,  we  will 
say  that  our  withdrawal  is  the  result  of 
a  purely  business  transaction,  and  the 
fact  that  we  have  made  a  mint  of  money 
is  more  than  we  can  bear  up  under. 
We  will  probably  spend  the  remainder 
of  the  season  at  Saratoga,  or  somewhere 
else. 

"All  debts  due  the  office  will  be  paid 
to  Messrs.  Palmer  &  Roberts — we  hope, 
and  all  liabilities  will  be  assumed  by 
them. 

"In  conclusion,  we  will  add  that  we 
have  made  arrangements  with  a  promi- 
nent dry  goods  house  of  this  place,  to 
furnish  to  subscribers,  free  of  charge, 
handkerchiefs  sufficient  to  wipe  away  all 
genuine  tears  shed  over  our  withdrawal. 
As  to  ourselves,  we  will  enter  upon — 
but  it's  nobody's  business  what  we  enter 
upon. 

The  following  announcement  appeared 
in  the  same  paper,  which  fully  explains 
itself: 

"After  this  week's  issue  the  White 
Hall  Register  exists  no  longer.      Realiz- 


ing the  fact  that  fewer  newspapers  and 
bet-er  ones  are  what  the  people  of 
Greene  county  desire  and  believing  that 
by  a  combination  of  the  two,  we  would 
he  enabled  to  give  our  readers  at  Rood- 
house,  at  White  Hall,  at  Carrollton, 
and  in  fact  all  over  the  county  and  state, 
a  more  interesting,  more  readable  and 
more  influential  newspaper,  the  proprie- 
tors of  the  Daily  and  Weekly  Journal 
have  purchased  the  White  Hall  RegUter, 
printing  presses  and  outfit,  books,  ac- 
counts, files  and  good  will. 

"  The  Daily  Journal  will  also  be  pub- 
lished as  heretofore. 

"The  Weekly  Journal  will  also  be 
continued  as  before,  while  the  White 
Hall  edition  will  be  issued  under  the 
name  of  the  White  Hall  Watchman. 

"W.  J.  Roberts  will  open  an  office  in 
White  Hall  and  have  headquarters 
there,  while  H.  H.  Palmer  will  continue 
at  Roodhouse. 

"This  combination  gives  us  the  largest 
circulation  of  any  newspaper  in  Greene 
county,  and  as  the  paper  will  go  to 
thousands  of  readers  (having  1,500  sub- 
scribers) in  all  parts  of  this  and  adjoin- 
ing counties,  it  will  make  it  the  best 
advertising  medium  in  this  part  of  the 
state. 

"  The  Journal  has  just  put  in  a  large, 
improved  Fair  Haven  newspaper  press, 
and  by  the  combination  of  the  two  offices 
has  enlarged  and  increased  facilities  for 
all  kinds  of  job  work,  which  we  guar- 
antee will  be  done  as  well  as  at  any 
office  in  Greene  county.  The  paper  will 
continue  to  be  democratic,  but  will 
boldly  and  fearlessly  speak  its  senti- 
ments upon  all  questions  of  public 
policy. 

"The  Daily  Journal  is  the  only   demo- 


cratic  daily  paper  published  in  the  12th 
congressional  district,  except  the  Quincy 
Herald,  and  we  bespeak  the  hearty  sup- 
port of  the  democrats  of  this  district." 
Although  the  above  announcement 
says  that  the  name  of  the  paper 
would  be  changed  to  that  of  Watchman^ 
the  edition  was  continued  in  White  Hall 
under  its  old  name  of  Register,  the 
printing  being  done  at  Roodhouse. 
With  the  issue  of  July  4,  1884,  Mr. 
Palmer  retired  from  the  firm,  Mr. 
Roberts  continuing  the  paper.  In  the 
latter  part  of  Aug.,  1884,  the  material 
of  this  office  was  removed  to  White 
Hall,  but  upon  the  26th  of  November 
the  office  with  all  its  contents  was  dis- 
troyed  by  lire,  a  total  loss  of  about 
$1,600,  to  the  publisher,  upon  which 
there  was  no  insurance.  With  charac- 
teristic energy,  however,  Mr.  Roberts 
did  not  allow  the  paper  to  miss  an  issue 
on  that  account,  having  it  printed  in 
the  office  of  the  Carrollton  Gazette  until 
June  1,  1885,  when  a  new  outfit  was 
pun-based.  July  7,  1885,  M.  Owings 
became  a  partner  in  the  enterprise,  but 
only  remained  a  short  time.  The  paper 
is  now  run  by  W.  J.  Roberts,  in  White 
Hall,  and  is  an  excellent  representative 
of  mechanical  excellence,  and  ability. 

(.KEEN  FIELD    INDEPENDENT. 

This  was  the  pioneer  journal  of  the 
town  of  Greenfield,  and  was  established 
by  Morton  &  Pickett,  in  the  spring  of 
1869.  A  neat  paper,  it  had  quite  a  lib- 
eral support,  but  after  a  time  Mr.  Mor- 
ton collecting  all  the  outstanding  ac- 
counts of  the  firm,  and  borrowing  all 
that  he  could  on  the  good  name  of  the 
Independent,  skipped  out  of  the  country, 
leaving  Mr.   Pickett  the  office,  and  the 


debts  to  run  the  paper  on.  But  it  could 
not  be,  so  this  journalistic  venture  came 
to  an  untimely  end. 

THE    COMET. 

Mr.  Pickett,  who  still  kept  the  office 
of  the  Independent,  published  a  paper 
by  the  above  name  for  a  time.  Like 
the  meteor  from  which  it  drew  its  name 
it  was  bright  and  sparkling,  but  sadly, 
erratic,  appearing  spasmodically,  and 
finally  disappeared  in  the  dark  void 
that  has  swallowed  up  so  many  other 
journals. 

THE  LOCOMOTIVE. 

In  the  early  spring  of  1870,  the  ma- 
terial of  the  Independent  office  was  pur- 
chased by  A.  G.  Meacham  and  a  part- 
nership formed  between  himself  and  a 
party  by  the  name  of  Milton,  a  fine 
practical  printer,  and  under  the  name 
of  Meacham  &  Milton  the  Locomotive  was 
started.  They  pulled  the  throttle  valve 
wide  open,  and  for  a  while  the  Locomo- 
tive ran  along  quite  smoothly  and  drew 
a  good  advertising  and  subscription  list. 
Finally,  Mr.  Meacham  left,  dissolving 
the  co-partnership,  and  Milton  start- 
Lnga  paper  at  Brighton,  and  one  at  Win- 
chester, moved  the  press  to  Brighton, 
although  he  still  continued  to  pr.int 
the  Locomotive.  W.  T.  Pickett  became 
his  partner  and  the  journal  was  made 
semi-weekly,  but  after  a  short  time  the 
subscription  list  and  good  will  was  sold 
to  C.  H.  Johnson,  of  the  White  Hall 
Register,  who  continued  to  print  local 
editions  of  the  Locomotive  for  some  little 
time,  but   finally  abandoned   even   that. 

GREENFIELD  NEWS. 

In  the  spring  of  1875,  a  man  by  the 
name    of   Walker   brought  a  press  and 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


the  material  of  an  office  from  Carlinville 
to  Greenfield  and  commenced  the  pub- 
lication of  a  paper  with  the  above  head- 
ing. This  was  of  a  sharp,  spicy  nature, 
independent  in  everything,  neutral  in 
nothing;  but  for  want  of  sufficient  sup- 
port, soon,  like  its  predecessors,  came 
to  an  untimely  end.  The  office  was  left 
in  the  hands  of  the  backers  of  the  en- 
terprise, and  after  remaining  idle  for 
some  months  was  leased  by  Byron  Orr 
and  John  Walker,  who  commenced  the 
issue  of 

THE    GREENFIELD    DISPATCH. 

Walker  was  identified  with  the  enter- 
prise but  a  few  days  when  he  abandoned 
it  to  his  partner,  Mr.  Orr,  who  con- 
tinued the  publication  a  few  months, 
when  be  sold  out  to  W.  T.  Pickett,  This 
gentleman  carried  on  the  paper  without 
any  very  flattering  prospects  until  May 
12,  1877,  when  finding  it  would  not 
pay,  he  sold  out  to  Mr.  Farris,  who 
was  publishing  the  Greene  county 
Democrat,  at  White  Hall.  After  this  the 
office  remained  idle  until  the  publica- 
tion of  the 

GREENE  COUNTY  REPUBLICAN. 

The  first  issue  of  this  new  effort  in 
the  journalistic  field  was  dated  July  7, 
1877.  A  few  days  previous,  R.  D.  Sud- 
deth  leased  the  office  and  initiated  the 
paper,  and  continued  its  publication 
until  March  23,  1S78,  when  the  Green- 
field Printing  Co.  purchased  the  entire 
outfit,  and  taking  possession  of  it,  com- 
menced the  publication  of  the 

GREENFIELD  WEEKLY  ARGUS. 

W.  W.  Havens  was  installed  as  ed- 
itor and  general   manager,  and  the  first 


issue  was  dateil  March  -'10, 1878.  It  was 
a  seven  column  folio,  and  was  well 
filled  with  advertisements.  From  the 
past  experiences  of  the  newspapers  in 
this  town,  who  had  all  to  succumb  to  the 
inevitable,  it  was  to  the  no  small 
anxiety  of  the  new  editor,  the  establish- 
ing of  this  new  journal.  On  taking  pos- 
session, Mr.  Havens  penned  the  fol- 
lowing salutatory,  which  appeared  in 
the  first  issue  of  the  paper: 

"It  is  with  many  misgivings  and  per- 
turbations that  we  essay  to  mount  the 
editorial  tripod. 

"We  are  fully  cognizant  of  the  suc- 
cessive failures  of '  the  several  newspa- 
per enterprises  heretofore  attempted. 
Hence,  our  diffidence;  and  were  it  not 
for  the  assurances  and  encouragement 
given  us  by  the  leading  business  men 
and  the  community  generally,  we  would 
have  refrained  from  becoming  a  target 
for  our  enemies  to  shoot  at.  However, 
as  we  have  assumed  the  duties  of  editor, 
we  shall  endeavor,  with  the  continued 
encouragement  of  our  friends  and  the 
assistance  of  our  local  agents  at  all  the 
principal  points,  in  this  and  adjoining 
counties,  to  make  the  weekly  Argus  a 
success. 

"As  to  the  political  cast  of  the  Argus, 
we  can  only  say  that  we  are  a  republi- 
can, but  not  exactly  of  the  Hayes  type. 
Nor,  are  we  so  blind  and  reckless  a 
samplej  as  to  advocate  republican  nom- 
inations for  the  county  offices  in  Greene 
county,  because,  we  believe  that  the  re- 
publican party,  before  it  can  succeed  or 
be  fairly  represented  in  this  county, 
must  by  some  manner  of  honorable 
means,  either  in  its  own  or  some  other 
name,  gain  numerical  strength  sufficient 
to      overcome    that     immortal    twelve 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


751 


hundred  democratic  majority  that 
that  now  invariably  places  any  man  in 
office  that  secures  the  nomination.  In 
our  opinion,  that  government,  cither  lo- 
cal state  or  national,  should  be  watched 
over  by  the  people,  and  they  divided 
into  two  parties,  as  nearly  equal  as  pos- 
sible. When  any  party,  no  matterwhat, 
largely  predominates  over  the  other  in 
numerical  strength,  the  tendencies  to 
fraud  and  extravagance  are  increased 
just  in  proportion  to  the  excess  of  one 
party  over  the  other.  Hence  we  desire 
to  see  a  reduction  of  the  democratic 
majority  to  something  reasonable.  Then 
the  local  affairs  of  Greene  county  will 
be  in  a  more  satisfactory  condition  to 
all  except  the  few  aspirants  for  office. 

''Our  observations  have  been,  thai  a 
newspaper  that  neither  makes  one  glad 
nor  sorry,  is  of  short  life.  Therefore 
we  shall  make  free  to  censure,  in  our 
own  manner,  such  crookedness,  either 
individual,  social  or  political,  as  may 
come  under  our  notice.  At  the  same 
time,  we  shall  be  more  prompt,  it'  pos- 
sible, to  award  the  meed  of  praise  to  the 
deserving. 

"Knowing,  as  we  do,  that  we  cannot 
please  everybody,  we  shall  attempt  the 
next  best  thing,  to  please  ourselves, 
hoping  that  a  large  majority  of  our  read- 
ers will  see  the  utility  of  such  a  course, 
and  be  pleased  accordingly. 

"We  have  taken  hold  of  this  newspa- 
per enterprise  with  a  limited  amount  of 
"shekels,"  and  in  consequence  must 
remind  our  friends  that  in  order  to  make 
the  enterprise  successful  and  at  the 
same  time  give  them  a  live  paper, 
money  must  be  had.  Therefore,  we  hope 
our  friends  will  not  hesitate  to  come  for- 
ward with  their  cash  subscriptions.  Our 


patrons  need  not  fear  that  the  enterprise 
will  fall  through  as  the  others  have 
done,  for  we  have  come  here  to  stay. 
We  have  got  to  stay,  because  we  can't 
get  away. 

"  With  your  forbearance,  gentle  criti- 
cisms, and  patronage,  we  will  endeavor 
to  publish  a  paper  that  will  make  your 
faces  wider,  instead  of  longer,  and  be  a 
credit  to  our  thrifty  little  village,  and 
ourself." 

The  Argils  continued  under  the  man- 
agement of  Mr.  Haven,  until  the  time 
of  his  death,  which  took  place  upon  the 
8th  of  Dec,  1884. 

W.  W.  Haven  was  the  eldest  son  of 
Isaac  and  Mercie  Haven;  was  born  in 
Addison  county,  Vt.,  on  the  1st  day  of 
Aug.,  1831.  In  the  year  of  1843.  he 
immigrated  to  Greene  county,  in  com- 
pany with  his  parents,  his  brother  Rob- 
ert, and  his  sister,  now  Mrs.  James 
French,  settling  northeast  of  Green- 
field, and  engaged  in  the  pursuit  of 
farming,  and  attending  school.  Young 
Haven  acquired  a  good  education,  and 
in  1849  he  was  employed  in  the  store  of 
R.  M.  Booker,  where  he  served  for 
about  one  year.  He  was  next  engaged 
in  teaching  singing  and  public  schools, 
and  established  quite  a  reputation 
throughout  the  eastern  portion  of  the 
county,  as  an  efficient  teacher  of  music. 
On  Oct.  27,  1853,  he  married  Georgia  A. 
Kemper,  born  Dec.  25,  1834,  in  Ken- 
tucky, who  survived  him.  After  his 
marriage  he  continued  the  profession  of 
teaching,  until  the  breaking  out  of  the 
war,  when  he  enlisted  in  the  40th  111. 
Inf.,  and  served  until  the  close  of  the 
war,  and  received  an  honorable  dis- 
charge. He  was  with  Sherman  at  Shi- 
loh,  in  his  march  to  the  sea,  and  through 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


the  Carolinas.  On  his  return,  he  en- 
gaged in  fanning  until  1870,  when,  in 
company  with  W.S.  G.  Allen,  he  entered 
the  grain  and  nulling  business,  which 
proved  pecuniarily  disastrous.  He  then 
engaged  in  journalism,  first  as  a  corres- 
pondent, then  as  managing  editor  of 
the  Argus,  in  which  he  continued  to  his 
death.  Mr.  Haven  also  spent  much  < >f 
his  time  as  an  auctioneer,  and  had  a 
good  business  in  this  and  adjoining 
counties.  Though  pecuniarily  unfortu- 
nate, Mr.  Haven  possessed  energy  and 
pluck  to  a  great  degree,  and  abilities  of 
no  mean  proportions.  Socially,  he  was 
a  genial  and  agreeable  companion,  fond 
of  a  good  story,  and  ever  ready  to  add 
to  the  entertainment  of  those  with 
whom  he  associated.  At  the  formation 
of  the  lodge  of  the  K.  of  P.,  at  this 
place,  he  was  a  charter  member,  as  well 
as  one  of  the  originators  of  Weisner 
post,  G.  A.  R.,  maintaining  his  mem- 
bership in  each  until  his  death.  In 
politics,  he  was  a  stalwart  republican, 
and  a  warm  defender  of  republican 
measures  and  principles.  He  had 
three  sons — V.  H.  Haven,  Leon  Haven, 
and  Gilman  Haven.  He  was  buried  in 
the  cemetery  at  Rubicon,  wdiere  the  de- 
ceased members  of  his  family  were  in- 
terred. 

After  the  death  of  Mr.  Havens  the 
Art/ns  was  continued  by  his  son  V.  H., 
who  immediately  took  charge,  and  who 
is  still  at  the  helm.  The  journal  is  a 
sprightly,  seven-column  folio,  neatly 
and  tastefully  gotten  up.  In  the  issue 
of  Jan.  3,  1885,  the  following  notice  ap- 
peared from  the  pen  of  V.  H.  Havens, 
the  new  editor: 

"I  will  continue  to  edit  and  publish 
the  Greenfield  Weekly  Argus,   as  here- 


tofore, under  the  head  of  'the  Green- 
field Printing  Co.'  Hoping  I  may  receive 
your  hearty  approval,  and  a  liberal 
share  of  patronage,  1  remain,  very  re- 
spectfully." 

WHITE    HALT.    REPUBLICAN". 

The  enterprising,  able  newspaper 
known  by  the  above  name  commenced 
its  journalistic  career  Feb. 24,  1877, with 
E.  J.  Pearce  and  C.  L.  Clapp,  as  pro- 
prietors. Mr.  Clapp  was  then,  as  now, 
the  editor  of  the  Carrollton  Patriot,  and 
upon  Mr.  Pearce  devolved  the  editorial 
work,  although  the  paper  was  printed 
in  the  office  of  the  Patriot.  It  was  an 
extremely  neat  and  well  edited  paper, 
showing  care  and  workmanlike  skill  in 
both  departments.  Capt.  Pearce  in- 
dulged in  the  following  salutatory  to  his 
friends  and  patrons: 

''Having  for  some  time  known  that 
White  Hall  needed  a  paper  that  would 
be  more  fully  a  representative  of  the 
place,  both  politically  and  in  a  business 
point  of  views,  than  the  J'tttriot,  being 
primarily  a  Carrollton  paper,  could  well 
be,  we  have  undertaken  the  task  of  sup- 
plying such  a  paper,  and  this,  the  first 
number  of  the  White  Hall  lieptiblican, 
is  the  result  of  our  first  attempt  in  this 
direction.  The  editor  being  a  republi- 
can, and  the  town  leaning  very  much  in 
the  direction  of  the  same  political  faith, 
the  paper  will  be  republican,  but  never 
narrowly  partisan.  When  we  cannot 
find  sound  valid  arguments  in  favor  of 
supporting  the  grand  republican  party, 
we  shall  not  seek  to  bolster  up  the  cause 
by  resorting  to  sophistry  or  political 
trickery.  It  shall  be  our  aim  to  be 
candid,  straight-forward  and  frank. 
The  paper  will  not  be  for  sale  to  any 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


753 


party,  clique  or  sect,  but  will  strive  to 
serve  its  readers  in  the  direction  in 
which  the  editor  believes  their  best  in- 
terests morally,  politically  and  finan- 
cially lie.  We  are  aware  that  we  have 
undertaken  a  somewhat  difficult  task, 
one  in  which  the  work  is  usually  vastly 
greater  than  the  pecuniary  compensa- 
tion, but  we  have  counted  the  cost,  and 
the  public  may  rest  assured  that  they 
will  not  lose  a  dollar  at  our  hands. 
Those  who  regard  the  enterprise  as  a 
worthy  and  commendable  one,  will  no 
doubt  encourage  it,  and  here  we  rest 
the  case,  content  to  abide  by  the  verdict 
of  the  people." 

The  paper  started  as  a  seven-column 
folio,  but  with  the  issue  of  June  2.  1877, 
it  was  enlarged  to  an  eight-column,  the 
size  it  still  maintains.  Messrs.  Pearce 
&  Clapp  continued  the  publishing  of  this 
journal  until  May,  1883,  when  Capt. 
Pearce  became  the  sole  proprietor.  At 
that  time  he  purchased  the  material  and 
outfit  of  the  White  Hall  THbum  .  together 
with  the  list  of  that  paper,  and  consol- 
idated it  with  his  journal,  thereby  ena- 
bling him  to  print  the  Fepublican  at 
home.  The  following  notice  of  the 
change  is  clipped  from  the  issue  of  May 
3,  1883  : 

"Having  consolidated  the  subscrip- 
tion lists  of  the  White  Hall  Republican 
and  White  Hall  Tribune,  I  have  now  a 
paper  with  a  circulation  that  is  equaled 
by  few  outside  of  the  large  cities,  and  I 
respectfully  ask  the  public  to  favor  me 
with  such  an  extension  of  patronage  as 
the  increased  importance  of  the  paper 
merits.  As  an  editor  and  publisher  it 
shall  be  my  aim  to  do  my  whole  duty  to 
the  patrons  of  both  papers.  Those  who 
have  been  taking  the  White  Hall  Repub- 


lican need  no  assurances  as  to  what  the 
tone  of  the  paper  will  be,  and  I  trust 
that  others  will  find  that  there  will  be 
no  cause  for  complaint.  The  expense 
of  bringing  this  entire  business  to  White 
Hall  is  heavy,  and  I  hope  that  patrons 
will  appreciate  the  situation  without 
further  suggestions . ' ' 

The  Republican  is  still  in  the  hands  of 
('apt.  Pearce,  one  of  its  founders,  and 
bids  fair  to  take  a  prominent  place  among 
the  journals  of  this  section  of  the  state, 
if  it  has  not  already  attained  the  front 
rank.  ('apt.  Pearce  is  an  able  writer, 
and  with  a  trenchant  pen  does  not  hesi- 
tate to  probe  any  wrong  to  the  quick. 
While  not  brilliant,  still  the  paper 
has  steady  qualities  that  renders  it  a 
favorite  among  a  large  class  of  readers 
who  appreciate  true  worth,  and  have  no 
regard  for  froth  and  glitter. 

THE     EVENING     REPUBLICAN. 

This  daily  venture  upon  the  rough 
and  stormy  seas  of  western  journalism, 
was  launched  in  Sept.,  1884,  the  first 
number  appearing  Monday  evening, 
the  loth  of  that  month.  It  emanates 
from  the  office  of  the  weekly  Republican, 
and  is  edited  by  Capt.  E.  J.  Pearce. 
The  following  is  his  address  to  the 
friends  of  the  enterprise  in  the  initial 
number  : 

"Having  been  urged  repeatedly  to  is- 
sue a  daily  edition  of  the  White  Hall 
Republican,  we  have  finally  decided  to 
make  the  experiment.  That  a  local 
daily  will  be  a  great  convenience  to  the 
people  of  White  Hall  and  vicinity,  there 
can  be  but  little  doubt ;  the  only  ques- 
tion is,  will  it  pay?  This  we  cannot 
answer,  except  by  saying  that  if  it  does 
not   pay  expenses  we  cannot  afford  to 


754 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY 


run  it.  The  matter  is  in  the  hands  of 
the  people.  The  paper  is  started  and  it 
is  with  them  to  say  whether  or  not  it 
shall  be  continued.  We  have  little 
time  to  devote  to  soliciting  subscriptions, 
therefore,  must  respectfully  ask  those 
who  wish  to  subscribe  to  call  at  the 
office.  Subscriptions  should  be  made 
for  short  terms  and  paid  in  advance,  as 
the  labor  of  making  weekly  collections 
will  add  to  the  expense  and  to  this  ex- 
tent operate  against  the  paper.  To- 
day's edition  is  not  a  fair  sample  of 
what  the  paper  will  be  in  case  it  suc- 
ceeds, but  it  is  large  enough  to  contain 
a  record  of  passing  events  at  home,  and 
this  is  about  all  that  is  expected  of  a 
local  daily.  The  paper  is  not  started 
for  campaign  purposes,  nor  as  a  cam- 
paign sheet.  No  one  except  the  pub- 
lisher, not  even  the  men  in  the  office, 
knew  prior  to  Saturday  that  it  was  to 
be  issued.  We  had  reached  a  point 
when  it  was  possible  to  publish  it,  and 
here  it  is.  Read  it,  and  if  you  like  it, 
pay  in  15  cents  and  try  it  a  week." 

The  paper  is  a  five-column  folio, 
which  form  it  lias  had  ever  since  its 
birth,  and  is  a  newsy,  bright,  local, 
daily  sheet,  that  reflects  great  credit  to 
the  office  from  which  it  comes,  and  the 
town  which  supports  it. 

WHITE    HALL    TRIBUNE. 

A  paper  bearing  the  above  name  was 
established  in  the  fall  of  1882,  at  the 
enterprising  city  of  White  Hall,  by 
Charles  Weis.  It  was  an  eight-column 
folio  in  form,  well  edited  and  ably 
printed.  The  first  issue  bears  the 
date  of  Oct.  18th,  and  contains  the  fol- 
lowing salutatory: 

"For  years  past  we  have  been  urged 


by  our  friends  and  accjuaintances  to 
establish  in  the  town  of  White  Hall,  a 
job  and  news  printing  office,  and  in 
connection  therewith,  publish  a  weekly 
newspaper  devoted  to  the  interests  of 
Greene  county.  We  have  yielded  to 
the  above  solicitations,  and  this  week 
place  our  sanctum  in  the  Oswald  block, 
and  the  finest  and  most  complete  job 
and  newspaper  office  in  the  county. 
And  in  addition  thereto  we  have  boldly 
entered  the  journalistic  arena,  and  with 
confidence  sent  forth  upon  its  mission 
the  White  Hall  Tribune,  a  weekly  news- 
paper devoted  to  the  eternal  principles 
of  truth,  and  pledged  to  the  support  of 
all  worthy  enterprises.  Being  a  prac- 
tical printer  and  having  had  years  of 
experience,  in  the  newspaper  business, 
we  enter  upon  this  enterprise  with  the 
full  determination  to  devote  our  time, 
our  money  and  our  talents  to  the  publi- 
cation of  the  best  newspaper  in  this 
part  of  the  state.  We  intend  that  the 
columns  of  this  paper  shall  come  to  its 
readers  laden  with  that  pure,  moral  and 
useful  journalism  which  shall  make  it  a 
househould  necessity  and  a  welcome 
guest  to  every  family  circle.  We  ask 
the  good  people  of  this  county  to  assist 
us  by  their  friendship  and  patronage, 
and  in  return  we  promise  that  the 
White  Hall  Tribune  will  devote  its  en- 
ergies and  influence  to  the  upbuilding 
of  Greene  county's  best  interests,  and 
that  it  will  ever  be  found  in  the  front 
ranks,  exposing  the  wrong  and  battling 
for  the  right." 

This  paper  was  continued  by  Mr. 
Weis,  until  May  1,  1883,  when  the 
material  was  purchased  by  E.J.  Pearce, 
of  the  Republican,  who  consolidated  it 
with  the  latter. 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


ROODHOUSE    SIGNAL. 

During  the  year  1871,  a  paper  with 
the  above  head  was  published  at  White 
Hall,  by  Henry  Johnson,  editor,  Charles 
Johnson,  publisher.  It  was  the  first 
paper  with  a  Roodhouse  head.  It  was 
an  eight-column  folio,  and  was  simply 
a  reprint  of  the  Register,  with  the  above 
title  placed  over  it. 

ROODHOUSE    HEADLIGHT. 

About  the  year  1872  a  paper  was  pub- 
lished by  George  B.  Price  &  Son,  of 
Carrollton,  with  a  Roodhouse  head  as 
above.  It  was  a  seven-column  folio, 
and  continued  to  fill  the  place  of  a  local 
journal  for  about  a  year. 

ROODHOUSE  INDEPENDENT. 

In  the  early  part  of  1875,  W.  T. 
Lakin  brought  material  for  a  paper  to 
Roodhouse, with  the  exception  of  apress, 
and  started  the  Roodhouse  Independent, 
a  six-column  folio.  He  had  the  press- 
work  done  in  White  Hall,  but  only  pub- 
lished a  few  numbers  when  he  removed 
the  material  to  White  Hall,  where  he 
published  the 

GREENE  COUNTY  DEMOCRAT. 

After  a  short  time  this  paper  was  sold 
to  James  Smith,  now  a  resident  of 
Washington  county,  Kan.  It  was  after- 
wards run  by  various  parties.  It  was 
quite  a  paper  for  some  time,  and  had 
an  extensive  circulation. 

harper's  herald. 

In  January,  1878,  John  S.  Harper 
brought  the  material  for  an  office  to 
Roodhouse  and  established  a  paper  with 
the  above  name.  It  was  democratic 
and  independent  republican  in  politics; 


was  a  five  column  quarto  in  form.  He 
ran  the  journal  for  about  six  months, 
during  which  time  it  had  a  fitful  career. 
The  office  was  then  sold  to  William 
H.  Pogue  and  Morris  R.  Locke,  of  Jer- 
seyville,  who  removed  the  material  to 
that  city  and  started  the  Examinee. 

GREENE  COUNTY  ADVOCATE, 

A  weekly  greenback  organ,  was  estab- 
tablishedin  Roodhouse  in  1881,  the  first 
number  appearing  May  1.  It  was  a  five 
column  quarto  in  form.  It  ran  until 
Jan.  8,  1883,  when  it  was  discontinued. 
Duncan  C.  Mclver  was  the  editor  and 
publisher  and  was  the  source  of  consid- 
erable revenue  to  the  proprietor,  it 
having  a  large  circulation  and  a  good 
advertising  list.  It  came  to  an  untimely 
end  shortly  after  the  institution  of  the 
Eye,  as  there  was  not  room  enough  for 
three  papers  in  the  town. 

DAILY  MORNING   JOURNAL. 

In  the  fall  of  1882,  H.  H.  Palmer 
started  the  Daily  Morning  Journal,  which 
met  with  a  fair  support  till  the  fall  of 
1S83,  when  shortly  afterward  its  publica- 
tion was  suspended.  It  was  at  first  all 
printed  at  home,  but  in  the  spring  of 
1883,  when  W.  J.  Roberts  became  a 
partner,  it  was  changed  to  a  patent  inside. 
It  was  a  five  column  folio. 

ROODHOUSE    REVIEW. 

This  was  the  first  paper  in  Roodhouse, 
the  printing  of  which  was  clone  in  that 
city,  all  previous  ones  having  had  the 
mechanical  work  done  elsewhere.  The 
first  issue  made  its  appearance  on  the 
1st  of  Oct.,  1877,  at  which  time  it  was 
a  five-column  folio,  26x20inches  in  size. 
At  the  head  of  this  initial  number  ap- 


pears  the  name  of  W.  T.  Mclver,  as 
editor  and  publisher.  At  that  time 
this  energetic  young  man  was  but  17 
years  of  age,  but  gave  promise  of  the 
business  ability  that  has  marked  his 
career  here.  In  the  initial  number  ap- 
pears the  following  salutatory: 

"In  presenting  the  initiatory  number  of 
the  Roodhouse  Review  to  the  public,  we 
do  not  appear  in  any  spirit  of  obsequi- 
es, having  no  apologies  to  offer 
for  our  bumble  existence,  but  claim 
that  the  publication  of  our  paper  is 
simply  in  response  to  a  want  long  felt 
in  this  place,  for  a  home-organ  that  is 
willing  and  capable  of  representing  the 
interests  and  needs  of  Roodhouse  and 
vicinity.  Our  readers  (especially  those 
in  this  community)  know  that  in  the 
many  of  the  so-called  Roodhouse  papers, 
heretofore  published,  and  obtaining  a 
limited  circulation  here,  that  not  one  was 
ever  printed  in  Roodhouse,  and  that  often 
they  are  filled  up  with  local  matter 
from  everywhere  else  in  the  county  ex- 
cept here. 

"This  is  simply  the  play  of  Hamlet 
with  Hamlet  left  out,  yet  the  harmless 
fiction  of  a  Roodhouse  paper  has  been 
kept  up  and  quite  liberally  supported 
several  years,  while  in  reality  there  has 
been  none,  except  in  name,  and  our 
friends  have  been  paying  out  money  and 
patronizing  a  rival  town,  and  no  doubt 
will  be  still  asked  to  do  so. 

"Now.  we  propose  to  publish  apaper 
in  Roodhouse  that  shall  distinctly  repre- 
sent Roodhouse  interests  of  every  kind, 
and  to  that  end  we  now  earnestly  bespeak 
the  kind  and  liberal  support  of  our  Rood- 
house  friends,  for  it  is  upon  you  that 
we  must  rely  for  success.  It  is  true, 
that  our  first  number,  hastily  issued,  is 


rather  small  and  unpretending  in  appear- 
ance, but  we  ask  nothing  of  our  friends 
as  a  gratuity,  but  for  favors  extended  to 
us  in  the  way  of  advertisements  and  sub- 
scriptions we  expect  to  give  to  all  value 
received." 

In  the  second  number  the  name  of 
Duncan  C.  Mclver,  the  father  of  W.  T., 
appears  as  editor,  he  taking  editorial 
management  in  connection  with  his  law 
business,  while  that  of  the  youthful 
printer  still  continues  as  publisher  and 
proprietor.  In  December  of  the  same 
year  the  paper  was  enlarged  to  a  five- 
column  quarto,  and  continued  without 
missing  a  single  issue  until  September, 
1880.  In  1879  W.  T.  Mclver  withdrew 
from  the  publication  of  the  paper,  leav- 
ing it  in  the  hands  of  his  father,  D.  C, 
who  ran  it  alone,  until  January,  1880, 
when  the  latter  sold  a  half  interest  in  it 
to  Frank  M.  Palmer,  and  the  firm  so 
formed  continued  until  September,  18S0, 
when  they  disposed  of  it  to  John  S. 
Harper,  who  changed  the  name  to  that 
of  the 

ROOD HOUSE    EAGLE. 

He  continued  the  publication  of  this  for 
about  six  months,  with  fair  success 
when  he  disposed  of  it  to  Hiram  II. 
Palmer,  of  Jacksonville,  who  again 
changed  the  name  to  that  of 

THE   ROODHOUSE   JOURNAL, 

and  changed  its  politics  to  that  of  the 
democratic  party,  and  continued  it  until 
1882,  when  a  half  interest  was  pur- 
chased by  W.  J.  Roberts,  and  in  the 
spring  of  1884,  the  latter  gentleman 
became  the  sole  owner  and  proprietor, 
and  removed  the  material  to  White  Hall, 
when  it  was  consolidated  with  the  White 
Hall  Register,  of  which  he  was  the  edi- 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY 


759 


tor.  A  year  previous  to  moving  there, 
the  White  Hall  Register  had  been  bought 
by  .Messrs.  Palmer  &  Roberts,  the  mate- 
rial sold,  and  the  Register  published  in 
connection  with  the  Journal,  merely 
changing  the  head.  After  removing  to 
White  Hall,  Mr.  Roberts  continued  to 
publish  the  Roodhouse  Journal  until 
about  June,  1885,  when  its  publication 
was  suspended.  The  material  was 
burned  a  short  time  after  removing  to 
White  Hall. 

GREEN K    COUNTY    UNION. 

The  first  issue  of  the  Greene  County 
Union  was  published  at  Greenfield, 
March  8,  1882,  by  W.  M.  Wallace, 
where  its  publication  was  continued 
until  March  26,  1885,  the  date  of  its  first 
issue  in  Roodhouse.  It  was  an  eight- 
column  folio,  neatly  printed.  N.  J. 
Ludi  appeared  as  editor,  he  having 
purchased  a  half  interest  about  1884, 
and  the  either  half  before  coming  here. 
The  following  salutatory  appeared  in 
the  initial  number  at  Roodhouse: 

"In  establishing  the  Union  at  Rood- 
house,  we  are  simply  undertaking  a 
business  enterprise,  in  regard  to  which, 
we  have  no  occasion  at  this  time,  to 
make  extended  remarks,  but  prefer, 
rather,  that  our  works  speak  for  them- 
selves. The  paper  will  be  issued  each 
week,  until  at  least,  there  seems  to  be  a 
greater  demand  for  something  more  fre- 
quent than  now  exists.  Opposed  to  the 
principle  of  saloon  licensing,  the  Union 
will  lie  strictly  anti-license,  supporting 
such  measures  and  men  only,  as  will 
best  promote  the  interests  of  the  city, 
and  guarantee  an  administration  of 
municipal  affairs  on  the  side  of  temper- 
ance, morality  and  sobriety.     While  we 


shall  aim  to  make  the  paper  reliably 
republican,  we  do  not  propose  to  be  the 
mouthpiece  of  any  sect  or  faction,  and 
shall  use  our  influence  for  the  elevation 
of  party,  men  and  measures,  only  so  far 
as  is  consistent  with  the  exigencies  of 
the  hour  and  the  manliness  of  independ- 
ent action.  In  this  we  ask  the  support 
of  the  public  generally,  assuring  them 
in  return,  that  our  highest  ambition  in 
the  enterprise,  is  to  advance  the  best 
interests  of  the  city,  and  the  moral  and 
social  welfare  of  the  people  of  the  com- 
munity." 

The  paper  is  one  of  the  representative 
journals  of  the  county,  and  still  edited 
by  Mr.  Ludi,  although  it  is  published 
by  the  Union  Printing  Co. 

ROODHOUSE    DAILY    UNION. 

On  the  morning  of  April  15,  1  - 
five-column  folio  daily  sheet  made  its 
appearance  upon  the  streets  of  Rood- 
house.  It  was  a  neat  and  tastily  gotten- 
up  sheet,  and  was  edited  by  N.  J.  Ludi. 
It  was  anti-license  in  politics.  In  the 
initial  number,  the  editor  thus  addresses 
his  friends  and  the  patrons  of  the  new 
journalistic  enterprise: 

'•At  the  time  we  engaged  in  the  news- 
paper business  in  this  place,  we  stated 
that  until  the  demand  was  greater  than 
it  then  appeared  to  be,  wo  should  con- 
fine our  labors  to  the  publication  of  a 
weekly  newspaper  only.  Since  then 
the  demand  has  increased  to  such  an 
extent  that  we  feel  justified  in  laving 
before  our  readers,  this  morning,  the 
first  number  of  the  daily  Roodhouse 
I'n  in  a .  Asa  champion  of  the  anti-license 
cause,  the  daily  Union  will  lie  published 
until  after  the  spring  campaign  and 
election.     Further  than  this,  its   future 


IGO 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


publication  will  entirely  depend  upon 
the  patronage  with  which  it  is  received 
and  recognized,  and,  should  the  demand 
continue,  we  shall,  of  course,  aim  to 
supply  it.  Trusting  that  our  efforts  in 
this  direction  may  not  be  unappreciated, 
and  that  the  Union  may  make  for  itself 
many  friends  and  additional  influence 
in  its  stand  for  principle  and  protection 
from  the  rum  traffic." 

This  paper  was  continued  until  in 
October,  18S5. 

ROODHOUSE   DAILY   EYE. 

On  Thursday  evening,  June  22,  1882, 
appeared  the  initial  number  of  the 
Roodhouse  Daily  Eye.  This  is  a  bright 
and  sparkling  sheet,  owned,  edited  and 
published  by  W.  T.  Mclver  and  J.  P. 
Drennan,  jr.,  under  the  firm  name  of 
Mclver  &  Drennan.  The  following  sa- 
lutatory appeared  in  the  editorial  col- 
umns of  the  first  issue: 

"  In  the  few  weeks  which  have  elapsed 
since  the  Eye  office  was  brought  to 
Roodhouse,  so  many  conflicting  and 
sensational  rumors  have  been  circulated 
about  the  new  daily,  that  it  is,  perhaps, 
well  for  the  Eye  to  state  definitely,  at 
the  outset  of  its  career,  what  it  expects 
to  be  and  do,  or,  rather,  what  it  will  not 
lie  and  do,  as  the  proprietors  prefer  that 
as  to  its  positive  qualities,  the  paper 
should  speak  for  itself. 

"  In  the  first  place,  then,  the  Eye  is 
not  a  'speculation'  or  an 'experiment.' 
A  first-class  office  has  been  brought  to 
Roodhouse,  in  which  to  print  it.  A  first- 
class  room  has  been  found  for  its  recep- 
tion. A  first-class  corps  of  printers 
have  been  secured  for  the  mechanical 
department.  Everything  has  been  fixed 
for  permanency,  and,  with  its  columns 


as  full  of  Roodhouse  advertisements 
as  they  are  to-day  the  Eye  can  safely 
say  that  it  will  be  permanent. 

"  Second,  The  Eye  will  not  be  a  re- 
publican paper,  nor  will  it  be  a  demo- 
cratic paper,  and,  we  might  add,  that  it 
will  not  be  a  greenback  paper.  It  is  to 
be  independent  in  politics,  strictly  so. 
It  will  favor  no  men  or  measures  be- 
cause they  belong  to  one  party  or  the 
other,  but  will,  at  all  times,  view  all 
questions  with  an  Eye  unclouded  by  the 
mists  of  political  prejudice  and  bigotry. 

"  The  Eye  was  not  established  to  sup- 
port  any  one's  political  aspirations.  It 
is  intended  to  be  a  Roodhouse  paper, 
devoted  to  the  interests  and  growth  of 
our  city,  whose  future  prosperity  the  Eye 
hopes  to  have  a  share  in.  To  this  one 
aim,  the  efforts  of  the  Eye  will  constantly 
be  directed,  and  to  its  accomplishment  it 
invokes  the  hearty  assistance  of  all  who 
desire  a  future  for  our  lively  little  city. 

"Eight  years  ago,  the  proprietors  of 
the  Eye  started  the  first  job  printing 
office  in  Roodhouse,  and,  six  years  ago, 
they  published  the  first  paper  ever 
printed  in  Roodhouse — the  Review.  To- 
day, not  without  some  feelings  of  pride, 
they  give  to  Roodhouse  and  Greene 
county,  with  full  confidence  in  its  ulti- 
mate success,  the  evening  Eye,  the  first 
daily  paper  in  Greene  county." 

The  Eye  remained  an  independent 
sheet  until  the  fall  of  1884,  when,  on 
reviewing  the  issues  of  the  day,  it 
then  declared  for  Cleveland  and  reform, 
and  is  now  ranked  among  the  leading 
democratic  sheets  of  this  section  of  the 
state,  and  is  a  credit  to  any  community. 
It  is  a  five-column  folio,  and  mechan- 
ically is  well  and  ably  gotten  up,  while 
the  spicy  locals  and  judicious  editorials, 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


761 


mark  it  as  a  model  paper  in  every  sense 
of  the  term. 

WEEKLY   EYE. 

This  paper  was  started  by  Mclver  & 
Drennao,  Aug.  10, 1882,  as  a  five-column 
quarto,  and   ran  in  that   form   for  about     terests  of  Greene  county. 


two  years,  when  it  was  enlarged  to  its 
present  form  of  six-column  quarto.  It 
is  all  printed  at  home,  and  is  one  of  the 
best  papers  in  the  county,  being  bright, 
newsy,  and  above  all  devoted  t.>  the  in- 


CHAPTER    XIV. 


ECCLESIASTICAL. 


The  little  band  of  Puritans  that  landed 
upon  the  bleak  and  sterile  shores  of 
Massachusetts,  upon  that  stormy  Decem- 
ber day  in  1620,  brought  with  them  and 
planted  in  that  first  settlement  on  New 
England  soil,  the  seed  of  the  church. 
The  oppressed  and  persecuted  Friends, 
in  their  endeavor  to  escape  the  legal 
tribunals  and  prisons  of  bigots,  in  Eng- 
land, tied  to  the  wilds  of  America  and 
planted  in  the  more  congenial  atmo- 
sphere of  the  new  world  their  peculiar 
tenets  of  religious  belief.  The  Caroli- 
nas,  the  asylum  of  the  French  Hugue- 
nots, driven  into  exile  from  their  na- 
tive land  for  their  Protestant  belief,  and 
Maryland  peopled  by  the  followers  of 
the  Calverts,  for  their  Catholic  faith. 
and  many  more  of  the  seaboard  states 
settled  by  refugees  for  faith's  sake,  have 
have  all  combined  to  make  this  United 
States,  pre-eminently,  a  land  of  relig- 
ion and  religious  liberty.  These  and 
other  causes  have  led  the  people  of  this 
great  republic,  children  of  sires  who 
have  suffered  in  the  cause  of  Christ, 
great  church  people,  and  when  the  end- 
grants  from  the  older  states  turned  their 


faces  to  the  setting  sun,  and  with  slowly 
plodding  teams  or  scarcely  less  rapid 
flat-boats  journeyed  into  the  new  land 
in  the  west,  they  carried  with  them  the 
various  religions,  beliefs  and  creeds, 
and  here  in  the  wilds  set  up  their  altars, 
and,  in  time,  built  themselves  houses 
of  worship.  To  recount  the  origin  and 
rise  of  these  various  churches  is  now 
the  pleasure  and  duty  of  the  compiler  of 
these  annals.  As  to  which  of  the 
or  denominations  was  the  the  first  to 
have  an  organization,  it  little  matters 
here,  but  the  following,  in  giving  the 
history  of  each  organization,  will  suf- 
ficiently point  the    fact. 

Among  the  early  preachers  who  made 
many  stations  in  this  county,  were 
Father  Breech,  a  Presbyterian;  Elder 
Van  Cleve,  a  Methodist,  ami  Elijah 
Dodson,  Moses  Lemen,  Jacob  Bower 
and  Alvin  Bailey,  Baptists.  All  these 
preached  here  in  the  "  twenties,  "  or 
early  "  thirties,  "  and  are  well  remem- 
bered as  pioneer  ministers. 

The  Mormon  revival  of  1S30  to  1835, 
is  well  remembered.  These  were  con- 
ducted by  Elders  McClelland  and  Parley 


762 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


P.  Pratt  in  the  west  part  of  the  county. 
Considerable  excitement  grew  out  of 
these  meetings  and  some  converts  made. 
Elder  Pratt  was  shot  afterward  near  New 
Orleans  for  trying  to  induce  a  man's 
wife  to  leave  him. 

CHBISTIAN  CHURCH,  WHITE  HALL. 

This  religious  society  was  organized 
in  White  Hall  upon  the  11th  of  March, 
1883,  with  the  following  members  :  C. 
J.  Bush,  James  Tunison,  Mary  Tun- 
ison, David  Boone,  Elizabeth  Boone, 
Francis  Fowler,  Lucinda  Fowler,  Deli- 
lia  Barrow,  Amanda  Henshaw,  S.  P. 
Dreon,  Henry  Porter,  William  Pritch- 
ard,  Ann  A.  Pritchard,  William  Blair, 
Kate  Blair,  J.  D.  Boggess,  Elizabeth 
Boggess,  John  Dunn,  E.  A.  Dunn,  W. 
E.  Butler,  and  Mary  Butler.  Elder 
Jermane  was  the  first  to  preach  to  this 
little  flock,  but  Elder  J.  J.  W.  Miller 
was  the  first  regular  pastor.  John  Dunn 
and  W.  E.  Butler  were  elected  elders; 
David  Boone,  James  Tunison,  W.  H. 
Pritchard  and  Samuel  Culbertson,  dea- 
cons, and  F.  Fowler,  clerk.  The  church 
is  in  a  flourishing  condition  and  is  gain- 
ing strength  in  the  community. 

HICKORY  GROVE  UNITED  BAPTIST  CHURCH. 

The  name  was  taken  from  a  round 
grove  of  old  shellbark  hickory  trees  that 
stood  on  the  southeast  quarter  of  sec- 
tion •_'(:>,  one  mile  east  of  the  present 
church,  which  was  a  noted  grove  for 
travelers  in  early  times,  in  this  section 
of  Illinois.  The  church  was  first  organ- 
ized under  the  name  of  an  arm  of  Tay- 
lor's Creek  Baptist  church,  on  Jan.  30, 
1  s:)0,  with  John  Finley,  moderator  and 
Ellis  Davidson,  clerk,  and  the  follow- 
ing members:  Ellis  Davidson,  Margaret 


Davidson,  John  Davidson,  Elizabeth 
Davidson,  Geo.  M.  Wright,  Cassandra 
Wright,  Thos.  Lee,  Amos  Lee,  Charles 
Lee,  Huldy  Lee,  Matthew  Garrison, 
Mary  Garrison,  Abel  Moore,  Delila 
Moore,  James  Moore,  Lucinda  Coon- 
rod,  Isaac  Hill,  Leannah  Hill,  Lucy 
Hill,  Polly  Grimes. 

Saturday,  June  1,  it  was  organized 
under  the  name  of  Hickory  G  rove  church 
by  Elders  Graham  Jackson,  Charles 
Kitchen  and  Aaron  Smith.  On  July  1, 
Geo.  M.  Wright,  Thos.  Lee  and  Sam- 
uel Close  were  appointed  messengers  to 
the  association.  Saturday,  June  1,  1831, 
Stephen  Coonrod  was  chosen  pastor  and 
Abel  Moore  first  deacon. 
.  April  1,  1834,  Meshach  Browning  was 
chosen  pastor  and  Dudley  Brannan  was 
chosen  second  deacon.  The  first  church 
house  was  built  in  1841  by  Thos. 
Wright,  Sr.,  for  the  sum  of  $225,  the 
size  being  30  x  46.  Rev.  Browning  con- 
tinued to  faithfully  break  the  bread  of 
life  to  this  church  for  seven  years,  when 
death  closed  his  work.  H.  H.  Witt 
was  called  in  1842  to  the  charge,  which 
place  he  filled  to  the  satisfaction  of  both 
saint  and  sinner,  for  the  space  of  eleven 
years,  when  God  called  him  home. 
Elder  Samuel  B.  Gulp  was  chosen  pas- 
tor in  1853,  and  he  remained  29  years. 
In  1882  Elder  I).  P.  Deaddrick  was 
called  to  the  pastorate,  which  place  he 
filled  for  two  years.  In  1884  Elder  T. 
N.  Marsh  was  chosen  pastor,  which 
place  he  fills  at  this  time.  This  church 
is  now  in  its  56th  year,  and  is  the  Larg- 
est country  church  in  the  county,  with 
nearly  300  members.  For  peace,  har- 
mony and  good  will,  it  stands  at  the 
head  of  all,  and  financially  is  second  to 
none. 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


763 


PROVIDENCE    BAPTIST  CHDBCH. 

At  an  early  date,  a  Baptist  clergyman 
by  the  name  of  Jackson,  held  religious 
services  at  the  house  of  Henry  Cook  in 
this  neighborhood  but  no  church  orga- 
nization was  formed  there.  At  the  res- 
idence of  Aaron  Reno,  farther  south- 
west, however,  regular  appointments 
were  held  until  the  building  of  the  neat 
church  e'difice  by  this  congregation,  on 
a  lot  donated  by  William  N.  Ashlock. 
He  also  gave  two  acres  of  land  for  cem- 
etary  purposes.  The  church  was  built 
on  the  south  side  of  the  farm  of  that 
gentleman,  in  the  timber.  It  was  used 
until  the  new  building  was  put  up. 
This  latter  was  erected  at  a  cost  of  $1,200 
and  was  dedicated  by  the  pastor,  Rev. 
Albert  Farron,  ofMedora,  whowascon- 
nected  with  the  church  for  about  20 
years.  He  was  a  native  of  Kentucky. 
He  removed  from  here  in  1884,  going  to 
California,  but  has  since  gone  to  Oregon, 
where  he  now  resides.  He  is  said  to 
have  been  one  of  the  ablest  ministers  in 
the  county.  The  membership  at  pres- 
ent is  about  50.  The  present  officers 
are  the  following  named:  Howard  Ash- 
lock, clerk;  James  Hankins,  George  K. 
Ashlock  and  George  Secor,  trustees. 

All.     SOUL'S     ROMAN      CATHOLIC     CHURCH, 
WHITE  HALL. 

The  erection  of  the  church  edifice 
owned  by  this  congregation  was  com- 
menced in  the  autumn  of  1883,  and  was 
so  far  completed  in  the  following  spring 
that  it  was  used  as  a  place  of  worship. 
The  fund  for  its  construction  was  raised 
by  subscription  among  the  members, 
who  all  responded  freely  in  the  cause 
of  religion.  The  original  contract  for 
the  building  was  let  for   $3,500,    but   an 


additional  sum  was  expended  on  it,  and 
together  with  the  lot  upon  which  it 
stands,  makes  it  $4,000.  The  edifice 
is  40x65  feet  in  size,  with  a  22 
ceiling.  The  spire  when  finished,  will 
have  an  elevation  of  85  feet  above  the 
side  walk,  and  presents  a  line  appear- 
ance. The  entire  structure  is  built  of 
brick.  Father  Metzler,  of  Brighton,  was 
the  first  pastor.  He  was  succeeded  by 
Father  Dietrich,  of  Jacksonville,  and  he 
by  Father  Halloran,  of  the  same  city. 
Services  are  held  on  the  second  and 
fourth  Sundays  of  each  month.  About 
35  families  are  connected  with  the 
church.  The  condition  of  the  soi 
is  excellent,  although  the  debt  on  ac- 
count of  the  erection  of  the  building  is 
not  entirely  liquidated, nor  the  structure 
completed.  The  church  is  locati 
the  west  side  of  south  Main  street,  be- 
tween Franklin  and  Carlinville  street-. 

CHRISTIAN  CHURCH,   I    VRROLLTON. 

This  congregation  was  organized  in 
the  year  1832,  under  the  aide  ministry 
of  Elder  B.  W.  Stone.  It  com:, 
its  career  with  something  likel20mem- 
bers,  and  for  some  years,  enj  yed 
son  of  prosperity  under  the  ministration 
of  Elders  Stone,  Huitt,  Osborn,  Ely, 
Challen,  Graham  and  others,  hut  after  a 
time,  dissension  crept  in,  death  re- 
moved some  of  the  members,  some 
immigrated  to  other  climes,  and  from 
these  causes  and  others,  in  the  early 
part  of  1841,  the  church  of  ex- 

istence.   In  December  of  the  same  year, 
however,  Elders  B.   W .   Stone,  John  T. 
Jones  and  D.  P.   Henderson    add] 
themselves  to  the  task,  and  are-organi- 
zation  of  the    church  was  effecti  'I 
some  28   or  29  members.     D.  W.  Ken- 


764 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


nett  was  chosen  elder,  and  W .  R.  Mun- 
tague  and  J.  H.  Marmon,  deacons. 
From  that  time  on  the  church  has  had 
a  comparatively  prosperous  existence, 
having  been  under  the  ministration  of 
some  very  able  men,  among  whom  may 
be  mentioned,  Elders  E.  V.  Rice,  E.  L. 
Craig,  John  Harris,  John  McPherson, 
and  J.  A.  Berry.  These  are  not  all, 
but  all  that  could  be  remembered.  The 
church  is  still  in  a  nourishing  condi- 
tion, and  doing  most  excellent  work  in 
this  portion  of  the  Lord's  vineyard. 

BAPTIST  CHURCH,  KANE. 

This  religious  body  was  organized  at 
the  house  of  Judge  Jehu  Brown,  in  what 
is  now  Jersey  county,  Nov.  3,  1823, 
when  there  were  but  200  or  300  Baptists 
in  the  state,  and  not  a  church  building 
of  this  denomination.  The  original 
members  were — Joseph  White,  Enoch 
Backus,  Major  Dodson,  Amy  Dodson, 
Penelope  Brown,  William  Johnson, 
and  Lydia  Johnson.  It  was  organized 
through  the  instrumentality  of  Elders 
Joseph  Lemen,  and  John  Clark,  as  the 
Macoupin  Baptist  Church  of  Christ,  and 
belonged  to  that  branch  of  the  church 
known  as  ''Friends  of  Humanity."  Al- 
though Elder  Lemen  preached  here  fre- 
quently, there  was,  in  all  probability, 
no  regular  pastor  here,  or  regular  ser- 
vices held  for  ten  years.  In  1832,  Rev. 
Moses  Lemen  became  pastor,  and  re- 
mained in  that  connection  until  1838, 
when  he  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  Wil- 
liam Hill,  who  had  labored  part  of  the 
time  here  with  Mr.  Lenun.  In  1839, 
both  of  these  gentlemen  labored  here. 
These  were  followed  by  the  following 
elders :  Joel  Terry,  William  Jerome, 
and  Moses  Lemen.     From  1847  to  1851, 


Joel  Terry  preached  nearly  all  the  time. 
In  November,  1851,  Lev.  T.  A.  Morton 
became  pastor  and  preached  half  the 
time,  alternating  with  Joel  Terry,  J.  S. 
Chilton  and  others,  until  Feb.  14,  1852, 
when  Mr.  Morton  was  engaged  for  three 
quarters  of  the  time,  and  the  other 
quarter  was  filled  by  resident  ministers. 
Mr.  Morton,  however,  did  not  remain 
long,  and  was  succeeded  by  Elder  Wil- 
liam Roberts,  who  was  engaged  for  half 
of  his  time,  and  Ezekiel  Dodson  the 
other  half.  From  October,  1852,  Rev. 
B.  B.  Hamilton  preached  nearly  a  year. 
From  the  month  of  September,  1853, 
Elder  Joel  Terry  preached  until  March, 
1855,  when  Elder  Farnham  came  to  the 
little  flock.  In  April  of  the  same  year, 
however,  the  church  called  Rev.  Alvin 
Bailey,  who  preached  here  until  Sep- 
tember following  when  his  health  failed. 
Ezekiel  Dodson  and  Joel  Terry  then 
took  up  the  Lord's  work.  In  1858,  Hen- 
ry Manning  was  employed  half  his 
time,  with  resident  and  itinerant  minis- 
ters to  fill  up  the  balance.  In  1S59  the 
same  gentleman  was  employed  part  of 
the  time,  and  Stroud  Keller  part.  Mr. 
Manning  was  ordained  while  employed 
here  and  became  the  regular  pastor.  In 
1861  he  resigned  and  became  the  caj)- 
tain  of  Co.  E,  61st  111.  Inf.,  and  served 
until  March  20,  1864.  Joel  Terry  died 
in  1861.  Rev.  Albert  Keene,  assisted 
by  Elder  Ezekiel  Dodson  ministered  to 
this  people,  until  1865.  Elder  Coley 
succeeded  them  and  remained  until 
1868.  In  December  of  the  latter  year 
Rev.  Justus  Bulkley  became  the  pastor 
and  remained  until  March,  1871,  when 
Rev.  Mr.  Howard  took  up  the  good 
work.  In  1872  Rev.  D.  Hutchins  came 
to   the   church,  remaining  until    April, 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


765 


1873.  Rev.  Joseph  B.  Werman  was 
pastor  from  Feb.,  1875.  Rev.  B.  B. 
Hamilton  came  to  the  church  again  in 
1876.  In  1879  Rev.  M.  C.Clark  preached 
about  five  months,  and  was  succeeded 
by  F.  M.  Mitchell.  Rev.  E.  S.  Sage 
came  in  1881,  remaining  one  year.  In 
the  following  year  Rev.  F.  M.  Mitchell 
again  became  the  pastor  and  acted  in 
that  relation  to  the  church  until  the 
spring  of  1885,  when  Rev.  E.  S.  Sage, 
the  present  pastor  again  was  called  to 
this  field  of  labor.  W.  H.  Hunter  is 
the  present  clerk,  and  John  T.  Williams 
and  James  Brooks,  deacons. 

The  first  church  edifice  was  erected 
by  subscription  in  1837  and  1838,  on  the 
site  of  the  present  school-house  in  Old 
Kane.  This  building,  long  past  its  days 
for  church  purposes,  was  moved  to  the 
town  of  Kane,  in  the  summer  of  1882, 
and  is  used  by  W.  C.  Reinecke,  as  a 
drug  store.  The  present  structure  in 
which  this  congregation  worship,  was 
erected  about  1870,  at  a  cost  of  about 
§3,600.  In  Nov.,  1873,  this  church  cel- 
ebrated its  semi-centennial  anniversary, 
and  Rev.  B.  B.  Hamilton,  the  then 
pastor,  declining  to  deliver  the  address, 
Dr.  Peter  Fenity,  gave  an  original  his- 
torical essay,  giving  the  history  of  the 
church  from  its  organization.  The  so- 
ciety is  in  excellent  condition  anil  has 
no  debt. 

BAPTIST    CHURCH,    WHITE     HALL, 

Was  organized  in  Oct.,  1*2(5,  by  David 
It.  Chance,  with  seven  members:  Sam'l 
Rogers,  Elizabeth  Lee,  Sally  Hicks, 
Abigail  Daggett,  Abraham  James,  Polly 
Rogers  and  Abigail  Lee.  Aaron  Hicks 
and  Chauncy  Lee  were  received  at  this 
meeting  as  candidates   for  baptism,  and 


they  were  baptized  soon  after.  They 
came  from  Marion  county  here,  and 
were  visited  by  Elder  Chance,  who 
gathered  the  new  organization  under 
the  name  of  the  Henderson  Creek  Bap- 
tist church.  Elder  Sear  Crane,  and 
Anna,  his  wife,  joined  here,  but  were 
dismissed  to  help  organize  the  church 
at  Carrollton.  The  North  District,  now 
Carrollton  Baptist  Association,  was  or- 
ganized here  in  1827,  Elijah  Dodson 
preached  some  time  for  the  new  church, 
and  resided  near  fire  present  cemetery. 
Alvin  Bailey,  after  removing  from  Up- 
per Alton  to  Carrollton,  preached  as  a 
missionary  at  White  Hall. 

In  lS.'JI,  a  meeting  was  held  here,  and 
the  Illinois  Baptist  convention  was 
organized,  J.M.  Peck,  the  Lemen  broth- 
ers, Jon.  Sweet,  and  others,  taking  a 
part  in  the  organization. 

In  1838,  Calvin  Greenleaf  preached 
for  the  church,  and  a  building  was  lie- 
gun  and  finished  in  time  for  its  dedica- 
tion, in  the  latter  part  of  Dec.,  1839. 
This  is  the  house  now  owned  and  oc- 
cupied by  the  Baptist  church.  Chauncy 
Lee,  Aaron  Hicks,  John  and  William 
Kistler,  Christian  Harper  and  Vincent 
Higbee,  were  among  its  prominent 
members.  Joel  Sweet  became  pastor 
and  resided  in  the  village  of  White 
Hall,  for  some  time.  Wm.  H.  Briggs, 
a  recent  graduate  of  Shurtleff  College, 
became  pastor  in  1N44.  Removals  and 
deaths  thinned  the  ranks  of  its  mem- 
bers, and  but  little  was  done  in  the  way 
of  progress  for  a  number  of  years.  In 
1850,  when  the  association  resumed  its 
.missionary  work,  the  church  was  almost 
extinct.  In  1852,  Elder  II.  T.  Chilton 
came  and  gathered  the  few  surviving 
members,   and  in    March,  1853,  a  meet- 


766 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


ing  was  held  in  which  a  very  considera- 
ble number  were  added  to  the  church. 
Another  meeting  was  held  in  the  fall, 
and  another  in    the   fall   of    1854.     In 

these  several  meetings,  some  70  or 
more  united  with  the  church.  In  1858, 
B.  B.  Hamilton  came  to  make  his  home 
in  White  Hall,  and  has  preached  for  the 
church  more  or  less,  ever  since.  In  the 
spring  of  1867,  Elder  Thos.  W.  Greene 
held  a  meeting  in  which  some  46  were 
baptized,  and  in  the  spring  of  1883, 
Elder  Wm.  Greene4  held  a  meeting, 
which  resulted  in  some  60  additions, 
and  the  present  membership  is  reported 
at  12:2.  Its  Sunday  school  has  been 
well  sustained  for  a  period  of  some  18 
years,  and  the  outlook  is  more  hopeful 
than  ever  before  in  its  history.  At 
present,  B.  B.  Hamilton  is  pastor;  W. 
W.  Carter,  clerk;  J.  E.  Higbee,  G.  W. 
Trask  and  C.  Vanderhuyden,  are  dea- 
cons. 

st.  Michael's  roman  catholic  church, 
greenfield, 

Was  incorporated  March  12,  1880,  by 
Right  Rev.  P.  J.  Bdltes,  bishop  of 
Alton;  Very  Rev.  J.  Janssen,  vicar- 
general  of  the  diocese;  Rev.J.D.  Metz- 
ler,  pastor,  and  P.  Peuter  and  P.  J. 
Madden,  lay-trustees.  These  gentle- 
men also  acted  as  the  first  officers  of  the 
newly  organized  congregation.  Three 
lots,  at  the  corner  of  Chestnut  and 
Sheffield  streets,  were  bought  March 
21,  1880,  with  the  intention  of  erecting 
thereon  a  church  edifice.  Plans  were 
furnished  by  Lucas  Pfeiffenberger,  of 
Alton,  and  the  contract  of  building  was 
awarded  to  James  Shields,  of  Green- 
field. The  pastor,  Rev.  J.  D.  Metzler, 
by    commission     of    the     Right     Rev. 


Bishop,  of  Alton,  laid  the  corner-stone, 
on  Sept.  2]  1880.  The  church  is  a  brick 
structure,  in  the  Cclto-Gothic  style  of 
the  14th  century.  The  building  is  ."7 
feet  wide  in  front,  67  feet  long,  and  it 
has  a  chancel  of  20x10  feet,  to  which  is 
attached  a  vestry-room  on  either  side. 
The  side  walls  are  18  feet  high;  the  roof 
is  self-supporting;  the  height  inside 
from  floor  to  ceiling  is  24  feet.  In  the 
front,  at  the  southwest  corner,  a  tower 
with  belfry  is  erected,  which  rises  to 
the  height  of  70  feet.  The  furniture  of 
the  church  is  in  strict  harmony  with  the 
building.  Up  to  the  end  of  1885,  the 
members  had  expended  about  $5,600  for 
grounds,  edifice  and  furniture.  The 
first  service  in  the  church  was  held  by 
the  pastor,  April  24,  1881.  The  solemn 
dedication  of  the  building  to  the  service 
of  God,  took  place  on  June  17,  1885, 
Right  Rev.  P.  J.  Baltes,  bishop  of  Alton, 
officiating,  who  also  administered  the 
sacrament  of  confirmation  to  81  persons. 
At  the  present,  there  are  50  families, 
with  about  300  individuals,  attending 
the  church.  The  pastor  is  Rev.  J.  I). 
Metzler,  who  is  also  in  charge  of  the 
Brighton  mission.  The  trustees  are  P. 
J.  Madden,  treas.,  and  O.  L.  Siegel, 
sec,  who  have  served  with  great  energy 
for  several  years. 

FIRST    I'HESBYTEEIAX    CHURCH    OF   WHITE 
HALL. 

This  was  the  first  church  of  this  kind  in 
Greene  county.  It  was  organized  in  the 
court  house  at  Carrollton,  111.,  May  4, 
1823.  The  original  members  were  Z. 
Allen,  Elizabeth  Allen,  Ruloff  Stevens, 
Elizabeth  Stevens,  Anthony  Potts,  John 
Allen,  Polly  Allen,  Thomas  Allen,  Mar- 
gery Allen,  "William  M  jrrow,  Jean  Mor- 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


767 


row,  John  Dee,  Francis  Bell,  Elizabeth 
Bell,  William  Allen,  Sallie  Allen,  C. 
Link.  Fannie  Painter,  Lucretia  Brush, 
Lavinia  Redel,  and  Lucy  Thomas.  The 
first  elders  were  Zachariah  Allen,  Ru- 
loff  Stevens,  Anthony  Potts  and  John 
Allen.  The  church  was  long  without  a 
settled  pastor,  or  a  shelter  of  its  own. 
Services  were  sometimes  held  in  the 
court  house  and  sometimes  north  of 
Apple  creek,  where  a  large  part  of  the 
members  lived.  In  time  the  church 
came  to  be  known  as  the  Apple  creek 
church, and  so  stands  on  the  records  of  the 
Presbytery,  when  on  April  11, 1840,  the 
name  was  changed  by  the  Presbytery 
of  Illinois,  to  White  Hall  Presbyterian 
church.  In  1842,  Henry  Tunison  and 
John  Morrow  were  elders,  and  Rich. 
Fulkerson  was  elected  such  in  1844. 
Some  years  later  the  church  became  a 
partner  in  a  Union  church  building,  but 
in  time,  the  other  partner  managed  to 
get  control,  and  turned  them  out  to  shift 
for  themselves.  September  11,  1870, 
the  church  was  re-organized  as  the  first 
Presbyterian  church  of  White  Hall, 
111.,  by  Revs.  S.  H.  Hyde  and  A.  T. 
Norton.  Jas.  Cochrane,  J.  B.  Steere 
and  J.  C.  Tunison  were  chosen  elders. 
The  following  were  the  first  members: 
S.  B.  Steere, Margaret  Steere,  J.  C.  Tuni- 
son, Mrs.  Tunison,  James  Cochrane, 
Eliza  Cochrane,  Mrs.  Stubblefield,  Mrs. 

Milne,    Miss    Rachel    Hull,    Mrs. 

Mary  A.  Davis,  Mrs.  Anna  Nesbit, 
Mrs.  Lucy  Chapin,  Mrs.  Vos&eller, 
Mrs.  Anton,  John  S.  Voorhees,  Mrs.  A. 
McGuire,  Mrs.  Margaret  Barr,  Mrs. 
Arnee,  Mrs.  Strang,  Miss  Emma  Strang, 
Mrs.  Pauline  Terhune,  Paul  Theo 
Lange.  Steps  were  taken  at  once  for 
the  erection  of  a  house  of  worship,  and 


on  Oct.  29,  1871,  the  present  edifice  was 
dedicated,  which  cost  about  $8,000.  The 
church  was  supplied  for  a  short  time  by 
Rev.  Jos.  S.  Edwards,  of  Cleveland,  0. 
The  first  Sabbath  of  Oct.,  1872,  Rev. 
Hugh  Lamont  was  installed  as  pastor. 
Rev.  P.  S.  VanNcst  supplied  the  pulpit 
from  Feb.,  1877 to  Oct.,  1878.  The  pres- 
ent pastor, Rev. D.  R.  Thompson, entered 
on  his  labors  June  3, 1880.  The  church 
now  has  a  clear  membership  of  86.  The 
following  are  the  present  officers:  Jas. 
Cochrane,  Ed.  Connett,Dr.  II.  W.  Chap- 
man, elders;  Win.  W .  Arnold,  Jas. 
Cochrane,  Ed. Connett, Dr.  H.  W.  Chap- 
man, John  Wolforth,  trustees. 

BAPTIST    CHURCH,   ROCKBRIDGE. 

This  church  was  organized  in  1837, 
and  was  a  branch  of  the  Providence 
Baptist  church,  being  com  posed  of  mem- 
bers of  that  church.  It  was  then  called 
the  Taylor's  Creek  Baptist  church.  The 
original  members  were  :  Thomas  Carlin, 
W.  H.  Cannedy,  Aaron  Reno,  Mrs. 
Aaron  Reno,  Jacob  Rhoads,  and  others. 
Rev.  Aimer  Hill  was  the  first  minister. 
This  church  endured  until  about  1842, 
when  a  division  arose,  partly  growing 
out  of  a  Mrs.  Hubbard,  who  sought  the 
membership,  and  partly  brought  about 
by  a  schism  called  the  "  soul  sleeping 
doctrine.'-  In  consequence  of  this,  a 
considerable  number  of  the  members 
withdrew  and  formed  a  new  church, 
known  as  the  Apple  Creek  United  Bap- 
tist, in  connection  with  which,  in  1856, 
the  New  Salem  church,  of  Rockbridge, 
was  organized.  In  187.')  the  church  was 
re-organized  by  Elders  A.  Few,  S.  F. 
Wright,  A.  Hankins  and  W.  M.  Rhoads. 
The  members  were  at  this  time :  A. 
Taylor,  who  was  elected  clerk;   Stephen 


768 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


Taylor,  J.  H.  Elkinton,  E.  R.  Davis, 
Elizabeth  Stephens,  Candace  E.  Taylor, 
Anne  E.  Dowdall,  Nancy  Dixon,  Ma- 
hala  Tites,  Maria  Allen,  Elizabeth 
A.  Taylor,  and  W.  M.  Rhoads.  This 
congregation  worshiped  in  the  old 
school  house,  on  the  site  of  the  present 
one,  until  1875,  when  they  determined 
to  build  an  edifice  for  their  use.  A 
building  committee  consisting  of  the 
following  gentlemen  was  appointed  :  A. 
Taylor,  Stephen  Taylor,  J.  H.  Elkinton, 
E.  II.  Davis  and  W.  M  Rhoads.  These 
gentlemen  erected  a  building  30x40  feet 
on  the  ground,  at  a  cost  of  $1,100,  in 
which  the  society  now  hold  services. 
There  is  a  present  membership  of  113. 
William  Cannedy  is  the  present   clerk. 

PLEASANT  POINT  BAPTIST    CHUKCH. 

This  society  was  organized  Oct.  18, 
1856,  with  the  following  members:  H. 
Drake,  G.  \V.  Cameron,  W.  W.  Smith, 
W.  Chaney,  C.  A.  Wooley,  J.  T. 
Barnard,  N.  Drake,  M.  A.  Cameron, 
M.  A.  Smith,  M.  Chaney  and  M. 
Phillips.  H.  L.  Johnson  and  C.  P. 
Johnson  were  the  presbyters,  and  A.  J. 
Johnson,  the  clerk.  The  first  meeting 
was  held  in  a  grove,  near  the  site  of  the 
present  church  building,  where  Rev.  C. 
P.  Johnson,  their  first  minister,  held 
forth.  A  union  church  was  put  up  by 
this  congregation  and  the  Methodists 
that  same  fall,  money  enough  being 
raised  by  subscription  to  warrant  it. 
This  structure  is  30x40  feet  in  size,  and 
is  located  on  the  southeast  corner  of 
section  9.  There  is  a  present  member- 
ship of  100,  under  the  ministry  of  Rev. 
Win.  M.  Rhoads,  who  has  been  pastor 
for  about  seven  years  A  flourishing 
Sabbath    school  is    held   in  connection 


with  this  church,  of  whieh   S.  W.  John- 
son is  superintendent. 

BAPTIST  CHURCH,  WRIGHTSVILLE. 

This  church  was  organized  in  Feb., 
1880,  by  Rev.  B.  B.  Hamilton,  of  White 
Hall,  and  James  Haycraft,  of  Medora, 
with  the  following  members:  Henry 
Stout  and  wife,  A.J.  Wright  and  wife, 
Jerry  Bethard  and  wife,  James  Bethard, 
'William  P.  Parker,  and  Andrew  Cage. 
The  first  officers  of  this  little  society 
were  Jerry  Bethard,  deacon,  and  James 
Bethard,  clerk.  Rev.  John  Bush  was 
the  first  minister,  and  remained  until 
in  Sept.,  1882,  since  which  time  Rev. 
J.  P.  Alexander  has  been  the  pastor. 
A.  J.  Wright  and  Jerry  Bethard  are  the 
present  deacons,  and  Francis  Bell  is 
clerk.  At  present  the  membership 
amounts  to  about  30.  They  meet  in  the 
Temperance  hall,  which  was  built  in 
the  spring  of  1880,  at  a  cost  of  $065, 
and  is  24x40  feet  in  size. 

PRESBYTERIAN    CHURCH,    WALNUT    GROVE. 

The  Presbyterian  church  of  Walnut 
Grove,  originally  known  as  String 
Prairie  church,  was  organized  at  the 
house  of  Morris  Lee,  on  the  farm  now 
owned  by  Coonrod  Kahm,  the  house 
standing  very  near  the  present  residence 
of  Mr.  Kahm.  The  date  was  Oct.  20, 
1833,  and  the  officiating  clergymen  were 
Rev.  Thomas  Lippincott  and  Rev.  Mr. 
Brich.  There  were  nine  members,  one 
of  whom,  Mrs.  Morris  Lee,  of  Carlin- 
ville,  111.,  is  still  living,  aged  84  years. 
The  location  was  about  midway  between 
the  two  settlements  of  Cook's  Prairie 
and  Kincaid's  point,  where  meetings 
had  been  previously  held  for  several 
years,  by  ministers  of  that  order.    Soon 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


769 


after  the  organization,  the  neighbors 
and  friends  of  the  cause  erected  a  large 
double  log  building  on  the  northeast 
corner  of  Mr.  Lee's  farm,  and  furnished 
it  in  primitive  style.  They,  called  it  a 
meeting  house,  and  it  did  service  until 
1848,  when  the  church  erected  a  frame 
building  on  the  southeast  corner  of  the 
farm  now  owned  by  Wm.  B.  Robinson, 
at  a  cost  of  $4,000.  In  1861,  the  same 
building  was  moved  to  its  present  site 
at  Walnut  Grove,  remodeled  and  en- 
larged, and  by  request  of  the  presby- 
tery, the  name  of  String  Prairie  was 
changed  to  Walnut  Grove,  by  which 
name  it  has  continued  to  he  known. 

In  1866,  the  church  and  congregation 
having  increased  in  numbers  and  benev- 
olence, they  purchased  of  Mrs.  Mary 
Miller  five  acres  of  ground  at  §100  per 
acre,  and  erected  thereon  the  well  ar- 
ranged and  comfortable  buildings  known 
as  the  parsonage,  the  plans  and  specifi- 
cations being  furnished  by  Rev.  J.  R. 
Armstrong,  who  was  the  first  minister  to 
occupy  the  new  church  home.  The  cost 
of  the  ground,  buildings,  and  fencing 
was  about  $3,000,  which  was  paid  by 
those  directly  interested  and  the  many 
others  who  were  working  harmoniously 
together  and  making  sacrifices  to  build 
up  a  church  here. 

From  its  first  organization,  for  a  num- 
ber of  years  the  church  was  both  finan- 
cially and  numerically  weak,  yet  it 
managed  to  have  some  preaching  ser- 
vices every  year.  In  Sept.,  1861,  Rev. 
J.  R.  Armstrong  took  charge  of  the 
church  and  continued  his  labors  until 
April,  1869,  which  efforts  were  greatly 
blessed,  building  up  and  strengthening 
the  church  in  gospel  work  and  doing 
much  good  in  the  community. 


METHODIST  CHURCH,  WALNUT  GROVE. 

There  had  been  occasional  Methodist 
preachings  at  the  house  of  Aaron  Reno, 
near  where  the  Providence  church  build- 
in-  now  is,  previous  to  1828.  That  year 
Mr.  Amos  McPheron  settled  on  the 
land  where  he  has  continued  to  reside 
to  the  present  time,  and  built  a  large, 
log  dwelling  house,  which  was  one  of 
the  Methodist  preaching  places  for  many 
years.  Services  were  also  held  at  Daniel 
Kirby's  and  John  Legg's,  until  the 
society  was  established  at  the  Walnut 
Grove  school  house  and  church,  where 
they  continued  to  worship  until  1866. 
In  this  year  the  church  erected  a  neat 
and  commodious  house  of  worship  on 
land  obtained  from  Dr.  Mason,  one  mile 
west  of  the  Grove,  al  a  cost  of  $2,500, 
and  known  as  Aker's  chapel.  The  or- 
ganization commenced  in  1830,  with 
three  members,  viz.  :  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
McPheron  and  Mrs.  Morris.  Prom  that 
small  beginning  it  grew  into  a  large 
working  society.  By  reason  of  deaths 
and  removals,  there  are  hut  few  racm- 
bers  left,  yet  they  manage  to  keep  up 
regular  preaching  appointments. 

BAPTIST    CHURCH,   BLUFFDALE. 

A  protracted  meeting,  out  of  which 
grew  this  branch  of  the  church  militant, 
was  commenced  Oct.  12,  1832.  Elder 
Elijah  Dodson,  had  preached  here  occa- 
sionally before  this,  hut  on  the  opening 
of  these  meetings  he  called  in  the  assist- 
ance of  Elders  J.  M.  Peck,  Sears  Crane, 
Bower  and  Moore.  A  council  was  held 
Oct.  23,  1832,  at  which  Elder  Peck  acted 
as  moderator,  and  Elder  Dodson,  as 
clerk,  and  with  the  assistance  of 
Elder  Crane  and  some  visiting  brethren 
from  Carrollton,  a  church  was  organized 


70 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


with  the  following  members  :  Joseph 
Sweet,  John  Russell,  Richard  Robley, 
Joshua  C.  Harvey,  Hiram  Brown,  David 
W.  Thurston,  Elizabeth  Spencer,  Zimri 
Brown,  Laura  A.  S.  Russell,  Nancy 
Hawley,  Catharine  Holdcn,  Rhoda 
Brown.  Hannah  Brown,  Rebecca  Thurs- 
ton and  Erepta McCormick.  That  meet- 
ing was  held  at  the  old  school-house. 
Elder  E.  Dodson  was  the  first  minister. 
The  church  never  was  very  strong,  and, 
since  1857,  there  has  been  no  regular 
meetings. 

CHRISTIAN    CHURCH,  ATIIENSVII.LE. 

The  society  known  as  the  Christian 
church  of  Athensville,  was  organized 
in  Dec.,  1879,  by  Elder  M.  L.  Anthony, 
with  the  following  original  members: 
Jesse  Morrow,  William  Cooley,  G.  W. 
Morrow,  W.  H.  McCracken  and  A.  R. 
Morrow.  Oliver  A.  Morrow  was  the 
first  clerk  and  treasurer.  They  wor- 
shipped at  first  in  Union  hall,  but  that 
building  burning  down  in  the  spring  of 
1880,  they  commenced  the  erection  of 
the  present  neat  and  tasty  edifice,  where 
they  meet  to  hold  services.  The  con- 
gregation is  growing  slowly,  and  the 
society  is  in  a  flourishing  condition. 

RICHWOODS    UNITED    BAPTIST    CHURCH. 

The  religious  society  known  by  the 
above  name,  was  organized  on  the  fourth 
Saturday  in  Sept.,  1857,  by  Elder  H. 
Cain.  W.  F.  Hicks  was  the  moderator 
of  the  meeting.  The  original  members 
of  the  church  were  W.  F.  Hicks,  Joseph 
Moore,  James  R.  Spencer,  Major  Spen- 
cer,  Simeon  Munday,  William  Barnett, 
Albert  Goacher,  Joel  Mitchell,  and  their 
wives,  Mrs.  Schauntz  and  Frank  Nich- 
ols. The  first  clerk  was  Joel  Mitchell, 
and  the  present  one  is  Jas.  F.  Canncdy. 


The  second  sermon  was  preached  by 
Rev.  W.  F.  Hicks,  who  was  the  first 
pastor  of  the  church.  The  church  edi- 
fice was  built  in  1861,  at  a  cost  of  some 
$500.  It  is  located  on  the  northwest 
quarter  of  the  southeast  quarter  of  sec- 
tion 17.  This  was  afterward  somewhat 
added  to,  and  is  a  very  neat  church 
building.  Rev.  J.  D.  Johnson  is  the 
present  occupant  of  the  pulpit.  This 
church  has  a  membership  of  over   100. 

BAPTIST    CHURCHES    OF     GREENE    COUNTY. 

We  are  largely  indebted  to  Rev.  B. 
B.  Hamilton  for  most  of  the  history  of 
the  Baptist  churches  of  Greene  county, 
he  having  written  a  very  fine  account  of 
the  organization  of  the  various  churches 
of  this  denomination,  which  was  largely 
used  in  a  former  history  of  the  county, 
and  which  we  have  drawn  from,  by 
kind  permission  of  the  author. 

The  account  of  the  organization  of 
the  first  Baptist  church  in  the  county, 
is  given  further  on  in  the  history  of  the 
church  at  Carrollton. 

In  Oct.,  1826,  what  was  known  as  the 
Henderson  creek  church,  was  formed 
by  David  R.  Chance,  with  some  seven 
members.  This  was  the  beginning  of 
the  White  Hall  church,  a  history  of 
which  is  given  elsewhere. 

In  1832,  Jacob  Bower  gathered  together 
a  church  near  where  Woodville  is 
now  situated,  of  which  Mashek  Brown- 
ing was  clerk.  This  church  afterward 
split  in  two,  and  both  branches  had 
various  fortunes;  sometimes  flourishing, 
sometimes  almost  defunct,  but  still  sur- 
viving. 

Says  Mr.  Hamilton:  "It  was  with 
the  Woodville  body  that  the  meeting 
of  the  Apple  creek  association  occurred 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


il 


in  which  Harrison  Witt,  M.  Browning 
and  J.  V.  Rhoads  took  the  side  of  mis- 
sionary efforts,  and  John  Record  and 
Stephen  Coonrod  took    the  Antinomian 

side  of  the  controversy,  and  this  led  to 
the  formation  of  the  Concord  associa- 
tion, while  the  Apple  creek  body  began 
to  approximate  more  nearly  to  the  mis- 
sionary, a  point  not  reached  for  several 
years.  The  Apple  creek  association 
was  formed  from  the  Sangamon  associa- 
tion, in  1830,  and  both  of  these  bodies 
were  anti-mission.  The  latter  covered 
the  territory  embraced  in  the  counties 
of  Greene,  Macoupin,  Madison,  Bond 
and  St.  Clair.  This  Concord  associa- 
tion had  three  churches  in  Greene 
county — Hopewell,  on  the  west  side  of 
Apple  creek,  now  extinct;  Union,  now 
located  at  Barrow;  and  one  near  Green- 
field, over  which  Stephen  Coonrod  pre- 
sided for  many  veins.  At  Wilmington 
was  a  church  connected  with  the  Apple 
creek  association,  and  to  this  came 
Josiah  Whiteside,  who  became  its 
pastor."  Under  his  preaching  the 
church  became  strong,  but  later,  the 
pastor  turned  Universalist,  and  the 
church  became  somewhat  weakened, 
and  in  the  end  it  divided.  The  larger 
division  followed  Henry  L.  Johnson  into 
the  Sandy  Creek  association,  while  the 
others  hung  to  the  Apple  Creek  associa- 
tion, but  some  time  after  this  disbanded, 
and  re-organized  at  Barrow,  leaving  the 
church  and  other  property  in  the  hands 
of  the  other  faction. 

What  was  known  as  the  Martin's 
Prairie  church  was  organized  in  the 
summer  of  1842,  by  Joel  Sweet,  Thomas 
Taylor  and  Jacob  Bower.  In  1859,  the 
congregation  erected  a  church  edifice, 
about    five    miles    east    of   Roodhouse. 


Among  the  early  preachers  were  Elijah 
Dodson,  Joel  Terry,  H.  T.  Chilton,  J. 
M.  Wells.  I).  Wilson,  and  T.  N.  Marsh. 
Ii  is  said  that  they  have  never  had  a 
resident  minister  except  Rev.  J.  B. 
Van,  wdio  preached  here,  being  a  resi- 
dent of  the  neighborhood. 

The  Richwoods  church  is  situated  di- 
rectly east  of  the  above  named,  and  is  a 
member  of  the  Western  association. 

About  the  year  1873,  a  church  was 
organized  at  Taylor  creek,  but  it  is  now 
extinct. 

«  !  MBERLAND  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH, 
GREENFIELD. 

A  congregation  or  class  of  this  church 
was  organized  at  Greenfield  in  1851,  and 
to  them  was  deeded  one-half  of  the 
Union  church,  which  was  built  by  the 
community  at  large,  and  enjoyed  by  this 
church  and  the  Baptist  denomination. 
In  this  building  then,  they  opened 
services  with  Rev.  William  Bell,  as 
stated  preacher,  and  George  Shackel- 
ford and  Wm.  A.  Secor,  as  elders.  For 
some  reason  not  stated  or  known,  this 
church  had  a  fierce  struggle  to  keep 
up,  but  for  some  years  kept  up  the  fight 
manfully,  under  the  ministrations  of 
Revs.  Daniel  Bell,  Lorance,  Viney  and 
others.  Sometimes  public  service  would 
be  entirely  suspended,  sometimes  they 
were  regularly  conducted.  After  a  pre- 
carious existence,  covering  the  best  part 
of  20  years,  it  finally  succumbed  to  the 
force  of  circumstances,  and  ceased  to 
exist  as  a  congregation  or  church. 

METHODIST     EPISCOPAL    CHURCH,     GREEN- 
FIELD. 

Religious  exercises  were  enjoyed  by 
the  settlers  of  this  denomination   at  a 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY 


very  early  date,  at  the  residence,  of 
George  W.  Allen,  Joel  Edwards,  and 
George  A.  Cowden,  and  were  encouraged 
in  the  faith  by  the  traveling  "  circuit 
riders  "  and  by  local  preachers.  In  1824 
and  for  four  years  thereafter,  occasional 
services  were  held  by  Esaac Scarrett  and 
I.  T.  Johnson,  circuit  preachers,  and  by 
the  well  known  Peter  Cartwright,  the 
presiding  elder  of  the  circuit.  In  1829, 
L.  Bogart  and  1.  French  were  on  this 
circuit.  In  1830,  the  first  regular 
preacher  at  this  place  made  his  appear- 
ance, in  the  person  of  Rev.  James 
Bankston.  In  1831,  W.  D.  Trotter  and 
William  Ilaskius,  were  upon  this  cir- 
cuit, and  in  1832,  John  Vancleve  and 
Levi  Springer.  These  were  followed  by 
many  others.  Local  preachers,  as  they 
were  called,  tilled  up  the  time  be- 
tween the  visits  of  these  itinerants. 
In  1841  George  \Y.  Allen  donated  a  lot 
for  the  purpose,  and  the  church  edifice 
was  built.  As  the  early  settlers  were 
not  blessed  with  a  superabundance  of 
wealth,  their  contributions  toward  the 
new  edifice  took  the  form  of  lumber, 
bricks,  hardware,  labor,  and  some  few, 
money.  Under  the  supervision  of  Ieha- 
bod  Valentine,  the  structure,  which 
was  but  modest  in  dimensions  and 
finish,  speedily  went  up,  and  it  was 
opened  for  service  during  the  winter  of 
the  same  year  as  witnessed  its  incep- 
tion. Dr.  B.  C.  Wood,  of  Carrollton, 
preached  the  first  sermon  in  the  build- 
ing, it  being  a  funeral  oration  over  the 
remains  of  Samuel  Capps.  The  Meth- 
odists of  this  vicinity,  now  having  a 
house  of  worship  of  their  own,  now 
congregated  at  this  point,  and  the 
church  could  then  number  some  50 
members.       They     remained     in    this 


church  until  1856,  when  they  built  their 
present  brick  edifice.  During  the  years 
1853  and  1*54,  it  had  been  seen  that  the 
old  building  could  no  longer  meet  the 
necessities  of  the  growing  congregation, 
and  accordingly,  in  1855,  a  plan  was 
put  on  foot  to  build  a  better,  more  com- 
modious church,  and  one  more  in  conso- 
nance with  the  progress  of  the  age.  An 
edifice  costing  about  $3,000  was  sup- 
posed to  be  about  what  was  wanted,  and 
this  amount  was  readily  raised  by  sub- 
scription, throughout  the  entire  com- 
munity, all  without  regard  to  sect  or 
belief.  The  work  was  commenced,  but 
before  it  was  completed,  it  was  found 
that  an  error  of  about  S3, 000  had  been 
made  in  the  estimate  of  cost,  and  a  sec- 
ond subscription  not  proving  as  success- 
ful as  the  first,  caused  much  trouble  to 
the  trustees.  They  finally  saddled  the 
matter  upon  themselves.  Through  some 
fault  in  its  construction,  it  had  at  vari- 
ous times  necessitated  repairs,  additions 
and  alterations  to  the  amount  of  $3,000 
more,  but  now  is  one  of  the  features  of 
the  tow*n. 

METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH,  CARROLL- 
TON. 

The  early  history  of  Methodism  in 
Carrollton  and  its  immediate  vicinity  is 
somewhat  obscure,  owing  to  the  loss  of 
the  church  records.  Indeed  much  val- 
uable history  of  every  new  country  is 
lost  in  the  same  way,  or  by  making  no 
recorded  account  of  its  events,  trusting 
merely  to  memory.  The  pioneers  finally 
die  or  move  to  other  sections  of  the 
country,  and  thus  the  means  of  informa- 
tion are  lost.  In  the  year  1821  the  Dodg- 
son  family  came  from  Yorkshire,  Eng., 
and  settled  some  two  and  a  half  miles 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


"•■; 


north  of  Carrol  Hon .  John  Dodgson, 
the  father  of  this  noted  and  worthy 
family,  was  a  Wesleyan  Methodist  in 
England,  and  soon  after  coming  to  this 
country,  in  about  1822  or  182.'!,  a  society 
was  organized,  called  the  Hopewell 
•  •lass.  This  was  the  first  organization 
of  Methodists  in  Greene  county.  The 
first  preaching  place  was  at  Mr.  Jack- 
son's, a  little  north  of  where  Benjamin 
Roodhouse  now  lives,  and  occupied  at 
that  time  by  John  Dodgson.  This  so- 
ciety, in  a  few  years,  built  a  brick  church, 
a  little  north  of  Daniel  Morfoot's,  which 
continued  a  preaching  place  for  many 
years.  The  first  organization  of  the 
M.  E.  church  in  Carrollton,  of  which 
there  is  any  record,  was  in  1832.  This 
was  included  in  the  present  Apple  Creek 
circuit.  John  Van  Cleve,  who  died  some 
years  ago,  was  preacher  in  charge,  as- 
sisted by  Levi  Springer.  Prominent 
among  the  early  members  might  be 
mentioned  M.  P.  Taylor,  who  was  leader 
of  this  class,  Ansel  Hubbard,  Charles 
Stout  and  wife,  Mr.  Landiss,  father  of 
W.  H.  Landiss,  and  several  other  chil- 
dren, the  first  wife  of  Dr.  Samuel,  who 
soon  afterward  also  became  a  member 
of  this  society,  and  Thomas  Short,  who 
was  sci  long  and  favorably  known  in 
Greene  county.  The  Rev.  B.  C.  Wood, 
universally  loved  and  respected,  to- 
gether with  his  wife,  have  long  been 
members  of  this  society.  The  church 
first  worshipped  in  the  court-house,  and 
afterward  held  meetings  in  a  school- 
house  which  stood  on  the  east  side  of 
the  square,  about  where  Loomis  &  Vil- 
lager's jewelry  store  now  stands.  In 
1836,  a  brick  church  building  was  erected 
on  the  present  site.  This  was  an  awk- 
ward, ungainly  building,  and  was  after- 


ward torn  down  to  make  room  for  a 
more  sightly  one,  which  was  erected  in 
1850-51.  Among  those  who  have  been 
stationed  here  as  preachers  are:  Rev. 
Messrs.  Wm.  H.  Askins,  J.  Van  Cleve, 
I.  Phelps,  Jesse  Hail,  David  Cory, 
Norman  Allen,  B.  Randall,  J.  C.  Houts, 
Richard  Bird,  S.  Sweeney,  —  Carpenter, 
W.  D.  R.  Trotter,  J.  S.  Akers,  J.  B. 
Corrington,  E.  Corrington,  Wm.  Wil- 
son, J.  Anderson,  E.  Gentry,  Newton 
Cloud,  Wm.  R.  Powers,  A.  M.  Pitcher, 
Robert  Clark  and  others.  The  present 
magnificent  church  edifice  owned  by 
this  society  was  erected  in  1883,  at  a 
total  cost  of  $20,500,  including  the  price 
of  the  lot.  It  is  a  brick  structure,  with 
a  fine  rock  foundation,  and  stone  window 
cans  and  trimmings.  The  main  front  is 
to  the  south,  and  on  the  southwest  cor- 
ner has  a  handsome  spire,  some  90  feet 
high,  in  which  is  a  fine  town  clock. 

AKERS  M.   E.  CHAPEL,    LIXDER    TOWNSHIP. 

The  church  building  which  is  known 
by  the  above  name  is  situated  on  the 
center  of  section  23,  and  was  built  in 
1866.  The  society  was  organized  in 
1831,  or  1832,  at  the  house  of  Amos 
McPheron,  where  services  were  held 
for  about  20  years.  After  this  they  met 
in  a  school-house  close  by,  and  later  in 
the  Walnut  Grove  school-house.  Ser- 
vices were  held  in  the  latter  building 
until  the  church  edifice  was  built  as 
above.  This  structure  is  39x40  feet  in 
ground  area,  and  was  completed  at  a 
cost  of  $2,500.  Among  the  original  and 
early  members  of  this  church  were 
Amos  McPheron  and  wife,  Mis.  Nancy 
Morris,  Daniel  Kirby  and  wife,  Thomas 
Robinson  and  wife,  John  Legg  and  wife, 
James,  Martha  and   Sarah    Legg,   Isaac 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


Colby  and  wife,  Samuel  McPheron  and 
wife,  .lames  A.  McPheron  and  wife, 
Oliver  Colby,  Joseph  Rhoads  and  wife, 
and  John  Waggoner.  Rev.  Mr.  Clark 
preached  the  first  sermon  in  the  new 
church. 

BAPTIST  CHURCH   AT  CABROLLTON. 

The  first  church  of  this  denomination 
in  Greene  county  was  organized  in  Car- 
rollton  by  Elder  Jones,  of  Madison 
county,  very  shortly  after  the  laying  out 
of  that  town,  in  1821.  Their  first  meet- 
ing house  was  a  log  cahin  not  far  from 
the  present  residence  of  Dr.  J.  F.  Simp, 
son.  Among  the  original  members  of 
this  pioneer  church  was  Thomas  ( larlin, 
tlic  founder  of  the  town,  and  afterward 
the  governor  of  the  state.  This  was 
originally  what  is  called  the  hyper-Cal- 
vinistic  anti-mission  church.  In  course 
of  time  it  moved  eastward,  and  is  now 
the  Providence  church.  On  the  28th  of 
April,  1827,  at  the  house  of  Justus 
Rider,  in  the  town  of  Carrollton,  was 
founded  the  present  Baptist  church  of 
Carrollton.  The  original  members  were 
but  six  in  all — Sears  Crane,  Anna  Crane, 
Abraham  Bowman,  Mary  Bowman, 
Elizabeth  Rider,  and  Phcebe  Harris. 
Some  of  these  had  been  excluded  from 
the  anti-mission  church  near  Carrollton, 
for  holding  missionary  views.  The 
minutes  of  the  second  meeting  of  this 
church,  to  which  is  appended  the  name  of 
Gorham  Holmes,  as  clerk,  is  a  specimen 
of  almost  Spartan  brevity.  It  reads: 
"  Fourth  Saturday  in  May,  1S27,  church 
met  and  after  worship  proceeded  to  bus- 
iness :  1st,  chose  Brother  Crane,  mod- 
erator:  2d.  the  brethren  all  in  peace; 
3d,  Brother  Bowman  chosen  clerk.  Dis- 
missed by  prayer."  Elijah  Dodson  and 
wife    presented    letters    for    admission 


into  the  church,  the   first  additions  to 

the  little  flock,  in  March,  1828.  Rev. 
Elijah  Dodson  was  the  first  pastor  of  the 
Hock,  from  that  date,  if  not  from  its 
organization,  until  June,  1830.  The 
congregation  then  had  different  supplies 
until  May,  1834,  when  Rev.  Alvin 
Bailey  took  charge,  and  remained  pastor 
until  March,  1840,  except  about  six 
months  in. the  early  part  of  1836,  when 
Rev.  Amos  Dodge  seems  to  have  sup- 
plied the  pulpit.  He  was  succeeded  by 
supplies  among  whom  was  Rev.  W.  H. 
Briggs  until  March,  1811,  when  Jacob 
Bower  devoted  one-fourth  of  his  time 
to  this  church.  Rev.  Elijah  Dodson 
again  filled  the  pastorate  for  one  year 
from  1842,  one-fourth  his  time.  Rev. 
W.  H.  Briggs  next  succeeded  from  June, 
1843,  to  July,  1845,  and  was  followed  by 
Rev.  Porter  Clay,  who  remained  one 
year.  In  Jan.,  1847,  J.  N.  Tolnian  be- 
came pastor,  and  remained  until  March, 

1851.  when  he  was  succeeded  by  W.  V . 
Boyakin   who   had   charge    until   Aug., 

1852.  Rev.  E.  J.  Palmer  acted  as  a  sup- 
ply until  March,  1853,  when  he  w.is 
succeeded  by  Rev.  A.  Bailey,  who  re- 
mained two  years.  Rev.  J.  Bulkley 
now  took  upon  himself  the  pastoral 
duties,  and  served  nearly  nine  years, 
until  April  1864.  Rev.  N.  Kinne,  from 
June,  1864,  to  Feb.,  1866,  and  Rev. 
James  M.  StiMier  and  other  supplies 
filled  the  pulpit  until  Jan.,  1868,  when 
they  were  succeeded  by  Rev.  W.  D. 
Clark.  The  latter  continued  in  the 
pastoral  relation  for  two  years  and  was 
succeeded,  in  April,  1870,  by  Rev.  B. 
F.  Parshall.  He  was  followed  by  Rev. 
H.  A.  Guild,  whose  term  of  service  ex- 
tended from  June,  1872,  to  Feb.,  1874. 
Rev.  J.  C.  Bonham  was  pastor  from  Oct., 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY 


1875,   until  April,   1876,   when   he  was 
succeeded  by  Rev.  J.  E.  Roberts. 

Where  or  when  the  first  house  of 
worship  was  built,  the  reeords  of  the 
church  do  not  state.  But  in  May,  1834, 
it  is  recorded,  that  the  church  held  its 
meeting  in  the  new  church  building. 
Under  date  of  January,  1835,  is  the 
entry  "church  met  in  the  brick  meet- 
ing room." 

In  March,  1852,  during  the  adminis- 
tration of  W.  F.  Boyakin,  a  committee 
consisting  of  A.  W.  Caverly,  Thomas 
Hobson,  John  Headrick,  Alfred  Hinton 
and  Francis  P.  Yedder,  was  appointed 
to  inquire  into  the  expediency  of  erect- 
ing a  new  house  of  worship.  On  April 
24,  they  submitted  a  report,  through 
Judge  Caverly,  chairman,  recommend- 
ing that  the  church  be  built  of  brick 
and  rock,  with  a  basement  story — the 
building  to  be  (ii>x42  feet  in  size,  and, 
with  lot,  to  cost  |5,000.  To  carry  out 
the  purposes  contemplated  in  the  report 
of  the  committee,  a  building  committee 
was  appointed,  consisting  of  David 
Pierson,  Thomas  Hobson,  John  Head- 
rick, A.  W.  Caverly  and  Z.  A.  Morrow. 
In  time  the  committee  reported  $2,700 
raised  and  the  rock  and  brick  contracted 
for.  In  July,  1852,  the  trustees  were 
instructed  to  sell  to  the  highest  bidder, 
the  south  side  of  the  lot,  purchased  for 
the  site  of  the  house,  which  they  sub- 
sequently sold  to  Lyman  Wheeler  for 
§501.  The  old  church  was  also  sold  to 
advantage  to  P.  M.  Brown  for  $410.  It 
finally  passed  into  the  hands  of  the 
Cumberland  Presbyterians.  The  new 
house  was  dedicated  Jan.  (i,  1856,  D.  P. 
French  preaching  the  dedication  ser- 
mon. 

It  may  be  interesting  to  note  the  pro- 


gress made  in  the  salaries  paid  the 
various  pastors.  In  1838,  A.  Bailey 
was  paid  at  the  rate  of  $200  a  year  for 
one-half  his  time,  with  a  pledge  that 
the  church  would  pay  him  $500  for  his 
entire  time  in  1839.  David  Pierson  and 
George  Pegram  were  appointed  to  raise 
the  money.  For  1839,  they  paid  him 
$250  for  one-half  of  his  time.  In  July, 
1844,  William  H.  Briggs  was  offered 
$100  for  one-quarter  of  his  time  one 
year,  provided  he  would  live  in  Car- 
rollton,  and  take  one-half  of  it  in  pro- 
duce. He  must  have  refused  the  offer, 
because  two  weeks  later,  the  church 
agreed  to  raise  a  reasonable  portion  for 
his  support,  and  he  accepted.  In  PS45, 
Porter  Clay  agreed  to  preach  one  (pun- 
ter of  his  time  .Saturday  and  Sunday, 
and  an  additional  one-quarter  Sunday, 
if  the  church  would  clothe  him,  and  de- 
fray his  expenses.  In  December  he 
announced  his  intention  to  give  his  en- 
tire time  to  Carrollton  and  vicinity.  He 
was  a  brother  of  the  statesman,  Henry 
Clay.  In  1847,  J.  N.  Tolman  was  given 
$200  and  board,  the  money  to  be  paid  as 
fast  as  collected  from  subscriptions.    In 

1849,  the  finance  committee  reported 
that  for  the  previous  18  months  they 
had  paid  Brother  Tolman  $219.14;  voted 
to  add  $200  within  six  months.  In  De- 
cember, 1849,  the  church  agreed  to  pay 
him  $250  salary  for  his  entire  time,  sal- 
ary to  be  paid  in  quarterly  installments, 
and   $50  more   if  possible.       In    July, 

1850,  W.  T.  Boyakin  received  $400; 
Oct.,  1852,  Alvin  Bailey,  $200;  April, 
1855,  J.  Bulkley,  $G00,  afterward  raised 
to  $800;  Sept.,  1866,  agreed  to  pay  Rev. 
Stiffler,  for  supply,  $600;  Sept.,  1867, 
offered  0.  B.  Stone  $1,800,  offer  de- 
clined; Jan.,  1868,  W.  D.  Clark,  $1,500; 


776 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


Jan.,  1872,  H.  A.  Guild,  $1,500  and  ex- 
penses of  moving;  June,  1875,  J.  C. 
Bonham,  $2,000.  Since  that  time  they 
have  been  supplied  by  John  E.  Roberts, 
for  which  they  pay  at  the  rate  of  $520 
per  year. 

The  town  of  Carrollton  and  vicinity 
was  devastated  by  the  cholera,  in  1837, 
and  this  was  followed  by  a  great  revi- 
val, one  of  the  most  extensive  in  the 
history  of  the  church.  Another  exten- 
sive revival  was  held  in  1852,  which 
resulted  in  some  49  being  added  to  the 
church. 

The  first  clerk  of  the  church  was 
Abraham  Bowman,  who  was  elected  in 
May,  1827,  and  served  until  June,  1834, 
seven  years.  The  first  deacons  were 
Abraham  Bowman  and  Justus  Rider, 
elected  in  June,  1834. 

PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  CARROLLTON. 

On  the  30th  of  April,  1823,  a  little 
knot  of  people,  among  whom  were  Rev. 
Oren  Catlin  and  Rev.  D.  G.  Sprague, 
met  at  the  house  of  Zachariah  Allen,  in 
Carrollton,  to  confer  upon  the  subject 
of  organizing  a  Presbyterian  church.  A 
second  meeting  of  the  kind  was  held 
soon  after,  and,  finally,  upon  the  4th 
of  May,  1823,  at  a  meeting  held  at  the 
old  court-house,  was  instituted  a  church 
of  this  denomination.  The  original 
members  were  21  in  number — Zachariah 
Allen,  Elizabeth  Allen,  Ruloff  Stevens, 
Elizabeth  Stevens,  Anthony  Potts,  Jno. 
Allen,  Polly  Allen,  Thos.  Allen,  Mar- 
gery Allen,  Wm,  Morrow,  Jean  Mor- 
row, John  Dee,  Frances  Bell,  Elizabeth 
Bell,  Wm.  Allen,  Sally  Allen,  Christian 
Link,  Fannie  Painter,  Lucretia  Brush, 
Lavina  Bedel  and  Lucy  Thomas.  The 
first    elders    chosen    were:      Zachariah 


Allen,    Ruloff  Stevens,   Anthony  Potts 
and  John  Allen. 

This  infant  church  could  not  have  a 
shelter  that  it  could  call  its  own,  but 
meetings  were  held,  not  regular  Sabbath 
services,  for  they  were  impracticable, 
as  circumstances  would  permit,  some- 
times in  the  court-house,  sometimes  in 
a  blacksmith  shop  near  the  northwest 
corner  of  the  village,  and  sometimes 
north  of  Apple  creek,  where  many  of 
the  members  resided.  At  the  latter 
place,  in  1827,  a  sacramental  meeting 
was  held,  and  some  added  to  the  mem- 
bership. This  state  of  affairs  continued 
for  eight  years,  under  the  ministrations 
of  various  clergymen,  among  whom 
were,  in  addition  to  those  named  as  in- 
strumental in  the  organization,  the 
Revs.  Jno.Brich,  J.  M.  Ellis,  — Hawley, 
Henry  Herrick  and  Solomon  Hardy. 
In  1831,  a  change  took  place — Carroll- 
ton  had  increased  until  it  had  become 
the  social  and  business  center  of  the 
county,  but  as  the  majority  of  the  mem- 
bers of  the  church  lived  north  of  Apple 
creek,  that  part  of  the  country  was 
made  the  center  of  operations.  Under 
these  circumstances,  the  members  resi- 
dent at  Carrollton  desired  a  separate 
organization,  and  ^permission  was  asked 
of  the  Presbytery,  July  23,  1831,  for  the 
same,  and  granted.  In  consequence  of 
these  the  following  named  parties  came 
together  and  organized  the  Carrollton 
Presbyterian  church  :  Anthony  Potts, 
Joseph  Gerrish,  Elizabeth  Gerrish,  Cor- 
nelia H.  Leonard,  Elizabeth  Page,  Abi- 
gail T.  Hopping,  Miriam  Turner,  Sarah 
Lee,  Reuben  Page,  Morris  Lee,  Julius 
A.  Willard,  and  Almira  C.  Willard. 
On  their  organization  they  chose  as  rul- 
ing elders  :     Julius  A.  Willard,  Joseph 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


Gerrish  and  Anthony  Potts.  This  es- 
tablishment took  place  under  the  min- 
istry of  Rev.  Henry  Herrick.  In  May, 
1832,  Rev.  Elisha  Jenney  succeeded 
Mr.  Herrick  as  stated  supply  in  the 
little  church,  and  continued  until  the 
end  of  July,  of  that  year,  when,  after  a 
meeting  (if  11  days  duration,  with  the 
assistance  of  Rev.  Thomas  Lippincott, 
some  50  had  been  added  to  the  flock,  the 
last  named  gentleman  succeeded  to  the 
charge  as  stated  supply.  Under  this 
gentleman,  the  church  flourished,  and 
led  away  by  the  accession  to  their  num- 
ber, they  were  induced  to  purchase  a 
lot  with  the  expectation  of  building  a 
church  edifice  in  the  spring.  But  then- 
plans  met  with  a  sudden  check.  In  a 
letter  written  by  the  church  to  the  sec- 
retary of  the  American  Home  Mission- 
ary Society,  they  state  :  "  We  engaged 
Mr.  Lippincott  to  supply  us,  hoping  we 
should  be  able  to  furnish  much  of  his 
support,  but  party  influence  crept  in 
and,  aided  by  strong  prejudice  against 
eastern  emigrants,  of  whom  the  church 
was  then  largely  composed,  and  against 
Presbyterianism,  drew  away  many  to 
the  Baptist  and  Campbellite  churches, 
and  some  who  had  pledged  their  word 
to  assist  liberally  in  supporting  Mr. 
Lippincott." 

The  purpose  of  building  the  church 
was  now  postponed  indefinitely,  but  the 
congregation  still  went  on  with  its  wor- 
ship, in  the  old  blacksmith  shop,  sus- 
taining their  school,  and  meetings,  and 
gradually  receiving  accessions  to  their 
numbers.  One  of  the  elders,  Mr.  Ger- 
rish, withdrew  with  10  others,  to  form  a 
church  in  what  is  now  Jersey  county;  El- 
der Willard  removed  to  Alton,  and  the 
ravages  of  the  cholera  in  1833,  and  the 


removal  of  the  other  two  elders,  weak- 
ened the  infant  church,  hut  the  organi- 
zation was  kept  intact  ami  new  elders 
elected.  These  wereS.  1).  dishing  A.  L. 
Shull  and  John  Evans.  In  the  spring 
of  1835,  Rev.  Hugh  Barr  became  the 
successor  of  Mr.  Lippincott,  as  stated 
supply.  This  gentleman's  labors  cov- 
ered a  period  of  10  years,  against  the 
most  adverse  circumstances.  In  1837, 
the  subject  of  building  a  church  edifice 
was  revived,  and  J.  H.  Hinton,  Peter 
Vanarsdale  and  Geo.  Wright  were  ap- 
pointed a  building  committee.  Though 
times  were  hard  and  money  scarce,  and 
subscriptions  were  paid  in  wood,  farm 
produce,  live  stock,  labor,  anything, 
still  they  found  contractors,  Lynn  and 
Wright,  to  undertake  the  building,  and 
work  was  commenced.  It  was  carried 
to  a  successful  issue  at  a  cost  of  S'2,."><Ki, 
and  free  from  debt  or  incumberance,  it 
was  dedicated  to  Divine  worship,  a  neat 
commodious  house  of  praise  and  prayer. 
Early  in  1842,  as  the  result  of  a  re- 
vival, some  50  people  were  added  to 
the  church.  In  1845,  Mr.  Barr  termi- 
nated his  labors  here,  leaving  the 
church  in  excellent  shape,  hut  for  the 
following  six  years  a  feeling  of  apathy 
pervaded  the  church,  Rev.  James  Dunn 
only  preaching  about  two  years  of  the 
time,  and  a  partial  disorganization  was 
the  result.  An  effort  was  madeto  make 
it  Congregational,  and  much  dissension 
crept  in  to  the  body.  However,  in  Feb., 
1850,  the  Presbytery  of  Illinois  assem- 
bled in  Carrollton,  and  re-organized  the 
church  with  Ml  enrolled  communi- 
cants. A.  W.  Lynn,  R.  F.  Clark,  ('. 
Armstrong,  M.  D.,  and  J.  H.  Wilson 
were  ordained  elders.  Lev.  K.  Jenney 
supplied  the  pulpit  one  year,  ami  was 


F78 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


succeeded  by  Rev.  J.  G.  Rankin  who 
labored  faithfully  in  this  portion  of  the 
Lord's  vineyard  for  10  years.  Revivals 
were  held  by  him  in  1854  and  1857, 
whereby  many  were  added  to  the 
church.  In  addition  to  the  regular  church 
work,  they  projected,  and  with  the  aid 
of  outsiders,  erected  the  adjacent  acad- 
emy building,  at  an  expense  of  over 
$2,800,  making  it  the  property  of  the 
church,  placing  it  under  the  control  of 
a  board  of  directors  consisting  of  the 
trustees  of  the  church,  and  three  per- 
son^ chosen  by  the  subscribers  to  the 
fund,  of  which  board  the  minister  was, 
ex-officio  chairman.  A  parsonage,  cost- 
ing SI, not),  was  also  built. 

Mr.  Rankin  was  succeeded  by  Rev. 
Morgan  L.  Wood  who  remained  with 
this  people  until  the  summer  of  1864. 
He  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  S.  H.  Hyde, 
in  Nov.,  1861. 

At  the  very  beginning  of  his  work, 
the  need  of  a  new  house  of  worship  was 
confessed,  but  war  prices  ruled  in  labor 
and  material,  and  the  undertaking 
was  postponed.  In  1866  it  was  felt  that 
they  could  delay  no  longer,  and  the 
initial  steps  were  entered  upon.  The 
chief  labor  in  soliciting  subscriptions 
devolved  by  common  consent  on  Elder 
Robert  Clark,  and  with  signal  success 
he  prosecuted  it.  George  Wright,  C. 
Armstrong,  M.  D.,  and  Lyman  Wheeler 
were  appointed  a  building  committee, 
and  the  contract  was  let  to  Engleman 
Gatchell.  As  a  happy  result  a  pleas- 
ant and  beautiful  house  was  erected  and 
furnished  at  a  cost  of  $11,000,  and,  un- 
incumbered by  debt,  dedicated  on  the 
istb,  of  March,  L868,  to  the  worship  of 
God.  Nor  was  this  all.  They  have 
added  improvements  to  the  parsonage 


to  the  value  of  $1,500,  during  Mr. 
Hyde's  pastorate,  thus  evincing  their 
care  for  the  Lord's  servants,  and  further 
proving  their  devotion  to  the  cause. 
This  gives  the  sum  total  of  the  property 
at  not  less  than  §16,000. 

JIT.    ZION    P.    M.    CHURCH. 

This  is  located  on  the  southeast  quar- 
ter of  Sec.  33,  T.  12,  R.  11.  The  first 
building  here  was  erected  shortly  after 
the  organization  of  the  society,  in  1S44, 
at  a  cost  of  about  ?600.  The  first  min- 
ister was  Elder  George  Stevens,  who 
labored  with  the  little  flock  for  about 
three  years.  The  building  was  also 
used  as  a  school-house  for  about  eight 
years.  It  was  remodeled  and  rebuilt  in 
1878,  at  a  cost  of  some  $600.  The  first 
minister  in  the  new  church  was  Rev. 
Anderson  Orr,  who  preached  here  for 
four  years.  The  present  pastor  is  Rev. 
Mr.  Sturges.  The  church  has  a  present 
membership  of  but  a  few,  and  it  is  not 
in  as  good  condition  as  the  cause  de- 
serves. Owing  to  removals  and  deaths, 
the  little  congregation  has  grown  small, 
and  spiritless.  Joshua  Jones  deeded 
the  land,  some  three-quarters  of  an 
acre,  upon  which  the  church  is  built. 

OAKLAND    BAPTIST    CHURCH. 

The  edifice  occupied  by  this  congre- 
gation was  erected  in  1867,  on  land  do- 
nated to  the  society  by  George  Johnson. 
The  first  ministers  to  preach  here  were 
Revs.  John  Rush  and  William  Smith. 
The  church  has  a  very  fair  membership 
now,  and  is  quite  prosperous. 

FIRST    UNIVERSALIST    CHURCH. 

This  church  was  organized  about  the 
year   1871,  under   the  pastoral    care   of 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


77'.) 


the  Rev.  Mr.  Carney,  who  preached  but 
a  short  time,  when  he  was  called  away. 
The  church  building,  which  is  open  to 
any  denomination  to  hold  services  in, 
was  built  about  the  time  of  the  organi- 
zation of  this  church,  at  a  cost  of  about 
$3,000.  It  is  located  on  the  northwest 
quarter  of  the  northwest  quarter  of 
Sec.  16,  T.  11,  R.  12,  and  was  erected 
out  of  a  fund  raised  by  subscription  of 
111  libera]  minded,  public  spirited  citi- 
zens. E.  A.  Ciller,  B.  F.  Baldwin,  L. 
P.  Griswold,  Edgar  Griswold  and  E. 
Y.  Baldwin,  were  the  tirst  directors. 
The  church  has  a  membership  of  about 
50,  but  has  no  regular  pastor. 

I'MTKl)    BAPTIST    CHURCH,    ATHENSVILLE. 

This  society   was  organized  in    1860, 
by    Revs.    ('.    A.    Worley    and    B.    F. 

Cleveland.  Mr.  'Worley  was  the  tirst 
pastor,  but  after  about  three  years;  was 
succeeded  by  Rev.  B.  F.  Cleveland, 
who  also  ministered  here  three  years. 
Elder  Lewis  G.  Hart  was  the  next  occu- 
pant of  the  pulpit.  In  1875,  Elder  .1. 
D.  Johnson  assumed  the  pastorate,  and 
has  continued  in  that  relation  ever 
since.  Mr.  Johnson  has  had  great  suc- 
cess in  the  church,  he  having  baptized 
44  during  one  revival,  and  many  at 
others,  and  has  added  to  the  member- 
ship some  120  souls  during  the  10  years 
of  his  ministry.  The  society  had  no 
regular  church  edifice  until  1882,  when 
a  building  was  put  up,  at  a  cost  of  aboul 
$1,600.  This  structure  is  34x48  feet  in 
size.  A  bell  has  been  ordered,  and 
soon  will  summon  the  faithful  to  wor- 
ship. The  present  officers  are  as  fol- 
lows: G.  W.  Callahan  and  Wm.  Hop- 
per, deacons;  Sarah  Stoddard,  clerk. 
It  has  now   a  membership  of  about  80, 


and   is   in    excellent   condition.     Their 
edifice  has  not  yet  been  dedicated. 

BAPTIST  CHURCH,   MIDDLE   PORK  OF  APPLE 
CREEK. 

This  church  organization  came  into 
existence  on  Saturday  before  the  second 
Sunday  in  Nov.,  1861,  at  a  meeting  held 
at  the  house  of  Harris  Cox,  across  the  line 
in  Morgan  county.  Elder  Isaac  ( lonlee, 
assisted  by  Deacons  J.  Meacham  and 
K.  Deatherage,  was  chiefly  instrumental 
in  the  organization.  The  first  members 
were  as  follows:  Isaac  Daniel,  Abigail 
Daniel,  Wiley  B.  Daniel,  Julian  Daniel, 
Harris  Cox,  Mary  Cox,  Bartley  Wilker- 
on,  Elizabeth  Wilkerson,  Elijah  Steele. 
William  F.  Starner,  Claiborne  Dalton 
and  Emory  D.  Grider.  The  tirst  preach- 
er of  this  church  was  Elder  Isaac 
Daniel;  and  the  deacons,  Emory  D. 
Grider  and  Harris  Cox.  Mr.  Grider 
was  also  the  first  clerk,  and  held  that 
office  until  1869,  when  he  was  succeeded 
by  Marshall  F.  Grider,  the  present  oc- 
cupant of  the  office.  The  folio  wing- 
reverend  gentlemen  have  filled  the 
place  of  pastor  to  this  flock:  Elders  I. 
Daniel,  T.  Shepherd,  S.  Coonrod,  A. 
W.  Murray,  R.  Q.  West,  J.  C.  Simmons, 
and  W.  Shepler,  the  present  incumbent 
of  the  pulpit.  Services  were  held  in 
Morgan  county,  at  the  residences  of  the 
members,  until  March,  1868,  when  they 
moved  into  a  church  building,  which 
they  had  erected  on  land  donated  to  the 
society  by  T.  Shepherd,  on  the  north- 
west quarter  of  the  northwest  quarter  of 
section  23,  of  this  township,  in  which 
they  hold  services.  The  edifice  is 
28x30  feet  in  size,  and  cost  about  $700. 
The  society  has  but  twenty  members, 
but  is  in  good,  fair  condition.     Services 


780 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


are  held  every  four  weeks,  regularly, 
and  sometimes  in  the  interval,  preach - 
ing  is  had  of  some  traveling  elder. 

TRINITY  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH,  CARROLLTON. 

Prior  to  1871  the  members  of  the 
Episcopal  congregation  in  Carrollton 
held  their  services  in  the  court-house. 
During  the  winter  of  1870-71  the  subject 
of  providing  some  more  suitable  place 
of  worship  was  earnestly  discussed,  and 
in  April,  1871,  it  took  effective  form. 
Some  time  in  April,  1871,  there  was  a 
meeting  of  the  leading  male  members  of 
the  congregation,  held  at  the  office  of 
the  Hon.  Jas.  W.  English,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  discussing  the  feasibility  of 
buying  or  building  a  house  for  worship. 
That    meeting  was  composed   of  Judge 

C.  D.  Hodges,  Dr.  J.  T.  Crow,  Jas.  W. 
English,  Oman  Pierson,  H.  C.  Withers, 
R.  H.  Davis,  W.  0.  Sleight,  B.  B.  Bar- 
tholomew, Chas.  H.  Hodges  and  others. 
A  plan  was  proposed  by  which  some 
$1,500  was  then  guaranteed.     Judge  C. 

D.  Hodges  also  gave  notice  of  his  dona- 
tion of  a  lot  on  which  to  erect  a  build- 
ing. When  the  committee  appointed  to 
solicit  subscriptions  commenced  this 
work,  they  were  met  with  so  much  lib- 
erality, on  the  part  of  the  public,  that  it 
was  determined  to  erect  a  much  better 
and  more  costly  building  than  first  in- 
tended. At  a  subsequent  meeting  a 
building  committee  was  appointed,  con- 
sisting of  the  following  persons,  to-wit : 
R.  II.  Davis,  chairman;  C.  D.  Hodges, 
Dr.  J.  T.  Crow,  Oman  Pierson  and  B. 
B.  Bartholemew.  This  committee  em- 
ployed Wm.  Embley  as  architect,  whose 
plans,  after  some  alteration  by  the  com- 
mittee, were  adopted,  and  the  contract 
for  building  the  church  given  to  Adam 


Engleman.  The  building  is  of  Gothic 
architecture  about  60x30  feet  in  size, 
including  tower  and  vestry,  with  a  seat- 
ing capacity  for  about  400  persons  and 
beautifully  finished  inside  in  hard 
wood.  Thus  from  the  leaven  of  the 
small  congregation  that  worshipped  at 
the  court  house,  the  liberal  donation  of 
Judge  Hodges  of  the  lot,  the  liberality 
of  the  general  public,  and  the  untiring 
devotion  and  self-sacrificing  labors  of 
the  ladies  of  the  congregation,  sprung 
the  beautiful  little  church  that  stands  on 
the  corner  of  Church  and  West  6th 
streets  to-day.  Commenced  in  the  sum- 
mer of  1871,  it  was  finished  and  paid 
for  and  dedicated  on  the  10th  of  March, 
1872.  But  one  event  alone  occurred, 
from  its  beginning  to  completion,  to 
mar  the  pleasures  of  its  success,  and 
that  was  the  death  of  Mrs.  R.  H.  Davis, 
on  Feb.  18,  1872,  a  lady  whose  christian 
devotion  and  influence  in  the  matter  did 
much  for  its  success,  whose  death  in 
the  meridian  of  her  life  and  useful- 
ness, cast  a  gloom  over  the  community. 
The  church  was  duly  consecrated  by  the 
bishop  of  the  diocese. 

In  1884,  under  the  rectorate  of  Dean 
Whitmarsh,  the  building  was  exten- 
sively repaired  and  beautified,  and  a 
handsome  brass  lectern  added  to  the 
chancel  furniture  as  a  memorial  of 
Judge  Hodges,  which  was  consecrated 
by  Bishop  Seymour,  on  Sunday,  Jan.  4, 
1885. 

A  memorial  window  to  the  memory 
of  Mr.  Withers,  Jr.,  is  of  peculiar 
beauty  and  with  the  handsomely  draped 
altar,  contributes  to  produce  an  effect  of 
special  richness  to  the  interior  of  this 
beautiful  little  church.  The  font  is  at 
the  entrance  under  the  large  and  hand- 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


rsi 


some  west  window  ;  the  organ  at  the 
south  end  of  the  chancel.  The  reredos 
bears  the  symbol  of  the  Holy  Trinity, 
to  whom  the  church  is  dedicated,  and 
the  chancel  walls  are  handsomely  illu- 
minated in  oil  polychrome.  All  the 
windows  are  of  stained  glass. 

EBENEZEH  M.  E.  CHURCH,    ROODHOUSE 
TOWNSHIP. 

The  church  of  this  denomination  was 
erected  in  1871,  at  a  cost  of  $1,300,  and 
is  28x40  feet  in  dimensions:  The  first 
pastor  was  J.  J.  Gardiner,  who  remained 
about  three  years.  The  first  offices  of 
the  congregation  were  filled  by  John 
Spencer,  Thomas  H.  Wilson,  John  K. 
Moore  and  James  Bradley.  The  pres- 
ent officers  are  John  Spencer,  James 
Shaw  and  (!.  Keller.  There  is  at  pres- 
ent a  membership  of  about  19.  Services 
are  held  regularly  every  two  weeks  by 
Rev.  S.  G.  Tera. 

martin's     prairie     BETHEL      BAPTIST 
CHURCH,  ROODHOUSE  TOWNSHIP. 

The  organization  of  this  denomina- 
tion was  effected  in  1834,  with  34  mem- 
bers. The  first  ministers  were  Thomas 
Taylor  and  Joel  Sweet.  The  edifice 
used  by  this  society  at  present  was  built- 
in  1856,  at  a  cost  of  about  $1,000.  It 
was  constructed  by  subscription,  and  in 
size  is  36x40  feet  in  ground  area.  The 
pioneer  ministers  of  the  church  con- 
ducted services  in  a  log  cabin  erected 
for  the  purpose,  until  the  present  build- 
ing was  erected  as  above.  The  original 
officers  were  Josiah  Morton,  deacon; 
James  D.  Morton,  clerk.  From  the 
time  of  the  organization  the  following  is 
a  succession  of  the  different  pastors  of 
the  church:  Elijah  Dodgson,-  Joel  Terry, 


G.  W.  S.  Bell,  Joel  Terry,  R.  C.  Keeler, 

John  M.  Wells,  W.  C.  Harney,  J.  1>. 
Wilson,  Elder  Fleming,  George  W.  Ste- 
vens, John  Van,  Daniel  Wise,  B.  B. 
Hamilton,  T.  M.  Marsh,  George  Rob- 
inson, Stephen  Cate,  W.  F.  Hicks, 
and  the  present  pastor,  William  M. 
Rhoads.  From  1866  to  1870  there  was 
no  regular  services,  as  the  church  was 
destitute  of  a  regular  pastor,  although 
Bro.  Wise  occupied  the  pulpit  occasion- 
ally mi  Sunday.  Also  from  1873  to  1876 
the  church  was  without  a  regular  minis- 
ter of  the  gospel,  but  during  the  latter 
year  prayer  meetings  were  instituted, 
and.  at  a  special  revival  some  30  new 
members  were  added  to  the  congrega- 
tion. Since  then  the  church  has  pros- 
pered and  at  present  there  is  a  mem- 
bership of  about  85,  services  being  held 
regularly  every  four  weeks,  while  there 
is  a  flourishing  Sunday-school  con- 
ducted every  Sabbath.  The  church  edi- 
fice is  kept  in  good  repair  and  is  located 
on  the  west  half  of  Sec.  13,  T.  12,  R,  11. 
The  present  officers  are  Josiah  and  Sam- 
uel Martin,  deacons,  and  C.  K.  Smead, 
clerk. 

METHODIST    CHURCH,    WHITE    HALL. 

This  society  was  organized,  as  a  class, 
about  the  year  1823.  For  several  years 
they  held  services,  wherever  they  could 
find  a  room,  but  it  was  not  until  about 
1832,  that  they  had  any  recognized 
house  of  worship.  In  that  year,  in 
connection  with  the  Baptist  congrega- 
tion, they  erected  a  union  church  edi- 
fice. This  was  a  frame  structure,  and 
is  now  the  Old  Baptist  church.  About 
the  year  1837,  the  Methodist  congrega- 
tion put  up  a  separate  church  building 
on  a  lot  opposite  the  present  postoffice, 
which  they  used  for  a  place   of  worship 


782 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


until  the  erection  of  their  present  splen- 
did edifice,  in  1872.  This  latter  is  of 
brick,  and  cost  about  $23,000,  and  is  one 
of  the  ornaments  of  the  town.  The 
first  regular  pastor  was  Rev.  Mr.  Bank- 
ston,  who  eaine  here  about  1830.  After 
a  time  he  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  Will- 
iam Askins,  and  he,  by  Rev.  Mr.  Trot- 
ter. The  present  pastor  is  Rev.  Mr. 
Stevens,  who  succeeded  Rev.  Isaac 
Higgs,  in  Sept.,  1885.  Perhaps  it  would 
not  be  out  of  place  in  this  connection, 
to  say  that  the  second  church  building 
of  this  congregation  was  removed  on  to 
another  street,  and  converted  into  two 
dwelling  houses,  and  is  still  used  for 
that  purpose. 

st.  john's  roman  cathomc  church, 
cabbollton. 

This  society  was  organized  about  the 
year  1860,  and  among  the  original  mem- 
bers were  the  following  named  gentle- 
men and  their  families  :  Cornelius  Car- 
mody,  Michael  Carmody,  Thomas  Car- 
mody,  Andrew  Sheedy,  Andreas  Witer- 
schek,  Joseph  Storrs,  Matthew  Mark- 
ham,  James  Mahoney,  Thomas  Scott, 
James  Dunford,  Thomas  Luneen,  and 
John  McMahon.  The  lots  were  bought 
by  a  fund  raised  by  subscription  among 
the  members.  On  these  the  front  part 
of  the  church  building  was  erected  in 
1864,  of  brick,  at  a  eosl  of  $13,000.  An 
addition  was  built  to  this  in  1883,  at  a 
cost  of  &7,000,  making  the  cost  of  the  ed- 
ifice about  $20,000.  It  is  one  of  the 
handsomest  buildings  in  the  city,  arch- 
itecturally, and  quite  an  ornament  to 
the  same.  In  1870  a  comfortable  par- 
sonage was  erected  by  the  congregation, 
at  an  expense  of  83,000,  and  in  1877,  a 
building, which  is  used  as  a  school-house, 


was  erected,  in  which  a  school    is  sup- 
ported. 

The  parish  was  commenced  about 
I860  under  the  direction  of  visiting 
priests,  with  a  few  Catholic  settlers  from 
Ireland,  as  above  stated,  and  Father 
Klein,  a  German,  was  the  first  resident 
rector,  In  1871  the  parish  was  increased 
by  the  accession  of  about  50  German 
families.  It  now  contains  about  loll. 
Under  the  present  rector,  Father Sauer, 
who  came  in  LS77,  the  parish  witnessed 
its  greatest  success.  In  1881  a  house 
was  built  for  the  Sisters,  who  since  then 
have  taken  charge  of  the  parochial 
school.  The  present  trustees  are 
Michael  Carmody,  Tobias  Schnelt,Thos. 
Luneen,  and  John  Schnelt. 

ST.    ALOYSIUS    CATHOLIC     CHUECH,     ROOD- 
HOUSE. 

This  building  was  erected  in  the  year 
1874.  It  is  a  brick  structure,  one  story 
in  height  with  a  vestry  on  the  east  end. 
The  main  building  is  30x50  feet  in 
dimensions,  and  is  located  on  Railroad 
street,  near  the  Yictor  mills.  The  build- 
ing committee  was  composed  of  Thomas 
Lawlus  and  Matthew  Sterrit.  The  cost 
of  the  building,  including  the  furnishing 
of  the  same,  was  $4,000.  The  first  priest 
to  hold  mass  in  this  church,  was  Father 
Victor,  of  Quincy,  111.,  who  came  here 
oie  e  8  month  and  held  mass  and  was  so 
employed  for  two  years.  He  was  suc- 
ceeded by  Father  Metzler,  who  remained 
about  three  years.  Next  came  Father 
Kearne,  who  held  services  inthechurch 
once  a  month  for  one  year.  After  him 
came  Father  Deitriek,  who  was  the  priest 
tor  about  two  years,  and  was  succeeded 
by  Rev.  Father  Johannes  who  remained 
only  four  months.     Father  Fallon  is  the 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


783 


present  instructor.  The  church  has  a 
membership  of  about  80.  They  hold 
mass  twice  a  mouth. 

METHODIST    EPISCOPAL     CHURCH,    ROOD- 
HOUSE. 

This  building  was  erected  in  the  year 
1882,  at  a  cost  of  $3,600.  It  isabrick 
structure  44x60  feet,  and  one  story  in 
height.  It  was  built  by  subscription,  the 
building  committee  being  P.  J.  Sharp, 
Adam  Chapman,  0.  W.  Armstrong,  E. 
S  Bundy,  and  A.  Orr.  The  church  was 
dedicated  by  Rev.  Horace  Reed,  D.  D., 
of  Jacksonville,  and  while  the  Rev.  J.  J. 
Dugan  was  serving  as  pastor.  Previous 
to  the  erection  of  the  above  named 
church  the  organization  held  services  in 
the  Cumberland  Presbyterian  building. 
Tin'  first  ministers  were  Henry  C.  Wal- 
lace, served  one  year;  Rev.  James  K. 
Maxiield,  one  year;  Rev.  Howard  Mil- 
ler, two  years;  Rev.  A.  Orr,  two  years; 
and  Rev.  J.  S.  Akers,  two  years.  Rev. 
J.  J.  Dugan  was  the  first  pastor  in  the 
new  church  and  sewed  one  year,  when 
he  was  succeeded  by  the  Rev.  Frank 
Crane,  who  served  as  pastor  two   years. 

Next  came  Rev.  ('.    \V .  .1: bs,    who  is 

the  present  pastor.  They  have  a  par- 
sonage adjoining  the  church  building, 
which  is  a  one-story  frame  structure, 
24x30  feet  in  dimensions  with  five  rooms. 
The  present  trustees  are  (i.  W.  Arm- 
strong, P.  J.  Sharp,  John  Roodhouse, 
Ai  id  lew  J.  Wat  si  in,  and  Adam  Chapman; 
Carl  Savage,  Sec'y  and  Treas.  They 
hold  services  every  Sabbath,  both  morn- 
ing and  evening,  also  Sabbath  school 
every  Sunday.  Prayer  meeting  is  held 
every  Wednesday  evening.  The  pres- 
ent membership  is  150,  and  the  church 
is  in  a  flourishing  condition. 


CUMBERLAND    PRESBYTERIAN    CHURCH, 
ROODHOUSE. 

The  society  known  by  theabovename 
was  organized  in  187s,  and  at  first 
held  meetings  in  the  old  union  church. 
In  187D,  under  the  pastorate  of  1).  II. 
Starkey,  they  bought  the  building  from 
the  Methodists.  After  four  years  pent 
here,  Rev.  Starkey  was  succeeded  by 
Rev.  J.  IT.  Millholland,  ami  he  by  Rev. 
Thomas  Potter.  The  present  pastor, 
Rev.  E.  L.  Prather,  succeeded  Potter. 
The  present  officers  an-:  Arthur  Davis, 
D.  B.  Moore,  Benjamin  Rushworth  and 
John  W.  Starkey,  trustees;  Benjamin 
Rushworth,  clerk;  James  C.  Starkey, 
Treas.  The  present  membership  is 
about  t'.ii.  Services  are  conducted  by  the 
pastor  every  Sabbath,  morning  ami  eve- 
ning. Sabbath-school  is  held  regularly 
each  week,  commencing  at  9:30  A.  M. 
John  W.  Starkey  is  the  present  super- 
intendent. Prayer  meetings  are  also 
held    on    Wednesday    evening  of   each 

week. 

The  house  of  worship  of  the  Cumber- 
land Presbyterian  society  is  40x25  feet 
in  ground  area,  is  of  frame  construction, 
and  is  surmounted  by  a  cupola,  at  a 
height  of  20  feet.  This  cupola  contains 
the  bell. 

The  flock  may  lie  said  to  be  in  a  grow- 
ing condition,  and  considerable  interest 
in  its  prosperity  is  manifested  by  the 
members. 

This  church,  like  all  those  of  Rood- 
house,  is  of  recent  organization,  as  com- 
pared with  those  of  the  older  settled 
portions  of  the  county;  but  it  may  he 
said  of  all,  that  their  progress  has  been 
greater  than  is  their  age.  It  is  to  he 
hoped  that  they  may  still  grow. 


rs4 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


WASHINGTON    BAPTIST    CHURCH    OF 
ROODHOUSE. 

This  society  was  organized  in  the  fall 
of  1881,  by  Rev.  Hobart,  state  mission- 
ary. Their  first  meetings  were  held  in 
the  Cumberland  Presbyterian  church 
edifice,  in  which  they  continued  to  hold 
services  until  1883. 

The  first  members  were:  C.  S.  Terry, 
Rebecca  Sitton,  E.  S.  Needles  and  wife, 
John  Jones  and  wife,  Isaac  Hodges  and 
wife,  E.  B.  Winslow  and  wife.  They 
held  services  in  the  Presbyterian  church 
under  Elder  Hamilton,  of  White  Hall, 
until  Jan.,  1884.  They  commenced  the 
erection  of  the  present  church  building 
in  1883,  the  building  committee  com- 
prising E.  S.  Stroud,  John  Jones,  E.  S. 
Needles,  W.  P.  Gilmore,  Ellis  Briggs, 
James  L.  Patterson.  The  building  has 
a  ground  area  of  36x60  feet,  is  one  story 
in  height,  and  is  constructed  of  brick. 
The  ceiling  is  24  feet  from  the  ground 
level  at  the  highest  point,  and  at  the 
eaves  18  feet.  It  has  a  spire  85  feet  in 
height.  The  seating  capacity  is  about 
400.  The  cost  of  the  edifice  was  about 
$5,300,  the  amount  being  raised  by  sub- 
scription. Robert  Latham,  of  Jersey- 
ville,  contributed  SI, 000  toward  the  erec- 
tion of  the  building,  on  condition  that 
it  lie  called  the.  Washington  Baptist 
church.  The  present  pastor  is  Rev.  J. 
S.  Deck.  Meetings  are  held  twice  each 
Sabbath,  and  prayer  meetings  every 
Wednesday  evening.  In  connection 
with  the  church  services,  they  hold 
Sunday  school  every  Sabbath  at  '.1:30 
A.  M.  James  L.  Patterson  is  superin- 
tendent. The  average  attendance  is  160 
scholars.  This  is  the  largest  and  best 
church  building  in  the  city  of  Rood- 
house. 


THE    CONGREGATIONAL    CHURCH    OF    ROOD- 
HOUSE. 

The  organization  of  this  society  was 
effected  Jan.  3,  1873,  by  M.  M.  Longley, 
of  the  American  Home  Missionary  So- 
ciety. He  came  here  in  1872,  and  held 
meetings  in  the  old  union  church.  In 
1874  they  made  arrangements  to  build  a 
church  of  their  own.  The  first  mem- 
bers were:  John  P.  Drennan,  Rebecca 
R.  Drennan,  George  N.  Sawyer  and 
wife,  Dr. William  T.  Day  and  wife,  Geo. 
W.  Martin,  Norman  S.  Martin,  Adelia 
Sawyer,  Emma  Sawyer,  Mrs.  Lotta 
Houck,  and  Susan  Mills. 

They  held  occasional  services  only 
until  their  own  church  building  was 
erected.  The  trustees  under  whom  the 
church  was  built  were  J.  P.  Drennan, 
G.  N.  Sawyer  and  W.  T.  Day.  E.  S. 
Bundy  was  the  contractor.  The  church 
is  located  on  the  corner  of  Palm  street 
and  Roodhouse  avenue.  It  is  a  frame 
structure,  30x45,  and  is  surmounted  by 
a  cupola,  which  contains  a  bell.  The 
entire  cost  was  about  $2, OCX),  this  sum 
being  raised  almost  entirely  by  subscrip- 
tion. The  present  pastor  is  Rev.  Win. 
W.  Hazen.  Services  are  held  morning 
and  evening,  every  Sabbath,  and  prayer 
meeting  on  Wednesday  evenings.  Sab- 
bath school,  with  an  average  attendance 
of  50  scholars,  is  held  at  9:30  A.  M. 
each  Sunday;  F.  C.  Smith  is  superin- 
tendent. The  present  officers  of  the 
church  are:  C.  C.  Van  Doren,  E.  S. 
Nichols,  J.  P.  Drennan,  8r.,  Frank  C. 
Smith,  G.N.  Sawyer,  J.  H.  Carkluiff, 
trustees:  W.  H.  Murray,  treas.;  J.  P. 
Drennan,  Sr.,  clerk;  J.  P.  Drennan,  Si'., 
G.  N.  Sawyer,  J.  H.  Carkhuff,  deacons; 
The  present  membership  is  about  50, 
and  the  church  is  in  good  condition. 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


7s:, 


CHAPTER    XV. 


The    civil     sub-division     of    Greene 

county,  which  bears  the  above  name,  is 
located  in  the  center  of  the  southern 
tier  of  townships,  and  its  bounded  on 
the  north  by  the  townships  of  Linder 
and  Carrollton,  on  the  east  by  Rock- 
bridge township  and  Jersey  county,  the 
latter  of  which  forms  its  southern  boun- 
dary also,  on  the  west  by  Woodv-ille 
township.  It  embraces  the  west  half  of 
T.  9,  R.  11,  and  Sees.  :;,  10,  and  the 
north  half  of  15,  of  the  eastern  half  of 
the  same  township  andrange,  and  all  of 
T.  9,  R.  12,  except  Sees.  5,  6,  7,  8,  17, 
18,  19,  20,  30,  and 31,  which  are  included 
in  Woodville  township.  The  Macou- 
pin creek,  or  Maquapin  (white  potato) 
creek,  as  it  was  called  by  the  Indians, 
meanders  with  pellucid  stream,  through 
the  entire  township,  crossing,  in  its  tor- 
tuous passage,  Sees.  15,  16,  17,  8,  6,  of 
T.  9,  R.  11,  and  Sees.  12,  11,  14,  15,  22, 
21,  28,  2'.),  30,  T.  9,  R.  12,  and  with  its  nu- 
merous affluents, affords  ample  drainage, 
beside  being  an  unfailing  source  of  run- 
ning water  for  stock  purposes.  A  large 
amount  of  the  land  is  timbered  yet, 
which,  with  the  artificial  groves  sur- 
rounding the  mansions  and  cottages  of 
the  well-to-do  farmers,  adds  beauty  and 
picturesqueness  to  the  landscape.  The 
fertility  of  the  soil  and  the  unexcep- 
tional beauty  of  this  section  of  the 
county,  caused  it  to  be  among  the  sec- 
tions first  settled.  The  line  of  the  C, 
A.  &  St.  L.  R.  R.  traverses  the  township 


KANE  TOWNSHIR. 

from   north    to    south,   and  there  is  one 

considerable  town  within  its  limits  on 
this  line,  Kane.  The  inhabitants  are, 
as  a  class,  industrious  and  energetic, 
and  manifest,  by  their  neat  surround- 
ings and  line  buildings,  the  thrift  that 
follows  intelligently  directed  labor. 


EARLY    SETTLEMENT. 

The  first  actual  settlement  made 
within  the  limits  of  what  is  now  Greene 
county,  was  made  in  Kane  township. 
In  1815,  several  parties  settled  in  the 
northern  part  of  what  is  now  Jersey 
county,  and  raised  a  crop,  but  in  the 
autumn  of  1810,  three  of  these,  Daniel 
Allen,  Sr.,  and  his  sons,  James  and 
Daniel,  removed  about  six  miles  west 
and  north,  to  S.  23,  of  T.  9,  range  12, 
and  James  made  a  farm,  which  is  now 
occupied  by  his  son,  E.  W .  Allen. 
James  lived  here  until  his  death.  TJre 
other  Aliens  did  not  remain  here  long, 
moving  away  about  a  year  afterwards. 
John  II.  Allen,  another  son  of  Daniel 
Allen,  made  some  improvements  on 
Sec.  19  in  T.  9,  R.  11,  which  he  after- 
wards sold  to  William  L.  Greene. 
He,  too,  left  with  the  balance  of  the 
family.  A  short  time  after  the  Aliens 
had  moved  here,  Thomas  Daniel,  a  na- 
tive of  Kentucky  made  his  appearance 
and  built  a  cabin  in  the  vicinity  of  the 
Allen's.  In  1817,  his  son,  Walker 
Daniel,  long  a  prominent  citizen  of  the 
county,  came  from   Georgia,    and  made 


(86 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


a  settlement  on  section  24,  just  east  of 

the  Allen's,  on  the  place  now  owned  by 
Rowland  Huitt.  These  were  the  pio- 
neers of  Kane  township,  and  this  county. 

John  Greene  was  one  of  the  earliest 
pioneers  of  this  region,  locating  in  this 
township  in  1819.  A  sketch  of  this  old 
pioneer  is  given  in  the  chapter  entitled 
National,  State  and  County  Representa- 
tion, under  head  of  general  assembly, 
he  having  been  honored  by  his  fellow- 
citizen  with  the  office  of  representative 
to  the  state  legistature. 

Nathan  Daniel,  came  to  this  town- 
ship in  1819,  and  being  a  young  man, 
hired  out  to  work  for  a  time.  In  a  short 
time  he  located  on  a  farm  and  married 
Louisa  Allen,  a  daughter  of  Daniel 
A  Urn,  Jr.  He  was  a  Kentuekian  by 
birth.  He  had  five  children,  and  died  a 
resident  of  this  county. 

Maj.  William  Costley  a  son  of  Will- 
iam and  Margarette  Costley,  came  to 
this  count)' with  his  father's  family,  in 
1819,  being  then  about  18  years  of  age. 
He  was  a  native  of  Kentucky,  born  on 
the  15th  of  October,  1801,  but  had  been 
reared  mostly  in  Missouri.  His  father 
dying  soon  after  their  coming  here,  he 
had  to  shift  for  himself,  which  he  did  to 
good  advantage.  About  1823  he  was 
married  to  Elizabeth  Mathis.  They  had 
a  family  of  fifteen  children.  Maj. 
Costley  kept  the  first  public  house  be- 
tween Carrollton  and  Alton,  or  at  least 
between  the  former  point  and  John  Wil- 
kins'  on  the  Piasa.  He  gained  his  title 
from  a  commission  in  the  militia  of  the 
day.  He  died  at  his  residence  in  Kane 
township,  Jan.  31,  1869. 

With  him  came  Robert  Means,  a 
native  of  Virginia,  who  settled  here  and 
was  a  resident  for  some  years. 


James  Whitlock  came  to  this  town- 
ship in  1819,  and  made  a  settlement, 
entering  some  900  acres  of  land.  He 
served  as  captain  all  through  the  Black 
Hawk  war,  and  is  generally  known 
throughout  this  region  as  Capt.  Whit- 
lock. He  resided  in  this  township  until 
1850,  when  he  started  for  California  and 
died  on  the  way. 

William  Greene  came  to  Greene 
county  in  1819,  from  his  home  'neath 
the  genial  skies  of  Tennessee,  and  made 
a  settlement  on  Sec.  24,  T.  9,  R.  12. 
With  him  came  his  wife,  Matilda  Greene, 
also  a  native  of  Tennessee,  born  in  1800, 
and  married  to  Mr.  Greene  in  1817. 
This  pioneer  was  a  man  of  rare  ability 
and  of  a  magnificent  physique,  and  was 
noted  all  over  this  county,  for  years,  for 
his  strength,  courage,  and  endurance. 
Nelson  Greene  was  a  son  of  this  gentle- 
man. 

With  him  came  Wiley  Greene  who 
lived  in  this  settlement  some  years. 

Nelson  Greene  was  born  in  Greene 
county,  Dec.  22,  1822,  and  was  a  son  of 
William  and  Matilda  (Greene)  Greene, 
his  father  being  a  native  of  Kentucky, 
and  his  mother  of  Tennessee.  His 
father  came  to  Illinois,  first  locating  in 
Bond  county,  and  from  there  went  to 
Madison  county;  and  in  1819,  came  to 
Greene  county,  and  located  on  S.  24, 
T.  9,  R.  12,  where  he  lived  until  his 
death,  Aug.  20,  1825.  He  was  a  captain 
in  a  militia  compan}'  after  he  came 
here.  Nelson's  mother  died  in  1879. 
During  the  war  of  1812,  his  grandfather, 
George  Greene,  concluded  to  plant  a 
piece  of  corn,  and  as  the  Indians  were 
very  bad,  he  told  the  family,  if  they 
saw  any  signs  of  them,  to  scream,  so  he 
could  hear  them.     There    was    an   old 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY 


787 


well  about  1"  feel  deep,  covered  with 
boards,  near  there,  and  one  day  a  neigh- 
bor girl  came  over,  and  Nancy  and 
Polly  Greene  told  her  to  get  on  these 
boards  and  spring  up  and  down.  This 
she  did,  and  the  boards  broke,  precipi- 
tating her  tu  the  bottom  of  the  well. 
The  girls  began  to  scream,  and  his 
grandfather  and  three  boys  came  run- 
ning, expecting  to  find  the  whole  family 
massacred;  hut  when  they  found  it  to 
be  nothing  but  a  girl  in  the  well,  they 
were  so  angry  that  they  had  a  notion  to 
shoot  the  girls  for  screaming.  Our  sub- 
ject,  Nelson  Greene,  remained  with  his 
parents  until  their  death,  at  which 
time  he  was  left  the  heir  of  ti:!  acres  of 
land,  which  he  farmed  several  years. 
He  added  to  this  until  he  now  has  120 
acres  in  the  homestead  tract,  and  Hi 
acres  of  timber  land.  Mr.  Greene  was 
married  Jan.  1,  1846,  to  Elizabeth  A. 
Gano,  daughter  of  John  S.  and  Mary 
(Hartsup)  Gano.  To  this  union  ten 
children  were  horn,  eight  of  whom  are 
now  living — John,  married  Emily  Per- 
ry, is  a  banker  in  Raymond,  Mont- 
gomery county;  Emily,  wile  of  Nathaniel 
Perry,  residing  in  Missouri;  Mary,  wife 
of  Luther  Snell,  residing  in  Macoupin 
county;  Sarah,  wife  of  Scott  Greene, 
residing  in  Menard  comity:  Herschel 
V.,  now  in  Independence  City,  Kan.; 
Lucy,  Robert  and  Clarence,  living  at 
home.  Those  deceased  are  William, 
and  one  who  died  in  infancy.  Mr. 
Greene  has  held  the  office  of  justice  of 
the  peace  two  terms.  He  and  his  wife 
are  members  of  the  Baptist  church. 
He  is  a  liberal  gentleman,  and  highly 
esteemed  by  his  many  friends. 

Joseph  Piggott  came  to  Greene  county 
in  the  fall  of  1819,    and  made  a   settle- 


ment on  some  land  near  what  is  called 
"Old  Kane."  He  purchased  this  place 
ami  making  the  necessary  improvements 
resided  here  until  1831,  when  he  re- 
moved to  Jersey  county. 

Benjamin  Allen,  a  Georgian,  came  to 
this  infant  settlement  in  L819,  and  re- 
mained here  some  years. 

David  Williams,  a  native  of  Virginia, 
came  to  this  section  in  1821,. and  located 
upon  Sec.  11,  T.  9,  R.  11,  which  he  en- 
t>  red.  He  was  married  in  St.  Clair 
county,  111.,  in  1823,  to  Margaret  Stout, 
a  native  of  that  county,  by  whom  he  had 
time  children — Clarissa,  Sarah  and 
David  J.  Mr.  Williams  died  on  the 
farm  he  first  settled  on.  in  November, 
1828. 

Rev.  C.  J.  Gardiner  settled  in  this 
township  in  1821. 

Lev.  Christopher  J.  Gardiner,  one  of 
the  earliest  pioneers  of  Greene  county, 
was  horn  in  Prince  William  county, 
Va.,  June  10,  1798.  His  parents  died 
in  his  infancy,  and  he  was  reared  by  his 
brother-in-law,  William  Evans,  until  he 
was  16  years  of  age.  In  the  spring  of 
1814,  he  immigrated  to  Kentucky,  and 
located  in  Hopkinsvilje,  where  he  pro- 
fessed religion,  and  united  with  the 
Methodist  church,  of  which,  during  his 
life,  he  lived  an  exemplary  member, 
and  was  a  minister  for  about  50  years. 
In  July,  1818,  he  left  Kentucky,  locat- 
ing in  St.  Louis,  Aug.  IS.  where  he  es- 
tablished a  tan-yard, which  he  continued 
to  operate  until  the  fall  of  the  next 
year.  While  there,  he  was  the  first, 
and  part  of  the  time  the  only,  Metho- 
dist class-leader  in  St.  Louis.  In  Dec, 
1819,  he  came  to  Greene  county,  and  lo- 
cated on  the  farm,  where  he  spent  tin' 
remainder  of  his    life.       After    selecting 


7SS 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


his  land,  he  buried  his  money,  all  coin, 
and  made  a  brief  trip  to  St.  Louis. 
After  his  return,  he  began  improving 
his  land,  situated  in  T.  1),  R.  12,  on  the 
south  bluff  of  Macoupin  creek.  He 
was  married,  Dec.  14,  1823,  to  Margaret 
Mains,  daughter  of  Robert  Mains,  an 
early  pioneer  of  Illinois,  and  a  native 
of  North  Carolina.  By  that  union 
there  were  s^x  sons — James  B.,  died  in 
Feb.,  1881;  William  P.,  left  many  years 
ago,  for  California,  and  has  not  since 
been  heard  from;  Sam'lG.,  present  post- 
master at  Kane;  Joshua  A.,  residing  in 
Mexia,  Limestone  county,  Tex.;  Chris- 
topher J.,  Jr.,  residing  at  Kane,  and  L. 
D.,  now  residing  at  the  old  homestead. 
All  those  living,  married,  and  all  are 
members  of  the  Masonic  order,  except 
L.  D.  Gardiner.  It  may  be  said  that 
Mr.  Gardiner  raised  a  large  and  intelli- 
gent family  of  children;  who  grew  up  to 
be  honorable  men.  Mrs.  Gardiner  died 
Oct.  10,  1835,  and  he  was  again  mar- 
ried March  26,  1837,  to  Sarah  Arn- 
spiger.  By  tins  union  there  were  three 
children,  two  of  whom  died  in  infancy. 
Their  daughter — Mary  E.,  has  been 
thrice  married,  and  is  now  the  wife  of 
Dr.  Wier.  Mr.  Gardiner's  second  wife 
died  June  5,  1844,  and  he  was  again 
married  to  Elizabeth  Burch,  Aug.  20, 
1845.  By  that  union  there  was  one 
daughter,  who  met  with  a  sad  fate,  hav- 
ing been  burned  to  death  by  kerosene. 
Sin'  was  the  wife  of  George  W.  Witt,  at 
the  time  of  her  death.  Rev.  Mr.  Gar- 
diner has  the  credit  of  preaching  the 
first  sermon  in  this  township,  and  be- 
sides being  a  good  citizen,  of  contribut- 
ing his  part  to  the  growth  and  develop- 
ment of  the  country.  When  he  landed 
in  Greene  county,  he  had  only  a  small 


capital,  but  being  a  man  of  considerable 
energy  and  economy,  he  became  emi- 
nently successful  in  his  business  of  tan- 
ning and  farming,  and  had  the  satisfac- 
tion of  being  able  to  live  in  affluent 
circumstances.  He  was  one  of  the 
early  advocates  of  the  temperance 
cause  in  this  state.  He  became  a  mem- 
ber of  the  whig  party  from  principle, 
and  was  the  early  friend  of  the  free  soil 
movement.  He  often  regretted  that  his 
native  state,  Virginia,  should  have 
raised  her  hand  against  the  Union. 
Henry  Clay  was  his  ideal  statesman,  and 
he  never  failed  to  vote  for  him  when  he 
had  the  opportunity.  He  was  beloved 
and  respected  by  a  large  circle  of  friends, 
and  the  purity  of  his  christian  charac- 
ter was  known  to  all.  In  June,  1874, 
he  died,  and  was  buried  in  the  Jalappa 
cemetery. 

A  man  by  the  name  of  John  King  is 
said  to  have  settled  in  this  township  in 
1821,  but  no  authentic  account  has  been 
obtainable  in  regard  to  him. 

A  settlement  was  made  by  Jesse 
White  in  this  township,  probably  about 
the  year  1824.  He  was  a  native  of 
Madison  county,  this  state,  and  his  wife 
Tabitha,nee  Carrico,  of  Kentucky.  He 
entered  160  acres  of  land  near  the  west 
line  of  this  township  on  the  Macoupin 
creek,  and  worked  for  50  cents  per  hun- 
dred, making  rails,  to  raise  the  money 
to  pay  for  his  land. 

Benjamin  G.  Tompkins,  a  native  of 
Virginia,  came  to  Kane  township  from 
Kentucky,  where  he  was  reared, in  1826, 
and  located  on  section  28,  near  the  site 
of  the  village  of  Kane,  where  he  entered 
160  acres  of  land,  where  he  resided  un- 
til the  day  of  his  death,  Oct.  16,  1878. 
His  wife  was  formerly   Rebecca    Hoff- 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


7S9 


man,  horn  in   Virginia,  and  brought  up 
in  Kentucky  ;   she  died  in  March,  1873. 

John  Stevens  came  to  Greene  county 
in  1828,  and  liking  the  country,  located 
upon  160  acres  of  land,  in  Sec.  9,  T.  11, 
I!.  9,  now  in  this  sub-division  of  the 
county,  where  he  remained  until  over- 
taken by  death. 

Clark  Stevens, a.  native  of  Coles  county, 
Mo.,  was  horn  Jan.  7,  1823,  his  parents 
being  John  and  Elizabeth  (Terry)  Ste- 
vens, natives  of  Virginia.  John  Stevens 
came  to  Hardin  county,  Ky.,  where  he 
was  married.  After  remaining  there  a 
short  time,  he  moved  to  Ohio,  thence 
to  Indiana,  then  to  Tennessee,  and  in 
1811  to  Coles  county,  Mo.,  where  he 
remained  12  years.  In  1828  he  came  to 
Greene  county,  111.,  and  located  on  Sec. 
9,  T.  9,  It.  11,  where  he  entered  160 
acres  of  land,  on  which  he  lived  the  re- 
mainder of  his  life.  At  the  time  of  his 
death,  he  owned  240  acres  of  land.  He 
had  made  14  different  improvements 
from  the  date  of  his  marriage  until  his 
death,  and  had  built  a  log  cabin  on  each 
improvement.  There  were  eight  chil- 
dren in  the  family — Belinda,  Jasper, 
Sarah,  Isaiah,  Clark,  John,  Elizabeth, 
and  Mary.  Only  three  of  these  are  liv- 
ing— Elizabeth,  wife  of  J.T.  Mclntyre, 
residing  in  Texas;  Mary,  wife  of  James 
Daudall,  living  in  Greene  county;  and 
Clark,  the  subject  of  this  sketch.  Mr. 
Stevens  died  March  12,  1853,  and  Mrs. 
Stevens  in  1881,  having  survived  her 
husband  nearly  30  years.  Clark  was 
reared  on  the  home  farm  until  he  was 
20  years  of  age.  He  then  started  in 
life  for  himself,  commencing  with  80 
acres  of  land,  which  he  cultivated  about 
10  years.  After  his  father's  death  he 
bought  the  homestead,  moved  on  to  it, 


and  it  has  since  been  his  home.     When 
he  was  but  18  years  old,  his    father  had 
erected  a  large  two-story  brick    house, 
and  Clark  made  the  mortar,  tramped   it 
with   his  feet,  chipped    it    down  with  a 
spade,  and    made   an    average    of  ."»,(_K)M 
brick  per  day,  besides  waiting  on  three 
brick  masons.       Mr.  Stevens  was   mar- 
ried, March  11, 1841,  to  Mildred  Cooper, 
daughter    of     Edmund    L.    anil    Mary 
Cooper.      By  that  marriage  there  were 
1:!    children,    nine   of   whom    are    liv- 
ing— Mary  F.,   wife  of   Michael    Harri- 
gan,  residing  in  Greene  county;   Robert, 
married  Lizzie  Dowden,  residing  in  this 
township  ;  Lucy,  wife  of  JohnAshford, 
residing  in  Greene  county;  Laura,  wife 
of  John  T.  Briggs,   residing    in   Carlin- 
ville  ;  Cornelia  E.,  wife  of  W.  T.  King, 
residing  in  Kansas  ;   Charlie,  married  to 
Mattie  Irwin,  residing  in  Jersey  county; 
Maggie,  wife  of  Franklin  Freeh,  resid- 
ing in  Greene  county;   Edmund  L.,  and 
Cora.     Those  deceased  are  Emma,  Mar- 
tha,  Edna    O.,    and   one    who    died   in 
infancy.     Jan.  24,  1877,  his    wife    died, 
and  on  the  8th  of  November,    1877,    he 
was  again  married  to  Elizabeth  E.  Buck, 
daughter  of  Jacob  and  Elizabeth   Aula- 
baugh.     Mr.  Stevens  has    worked   hard 
for  the  comforts  which  he  now  has,  and 
has  won  the  confidence  of  all  who  know 
him,  by  his  honesty  and  integrity.     He 
and  his  wife  are  members  of  the  church. 
Franklin  Witt,   one  of  the  afterward 
prominent    men   of  Greene  county,  set- 
tled in  1826,  in  this  township,  south  of 
the  Macoupin     creek,    where   he   lived 
until  his  death  in  1851.  He  is  noticed  at 
length  in  the  chapter  entitled,  National 
State   and    County    Representation,    he 
having  been  a  member    of  the   general 
ssembly   several  terms. 


790 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


William  Thomasson,  in  1S2S,  came 
from  Tennessee,  and  taking  up  a  farm 
in  Kane  township,  made  it  his  residence 
for  about  two  years,  when  he  removed 
to  Bluffdale  township,  and  in  1847  to 
Woodville  township,  where  he  died. 

Samuel  Martin,  a  native  of  Ambrose 
county,  Va.,  came  from  Kentucky  to 
Jersey  county,  in  1829,  settling  in  Rich- 
woods  township,  but  in  1831,  with  his 
family,  came  to  this  township  and 
count}',  where  he  lived  until  1844,  when 
he  was  called  to  cross  the  dark  river. 
His  wife  was  Elizabeth  Gunterman, 
daughter  of  John  Gunterman,  one  of 
the  early  settlers  of  Jersey  county. 

With  his  father  came  James  Martin, 
then  about  18  years  of  age. 

Section  26,  of  T.  9,  R.  12,  received  a 
settler  in  1829,  in  the  person  of  Marvil 
.Morris.  He  was  a  native  of  Tennessee, 
the  sen  of  John  and  Mary  (Lewis)  Mor- 
ris, and  was  born  Oct.  2,  1807.  In  1809 
his  father  brought  his  family  to  Illinois, 
settling  in  Pope  county,  where  he  died 
in  1822.  The  same  year  the  family 
removed  to  Jefferson  county,  this  state. 
where  Marvil  and  Mary  Estes  were 
united  in  marriage.  In  1829,  he  came 
here,  as  above  stated,  and  lived  here  for 
a  life-time.  His  wife  died  in  Oct.,  1868, 
but  in  Nov.,  1872,  he  was  married  to 
Mrs.  Maria  Redding.  Mr.  Morris  died 
in  St.  Louis,  Mo.,  Feb.  7,  1876,  but  was 
at  the  time  a  resident  of  this  township. 

Eli  Witt,  with  his  family,  came  to 
Greene  county  from  their  home  in  Ten- 
nessee, in  Dec,  1829,  and  located  on 
the  southwest  quarter  of  section  3, 
Kane  township.  In  1845,  he  removed 
to  Texas,  but  returned  shortly  after- 
ward and  located  just  east  of  Carroll- 
ton,  where  lie  died  in  the    fall   of  1851. 


With  Mr.  Witt  came  his  son,  Randolph, 
then  a  young  man  of  ID  years. 

Randolph  Wit t  was  born  in  Jefferson 
county,  Tenn.,  Dec.  3<>,  1810,  his  par- 
ents being  Eli  and  Nancy  (McNealy) 
his  father  a  native  of  Virginia,  his 
mother  of  Tennessee.  He  came  with 
his  parents  to  Greene  county.  HE,  in 
Dec,  1820,  and  they  located  on  what  is 
now  Sec.  3,  T.  9,  R.  12.  They  remained 
there  several  years,  and  in  1845,  Eli 
Witt  moved  to  Texas,  but  after  a  short 
time  he  returned  to  Illinois, and  located 
east  of  Carrollton,  where  he  lived  until 
his  death,  in  Oct.,  1851.  His  wife  died 
in  1857.  Randolph  attended  the  com- 
mon schools  of  Tennessee  and  Illinois, 
attaining  a  fair  business  education.  The 
first  work  he  did,  after  coming  to  this 
county,  was  for  Franklin  Witt,  and  then 
for  Samuel  Thomas,  the  early  settler  of 
the  county.  The  first  land  that  he 
bought  was  the  place  on  which  he  lived 
and  died,  which  at  first  contained  but 
40  acres,  on  section  10.  By  hard  work, 
perseverance,  and  good  management.be 
added  to  this,  until  he  owned  312  acres 
on  sections  9  and  10,  having  started  out 
with  nothing  but  his  own  strength  and 
energy.  He  was  married  Aug.  Is.  1836, 
to  Polly  Tunnell, daughter  of  Calvin  and 
Jane  (Adair)  Tunnell.  By  this  union 
they  had  five  children,  four  of  whom 
are  living — Andrew  J.,  married  Frances 
Ball,  resides  in  Montgomery  county; 
William  T.,  at  home;  Jane  E.,  wife  of 
John  Ball, residing  in  Macoupin  county; 
El/.ina,  wife  of  George  Ball,  residing  in 
Macoupin  county.  The  one  deceased 
was  John  C,  who  died  in  infancy.  Mr. 
Witt  was  a  staunch  democrat,  and  his 
first  vote  for  president  was  cast  for 
Martin  VanBuren,  in  1836.  He  departed 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY 


791 


this  life  June  24,  1884.  His  life  had 
been  that  of  an  honest  and  upright  man, 
and  he  was  a  true  and  loving  husband 
and  father.  A  widow  and  four  children 
and  a  large  circle  of  friends  were  left  to 
mourn  his  departure.  Mr.  Witt  was 
one  of  the  pioneer  settlers  of  Greene 
county.  He  was  obliged  to  toil  very 
hard,  when  settling  there,  but  at  last 
he  had  secured  a  good  home,  and  made 
his  mark  with  the  other  early  settlers, 
who  have  nearly  all  passed  away. 

William  T.  Witt  was  born  in  Greene 
ei unity,  on  the  14th  day  of  Jan.,  1844. 
His  parents  were  Randolph  and  Polly 
(Tunnell )  Witt, his  father  being  a  native 
of  Jefferson  county,  Tenn.,  and  his 
mother  of  Greene  county,  111.  His 
father  came  to  Greene  county  in  the  fall 
of  1829,  and  located  on  the  northwest 
quarter  of  section  3,  in  Kane  township. 
He  lived  there  with  his  parents,  until 
1836,  when  lie  began  farming  for  him- 
self, having  bought  40  acres  of  land  on 
section  10,  in  this  township.  On  this  he 
first  built  a  little  log  cabin,  but  after- 
ward erected  a  frame  residence,  where 
lie  lived  until  the  24th  of  June,  1884, the 
date  of  his  death.  William  has  always 
made  his  home  with  his  parents  on  the 
farm.  In  the  year  1871,  he  went  to 
Washington  county,  Kan.,  in  company 
with  another  man,  making  the  trip  in  a 
wagon.  He  went  to  look  at  some  land. 
lmt  only  remained  a  short  time  when  he 
returned  home.  In  the  year  1873,  he 
went  to  Virginia  on  business,  and  also 
foi  the  benefit  of  his  health,  and  after  a 
stay  of  three  months  came  home.  Mr. 
Witt  has  devoted  his  attention  to  farm- 
ing and  stock-raising  all  his  life.  He  is 
a  democrat,  and  his  first  vote  was  cast 
for   George  B.  McGlellan,    in   the   year 


1864.  Mr. Witt  is  an  intelligent  gentle- 
man, and  is  respected  by  all  who  know 
him. 

Among  the  settlers  of  1831,  in  Kane 
township  was  Abraham  Enslow,  a  Penn- 
sylvanian,  who  came  here  from  Ohio. 
On  coming  here,  he  moved  to  a  place 
two  miles  north  of  Kane,  occupying 
part  of  a  house  with  the  widow  Daniel, 
for  the  first  winter.  In  the  spring  of 
1832,  he  purchased  40  acres  of  land  on 
section  33,  this  township,  and  lived  on 
it  three  years,  when  he  sold  out  and 
bought  80  acres  about  one  and  a  half 
miles  northwest  of  Kane.  He  moved 
several  times  after  this,  and  died  near 
Old  Kane,  in  1874. 

John  Varble  with  his  family,  left  their 
home  in  Kentucky,  in  1831,  and  cast  in 
their  lot  with  the  pioneers  of  Greene 
county.  They  located  upon  Sec.  4,  T. 
9,  R.  11,  where  Mr.  Varble  entered 
some  200  acres  of  land.  About  1845,  he 
sold  out  and  removed  to  Montgomery 
county,  where  he  died. 

His  son,  John  H.  Varble,  was  for 
many  years  a  respected  citizen  of  this 
part  of  the  county.  He  was  born  in 
Kentucky,  in  1827,  and  died  here  in 
March,  1S77. 

OTHER    PROMINENT    CITIZENS. 

Jacob  L.  Pope  was  born  in  Somerset 
county,  N.  J.,  his  parents  being  Samuel 
and  Mary  (Gaddis)  Pope,  natives  of 
New  Jersey.  They  came  to  Greene 
county,  111.,  in  1836,  and  his  father  lo- 
cated at  Old  Kane,  where  be  bought  184 
acres  of  land.  He  was  a  blacksmith  by 
trade,  and  was  the  first  one  in  that  town. 
He  also  kept  the  first  hotel  there.  His 
death  occurred  in  18-50,  and  that  of  his 
wife   in    1868.     Jacob    L.    remained   at 


r92 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


home,  working  in  the  hotel  and  black- 
smith shop,  until  he  was 24  years  of  age. 
He  then  began  fanning  for  himself,  on 
some  land  that  he  had  previously  bought 
in  Jersey  county,  consisting  of  74  acres. 
on  which  he  remained  until  1855.  He 
then  sold  out  and  bought  200  acres, 
known  as  the  Smith  farm,  in  the  same 
county,  and  after  living  on  that  one 
year,  he  sold  it  and  bought  the  Long- 
street  farm  of  230  acres,  on  which  he 
remained  two  years.  This  he  then  sold 
and  purchased  480  acres  in  Sangamon 
count}',  and  after  living  there  four 
years,  sold  out  and  bought  336  1-2  acres 
in  Greene  county,  on  section  21,  in  Kane 
township.  He  now  owns  256  1-2  acres 
in  this  county,  and  160  acres  in  Sedge- 
wick  county,  Kan.  In  1862  he  enlisted 
in  the  122d  111.  Inf.,  and  served  until 
the  close  of  the  war.  He  went  in  as 
first  lieutenant  and  was  promoted  to 
captain  of  his  company  in  1865.  He 
was  in  the  battles  of  Blue  Creek,  Mo., 
when  fighting  with  Price;  Parker  Cross 
Roads,  Paducah,  Ky.,  Tupelo,  Miss., 
Nashville,  Tenn.,  the  capture  of  Fort 
Blakeley,  and  Mobile,  and  several  skir- 
mishes. He  was  married  in  July,  1848, 
to  Eliza  A.  Longstreet,  who,  with  her 
parents,  Samuel  and  Elizabeth  Long- 
street,  had  emigrated  from  Montgomery 
county,  O.,  in  1844.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Pope 
are  the  parents  of  10  children,  nine  of 
whom  are  living — Samuel  L.,  now  in 
Kansas;  Jacob  G.,  married  to  Susan 
Parker,  residing  in  Kane  township; 
Laura  V.,  wife  of  George  H.  Gardiner, 
residing  in  this  township;  Anna  E., 
wife  of  Whitney  Tucker,  residing  in 
Wichita,  Kan.;  Ada  B.;  Grace  H.,  wife 
of  Wallace  A.  Wood,  residing  in  Chase 
county,  Kan.;  Elizabeth   M.,  Jessie  W. 


and  Mary  F.  The  one  deceased  is  Guy 
R.  At  the  close  of  the  war,  Mr.  Pope 
returned  home,  where  he  remained  un- 
til 1872,  when  he  went  to  Sedgwick 
county,  Kan.,  and  to  Wichita,  where  he 
spent  nine  years  trading  in  stock  and 
land.  In  1878,  lie- took  his  family  to 
Eureka  Springs,  Ark.,  for  their  health. 
They  were  there  a  short  time  and  then 
returned  to  Kansas.  He  afterward  took 
them  to  Siloam  Springs,  Ark.,  and  after 
spending  a  while  there,  returned  to  his 
home  in  this  county  and  resumed  farm- 
ing. Mr.  Pope  is  a  member  of  the  Ma- 
sonic fraternity  and  of  the  (i.  A.  R. 
post.  He  is  an  intelligent,  enterprising 
man  and  has  thus  far  been  very  success- 
ful in  farming.  Mr.  S.  Longstreet,  after 
selling  his  farm  to  his  son-in-law,  J.  L. 
Pope,  engaged  in  business  in  Jersey- 
ville  for  some  time.  In  1860  he  moved  to 
Iola,  Allen  county,  Kan.,  where  he  re- 
sumed farming.  He  died  in  1865.  In 
1873  his  widow  and  only  remaining  son 
moved  to  Lewis  county,  W.  T.,  where 
they  still  reside. 

John  Pope,  a  prominent  citizen  of 
this  county,  was  born  Oct.  3,  1836,  in 
Old  Kane,  Greene  county,  111.  His 
parents  were  Samuel  and  Mary  (  Gaddis ) 
Pope,  natives  of  New  Jersey.  They 
came  to  this  county  in  1836,  and  located 
at  Old  Kane,  where  Samuel  bought 
about  300  acres  of  land,  and  remained 
on  it  until  his  death,  which  occurred 
about  the  year  1848.  He  came  from  the 
state  of  New  Jersey  to  Alton,  and  from 
there  to  Old  Kane,  in  a  one-horse 
wagon.  He  was  the  second  man  to 
locate  there,  and  had  the  first  black- 
smith shop,  and  also  the  first  tavern  in 
the  town.  His  wife,  Mary  (Gaddis) 
Pope,   the  mother  of  our  subject,  died 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY 


793 


in  1865.  John  Pope  was  raised  on  a 
farm,  having  remained  at  home  until  he 

was  28  years  of  age.  In  1858,  he  and 
his  two  brothers  bought  1,000  acres  of 
land    in     Sangamon    county,  on    which 

they  remained  about  t  .vo  years,  when 
they  sold  out"  and  came  back  to  Old 
Kane,  where  John  remained  about  six 
years,  following  farming.  In  1863,  he 
went  to  California,  taking  horses  and 
mules,  going  all  the  way  horseback. 
lie  sold  them  in  San  Francisco  and 
Sacramento,  and  made  the  return  trip 
around  by  water  to  Alton,  and  from 
there  came  home,  having  visited  New 
York,  Cleveland,  Dunkirk,  and  several 
other  cities,  on  the  way.  lie  still  deals 
in  stock,  as  well  as  engaging  in  farming. 
In  1864,  he  purchased  240  acres  of  land 
on  section  2,  Kane  township,  and  has 
since  resided  there.  About  four  years 
ago  he  built  a  large  frame  house  at  a 
cost  of  $2,800,  and  the  surroundings 
show  him  to  be  a  man  full  of  energy 
and  enterprise.  On  Dec.  8,  1864,  he 
was  married  to  Marietta  Enslow,  daugh- 
ter lit'  Abram  and  Julietta  Enslow. 
Three  children  were  born  to  them — ■ 
Lulu,  William  0.  and  Rua.  Mr.  Pope 
is  the  present  school  director  of  district 
No.  4.  lie  is  a  democrat  in  politics;  is 
one  of  Greene  county's  prominent  men, 
and  is  held  in  high  esteem  by  all  who 
know  him. 

Benjamin  F.  Ozbun  was  born  in  Sum- 
ner county,  Tenn.,  Nov.  18,  1810,  his 
parents  being  Bartholomew  and  Eliza- 
beth (Abbott)  Ozbun,  natives  of  Vir- 
ginia.    He  came  with  his  parents  to  the 

"  territory  of  Illinois,  in  1816,  and  most 
of  his  boyhood  days  were  spent  in 
clearing  up  his  father's  farm,  so  that  he 
became  proficient  in  the  duties  of  farm- 


life.     In  the  year  1832,  he  removed   to 
Greene  county,  Ind.,  wherehe  remained 
until  the  fall  of  1834,  win  n   he  came  to 
Greene  county,  111.,  landing  here   with 
50  cents  in  silver  and  a  horse  which  he 
had  rode  all  the  way   from  Tennessee. 
He  began  to  work  for  Samuel   Thomas, 
one  of   the  early  pioneers,   at    $12  per 
month.      He  worked  around   for  about 
two  years,  and  on  the  9th  of  July,  1837, 
was  united    in    marriage    with    Nancy 
McCool,  born   Aug.   10,    1817,    in    Pope 
county,  111.     She    was  the   daughter  of 
Jesse  and  Jane  McCool.     By  this  union 
there    were    10   children,    six    of  whom 
are  living — John  F.,  married  Lena  Les- 
man.  resides  in  Kane  township;   Daniel 
T.,   spoken   of    elsewhere;     Robert  B., 
lives   at    home;    Jane    V...    wife    of  John 
Roberts,  residing  in  Kansas:    Jesse    A., 
married  Mary  Ryan,  lives  in  this  town- 
ship;   and    Mary  M.      Those    deceased 
are  Bartholomew,  George   W.,  Lucy  A. 
and  James    L.     After    his    marriage   he 
moved   on  the  farm  he   had    previously 
purchased,  in  the  northeast  part   of  the 
county.      In   1857,   they   moved   on   the 
farm  where  they  now  reside,  on   Sei     ■  '•. 
T.  9,  R.  12.      He    owned    2i!l)    acres    of 
land  on  sections  •".  and   10  at    the  time  of 
his   death,   and    his    family     were    sur- 
rounded with  all  the  comforts  of  a  good 
home.     He  was,  in  politics,  a  democrat 
and  his  first  vote  for  president  was   casl 
f.r   Andrew   Jackson,    whose   principles 
he    followed    ever  afterward.      He    died 
July  IS,  1885,  leaving  his  wife  and  chil- 
dren to  deeply  mourn  the  loss  of  a  kind 
husband  and  a   loving    father,  and    the 
community  to  regret  the  loss  of  so  good 
a  citizen.     He  was  buried    in    the  Car- 
rollton    cemetery.     The     farm     is     now 
managed  by  his   son,   Robert.     He   wa- 


m 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


one  of  the  oldest  settlers  of  Greene 
count}',  and  but  few  of  our  readers  can 
imagine  what  those  pioneers  had  to  go 
through  when  they  settled  in  the  now 
rich  and  fertile  Greene  county.  They 
are  one  by  one  passing  away,  and  may 
a  rich  reward  he  theirs. 

Daniel  T.  Ozbun  was  born  in  Greene 
county  on  the  7th  of  Oct.,  183i),  his 
parents  being  Benjamin  and  Nancy 
i  McCool )  Ozbun,  natives  of  Tennessee. 
They  came  from  that  state  to  Greene 
county,  111.,  about  the  year  1835,  and 
located  in  Kane  township.  Daniel  T. 
Ozbun  was  reared  on  the  farm,  but 
learned  the  carpenter's  trade,  at  which 
he  lias  worked,  off  and  on,  all  his  life, 
lie  made  his  home  with  his  parents  un- 
til  he  was  35  years  of  age,  at  which 
time  he  started  out  for  himself,  buying 
80  acres  of  land  em  section  3.  He 
cleared  it  off,  built  a  house,  into  which 
he  moved,  and  on  this  land  has  since 
lived.  He  now  owns  120  acres  of  land, 
on  which  he  has  worked  very  hard, 
most  of  it  having  been  timber.  He  has 
the  greater  portion  cleared  off,  and  has 
a  nice  residence,  and  his  surroundings 
show  liim  to  be  an  energetic,  industri- 
ous man.  He  was  married,  April  7, 
1875,  to  Susan  J.  Summers,  daughter  of 
Ezekiel  and  Elizabeth  (Tunnell)  Sum- 
mers. They  have  three  children — 
Charles  U.,  horn  Feb.  22,  1876;  Alice 
K..  horn  Oct.  25,  1878;  Jacksofi  L.,  born 
Feb.  6,  1881.  Mrs.  Ozbun  is  a  member 
of  the  M.  E.  church.  Mr.  Ozbun  has 
held  the  office  of  school  director  five 
years. 

Peter  Felter,  deceased,  was  a  native 
ofNyack,  Rockland  county,  N.  Y..  and 
was  horn  Oct.  19,  1819,  his  parents  being 
William  and  Elizabeth  (Slocum)  Felter, 


natives  of  New  York.  In  1834  they 
came  to  Illinois,  locating  near  Carroll- 
ton,  where  Peter  began  learning  the 
tailor's  trade,  which  he  afterward  fin- 
ished in  St.  Louis.  They  moved  to 
Fieldon,  Jersey  county,  in  1844,  where 
they  resided  until  the  death  of  Mr. 
William  Felter,  in  1846,  when  Mrs 
Felter  removed  to  Jersey  ville,  and  spent 
the  remainder  of  her  days  there.  In 
about  the  year  1843  our  subject  moved 
near  Fieldon,  where  he  bought  12H  acres 
of  land  and  to  that  he  added  exten- 
sively, and  by  also  being  engaged  in 
boating,  merchandising,  stock  raising, 
etc.,  laid  the  foundation  of  future  suc- 
cess. In  1866  he  moved  to  Greene 
county,  and  located  on  section  29  in 
Kane  township,  where  he  bought  223 
acres  of  land  Here,  by  prudence  and 
thrift,  he  made  for  himself  and  family 
a  home  most  comfortable,  on  alarm  the 
best  cultivated  of  any  around  him.  He  ac- 
cumulated acre  by  acre,  until  by  taking 
advantage  of  every  purchase  that  seemed 
profitable,  he  became  the  possessor  of 
1,000  acres  of  land.  He  was  married 
Oct.  10,  1844,  to  Harriet  G.  Bramlette, 
daughter  of  Elkano  and  Sarah  N. 
(Lofton)  Bramlette.  Mr.  Felter  spent 
most  his  time  with  his  family,  and  his 
abundant  means  was  used  fortheir com- 
fort and  pleasure.  Unfortunately  he 
had,  while  obtaining  his  property, 
undermined  his  health,  by  giving  such 
constant  care  and  attention  to  business, 
and  from  that  on  his  constitution  became 
weaker  and  weaker,  until  on  Jan.  23, 
1831,  at  1  o'clock  p.  m.,  he  departed 
this  life,  reaving  a  widow  and  a  large 
family  of  children.  His  departure  was 
deeply  felt  by  all  who  knew  him.  He 
was  a  kind  and  faithful  husband,  a  lov- 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


795 


ing  father  and  a  true  friend.  After  a 
life  of  activity,  lie  had  reached  that  pin- 
nacle of  Buccessj  open  to  all  who  display 
that  amount  of  energy  that  has  marked 
Mr.  Felter's  career  from  boyhood. 

William  Mason,  deceased,  was  born 
in  Virginia,  mar  Elizabeth  town,  Aug. 
13,  1815,  being  a  son  of  Joseph  and 
Sarah  i  Wilson  i  Mason,  natives  of  .Mary- 
land. William  came  to  Greene  county 
in  1828,  and  located  near  Rockbridge, 
where  he  bought  a  farm  of  160  acres, 
and  lived  there  20  years.  He  then  sold 
it  and  moved  to  Macoupin  county, 
where  he  bought  120  acres  of  land  near 
Carlinville,  and  after  remaining  on  that 
six  years,  he  sold  out  and  bought  80 
acres  of  land  in  Jersey  county.  This 
he  sold  after  a  year's  time,  and  removed 
to  Greene  county,  locating  on  section 
IS,  in  Kane  township,  where  he  bought 
84  acres  of  land.  Here  he  spent  the 
remaining  days  of  his  life.  He  was 
married,  Dec.  30,  1850,  to  Abigail 
(Whitlock)  Ritchey,  daughter  of  Capt. 
James  and  Rhoda  Whitlock.  By  this 
union  they  had  three  children,  all  of 
whom  are  dead.  Mr.  Mason  died  May 
30,  1870,  leaving  a  widow  and  three 
children,  to  mourn  the  hiss  (if  a  kind 
and  faithful  husband  and  father;  and 
the  Baptisl  church  to  lose  a  true  and 
liberal  member.  Mrs.  Mason  has  one 
child  living,  by  her  first  husband — 
lima,  married  to  John  Wright,  residing 
in  Kane  township.  She  owns  84  acres 
of  land,  and  manages  the  farm  herself. 
She  is  a  member  of  the  Baptist   church. 

Captain  .lames  Whitlock,  deceased, 
Mrs.  Mason's  father,  came  to  Greene 
county  in  1819,  and  located  in  what  is 
now  known  as  Kane  township,  on  sec- 
tion 20,  where  he  bought  900  acres  of 


land  on  that  and  adjoining  sections,  ami 
remained  until  1850.  In  April  of  that 
year,  he  started  on  the  road  to  Cali- 
fornia, with  three  teams,  and  got  as  far 
as  the  plains  when  he  took  the  cholera 
and  died.  There  was  quite  a  train  of 
emigrants  going  through  at  the  same 
time,  and  a  great  many  of  them  died  with 
this  disease.  In  the  year  1820,  James 
was  married  to  Rhoda  Green,  widow  of 
Thomas  Green.  They  were  the  parents 
of  10  children  —  Elizabeth,  Abigail, 
Matheny,  John  W..  Nancy,  Henry  1!., 
Hannah  1).,  and  three  who  died  in  in- 
fancy. Only  three  are  now  living. 
They  are — Abigail,  Matheny  and  Han- 
nah. Captain  Whitlock  served  all 
through  the  Black  Hawk  war  of  1831—2. 
Augustine  T.  Perry, a  prominent  resi- 
dent of  Kane  township,  was  horn  in 
Hopkinsville,  Christian  county,  Ky., 
on  the  23d  of  Sept.,  lS:i'.),  and  was  a  son 
of  Nathaniel  M.  and  Frances  A. (Tandy) 
Perr_y.  Col.  Nathaniel  M.  Ferry,  a 
native  of  Orange  county,  Va.,  was  born 
Nov.  oil,  1806,  being  a  son  of  James  and 
Ann  Perry,  of  English  descent.  His 
father  died  in  1815,  and  in  ISIS,  his 
mother  removed  with  her  children  to 
Christian  county,  Ky.  She  died  Oct. 
7,  1853,  at  the  residence  of  her  son, 
N.  M.  Perry,  in  Greene  county.  111. 
Col.  Perry  received  his  education  in 
the  schools  of  Kentucky,  and  alter 
finishing,  he  engaged  in  t caching  a  se- 
lect Bchool  at  Nashville,  Tcnn.,and  was 
very  successful.  In  the  winter  of  1828 
he  was  married  to  Frances  A.  Tandy, 
daughter  of  Henry  Tandy,  of  Clarks- 
ville,  Tenn.,  originally  from  Virginia. 
By  this  union  there  were  four  children, 
of  which  Augustine,  the  subject  of  this 
sketch    was    one.       After    his    marriage 


796 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


Mr.  Perry  engaged  in  agricultural  pur- 
suits. He  left  tlic  state  of  Kentucky 
and  came  to  Illinois,  arriving  in  Greene 
county  in  1836,  and  soon  after  locating  at 
Homer,  where  he  built  .1  residence  and 
the  first  business  house  in  the  town. 
He  put  a  general  stock  of  merchandise 
in  this  store, and  continued  in  that  busi- 
ness until  1872,  carrying  on  farming  at 
the  same  time,  he  having  bought  200 
acres  of  land  when  he  first  came  to  the 
county.  In  1855  he  became  partner  in 
a  firm  to  build  a  steam  grist  mill,  and 
afterward  became  sole  owner,  which  he 
was  for  several  years.  In  the  month  of 
Dec,  1837,  his  wife  died,  and  in  1840  he 
was  again  married  to  Eliza  Hill,  daugh- 
ter of  Rev.  William  Hill,  formerly  of 
Virginia.  By  this  union  there  were  five 
children.  Col.  Perry  became  a  member 
of  the  Baptist  church  when  only  17 
years  old.  and  ever  afterward  lived  an 
exemplary  life.  He  was  a  deacon  in 
the  church  for  many  years.  In  July, 
1861, he  was  again  called  upon  to  mourn 
the  loss  of  his  wife.  In  the  fall  of  1864 
he  was  nominated  and  elected  to  the 
legislature,  by  the  democratic  party, 
which  position  he  ably  filled, with  honor 
and  integrity.  On  the  2d  of  Oct.,  1872, 
he  was  married  to  Mary  Bowman, daugh- 
ter of  Martin  Bowman  of  Carrollton. 
After  selling  his  store  out  he  retired 
from  business  altogether,  intending  to 
take  some  ease  and  enjoyment  the1  re- 
mainder of  his  days.  On  the  5th  of  Oct., 
1875,  he  departed  this  life.  He  was  ad- 
mired by  all  for  bis  sociability,  honor- 
able integrity  and  rectitude.  Augustine 
went  behind  the  counter  in  bis  father's 
stoic  when  he  was  in  his  Kith  year,  and 
remained  as  clerk  10  years.  He  then 
became  a  partner,  and  so  continued  for 


two  years.  .Ian.  1,  1858,  he  withdrew. 
giving  place  to  a  younger  brother,  J.M. 
Perry, now  of  Kansas  City,  Mo.  In  June, 
1858,  he  formed  a  partnership  with  his 
brother-in-law,  Dr.  B.  G.  Culver,  and 
sold  goods  at  White  Hall  for  four  yens. 
when  he  was  advised  by  his  physicians 
to  quit  the  business,  which  he  did,  and 
in  the  fall  of  1862,  returned  to  his  old 
home,  and  engaged  in  farming,  and  has 
since  continued  in  that  occupation.  He 
now  owns  800  acres  of  valuable  land, 
and  is  an  extensive  fanner  and  dealer 
in  stock.  He  is  a  member  of  the  R.A.M. 
chapter, No.  77,  and  ofcommandery,  No. 
29,  of  Carrollton,  and  also  of  the  A.  F. 
&  A.  M.,  of  Kane.  In  politics,  he  is  a 
democrat.  He  is  one  of  Greene  county's 
wealthy  and  most  prominent  men,  and 
enjoys  the  esteem  of  all  who  know  him. 
Ira  White  was  born  in  Greene  county, 
111.,  on  the  24th  of  Feb.,  1837.  He  was 
a  son  of  Jesse  and  Tabitha  (Carrieo) 
White,  his  father  a  native  of  Madison 
county,  111.,  and  his  mother  of  Ken- 
tucky. His  parents  came  to  Greene 
county  at  an  early  day,  settling  in  what 
is  now  Kane  township,  near  the  west 
line,  on  the  Macoupin  creek.  His 
father  entered  160  acres  of  land,  work- 
ing for  50  cents  a  hundred  making  rails 
to  get  enough  money  to  pay  for  entering 
it.  He  toiled  hard,  thus  making  a  suc- 
cessful farmer,  so  that  at  the  time  of  his 
death  he  owned  considerable  land. 
When  he  first  came  to  Greene  county, 
deer  was  more  plenty  than  rabbits  now 
are,  and  wild  turkeys  were  seen  by  the 
hundreds.  In  those  early  days  the 
people  were  compelled  to  kill  such 
game  for  food.  He  was  one  of  the  old- 
est settlers  in  this  township.  Ira  White 
spent  his  youth  with  his  parents  on  the 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


797 


farm,  and  when  he  became  of  age,  in 
1858,  his  father  gave  him  40  acres  of 
land  in  Jersey  county.  He  farmed  that 
one  year  and  then  traded  it  to  his 
brother,  Louis,  for  the  homestead  of  85 
acres,  to  which  he  moved  and  lias  since 
made  his  home.  He  now  owns  14»> 
acres  of  land  on  Sec.  36,  T.  9,  R.  12, 
and  his  residence,  with  all  its  surround- 
ings, show  him  to  be  a  man  of  energy, 
intelligence  and  enterprise.  He  has 
been  twice  married,  first,  on  the  4th  of 
March,  1S5S,  to  Fannie  Close,  daughter 
of  William  and  Lucretia  Close.  To 
them  were  horn  two  children,  both  ot 
whom  are  dead.  Mrs.  White  died  in 
I860,  and  in  1870  he  was  again  married 
to  Eliza  Close,  a  sister  of  his  first  wife. 
He  and  his  wife  were  both  born  on  the 
farm  he  now  owns.  By  this  marriage 
there  are  two  children — Tliirza  and 
Minnie.  In  the  fall  of  1883,  he,  with 
some  others,  took  a  trip  to  Black  river, 
on  a  hunting  expedition.  They  hired  a 
steamer  and  went  down  the  river  and 
staid  two  weeks,  during  which  time 
they  killed  eight  deer,  and  a  number  of 
ducks,  turkeys  and  squirrels.  They  re- 
turned home  feeling  refreshed,  and  with 
many  pleasant  recollections  of  the  good 
time  they  had  spent. 

Charles  P.  Gano,  a  native  of  Berkeley 
county.  Va.,  (now  West  Virginia)  and 
wa-  born  May  25,  1832.  He  was  a  son 
of  John  L.  and  Mary  ( Hartsook  i  Gano, 
natives  of  Virginia.  In  1840,  he.  with 
his  parents,  came  to  Greenfield,  Greene 
county,  111.,  where  they  staid  one  win- 
ter. They  came  through  with  a  four- 
horse  wagon,  being  on  the  road  several 
weeks.  In  the  spring  of  1841,  they 
moved  to  what  is  now  Kane  township, 
locating  on  Sec.  6,  T.  9,   R.   11,   where 


John  L.  bought  160  acres  of  land.  He 
lived  there  until  1858,  when  he  sold  OU 
and  removed  to  Henry  county,  Mo., 
and  there  bought  1,200  acres  of  land, 
where  be  remained  until  his  death,  in 
Feb.,  1883.  His  wife  .lied  in  1880. 
Charles  F.  started  out  for  himself  at  the 
age  of  22,  first  renting  land  of  his 
father;  but  in  the  course  of  a  year  or 
so,  bought  160  acres  of  land  in  Kane 
township,  and  has  since  lived  on  it.  He 
moved  there  in  March,  1855.  He  now 
owns  320  acres  on  section  2,  in  Kane 
township,  20  acres  in  Benton  county, 
and  KK)  acres  in  St.  Clair  county,  Mo. 
His  residence,  with  its  convenient  and 
pleasant  surroundings,  show  that  lie  i~ 
a  man  of  vim.  thrift  and  intelligence. 
He  was  married  March  8,  1855,  to  Caro- 
line Hoffman,  daughter  of  William  and 
Margaret  (Goforth)  Hoffman.  They 
are  the  parents  of  10  children,  seven  of 
whom  are  living — John  W.,  married 
Susan  F.  Foley,  ami  resides  in  Kane 
township;  Maggie  lb.  wife  of  John  0. 
Carter,  Jr.,  residing  in  Carrollton  town- 
ship; Mary  -T.,  wife  of  George  Carter, 
of  Carrollton  township:  Freddie  V., 
Avery  W.,  Emma  C,  and  Leonard. 
Those  deceased,  an — Charles  F.,  Alva 
W.  and  Arthur.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Gano 
are  members  of  the  baptist  church. 
Mr.  Gano  has  held  tin-  office  of  school 
director  for  about  15  years,  and  is  now 
bedding  the  office  of  township  trustee. 
He  is  one  of  the  leading  and  influential 
men  of  his  township. 

George  Cole  was  born  in  Greene 
county,  Ky.,  April,  3,  1840,  and  isasoii 
of  William  and  Mary  (Bolin)  Cede,  na- 
tives of  Kentucky.  His  father  died  in 
Keokuk  county,  la.,  in  1*44.  The  fam- 
ily came  to  Greene  county  in  1845,    and 


7!  18 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  ('01  NTY. 


located  on  Lorton's  Prairie,  where  they 
remained  about  12  years.  In  1857,  they 
moved  to  Jersey  county,  near  Delhi, 
where  George  farmed   until  1868.     His 

mother  died  there  in  the  year  1855,  and 
after  her  death  the  children  scattered 
here  and  there,  to  do  for  themselves. 
On  the  10th  of  Aug.,  1869,  George  was 
married  to  Louisa  Switle,  daughter  of 
William  and  Elizabeth  Switle.  By  this 
union  there  were  three  children — Levi, 
Lilian  and  Rosa  L.  In  the  year  1875, 
his  wife  died,  and  in  the  year  1876,  he 
was  again  married  to  Millie  Ann  Shaw. 
By  this  marriage  there  was  one  child — 
Millie  A.  In  1S77  he  was  called  to 
mourn  the  loss  of  his  second  wife.  He 
was  married  the  third  time  in  1879,  to 
Maria  Morris.  They  are  the  parents  of 
one  child — William.  Mrs.  Cole  has 
three  children  by  a  former  marriage — 
Mary,  Freeman  and  Rosa.  Mr.  Cole 
owns  120  acres  of  land  on  section  26,  in 
this  township,  and  is  an  industrious 
farmer.  In  politics  he  is  an  independ- 
ent. 

Richard  C.  Waddle  was  born  in  Jer- 
sey county,  May  19,  1842.  His  parents 
were  William  G.  (deceased)  and  Susan 
C.  (Fuller)  Waddle,  his  father  being  a 
native  of  Mississippi,  his  mother  of 
North  Carolina.  When  William  P.  was 
one  year  old,  his  parents  came  to  Illi- 
nois, and  located  in  Madison  county, 
where  they  resided  a  number  of  years. 
He  then  removed  to  Jersey  cojjnty,  and 
located  at  what  is  now  Newbcrn,  remain- 
ing there  until  1848.  In  that  year  Wm. 
G.  moved  to  Greene  county,  to  what  is 
now  New  Kane,  and  there  bought  40 
acres  of  land,  on  which  he  lived  for 
two  years.  He  then  sold  and  moved  to 
Jersey    count}',  there    buying  80  acres 


of  land  on  section  33,  where  he 
lived  until  his  death,  which  occurred  in 
1872.  His  mother  is  still  living,  and 
resides  with  her  son  Richard,  the  sub- 
ject of  this  sketch.  His  early  life  was 
spent  on  his  father's  farm,  he  remaining 
there  until  his  death.  Dec.  19,  1866,  he 
was  married  to  Martha  M.  Snell,  daugh- 
ter of  Dr.  Asa  and  Priscilla  Emeline 
(Landon  )  Snell.  They  are  the  parents 
of  lour  children:  James  H.,  Gussie  L., 
Susan  E.  and  Charles  E.  Mr.  Waddle 
owns  310  acres  of  land,  110  of  which  lies 
in  Jersey  county,  and  200  on  section  33, 
this  township  and  county.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Waddle  are  members  of  the  M.  E. 
church  of  Kane.  Mr.  Waddle  has  been 
an  industrious  farmer,  and  thus  lias  laid 
by  enough  to  ensure  him  a  comfortable 
life  as  long  as  he  lives. 

Joseph  Dressel,  a  native  of  Germany, 
was  born  on  the  19th  of  March,  1S43, 
his  parents  being  Fiadel  and  Sophia 
Dressel,  natives  of  Germany.  In  1853, 
he  with  his  parents  bade  farewell  to 
their  fatherland  and  took  passage  at 
Havre  on  a  sailing  vessel  hound  for 
New  Orleans.  On  arriving  there,  they 
sailed  up  the  river  to  St.  Louis,  where 
they  remained  three  years.  His  father 
was  a  stone-cutter  by  trade,  and  worked 
at  it  while  in  St.  Louis,  and  after  that 
time  he  came  to  Greene  county,  111., 
locating  on  Link's  branch,  and  working 
on  the  railroad  a  short  time.  Joseph's 
father,  mother  and  two  sisters  die  I  in 
St.  Louis.  Joseph  remained  in  that 
city  awhile  after  his  father  left,  and 
then  followed  him  to  Greene  county, 
where  he  worked  around  for  two  or 
three  years.  In  1861,  he  went  to  Old 
Kane  and  worked  in  the  flouring  mill 
two   years.      He    then    bought    a    steam 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


799 


thresher,  the  first  that  was  brought  into 
Kane  township,  and  has  since  engaged 
in  threshing,  during  the  season.  He 
came  to  Greene  county  without  a  dollar, 
but  by  keen  judgment,  integrity  and 
attending  strictly  to  business,  he  has 
accumulated  a  small  fortune,  owning 
P>2  acres  of  well  cultivated  land  on  sec- 
tion .'Hi,  and  a  tine  resilience  in  Old 
Kane,  which  was  built  at  a  cost  of 
about  84,0!>0.  Not  many  have  bail  to 
toil  as  Mr.  Dressel  has, to  make  a  start 
in  life.  In  the  month  of  Dec,  1865,  be 
was  united  in  marriage  with  Minerva 
Hudson,  daughter  of  John  H.  and 
Samantha  (Hodge)  Hudson.  This  mar- 
riage has  been  blessed  with  eight  chil- 
dren, seven  of  whom  are  living — Mat- 
tie,  Jessie,  Freddie,  John,  Addie,  Wal- 
ter and  Warren,  the  last  two  being 
twins.  The  one  deceased  is  George, 
who  died  in  1S74.  Mr.  Dressel  is  a 
member  of  King  Solomon's  lodge,  No. 
197,  of  Kane,  and  of  chapter  No.  77,  of 
Carrollton,  and  of  Hugh  de  Payen's 
commandery,  No.  29,  all  of  the  A.  F. 
and  A.  M.  In  polities  he  is  a  democrat. 
Mr.  Dressel  lias  by  honesty  and  integ- 
rity won  the  estimation  of  all  wdio  know 
him  or  have  had  any  dealings  with  him. 
Henry  Curtius  was  born  in  Greene 
county,  111.,  on  Feb.  6,  1858,  his  parents 
being  Luman  and  Fallen  R.  (Beeby)  Cur- 
tius. His  father  was  a  native  of  New 
York  and  his  mother  of  the  state  of  New 
York.  They  came  to  Greene  county  in 
the  fall  of  1844,  and  located  one  mile 
east  of  Carrollton,  where  Mr.  Curtius 
bought  800  acres  of  land  on  which  he 
has  since  resided.  He  has  been  a  suc- 
cessful farmer  and  ranks  among  the  best 
of  them.  Our  subject,  Henry,  was 
reared  on  the  farm  of  his  parents,  where 


he  remained  until  he  was  22  years  of 
age.  In  the  year  J881  lie  bought  the 
place  where  he  now  resides,  consisting 
of  120  acres  of  land  on  section  17,  Kane 
township.  He  has  been  twice  married, 
first  on  the  17th  of  March,  lsso,  to 
Minnie  A.  Landis,  daughter  of  Win.  II. 
and  Mary  Landis.  By  this  marriage 
there  was  one  child — Nellie  M.  On  the 
30th  of  March,  1882,  his  wife  died.  He 
was  again  married  on  the  3d  of  April, 
1884,  to  Lois  Lee.  daughter  of  John  M. 
and  Mary  Lee.  Politically,  Mr.  Curtius 
is  a  republican,  and  is  an  industrious 
and  intelligent  citizen. 

Rowland  B.  Huitt  was  born  in  Greene 
county,  on  the  4th  of  May,  1822,  hence 
is  annmg  the  oldest  residents  in  this 
county.  His  parents  were  John  W.  and 
Rosanna  (Harriford)  Huitt,  his  father 
being  a  native  of  Franklin  county,  Ga., 
and  his  mother  of  Tennessee.  They 
came  from  Georgia,  and  located  in  what 
is  now  Jersey  county,  Ruyle  township, 
in  1818,  and  John  W.,  with  his  brother 
Hiram,  entered  a  half  section  of  land 
where  he  remained  until  1823.  In  the 
spring  of  that  year  he  purchased  80 
acres  of  land  in  Linder  township,  on 
which  he  removed  and  remained  until 
1878,  when  he  removed  to  Carrollton, 
where  he  lived  until  his  death,  Oct.,  22, 
1882,  be  having  survived  his  wife  a  few 
years.  She  died  on  the  21st  of  April 
1880.  Rowland  spent  his  youth  on  the 
farm,  working  for  his  parents  until  he 
was  24  years  of  age.  He  then  com- 
menced in  life  for  himself,  and  farmed 
two  years  on  his  father's  farm.  In  the 
spring  of  1849,  be  removed  to  Kane 
township,  and  located  on  section  25, 
where  he  still  resides.  Mr.  Huitt  was 
married  on  the   29th  of  March,    1844,  to 


SI  II I 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


Meddy  A.  Liles,  daughter  of  George  \Y. 
and  Elizabeth  Liles.  They  arc  the 
parents  of  nine  children,  five  of  whom 
are  living — William,  married  Olivia  J. 
O'Fara,  (now  dead)  is  now  in  Kansas; 
Elizabeth  married  Richard  Rains,  and 
resides  in  Kane;  Richard,  married  Sarah 
A.  Jackson;  John  W.,  married  Mary  A. 
Brooks,  resides  in  this  county;  and 
Ella,  at  home.  Those  deceased  are — 
Elizabeth,  Rosanna,  Lillie  L.,  and  one 
who  died  in  infancy.  Mr.  Iluitt  owns 
180  acres  ot'  land  on  which  he  raises 
stuck  and  grain,  and  is  a  successful 
farmer.  He  was  elected  township  trustee 
in  1880,  and  served  four  years.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Huitt  are  members  of  the 
Providence  church. 

John  W.  Hunter,  deceased,  was  born 
in  county  Antrim,  Ireland,  on  the  9th 
of  Feh.,  1824,  being  a  sun  of  John  and 
Catherine  (Wallace)  Hunter,  natives  of 
Ireland.  In  1851  he  bade  farewell  to 
his  fatherland,  and  taking  passage  on  a 
vessel  at  Belfast,  sailed  for  New  York. 
From  there  he  went  to  New  Jersey. 
where  he  remained  two  years.  In  1853, 
he  came  to  Illinois,  locating  near  Jer- 
seyville,  where  he  followed  farming  a 
short  time.  He  rented  land  for  about 
12  years,  and  then  purchased  some.  In 
1867',  he  came  to  Greene  county  and 
purchased  200  acres  of  land,  80  of  which 
lies  in  Jersey  county,  and  the  remainder 
on  section  33,  in  Kane  township,  where 
he  resided  until  his  death,  which  oc- 
enred  on  the  20th  of  Feh.,  1882.  He 
was  twice  married;  first  to  .lane  Robb, 
daughter  of  .lames  and  Esther  Robb,  on 
the  14th  of  Nov..  1848.  By  this  union 
they  had  eight  children,  six  of  whom 
are  living— Sarah,  married  Frank  E. 
Brown,  resides  in  Kane;  James,  married 


Allie  D.  Davis,  resides  in  Carlinville; 
William  A.;  Albert  E.,  deceased;  mar- 
ried Martha  J.  Allen,  who  resides  in 
this  county;  Thomas,  Sophronia  A., 
wife  of  William  Fitzgerald,  resides  in 
Sumner  county,  Kan.;  Charles  W.  and  a 
child  who  died  in  infancy.  Mrs.  Hun- 
ter died  Jan.  5,  1867,  and  Mr.  Hunter 
was  again  married,  June  18,  1868,  to 
Matilda  J.  Crone.  By  this  union  they 
had  eight  children,  five  of  whom  are 
living.  They  are— John,  Mary,  Harry, 
Julia  and  Mabel.  Those  deceased  are — 
Jessie,  and  two  who  died  in  infancy. 
Mrs.  Hunter  now  owns  130  acres  of 
land,  and  the  farm  is  managed  by  Win. 
Hunter,  her  step-son.  Mrs.  Hunter 
and  family  are  members  of  the  M.  F. 
church. 

John  G.  Weller,  a  native  of  Wurtem- 
burg,  Germany,  was  horn  on  the  30th  of 
May,  1834.  lie  was  a  son  of  Christo- 
pher and  Catharine  Weller,  natives  of 
Germany.  His  father  was  a  farmer  and 
followed  that  occupation  in  the  old 
country.  In  June,  1853,  after  bidding 
farewell  to  country  and  friends,  lie  took 
passage  at  Bremen  and  sailed  to  New 
York.  On  arriving  there  he  went  to 
New  Jersey,  and  after  working  on  a  farm 
four  years,  he  left  that  state  and  came 
to  Illinois,  where  he  worked  on  a  farm 
two  years  in  Jersey  county.  In  1859 he 
came  to  Greene  county  and  settled  on 
section  35,  where  he  farmed  for  six 
years,  and  then  removed  to  another  por- 
tion of  the  same  section,  where  hi'  had 
bought  20  acres  of  land.  He  built  a 
house  on  it,  but  only  remained  there 
one  year,  then  removed  to  the  Good- 
man farm  and  lived  there  nine  years. 
He  then  bought  120  acres  of  land  on  Sec. 
34,  T.  II.  II.  12,  to  which  he  moved    and 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


801 


has  since  remained.  On  Nov;  9,  1862, 
he  was  united  in  marriage  with  Matilda 
Foster,  daughterof  Mrs  Matilda  Poster. 
They  are  the  parents  of  Bix  children. 
Bve  of  whom  are  living — John  F..  Wil- 
liam B.,  Edward  E.,  Katie  and  Delia  A. 
The  one  deceased  is  Christie.  Mr. 
Weller's  farm  now  contains  129  acres  of 
land,  and  he  lias  procured  this  by  indus- 
try and  enterprise. 

John  L.  Bray  was  born  in  Jersey 
county,  Illinois,  April  26,  1848,  his 
parents  being  Ira  and  Mary  (White) 
Bray,  his  father  a  native  of  North  Caro- 
lina, and  his  mother  of  Illinois.  His 
father  came  to  Jersey  county  at  a  very 
early  day,  and  located  near  Grafton, 
where  he  lived  for  several  years.  He 
then  moved  into  Otterville  precinct, 
where  he  resided  until  his  death,  which 
occurred  in  the  year  1851,  when  that 
dreadful  disease,  cholera,  was  raging, 
and  with  which  he  was  carried  off.  His 
wife  survived  him  until  the  fall  of  I860, 
when  she  too  was  laid  to  rest.  John  L. 
remained  with  his  parents  during  (heir 
lifetime,  being  left  an  orphan  when 
only  in  years  of  age.  His  grandmother 
then  took  him  to  raise,  and  with  her  he 
lived  two  years.  Hethencameto  Greene 
county,  and  lived  with  his  uncle,  Jesse 
White,  for  four  years,  when  he  began 
working  around,  and  continued  so  doing 
until  he  was  married.  In  ls?4.  he  began 
to  learn  the  plasterer's  trade,  and 
worked  at  it  four  years.  On  the  26th 
of  Nov.,  1876,  he  was  married  to  Sarah 
F.  Stamps,  daughter  of  Thomas  and 
Ellen  (Lapiere)  Stamps.  Mr.  Bray 
farms  to  some  extent,  hut  works  most 
of  the  time  at  his  trade,  plastering  and 
brick  masonry,  and  is  a  good  workman. 
In  politics,  he  is  a  republican. 


Thomas  S.  Parker  was  horn  in  Hamp- 
shire county,  W.  \'a.,  on  the  28th  of 
Feh.,  1837,  his  parents  being  Jacob  W. 
ami  Mary, (Ludwig)  Parker,  natives  of 
West  Virginia.  His  father  was  horn  in 
June.  1801,  and  his  mother  in  May.  of 
the  same  year,  and  they  were  married 
in  1824,  in  their  native  state,  and  re- 
mained there  until  1837.  In  the  fall  Of 
that  year  they  came  to  Greene  county 
and  located  on  Sec.  11.  T.  'J,  R.  12, 
where  they  lived  seven  years.  They 
then  moved  on  to  the  west  half  of  the 
southeast  quarter  of  section  14,  which 
they  rented  for  seven  years,  after  which 
time  they  purchased  the  same,  contain- 
ing 80  acres,  and  Jacob  lived  on  this 
until  his  death,  July  26,  1871.  He  lived 
in  this  county  14  years  before  he  owned 
any  real  estate.  At  the  time  of  his 
death  he  owned  Pill  acres.  When  .they 
left  Virginia  they  went  over  the  moun- 
tains to  Wheeling,  in  wagons,  and  from 
there  by  water  to  St.  Louis,  thence  to 
Columbia,  where  they  landed.  Thomas 
S..  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  remained 
with  his  parents  on  the  farm  during 
their  lifetime,  and  afterwards  took 
charge  of  the  homestead  and  made  his 
home  there  until  1883.  In  1S74,  Mr. 
Parker,  who  had  been  farming  and  deal- 
ing in  stock  up  to  that  time,  had  a  pub- 
lic <ah  and  disposed  of  all  his  personal 
property,  after  which  he  went  to  St. 
Funis  and  joined  the  firm  of  M.  C. 
Thompson  &  Co.,  dealing  in  live  stock 
at  the  stock  yards.  After  being  there 
about  seven  months,  he  became  dissat- 
isfied, dissolved  partnership,  and  made 
a  trip  to  the  old  homestead  in  Virginia. 
From  there  he  came  home,  staid  a  short 
time,  and  then  went  to  Kansas,  where 
he  had  taken  a  claim  of  Pin  acres.      He 


81 12 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


remained  there  during  the  years  of  1875 
and  1876,  and  bought  1,200  acres  of  land 
on  which  hecommenced  improvements. 
In  1877,  lie  returned  home,  and  shortly 
afterward  sold  and  traded  off  all  the 
Kansas  land.  He  now  owns  about  1,200 
acres  dt'  land,  all  in  Greene  county.  lie 
was  married  on  the  10th  of  March,  1878, 
to  Lydia  Gilleland,  daughter  of  Robert 
and  Lucy  Gilleland.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Parker  are  the  parents  of  three  children 
—Susan,  Mary  E.  and  Ruth.  Mr.  Par- 
ker is  a  member  of  the  A.  F.  it  A.  M. 
lodge,  at  Kane,  and  is,  in  politics,  a 
democrat.  He  is  one  of  the  wealthiest 
and  most  prominent  men  in  the  county, 
and  is  noted  for  his  enterprise  and  in- 
tegrity. 

Flias  Greene,  another  representative 
of  that  family  who  were  among  the 
earliest  settlers  in  Greene  county,  was 
horn  in  this  county,  on  the  25tb  of 
March,  1831.  He  is  a  son  of  John  and 
Nancy  (Mains)  Greene,  his  father  a  na- 
tive of  Kentucky, his  mother  of  Georgia. 
A  sketch  of  them  will  be  seen  in  another 
part  of  the  history,  so  that  more  will 
not  he  said  of  them  here.  Elias  Greene 
remained  on  the  farm  with  his  parents 
during  their  lifetime.  In  the  year  1860, 
he  started  out  in  life  for  himself,  and 
moved  on  to  65  acres  of  land  which  he 
had  been  left  heir  to.  On  this  he  erected 
a  comfortable  two-story  frame  residence 
in  which  he  has  since  lived.  He  has 
been  a  successful  farmer,  and  lias  added 
200  acres  to  his  original  farm,  thus  giv- 
ing him  a  nice  farm  of  265  acres.  On 
the  1st  of  April,  1860,  he  was  united  in 
marriage  with  Olive  Enslow,  daughter 
of  Abraham  and  Julia  F.  Enslow.  By 
this  union  five  children  were  horn,  four 
of   whom    are    now    living — Jennie    B., 


Dudley  E.,  Foster  P.  and  Julia  B.  The 
one  deceased  was  Edward  A.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Greene  are  members  of  the  M.  1]. 
church.  The  improvements  on  his 
place,  and  the  pleasant  surroundings 
show  him  to  be  a  man  of  thrift  and  in- 
telligence. Politically  he  is  a  democrat. 
James  E.  Brooks,  a  native  of  Lanca- 
shire, Eng.j  was  born  March  14,  ISl'S. 
His  parents  were  William  and  Mary  A. 
(Wagstaff)  Brooks,  natives  of  England. 
They  emigrated  from  their  native  coun- 
try to  America,  stopping  at  Patterson, 
N.  J.,  for  a  short  time,  and  then  went 
to  Mannsville,  R.  I.,  where  five  of  the 
family  worked  in  the  cotton  mills, 
William,  the  father,  Sarah,  Robert, 
James    E.    and    Charles.       In   the   year 

1844,  his  parents  moved  to  Illinois,  lo- 
cating in  (ireene  county,  on  Sec.  33,  T. 
9,  R.  11,  where  his  father  bought  80 
acres  of  land,  to  which  he  afterward 
added  210  acres,  and  resided  there 
until  his  death,  in  1869.  James  F.  fol- 
lowed the  occupation  of  farming  after 
coming  to  Greene  county,  which  was  in 

1845,  having  bought  40  acres  of  land  to 
start  with,  on  section  33,  in  this  town- 
ship. This  he  cultivated  one  year,  and 
then  bought  60  more  on  the  same  sec- 
tion, where  he  moved,  and  has  since 
continued  to  reside,  having  added  to 
his  farm  so  acres  more,  thus  having  ISO 
acres  all  in  one  tract.  On  the  8th  of 
Dec,  1853,  he  was  married  to  Anna 
Davis,  daughter  of  James  and  Elizabeth 
Davis.  They  have  had  eight  children 
born  to  them,  six  of  whom  are  living — 
Mary  A.,  wife  of  Frank  L.  Felter,  mer- 
chant and  resident  of  Kane;  Harriet  E., 
wife  of  Charles  V.  Perrine,  of  Jersey 
county;  George  H.,  married  to  Ida  J. 
Morris,     residing   in    Kane;     Sarah    1!., 


HISTORY  <>F  GREENE  COUNTY. 


- 


of  Win.  Cockrell,  residing  in 
Greenwood  county,  Kan.:  Charles  W.. 
and  Laura  A.  The  ones  deceased  were 
Clara  J.  and  Katie.  Mr  ami  Mr-. 
-  are  members  of  tin  Baptist 
church.  He  is  also  a  member  of  the 
A.  F.  &  A.  M.  lodge,  of  Kane  Mr. 
Brooks  has,  by  his  thrift  ami  energy, 
secured  fur  himself  a  comfortable  home. 
John  McKabney,  a  native  of  Ty- 
rone. Ireland,  was  born  March  17.  ls'_'^. 
his  parents  being  Jan.es  and  Ri 
(Sprole)  McKabney,  natives  of  Ireland. 
His  father  was  a  linen  weaver  by  trade, 
and  made  the  finest  that  was  used  in 
making  up  articles  of  clothing,  etc.  In 
1851,  John  bade  farewell  to  the  Emerald 
nd  took  ]  assage  on  a  vessel,  at 
Londonderry,  sailing  for  America.  He 
arrived  at  Philadelphia,  and  remained 
about  live  years,  following  farming.  In 
the  summer  of  1857,  he  came  to  Greene 
county.  111.,  and  worked  for  Samuel 
Armstrong  about  two  years,  for  Richard 
Lowe,  about  three  years,  for  Robert 
Brooks,  eight  months,  and  the  i 
that  season,  for  himself.  In  1861,  he 
went  to  work  for  Curtis  Brace,  where  he 
remained  until  Am_r..  1862,  when  he  en- 
listed in  Co.  C  l--d  [11.  Inf., and  served 
until  the  close  of  the  war.  He  was  in 
the  battles  of  Parker's  Cross  Roads, 
Tupelo,  Mi--..  Nashville.  Tenn..  and 
Fort  Blakeley,  Ala.  He  was  mustered 
out  at  Mobile,  ami  taken  to  Springfield, 
where  he  was  paid  off  and  discharged. 
Mr.  McKabney  then  came  back  to 
Greene  county,  ami  purchased  65  acres 
of  land  on  section  17,  on  which  he 
moved.  In  ls7s,  he  built  a  large  story 
and  a  half  frame  house,  besides  all  the 
ssary  and  convenient  outbuildings. 
Everything  around  shows  that   he  takes 


pride  in  his  own  and  his  family's  wel- 
fare, and  that,  by  his  thrift  and  enter- 
prisi  .  he  has  made  a  successful  farmer. 
He  came  to  this  country  without  a  dol- 
lar, and  now  he  has  118  acres  of  land  on 
sections  17.  '.'  and  11.  He  lias  been 
twice  married;  the  first  time  to  Mary 
(Hamilton)  Madden,  in  May.  ls7o.  She 
died  in  1*77.  and  in  1880,  lie  was  again 
united  in  marriage,  to  Delia  (Johnsten) 
Greene.  Two  children  have  blessed 
this  union — Samuel  and  Lucy.  Mr. 
McKalnev  is  a  republican  politically, 
and  an  enterprising  citizen  of  this  town- 
ship. 

FIRST  [TEMS. 

The  first    marriage    in    the    township 
was  that  of  William  Stockton  and  Mar- 
garet McFadden,  which  took   pla 
the  4th  of  August.  1821. 

The  first  death  was  that  of  a  man  by 
the  name  of  Frazier.  They  had  to  hew 
out  puncheons  to  make  him  a  coffin. 

The  first  mill  in  the  township  was 
erected  by  Massey  VanMeter,in  1834,  on 
the  Macoupin  creek,  near  the  state  mad 
bridge.     This  mill  cost  $250. 

The  first  wheat  sown  in  Kane  town- 
ship was  committed  to  the  ground  in 
1828.  When  it  was  ripe  it  was  rut  with 
sickles  and  tramped  out  on  a  dirt  floor 
by  horses,  and  fanned  out  with  a  sheet. 

In  1830  William  Massey  built  the  first 
tread-mill  in  the  township.  The  first 
bolt  that  he  used  was  a  piece  of  fine 
domestic  muslin  and  was  turned  by 
hand. 

The  first  Sunday-school  in  the'  town- 
ship was  held  in  the  Woodbury  school- 
house  in  1832.  It  was  conducted  by  ('. 
J .  ( rardiner. 

The  first  religious  services  were  held 
at  Walker  Daniel's  house  on  section  25, 


Ml  I 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


where  Rowland  lluitt  now  lives,  and 
w.i-  conducted  by  the  celebrated  Lorenzo 
Dow,  about  the  year  1828. 

The  first  frame  house  was  built  in 
1828,  by  James  Whitlock,  on  section  20. 

EDUCATIONAL,. 

School  district  No.  1,  lias  a  school 
building  located  near  the  center  of  sec- 
tion 4,  which  was  built  in  1866  at  a  cost 
of  about  $600.  It  is  24x30  feet  in  size. 
The  first  teacher  was  Sidney  Smith. 
Average  attendance  now  is  about  16. 

School  district  No.  2  has  a  school 
house  which  was  erected  in  1871.  It 
was  built  by  George  Burke,  at  a  cost  of 
$750.  The  first  teacher  was  Thomas 
Mclntyre,  and  J.  G.  Weller  the  first 
director.  There  is  an  average  attend- 
ance of  about  25  children. 

School  district  No.  3,  in  T.  9,  R.  11, 
has  a  school  building  on  the  southwest 
quarter  of  section  16.  It  is  a  frame 
structure,  28x30  feet  on  the  ground, 
and  was  erected  in  1872,,  at  a  cost  of 
about  S700.  Annie  Parker  taught  the 
first  term  of  school  in  this  house.  Lulu 
Pope  is  the  present  teacher. 

In  school  district  No.  3,  in  T.  9,  R. 
12,  there  is  a  school  house  which  was 
built  in  1838,  for  a  Methodist  church, 
and  was  used  for  that  purpose  for  many 
years.  It  was  quite  a  number  of  years 
after  this  before  there  was  any  school  in 
the  district.  In  1862,  this  house  was  re- 
modeled and  leased  by  the  school  direc- 
tors for  30  years,  and  it  is  now  used  for 
both  school  and  church  purposes.  The 
average  attciidenec  is  about  65  scholars. 
It  is  situated  on  the  southeast  quarter 
of  section  22.  The  present  teacher  is  a 
Mr.  Shirley. 

District  No.    4,    has  a   school  house 


which  was  erected  in  1861,  at  a  cost  of 
S1.20O.  John  McMahan  was  the  first 
teacher  in  this  building.  It  is,  in  size, 
26x34  feet,  and  is  located  on  the  east 
half  of  the  southwesl  quarter  of  Sec.  2, 
in  T.  9,  R.  12.  Average  attendance 
about  35. 

CEMETEBIES. 

Kane  cemetery  was  established  in 
1851.  The  first  burial  thene  was  that  of 
Mrs.  Cyrus  Lake. 

Jalappa  cemetery  was  laid  out  at  a 
later  date;  the  first  burial  was  that  of 
Mathew  Mains. 

Pisgah  cemetery  was  laid  out  in  1873, 
on  the  southwest  quarter  of  Sec.  3,  T. 
9,  1!.  11.  It  is,  also,  known  as  Stevens 
cemetery.  The  first  burial  was  that  of 
an  infant  daughter  of  Elijah  Brown. 

CONWAYSVII+LE. 

This  place  took  its  name  from  Daniel 
Con  way ,  who  started  a  grocery  and  liquor 
store,  about  1865,  at  this  point.  It  was 
from  this,  called  Conwaysville.  He 
ran  this  store  until  1S77,  when  he  sold 
out  to  Cornelius  McNerny,  who  opera- 
ted in  until  four  years  later,  when  he 
was  killed  by  a  cow.  Michael  McNerny 
then  was  the  proprietor  for  three  years, 
when  it  was  closed  up,  and  no  business 
has  been  done  since.  There  was  also  a 
blacksmith  shop  run  here  for  about 
eight  years,  which  was  owned  by  Dan- 
iel Conway.  The  Empire  mill  is  loca- 
ted here. 

The  Empire  mill,  one  of  the  oldest  m 
the  county,  was  built  in  1845,by  Massey 
YanMetcr,who  ran  it  for  about  10  years, 
when  he  disposed  of  it  to  Thomas  Rat- 
tan. This  gentleman  operated  it  for 
some  time,  and  then  sold  it  to  Hugh 
Jackson  and  John   King.      It  then  be- 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


81 1.3 


came  the  property  of  Jacob  Ersman, 
who  ran  it  about  in  years.  He  was  suc- 
ceeded by  W.  H.  Stanton,  who  kept  it 
about  three  years,  when  John  T.  Briggs 
and  Frank  Freeh  bought  it,  and  are  the 
present  owners.  They  took  bold  of  the 
institution  in  March,  1885.  At  first  it 
was  known  as  the  VanMeter  mill,  later 
as  the  United  States,  but  on  coming  in- 
to the  possession  of  the  present  owners 
they  changed  the  name  to  that  of  Em- 
pire mill.  It  is  a  water-mill,  and  here- 
tofore made  flour  by  the  old  process, 
but  the  new  firm  are  putting  in  the  roller 
system.  They  use  one  double  set  of 
Allis  &  Craig's  noiseless  roll, one  double 
set  of  Todd  &  Stanley  rolls,  one  single 
set  Dunton  rolls,  two  new  scalpers,  two 
smutters.  This, besides  the  old  machin- 
ery.makes  this  one  of  the  best  equipped 
mills  in  the  county.  It  has  a  capacity 
of  30  barrels  per  clay.  It  is  located  on 
Macoupin  creek,  at  what  is  called  Con- 
waysville.  This  bids  fair  to  be  one  of 
the  leading  institutions  ofthe  county. 

Frank  Freeh  was  born  on  the  27th  of 
Sept.,  L857,  in  Belleville,  St.  Clair 
county,  111.  His  parents  were  Jacob 
and  Catherine  (Reddish)  Freeh,  natives 
of  Europe.  In  1850,  his  father  bade 
farewell  to  his  native  land,  and  sailed 
from  Europe, landing  at  St.  Louis,  where 
he  remained  about  14  years.  He  was  a 
shoemaker,  and  followed  that  trade 
while  in  St.  Louis.  From  there  he 
moved  to  St.  Clair  county,  where  he  re- 
mained about  one  year,  and  then,  in 
1865,  came  to  Greene  county,  and  lo- 
cated at  what  is  known  as  Jalappa,  on 
the  Macoupin  creek.  There  he  bought 
150  acres  of  land,  and  has  since  resided 
on  it,  following  the  occupation  of  farm- 
ing. The  first  four  years  of  our  subject's 


life  were  spent  in  the  city  of  St.  Louis, 
when  he  moved  from  there  with  his  par- 
ents, and  remained  with  them  until  he 
was  22  years  of  age.  He  then  went  to 
Belleville, where  he  learned  themiller's 
trade, with  the  firm  of  F.  A.  Bice  &Co., 
serving  three  years.  From  there  he 
went  to  Kane,  Greene  county,  and 
worked  for  the  Yaeger  firm  one  year,  and 
while  there  had  two  fingers  and  a  thumb 
taken  off, which  disabled  him  for  several 
months.  In  March,  1885,he,with  John 
T.  Briggs,  purchased  the  flouring  mill 
ofW.  H.  Stanton,  on  the  Macoupin 
creek,  about  five  miles  south  of  Carroll- 
ton,  and  is  now  running  the  same.  The 
firm  of  Briggs  &  Freeh  owns  20  acres  of 
land  connected  with  their  mill.  On  (he 
15th  of  March,  1S83,  he  was  united  in 
marriage  with  Maggie  Stevens, daughter 
of  Clark  and  Elizabeth  Stevens.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Freeh  are  members  ofthe  Baptist 
church.  Politically,  Mr.  Freeh  is  a  re- 
publican. He  is  industrious  and  enter- 
prising, and  is  esteemed  by  all  his  ac- 
quaintances. 

KANE. 

There  have  been  two  places  of  this 
name  in  the  county,  of  which  Old  Kane, 
or  Homer,  as  it  was  once  called,  was 
much  the  older.  This  town  was  laid 
out  on  Sec.  36,  T.  9,  R.  12,  in  1837,  by 
Nathaniel  M.  Perry,  Abraham  B.  Har- 
ris, and  W.  W.  Myrick,  the  plat  of  the 
same  being  filed  for  record  Dee.  14, 
1837.  Also  prominent  in  the  laying  out 
of  the  new  town  were  Z.  H.  Adams  and 
a  Mr.  Brainard.  It  is  not  definitely 
known  who  the  first  settlers  upon  the 
site  of  the  place  were,  but  it  is  generally 
conceded  to  have  been  the  Brainard 
brothers,  for,  when  Z.  H.  Adams  came, 
in  1830,  he  took  up  his  residence  with 


SI  111 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


them.  Soon  after  settling  in  the  incipi- 
ent village,  a  postoffice  was  established, 
with  Mr.  Adams  as  postmaster.  He 
was  succeeded  by  X.  M.  Perry. 

The  first  store  was  opened  by  Zenas 
II.  Adams  in  the  front  room  of  the 
Brainard  Brothers'  dwelling.  He  re- 
tailed drugs,  groceries,  dry  goods,  hard- 
ware, and  all  other  articles  that  go  to 
make  up  the  country  store,  and  con- 
tinued the  same  until  the  store  of  X.  M. 
Perry  was  started,  when  Mr.  Adams 
discontinued  the  business. 

N.  M.  Perry  came  to  Kane  in  the 
early  part  of  1836,  and  in  the  fall  of 
that  year  erected  a  store  building.  In 
the  early  part  of  1837,  he  opened  the 
second  store  in  the  place,  carrying  a 
general  stock,  which  he  prosecuted  vig- 
orously and  successfully  until  1872, 
when  he  discontinued  business  at  this 
place. 

Soon  alter  Mr.  Perry  had  established 
his  business,  Samuel  Pope  opened  a 
blacksmith  shop,  and  the  old  town  rang 
with  the  merry  sound  of  the  hammer  on 
the  anvil.  He  also  kept  weary  travel- 
ers, and  the  stage  made  a  stopping  place 
of  his  house. 

In  1837,  William  Myrick  opened  a 
shop  and  commenced  making  and  re- 
pairing shoes.  The  same  year  two  men 
by  the  name  of  Strong  and  Wyckoff, 
both  deaf  and  dumb,  commenced  tailor- 
ing. 

Dr.  Augustus  Knapp  was  the  first 
physician  to  locate  at  Homer,  as  it  was 
then  called,  and  remained  until  1845. 
Dr.  Luther  Cory  was  the  next  perma- 
nent physician  to  locate  here,  in  1844, 
where  he  remained  until  his  death,. July 
29,  1850. 

The  town  now  commenced   to  grow, 


dwellings  springing  up  all  over  the 
town  site,  and  considerable  trade  was 
done. 

In  1838,  the  Baptists,  as  noted  else- 
where, erected  a  church  edifice,  which 
was  dedicated  and  occupied  by  this  de- 
nomination, until  about  1870. 

In  1856,  a  steam  flouring  mill  was 
erected  by  a  stock  company,  consisting 
of  N.  M.  Perry,  W.  0.  Tolman,  S.  YV. 
Tolman,  (i.  ('.  Richards  and  "Willis  Bar- 
row. The  building  was  built  during 
the  summer  of  that  year,  and  when  fall 
had  come,  Myron  Cory,  the  contractor 
and  builder,  turned  it  over  to  the  own- 
ers. In  1859,  N.  M.  Perry  bought  out 
his  associates,  and  operated  it  alone 
until  186G,  when  it  was  purchased  by 
S.  M.  and  Z.  M.  Titus,  who  enlarged 
the  building,  and  placed  in  it  an  amount 
of  new,  improved  machinery.  They 
operated  it  at  its  best  capacity  for  sev- 
eral years.  In  1874,  it  was  sold  to  Jef- 
ferson Bolt  and  John  W.  Finney.  In 
1877,  Mr.  Bolt  purchased  Mr.  Finney's 
interest  and  operated  the  mill  success- 
fully. In  1881,  he  sold  it  to  Alonzo 
Hebron,  who  again  sold  the  same  in 
1882,  to  H.  C.  Stevens.  In  the  same 
year  James  Bothwell  bought  and  owned 
it  until  1883.  In  1884,  C.  J.  Gardiner 
became  a  purchaser,  and  in  the  fall  of 
1885,  it  was  purchased  by  some  St. 
Louis  parties.  The  building  is  in  a 
good  state  of  preservation  for  one  erect- 
ed nearly  30  years;  is  large,  airy  and 
commodious,  in  the  midst  of  as  good  a 
farming  and  wheat  region  as  Illinois 
can  boast  of.  No  other  mill  is  in  the 
place. 

During  the  years  1854  and  '55,  while 
the  preliminary  survey  for  the  railroad 
— now  the  Chicago  &  Alton — was  being 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


807 


made  by  J.  T.  Hunt  and  Charles  Allen- 
dorf,  endeavors  were  made  to  find  a 
practicable  rente  into  and  out  of  the 
town,  but  nothing  like  a  proper  grade 
could  be  found,  and  much,  to  the  regret 
of  the  citizens,  the  line  adopted  ran 
about  a  mile  to  the  east  of  the  place. 
This  sealed  its  doom.  The  road  was 
opened  for  business  from  White  Hall  to 
Godfrey,  .Ian.  1.  1866. 

In  Nov..  1865,  Tobias  Holliday,  who 
owned  a  tract  o(  land  on  Sec.  29,  T.  9, 
R.  11,  which  was  intersected  by  the 
railroad,  laid  out  a  town  on  the  west 
side  of  the  track,  which  was  known  for 
a  time  as  Hollidaysburg.  Some  time  in 
the  summer  of  1866,  Thomas  H.  Boyd, 
a  wealthy  resident  of  Carrollton,  pur- 
chased 20  acres  on  the  east  side  of  the 
railroad,  which  he  laid  out  and  gave 
the  name  of  Kane,  hut  is  now  known  as 
Boyd's  addition  to  Kane.  The  place 
soon  took  the  name  of  its  older  neigh- 
bor. 

John  Greenfield  erected  the  first 
building  in  the  embryo  town,  commenc- 
ing it  in  the  fall  of  1865.  In  Feb.,  1866, 
S.  G.  Gardiner  commenced  building  a 
wood  shed  and  commenced  hauling  the 
material  for  a  dwelling,  but  Greenfield 
had  his  completed  first.  This  historic 
structure  of  Mr.  Greenfield's  is  still 
standing,  a  monument  of  former  days. 
It  has  been  altered  and  added  to  until 
it  is  now  quite  a  large  building,  but 
originally  it  was  only  14x16  feet  in  size. 
It  is  now  owned  by  Elizabeth,  widow  of 
C.  J.  Gardiner,  and  is  rented.  Green- 
field was  an  Englishman  by  birth. 
During  the  Lite  civil  war  he  volunteered 
in  the  service  of  the  United  States  and 
nearly  lost  his  sight.  When  he  came 
back  he  worked  by  the  day.     He  had  a 


wife  and  one  child.  Later,  he  removed 
to  [owa,  where  he  died. 

J.  B.  Enslow  started  the  erection  of 
the  second  permanent  structure  in  the 
town.  This  was  a  store  building,  two 
stories  high,  the  upper  story  being  used 
for  dwelling  purposes,  and  in  it  he  put 
a  stock  of  groceries,  etc.  He  is  still 
running  the  same  store  in  the  same 
building  which  he  has  had  two  additions 
made  to. 

S.  <t.  Gardiner  was  the  next  mer- 
chant of  the  town.  He  opened  a  stock 
of  general  merchandise,  June  1.  1866. 
He  carried  dry  goods,  groceries,  boots, 
shoes,  hats.  caps,  drugs,  medicines,  oil-, 
hardware,  etc.  This  stock  he  closed 
out  in  the  spring  of  1882.  The  build- 
ing was  removed  a  short  distance  north, 
and  two  brick  structures  were  elected 
upon  the  site.  One  is  now  occupied  by 
L.  L.  Roberts,  as  a  grocery  store,  ami 
the  other  by  Frank  McClure,  as  a  hard- 
\\  ;i  re  Btore. 

PRESENT     BUSINESS. 

The  dry  goods  establishment  of  Smith, 
Irwin  &  Culver,  is  one  of  the  largest  in 
this  part  of  the  county.  Its  history  is 
this:  On  the  1st  of  Jan.,  1880,  C.  A. 
Smith,  Robert  Hobson  ami  Mrs.  M.  A. 
Archer  bought  out  the  firm  of  Greene  & 
Smith,  who  had  been  running  the  place 
for  a  time,  and  continued  the  partner- 
ship until  the  death  of  Robert  Hobson, 
in  July,  1882,  when  his  widow  took  bis 
interest,  and  Jeff  Bolt  purchased  the 
interest  of  Mrs.  Archer,  but  the  firm 
continued  under  the  old  name  of  Smith, 
Hobson  &  Co.,  until  Feb.,  1S83,  when 
Mr.  Bolt  retired  from  the  firm.  In  1884 
Mrs.  Hobson  retired  and  a  new  partner- 
ship was  formed,  with  Chas.  S.  Smith. 
James  M.  Irwin  and    Edward  A.  Culver 


808 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


as  its  components,  under  the  name 
above  given.  They  carry  a  stock  rang- 
ing from  $12,000  to  $20,000.  including 
dry  goods,  hoots,  shoes,  notions,  etc. 
The  building  is  owned  by  John  Greene, 
the  former  member  of  the  firm,  but  who 
is  now  engaged  in  the  banking  business, 
at  Raymond,  111.  It  is  24x76  feet  in 
size,  and  well  fitted  up. 

James  M.  Irwin  was  born  in  Mont- 
gomery county,  111.,  on  the  6th  of  April, 
1856,  and  is  a  son  of  Enoch  and  Cath- 
erine (Irwin)  Irwin,  natives  of  North 
Carolina.  They  moved  from  Montgom- 
ery county  to  Madison  county,  ami  there 
his  father  enlisted  in  Co.  1),  59th  111. 
Inf.,  and  was  killed  in  the  last  battle  at 
Nashville,  Tenn.  In  1864  Mrs.  Irwin 
removed  with  her  family  to  Greene 
county,  locating  near  Kane,  where  they 
have  since  resided.  Our  subject,  James 
M.,  was  the  first  of  a  family  of  three 
children.  He  remained  at  home  on  the 
farm  until  he  was  21  years  of  age.  He 
then  attended  school  at  Kane  two  years, 
and  in  the  winter  of  1879,  he  was  em- 
ployed as  clerk  by  the  firm  of  Greene  & 
Smith,  in  the  mercantile  business.  He 
was  thus  employed  until  1884,  when  he 
bought  in,  as  a  member  of  the  firm,  now 
known  as  Smith,  Irwin  &  Culver.  Tak- 
ing into  consideration  the  chances  which 
Mr.  Irwin  has  had,  he  has  made  his 
mark  very  young  in  life,  and  has  so 
conducted  himself  that  he  is  held  in 
the  highest  estimation  by  the  commun- 
ity and  society  in  which  he  moves.  He 
is  a  member  of  Kane  lodge  A.  F.  and  A. 
M.,  and. the  I.  O.  O.  F.  He  attends 
the  M.  E.  church,  of  which  he  is  a 
member. 

Edward  A.  Culver  was  born  in  White 
Hall,  Greene  county,  on  the  12th  of  Oc- 


tober, 1858,  being  a  son  oi  Buel  G.  and 
Anne  E.  (Perry)  Culver.  His  father 
was  born  in  Greene  county,  Illinois,  in 
1S31,  and  his  mother  was  a  native  of 
Kentucky.  Buel,  our  subject's  father, 
was  a  physician.  He  was  raised  in 
White  Hall  and  there  received  his  early 
schooling.  He  then  attended  Rush 
Medical  College,  at  Chicago,  where  he 
finished  his  education.  He  first  prac- 
ticed at  Kane,  then  at  White  Hall,  and 
finally  quit  the  profession  and  went  into 
the  mercantile  business,  which  he  con- 
tinued some  few  years.  In  1878  he  re- 
moved to  Humboldt,  Kansas,  where  he 
now  resides,  and  is  again  practicing 
medicine.  Edward  attended  the  high 
school  at  Greenfield  four  years,  and  re- 
ceived his  diploma  there.  In  1877  he 
was  engaged  in  the  White  Hall  Co-op- 
erative Association,  or  Grange  store,  in 
dry  goods  and  groceries,  where  he 
remained  something  over  two  years. 
On  the  1st  of  January,  1880,  he  com- 
menced clerking  for  the  firm  of  Smith, 
Hobson  &  Co.,  at  Kane,  which  situation 
he  held  until  he  bought  into  the  firm  in 
February,  1884,  and  is  still  a  partner. 
Mr.  Culver  is  a  member  of  the  M.  E. 
church,  and  of  King  Solomon's  lodge, 
No.  197,  A.  F.  and  A.  M.  He  is  one 
of  Kane's  most  enterprising  young  men 
and  hold  a  high  place  in  the  estimation 
of  those  who  know  him,  or  have  had 
any  dealings  with  him. 

Cyrus  Morris,  commenced  the  busi- 
ness of  dealing  in  hardware,  harness, 
etc.,  in  1870,  erecting  the  building  in  the 
winter  of  1869-70,  removing  part  of  it 
from  the  old  town.  He  has  conducted 
the  business  alone  ever  since.  The 
hardware  department  is  24x30  feet  in 
dimensions.     An  L,  20x40  feet   in  size, 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


809 


contains  the  harness  department.  He 
handles  stoves,  tinware,  furniture,  un- 
dertaker's goods,  etc.,  in  addition  to  his 

other  lines.  His  stock  is  valued  at 
about  $4,000. 

Frank  MeClure,  a  prominent  dealer  in 
the  hardware  line,  occupied  a  building 
that  was  erected  in  1881,  by  W.  W.  Fel- 
ter.  This  building  is  24x50  feel  in 
ground  area,  one  story  in  height.  It 
was  first  occupied  by  Felter  &  MeClure 
who  put  in  a  stock  of  hardware,  and  also 
had  a  printing  office  in  the  same  build- 
ing. These  gentlemen  ran  thepaperfor 
about  six  months,  when  they  quit  the 
journal,  but  continued  the  job  depart- 
ment for  two  years  longer.  In  July, 
1883,  Frank  MeClure  and  A.  YV.  Felter, 
dissolved  partnership,  Mr.  MeClure 
purchasing  the  full  stock  of  hardware, 
which  he  is  operating  at  the  present 
time,  in  a  building  erected  by  C.  W. 
Brace,  into  which  he  removed  his  stock 
during  the  summer  of  1885. 

The  pioneer  drug  store  of  Kane  was 
opened  by  Dr.  A.  B.  Allen  in  1869  or 
1870.  He  ran  this  two  or  three  years, 
when  he  removed  his  stock  to  Jersey- 
ville.  In  1871,  F.  S.  Torrey  opened  a 
store  of  this  character  and  continued  it 
for  two  or  three  years,  when  he  sold  out. 
Tie  next  party  to  open  a  drug  store  was 
Hermann  Roesch,  who,  after  about  two 
years,  sold  out  to  Dr.  J.  B.  Hamilton,  in 
1873.  This  gentleman  ran  it  a  short 
time,  when  he  sold  to  John  Robinson. 
He  was  succeeded  by  Dr.  I.  S.  Hughes, 
who  took  in  as  a  partner,  Win.  Enslow, 
and  afterward  sold  to  the  latter  gentle- 
man, in  1878.  In  1879  it  was  sold  out 
and  purchased  by  John  B.  Enslow,  and 
is  now  operated  by  Enslow  &  Enslow. 
They  carry  about  $1,000  worth  of  stock. 


William  C.  Reinecke  started  in  the 
dry  goods  business  in  Kane,  in  1878, 
moving  the  building  now  occupied  by 
him  from  old  Kane  the  same  year.  The 
latter  is  21x40  feet  in  floor  area,  and 
was  erected  in  1838  for  a  Baptist  church. 
He  carries  a  general  stock  of  drugs, 
medicines,  jewelry  and  sewing  ma- 
chines. 

William  C.  Reinecke  was  born  in 
Germany,  June  19,  1853,  his  parents 
being  William  and  Christiana.  Reinecke, 
natives  of  Germany.  His  father  was 
born  in  Germany,  Nov.  8,  IMS,  and 
died  Jan.  12,  1880.  He  was  a  lumber 
dealer  in  the  old  country.  His  mother 
was  born  in  1818,  and  died  April  .",.  1883. 
His  sister,  Sophia,  married  lleinrieh 
Meine,  a  carriage  manufacturer  in 
Koechingen,  Germany.  Our  subject 
received  his  education  in  the  Fniversity 
of  Goettingen,  Germany.  Here  he  re- 
ceived his  diploma,  in  a  medical  course, 
in  1868.  In  the  year  1870,  he  bade  fare- 
well to  his  native  land  and   friends,  and 

took    passage    at    Liver} 1    for     New 

York.  From  there  he  came  to  Quincy, 
111.,  where  he  was  employed  as  a  drug 
clerk  for  the  firm  id'  Brink,  Thieneman 
&  Co.,  and  subsequently  salesman  in  a 
notion  house.  In  the  summer  of  1878, 
he  came  to  Greene  county,  and  located 
at  Kane,  where  he  bought  a  stock  of 
drugs  from  Hermann  Roesch  &  Co.,  to 
which  he  added  a  stock  of  about  $2,000, 
and  started  in  business  for  himself.  On 
Sept.  15,  1877,  he  was  married  to  Emily 
Siegle,  daughter  of  Gottlieb  and  Char- 
lotte Siegle.  They  are  the  parents  of 
two  children — William  S.  and  Charlotte 
C.  In  1881,  Mr.  Reinecke  erected  a 
brick  building  opposite  the  one  he  now 
occupies.     He    formerly    occupied    the 


sin 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  ColXTV. 


brick  building,  but  thinking  the  old 
place  a  better  location,  he  moved  into 
it  in  the  spring  of  1885.  Mr.  Reinecke 
is  an  enterprising  citizen,  and  one  who 
takes  an  interest  in  the  growth  and  de- 
velopment of  his  village.  By  being 
genial,  intelligent  and  industrious,  he 
has  won  the  esteem  of  all  who  know 
him,  and  has  a  large  circle  of  friends. 

F.  L.  F( dteris  engagedin  the  grocery 
business.  Tins  stand  was  established 
in  Kane,  by  David  Thompson,  who  mov- 
ed it  from  the  old  town.  It  was  at  first 
a  dry  goods  store,  but  about  1876,  Wm. 
Hnslow  established  the  grocery  busi- 
ness in  the  building.  He  was  succeed- 
ed by  McGlure  &  Enslow,  who  ran  but 
a  short  time,  when  they  removed  to  a 
building  across  the  street.  Edward 
Hamilton  next  conducted  the  business, 
soon  taking  Charles  D.  Warren  as  part- 
ner, but  the  latter  finally  purchased  the 
interest  of  Mr.  Hamilton,  and  operated 
it  alone.  In  Jan.,  1883,  he  was  succeed- 
ed by  Felter  &  Brooks,  and  one  year 
later,  F.  L.  Felter  became  sole  owner. 
The  building  is  22x50  feet  in  size,  in  the 
main  building,  there  being  an  addition 
nf  22x12  feet  in  size.  The  stock  will  in- 
voice about  $2,000. 

Louis  L.  Roberts  opened  a  grocery 
and  provision  store  in  Kane,  in  April, 
1882,  in  the  building  formerly  occupied 
by  S.  G.  Gardiner  &  Bro.,  Mr.  Roberts 
purchasing  a  portion  of  the  stork  of  the 
latter  firm  on  their  closing  out,  and 
adding  thereto  about  $1,000  more.  He 
carries  a  stock  of  about  $2,500,  and  does 
a  good  business.  His  clerks  are  Thos. 
VV.  Delicate  and  John  Valentine. 

Dr.  Peter  Fenity  commenced  the 
practice  of  medicine  in  Old  Kane,  May 
18,  1857.    Here  he  remained  until  July, 


1866,  when  he  removed  to  the  new- 
town  and  built  one  of  the  first  dwell- 
ing houses  in  that  infant  city,  where  he 
has  remained  in  practice  ever  since.  He 
was,  as  will  be  seen,  the  first  physician 
of  the  place.  An  extended  sketch  of 
this  gentleman  will  be  found  in  the 
Medical  chapter. 

The  first  millinery  establishment  in 
Kane  was  started  by  Mrs.  Mary  Weir. 
It  is  now  owned  by  Mary  Varble,  who 
bought  it  in  1882. 

In  1867,  Peter  and  William  W.  Fel- 
ter erected  a  brick  building,  the  first  in 
the  village.  This  was  35x60  feet  in 
ground  area.  On  the  lower  floor  was  a 
store,  and  the  second  floor  was  fitted  up 
as  a  hall,  and  in  this  was  held  the  first 
religious  services  in  the  burg.  Services 
continued  to  be  held  here  until  the  M. 
E.  church  was  built. 

Jesse  Cockrell  commenced  the  lum- 
ber and  coal  business  in  April,  1883,  in 
connection  with  M.  Cockrell,  of  Jersey- 
ville,  but  in  Oct.,  1883,  the  latter  with- 
drew from  the  firm,  and  the  business 
has  been  under  the  control  of  the  present 
proprietor  ever  since.  He  carries  a  full 
and  complete  assortment  of  all  kinds  of 
lumber,  lime,  cement,  coal,  etc.  The 
business  will  average  not  far  from 
$8,500  per  year. 

Jesse  Cockrell,  a  native  of  Jersey 
county,  was  born  Dec.  26,  1840,  his 
parents  being  Moses  and  Katie  Ann 
(Utt)  Cockrell.  His  father  was  born  in 
Scioto  county,  O.,  was  reared  there,  and 
in  1833  removed  to  Jersey  county, 
locating  in  Mississippi  township.  His 
death  occurred  April  15,  1882.  Mrs. 
Moses  Cockrell  is  living  in  Jerseyville. 
Jesse,  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  spent 
his  youth  in  his  native  county,  and  in 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


si  l 


186J  engaged  in  the  grocery  business  at 
Alton.  In  1862,  like  many  other  young 
men  of  the  county,  he  enlisted  in  the 
Union  service,  selling  out  his  business 
at  Alton.  He  enlisted  in  Co.  K,  97th 
111.  Inf.,  on  the  -20th  of  Aug.  The 
regiment  rendezvoused  at  Camp  Butler, 
near  Springfield,  111.  From  there  they 
went  to  Cincinnati,  and  later  were 
plaeed  in  the  13th  A.  C.  at  Memphis, 
under  General  John  A.  McClernand. 
They  were  in  engagements  at  Chicka- 
saw Bluffs,  Arkansas.  Post,  campaign  at 
Vicksburg,  hurt  Gibson,  Raymond, 
Champion  Hills, Black  River  Bridge, and 
siege  <>l  Vrickshurg.  They  then  went  to 
Jackson,  Miss.,  and  thence  to  New 
Orleans,  where  the  regiment  was  laid 
up  for  nine  months  on  account  of  a  rail- 
road accident,  only  83  men  tiring  left 
for  duty.  After  recruiting  up,  they 
went  to  Morganzia  Bend,  where  they 
were  engaged  in  a  number  of  skirm- 
ishes, thence  around  to  Pensacola,thence 
to  Pollard  and  from  there  to  Fort 
Blakeley.  Mr.  Cockrell  was  accidently 
wounded  at  Young's  Point.  He  was 
mustered  out  at  Galveston,  Tex.,  and 
discharged  at  (.'amp  Butler  Aug.  9,  1865. 
He  then  returned  to  Jersey  county  and 
engaged  in  farming.  In  1883  he  moved 
to  Kane,  and  engaged  in  the  lumber, 
coal  and  grain  business.  He  was  married 
in  Jersey  county  on  the  '27th  of  March, 
1867,  to  Mary  E.  Hamer,  daughter  of 
John  Hamer.  They  have  one  child — 
Stella.  Mrs.  Cockrell  lost  her  eyesight 
from  neuralgia,  in  1S77,  which  was  the 
reason  of  their  quitting  farm  life.  Mr. 
Cockrell  is  quartermaster  of  the  G.  A. 
P.  post  at  Kane,  and  was  one  of  the 
charter  members. 

John    T.    Williams    was    the    first  to 


build  the  necessary  warehouse  to  carry 
on  the  grain  trade,  which  he  did  shortly 
after  the  advent  of  the  railroad  here. 
In  size  this  structure  is  35x50  feet,  and 
has  the  capacity  of  holding  nearly 
10,000  bushels.  About  that  time  Mr. 
Williams  handled  a  great  deal  of  _ 
butinl880  discontinued  it,  renting  the 
warehouse  to  Jesse  Cockrell,  who  kept 
it  one  year.  Then  1).  A.  Thompson 
rented  it  and  ran  it  for  a  season,  to  be 
slice,  <  ded  by  Joseph  Went.  He  ran  it 
a  season  and  then  it  was  rented  by  II. 
('.  Veager,  of  the  mill,  and  after  his 
departure,  Mr.  Williams  again  took  it, 
hut  has  been  doing  hut  little  lately,  on 
account  of  the  shortage  in  the  wheat 
crop. 

John  T.  Williams,  a  native  of  Bot<  - 
tourt  county.  Va.,  was  horn  on  the  11th 
day  of  Fell.,  1811,  and  was  a.  son  of 
John  and  Elizabeth  (Rock)  Williams. 
His  mother  was  a  member  of  the  Rid- 
dlebarger  family,  was  of  German  de- 
scent, and  a  native  of  Pennsylvania. 
His  father  was  a  native  of  Virginia 
was  of  Welsh  descent.  He  engaged  in 
farming.  About  the  year  1873,  he  died 
at  the  age  of  85.  His  mother  died  five 
years  later,  at  the  age  of  90.  In  L833 
John  T.  left  Virginia  and  came  to  In- 
dianapolis, and  there  workedat  the  car- 
penter trade  a  year,  when  he  returned 
to  Virginia,  and  after  a  short  stay  came 
to  St.  Louis.  lie  was  engaged  in  the 
lumber  business  there,  about  one  year, 
and  then  took  a  situation  in  a  dry 
stoic,  for  a  year.  lie  then  built  a  mill 
on  Macoupin  creek  near  Wagoner's  ford, 
close  to  the  iron  bridge,  and  then'  con- 
tinued in  business  until  1844,  when  the 
high  water  destroyed  the  mill-dam  and 
all    the    improvements    which   he   had 


812 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


made  on  bis  farm  adjoining.  He  then 
came  to  what  is  now  Kane  township  and 
has  since  resided  here.  He  built  a 
handsome  residence  on  his  place  in  1869, 
and  since  that  year  has  been  engaged  in 
farming  and  stock-raising  principally, 
and  in  the  grain  business,  he  being  the 
first  grain  dealer  in  Kane.  In  Nov.,  1836, 
he  was  married  to  Margaret  Williams,  a 
daughter  of  Lewis  Williams,  and  a  na- 
tive of  Pickaway  county,  0.  Her  pa- 
rents were  natives  of  Delaware.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Williams  are  the  parents  of 
nine  children — Elizabeth  Jane,  wife  of 
H.  W.  Manning,  who  died  when  re- 
turning from  the  war,  is  now  deceased; 
Annie  M.,  wife  of  Elisha  W.  Page,  re- 
siding at  Girard,  Macoupin  county; 
Rachel  Harriet,  deceased,  aged  13; 
Sarah  Virginia,  deceased,  aged  nine ; 
Lewis  P.,  married  Melissa  Morris,  liv- 
ing near  Wellington,  Kan.;  Henrietta 
Catherine,  wife  of  John  S.  Anderson,  of 
Greene  county;  Mary  Isabel,  wife  of 
John  D.  Anderson,  of  Greene  county; 
Margaret  Eliza,  and  Clara  H.,  both  de- 
ceased. Being  an  industrious  and  care- 
ful man,  he  has  by  his  thrift  and  steady 
attention  to  business,  accumulated  about 
1,770  acres  of  land.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Williams  are  members  of  the  Baptist 
church. 

In  October,  1884,  Jesse  Coekrell  and 
W.  J.  Pope  formed  a  co-partnership 
under  the  firm  name  of  Coekrell  &  Pope, 
in  the  grain  trade,  and  are  engaged  in 
that  line  to-day.  They  handle  corn  and 
oats  principally,  having  purchased  this 
year,  1885,  some  15,000  bushels  of  the 
former.  The  warehouse,  that  is  used  by 
them,  is  rented  from  H.  C.  Yaeger,  of 
Carlinville. 

The  first    butcher  shop  in  the  village 


of  Kane  was  kept  by  T.  Early,  in  1868. 
He  was  succeeded  by  Titus  ClaHin. 
George  England  ran  it  about  three  years 
and  built  the  first  slaughter  house.  Sev- 
eral parties  have  run  it  since  that  time, 
it  changing  hands  every  few  months. 
In  March,  1S85,  R.  Huitt  and  R.  Raines 
took  charge  of  it.  It  is  now  operated 
by  a  Mr.  Fresh. 

The  wagon  and  wood-working  shop 
operated  by  Philo  Adams,  was  opened 
in  1S81,  by  James  Nutt,  who  ran  it  about 
18  months,  when  it  came  under  the  con- 
trol of  the  present  proprietor. 

Henry  Yahncke  commenced  business 
in  Kane  in  the  fall  of  1866.  He  still 
carries  on  a  general  wood-working  estab- 
lishment which  he  founded  at  that  early 
day  in  the  town's  history.  His  shop  is 
31x16  feet  in  ground  area. 

William  Sunderland  is  engaged  in  the 
blacksmith  business.  This  shop  was 
opened  during  the  year  1865  in  Old 
Kane,  in  which  Smith  Gill,  the  pioneer 
blacksmith  of  Kane  commenced  busi- 
ness. He  ran  it  for  about  three  years, 
when  he  sold  out  to  Cyrus  Morris,  who 
operated  it  but  a  short  time.  It  lay  idle 
then  for  some  time,  but  in  1882,  William 
Sunderland, a  worthy  disciple  of  Vulcan, 
rented  the  shop  of  Cyrus  Morris,  and 
opened  his  present  business. 

William  S.  Sunderland  was  born  in 
Jersey  county,  Jan.  17,  184'.), his  parents 
being  Lloyd  and  Sarah  (Steinburg)  Sun- 
derland, natives  of  New  Jersey.  They 
came  to  Illinois,  locatingin this  county, 
where  they  have  since  resided.  Wil- 
liam S.  was  raised  on  a  farm,  remaining 
with  his  parents  until  he  was  15  years 
of  age.  He  then  commenced  to  learn 
the  blacksmith's  trade,  but  worked  at  it 
only  a  short  time,  wdren  he  enlisted  in 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


813 


Co.   F,  144th    111.    Inf.,   in    1864,    and 

served  until  the  close  of  the  war.  He 
was  stationed  as  guard  at  the  Alton 
penitentiary  during  the  whole  year.  At 
the  close  of  the  war  he  came  to  Jersey- 
ville,  where  he  staid  a  short  time, work- 
ing at  his  trade,  that  of  blacksmith.  In 
1870  he  went  to  Fieldon,  where  he 
finished  his  trade,  under  William 
Hutchinson,  remaining  there  four  years. 
He  then  returned  to  Jerseyville  and 
worked  for  Robert  Newton  about  eight 
years.  In  1882  he  came  to  Greene 
county,  and  located  at  Kane,  where  he 
started  a  blacksmith  shop,  and  has  since 
remained.  He  was  twice  married.  First, 
to  Isabel  Moore,  May  18,  1S78,  and  to 
them  one  child  was  horn —  Maude  B. 
His  wife  died  in  1881,  and  on  the  14th 
of  Nov.,  1884,  he  was  again  married  to 
Vina  Erwin,  daughter  of  Budd  and 
Melinda  Erwin.  By  this  union  they 
have  one  child — Eva  P.  Mr.  Sunder- 
land is  a  member  of  the  I.  0.  0.  F.,  and 
also  of  the  G.  A.  R.  post,  No.  4111,  of 
Kane.  He  is  an  intelligent,  enterpris- 
ing citizen. 

A.  H.  Kight  commenced  the  black- 
smith business  here  in  1872,  and  has 
conducted  it  ever  since.  His  shop  is 
20x42  feet  in  size.  He  came  from  St. 
Charles,  Mo.,  to  Old  Kane,  and  from 
there,  here. 

BANKS. 

The  bank  was  established  and  opened 
for  business,  in  Sept.,  1881,  by  S.  F. 
Greene  and  George  W.  Witt.  The}' 
have  a  capital  of  about  $10,000.  Most 
of  their  loans  are  made  on  personal 
security,  and  they  are  doing  a  fine  busi- 
ness. The  firm  name  is  S.  F.  Greene  & 
Co.,  hut  it  is  under  the  management  of 
Robert  YV.  Greene,  to  whom  is  due,  in  a 


large  measure,  the  popularity  of  the  in- 
stitution. 

There  was  a  hank  here  prior  to  this, 
organized  in  1874,  by  Dr.  Casey,  of  Jer- 
seyville, and  E.  C.  Leigh,  which  had  a 
capital  of  about  $5,000.  They  occupied 
a  building  owned  by  W.  W.  Felter,  for 
a  time,  and  afterward  removed  to  the 
building  now  owned  by  Dr.  Fenity, 
which  they  erected.  They  continued 
business  until  1878. 

HOTELS. 

The  pioneer  hotel  of  the  village  was 
opened  in  1867,  by  Andrew  Giles,  who 
had  just  erected  the  necessary  building. 
He  has  been  the  proprietor  ever  since. 
When  he  first  put  up  the  edifice,  it  was 
only  a  story  and  a  half  high,  and  '_'(>x.'IO 
feet  in  ground  area,  but  in  1878,  he 
erected  an  addition  to  it,  18x32  feet  in 
size,  and  two  stories  high.  In  1882,  he 
remodeled  the  original  portion  of  the 
building,  making  it  26x  (•  bet  in  dimen- 
sions, and  two  stories  high.  It  is  very 
comfortably  arranged,  and  accommo- 
dates about  25  people. 

The  Kane  House  was  built  in  1875,  by 
William  Barker.  The  first  to  keep  this 
house  was  Louis  Turner,  who  ran  it  hilt 
a  short  time,  when  he  was  succeeded  by 
Dr.  Weir.  This  gentleman  remained 
about  a  year,  when  T.  J.  Enslow  took 
charge,  and  kept  it  about  a  year.  It 
has  never  been  long  under  one  proprie- 
tor, changing  every  few  years.  The 
last-  to  keep  it  was  William  Pennell, 
who  took  it  in  1881,  and  ran  it  until 
1884.  The  Parker  heirs  own  the  build- 
ing. 

KANE    NURSERY. 

This  institution  was  established  by 
S.  G.  Gardiner,  the  present  proprietor, 
in    the    spring  of  1875,  and   it  has  re- 


814 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


mained  under  bis  control  ever  since,  li 
covers  11  acres  of  ground.  The  trade 
extends  as  far  north  as  Menard  county, 
and  as  far  south  as  the  state  line.  Mr. 
Gardiner  employs  from  two  to  four 
traveling  men,  and  sells  a  large  amount 
of  his  stock  by  letter,  besides.  He 
grows,  principally,  apple,  peach,  cherry, 
quince  and  pear  trees,  besides  all  kinds 
of  small  fruit.  Fancy  and  ornamental 
shrubbery  enter,  also,  into  the  list  of 
the  productions  of  this  place.  The 
business  will  average  some&3,000a  year. 
Samuel  G .  Gardiner  was  born  in 
Greene  county,  111.,  Sept.  23,  1829,  ami 
is  the  third  of  a  family  of  six  children, 
his  parents  being  Christopher  J.  ami 
Margaret  Gardiner,  early  pioneers  of 
this  county.  Samuel's  birthplace  was 
at  the  old  homestead,  where  his  father- 
settled,  on  coming  to  this  county,  in 
Feb.,  LSI'.),  and  which  is  now  owned  by 
C.  J.  Gardiner,  Jr.  There  Samuel  was 
reared  and  received  what  education 
could  be  obtained  in  the  district  school. 
At  the  age  of  16,  be  commenced  learn- 
ing the  saddler's  trade,  at  which  lie  con- 
tinued five  years,  remaining  at  home 
during  all  that  time.  His  father  then 
gave  him  a  farm,  on  which  he  labored 
to  raise  two  crops,  but  on  account  of  the 
failure  of  these,  he  decided  toquit'farm- 
ing.  This  he  did,  and  then  engaged  in 
the  saddlery  business,  at  which  he  con- 
tinued three  years.  He  then  engaged  in 
merchandising  at  ( >ld  Kane, entering  into 
partnership  with  Filley  &  Williams.  In 
three  months  the  firm  dissolved,  and 
Mr.  Gardiner  again  resumed  his  old 
business,  at  which  he  was  engaged  for 
one  year,  lie  then  purchased  a  stock 
of  merchandise,  and  in  partnership  with 
his   brother,    carried  on    that    business 


until  1882,  when  he  closed  out.  Mr. 
Gardiner  has  also  been  in   the  nursery 

business  since  about  1875,  to  which  he 
has  devoted  most  of  his  attention,  his 
brother  attending  to  the  store.  lie  has 
two  piece-  of  land  outside  of  town,  but 
most  of  his  property  lies'in  the  village, 
he  owning  seven  buildings  there.  On 
the  3d  of  Oct.,  1853,  he  was  married  to 
Sarah  Morris,  daughter  of  Marvil  and 
Mary  Morris.  There  were  live  children 
by  this  marriage,  two  of  whom  are  liv- 
ing—  Eugene  M.,  married,  and  residing 
in  Limestone  county,  Tex.,  where  he 
has  a  sheep  rariche:  Clara  V .!>.,  now  in 
the  postoffice  here.  Mis.  Gardiner  died 
Nov.  6,  1866.  On  the  28th  of  Sept., 1867, 
Mr.  Gardiner  was  again  married  to 
Carrie  Griswold,  daughter  of  Elias  and 
Lucinda  Griswold.  He  has  been  a  mem- 
ber (if  the  Masonic  order  since  1850, 
having  been  initiated  in  the  Morning- 
Sun  lodge,  at  Jerseyville.  He  joined 
the  chapter  at  Alton,  in  1862,  and  was 
one  of  the  charter  members  of  the  chap- 
ter, at  Carrollton.  He  is  one  of  the  trus- 
tees of  the  Methodist  church,  and  is  now 
the  postmaster  of  Kane.  He  is  a  pleas- 
ant, companionable  gentleman,  and  is 
esteemed  by  many  friends. 

I,]  ME    KILN. 

This  was  started  in  the  tall  of  1882, 
by  J.  G.'Weller,  thepresent  proprietor, 
who  has  continued  in  the  business  ever 
since.  lie  makes  an  excellent  quality 
of  lime,  the  best  in  the  county.  It  is 
recommended  by  all  who  have  used  it. 
lie  makes  about  oil  barrels  per  day. 

RAILROAH. 

The  Jacksonville  branch  of  the  Chi- 
cago, Alton  A  St.  Louis  railroad  passes 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY, 


815 


through  the  town  of  Kane,  and  has  a 
depol  here.  The  road  was  built  through 
herein  1864  and  1  SI  >5,  and  opened  for 
business  with  the  beginning  of  the  fol- 
lowing year.  Henry  D.  Fields  was  the 
first  station  agent.  He  was  followed  by 
('.  E.  Neeley,  now  in  Arkansas;  T.  A. 
Hilhnan.  D.  C.  Owens,  now  in  Godfrey; 
W.  H.  Ogle,  Henry  Howell,  ('.  E.  Un- 
derwood, now  at  Carrollton;  G.  W. 
Quackenbush,  now  at  Mt.  Leonard;  B.S. 
Met  iinnis, train  dispatcher  at  Slater.  Mo.; 
and  L.  C.  Adams,  the  present  agent,  who 
entered  this  office  May  14,  1885.  The 
freight  business  at  this  point  will  aver- 
age $300  per  month  for  freight  received. 
while  the  freight  forwarded,  will  average 
about  S'-'nu  per  month.  The  passenger 
business  will  run  from  $230  to  $275  per 
month. 

L.  ('.  Adams  was  born  on  the  20th 
day  of  .March,  I860,  in  the  city  of  Jer- 
seyville,  Jersey  county,  111.  His  pa- 
rents are  Charles  N.  and  Nancy  Bell 
Adams.  He  was  reared  in  Jerseyville, 
and  there  received  his  education,  attend- 
in-  school  until  he  was  IS  years  of  age. 
At  that  time,  or  in  the  year  1881,  lie 
commenced  the  railroad  business, 
going  in  as  night  operator  in  the  Chi- 
cago A-  Alton  office  at  Jerseyville, 
after  learning  telegraphy.  He  held 
that  position  in  the  same  office  up  to 
the  time  of  coming  to  Kane,  with  the 
exception  of  two  months  spent  at  Mi- 
nier,  Tazewell  county.  He  was  assigned 
to  the  position  at  Kane  in  the  month  of 
May.  1885,  and  attends  to  all  the  busi. 
ness  in  that  office.  His  parents  are  res- 
idents of  Jersey  township.  Jersey 
county,  and  live  near  Jerseyville.  His 
grandfather,  N.  I..  Adams,  erected  the 
first  steam  mill  that  was   built  in  that 


city.  By  continuing  as  he  has  begun, 
Mr.  Adams  will  secure  the  reputation  of 
being  an   active,  intelligent  gentleman. 

OTIIF.i:  CITIZENS. 

Henry  I, .  Parker, deceased,  was  born 

in    Hampshire  county,  Va.,  on    the  22d 
of  Dec,  1825,  and  is  a  son  of  Jacob  and 
Mary    (Ludwick)    Parker.     His    father 
was  a  native  of  Virginia,  and  his  mother, 
of  Pennsylvania.     Henry  came  with  his 
parents  to  Greene  county,  111.,  in  IS.",'.), 
and  his  father  located  in  Kane  township, 
mi  S(  ction23,  where,  after  he  had  work- 
ed  around   and   earned   money    enough, 
he  purchased  mi  acres  of  land  and  farm- 
ed for  several  years,  or  up   to   the    time 
of   his   death.      He   died    in    July,   1871, 
having  survived  his  wife   several  years, 
as    her    death    occurred    in    July,  1867. 
When  our  subject  was  about   26  years  of 
age,  he  purchased  80  acn  -  of  land,  and 
by  industry  and  frugality,  added  to  this 
until  he  had   300  acres   in    one  tract,  on 
sections    25  ami  lit'..      He    lived    on    the 
farm   about   17   years,    and  in    1866,   he 
purchased  property  in  Kane  and  moved 
to   the    village,  where  he    spent    the    re- 
mainder of   his  days.     He    bought   '-'DO 
acres  more  land  on    sections  19  and  30, 
north  of  the   village,    and    so  continued 
to    increase   his    property    until    he  was 
the  possessor  of  810  acres  of  land,  all  of 
which  was  obtained  by  vigilance,  enter- 
prise   and    careful    attention   that    Mr. 
Parker   always    gave    to   business.     He 
also   owned  town   property,   consisting 
of  his  residence  and  two  town  lots.     He 
was  tir-1    married  to    Mary   Thompson, 
in  August,    1849.      By   this    union    there 
were    six  children,    four    of    whom    are 
Hying— Susan  C,  wife  of  Jacob  G.  Pope, 
residing  on    the    homestead;    Lucinda, 


816 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


wife  of  Mitchell  M.  Leigh,  residing  in 
Trenton,  N.  J.;  Anna  M.  and  George 
T.  Mrs.  Parker  died  in  Jan.,  1866,  and 
\\as  buried  at  Kane.  On  the  13th  of 
Oct.,  1867,  Mr.  Parker  was  again  mar- 
ried to  Hattie  E.  (King)  Armstrong, 
daughter  of  Lucian  and  Almira  (Lemon) 
King.  There  were  three  children  by 
this  marriage,  two  of  whom  are  now  liv- 
ing— Emma  F.  and  Myra  M.  The  one 
deceased  was  Hattie  Grace.  On  the 
26th  of  July,  1883,  Mr.  Parker  was 
called  away  from  this  busy  world  to  one 
of  peace  and  rest,  leaving  a  widow  and 
seven  children  to  mourn  the  loss  of  a 
true  and  faithful  husband,  and  a  kind 
and  affectionate  father.  Mrs.  Parker 
manages  one  farm  herself,  the  others 
having  been  left  to  the  other  heirs.  She 
is  a  member  of  the  M.  E.  chinch. 

Albert  G.  Hughes  was  horn  in  Bel- 
mont county,  Ohio,  Dec.  8,  1847,  his 
parents  being  Scott  and  Phoebe  Hughes. 
His  early  life  was  spent  upon  a  farm, 
receiving  his  education  in  the  common 
schools.  March  26,  1864,  he  enlisted  in 
the  1st  Ohio  Ind.  Sharpshooters,  and 
served  until  mustered  out  at  the  close 
of  the  war.  The  following  document, 
dated  at  the  headquarters  of  the  mili- 
tary department  of  the  Mississippi.  St. 
Louis,  July  17,  ISO-"),  speaks  for  itself 
and  is  as  follows:  "The  general  com- 
manding, tenders  to  the  officers  and 
men  of  the  1st  Independent  Ohio  Sharp- 
shooters, his  personal  thanks  for  their 
long  and  valuable  service  near  his  person 
in  the  eventful  campaigns,  beginning  at 
Chattanooga,  on  the  first  of  May,  1864, 
and  ending  with  the  war.  He  commends 
them  as  a  line  body  of  intelligent  young 
volunteers,  to  whom  he  attributes  his 
personal  safety  in  the  battles,   marches 


and  bivouacs  in  Georgia  and  the  Caro- 

linas.  lie  wishes  them  a  long  life  and 
a  proud  consciousness  of  having  done 
their  duty  with  a  cheerfulness,  precision 
and  intelligence  worthy  the  great  cause 
in  which  they  were  engaged,  and  he  be- 
speaks for  them  a  kindly  and  generous 
welcome  back  to  their  old  homes  in 
Ohio."  This  document  hears  the  sig- 
natures of  W.  T.  Sherman,  major  gen- 
eral, and  R.  M.  Sawyer,  brevet  colonel 
and  A.  A.  G.,  and  bears  the  address, 
"For  Private  Albert  Hughes."  After 
being  mustered  out  Mr.  Hughes  re- 
turned to  Ohio,  and  in  186t>  removed 
with  his  parents  to  Morgan,  Mo.,  where 
they  engaged  in  farming.  In  1872,  Al- 
bert went  to  St.  Louis,  where  he  served 
as  city  agent  for  the  Missouri  Republican 
two  years,  and  was  then  engaged  with 
the  St.  Louis  Times  for  about  a  year. 
In  1880,  he  came  to  Illinois,  locating  at 
Kane,  where  he  entered  into  the  saloon 
business,  and  since  June,  1885,  has  con- 
ducted a  like  enterprise  at  Carrollton. 
Feb.  4,  ISS:;,  he  was  married  to  Bridget 
Hanneghan,  by  whom  two  children  have 
been  born — Howard  and  Scott.  Politi- 
cally, Mr.  Hughes  is  a  republican,  and 
has  taken  an  active  part,  and  wields 
considerable  influence  in  that  party. 
He  is  a.  member  of  the  I.  0.  O.  F.  and 
G.  A.  R.  societies,  and  has  good  bus- 
iness qualifications,  and  is  honest  and 
honorable  in  all  his  dealings. 

RE]  IOIOUS. 

The  first  religious  services  were  held 
in  Felter's  ball,  by  the  Baptists  and 
Methodists,  in  a  union  meeting,  in  18G7. 
It  was  not  long  after  this  however  be- 
fore a  subscription  paper  was  circulated 
to  secure  money  to  build  a  church   edi- 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


817 


fice.  The  people  responded  liberally, 
and  the  same  year  a  house  was  put  up, 
especially  for  the  Methodists,  but  was 
called  a  Union  church,  and  worship  was 
held  by  various  oilier  denominations. 

MUNICIPAL. 

The  town  of  Kane  was  incorporated 
April  5,  1869,  with  the  following  offi- 
cers: Henry  D.  Fields,  president;  Jas. 
P>.  Gardiner,  John  B.  Enslow,  S.  G. 
Gardiner  and  J.  II.  Felter,  trustees:  J. 
II.  Felter,  treasurer,  and  Jos<  ph  S. 
Carr,  clerk. 

(in  the  7th  of  .May.  1883,  on  a  peti- 
tion of  25  voters,  a  special  meetingwas 
held  and  the  place  organized  under  the 
general  village  laws.  The  officers  for 
I---''  L.    L.    Roberts, 

president;  Silas  Stroud,  Michael  Hinkle, 
W.  W.  Felter,  VV.  S.  Sunderland  and 
Joseph  Strunk,  trustees;  F.  E.  Felter, 
clerk,  and  Ed.   E.   Culver,  treasurer. 

EDUCATIONAL. 

The  town  of  Kane  is  included  in 
school  district  No.  7,  which  was  cut  off 
from  district  No.  1,  of  T.  9,  R.  12,  and 
No.  3,  of  T.  9,  R.  11.  For  this  purpose 
a  meeting  was  held  at  the  store  ofS.  G. 
Gardiner,  in  T.  9,  R.  11,  Oct.  29,  L866, 
in  accordance  with  a  petition  from  the 
citizens  of  the  new  district,  and  on  the 
5th  of  November  ofthi  i  ar,  the 

trustees  of  T.  9,  I!.  12,  convened  with 
the  above,  and  acceded  the  division. 
On  the  2d  of  March.  1867,  William  A. 
Tolman  was  elected  director  for  three 
years;  Dr.  Peter  Fenity,  for  two  years, 
and  S.  G.  Gardiner  for  one  year.  The 
easl  half  and  the  northwest  quarter  of 
lot  11.  Hollidaysburg,  was  purchased 
for  a  school  lot  for$250.  $2,000  in  bonds 


were  issued,  and  purchased  by  Stiger- 
walt,  to  raise  money  to  erect  a  building; 
§200  was  borrowed  from  the  township 
treasurer:  $500  was  also  borrowed  of 
John  P.  Waggoner,  all  forthesame  pur- 
pose, The  contract  for  the  building  was 
let  to  Solomon  Fales,  of  Carrollton. 
oundation  was  put  in  by  Joseph 
Stohr  for  $182.  The  edifice  was  com- 
pleted the  same  year  and  the  school 
opened  therein  on  the  7th  of  October, 
1867,  with  E.  II.  Rennick  as  teacher. 
The  building  a  s\  $2,250.  It  is  a  sub- 
stantial brick  structure,  with  self-sup- 
porting roof,  and  presents  a  handsome 
appearance.  In  ground  area  it  is  l'Sx  in 
teet.  In  the  fall  of  1870  Mrs.  Sly  was 
appointed  assistant  teacher,  the  first 
employed.  In  the  summer  of  1874,  an 
addition  wa-  made  to  the  building.  Mr. 
Rennick  remained  some  years  in  connec- 
tion with  the  school.  He  is  now  in 
Texas.  The  present  principal,  1885,  is 
James  W.  Dewell,  assisted  by  Mis. 
Alice  W.  Bridges.  The  present  direct- 
ors are — C.J.  Gardiner,  president;  C. 
S.  Smith,  secretary,  and  W.  0.  Tolman. 

POSTOFFICE.    - 

About  1830  a  postoffice  was  estab- 
lish! d  at  Old  Kane,  of  which  Zenas  IF 
Adams  was  the  first  postmaster,  and 
was  the  only  postoffice  between  Carroll- 
ton  and  Altonr  The  following  gentle- 
men have  tilled  the  office  of  postmaster 
in  this  town  :  N.  M.  Perry.  L.  15.  Filley, 
William  Robinson,  X.  M.  Perry,  again, 
S.  G.  Gardiner,  appointed  March  1, 
1862,  ami  resigned  in  June,  1866;  John 
Hudson,  about  one  year.  In  May,  1868, 
the  office  was  removed  to  the  new  town 
of  Kane,  and  PI.  P.  Parker  appointed 
postmaster.     March  1.  1872,  S.  G.   (Jar- 


818 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


diner  was  re-appointed  postmaster  and 
lias  held  that  position  ever  since.  The 
office  was  made  a  money-order  one  in 
July,  1884. 

SOCIETIES. 

King  Solomon  Lodge,  No.   197,  A.  F. 

&  A.  M.,  was  instituted  at  the  meeting 
of  the  grand  lodge,  in  1854,  and  com- 
menced work  under  a  dispensation,  as 
usual.  The  following  were  the  officers 
appointed  at  that  time:  George  W. 
Cory,  W.  M.j  Augustine  T.  Perry.  S. 
W.j  James  \V.  Allen,  J.  W.j  Cyrus  R. 
Lake,  T.j  Alexander  II.  Smith,  S.j  S. 
G.  Gardiner,  S.  D.j  Thomas  Dodson,  J. 
P.:  and  James  Brooks,  tyler.  A  new 
dispensation  was  granted  by  the  grand 
lodge,  in  1855,  and  the  same  officers 
were  re-appointed.  On  the  7th  of  Oct., 
1856,  a  charter  was  granted  the  lodge, 
and  it  was  organized  with  the  following 
charter  members:  G.  W.  Cory,  A.  T. 
Perry,  J.  W.  Allen,  C.  I!.  Lake,  A.  H. 
Smith,  W.  B.  Conner,  James  Brooks, 
D.  Barrow,  E.  J.  Lovell,  S.  B.  Hatfield, 
Lucian  King,  J.  B.  White.  Lewis  White, 
Joel  Terry,  P.  B.  Cook,  G.  S.  Cook,  W. 
P.  Ozbun,  S.  A.  Brewster  and  S.  G. 
Gardiner.  On  the  12th  of  Nov.,  1856, 
Dr.  J.  B.  Samuel,  acting  as  grand  mas- 
ter, appointed  the  following  officers 
under  this  charter:  G.  W.  Cory,  W. 
M.j  A.T.Perry,  S.  W.j  J.  W.Allen, 
J.  W.j  C.  R.  Lake,  T.j  A.  H.  Smith, 
S.j  S.  G.  Gardiner,  S.  D.;  J.  D.  White. 
J.  D.;  and  E.  J.  Lovell,  tyler.  The 
office  of  worshipful  masterof  this  lodge 
lias  been  filled  by  the  following  gentle- 
men: G.  W.  Cory,  A.  T.  Perry,  M. 
S.  Cory,  J.  R.  W.  English,  W.  M.  Fry, 
Seymour  Wertz,  C.  T.  Bannister,  Asa 
Cnmmings,  Dr.  Peter  Fenity,  S.  (i. 
Gardiner,   Dr.   J.   B.  Hamilton,    J.   M. 


Perry,  F.  W.  Smith,  George  \Y.  Trask, 
George  W.  Witt,  Samuel  E.  Brown  and 
Newton  H.  Close.  Since  the  organiza- 
tion of  the  lodge  there  have  been  IS 
deaths,  the  first  being  that  of  Cyrus  P. 
Lake,  which  occurred  July  18,  1858. 
He  was  murdered.  The  lodge  was  first 
started  in  Old  Kane,  hut  was  removed 
to  Kane,  Feb.  6,  1870,  when  they  took 
up  quarters  in  the  hall  over  Felter's 
brick  store,  where  they  remained  until 
Jan.  1,  1876.  They  then  removed  to 
the  hall  they  now  occupy.  This  room 
is  24x70  feet  in  size,  and  is  well  fur- 
nished. The  building  was  erected  by 
John  Greene,  and  the  lodge,  at  a  cosl 
to  the  latter  of  $1,600,  including  furni- 
ture and  all.  This  sum  was  raised  by 
the  subscription  of  the  members.  The 
building  committee  were  Dr.  Peter 
Fenity,  Lucian  King  and  J.  M. 
Perry.  The  lodge  is  in  a  prosperous 
condition,  having  6b  active  members. 
Of  these,  57  reside  in  Illinois,  and  the 
other  seven  still  retain  their  standing  in 
the  lodge,  while  residing  abroad.  The 
present  officers  are:  Samuel  E.  Brown, 
W.  M.j  C.  S:  Gardiner,  S.  W.j  E.  A. 
Culver,  J.  W.j  J.  E.  Brooks,  T.j  Frank 
Met  lure  S.j  Dr.  P.  Fenity,  C.j  R.  W. 
Greene,  S.  D.j  Amos  Irvin,  J.  I).;  Geo. 
Witt,  S.  S.;  Joseph  Dressel,  J.  S.;  and 
L.  S.  Roberts,  tyler.  Hanging  upon 
the  walls  of  the  lodge  room  is  a  memo- 
rial, giving  the  names  and  amount  of 
subscription  of  each  member,  toward 
the  building  of  the  lodge  room,  which 
is  here  inserted:  A.  T.  Perry,  $112;  J. 
B.  Gardiner,  §110;  George  W.  Witt, 
$102.10;  C.J.  Gardiner,  $76.60;  G.  W. 
Trask,  Sol;  Dr.  Peter  Fenity,  $53.90; 
J.  M.  Perry,  $53.25;  G.  W.  Cory,  $51; 
S.  G.  Gardiner,  851;  T.  S.  Parker,  50; 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


819 


George  C.  Cockrell,  $30.50;  Z.  M. 
Titus,  $30;  Lucian  King,  $27.85;  Enoch 
Littlefield,  $27.80;  Simeon  Woolsey, 
$27.10;  J.  E.  Brooks,  $27;  II.  L.  Parlor, 
$27;  S.  .1.  Downey,  $27;  Joseph  Dres- 
sel,  $26.55;  J.  D.  Woolsey,  $26.50;  G. 
\Y.  Erwin,  $22;  E.  C.  Jewsberry,  $26; 
George  Gerdis,  $26;  William  Rainey, 
$25.50;  A.  II.  Smith,  $25;  J.  S.  Erwin, 
$25;  John  0.  Carrico,  $25;  Clark  Er- 
win, $25;  Frank  W.  Smith,  $25.  J.  II. 
Greene,  $20;  Henry  Newton,  si1.);  J.  E. 
Irwin,  sic. CM;  Silas  Stroud,  $16;  John 
Powell,  $11.60;  Jeff  Bolt,  $11;  J.  1'.. 
Hamilton,  $10;  E.  P.  Woolsey,  $10;  G. 
II.  Ga»diner,  $10;  E.  M.  Haver,  $10; 
Amos  Irwin,  $10;  C.  E.  Neeley,  $10; 
I.  S.  Hugrres,$10;  .1.  V.  West,  $6.55;  E. 
D.  Seago,  $6;  P.  W.  Stroud.  $6;  F.  M  . 
Carrico,  $5;  L.  M.  Littlefield,  $5;  Frank- 
lin Renno,  $1.60;  and  D.  T.  Depry,  $10. 
Mutual  Lodge,  No.  130,  t.0.0.  F.,  was 
instituted  at  Kane,  July  5,  1870,  with 
the  following  charter  members:  Joseph 
S.  ('air,  Marcus  M.Johnson,  .M.S. Love, 
S.  S.  Torrey,  J.  W.  Button  and  11.  N. 
McClure.  G.  S.  Miles,  of  Jerseyville, 
having  received  a  special  appointment 
as  deputy  grand  master,  installed  the 
following  officers:  Joseph  S.Carr,  N.G.. 
S.  S.  Torrey,  V.  G.;  M.  M.  Johnson, 
sec,  and  IE  X.  McClure,  treas.  The 
charter  is  dated  Oct.  7,  1870.  At  the 
first  meeting,  F.  D.  Well,  0.  1'.  lory, 
J.  M.  Robinson  and  W.  W.  Felter  were 
admitted  to  membership.  The  lodge 
is  in  a  nourishing  condition,  having 
about  30  active  members,  and  has  over 
$500  loaned  out,  drawing  interest.  They 
also  carry  an  insurance  of  send  on  the 
furniture  of  the  lodge  room.  Over  1U0 
have  been  initiated  in  this  lodge  since 
its    organization,    and    only    once     has 


death  snapped  the  mystic  tie  that,  hinds 
them  together,  and  that  when  John  I'. 
Waggoner  was  called  to  the  higher 
lodge,  Feb.  5,  1877.  Their  hall  is  24x30 
feet  in  size,  besides  ante-room  and 
regalia  closet.  It  is  located  over  Pope's 
grocery  store,  and  meetings  are  held  on 
Wednesday  evenings  of  each  week.  The 
degree  of  Pehekah  has  been  conferred 
upon  about  in  holies,  relatives  of  the 
members.  The  following  genth  men 
have  held  the  position  of  noble  grand 
of  the  lodge,  seme  of  them  several 
terms:  .1.  S.  ('air,  three  terms;  John 
Robinson,  George  W.Witt,  <>.  P.  Cory, 
three  terms;  Philo  Adams,  A.J.  Brown, 
two  terms;  C.  S.  Smith,  three  terms; 
('.  E.  Neeley,  John  Streetmaker,  C.  N. 
Adams,  J.  S.  Hughes,  J.  M.  Irwin,  two 
terms;  William  Sunderland,  two  terms; 
W.  M.  Cory,  George  W.  West.  The 
present  officers  are:  William  Sunder- 
land, N.  G.;  J.  M.  Irwin,  V.  G.;  W.W. 
Felter,  treas.;    0.   P.  Cory,   P.  S. 

Lucian  King  post.  No.  410,  G.  A.  R., 
was  organized  Feb.  20,  1884,  with  the 
following  charter  members:  IE  P. 
Cook,  M.  C.  Thompson,  James  B.  Wool- 
sey, Wharton  English.  Frank  Rollins, 
Jesse  Scroggins,  P.  M.  Brown,  C.  W. 
Bridges,  Joseph  A.  Harris,  John  Mc- 
Kabney,  James  T.  Dodson,  George 
Wooley,  Samuel  Pope,  late  members  of 
the  122d  111.  Inf.;  John  Dugan  and  Elias 
Clark,  of  the  Cist  111.  Inf.;  J.  Stanton 
Deck  of  the  80th  111.  Inf.;  W.  L.  Bur- 
neit  and  G.  P.  Lambert,  of  the  i'7th  111. 
Inf.;  A.  G.  Hughes,  7th  Ohio  indepen- 
dent sharpshooters;  Jesse  Cockrell,  97th 
111.  Inf.;  William  Rainey,  11th  III. 
Cav.;  P.  M.  Osborn, 28th  Kentucky  Inf.: 
S.  E.  Fessler,  99th  111 .  Inf.:  Jonathan 
Marr,  54th  111.  Inf.;  R.  H.  Esprey,  25th 


821 1 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


111.  Inf.;  Henry  Yahncke,  9th  111.;  and 
G.  D.  P.  Coonrod,  of  the  12th  111.  Cav. 
rhe  post  was  named  after  Lucian  King, 
the  captain  of  Co.  C,  122d 111.  Inf.  regi- 
ment. The  first  officers  of  the  post 
were  the  following  comrades:  M.  C. 
Thompson",  ('.:  John  Dugan,  S.  V.  ('.; 
II.  P.  Cook,  J.  V.  C;  J.  S.  Deck, Chap.; 
W.  L.  Burnett,  Surg.;  A.  G.  Hughes,  0. 
D.;  -I.  (i.  Woolsey,  0.  G.;  B.  F.  Good- 
man, Q.  M.;  Jesse  Cock r ell,  Adjt.;  J.  P. 
Lambert,  S.  M.;  William  Rainey,  Q. 
M,  S  The  post  is  in  excellent  con- 
dition, and  has  a  membership  of  32. 
They  hold  meetings,  in  Felter's  hall, 
which  they  rent.  Some  18  brothers  of 
1861-5,  have  been  mustered  into  this 
post,  since  organization.  The  present 
officers  are:  M.  C.  Thompson,  C; 
JohnDugan,  S.  V.  C;  H.  P.  Cook,  J. 
V.  C;  J.  P.  Lambert,  chap.;  Elias 
Clark,  surg.;  A.  G.  Hughes.  O.  D.; 
Henry  Yahneke,  0.  G.;  J.  Cockrell,  Q. 
M.;  G.  W.  Bridges,  Adjt.;  W.  S.  Sun- 
derland, <}.  M.  S.;  George  Stone,  S.  M. 
Evergreen  lodge  No.  1344,  K.  of  H., 
was  Organized  Jan.  25,  IST'.t,  with  20 
charter  members.  The  first  officers  of 
the  society  were  Joseph  Carr,  D.;  Don- 
ald Carmichael,  Y.  D.;  C.  E.  Neeley, 
A.  I).;  Dr.  I.  S.  Hughes,  P.  D.;  A.  W. 
Fletcher,  P.;  C.  M.  Carr,  F.  P.;  W.  B. 
Parker,  P.;  N.  E.  Harmon,  ('.:  Horace 
Lobb,  S.;  W.  Hastings,  G.  N.;  E.  C. 
Leigh,  G.  For  some  time  the  lodge  ex- 
perienced a  rapid  and  healthy  growth, 
but  finally  disbanded  and  the  major 
portion  of  the  members  were  trans- 
ferred to  the  Jerseyville  lodge. 

THE    YAEGEB   MILLS,    AND  THEIB    BURNING. 

The    principal   industry   of    Kane,  in 
the  past,  was   the    Yaeger  mills,  which 


institution  has  had  quite  an  eventful 
history,  the  main  points  of  which  an'  as 
follows:  In  186!),  John'  E.  Van  Pelt, 
who  claimed  to  have  $30,000,  borrowed 
$10,000  on  two  years'  time,  at  10  per 
cent,  interest,  from  the  people  of  the 
vicinity,  and  constructeda  large  flouring 
mill,  at  an  alleged  cost  of  842, mil. 
VanPelt  lan  the  mill  for  about  two 
years,  and  then  failed,  owing  $30,000  to 
Carmichael  &  Howe,  borrowed  money. 
In  1870,  VanPelt  got  up  a  grand  lottery 
for  disposing  of  the  mill,  a  quantity 
of  flour,  and  all  of  the  other  property. 
About  $27,000  or  $28,000  was  realized 
from  the  sale  of  tickets,  and  when  the 
drawing  occurred,  the  mill  was  said  to 
have  been  drawn  by  a  man  in  Georgia. 
Soon  .after  after  VanPelt  announced 
that  he  had  bought  the  property  back 
from  the  Georgian.  A  number  of  peojjle 
living  in  the  vicinity  of  Kane,  drew 
numbers  calling  for  sacks  of  flour,  but 
many  of  them  never  received  their 
prizes.  After  the  lottery  had  occurred, 
Carmichael  A-  Howe  foreclosed  a  mort- 
gage on  the  mill,  and  took  possession. 
Later,  this  firm  mortgaged  the  property 
to  a  bank  in  Worcester,  Mass.  They, 
however,  ran  the  mill  for  a  year  or  two, 
being  succeeded  by  M.  M.  Johnson,  who 
had  been  in  their  employ,  and  who  had 
leased  of  them.  Johnson  made  some 
money,  but  did  not  remain  long.  After 
his  departure  the  mill  was  idle  for  some 
time.  In  1*74  and  1875  Zebulon 
Titus  had  charge  of  the  mill.  He, 
too,  made  some  profit  from  it.  He 
was  followed,  successively,  by  Cockrell 
&  Turner,  Turner  &  Leigh  and  Joseph 
Strunk.  In  Sept.,  1880,  the  Worcester 
hank,  which  had  obtained  possession  of 
the  property  after  a  long  law  suit,  sold 


d. 


^Soa^/  yfyt^L-  (L^j-ccajC 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


s-j.-, 


it  to  the  Yaeger  Mill  Co.,  who  made 
extensive  repairs,  and  started  the  wheels 
in  January,  1881.  During  the  four 
years  that  he  possessed  the  property, 
Mr.  Yaeger  made  almost  constant  ad- 
ditions and  improvements,  and  when 
the  calamity  occurred  which  reduced 
the  building  to  ashes,  the  capacity 
of  the  mills  was  nearly  five  hundred 
barrels  of  the  finest  flour  per  day. 
March  1 ,1881,  occurred  the  conflagration 
mentioned.  The  mill,  as  usual,  was 
operated  until  12  o'clock,  Saturday 
night,  and  was  then  left  in  charge  of 
watchman  Tolly,  and  a  few  other 
employes.  Between  6  and  7  A.  M., 
Tolly  discovered  that  the  scale  house, 
just  east  of  the  mill,  was  on  fire.  An 
alarm  was  sounded,  and  every  effort 
made  to  subdue  the  flames,  but  without 
success.  The  fire  soon  found  its  way  to 
the  windows  of  the  mill,  and  as  soon  as 
it  came  in  contact  with  the  dust,  which 
is  always  a  source  of  danger  in 
such  places,  the  fate  ot  the  building 
was  sealed.  Nearly  every  able  bodied 
man  in  Kane  was  on  the  spot  soon  after 
the  first  alarm,  and  all  worked  with  the 
utmost  vigor  to  save  the  property. 
Large  quantities  of  flour  and  other  val- 
uable property  was  carried  from  the  mill 
to  a  place  of  safety.     When  it  was  seen 


that  the  office  building  must  burn,  its 
contents  were  taken  out,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  the  safe,  which  was  supposed  to 
be  sufficiently  secure  to  protect  its  con- 
tents from  the  heat  of  a  small,  one-story 
building.  Soon,  however,  the  smell  of 
burning  leather  indicated  that  some- 
thing was  wrong,  and  as  soon  as  possi- 
ble the  safe  was  forced  open  and  the 
books  removed  in  a  badly  damaged  con- 
dition. Mr.  Yaeger  and  his  son  were 
in  St.  Louis,  Mo.,  at  the  time  of  the 
fire,  and  did  not  reach  Kane  until 
the  day  after  the  occurrence.  He 
placed  his  loss  at  $81,000,  on  which 
there  was  insurance  of  $42,500,  in  a  St. 
Louis  agency,  and  between  $7,000  and 
$8,000  in  a  Jersey ville  agency.  On  the 
second  day  after  the  fire,  the  officials  of 
the  C.  &  A.  R.  R.  showed  their  interest 
in  the  affair  in  an  appropriate  manner. 
A  directors'  car  arrived,  with  General 
Manager  Chappell  and  Superintendent 
Bates,  as  passengers,  on  a  visit  of  con- 
dolence to  Mr.  Yaeger.  The  loss  of  the 
mill  was  a  severe  blow  to  Kane.  Its 
citizens,  and  those  of  the  vicinity,  cir- 
culated a  subscription  paper  to  secure 
the  re-building  of  the  mills,  but  the 
proprietors  received  an  offer  from  Car- 
linville,  which  they  accepted,  and  they 
are  now  conducting  a  mill  there. 


CHAPTER    XVI. 


BLUFFDALE  TOWNSHIP. 
The  township  of  Bluffdale  lies  in  the  I  congressional    township    10,    range    13, 
western  tier,  the  second  from  the  south  |  sections  31,  32,  33,  3-1,  35  and  36,  town- 
line  of  the  county.      It  embraces  all  of  I  ship  11,  range  13,  and  the  fractional  sec- 


826 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


tions  1,  12,  13, 24, 25  and  36,  of  township 
10,  range  14,  and  36,  township  11,  range 
14.  It  is  bounded  on  the  north  by  the 
township  of  Walkerville,  on  the  east  by 
Carrollton,  south  by  Woodville,  and 
west  by  Calhoun  county,  from  which  it 
is  separated  by  the  Illinois  river.  It 
contains  about  45  sections,  about  one- 
half  of  which  is  the  rich  bottomland  of 
the  Illinois  river, the  rest  being  high  roll- 
ing timber  land.  These  bottoms  are  of  the 
rich  alluvial  soil  so  characteristic  of  all 
the  river  bottoms  of  the  western  states, 
somewhat  broken  by  lakes,  ponds  and 
marshy  places,  but  if  the  annual  over- 
flow of  the  waters  of  the  river  can  be 
restrained,  will  make  the  finest  farming 
land  in  the  world.  Running  in  a  nearly 
north  and  south  line  through  the  center 
of  the  township  is  a  line  of  bluffs,  some 
300  feet  in  height,  rough,  abrupt  and 
craggy,  and  on  the  summit  of  these,  the 
elevated  plateau,  covered  with  timber 
originally,  and  mostly  covered  with  its 
primeval  growth.  Small  streams,  all 
known  by  local  or  no  names,  except 
Hurricane  creek,  run  down  through  the 
ravines,  and  drain  the  uplands.  Hurri- 
cane creek  rises  near  the  eastern  limit 
of  the  township  in  section  25,  and  crosses 
the  entire  precinct,  emptying  into  Long 
lake,  and  through  its  waters  into  the 
Illinois  river.  Potatoe  Prairie  lake  lies 
in  the  southwestern  part  of  the  town- 
ship, Long  lake  in  the  western,  and 
Halfway  lake  in  the  northwestern,  all 
on  the  bottom  land.  Many  fine  farms 
are  located  along  these  low  lands  at  the 
foot  of  the  bluffs,  and  many  are  on  the 
upland,  where  clearings  have  been 
made.  The  early  settlers  of  this  terri- 
tory preferring  to  locate  on  timber  land, 
in  preference  to  the  prairie. 


EARLY    S  ETT  I,  E  M  E  N  T . 

The  first  to  make  a  settlement  in 
what  is  now  the  township  of  Bluffdale 
was  Luther  Calvin,  who,  with  his  fam- 
ily, came  to  this  portion  of  Greene 
county,  in  1818,  and  settled  under  the 
bluffs,  probably  on  section  33.  The 
family  was  a  large  one,  consisting  of 
seven  or  eight  children.  He  followed 
farming,  and  was  considered  a  good 
neighbor.  Both  he  and  his  wife  died 
here,  and  are  buried  in  the  Bluffdale 
cemetery.  Two  or  three  of  his  sons 
were  married  and  lived  under  the  bluff, 
on  section  28.  One  of  the  daughters  mar- 
ried John  Woolley,  and  a  grand-daughter 
became  the  wife  of  Wesley  J.  Rickert, 
a  resident  of  St.  Louis.  There  are  none 
of  the  family  living  here  now. 

In  the  fall  of  1818,  Thomas  Hall  and 
John  Stone  came  up  here  from  the  Wood 
River  settlement,  and  selected  homes  on 
the  northeast  quarter  of  Sec.  31,  T.  10, 
R.  12,  and  built  a  cabin,  into  which  thiy 
moved.  John  Stone  was  a  native  of 
Tennessee. 

Thomas  Hall,  deceased,  one  of  the 
pioneers  of  Greene  county,  was  born  in 
in  Rowan  county,  N.  C,  May  28,  1702. 
He  was  reared  to  manhood  there,  and 
learned  the  trade  of  a  worker  in  wood, 
making  chairs,  spinning-wheels,  etc., 
at  which  he  worked  in  North  Carolina, 
Tennessee,  and  on  the  American  Bottom. 
He  removed  to  Tennessee,  when  he  had 
grown  to  manhood,  and  from  there  he 
went  to  take  part  in  the  last  war  with 
Great  Britain,  serving  under  General 
Jackson.  He  was  at  Mobile  Bay  at  the 
time  of  the  battle  of  New  Orleans.  On 
arriving  home,  at  the  close  of  the  war, 
he  was  married  May  4,  1815,  in  Ten- 
nessee, to    Mary    McYay,   a    native    of 


South  Carolina,  born  Peb.23, 1797.  From 
Tennessee  they  removed  to  the   Wood 
River  settlement,  in   Illinois,  in    1817, 
and   after   remaining  there    one    year, 
came  to  Greene  county,  in  1818.     Thos. 
Hall   and  John  Stone   came  that  same 
fall  and  built  a  cabin   on  the   northeast 
quarter  of   See.  31,  T.  10,  R.  12.     They 
did  not  stop    to    cut   the    doors   in   the 
cabin  then,   but   went    back  after  their 
families,  and   when  they   returned  they 
could  get  inside  the  cabin  no  other   way 
than  by  crawling  under  the  sills.   Doors 
were  soon  constructed,  and  the  family 
lived    a    few   months    there,   and    then 
removed  on  to  the  northwest  quarter  of 
section  .32,  in  the  same  township.  They 
built  another   house   there,  where  they 
lived  until  1833.      From  there  they  re- 
moved to  the  southeast    quarter  of  sec- 
tion 31,  and   there   Thomas   lived  until 
the  time   of  his  death.       Mr.   and  Mrs. 
Thomas  Hall  were  the  parents  of  eight 
children,   seven  of    whom    are   living — 
Enoch,  married  Louisa  Stone,  residiug 
about    four    miles   west   of  Virden,   111.; 
Samuel,     married     Eveline    Reynolds, 
living  west    of    Virden;    Jane,    wife   of 
1!.  C.  Bradley,  living  in  Bluffdale  town- 
ship;   Elizabeth,  wife  of  J.  C.  Reynolds, 
living  in   Woodville  township;  James, 
married  Eliza  Short,   living    at   Wood- 
ville;  Mary,  wife    of  Henry   Stone,  liv- 
ing   about    six    miles   west  of   Virden: 
Clarissa,  living  in  Virden.  married  Wes- 
ley Stone,  now  deceased;  and  John,  who 
died  at  the  age  of  two  years.       Thomas 
Hall  died  March  17,  1855,  and  is  buried 
at  the  Dunncgan   cemetery.      Mrs.  Hall 
resides   with    her  daughter  Clarissa,  at 
Virden,  being  now   at  the  advanced  age 
of  89  years.    She  removed  to  Macoupin 
county  about    the  year  1860,    and   has 


lived  with  her  children  since  that  time. 
Mrs.  Hall  is  now  the  only  one  living  of 
the  pioneers   of  1818,  who   were  at  the 

time  grown  to  manhood  or  womanh 1. 

Reuben  C.  Bradley  was  born  in  Ten- 
nessee,   in    the   year   IMS,  his    parents 
being  Alexander  and  Elizabeth  Bradley. 
When   he    was    four  years  old,  he    was 
bound  out  to  a  man  named  E.  Barnard, 
with   whom  he  lived    until   he   was    18 
years  of  age.  In  1836  he  came  to  Illinois, 
making  the  trip  with   an  ox  team,  driv- 
ing it  tor  Mr.    Barnard.     He  arrived  in 
Greene  county  in  the  fall  of  that  year, 
with  but  a   quarter  of  a  dollar  in  his 
pocket,  as  his  only  earthly  possessions. 
The    first   five   months   he    was    in    the 
county   he   worked  for  SS   per    month, 
and    then   worked   in    the    distillery    of 
Samuel  Thomas  about  six  weeks.      For 
several  years  after  that  he  was  engaged 
during  the   summer  at  farm  work,  and 
in    winter    in    making    trips    to    New- 
Orleans   on    rafts,   taking  produce,  etc., 
to  sell.    His  next  move  was  to  rent  land, 
which  he  did  until    1850,  when  he  pur- 
chased 120  acres.    By  thrift,  energy  and 
good  management,  he  has  succeeded  in 
adding   to  this    until    he    now    ha-     Is! 
acres  in  Greene  county,  250 in  Macoupin 
and    Sangamon    counties,    and    320   in 
Marion  county,    Kan.      He   has   a    saw 
mill  on  his  premises,  which  was  erected 
in    1852.     On    Dec.    21,    1848,    he    was 
united  in  marriage  with  Elizabeth  Hall, 
a  native  of  this  county,  and  a  daughter 
of  Thomas    and   Mary    (McVay)    Hall. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Bradley  were  the  parents 
of  Ki  children,  eight   of  whom   are  liv- 
ing— Mary   E.,    wife  of    George    Short, 
living  in  Page  county,    Mo.;   James  B., 
married  Emily  Barnett,  living  in  Marion 
county,    Kan.;    Clarissa   H.,    deceased, 


828 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


wife  of  Oscar  Clendennen,  deceased, 
she  dying  in  Jan.,  1872,  and  he  three 
days  later,  leaving  two  children — Reu- 
ben and  Nettie,  who  are  heing  reared  by 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Bradley;  Thomas  A., 
married  Phenie  Cafer,  lives  in  Wood- 
ville  township;  Jeannette  Z.,  wife  of 
Martin  Bowman,  living  in  Bluffdale 
township;  Reuben  H.,  married  Laura 
Smith,  living  in  Marion  county,  Kan.; 
Charles  D.,  living  at  home;  Joseph  L., 
living  out  west;  George  I.,  deceased, 
and  an  infant  not  yet  named.  Mr. 
Bradley  is  an  enterprising  gentleman, 
and  holds  a  high  place  in  the  estima- 
tion of  all  who  have  any  acquaintance 
with  him.  Starting  out  in  the  world 
with  no  capital,  he  has  acquired  what 
may  be  considered  a  small  fortune,  all 
of  which  is  due  to  good  management 
and  close  attention  to  everything  per- 
taining to  the  business  of  farming. 

Hartwell  Hunnicutt  and  his  family 
made  a  settlement  in  this  township  in 
the  spring  of  1820.  He  was  a  native  of 
South  Carolina,  and  in  1817,  removed 
to  the  territory  of  Illinois,  and  located 
between  the  mouth  of  Wood  river  and 
the  American  Bottom.  There  they  re- 
mained until  the  date  above,  when  he 
tame  to  this  county.  On  the  1st  day  of 
May,  of  that  year,  he  settled  on  section 
3,  of  this  township,  where  he  lived  until 
1823,  when  he  removed  to  Walkerville 
township,  where  he  died  in  1833,  in  the 
latter  part  of  February.  Mrs.  Hunni- 
cutt, formerly  Margaret  Cunningham, 
died  in  1837. 

Gideon  Spencer  settled  in  1820,  or 
'21,  on  the  place  owned  by  Spencer  G. 
Russell,  where  he  lived  until  his  death. 

Edward  Flatt  came  to  this  township 
in    1820,   and  made  a  settlement.     He 


was  born  in  Barren  county,  Ky.,  and 
was  the  son  of  John  and  Patience 
(Logston)  Flatt.  He  was  reared  in  his 
native  state,  and  there  he  was  married, 
in  his  19th  year,  to  Rosa  Garrison,  a 
native  of  North  Carolina.  From  there 
they  removed  to  Hamilton  county,  111., 
and  in  1820,  to  this  county,  as  above 
stated.  He  purchased  an  improvement 
when  he  came  here,  but  subsequently 
settled  on  section  14,  where  he  made  his 
home  until  Sept.,  1879,  when  death 
called  him  from  this  world.  He  was 
the  parent  of  eight  children — James, 
deceased;  Patience,  deceased;  John; 
Ransom,  married  Ann  Reed,  both  dead; 
Polly,  wife  of  Alex.  Logan;  Jesse,  de- 
ceased; Aaron,  deceased;  David,  also 
dead. 

John  Flatt,  the  only  surviving  son, 
was  born  in  Kentucky,  Sept.  15,  1815; 
was  married  in  1843  to  Elizabeth  Gar- 
rison, who  died  in  1866.  He  was  again 
united  in  marriage,  in  March,  1868, 
with  Martha  Chapman. 

Jesse  Flatt,  deceased,  was  born  in 
Kentucky,  and  was  a  son  of  Edward  and 
Rosa  Flatt,  both  natives  of  Virginia. 
He  was  reared  in  that  state  until  reach- 
ing the  age  of  about  16  years,  when  his 
parents  removed  to  Illinois,  locating  in 
what  is  now  Bluffdale  township,  Greene 
county,  some  time  after  1820.  He  was 
here  married  to  Rhoda  Kay,  ami  that 
union  was  blessed  with  three  children — ■ 
Wesley,  whose  sketch  follows  this; 
John  B.,  married  Kate  Bechdoklt,  and 
resides  in  Bluffdale  township;  and 
James  P.,  married  Angeline  Bushnell, 
also  living  in  this  township.  Mrs.  Flatt 
died  in  1864.  On  the  18th  day  of  May, 
1865,  Mr.  Flatt  was  again  married  to 
Jeannetta  Taylor,   a  daughter  of  Fred- 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


829 


erick  and  Jeannetta  (Jackson)  Taylor. 
Her  father  was  a  native  of  Pennsylvania, 
her  mother,  of  Kentucky.  They  came 
to  Calhoun  county,  111.,  in  1820,  where 
Mr.  Taylor  resided  until  his  death, 
which  occurred  in  1850.  Mrs.  Taylor 
died  in  1877,  and  was  buried  in  Cal- 
houn county.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Flatt  were 
the  parents  of  three  children — Emma, 
Ross  and  Jesse.  Mr.  Flatt  died  on  the 
25th  of  April,  1873,  and  was  buried  in 
the  Simpson  cemetery.  He  was  a  good 
citizen,  a  kind  father  and  husband,  and 
his  loss  was  deeply  felt  by  all.  Mrs. 
Flatt  was  again  married  on  the  6th  day 
of  Nov.,  1874,  to  Daniel  Harkins.  By 
tins  marriage  there  are  five  children — 
Freddie,  Cora  B.,  Rollie,  Susie  and 
Danna.  Mrs.  Harkins  owns  Gi)  acres  of 
land,  on  Sec  16,  R.  12,  ami  200  acres  in 
Allen  county,  Kan. 

Wesley  Flatt,  eldest  son  of  Jesse  and 
Rhoda  (Ray)  Flatt,  was  born  Oct.  8, 
1840,  in  what  is  now  Bluffdale  township, 
in  Greene  county,  Illinois.  He  was 
reared  in  the  township,  and  lias  always 
made  it  his  hemic.  On  Dec.  9,  1866  he 
was  united  in  marriage  with  Ellen  M. 
Davis,  a  native  of  Winchester,  Scott 
county,  111.,  in  which  place  she  grew  to 
womanhood.  She  is  a  daughter  of  Au- 
gustus and  Esther  (Lyman)  Davis.  Mr. 
Flatt  owns  (in  acres  of  land  in  Bluffdale 
township,  making  his  home  on  Sec.  20, 
T.  in.  R.  13,  west.  His  parents  were 
among  the  early  settlers  of  this  county, 
coming  here  more  than  half  a  century 
ago,  hence  they  are  mentioned  in  connec- 
tion with  the  early  settlement  of  this 
township.  Mr.  Flatt  is  now  commis- 
sioner of  roads  in  Bluffdale    township. 

James  B.  Flatt  was  born  in  what  is 
now  Bluffdale  township, Greene  county. 


Oct.  31,  1844,  his  parents  being  Jesse 
and  Rhoda  Flatt.  He  wa's  reined  here 
and  was  married  Jan.  18,  1870,  to  Ange- 
line  Bushnell, a  native  of  ( rreene  county, 
and  a  daughter  of  Curtis  Bushnell.  By 
this  union  they  have  had  five  children 
— Mary  Ellen,  Alice,  Rhoda,  deceased; 
Luella,  Myrtle  and  Wesley.  Mr.  Flatt 
owns  land  in  T.  10,  R.  13. 

W.  M.  Flatt  was  born  on  the  15th  of 
March,  1854,  at  the  place  where  he  now 
lives,  in  Bluffdale  township,  Greene 
countj  ,  111.  He  is  a  son  of  Ransom  and 
Sally  AnnFlatt,  natives  of  Illinois. who 
settled  in  this  state  about  the  year  1820. 
Willet  received  his  education  in  the  dis- 
trict schools  of  the  neighborhood,  and 
outside  of  school  hours,  his  time  was 
spent  in  assisting  with  the  work  on  the 
farm.  He  now  owns  69  acres  of  land  in 
T.  11,  R.  13,  where  he  is  engaged  in 
fanning.  On  the  20th  of  Aug.,  1877, 
Mr.  Flatt  was  united  in  marriage  with 
Lugina  Bradford,  a  daughter  of  Robert 
and  Rosa  (  Louper)  Bradford,  now  living 
in  Calhoun  county.  By  this  marriage 
there  are  three  children — Robert  Ran- 
som, Dennis  and  Edward,  making  an 
interesting  little  family  to  labor  for. 

('apt.  Richard  Robley  came  to  this 
township,  and  made  a  settlement  in  the 
Spring  of  1821,      He  had    come  here    tin' 

year  previous  and  selected  his  lands. 

Richard  Robley,  one  of  the  early  set- 
tlers of  this  county,  was  born  in  New 
Hampshire,  on  the  12th  of  May,  1791, 
and  was  a  son  of  Matthew  and  Mary 
(Scotti  b'obley,  natives  of  England. 
The  family  consisted  of  seven  child- 
ren— Elizabeth,  Mary,  Eunice,  Angeline, 
Matthew,  Richard  and  Henry.  On  the 
11th  day  of  August,  1814,  Richard  was 
married  to  Desire  Griswold.     This  mar- 


830 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


riage  was  blessed  with  seven  children — 
Eliza  A.,  married  Thomas  J.  Brown, 
died  Dec.  29,  1834;  Henry  G.,  married 
Camline  Griswold,  lives  near  Carlin- 
ville;  George  B.,  married  Mary  Jordan, 
lives  in  this  county;  Charles,  whose 
sketch  follows  this,  lives  on  the  old 
homestead;  Emily,  married  to  Julius 
Twitchell,  died  Sept.  22,  1872;  Villroy, 
married  Catharine  Spencer,  lives  in  this 
township;  Walter  S.,  died  Nov.  6,  1836; 
Mary,  wife  of  Thaddeus  Brace,  resides 
in  Carrollton.  Mr.  Robley  came  from 
Yergennes,  Vt.,  to  Greene  county,  111., 
in  1820,  when  this  country  was  but  a 
vvild  prairie  and  selected  a  location, 
where  he  built  a  log  cabin.  This  was 
tin  only  move  he  ever  made.  In  the 
spring  of  1821,  he  went  for  his  family  to 
St.  Louis,  having  left  them  in  Missouri 
while  he  went  in  search  of  a  good  place 
to  settle.  He  brought  them  on  a  fiat 
boat,  which  he  had  built  for  that  pur- 
pose, landing  at  the  point  where  the 
town  of  Newport  is  now  located.  Mr. 
Robley  resided  in  this  township,  in  which 
he  first  located,  for  more  than  half  acen- 
tury.  He  was  captain  of  a  militia  com- 
pany during  the  time  of  the  Black  Hawk 
war.  He  died  on  the  3d  of  January, 
1879,  at  the  age  of  81  years,  having  sur- 
vived his  wife  over  40  years.  She  died 
on  the  22d  of  July,  1836.  They  are 
buried  in  the  family  burying  ground, 
side  by  side. 

Charles  Robley  was  horn  on  the  6th 
day  of  Nov.,  1822,  on  the  farm  where 
he  has  been  reared,  and  where  he  still 
resides.  ( >n  the  15th  day  of  Nov.,  1849, 
he  was  united  in  marriage  with  Lydia 
A.  Day,  a  daughter  of  Samuel  Day,  a 
native  of  Vermont.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Robley  are  the  parents  of  four  children 


— Walter,  married  Louisa  Crane,  now 
residing  near  Greenfield;  Henry  S., 
married  Mary  Crane,  living  six  miles 
east  of  Carrollton;  Emily,  wife  of  Geo. 
Giller,  living  in  Kirksville,  Mo.,  and 
Arthur,  living  at  home.  Mr.  Robley  is 
the  possessor  of  680  acres  of  land  on 
sections  S,  '.),  10  and  15,  and  200  acres 
lying  east  of  Carrollton,  and  has  sur- 
rounded himself  with  all  the  comforts 
of  a  good  home.  On  account  of  his 
many  good  qualities,  he  commands  the 
respect  and  esteem  of  all  his  acquaint- 
ances. 

Villroy  Robley  was  born  in  Greene 
county,  Illinois,  on  the  26th  of  August, 
1827,  and  is  a  son  of  Richard  and  Desire 
(Griswold)  Robley,  whose  sketch  ap- 
pears in  this  work.  Villroy  was  reared 
to  farm  life  and  assisted  his  parents  on 
the  farm  until  his  marriage.  Mr.  Rob- 
ley was  married  April  27,  1854,  to  Cath- 
arine Spencer,  a  daughter  of  Stephen  and 
Catherine  Spencer,  whose  sketch  also  ap- 
pears in  this  volume.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Robley  are  the  parents  of  seven  children 
— Edward  V.,  living  at  home;  Charlie 
A.,  deceased;  Mary  E.,  deceased,  aged 
11  months;  Cora  B.,  wife  of  Thompson 
B.  Gullet,  wdio  died,  leaving  her  with 
the  care  of  a  daughter;  Clara  E.,  Lettie 
A.,  and  Harry  A.,  living  at  home.  Mr. 
Robley  has,  by  energy,  good  man- 
agement, and  close  attention  to  business, 
been  enabled  to  acquire  a  considerable 
amount  of  property,  and  he  is  now  pos- 
sessed of  1,365  of  land,  all  of  which  is 
in  Greene  county,  except  160  acres  in 
Kansas.  It  is  well  improved,  and  has 
a  substantial  residence  and  outbuildings 
thereon,  making  it  a  very  comfortable 
home.  Mr.  Robley  divides  his  atten- 
tion between  the   raising    of  stock   and 


grain,  and  his  labor  in  that  direction 
has  met  with  decided  success.  He  has 
never  aspired  to  any  public  office,  nor 
never  intends  to,  unless  it  would  be  for 
the  presidency. 

George  B.  Robley,  son  of  Richard 
Robley,  one  of  the  pioneers  of  Greene 
county,  was  born  in  Vergennes,  Yt., 
June  16,  1819.  When  he  was  but  a  year 
old  his  parents  removed  to  Illinois  and 
located  under  the  bluff,  in  Bluffdale 
township,  uii  Sec.  '■».  T.  10,  1!.  13,  where 
his  father  built  what  was  known  as  the 
Buckeye  cabin,  at  a  spot  where  a  bear 
had  been  killed  just  previous  to  the  erec- 
tion of  the  cabin.  Wild  animals  of  almost 
every  description  abounded  here  then, 
and  even  Indians  were  yet  numerous, 
as  settlers  had  not  as  yet  come  in  suffi- 
cient numbers  to  push  them  farther 
back.  The  location  was  then,  indeed,  a 
wild  one,  the  nearest  neighbors  to  this 
pioneer  family  being  the  families  of 
Gideon  Spencer,  a  man  named  Brush, 
J.H.Rogers,  Mr.  Davenport,  Hartwell 
Hunnicutt,  and  a  few  others  scattered 
here  and  there  through  the  county.  The 
first  year  or  two  the  family  were  all 
sick,  and  were  attended  by  the  pioneer 
physician,  Dr.  Potts,  who  used  to  come 
down  from  near  Carrollton  to  attend 
them.  Among  such  scenes  as  might  be 
expected  in  a  new  country  of  this  sort, 
George  B.  was  reared  and  grew  to  man- 
hood. He  resided  with  his  parents 
until  the  time  of  his  marriage,  Dec.  31, 
1*47,  to  Nancy  A.  Jordan,  a  native  of 
Pennsylvania,  born  near  Waynesburg. 
Her  parents  were  William  and  Cath- 
arine (Rummell)  Jordan,  who  came  to 
this  county  in  1845,  and  located  in  this 
township.  Her  father  died  at  Cham- 
paign, May  23,  1870.       Her   mother  is 


still  living  in  Montgomery  county.  111., 
in  the  89th  year  of  her  age.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  George  Robley  were  the  parents  of 
six  children,  of  whom  five  arc  living — 
Angeline,  living  at  home,  married  Geo. 
C'hizum,  now  deceased:  Albert,  who 
was  killed  by  lightning  in  1880;  Eliza, 
wife  of  William  0.  Eldred,  living  near 
Wichita,  Sedgwick  county,  Kan.:  Alice, 
at  home:  Etta,  wife  of  Ward  Eldred. 
living  in  this  township:  Mary,  wife  of 
William  Evans,  living  at  Chatauqua, 
Kan.  The  family  have  lived  at  their 
present  location,  on  section  2.  in  Bluff- 
dale  township,  since  18-37,  the  farm  con- 
sisting of  190  acres  of  well  improved 
land.  Mr.  Robley  is  a  member  of 
White  Hall  lodge,  No.  SO,  A.  E.  A-  A. 
M.  He  has  been  connected  with  the 
schools  of  his  township,  as  director  of 
district  No.  1,  and  has  borne  his  .share 
of  the  burdens  of  local  office.  The 
Robley  family  have  been  identified  with 
Greene  county  almost  since  Illinois  was 
a  territory,  and  many  of  its  representa- 
tives are  still  residents  here.  What 
was  then  a  wilderness  is  now  one  of  the 
most  prosperous  sections  of  the  state, 
and  this  pioneer  family  have  win 
all  of  its  developments. 

In  1822,  David  Woolley  left  his  home 
in  New  York  with  his  family,  and  came 
west  some  300  miles  by  team,  to  the 
Allegheny,  thence  down  that  river  and 
the  Ohio  to  the  Mississippi  in  a  flat- 
boat,  lie  located  on  section  21,  under 
the  bluff  in  this  town-hip.  to  which  he 
brought  his  family.  He  was  a  nativeof 
the  hill- of  Washington  county,  N.  Y.. 
and  was  united  in  marriage,  in  thai 
place,  with  Laura  Hodge,  also  a  native 
of  the  same  county.  Mr.  Woolley  was 
a  mill-wright    by   trade,    and  followed 


832 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


that  business  somewhat  in  this  part  of 
the  country.  He  and  his  wife  were  the 
parents  of  13  children,  eight  of  whom 
are  living.  Mr.  Wbolley  lived  on  the 
place  where  he  located,  although  absent 
at  times  on  business,  until  his  death,  in 
Aug.,  I860.  His  wife  died  in  Macoupin 
county,  at  the  residence  of  her  daugh- 
ter. 

Sanmel  Gates  settled  here  about  the 
year  1823,  on  section  21,  under  the 
bluff,  where  he  and  his  wife  died  in 
after  years.  Among  their  children  were: 
Harriet,  who  married  a  man  by  the 
name  of  Sprague,  but  she  is  now  dead; 
Eunice,  lives  in  Jacksonville;  Phoebe, 
married  Jacob  Strawn,  living  also  in 
J acksonville; Susan, married  Dr. Sterrett, 
of  Winchester;  Daniel,  deceased;  James, 
now  a  resident  of  Iowa,  and  Marion, 
deceased. 

Seldon  Beebe  came  to  Bluffdale  about 
this  time,  from  Apple  Creek  Prairie, 
where  he  settled  about  1820.  He  is  no- 
ticed in  connection  with  his  settlement 
in  that  place,  in  greater  detail. 

•lames  Stockton  made  a  settlement  on 
Sec.  35,  T.  11,  R.  13,  in  1823,  and  im- 
proving the  land,  lived  there  many 
years. 

Daniel  Bushnell,  a  native  of  Massa- 
chusetts, a  single  man  at  the  time,  came 
west  in  1824,  and  located  in  this  town- 
ship, and  made  it  his  home  until  he 
died,  in  1850.  He  was  married  here  in 
1829,  to  ParthenJa  Norris;  they  were  the 
parents  of  eight  children. 

William  McAdams  came  to  this  town- 
ship about  the  year  1824,  and  made  a 
settlement.  He  was  a  native  of  Tennes- 
see, born  in  1797.  He  was  married  in 
181  I.  to  Beckic  Cashin,  and  they  were 
the  parents  of  12  children,  six  of  whom 


are  living.  He  died  here  April  9,  1849, 
and  his  wife  survived  until  the  25th  of 
Dec,  1S80.  Joseph  McAdams,  their 
son, was  born  in  this  county  in  182(5,  and 
is  still  living  in  this  township. 

Among  the  settlers  of  1826,  in  this 
township  was  John  Nolan,  who  was 
born  in  Kentucky,  on  the  17th  of  May, 
1817.  When  nine  years  of  age,  he  came 
to  Greene  county,  and  for  a  time  made 
his  home  with  Hartwell  Himnicutt,  but 
had  mi  permanent  location  until  he  at- 
tained the  age  of  18  years,  when  he  was 
united  in  marriage  with  Mary  Elizabeth 
Flatt,  a  native  of  Kentucky.  After  his 
marriage,  Mr.  Nolan  located  on  the 
southeast  quarter  of  Sec.  1,  T.  10.  R.  13, 
in  what  is  now  Bluffdale  township. 
where  he  resided  up  to  the  day  of  his 
death,  Oct.  14,  1879.  His  wife  died  Dec. 
8,  1883,  and  was  buried  beside  her  hus- 
band, in  the  Carrollton  cemetery.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Nolan  were  the  parents  of  five 
children — Dennis  R.,who  married  Mary 
Lahr,  and  now  resides  in  Montgomery 
county,  Mo.;  Lottie  T..  the  wife  of 
Jacob  Conrad,  of  Bluffdale  township; 
Ellen,  John  and  William  H. 

William  H.  Nolan,  the  youngest  son 
of  John  and  Elizabeth  Nolan,  was  born 
in  this  county  on  the  1st  of  Feb.,  1861. 
He  was  reared  and  educated  in  the 
township  where  his  father  settled,  over 
half  a  century  ago.  He  was  united  in  mar- 
riage in  this  county,  on  the  13th  of 
Sept.,  1882,  with  Mary  D.,  a  daughter 
of  Nathaniel  and  .Mary  (Kennedy) 
Brown.  Her  father  was  a  native  of 
Tennessee,  and  her  mother,  of  Ken- 
tucky, while  she  was  born  in  Iowa.  Mr. 
Brown  is  now  a  resident  of  Bluffdale 
township,  his  wife  having  died  in  March, 
1879.     Mr.  and   Mrs.   Nolan  have  been 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


833 


blessed  with  one  child — Mary  Eunice. 
Mr.  Nolan  is  now  the  possessor  of  130 
acres  of  land  in  Bluff  dale  township,  sec- 
tion 36,  which  is  well  improved.  As 
noted  above,  his  father  was  numbered 
among  the  early  settlers  of  Greene 
county,  having  come  here  when  the 
country  was  in  a  wild  state,  lie,  hew- 
ever  lived  to  see  it  changed  to  one  of 
the  most  prosperous  counties  in  the 
state. 

Jesse  H.  Rogers,  settled  on  Sec.  9,  in 
this  township,  in  an  early  day.  He  was 
a  smart,  enterprising  man,  and  in  these 
times  had  the  best  herd  of  fine  cattle  that 
was  owned  in  this  region.  He  was  born 
at  Sag  Harbor,  Long  Island,  N.  Y.,  and 
in  1816,  moved  to  St.  Louis.  While 
there  he  was  united  in  marriage  with 
Anna,  daughter  of  Gideon  Spencer.  He 
wasa  builder  and  contractor,  and  erected 
the  United  States  arsenal,  part  of  Jeffer- 
son Barracks,  and  the  court-house,  and 
many  others  of  the  largest  and  finest 
buildings  in  St.  Louis.  At  the  time  of 
his  death,  in  Aug.,  1838,  he  had  on  his 
hands  a  $200,000  contract  on  the  Illinois 
and  Michigan  canal.  He  lived  at  that 
time  in  this  township. 

In  1828,  John  Russell  came  to  this 
township  and  settled  on  section  4. 

John  Russell,  deceased,  was  born  in 
Cavendish,  Windsor  county,  Vt.,  July 
31,  17'.);;,  his  parents  being  John  and 
Lucretia  (Preston)  Russell.  His  father 
was  a  Baptist  preacher,  and  was  a  native 
of  Wethersfield,  Conn.,  as  was  also  his 
wife.  There  the  family  had  lived,  in 
generations  farther  hack,  since  1622. 
John  received  such  education  as  the 
common  schools  afforded,  supplemented 
afterward  by  a  collegiate  course  at  the 
Middlebury  College,  which   he   entered 


March  25,  1814.  He  hail  ere  that,  com- 
menced authorship  as  a  means  of  ob- 
taining pecuniary  funds  for  educating 
himself,  his  first  work  being  "The  Au- 
thentic History  of  the  Vermont  State 
Prison,'-  published  at  Windsor,  in  1812. 
By  the  profits  received  from  the  sale  of 
this  work,  by  funds  received  for  ser- 
vices as  a  school  teacher,  and  by  other 
means,  he  was  enabled  to  finish  Ins 
college  course,  graduating  in  the  class 
of  1818.  He  immediately  went  from 
Middlebury,  Conn.,  to  Georgia,  where 
he  taught  school  three  months,  but  not 
liking  the  country,  he  left  there  and 
overtook  his  father,  then  on  his  way  to 
the  state  of  Missouri,  at  Whitewater, 
Ind.,  where  he  was  married  to  Laura 
Ann  Spencer,  Oct.  25,  IMS.  She  was  a 
daughter  of  Captain  Gideon  Spencer,  of 
Vergennes,  Vt.,  where  Mr.  R.  taught 
school  nearly  a  year.  In  1819  he  removed 
to  Missouri  where  he  taught  five  years 
in  the  Bonhommie  Bottom,  and  while 
there  he  wrote  for  the  St.  Charles  \Lls- 
sourian,  a  local  paper,  an  anonymous 
article  entitled  "TheYenomous  Worm," 
which  immediately  began  to  attract  at- 
tention, and  soon  became  universally 
known  and  read.  It  went  the  rounds  of 
the  press  both  in  America  and  in 
Europe,  where  it  was  translated  and 
published  in  many  languages.  When 
Pierpont,  the  poet,  compiled  his 
'•National  Reader,''  this  article  was  in- 
troduced into  it,  and  afterward  into  the 
McGuffey  readers.  It  has,  since  the 
time  of'its  loiiceptioii.exerted  a  powerful 
influence  over  public  opinion  and  the 
minds  of  school  children.  After  leaving 
Bonhommie.  Mr.  Russell  taught  a  year 
at  St.  Louis,  which  was  then  a  little 
French  town.       He  then  taught  in  Van- 


834 


HISTORY  OP  GREENE  COUNTY. 


dalia,  111.,  and  two  years  in  Alton  Sem- 
inary, now  Shurtleff  College.  In  1828 
he  came  to  ( freene  county,  and  Located 
on  Sec.  4,  T.  10,  1!.  13.  He  gave  the  name 
of  Bluffdale  to  his  premises,  which  has 
given  its  title  to  the  township.  He  re- 
ceived license  as  a  preacher,  from  the 
Baptist  church  at  Bluffdale,  Feb.  9, 
1833,  he,  however,  only  preaching  oc- 
casionally. He  was  principal  of  Spring 
Hill  Academy,  in  the  parish  of  East 
Feliciana,  .  La.,  for  eight  years,  during 
which  time  he  was  also  superintendent 
of  public  schools  iii  the  parish.  Onhis 
return  home  in  the  summer  of  1813,  he 
found  the  little  church,  to  which  he  be- 
longed, much  demoralized.  He  preached 
to  the  Hock  a  sermon  entitled,  '"The 
Serpent  Uncoiled,  or  a  Full-length  View 
of  Universalism,"  which  was  printed, 
and  acquired  a  great  deal  of  popularity. 
He  wrote  for  the  press  continually,  dur- 
ing the  last  25  years  of  his  life.  He  was 
the  first  editor  of  the  Backwoodsman,  at 
(1  ration,  Illinois,  having  furnished  the 
brains  of  that  institution  during  the 
years  1838-39.  In  1841-42,  he  edited 
the  Advertiser,  at  Louisville,  Ivy.,  and 
after  that  contributed  for  it  continually. 
At  the  time  of  his  death  he  had  in  pro- 
gress several  elaborate  works,  among 
them  "The  Black  Hawk  War,"  "Evi- 
dences of  Christianity,"  and  a  "History 
of  Illinois."  He  read  with  fluency 
Greek,  Latin,  French,  Spanish,  German 
and  Italian,  and  had  a  knowledge  of 
Dutch,  Welch  and  Icelandic.  In  1862 
he  received  the  degree  of  Doctor  of 
Laws  from  the  University  of  Chicago. 
He  was  the  author  of  "The  Mormoness," 
"Little Granite,"  "Alice Wade,"  -'Lame 
Isaac,"  "Going  to  Mill,"  "Claudine 
La  Yalle,  or  the   First  Trial  by  Jury." 


All  of  these  were  stereotyped  and  some 
went  through  several  editions  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  John  Russell  were  the  pa- 
rents of  four  children,  who  grew  up 
to  manhood  and  womanhood.  Dr. 
William  A/J.,  a  graduate  of  the  Iowa 
State  University  at  Keokuk,  wdio  mar- 
ried Caroline  Pegram.  He  was  cap- 
tain of  Co.  G,  ldth  Mo.  Vol.,  and 
was  killed  Nov.  25,  1863,  in  battle,  in 
the  second  charge  at  Mission  Ridge; 
Juliet  A.  E.,  wife  of  Bainbridge Gilling- 
ham,  living  in  Walkerville  township; 
Spencer  G.,  whose  sketch  follows  this, 
and  Francis  I.,  married  Sarah  J.  Burk- 
holder,  and  lives  in  Hamilton,  111. 
John  Russell  died  Jan.  21,  1863,  and  is 
buried  on  the  old  homestead.  His  wife 
is  still  living,  making  her  home  with 
Spencer  G.,  at  the  old  family  home,  a 
most  pleasant  place. 

Spencer  (i.  Russell,  son  of  John  and 
Laura  Ann  (Spencer)  Russell,  was  born 
in  Greene  county,  on  the  place  on  which 
his  father  had  settled  in  1828.  The 
date  of  his  birth  was  Feb.  10,  1828.  He 
was  reared  in  the  township,  and  early 
received  such  education  as  the  pioneer 
schools  of  that  day  afforded.  At  the 
age  of  18  years  he  began  a  collegiate  ed- 
ucation at  Shurtleff  College,  Upper 
Alton.  He  there  graduated  June  23, 
1853,  in  the  classical  course,  receiving 
the  degree  of  B.  A.  He  then  began 
reading  law  with  C.  D.  Hodges,  at  Car- 
rollton,  there  continuing  three  years. 
He  then  returned  to  Shurtleff  College, 
where  lie  received  the  degree  of  A.  M., 
on  the  26th  of  June,  1856.  After  com- 
pleting his  education,  he  then  returned 
to  Carrollton,  and  commenced  the 
practice  of  the  legal  profession.  From 
there      he     came      back      to     Bluffdale 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


835 


township;  bought  his  father's  farm,  and 
lias  since  resided  on  it.  He  was  married 
Dec.  10,  1856,  to  Louisa  C.  Spencer  a 
native  of  Morgan  county,  though  reared 
in  Greene  county,  from  her  first  year. 
She  was  a  daughter  of  Maj.  Stephen 
W.  and  Mary  (Smith)  Spencer,  he  a 
native  of  Yergennes,  Vermont,  and  she 
of  Addison  county,  Vermont.  Her 
father  was  a  major  in  the  war  of  1812. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Russell  are  the  parents  of 
live  children — Pauline,  Hugh  S.,  Wil- 
liam M.  and  Frank  II.,  twins,  and  Nora. 
Mr.  Russell  owns  640  acres  of  land,  all 
in  one  body,  in  this  township.  Mr. 
Russell  is  a  surveyor,  and  has  done  con- 
siderable work  in  that  profession,  partly 
in  this  state,  and  was  also  engaged  for  a 
short  time  on  the  Iron  Mountain  road, 
in  that  capacity.  Nearly  a  decade  over 
half  a  century  his  parents  came  to  this 
county,  and  his  father  was  identified 
with  a  number  of  events  in  its  early  his- 
tory, and  equally  so  with  that  of  other 
communities,  and,  in  fact,  was  a  man 
probably  as  well  known  over  the  country 
at  large,  as  in  Greene  county.  Spencer 
Russell  has,  at  his  home,  many  relies  of 
by-gone  days,  among  them  hundreds  of 
autograph  letters,  written  to  his  father 
by  some  of  the  most  noted  characters 
in  American  history.  He  also  has  relies 
of  the  battle  fields  around  Chattanooga, 
collected  by  him  when  he  went  after  the 
body  of  the  brother  who  gave  up  his 
life  at  Mission  Ridge.  The  postoffice  a1 
Bluffdale  has  been  conducted  by  some 
member  of  the  family  ever  since  it  was 
established,  and  Spencer  G.  has  been 
cither  postmaster  or  deputy  for  over 
half  a  century)  having  been  sworn  in  as 
deputy  when  seven  years  of  age.  His 
grandfather  Spencer  was  one  of  the  min- 


ute men  in  the  Revolution,  and  Mr. 
Russell  now  has  some  of  the  money 
with  which  he  was  paid. 

William  Halbut,  with  his  family, 
came  to  this  township  in  Nov.,  1828, 
and  located  on  the  east  halfofthe  south- 
west quarter  of  section  11.  He  came  to 
this  county  from  Ohio,  and  resided  on 
the  farm  he  made  until  1860,  when  he 
was  called  to  the  better  land.  His  first 
wife,  Matilda  Pilcher,  died  in  Ohio,  and 
he  was  united  in  marriage  with  a  Miss 
Good,  in  that  state.  She  is  still  living 
in  Missouri,  with  her  daughter. 

[sham  Adcock  made  a  settlement  on 
section  25,  in  1830.  He  resided  there 
until  his  death,  which  occurred  April 
18,  18-">7.  lie  was  a  Kentuckian  by 
birth,  and  married,  in  that  state  to 
Rachel  Stinnet.  His  wife  is  still  sur- 
viving. 

John  Adcock  was  born  in  Greene 
county,  111.,  on  the  11th  of  April,  1832. 
He  is  a  son  of  Isham  and  Rachel  (Stin- 
nett) Adcock,  natives  of  the  state  of 
Kentucky.  His  father  died  on  the  18th 
of  April,  1857,  while  living  on  what  is 
known  as  the  Jonas  Ward  farm,  about 
one  and  one-half  miles  northeast  of  the 
town  of  Woodville.  His  mother  is  still 
living,  and  resides  with  her  children. 
On  the  16th  of  June,  1859,  John  Adcock 
was  married  to  l.ydia  Hooper,  a  daugh- 
ter of  William  and  Elizabeth  (Witt) 
Hooper.  Mr.  Adcock  has  a  farm  of  Kit) 
acres  on  Sec.  36,  T.  10,  R.  13,  and  also 
owns  a  house  and  lot  in  Woodville.  He 
is  a  steady,  industrious  farmer,  and  well 
respected  by   the  community  in  which 

he  resides. 

Pennell  Short  came  to  Greene  county 
in  the  fall  of  1831,  and  like  all  those 
who  had  lived   in    the  timber  lands    of 


836 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


Kentucky,  settled  in  the  forests  that 
clothed  this  part  of  the  county,  near 
the  present  sit''  of  the  village  of  Wood- 
vine.  Here  he  lived  until  1853,  when 
he  was  called  hence  by  death. 

John  Short  was  burn  in  Scott  county, 
Ky.,  on  the  17th  of  Oct. ,  in  the  year 
1815,  and  is  a  son  of  Fennel]  and  Jane 
(Butler)  Short.  His  father  was  a  native 
of  Delaware,  and  bis  mother  of  Indiana. 
John  came  with  bis  parents  to  Greene 
county,  in  the  fall  of  1831,  and  they 
settled  not  far  from  Woodville.  His 
father  died  in  1853,  and  was  buried  at 
the  Donnegan  cemetery.  His  mother 
died  in  Kentucky,  in  the  year  1821. 
Mr.  Short,  our  subject,  was  married  on 
the  17th  of  Oct.,  1839,  (his  birthday)  to 
Mary  French,  a  native  of  Tennessee. 
She  was  the  daughter  of  Nathan  and 
Nancy  French,  natives  of  Tennessee. 
This  union  was  blessed  with  eight  chil- 
dren— James  A., married  Olivia  Tillery, 
both  now  deceased;  Nancy  J.,  died  in 
her  loth  year;  Mary,  wife  of  Peter  Hall, 
who  is  now  dead,  resides  in  Hamilton; 
Cassy  E.,  wife  of  William  Swires,  liv- 
ing in  this  township;  JohnM.,  married 
Mary  Anderson,  living  in  Bluffdale 
township;  Martha  A.,  wife  of  Theodore 
Tillery,  also  in  this  township;  William 
C,  deceased;  Margaret,  wife  of  George 
Claflin,  living  in  this  township.  Mr. 
Short  has  80  acres  of  land,  which  be 
cultivates,  and  is  a  thrifty  farmer, 
and     a    good    and     influential    citizen. 

A.  Wood  came  to  Greene  county  in 
ls.">.">,  and  settled  on  the  farm  now 
owned  by  his  son,  John  L. 

Aman  Wood  was  born  in  the  state  of 
Maryland,  in  the  year  1777,  and  was  a 
son  of  Stephen  and  Rachel  Wood,  na- 
tives of  Maryland.     His  father  served 


in  the  war  of  1812.  Aman  moved,  with 
his  parents  to  Kentucky,  where  he  was 
married  to  Sarah  Baker,  a  daughter  of 
David  Baker.  They  were  the  parents 
of  14  children — Bennett,  deceased; 
.lames,  deceased;  Mahulda  and  Mahala, 
twins,  deceased;  Phebe,  deceased;  Cyn- 
thia, married  William  R.  Bice,  who 
died,  and  she  was  again  married  to 
James  Short;  Squire,  deceased:  Sarah, 
married  George  Bice,  now  deceased,  and 
is  again  married  to  Gillespie  Lapdice; 
Aquilla,  married  Mary  Dix;  Wilson 
and  Allen,  deceased;  John  L.,  the  sub- 
ject of  the  sketch  which  follows,  and 
one  child,  who  died  an  infant.  Mr. 
Wood  came  to  Greene  county  in  the 
fall  of  1833,  settling  in  Bluffdale  town- 
ship, on  the  section  where  John  L.  now 
resides.  The  town  of  Woodville  re- 
ceived its  name  from  Mr.  Wood.  He 
died  in  June,  1850,  and  was  buried  in 
Maberry  cemetery.  Mrs.  Wood  sur- 
vived him  15  years,  and  was  buried  by 
the  side  of  her  husband. 

John  L.  Wood,  a  son  of  Aman  and 
Sarah  (Baker)  Wood,  was  born  in  Ken- 
tucky, Feb.  17,  1825.  He  was  reared 
on  a  farm  and  has  always  been  engaged 
in  farming.  April  15,  1859,  he  was 
united  in  marriage  with  Mary  J.  Mar- 
shall, a  daughter  of  Sanford  and  Mary 
Marshall,  natives  of  Kentucky.  »Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Wood  are  the  parents  of  four 
children — Maxey,  died  Jan.  4,  1863; 
Letitia,  wife  of  Lualvis  Ilutehins,  living 
with  her  father;  Bufus,  living  at  home; 
and  Adella,  who  died  in  1869.  Mrs. 
Wood  departed  this  life  May  14,  1878, 
and  was  buried  in  the  Maberry  ceme- 
tery. Mr.  Wood  owns  H7  acres  of  land 
on  Sec.  36,  T.  10,  R.  IB.  on  which  he 
raises  stock  and  grain. 


Allen  B.  Wood  was  bora  Sept.  19, 
1822,  in  Kentucky.  He  was  united  in 
marriage  with Tryphena  Mulberry,  Dec. 
26,  1850.  She  was  bora  Aug.  26,  1827. 
By  this  union  there  were  eight  child- 
ren— John  P.,  born  Oct.  10,  1851;  I  I 
T..  born  Aug.  22,  1853;  Henrietta,  born 
Oct.  13,  1855,  died  at  the  age  of  two 
years:  Amelia  Viscar,  horn  May  2,  1858, 
died  at  the  age  of  two  years:  Sarah 
Adelene,  born  Nov.  13,  I860;  Judah 
Ethel,  horn  April  28,  1863;  Hattie 
Sophronia,  born  Dec.  •'!.  1865,  died  Oct. 
I.  1875;  Delia  Octavia,  born  Feb.  21, 
1869,  died  Dec.  27,  1876.  Mr.  Wood 
followed  farming  f<>r  a  few  years,  but  his 
health  failing  him  he  engaged  in  the 
utile  business,  in  which  be  was 
quite  successful.  In  the  year  1862  or 
'63,  his  health  again  failing,  lie  returned 
to  farm  life,  thinking  the  change  would 
benefit  him.  Here  he  resided  until  his 
death.  In  1869,  Mrs.  Wood's  health  be- 
gan to  fail,  -be  being  taken  with  a  severe 
cough,  which  finally  terminated  in  death 
on  the  18th  of  March,  1871.  She  left 
six  children  without  the  tender  care  of 
a  mother.  Mr.  Wood  soon  followed  his 
beloved  wife  to  the  grave,  his  death  oc- 
curring Sept.  21,  l*7-">.  He  had  been 
troubled  with  a  cough  for  16  years,  hut 
his  ambition  kept  him  up.  until  he  at 
last  fell  dead,  with  hemorrhage  of  the 
lungs,  leaving  the  younger  children  to 
the  care  of  the  two  eldest  sons  Perry 
and  George.  Mr.  and  Mrs  Wood  lived 
a  happy  life  together,  making  many 
friends  in  and  around  the  vicinity  of 
Woodville  and  through  the  county  of 
Greene.  Mr.  Wood  was  a  very  enter- 
prising man.  always  attentive  to  busi- 
ness and  gaining  many  friends  by  his 
honesty,     uprightness     and     integrity. 


John  P.  Wood  was  married  Sept.  ■".. 
1874,  to  Elvira  Maberry,  and  by  this 
union  there  were  three  children — Will- 
iam ('.,  living  with  his  grandfather, 
William  Maberry:  Kate  Pearl,  deceas  ed; 
Gertrude,  also  living  with  her  grand- 
parents. John  P.  Wood  died  June  21, 
1879,  and  his  wife  died  Aug.  1.  1880. 
George  T.  Wood  was  married  Oct.  25, 
1874  to  Mary  P.  Robinson,  of  Wood- 
ville. He  now  resides  at  Canon  City, 
Col.,  where  he  went  five  years  ago  this 
fall  on  account  of  ill  health,  and  is  now 
in  the  transfer  business  there.  He  has 
three  children  —  Claudius,  Roy  and 
Georgia  May.  Sarah  Adelene  Wood, 
unmarried,  travels  for  her  health,  which 
is  poor,  and  makes  her  home  with  re- 
latives— while  in  Greene  county  with 
her  uncle  and  sister.  Judah  E.  Wood 
wasmarried  Pee.  15,  1881,  to  P.  P.  An- 
drews, son  of  Nat  Andrews,  of  Carroll- 
ton.  Mr.  Andrews,  is  a  farmer,  and 
devotes  his  attention  mostly  to  rais- 
ing wheat.  They  have  one  child — 
Ethel,  bom  Oct.  23,  1882.  The  de- 
ceased members  of  the  Wood  family 
are  buried  side  by  side  in  the  Maberry 
cemetery. 

Stephen  Spencer  made  a  settlement 
in  this  township  in  1833,  and  died  here 
in  1846. 

Stephen  Spencer  was  horn  in  Pen- 
nington. Vt.,  of  English  parentage,  and 
was  educated  in  the  schools  of  his  na- 
tive state.  <  >ct.  29,  1829,  he  was  mar- 
ried to  Catherine  Walker,  daughter  of 
Johnson  Walker,  an  old  resident  of  the 
the  state  of  Vermont.  Mr.  Spencer  and 
wife  hail  five  children,  only  two  of 
whom  are  now  living.  In  the  fall  of 
1833  In-  left  the  scenes  of  his  childhood, 
for  the  great  west,  and  after  loading  his 


838 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


family  in  the  wagon,  with  sonic  others, 
started  for  Illinois,  where  the  arrived 
Oct.  28,  1833.  He  immediately  after 
settled  in  T.  10,  1!.  13,  Greene  county, 
at  the  base  of  the  bluffs  on  the  Illinois 
river  bottom.  The  following  year  he 
built  a  good,  commodious  brick  house, 
which  at  that  time  was  the  finest  and 
best  house  in  the  county.  Mr.  Spencer 
was  in  rather  comfortable  circumstances 
when  he  came  Illinois,  and  he  pur- 
chased a  tine  tract  of  land.  He  was 
among  that  hardy  class  of  New  Eng- 
enders who  inherit  purity  of  principles, 
energy,  and  economy,  and  was  a  fair  ex- 
ample of  the  Yankee  character,  pos- 
sessing these  qualities  in  a  high  degree. 
He  had  what  could  be  classed,  for  that 
day,  a  liberal  education,  and  was  a  man 
who,  by  his  careful  reading,  kept  well 
posted  on  the  current  topics  of  the  day. 
At  the  time  of  his  settling  on  the  Illi- 
nois bottom,  there  was  no  system  of  edu- 
cation, and  to  obviate  that  difficulty. 
for  the  benefit  of  his  own  and  others' 
children  of  the  neighborhood,  and  lie 
built  a  brick  school  at  his  own  expense. 
He  was  a  man  of  great  kindness  of  heart, 
and  his  liberality  was  felt  far  beyond 
the  limits  of  his  own  family.  He  was 
in  the  war  of  1812,  and  took  part  in  the 
contest  of  Plattsburg.  Mr.  Spencer 
was  generally  of  delicate  health.  Their 
only  daughter  is  the  wife  of  Vilroy  Rob- 
ley,  residing  within  a.  short  distance  of 
the  old  homestead.  Mr.  Spencer  died 
at  his  residence  on  the  2(>th  of  Nov., 
INK;.  Mrs.  Spencer  died  Sept.  9,  1873. 
Henry  R.  Spencer  was  horn  in  Ver- 
gennes,  Vt.,  May  8,  1833,  his  parents 
being  Stephen  and  Catherine  Spencer, 
with  whom  he  came  to  Illinois,  when 
hut  an  infant,  they  settling  a  epiarter  of 


a  mile  south  of  the  place  where  Mis. 
Etta  Spencer  now  resides.  Henry  R. 
was  twice  married.  First  on  the  11th 
of  June,  1856,  to  Laura  A.  Smead,  a  na- 
tive of  Vermont.  To  them  were  horn 
four  children,  the  first  of  whom  died 
when  an  infant — Stephen  W.,  born  Feb. 
5,  1859,  died  Feb.  1,  187'.),  at  the  age  of 
21  years;  William,  married  Libhie  Ed- 
monds, and  John  R.,  living  with  his 
brother,  William.  Mr.  Spencer  died 
Dec.  12,  1863.  Mr.  Spencer  was  again 
united  in  marriage,  on  the  9th  day  of 
Nov.,  1865,  to  Etta  B.  Woodcock,  daugh- 
ter of  Edmond  and  Susanna  Woodcock. 
Her  father  died  in  Quiney,  111.,  about 
the  year  1855.  Her  mother  is  yet  living, 
at  the  advanced  age  of  85  years,  and  re- 
sides at  Greenfield.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Spencer  were  the  parents  of  seven  chil- 
dren, three  of  whom  are  living — Edwin 
A.,  Charles  H.  and  James  F.  Those 
deceased  are — Julia,  died  Aug.  31,  1879; 
Gertrude,  died  Feb.  10,  1874;  an  in- 
fant son,  died  Sept.  2,  1875,  and  Cath- 
erine S.,  died  June  6,  18S0.  Mr.  Spencer 
departed  this  life  on  the  9th  day  of  Oct., 
1873,  and  was  laid  to  rest  in  the  family 
burying  ground.  He  was  a  member  of 
the  Masonic  order, which  body  officiated 
at  his  funeral.  He  was  a  faithful  hus- 
hand,  a  loving  father,  and  an  enterpris- 
ing citizen,  and  his  loss  was  mourned 
by  all.  He  had  accumulated  a  large 
amount  of  land,  thus  leaving  his  family 
in  very  comfortable  circumstances.  Mrs. 
Spencer  still  resides  at  the  homestead, 
which  consists  of  1,100  acres  on  sections 
3  and  4,  in  this  township.  Sheis  aniem- 
beroftheM.  E.  church  at  Richwoods, 
and  is  a  very  intelligent  and  estimable 
lady. 
William    B.    Spencer,    oldest    living 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


839 


child  of  Henry  I!,  and  Laura  (Smead) 
Spencer,  was  born  in  this  county  Sept. 
15,  1861.  His  father  was  an  early  set- 
tler in  the  county  and  was  identified 
with  its  interests  for  over  half  a  cen- 
tury. William  was  horn  and  reared  in 
Bluffdale  township,  and  yet  resides 
there,  being  the  owner  of  175  acres  of 
land,  on  which  is  a  spacious  and  hand- 
some residence,  erected  in  1882.  The 
main  building  is  28x40  feet  in  dimen- 
sions, and  two  stories  in  height.  Mr. 
Spencer  was  married  on  the  24th  of 
Dec.,  1882,  to  Libbie  Edmonds, a  native 
of  Greene  county,  and  a  daughter  of 
Thomas  Ellsbury  ami  Nancy  Jane  Ed- 
monds. By  this  marriage  three  chil- 
dren were  horn,  of  whom  one  is  living 
— Minnie  Amelia.  Two  died  in  infamy. 
Mr.  Spencer  is  a  careful,  enterprising 
farmer,  hence  pleasant,  comfortable 
surroundings  are  to  be  found  at  his 
farm,  and  he  is  a  genial,  companionable 
gentleman. 

Thomas  Logan,  a  native  of  the  Pal- 
metto state,  South  Carolina,  came  here 
from  Bond  county,  111.,  where  he  had 
been  living,  in  1835,  and  made  a  settle- 
ment in  this  township,  In  1S67,  he 
left  here,  going  to  Missouri,  where  he 
.lied,  in  1869.  His  wife,  nee  Elizabeth 
Swann,  horn  in  South  Carolina,  died  in 
Wisconsin,  in  1843,  of  the  small-pox. 

With  him,  came  his  son,  Alexander 
Logan,  who  was  horn  in  1813,  in  South 
Carolina,  and  who  is  living  in  this 
township  yet.  Alexander  was  married 
in  this  county,  to  Lucinda  Aslott,  in 
1837.  She  died  in  1841,  when  he  was 
again  married,  in  1842,  to  Mary  Flatt. 
They  live  on  section  15. 

ORGANIC. 

At  the  time  when  the  county  was  re- 


organized, in  1885,  the  election  in  this 
township  was  held  at  the  North  Rieh- 
woods  school  house,  in  district  No.  1, 
at  which  time  the  following  officers 
were  chosen:  F.  M.  Fishback,  super- 
visor; E.  C.  Sackett,  clerk;  Arthur 
Robley,  assessor  and  treasurer;  Daniel 
Flatt,  Stephen  King  and  Wesley  Flatt, 
highway  commissioners. 

seeley's  mill. 

One  of  the  oldest  mills  in  the  county, 
is  the  Seeley  mill,  which  stands  on  See. 
I.  T.  in,  R.  1.",.  It  lately  belonged  to 
Judge  A.  S.  Seeley.  It  is  about  40x50 
feet  in  ground  area,  and  two  and  a  half 
stories  in  height.  It  is  equipped  with 
two  >cts  of  buhrs,  one  for  flour  and  one 
for  corn,  and  is  run  by  water  power, 
furnished  by  Apple  creek.  The  dam  is 
130  feet  wide,  and  has  a  fall  of  six  feet. 
The  mill  is  furnished  with  the  pictur- 
esque, hut  clumsy,  old-fashioned  tub 
wheel.  The  wheat  that  J.  II.  Jones, 
the  miller,  can  grind  up  in  a  day,  will 
average  ahoiit  60  bushels.  All  the  work 
is  custom.  This  mill  was  built  by  John 
and  James  Beeman,  about  theyearl821. 
At  first  they  put  up  a  rude  saw-mill, 
with  which  they  sawed  out  the  lumber 
for  the  gristmill.  They  were  the  fust 
to  run  the  mill,  and  did  a  good  busi- 
ness. 

John  II.  Jones  was  horn  in  Gallia 
county.  0.,  July  Id,  1838,  and  is  a  son 
of  (i.  W.  and  Eliza  A.  Jones,  both  de- 
ceased. They  were  natives  of  Virginia. 
11  is  mother  died  in  Ohio  when  John  was 
a  mere  child.  His  father  came  with 
him  to  Illinois  in  1878,  locating  in 
Greene  county,  where  be  died  in  the 
fall  of  1883.  John  H.  learned  the  mill- 
ing business  at  his  home  in  Ohio,  when 


a  buy.  In  July,  1862,  he  enlisted  in 
Co.  L,  7th  0.  Caw,  and  was  assigned 
to  the  army  of  the  Cumberland,  under 
the  command  of  Gen.  Kilpatrick.  He 
was  with  him  during  the  Atlanta  cam- 
paign, and  the  raid  around  that  city. 
He  was  with  Sherman's  army  in  all  the 
fighting  from  Chattanoaga,  including 
Resaca,  Dalton,  Marietta.  Altoona, 
Kenesaw  and  other  battles.  After  the 
taking  of  the  city,  he  went  back  to  go 
on  the  Wilson  raid,  and  went  all  through 
that,  with  the  command  to  which  he 
belonged,  after  which  he  came  back  to 
Nashville,  Tenn.,  where  he  was  mus- 
tered out  in  July,  1865.  He  then  re- 
turned to  Ohio,  and  in  the  fall  of  that 
year,  came  to  Hamilton  county,  111., 
where  he  resided  until  coming  to  Greene 
county,  in  1*76,  locating  under  the  bluff 
in  Blufi'dale  township.  He  followed 
forming  after  coming  to  Illinois,  until 
he  took  charge  of  the  Seely  mill,  July 
15,  1885.  He  was  married  in  Ohio, 
Nov.  15,  1860,  to  Mary  Hemphill,  a  na- 
tive of  Ohio,  Their  marriage  was 
blessed  with  a  family  of  10  children, 
eight  of  whom  are  living — Ella,  George, 
William,  Walter,  Elizabeth,  Joseph, 
Clara  and  Maude.  Those  deceased  are 
— Belle  and  Charles.  Mr.  Jones  is  an 
industrious  man,  and  gives  careful  at- 
tention to  the  business  in  which  he  is 
engaged. 

BLUFFDALE    POSTOFFICE 

Was  established  in  1829,  during  the  ad- 
ministration of  President  Jackson.  The 
first  postmaster  was  John  Russell,  who 
remained  in  that  capacity  until  1843, 
when  he  was  succeeded  by  W.  A.  J. 
Russell.  In  1840,  he,  in  turn,  was  fol- 
lowed by  bis  father,  John  Russell,  who 
bebl  it  until  the  time  of  his  death,  Jan. 


21,  1863.  S.  G.  Russell  was  then  ap- 
pointed to  fill  the  vacancy,  receiving  his 
commission  on  the  3d  of  Feb.,  1863,  and 
has  been  the  postmaster  ever  since. 
The  first  postoffice  was  in  the  log  cabin 
in  which  the  Russell  family  lived  when 
they  first  came  here.  This  was  about 
16x18  feet  in  ground  area,  one  and  a 
half  stories  high. 

ELDRED    POSTOFFIi'K. 

This  was  established  July  1,  1884, 
with  Warren  Beebe  as  postmaster.  The 
office  is  kept  at  his  residence,  on  Sec. 
33,  T.  10,  R.  13.  The  first  postoffice  in 
this  vicinity  was  kept  years  ago  by 
Jordan  Calvin.  He  was  succeeded  by 
Richard  S.  Cole,  who  bought  out  the 
the  improvements  of  Calvin,  and  kept 
the  postoffice  in  the  same  house. 

EDUCATIONAL. 

School  district  No.  3.— The  first 
school  house  in  this  district  was  built 
about  the  year  1839.  It  was  a  stone 
building,  built  without  windows,  and 
only  a  little  dome  on  top  to  admit  light. 
Cyrus  Sargent  taught  the  first  school 
here  in  about  1840,  and  at  that  time 
gave  the  building  the  name  of  "Stone 
Jug,"  a  name  quite  applicable,  and 
which  stuck  to  it  as  long  as  it  was  used 
for  a  school  house.  It  has  since  been 
enlarged  and  is  now  used  as  a  depot  by 
the  L.,  C.  &  W.  R.  R. 

District  No.  5,  is  better  and  more  fa- 
miliarly known  as  "Whistle  Jacket." 
The  first  school  in  this  district  was  held 
in  the  dwelling  house  of  John  Snyder, 
on  section  23.  He  bought  this  place  in 
1849,  and  on  the  land  was  a  log  cabin, 
and  as  he  was  not  ready  just  then  to 
move  into  it,  he  allowed  it  to  be  used 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


Ml 


for  school  purposes.  Stephen  Lewis  was 

the  pioneer  teacher.  When  Mr.  Sny- 
der moved  into  the  house  with  his  fam- 
ily, lie  still  allowed  them  to  use  one 
endofil  fora  school,  while  helivedin 
the  other.  In  1850,  by  permission  of 
Mr.  Snyder,  a  log  school  house  was 
erected  on  his  land,  on  the  site  of  the 
present  building,  he  furnishing  the 
money  and  part  of  the  work,  the  balance 
of  the  work  being  furnished  by  the  dis- 
trict. A  Miss  Miller  was  the  first 
teacher.  This  school  was  christened 
by  -ene  one  by  the  euphonious  nick- 
name that  its  successor  bears,  even  to 
this  day.  The  building  spoken  of  con- 
tinued in  use  until  1861,  when  a  new 
ime  was  erected  on  its  sice,  at  a  cost  of 
$400.  The  first  teacher  here  was  Eliza- 
beth Martin.  The  present  directors 
;irc — Wm.  Dan,  Wm.  S.  Flatt  and  J. 
F.  Huff.   Present  teacher— A.  W.  Scott. 

REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS. 

Hiram  Reach,  deceased,  was  born  at 
Abingdon,  Va.,  in  1802.  He  was  there 
reared  to  manhood,  and  learned  the 
saddlery  business  at  Stevens'  tannery. 
He  was  educated  there  by  his  brother 
John  R.,  who  was  a  Methodist  preacher. 
He  followed  the  saddlery  business  in 
his  native  state  until  coming  to  Illinois, 
about  the  year  1829.  He  located  at 
Albion,  Edwards  county,  where  he  con- 
tinued his  business  until  1833,  when  he 
removed  to  Carrollton.  There  he  added 
merchandising  to  the  saddlery  business, 
and  carried  that  on  awhile,  and  finally 
commenced  dealing  in  land.  During 
his  life  he  accumulated  vast  tracts  of 
land  in  Greene  and  other  counties  in 
Illinois,  and  also  in  Missouri  and  Texas. 
He  was  married   in  Scottsville,  Va.,  to 


Cary  Ann  Mayo,  a  native  of  Virginia, 
living  near  the  University,  at  Char- 
lottesville. They  were  the  parents  of 
two  children — John  Roswell,  whose 
sketch  follows  this,  and  Virginia,  wife 
of  Joseph  Brown,  formerly  mayor  of 
St.  Louis.  She  died  in  Carrollton  in 
Nov..  1882.  Hiram  Reach  died  in 
Sept.,  1868,  his  wife  surviving  him  until 
Feb.,  1881.  Both  are  buried  in  the 
Carrollton  cemetery.  Mr.  Reach  w^s 
one  of  the  early  settlers  of  the  county, 
and  became  one  of  its  most  prominent 
and  prosperous  residents.  He  was  a 
member  of  the  Masonic  order. 

('apt.  John  R.  Reach,  the  only  living 
child  of  Hiram  Reach,  was  born  in  Ed- 
wards county,  111.,  Oct.  21,  1830.  When 
three  years  of  age,  he  removed  with  his 
parents  to  Carrollton,  Greene  county. 
and  was  there  reared  and  received  his 
preliminary  eeducation,  then  finishing  at 
Shurtleff  College,  Upper  Alton.  After 
leaving  college  he  went  on  the  river  and 
was  there  captain  of  several  river  boats — 
the  McRee,  running  from  Rcokuk  to 
Rock  Island,  the  Tishomingo  and  Ben 
Campbell,  making  the  same  runs,  and 
the  L.  M.  Rennett,  running  to  New  Or- 
leans, continuing  on  that  from  the 
spring  of  1850,  until  May  10,  1861,  the 
night  of  the  taking  of  Camp  Jackson. 
After  that  he  bought  the  steamer  Emma, 
at  Helena,  and  started  down  the  river 
with  a  fleet  of  84  boats,  and  was  in  all 
the  fighting  on  the  Yazoo  river,  at 
Haines'  Bluff,  Young's  Point  and  Ar- 
kansas Post,  and  was  with  the  fleet 
almost  until  the  taking  of  Vicksburg. 
His  boat,  the  Emma,  was  one  of  those 
who  went  down  the  pass,  and  she  was 
so  badly  torn  up  that  the  repairs  made 
by  Capt.  Reach,  at  St.   Louis,   cost  the 


842 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY 


government  $23,000.  He  made  one 
more  trip  with  her  up  the  Missouri 
river,  and  was  fired  on  continually  from 
the  banks.  He  then  retired  from  that 
branch  of  the  service  and  located  in  St. 
Louis,  where  he  entered  the  wholesale 
grocery  trade,  as  a  member  of  the  firm 
of  Wilson  &  Keach.  He  continued  in 
that  business  from  1864  till  1S76,  when 
he  came  to  Calhoun  county,  locating  at 
Heed's  Landing,  where  he  built  a  home 
and  made  improvements.  The  resi- 
dence erected  was  a  fine  two-story  build- 
ing, 30x40.  The  next  year  he  determined 
to  remove  the  house  across  the  river, 
and  by  his  knowledge  of  boating  he  was 
enabled  to  complete  the  undertaking. 
He  located  it  two  miles  from  the  shore 
on  the  opposite  side  of  the  river,  the 
undertaking  being  completed  in  safety 
and  without  any  damage,  the  carpets 
not  even  being  taken  off  the  floor.  He 
has  resided  on  Sec.  31,  T.  11,  R.  13,  ever 
since.  He  was  married  in  New  York 
city,  June  29,  1872,  to  Anna  C.  Coffin, 
a  native  of  Dutchess  county,  N.  Y., 
and  a  daughter  of  William  H.  and  Jane 
(  Mabbett)  Coffin.  Both  were  natives  of 
New  York,  her  father  being  born  in 
Dutchess  county,  and  her  mother  in  the 
city  of  Albany.  Mr.  Coffin  was  a 
wealthy  and  noted  railroad  owner  and 
director,  distiller  and  banker.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Keach  were  the  parents  of  five 
children,  of  whom  three  are  living — 
John  Roswell,  Jr.,  Anna  Pearland Grace 
Reed.  Those  deceased  are — Virginia, 
died  in  Calhoun  county  at  the  age  of 
four  years,  and  one  who  died  in  infancy. 
('apt.  Keach  has  about  10,000  acres  of 
land,  all  in  Greene  county,  and  may  be 
classed  among  the  wealthiest  land 
owners    in    the    state,  and    is    a    most 


genial,  intelligent  gentlemen.  His 
father  came  to  Greene  county  over  half 
a  century  ago,  and  when  he  came  to 
Carrollton  and  engaged  in  the  manufac- 
ture of  saddlery,  he  was  the  first  one  in 
that  line  there.  He  ran  a  huge  number 
of  hands,  and  sold  his  goods  as  far 
south  as  Louisiana,  and  also  in  many 
parts  of  the  west. 

George  Darr  was  born  in  York  county, 
Pennsylvania,  June  7,  1817,  his  parents 
being  John  and  Catherine  (Wunbach) 
Darr,  both  natives  of  Pennsylvania. 
When  George  had  reached  the  age  of  12 
years,  he  went  to  Cumberland  county, 
Pennsylvania,  where  he  was  reared  to 
manhood.  His  parents  also  removed  to 
that  county  five  years  later.  George 
was  brought  up  to  farm  life  and  has  fol- 
lowed that  occupation  nearly  all  his  life. 
He  was  married  in  his  native  state, Sept. 
4,  1836,  to  Rebecca  Hoffman,  anative  of 
Pennsylvania,  and  a  daughter  of  Philip 
and  Savina  (Benedict)  Hoffman.  Both 
her  parents  were  born  in  Pennsylvania, 
and  there  both  died.  In  the  fall  of  1848 
Mr.  Darr  removed  to  Illinois  and  located 
in  Calhoun  county,  where  he  rented 
land  for  three  and  a  half  years.  He 
then  came  to  Greene  county,  locat- 
ing in  what  is  now  Carrollton  town- 
ship, where  he  remained  six  years,  and 
then  bought  200  acres  on  sections  23  and 
24,  in  Bluftdale  township,  where  he  has 
since  resided.  He  found  comparatively 
no  improvements  there,  at  that  time, 
but  set  right  to  work  with  an  energy, 
bound  to  effect  prosperity.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Darr  were  the  parents  of  l(t  chil- 
dren, of  whom  nine  are  living — Eliza- 
beth, wife  of  Willard  Swan,  is  now  de- 
ceased; Amos, married  Henrietta  Adams, 
lives  in  this  township;    Susan,   wife    of 


Dennis  Flatt.  living  in  Johnson  county, 
Kansas;  Catherine,  living  at  home; 
Mary    Ann,    wife    of    Reuben     Proffil, 

living  in  Rice  county,  Kansas;  Sarah, 
wife  of  Elias  Swires,  living  in  Missouri; 
Rebecca,  married  Edward  Butte,  living 
in  Marion  county,  Kansas;  George  Wil- 
liam, married  Louisa  Snyder,  lives  on 
the  heme  place;  Ruth  E.,  wife  of  Wil- 
liam Robinet,  living  in  Missouri,  and 
Adeline,  wife  of  Arthur  Bendy,  living 
at  the  Darr  homestead.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Darr  are  members  of  the  Pacific  Union 
Baptist  church,  of  Bluffdale  township, 
fuming  here  over  a  third  of  a  century 
ago,  with  mi  money  and  no  capital,  save 
willing  hands,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Darr  have 
persevered  until  they  now  have  a  splen- 
didly improved  farm,  owning  2tHr  acres 
of  land,  with  fine  improvements. 
George  Darr  found  timber  on  most  of 
his  land  when  he  came  here;  its  place 
is  uow  occupied  by  one  of  the  finest 
farms  in  the  county.  Mr.  Darr  desires 
t<>  sell  his  place,  and  any  one  seeking  a 
location  could  find  no  pleasanter  one 
than  this. 

■  John  Snyder  was  horn  in  Hanover, 
Germany,  June  9,  1819,  his  parents 
being  Harmon  G.  and  Mary  (Benen) 
Snyder.  There  John  was  reared  to 
farm  life,  and  lived  in  his  native  coun- 
try until  he  had  reached  the  age  of  19 
years.  He  then  hade  adieu  to  relatives 
and  friends,  and  going  to  Bremen,  took 
passage  on  a  vessel  bound  for  New 
Orleans,  touching  at  San  Domingo  and 
other  points  in  that  latitude.  After  a 
voyage  of  11  weeks,  he  arrived  at  New 
Orleans,  and  after  a  stay  of  live  days 
in  the  Crescent  City,  he  took  a  beat  for 
St.  Louis,  and  1G  days  later  he  arrived 
at    that    city.     He    remained    there    six 


days,  and  then  came  up  to  Calhoun 
county,  where  he  remained  one  month, 
and  then  came  to  Greene  county,  in 
April,  1839,  and  has  been  a  resident  of 
the  county  since.  He  first  went  to  work 
for  Ward  Eldred,  anil  remained  in  his 
employ  about  two  years.  He  leased 
land  from  William  Eldred.  in  1842,  in 
what  is  now  Carrollton  township,  and 
there  remained  until  he  came  to  his 
present  location,  on  Sec.  23,  T.  10,  R. 
1-"..  At  that  time  he  purchased  70  acres 
of  land,  but,  through  industry  and  good 
management,  he  lias  added  to  that  from 
time  to  time,  until  he  now  has  550  acres 
in  that  tract,  besides  10  acres  in  another. 
He  was  married  in  this  county,  May  28, 
1840,  to  Nancy  Portwood,a  native  of  Hart 
county.  Ky.,  and  daughter  of  Lloyd 
and  Sallie  Portwood.  Her  parents  were 
both  born  in  southern  Kentucky  and  re- 
moved from  there  to  southern  Illinois 
in  1823.  and  from  there  to  < ;  reene  county 
in  1829,  locating  in  what  is  now  Carroll- 
ton  township.  Both  died  the  same  year 
after  coming  to  this  county.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Snyder  were  the  parents  of  seven 
children — Hiram,  married  Laura  Ann 
Flatt,  lives  in  Greene  county;  Louisa, 
wife  of  William  George  Darr,  living  in 
Bluffdale  township;  John  Allen,  married 
Susan  Campbell,  lives  in  this  county. 
Those  deceased  are — Mary  Ann, William 
S.,  James,  and  one  who  died  in  infancy. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Snyder  are  members  of 
the  Pacific  Union  United  Baptist  church. 
Mr.  Snyder  has  been  township  treas- 
urer since  1862,  and  still  holds  that 
position.  He  has  been  justice  of  the 
peace  for  12  years  and  was  a  member  of 
the  commissioners'  court  for  three  years. 
He  has  been  identified  with  the  educa- 
tional  interests  of  his  district   since  its 


844 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


early  days,  and  is  a  man  whom  the  com- 
munity place  all  confidence  in  on  account 
of  his  honesty,  integrity  and  enterprise. 
Nathaniel  Pegram  was  burn  in  Bruns- 
wick, Va.,  on  the  15th  clay  of  Sept., 
1807,  and  is  a  son  of  Edward  and  Re- 
becca (Harper)  Pegram,  natives  of  Vir- 
ginia. His  father  died  about  the  year 
1820,  in  Virginia.  His  mother  and  fam- 
ily then  moved  to  Alabama.  On  the 
15th  of  Sept.,  1838,  Nathaniel  was  mar- 
ried to  Elizabeth  King,  who  was  raised 
by  her  uncle,  John  King,  she  being  an 
orphan.  By  this  marriage,  there  were 
12  children — Alvin,  married,  and  lives 
in  Carrollton,  where  he  is  engaged  in 
the  lumber  business;  Edward  B.,  mar- 
ried Rosa  Watson,  living  near  Wood- 
ville;  J.  B.,  married  Elizabeth  Rollins, 
living  in  Bluffdale  township;  Martha 
J.,  wife  of  Herbert  Taylor,  living  in 
Carrollton;  Maria,  wife  of  Samuel  Gra- 
ham,  living  near  Middletown,  Mo.; 
Elizabeth,  wife  of  Richard  N.  Kelly, 
living  near  Udel,  Kan.;  Nathaniel, 
married  Nellie  J.  Yinyard,  residing  in 
Bluffdale  township;  Caroline,  wife  of 
John  Vinyard,  residing  near  White 
Hall;  and  four  children,  two  boys  and 
two  girls,  that  died  in  infancy.  Mr. 
Pegram  has  a  fine  farm  of  501  acres,  in 
T.  10,  R.  13,  and  he  divides  his  atten- 
tion between  the  raising  of  stock  and 
grain,  and  the  success  with  which  he 
has  met,  is  due  to  his  thrift  and  energy. 
He  was  elected  captain  of  a  militia 
company,  in  Alabama,  when  he  was  in 
his  18th  year,  and  served  in  that  capac- 
ity for  three  years.  Mr.  Pegram  has 
been  connected  with  the  schools  of  his 
district,  as  director,  and  lias  also  held 
the  office  of  supervisor,  and  performed 
the  duties  of  these  offices  with  honesty. 


F.  M.  Fishback  was  born  in  Culpep- 
per county,  Va.,  on  the  30th  day  of 
March,  1830,  and  is  a  son  of  Frederick 
and  Sophia  A.  Fishback,  natives  of 
Virginia.  He  came  west  in  1851,  and 
settled  where  he  now  lives,  in  Bluff- 
dale township.  He  owns  235  acres  of 
land  on  S.  13,  T.  10,  R.  13,  and  80  acres 
on  section  10,  of  the  same  township  and 
range,  which  he  is  the  possessor  of 
through  his  industry  and  economy. 
Farming  and  stock-raising  take  up  all 
his  attention.  On  the  4th  of  Sept.,  1855, 
he  was  married  to  Mary  L.  Stith,  a 
daughter  of  Daniel  B.  and  Mary  L. 
Stith,  natives  of  Virginia.  They  are 
the  parents  of  six  children — Etta,  mar- 
ried Donald  Simpson,  now  living  in 
Carrollton  township;  David  M.,  in  the 
flour  business  with  R.  H.  Davis,  in 
Carrollton;  Katie  L.,  Edith  V.,  Frank 
and  Frederick  L.  Mr.  Fishback  was  a 
a  member  of  the  county  commissioners' 
court,  from  1865  to  1873.  He  is  the 
present  supervisor  of  this  township,  is 
member  of  the  Good  Templar's  and 
the  Masonic  lodge,  at  Carrollton,  and  of 
the  M.  E.  church  at  that  place.- 

Louis  Lembke  was  born  in  the  Grand 
Duchy  of  Mecklenburg  Schwerin,  Nov. 
29,  1833,  his  parents  being  Ludwig  and 
Elizabeth  (Jennerjohn)  Lembke.  He 
spent  his  early  life  in  his  native  country, 
and  there  learned  the  trade  of  a  guilder 
or  worker  in  fine  metals,  beginning  his 
apprenticeship  in  his  16th  year,  and 
continuing  until  he  had  reached  the  age 
of  20  years.  On  completing  his  appren- 
ticeship, he  bade  adieu  to  family  and 
friends,  and  going  to  Hamburg,  took 
passage,  March  1,  1854,  on  a  vessel 
bound  for  New  York.  He  landed  there 
April  21,  1854,  and  after  a  stay  of  three 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


345 


days,  started  for  Wisconsin.  After 
reaching  that  state  he  worked  on  a 
canal  at  Appletori,  Outagamie  county, 
for  a  year  and  a  half.  He  then  came 
down  to  St.  Louis,  where  he  only  re- 
mained two  weeks,  and  then  removed 
to  Greene  county,  111.,  where  he  worked 
for  Charles  Robley  for  some  two  years. 
He  then  took  a  trip  to  Wisconsin,  on  a 
visit  to  his  uncle,  who  lived  near  Apple- 
ton.  He  remained  there  nearly  a  year, 
coming  back  to  Greene  county  in  Aug., 
and  on  arriving  here  had  not  a  single 
cent  in  his  pocket.  He  again  went  to 
work  for  Charles  Robley,  where  he  con- 
tinued a  little  over  a  year,  and  was 
then  married,  Nov.  9,  1859,  to  Silvina 
Osborn,  a  native  of  Sangamon  county, 
and  a  daughter  of  Moses  and  Judith 
Osborn.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Lembke  have 
no  children,  but  are  rearing  two,  a 
brother  and  sister,  who  with  them  find 
a  comfortable  home.  Mr.  Lembke  and 
his  wife  started  out  in  this  county  with 
little  or  no  capital,  but  so  well  have 
they  managed  and  so  well  directed  have 
been  their  efforts,  that  their  possessions 
now  comprise  382  acres  of  good  land,  all 
in  one  body,  in  Bluffdale  township. 
Mr.  Lembke' s  parents  both  died  in  the 
old  country.  Mrs.  Lembke's  parents 
died  at  the  home  of  their  daughter,  the 
wife  of  our  subject. 

George  W.  Bechdoldt  was  born  in 
Calhoun  county,  111.,  on  the  29th  of 
Oct..  1851,  and  is  a  son  of  Henry  and 
Elizabeth  (  Meyers)  Bechdoldt,  natives 
of  German}'.  His  father  was  born  on 
the  3d  of  Nov.,  ISIS,  on  the  banks  of 
the  river  Rhine,  and  came  to  America; 
landing  in  Calhoun  county,  in  1832. 
His  mother  was  born  on  the  24th  of 
Nov.,  1819,  on  the  banks  of  the   river 


Main.     His  mother  took  passage  on  a 
boat  sailing  for  America,  on  the  1st  day 

of  Jan.,  1846,  but  on  account  of  wind 
and  storm  the  voyage  was  extended  so 
'that  it  took  83  days  to  cross  the  ocean, 
seeing  nothing  all  this  time  but  the  blue 
sky  and  the  stormy  sea.  They  landed 
at  the  port  of  New  Orleans,  on  the  1st 
of  March,  and  had  to  remain  there  about 
a  week,  as  the  river  was  blockaded  with 
ice.  They  then  sailed  up  the  river,  ar- 
riving in  Calhoun  county  on  the  7th  of 
April,  having  been  116  days  in  making 
the  entire  journey.  In  July,  1846,  Henry 
was  married  to  Elizabeth  Meyers,  and 
they  were  the  parents  of  six  children,  of 
which  our  subject  was  the  third.  Geo. 
W.,  was  married  on  .the  25th  day  of 
Dec.,  1879,  to  Flora  Wardinski,  a 
daughter  of  John  and  Mary  Wardinski, 
natives  of  Poland.  Her  father  was 
killed  at  Columbiana,  about  three  miles 
from  the  131118',  by  the  bushwhackers, 
during  war  times.  Her  mother  is  now 
living  with  Mr.  Bechdoldt.  Three  child- 
ren have  been  born  to  them — one  died 
in  infancy;  Mary  Elizabeth,  dec- 
George  W.,  was  "born  Oct.  21,  1882.  Mr. 
Bechdoldt  has  167  acres  of  land  on  Sec. 
28,  T.  10,  R.  13,  on  which  he  spends 
most  of  his  time,  knowing  that  industry 
and  economy  are  the  surest  means  of 
success.  He  has  been  connected  with 
the  schools  of  his  district,  as  director, 
and  has  held  the  office  of  road  super- 
visor. 

Herman  Rawe  was  born  in  Hanover, 
Germany,  Dec  12,  1855,  bis  parents  be- 
ing Joseph  and  Emma  M.  (  Middendorf) 
Rawe.  Herman  lived  with  his  parents 
as  long  as  he  remained  in  his  native 
country,  and  was  reared  to  farm  life. 
In  November,  1858,  Herman  took  a  last 


846 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


farewell  of  home  and  relatives  and  going 
to  Bremen,  took  passage  on  a  vessel 
bound  for  New  Orleans.  After  a  voyage 
of  about  three  months,  he  arrived  at  the 
Crescent  city,  and  immediately  took  a 
steamer  for  St.  Louis.  He  remained 
there  hut  about  a  week,  and  then  came 
to  Greene  county,  and  engaged  in  the 
employ  of  Eldred  Brothers  in  Carroll- 
ton  township.  He  only  remained  there 
three  months  and  then  returned  to  St. 
Loins,  where  he  began  to  learn  the  ma- 
son's  trade,  at  which  he  continued 
something  over  two  years.  He  then 
came  hack  to  Greene  county  and  bought 
80  acres  of  land  on  Sec.  26,  T.  10,  R. 
13,  in  what  is  now  Bluffdale  township. 
He  removed  to  hjs  present  location,  on 
the  same  section,  in  the  fall  of  1878. 
After  coming  to  the  county  a  second 
time,  Mr.  Rawe  worked  at  his  trade 
and  carried  on  farming  for  a  number  of 
years,  but  now  pays  all  his  attention  to 
farming  and  stock  raising.  He  was 
married  in  St.  Louis,  May  5,  1859,  to 
Mary  Pranger,  a  native  of  Hanover, 
and  daughter  of  Henry  and  Elana 
(Schneider)  Pranger.  Mr.  and  .Mrs. 
Rawe  are  the  parents  of  six  children 
living;  Margaret,  wife  of  Tobias  Siemer, 
living  in  Carrollton  township;  Ellen, 
Elizabeth,  Herman,  William  and  Mary. 
There  arc  three  deceased — Benjamin 
and  two  named  Katrine.  When  Mi- 
ami Mrs.  Rawe  first  came  to  this  county, 
a  quarter  of  a  century  ago,  they  had 
scarcely  any  money,  and  no  capital  save 
willing  hands  and  dauntless  energy,  but 
'-'in  acres  now  comprise  their  landed 
possessions,  all  of  which  lie  in  section 
26.  They  arc  both  members  of  the  Cath- 
olic church,  and  attend  at  Carrollton. 
Mr.  Rawe's  parents  are  both    dead;    his 


mother  dying    in   Hanover,    Germany, 

his  father  in  Calhoun  county,  Illinois, 
in  1877.  Mrs.  Rawe's  parents  both  died 
at  their  home  in  Macoupin  county,  near 
Fayette. 

John  Rathgeber  was  born  in  Hesse- 
Darmstadt,  Germany,  Feb.  26,  1834, 
his  parents  being  John  and  Margaret 
(Kramer)  Rathgeber.  John  was  reared 
to  farm  life  in  his  native  country.  In 
the  year  1855  he  went  into  the  army  of  the 
Elector  of  Hesse-Darmstadt,  and  staid 
in  the  service  nine  years  and  six  months. 
During  the  Crimean  war,  he  started  with 
the  division  of  Hying  artillery  to  which 
he  belonged, but  they  were  not  sent  to  the 
seat  of  war,  as  peace  was  declared  soon 
afterward,  lie  was  also  in  the  army 
during  the  trouble  with  France,  in  1859. 
In  1864  he  took  leave  of  the  army,  and 
on  arriving  home,  he  bade  farewell  to 
home  and  friends,  and  went  to  May- 
ence,  where  he  took  passage  on  the 
Saxonia,  a  vessel  bound  for  New  York. 
After  an  ocean  voyage  of  16  days,  he 
arrived  at  that  port,  meeting  there  his 
parents,  brothers  and  sisters,  who  had 
come  to  America  ten  years  before.  Pie 
remained  with  them  about  one  year  and 
a  half,  and  was  then  married,  in  Sept., 
1865,  to  Rachel  Crasser,  a  native  of 
Baden,  and  a  daughter  of  Fred.  Crasser. 
By  that  marriage  there  were  four  chil- 
dren— John,  Jacob,  Rosa  and  Christina. 
Mrs.  Rathgeber  departed  this  life  on 
the  1st  day  of  Jan.,  1877.  Mr.  Rathge- 
ber was  again  married,  Nov.  25,  1880, to 
Frederika  Mueller,  daughter  of  John 
and  Mary  Mueller,  and  a  native  of 
Hesse-Cassel,  Germany.  By  that  union 
they  have  one  child — Amanda.  Mr. 
Rathgeber  is  the  possessor  of  200  acres 
of  land,  all  on   section  10,  in   Bluffdale 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


847 


township.     Both  his  parents  are  dead, 
his  father  having  died  in  New  York,  in 
1878. 
Jacob  Conrad  was   born   in   Calhoun 

county,  Oct.  14,  1850,  and  is  the  son  of 
Jacob  and  Barbara  ( Mahler)  Conrad. 
They  were  both  natives  of  Baden  and 
came  to  this  country  by  way  of  New 
Orleans  about  the  year  1845.  After 
stopping  in  that  city  some  time  they 
came  up  to  Calhoun  county,  by  way  of 
St.  Louis.  His  father  died  there  in  the 
year  1850,  and  his  mother  now  lives  with 
a  son  by  her  second  marriage,  Fred 
Yanna,  who  resides  in  Carrollton  town- 
ship. The  remainder  of  the  Conrad 
family  now  live  in  Chicago.  Jacob  was 
reared  to  farm  life  and  lived  there,  in 
Calhoun  county,  until  the  fall  of  1863, 
when  removed  to  Greene  county,  where 
he  was  in  the  employ  of  J.  J.  Eldred 
from  that  time  on  for  14  years.  He  then 
rented  land  from  Tunnel!  and  Ben 
Roodhouse  for  five  years,  and  then  in 
July,  1883,  he  bought  180  acres  of  land 
on  Sees.  1  and  12,  T.  10,  R.  13,  it  being 
the  old  John  Gamble  place.  Here  he 
has  continue! I  to  Yivi  since  that  time. 
He  was  married  in  this  county,  March 
27,  1877,  to  Charlotte  Nolan,  a  native  of 
Greene  county,  and  daughter  of  John 
and  Mary  Nolan.  Her  parents  were 
early  settlers  and  will  be  noticed  else- 
where in  this  work.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Conrad  are  the  parents  of  three  child- 
ren—John J.,  Lee  M.,  and  Flora  T.  Mr. 
Conrad  is  a  member  of  the  Knights  of 
Honor,  at  White  Hall,  and  also  of  the 
Grange.  He  is  an  esteemed  citizen  and 
an  enterprising  farmer. 

Henry  F.  Bechdoldt  was  born  in  Cal- 
houn county,  111.,  on  the  29th  day  of 
July,  1854.     He  is  a  son  of  Henry  and 


Elizabeth  (Meyers)  Bechdoldt.  natives 
of  Germany.  His  father  lived  on  the 
banks  of  the  classic  river,  Rhine,  and 
his  mother  on  the  hanks  of  the  Main. 
His  sketch  will  be  found  elsewhere  in 
this  work.  Henry  was  brought  up  to 
farm  life,  and  has  since  been  occupied 
in  the  same,  with  the  exception  of  the 
time  that  he  assisted  his  father  in  the 
mill.  He  now  owns  150  aires  of  land, 
50  of  which  is  on  section  22.  ■  ',>'  on  ra- 
tion 29,  and  80  on  section  30,  all  in  T.  10, 
R.  13.  His  time  is  spent  here  in  the 
raising  of  stock  and  grain,  in  which  he 
has  been  very  successful.  Mr.  Bech- 
doldt was  married  on  the  17th  day  of 
Jan.,  1879,  to  Mary  Boyce,  a  daughter 
of  Thomas  and  Martha  Boyce.  Three 
children  have  blessed  this  union — Jacob, 
Thomas  and  Katie. 

Daniel  Flatt  is  a  son  of  John  and 
Elizabeth  (Garrison)  Flatt,  and  was 
born  on  the  loth  of  Sept.,  1849,  in  Greene 
county.  His  life  has  thus  far  been  that 
of  a  farmer,  and  he  has  a  good  farm  of 
160  acres  on  Sec.  11,  T.  10,  R.  13, where 
be  is  engaged  in  the  raising  of  grain  and 
stock.  On  the  4th  of  July,  1871,  Mr. 
Flatt  was  married  to  Katie  King,  a 
daughter  of  Alfred  and  Charlotta  I  Gib- 
son) King,  mentioned  elsewhere  in  this 
work.  By  this  marriage  three  children 
were  born  —  Stephen,  Anna  May.  de- 
ceased, and  one  who  died  in  infancy. 
Mrs.  Flatt  is  a  member  of  the  United 
Baptist  church.  Mr.  Flatt  is  an  indus- 
trious farmer,  and  a  well  respected 
citizen. 

Abraham  Madison  was  born  in  Madi- 
son county,  Ky.,  three  miles  south  of 
Bowling  Green,  Jan.  2,  1816,  at  4  a.  m. 
He  was  a  son  of  Leroy  and  Teziah 
(Lindsay)  Madison,  natives  of  Virginia. 


His  grandfather  on  his  father's  side  was 
a  native  of  Ireland,  and  his  grandmother, 

of  Holland.  On  his  mother's  side,  his 
grandfather  was  an  Englishman,  and  his 
grandmother  was  French,  having  been 
horn  in  one  of  the  Rhine  provinces. 
Abraham  was  reared  to  farm  life,  right 
on  the  place  where  he  was  born.  In 
1833  he  came  to  Illinois,  and  located  in 
what  is  now  Scott  county,  then  Morgan 
county.  There  he  was  married,  April 
19,  1845,  to  Margaret  Fletcher,  a  native 
of  Clark  county,  Ky.,  and  a  daughter  of 
Vardeman  and  Elizabeth  (Rodgers) 
Fletcher.  By  this  marriage  there  were' 
eight  children,  only  three  of  whom  are 
living — Elizabeth,  deceased;  Winfield 
Scott,  married  Ida  Cumbey,  living  on 
the  same  farm  with  his  father;  Emily, 
deceased;  Catherine,  deceased;  Martha, 
wife  of  Albert  Tredway,  living  at 
Beardstown;  John,  deceased;  Rebecca, 
wife  of  Harrison  Shumate,  living  in 
Bluffdale  township;  and  one  who  died  in 
infancy.  Mr.  Madison  enlisted  in  the 
service  of  his  country,  Aug.  7,  1861,  in 
Co.  B,  27th  111.  Inf.  He  was  mustered 
in  at  Camp  Butler,  joining  his  regiment 
there,  under  Col.  Buford.  They  were 
under  the  great  commander,  Gen.  Grant, 
at  first,  and  Abraham  was  at  Belmont, 
Fort.  Henry,  Fort  Donelson,  Shiloh, 
Stone  River,  and  the  siege  and  capture 
of  Vicksburg.  At  Stone  River  they  lost 
their  lieutenant,  and  Col.  Herrington 
and  our  subject  assisted  in  carrying  him 
off  the  field.  They  came  back  through 
Tennessee,  and  from  there  down  to 
Atlanta,  Ga.,  he  beingin  all  the  engage- 
ments in  which  his  regiment  partici- 
pated up  to  that  point.  Abraham  was 
mustered  out  at  Atlanta,  and  discharged 
at  Springfield  in  1864.       From  there  he 


returned  to  his  home  in  Scott  comity, 
but  not  in  as  good  condition  as  when  he 
entered  the  service,  having  lost  a  leg, 
as  the  result  of  his  faithfulness  to  the 
union  cause.  He  lived  in  Scott  county 
until  1873,  when  he  removed  to  Greene 
county,  and  located  in  what  is  now 
Bluffdale  township,  where  he  yet  re- 
sides, on  section  35,  to  which  section  he 
removed  in  Feb.,  1884.  He  owns 
100  acres  of  land  there,  all  well  culti- 
vated. On  the  18th  of  July,  1885,  Mrs, 
Madison  was  called  away  from  this 
world  to  one  of  rest  and  happiness,  and 
was  buried  at  the  Eldred  cemetery.  Mr. 
Madison's  parents  went  to  Missouri,  in 
1835,  and  there  both  departed  this  life. 
John  B.  Franger  was  born  in  the 
Kingdom  of  Hanover,  now  in  the  em- 
pire of  Germany,  Aug.  15,  1831,-  his 
parents  being  B.  H.  and  Mary  (Ficker) 
Pranger.  Jno.  B.  lived  with  his  parents 
until  he  bad  arrived  at  the  age  of  20 
years,  assisting  them  with  the  duties 
and  labors  of  the  farm.  He  then  went 
out  to  work  for  himself,  continuing  until 
1858,  when,  deciding  to  come  to  Ameri- 
ca, he  took  leave  of  home  and  friends, 
and  going  to  Bremen,  took  passage  on  a 
vessel  bound  for  New  Orleans.  After  a 
long  voyage  of  ten  weeks,  and  an  addi- 
tional week  at  New  Orleans  before  leav- 
ing the  ship,  he  arrived  at  the  Crescent 
City.  The  journey  was  a  very  unpleas- 
ant one,  and  he  experienced  the  worst 
form  of  sea  life,  the  ship  having  gotten 
out  of  her  course,  and  going  by  way  of 
Cuba,  San  Domingo,  etc.  The  yellow 
fever  was  then  raging  at  New  Orleans, 
and  he  took  the  boat  for  St.  Louis,  at  a 
point  distant  from  the  former  city.  He 
remained  in  St.  Louis  two  years,  work- 
ing at  the  cooper's  trade  most  of  the  time.. 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


849 


He  then  came  up  to  Greene  county, 
where  be  had  relatives  living,  Mr.  Sny- 
der being  among  them.  Thus  those 
two  gentlemen  were  about  the  first 
German  settlers  of  this  vicinity.  On 
arriving  here.  John  was  employed  by 
Mr.  Snyder  the  first  year,  and  the  next 
year  he  rented  five  acres  of  land,  and 
hired  the  work  done  on  it,  he  himself 
working  at  the  cooper's  trade  mostly, 
thereby  turning  out  over  10,000  staves. 
In  1874,  he  purchased  30  acres  of  land 
on  S.  12,  T.  10,  R.  13,  where  he  has 
since  resided.  There  were  then  no 
buildings  on  it,  and  the  ground  was 
mostly  wild.  It  is  now  a  finely  im- 
proved farm,  with  very  creditable  and 
substantial  buildings  thereon,  and  he 
has  since  added  to  Ids  land,  so  that  he 
now  lias  tid  acres.  Mr.  Pranger  was 
married  in  St.  Louis,  Dec.  24,  1858,  to 
Helena  Johnson,  a  native  of  Hanover, 
and  a  daughter  of  Henry  Johnson.  This 
marriage  has  been  blessed  by  seven 
children — Anna,  married  Oswald  Beck- 
er, living  in  Washington  territory; 
Henry,  who  married  Frances  Camerer, 
and  also  lives  in  Washington  territory; 
Catherine,  Benjamin,  John,  Mary  and 
Elizabeth.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Pranger  are 
members    of    the    Catholic   church,    of 


Carrollton.  Coming  hen'  25  years  ago 
with  no  capital  save  energy  and  willing 
hands,  Mr.  Pranger  has  certainly  made 
a  creditable  record. 

Silas  H.  Winchell  was  born  in  New- 
port, Vermillion,  county,  Ind.,  Jan.  Hi, 
1836.  He  was  a  son  of  Sylvia  and 
Agnes  Winchell,  natives  of  New  York. 
His  father  died  at  Newport,  Ind.,  and 
his  mother  now  lives  at  Maple  River, 
la.  Silas  H.  came  to  Greene  county, 
111.,  in  March,  1858,  settling  under  the 
bluffs,  in  Bluff  dale  township.  Mr.  Win- 
chell enlisted  in  the  service  of  his  coun- 
try, at  Bedford,  in  the  7th  111.  Inf.,  Co. 
K,  and  was  mustered  into  the  service  on 
the  2d  of  Oct.,  1861,  at  Post  Holt,  Ky. 
He  served  three  years,  and  engaged  in 
the  battles  of  Fort  Donelson,  Shiloh, 
and  Corinth,  under  Gen.  Grant.  He 
was  mustered  out,  Oct.  2,  1864,  and  re- 
turned home.  He  was  married  in  Dec., 
1864,  to  Jennie  Phillips,  daughter  of 
Curtis  Bushnell,  of  Woodville  town- 
ship. They  are  the  parents  of  six  chil- 
dren— Violetta,  wife  of  John  Loger, 
now  living  at  Maple  River,  la.;  Alvin, 
Franklin,  John,  Monroe  and  Walter. 
Mr.  Winchell  owns  60  acres  of  land  on 
sections  32  and  33.  For  the  past  18 years 
he  has  served  as  school  director. 


CHAPTER    XVII. 


WOODVILLE  TOWNSHIP. 


The  sub-division  of  Greene  county 
known  as  Woodville,  is  an  irregular 
shaped  body  of  land,  and  comprises, 
firstly,  all  of  T.  9,  R.  13,  except  the  por- 


tions of  Sees.  32,  33,  34,  and  35,  south 
of  the  Macoupin  creek,  lying  in  Jersey 
county;  secondly,  of  Sees.  5,  6,  7,  8,  17, 
18,  19,   20,  30,  'and   31,  of  T.  V),   P.    12; 


850 


HISTORY   OF   UIJKKXK  COUNTY. 


thirdly,  of  fractional  Sees.  6,  7,  and  18, 
of  T.  8,  1!.  13;  fourthly,  of  fractional 
Sees.  1,  12,  19,  and  20,  T.  8,  It.  14;  and 
fifthly,  ni'  fractional  Sees.  1,  6,  7,  and 
18,  of  T.  8.  R.  13.  It  is  bounded  on  the 
north  by  Bluffdale  township,  on  the  east 
by  Kane  township,  on  the  south  by 
Jersey  county,  from  which  it  is  sepa- 
rated by  Macoupin  creek,  and  on  the 
west  by  the  Illinois  river.  The  western 
part  of  the  township  is  the  bottom  land 
of  the  Illinois  river,  the  richest  soil  in 
the  world,  but  liable  to  annual  over- 
How,  and  therefore  not  reliable  as  farm- 
ing land.  Back  of  this  rises  the  line  of 
bluffs  that  form  the  true  banks  of  the 
river,  and  east  of  these,  and  mi  the  sum- 
mit of  the  prairie  plateau,  the  land  is 
generally  of  a  rolling  character,  rich  and 
fertile,  where  cleared  of  the  primeval 
forest  that  encumbered  the  ground  when 
this  county  was  first  settled,  and  which 
now  covers  a  considerable  portion  of 
this  territory.  The  most  of  this  town- 
ship would  be  available  for  cultivation 
as  the  timber  could  be  chared  oil'  and 
levees  built  to  restrain  the  waters  of  the 
river.  The  inhabitants,  are  as  a  class, 
not  able  to  incur  the  heavy  expense  at- 
tendant upon  this,  and  hence  the  growth 
in  that  direction  is  necessarily  slow. 

EARLY    SETTLEMENT. 

As  far  as  can  be  ascertained,  the  first 
permanent  settler  within  the  present 
limits  of  Woodville  township  was  made 
by  George  \Y.  Clendenen.  This  gentle- 
man was  a  son  of  Robert  and  Mary 
Clendenen,  the  former  of  whom  was  a 
soldier  in  the  Revolutionary  war  am! 
had  command  of  the  fort  at  Gallopolis, 
on  the  Ohio  river.  George  W.  Clen- 
denen was  horn  in  Greenbrier  county, 
Va.,  about  the  year  1779,  and  spent   his 


early  life  in  the  state  of  his  nativity. 
His  father  afterward  removed  to  Bour- 
bon county,  Ky.,  where  George  was 
married  to  Mary  Reynolds.  In  1817,  he 
removed  with  his  young  family  to  St. 
Charles  county,  Mo.,  making  the  trip 
in  a  one-hmse  Dearborn  wagon.  He 
resided  in  that  locality  until  1819,  when 
he  came  to  Greene  county  and  made  a 
settlement  on  section  27,  near  where  the 
Macoupin  creek  breaks  through  the 
bluffs.  Here  he  lived,  a  pioneer,  until 
his  death,  which  occurred  in  1841.  He 
was  the  first  justice  of  the  peace  in  the 
township,  and  was  a  man  respected  by 
all  his  associates.  His  widow  survived 
him  until  Nov.,  1861).  With  Mr.  Clen- 
denen, came  his  son  Hazard  Perry 
Clendenen,  then  a  lad  of  eight  or  nine 
years. 

H.  P.  Clendenen,  father  of  Mrs.  Rob- 
ert King,  was  born  in  Bourbon  county, 
Ky.,  Oct.  12,  1812,  his  parents  being 
George  W.  and  Mary  Clendenen.  In 
1817,  Mr.  Clendenen  went,  with  bis  pa- 
rents, to  St.  Charles  county,  Mo.,  where 
they  resided  until  1820,  when  they  came 
to  Greene  county,  111.,  settling  in  what 
is  now  'Woodville  township.  Here  he 
receivedhis  early  education,  principally 
from  his  father,  and  afterward  became  a 
man  well  informed  on  the  leading  top- 
ics of  the  day.  He  assisted  in  the  farm 
duties  at  home,  during  his  early  life,  and 
when  about  20  years  of  age,  he  engaged 
in  flat-boating  for  about  14 years,  taking 
farm  produce  and  stock  to  New  Oilcans. 
He  was  married  Dec.  20,  1842,  to  Maria 
A.  Clark,  daughter  of  Absalom  and 
Lydia  Clark,  early  settlers  of  this 
county,  having  located  on  the  Macou- 
pin creek,  in  the  fall  of  1819,  where 
Maria    was   born,    Nov.    16,    1823.      By 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY 


851 


that  marriage  there  were  six  children, 
two   of  whom  died    when  quite  young. 

Those  living  are— Mary  A.,  wife  of 
Robert  King;  Jennie  M.,  wife  of  James 
Ellis,  living  in  Montgomery  county, 
111.:  and  two  sons.  Mr.  Clendenen 
started  in  life  with  almost  nothing,  but 
succeeded,  by  economy  and  industry,  in 
acquiring  a  large  amount  of  property, 
having  a  farm  of  1,700  acres  on  the  Illi- 
nois bottom.  He  early  became  identi- 
fied with  the  whig  party,  and  so  contin- 
ued until  it  disorganized,  when  he  joined 
the  ranks  of  the  republican  party,  and 
two  of  his  family,  Oscar  C,  and  Robert 
King,  aided  in  the  preservation  of  the 
Union,  in  the  late  war,  and  Mr.  Clen- 
denen was  one  of  the  strong  supporters 
of  the  Union  cause.  Mrs.  Clendenen 
died  on  Dec..  5,  1862,  and  .Mr.  Clen- 
denen survived  her  until  Nov.  20,  1880, 
both  being  buried  at  the  old  homestead. 
He  was  highly  respected  and  esteemed 
by  all  who  knew  him. 

Robert  King  was  born  in  Copiah 
county,  Miss.,  Dec.  23,  1843,  his  par- 
ents being  John  and  Zerilda  (Stewart) 
King.  His  father  was  born  in  Ken- 
tucky, and  his  mother  in  Mississippi. 
In  1847,  his  parents  left  the  state  in 
which  lie  was  born,  and  removed  to 
Illinois,  locating  in  Jersey  county, 
under  the  bluff  in  Richwoods  township. 
There  Robert  was  reared,  and  there  his 
parents  resided,  until  their  death.  His 
father  was  engaged  in  farming,  all  his 
life.  He  died  Feb.  14,  1862,  and  is 
buried  in  the  Campbell  cemetery,  as 
is  also  his  wife,  she  having  died 
in  Jan.,  1860.  Robert,  our  subject, 
came  to  Greene  county  in  1SC>7,  and 
located  in  the  now  township  of  Wood- 
ville.      He  was  married  the  same  year, 


on  the  7th  of  May,  to  Mary  A.  Clen- 
denen, daughter  of  11.  I'.  and  Maria 
(Clark)  Clendenen,  who  were  among 
the  pioneers  of  Greene  county,  he  hav- 
ing come  in  1819.  A  sketch  of  his  lite 
will  appear  elsewhere.  Mrs.  and  Mrs. 
King  were  the  parents  of  seven  children, 
live  of  whom  are  living — Morgan  L., 
died  in  1869,  aged  14  months;  Maria, 
Orson,  .lanie;  Oscar,  died  in  LS7(>,  aged 
about  14  months;  Frederick  and  Joseph. 
All  the  living  children  reside  at  home. 
Mr.  King  remained  in  this  county  until 
1861,  when  he  went  to  Saline  county, 
Missouri,  where  he  resided  until  March, 
1885,  when  he  moved  hack  to  Greene 
county,  Illinois,  where  he  now  lives,  on 
section  16.  He  has  a  farm  of  SO  acres 
lure,  ami  one  of  i60  acres  in  Missouri. 
On  the  1st  of  May,  1861,  though  only  17 
years  of  age,  Robert  enlisted  in  Co.  E, 
6th  Mo.,  Inf.,  being  mustered  in  at  St. 
Louis.'  He  was  assigned  to  the  com- 
mand of  Gen.  Grant,  and  his  first  ser- 
vice was  at  Pilot  Knob.  He  was  at 
Champion  Hills;  the  siege  and  capture 
of  Vieksburg:  Jackson,  Mississippi; 
Mission  Ridge;  then  in  the  fighting 
from  Chattanooga  to  Atlanta,  partici- 
pating in  the  battles  of  Dalton,  Resaca, 
Lost  Mountain,  and  Kenesaw  Mountain. 
At  the  last  named  battle,  he  was  wounded 
in  the  left  leg,  and  lay  in  the  hospital 
mostly  from  that  time  till  the  close  of  the 
war,  hut  remained  in  the  service,  and  was 
not  discharged  until  the  17th  of  July, 
1865.  lie  was  mustered  out  at  New 
York  city,  and  from  there  be  returned 
to  Jersey  county.  Although  he  was 
among  the  first  in  the  service,  ami  one 
of  the  last  to  leave  it,  he  was  never  in 
the  guard-house  during  the  entire  period 
of  his  enlistment. 


852 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


Matthew  Dayton,  deceased,  was  born 
in  Schoharie  county,  N.  Y.,  July  6, 
1798,  his  parents  being  Thomas  and 
Elizabeth  Dayton,  of  English  parentage. 
His  early  life  was  spent  on  his  father's 
farm,  and  when  about  20  years  old  im- 
migrated to  the  west.  In  1819  he  came 
tn  Greene  county,  and  located  in  this 
township,  on  the  Illinois  bottom.  On 
coming  to  the  west,  he  was  accompanied 
by  Capt.  Robley  and  others,  making  the 
trip  by  wagon.  Like  many  others  of  the 
old  settlers  of  the  county,  he  would  build 
a  boat,  fill  it  with  produce  and  float  down 
the  river  to  market.  In  1825,  he  was 
married  to  Margaret  Taylor,  who  died 
in  March,  1862,  and  he  died  Oct.  4, 1874, 
in  Montgomery  county.  They  had  a 
family  of  eight  children — Lewis,  living 
in  T.  9,  R.  13;  Harvey  and  Matthew, 
living  in  Bates  county,  Mo.;  Smith,  liv- 
ing near  the  old  homestead;  Thomas  H., 
deceased;  Elizabeth,  wife  of  Win.  R. 
Thomas,  Jr.,  living  near  Virden,  Ma- 
coupin county;  and  two  daughters,  de- 
ceased, Amanda,  wife  of  Absalom  Clark, 
and  Jane,  wife  of  Col.  Nulton.  Mr. 
Dayton  commenced  life  without  capital, 
but  by  thrift,  energy  and  perseverance, 
succeeded  in  making  a  good  farm  of 
about  500  acres  of  fine  land,  along  the 
Illinois  river  bluff.  He  was  a  member 
of  the  whig  party  until  it  disorganized, 
when  he  united  with  the  democratic 
party.  Two  of  his  sons,  Smith  and 
Thomas  II.,  and  one  son-in-law,  Col. 
Nulton,  participated  in  the  late  war, 
from  1861,  until  its  close. 

Thomas  H.  Dayton,  deceased,  was 
born  in  Woodville  township,  Greene 
county,  111.,  Nov.  6,  1843,  and  was  a 
son  of  Matthew  and  Margaret  (Taylor) 
Dayton.    Thomas  was  reared  within  the 


limits  of  this  township,  and  made  that 
his  residence  during  his  entire  lifetime. 
He  lived  at  home  until  the  date  of  his 
marriage,  Dec.  31,  1867,  when  he  was 
united  in  marriage  with  Mattie  J.  Riek- 
etts,  daughter  of  Aaron  and  Margaret 
(Barr)  Ricketts.  Her  father  was  a  sol- 
dier in  the  Black  Hawk  war,  and  after 
its  expiration,  settled  in  Jersey  county, 
locating  in  Richwoods  township,  where 
her  parents  were  married.  Her  father 
died  there  in  March,  1852,  and  her 
mother  died  in  this  county,  April  21, 
1874.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Dayton  were  the 
parents  of  seven  children  —  John  M., 
Lizzie  J.,  Margaret  Gertrude,  Amanda 
Ann,  Robert  E.  Lee,  Guy,  and  Thomas 
Henry.  Mr.  Dayton  departed  this  life 
May  7,  1882.  He  was  an  enterprising 
energetic  citizen  of  that  community,  an 
affectionate  husband  and  father,  hence 
his  loss  was  deeply  mourned  by  family 
and  friends.  He  was  a  soldier  in  the 
civil  war,  having  been  mustered  in 
Oct.  9,  1861,  in  Co.  G,  61st  111.  Inf. 
He  was  at  the  battle  of  Shiloh,  and 
participated  in  the  siege  and  capture  of 
Yicksburg,  and  many  other  engage- 
ments. He  was  with  his  regiment  all 
the  time  of  his  enlistment,  until  when 
taken  very  sick,  he  was  compelled  to 
return  home,  rejoining  his  regiment 
after  a  stay  of  about  six  months.  At 
the  close  of  the  war  he  was  mustered 
out  at  Springfield.  The  regiment  was 
commanded  by  his  brother-in-law,  Col. 
Nulton,  of  Carrollton.  Mr.  Dayton  had 
been  connected  with  the  schools  as 
director.  He  owned  575  acres  of  land, 
all  in  this  township,  and  was  well  fixed. 
Mrs.  Dayton  was  again  married  on  the 
29th  of  July,  1884,  to  Frank  Clark. 
Lewis  Dayton,  a  son  of  Matthew  and 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COT  XT  V. 


853 


Margaret  (Taylor)  Dayton,  was  horn  on 
Bee.  4.  T.  '•>.  R.  13  west,  in  this  county. 
He  was  born  June  26,  1826,  and  in  the 
ten  years  over  half  a  century  which  has 
elapsed  since  that  time,  he  has  never 
called  any  place  home  except  the  section 
m  which  he  now  resides,  and  the  ad- 
joining section  9.  His  father,  Matthew 
Dayton,  was  one  of  the  oldest  pioneers 
of  the  county,  and  is  mentioned  at 
length,  elsewhere.  Lewis,  although 
reared  in  this  county,  at  present  so  well 
settled  and  prosperous,  grew  up  among 
Scenes  of  wildness,  it  beingthen  a  wild. 
unimproved  country.  What  schooling 
he  received  was  in  a  little  stone  build- 
ing, at  what  is  now  the  station  of  El- 
dred,  in  Bluffdale  township.  Although 
his  entire  time  of  attendance  did  not 
exceed  over  two  years,  yet  it  was  as 
good  an  education  as  the  children  of 
any  of  the  neighbor's  families  receh  ed. 
Amid  such  circumstances  he  grew  up, 
the  principal  features  of  his  life  being 
the  hard  work  incident  to  clearing  up 
the  land,  and  the  consequent  hearty 
enjoyment  of  all  opportunities  for  pleas- 
ure and  recreation.  Mr.  Dayton  was 
married  on  the  "24th  of  March,  1853,  to 
Sarah  Ann  Anderson,  daughter  of  'Wil- 
liam and  Nancy  Anderson.  They  were 
all  natives  of  Kentucky,  ami  came  to 
Greene  county,  111.,  in  1851.  Mr.  ami 
Mrs.  Dayton  were  the  parents  of  six 
children — Luetta  L.,  deceased;  Sarah 
Jane,  wife  of  William  S.  Miller,  living 
in  this  township;  Nancy  M.,  wife  of 
Henry  .1.  Keyes,  living  at  Roodhouse; 
Mar}'  Ellen,  deceased,  and  two  who 
died  in  infancy.  Mrs.  Dayton  died  on 
the  20th  day  of  Oct.,  1876,  and  is  buried 
in  the  Dayton  cemetery.  Mr.  Dayton 
is  a  member  of  the  Forest  Oak  church. 


of  Woodville  township,  and  is  a  well 
respected  citizen  of  the  community  in 
which  he  lives. 

Vines  Hicks  made  a  settlement  in 
this  township  in  1820.  It  is  said  of  him 
that  he  was  fearful  that  the  land  sales 
would  occur  before  he  could  obtain  mon- 
ey to  purchase  the  land,  ami  that  some 
one  else  would  purchase  it  and  deprive 
him  of  his  improvements,  therefore,  he 
selected  for  his  home,  a  poor,  flinty 
point  of  the  Macoupin  bluff,  where  he 
would  feel  perfectly  secure  in  its  pos- 
session, as  no  one  would  want  so  poor  a 
piece  of  land.  He  afterward  accumu- 
lated considerable  money  and  did  not 
live  here  long,  but  purchased  property 
north  of  Apple  creek. 

John  Stone  made  a  settlement  in  this 
township,  on  Sec.  6,  T.  9,  I!.  12,  about 
1823  or  1824,  although  he  had  come  to 
the  county  in  IMS.  He  died  here 
about  1854. 

James  Stone,  was  born  in  Oreene 
county,  111.,  July  22.  1826,  on  the  place 
where  his  parents  then  resided,  on  Sec. 
6,  T.  '•',  I!.  12,  on  the  adjoining  quarter 
to  that  on  which  James  now  lives.  His 
parents  were  John  and  Anna  (Arnold) 
Stone,  who  came  to  this  county,  from 
Kentucky,  in  the  winter  of  1818.  They 
were  among  the  earliest  pioneers  of 
Greene  county,  coming  the  same  year 
as  Samuel  Thomas.  They  first  located 
in  what  is  now  Carrollton  township,  on 
the  farm  on  which  Mr.  Hogg  now  re- 
sides, ami  which  is  now  owned  by  Wil- 
liam Charles  Ward.  From  there  they 
moved  to  the  place  where  James  was 
born,  now  in  Woodville  township, 
where,  by  hard  work,  his  father  accum- 
ulated enough  to  enter  that  quarter  sec- 
tion.    James    was   reared   at    the    same 


854 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


place,  and,  after  arriving  at  manhood's 
estate. he  went  out  to  work  for  himself. 
In  March,  1852,  he  went  out  to  Califor- 
nia, and  while  there  engaged  in  min- 
ing. He  remained  there  one  year,  and 
then  returned  by  way  of  the  Isthmus. 
The  fall  after  his  return,  his  father 
died,  and  was  buried  in  the  Dunegan 
graveyard,  by  the  side  of  his  wife.  In 
1858,  James  was  married  to  Mary  Ann 
Allen,  a  daughter  of  William  Allen. 
By  that  marriage,  then'  wen.'  seven 
children — Alice,  deceased;  Viola,  wife 
of  Lemuel  Wood,  living  in  Woodville; 
Luella,  wife  of  James  Harwood,  liv- 
ing in  Woodville;  Orville,  Etta.  Otis, 
and  Charles  Orrin.  Mrs.  Stone  died. 
Mr.  Stone  lias  209  acres  of  land,  all  of 
which  is  in  Woodville  township,  and  is 
now  the  owner  of  the  old  homestead. 
Nearly  20  years  over  half  a  century  ago. 
his  parents  c;.me  to  this  county,  and 
they  occupied  an  honored  place  in  its 
early  history,  and  will  be  mentioned  at 
length  in  this  work.  Mr.  James  Stone 
was  married  a  second  time,  to  Mary 
Louisa  Burns,  daughter  of  Samuel  Ma- 
rion Burns,  on  the  18th  of  Nov.,  1882. 
Mr.  Stone,  has,  by  his  manly  qualities, 
gained  the  respect  and  esteem  of  all 
who  have  had  any  acquaintance  with 
him. 

Samuel  Martin  and  his  wife,  both  na- 
tives of  Kentucky,  made  a  settlement 
under  the  bluffs,  in  what  is  now  Wood- 
ville township,  in  1N24  or  1825.  From 
here,  after  some  years,  they  removed  to 
Sec.  7,  T.  '.),  R."l2,  where  they  both 
died.  Isaac  N.  Martin,  for  many  years 
a  resident  of  the  county,  was  a  son. 

Isaac  N.  Martin,  deceased,  was  horn 
in  the  territory  now  embraced  in  Wood- 
ville township,  under  the  bluff,  Decem- 


ber 20,  1826.  He  was  a  son  of  Samuel 
and  Elizabeth  Martin,  natives  of  Ken- 
tucky, who  in  an  early  day  removed  to 
Indiana.  From  that  state  they  came  to 
Illinois,  and  were  among  the  early  set- 
tlers of  Greene  county,  locating  under 
the  bluff  in  this  township,  where  Isaac 
Newton  was  born.  He  was  reared  there, 
and  lived  within  its  limits  until  the 
time  of  his  death.  He  was  married 
Oct.  8,  1848,  to  Jane  Thomasson,  a 
daughter  of  William  and  Sarah  (Stone1 
Thomasson,  her  father  a  native  of  Mis- 
sissippi, and  her  mother  of  South  Caro- 
lina. They  came  to  this  county  about 
the  year  1831,  and  a  sketch  of  their  lives 
will  be  found  elsewhere.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Martin  were  the  parents  of  sixteen  chil- 
dren, of  whom  ten  arc  living — William, 
George,  John,  Samuel,  Douglas,  Ed- 
ward. Frank,  Eudora,  wife  of  Wyatt 
Watts,  living  in  this  county;  Delia  and 
Stella.  Those  deceased  are  Mary, 
Albert,  Ellen,  Georgiana  and  Clarence, 
twins,  and  James  B.  Mr.  Martin  died 
on  the  30th  of  January,  1880,  and  is 
buried  in  Mt.  Gilead  cemetery.  He 
was  a  kind  husband  and  father,  and  a 
well  respected  citizen,  and  his  loss  was 
mourned  by  all.  At  the  time  of  his 
death  Mr.  Martin  had  200  acres  of  good 
land,  SO  of  which  Mrs.  Martin  now  re- 
tains. He  had  held  several  local  offices, 
performing  the  duties  attached  thereto, 
with  satisfaction  to  all. 

Robert  Scroggins,  a  native  of  Ken- 
tucky, the  "Dark  and  Bloody  Ground,'' 
came  to  Greene  county  in  1828,  and 
located  on  Sec.  13,  T.  9,  R.  13,  now  in- 
cluded within  the  limits  of  Woodville 
township,  where  he  lived  several  years. 
He  then  removed  to  a  farm  in  Carroll- 
ton  township,  now  owned  by  the  heirs 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


855 


of  Peter  Hoi  son.  While  living  at  this 
place,  during  a  severe  thunderstorm, 
tin'  house  in  which  he  and  his  family 
resided,  was  struck  by  lightning,  and 
three  of  his  children  killed,  and  his  wife 
severely  1. unied.  and  rendered  for  a 
time  insensible.  From  there  he  re- 
moved to  Kane  township,  where  he 
lived  four  years,  and  then  left  the 
county,  going  to  the  American  Bottom. 
With  Robert  Scroggins,  came  his  son. 
C.  J.,  then  a  lad,  who  was  for  many 
years  a  resident  of  Woodville  township, 
where  he  remained  after  hi-  father's 
removal  from  the  county.  lie  is  a  na- 
tive of  Kentucky,  horn  in  1815,  an.',  was 
married  in  1>.">7.  to  Mahala  Brown.  He 
died  July  15,  1883. 

In  1829,  Willis  Hardwick  and  his 
family  made  a  settlement  in  this  town- 
ship, about  two  miles  south  of  tin-  town 
of  Woodville.  where  he  and  his  wife 
lived  to  the  advanced  age  of  88 
ami  departed  this  life  residents  of 
Greene  county.  Mr.  Hardwick  was  a 
native  of  Virginia,  and  hi-  wife,  of 
Kentucky. 

John  II.  Reynolds  came  to  Greene 
county  in  1829,  and  passed  the  winter 
of  1829-30,  in  a  small  log  cabin  in  what 
is  known  as  tic  Luther  Tunnell  place. 
John  II.  Reynolds,  deceased,  was 
born  in  Washington  county,  Va.,  Aug. 
o.  1804,  and  was  a  son  of  Madison  and 
Mary  Reynolds.  He  wasreared  in  Vir- 
ginia, partly  to  farm  life,  though  when 
grown,  he  was  engaged  as  overseer  of 
the  Elizabeth  Salt  Works  there.  He 
was  married  in  Virginia,  June  5,  1823, 
to  Catherine  Klepper,  a  native  of  Penn- 
sylvania. They  removed  to  Tennessee, 
in  which  state  they  remained  until  1829, 
when  they  removed  to  Greene    county, 


Illinois,  locating  five  miles  east  of  Car- 
rollton.     En  1830  removed    three 

miles  southwest  of  <  rreenfield,  where 
Mrs.  Reynolds  died,  on  the  27th  of 
August,  ls-".7.  In  the  following  spring, 
Mr.  Reynolds  removed  with  his  family 
into  the  neighborhood  where  his  son 
Joseph  now  resides,  and  he  remained 
in  that  locality  until  his  death.  He 
died  March  15,  1858,  and  is  buried  at 
the  farm  on  which  In-  then  lived,  on  See. 
17,  T.  (.i.  R.  12.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  John  H. 
Reynolds  were  the  parent-  of  nine  chil- 
dren, rive  of  whom  are  now  living— Re- 
widow  of  Mr.  Fuller,  lives 
at  Kane:  Joseph,  whose  sketch  follows 
this:  Mary  Ann,  living  in  Sangamon 
county;  Emeline,  deceased;  Eveline, 
wife  of  Samuel  Hall,  living  near  Virden, 
Macoupin  county;  Willis,  living  in  this 
township;  Samuel,  deceased,  and  two 
others,  twins,  who  died  in  infancy. 

Joseph  C.  Reynold,  son  of  John  H., 
was  horn  in  Roane  county,  East  Tenn., 
Oct.  I<).  1825,  hence  was  about  four 
years  old.  when  he  first  came  to  Greene 
county.  He  was  reared  here,  and  has 
lived  in  the  county  ever  since,  with  the 
exception  of  about  six  month-,  during 
the  year  1845,  which  he  spent  in  Arkan- 
sas. <  >n  arriving  at  the  age  of  22  years. 
he  went  to  work  for  himself,  living  at 
two  other  locations  in  the  neighborhood, 
moving  to  hi-  present  place  on 
S,  c.  7.  T.  '.i.  II.  12.  in  the  spring  of 
1867.  He  was  married.  Feb.  27.  1851,  to 
Elizabeth  Hall,  a  native  of  Carrollton 
township,  Greene  county,  horn  Oct.  15, 
1>2>'>.  and  has  spent  her  life  thus  far  in 
this  county.  Her  father.  Thomas  Hall, 
was  born  in  North  Carolina,  and  her 
mother.  Mary  i  McVeigh  i  Hall,  in  South 
Carolina.     They  were   married  in    Fast 


856 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


Tennessee,  in  1815,  just  after  the  war 
of  1812.  Mr.  Reynold's  lather  served 
all  through  that  war,  in  the  American 
army,  and  was  at  Quebec  at  the  time  of 
the  battle  of  New  Orleans.  They  re- 
moved from  Tennessee  to  Illinois  in 
1818,  locating  on  Wood  river  in  Madison 
county,  and  in  the  following  year,  1819, 
removed  to  Greene  county  and  settled  on 
160  acres  of  land,  erecting  his  cabin  on 
the  northwest  quarter  of  Sec.  32,  T.  10, 
north,  R.  12  west,  now  in  Carrollton 
township.  They  lived  there  some  15 
years,  and  he  then  moved  his  house  on 
to  the  south  side  of  Dry  creek,  on  the 
southwest  quarter  of  the  same  section. 
Mr.  Hall  died  March  18,  1854,  and  is 
buried  at  Mt.  Gilead  cemetery.  He 
was  one  of  the  first  pioneers  of  this 
county,  and  lived  here  a  useful  life, 
esteemed  by  all.  His  wife  now  lives, 
at  the  advance  ago  of  89  years,  with  her 
daughter,  Mrs.  Clarissa  Stone,  at  Vif- 
den,  111.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Reynolds  have 
had  seven  children,  six  of  whom  are 
living — Oscar,  married  Gulnare  Heron, 
is  now  deputy  clerk  at  the  county  seat, 
Mary  Catherine,  at  home;  Samuel  C, 
married  Anna  Pierce;  George  Henry, 
Joseph  William,  Clarissa.  Jane,  and 
Maria  Ellen,  deceased.  Mr.  Reynolds 
has  held  the  office  of  school  director  of 
district  No.  5,  a  great  many  years.  He 
was  once  elected  justice  of  the  peace, 
but  did  not  qualify.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Reynolds  have  both  been  indentified 
with  this  county  for  over  half  a  century. 
James  Wood,  a  native  of  Kentucky, 
came  from  the  vicinity  of  Lexington,  in 
that  state,  in  the  year  1830,  and  located 
this  township.  He  was  a  man  of  family, 
who  came  with  him.  His  wife  was 
formerly  Jane  Arnold,  also  a  native  of 


Kentucky.  He  is  long  since  dead,  but 
some  of  his  descendents still  live  in  the 
county. 

John  Clark  made  a  settlement  in 
Woodville  township,  in  1831,  among 
tin'  pioneers  of  that  region.  With  him 
came  his  father-in-law,  Rooney  Camp- 
bell. With  them  they  brought  their 
families. 

John  Clark,  deceased,  was  born  near 
Lexington,  Ky.,  April  20,  1806,  and  was 
a  son  of  William  Clark.  When  he  was 
nine  years  old,  his  parents  removed 
across  the  Ohio  river,  into  the  state  of 
Ohio,  where  they  remained  one  year, 
and  then  went  to  Cabell  county,  W.  Ya. 
There  John  was  reared  to  manhood,  and 
both  his  parents  died  there.  He  follovi  ed 
boating  for  many  years.  From  that 
state  he  moved  to  Ohio,  annd  was  there 
married,  Dec.  12,  1830,  to  Mary  Camp- 
bell, a  native  of  Hampshire  county,  Ya., 
and  a  daughter  of  Rooney  and  Susan 
(Miller)  Campbell.  Her  parents  came 
t<>  this  county  with  Mr.  and  Mrs.  ('lark, 
and  lived  here  until  their  death.  Mr. 
Clark  remained  in  Ohio  one  year,  and 
then  removed  to  Illinois,  locating  in 
whatisnow  Woodville  township,  Greene 
county,  in  1831,  and  they  have  lived 
under  the  bluff,  it  being  now  54  years. 
They  there  built  a  small  cabin  on  gov- 
ernment land,  which  was  entered  by 
Sam'l  Gates,  and  is  now  owned  by  Alex. 
Logan,  it  being  about  two  and  a  half 
miles  from  where  they  now  live.  In 
1841  they  removed  to  their  present  lo- 
cation on  section  1G,  where  Mr. 
Clark  lived  until  his  death,  and  where 
his  widow  still  resides.  He  died  July  17, 
1881,  and  is  buried  at  the  old  homestead. 
When  the  family  came  to  this  county,  it 
was  but  a  wilderness,  and  deer  were  to 


\ 


■^i  ,v  y*- 


%~-i^<-<jls/  cS7,  c? ,     'Q^-Z^Lnn^OyA^ < 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


861 


be  seen  from  the  cabin  door  in  droves. 
There  were  scarcely  any  improvements 

for  miles  around,  and  they  did  their 
trading  at  Carrollton,  when  there  were 
hut  two  small  stores  there.  For  over 
half  a  century  they  have  witnessed  the 
changes  which  have  taken  place  in  trans- 
forming this  county  from  a  wilderness 
to  its  present  cultivated  ami  populous 
condition.  In  those  early  days  farm  life 
was  conducted  with  much  greater  trouble 
and  hardship  than  at  present.  Mrs. 
Clark  has  80  acres  of  land  under  cultiva- 
tion. They  raised  a  child.  Charles 
Edwin,  that  they  had  adopted,  but  he 
died  at  the  age  of  24  years.  Uncle  John 
Clark,  as  he  was  familiarly  known  in  this 
neighborhood,  died  from  injuries  re- 
ceived from  a  team  running  away  with 
him,  in  Carrollton.  Charles  Edwin,  their 
adopted  son.  who  was  a  very  promising 
young  man,  died  with  the  consumption, 
and  was  also  buried  on  the  old  home- 
stead. 

About  the  year  1831,  Col.  Purnell 
Short,  a  native  of  Kentucky,  with  his 
family,  among  whom  was  his  son 
James,  came  to  Woodville  township. 
They  had  come  to  Greene  county  the 
year  previous,  and  made  a  temporary 
stay  in  Carrollton  township.  The 
colonel  lived  here  for  some  years  and 
died  here 

James  Short  was.  at  the  time  of  his 
arrival,  some  18  years  of  age,  and 
shortly  after  coming  heie  located  on  a 
farm  in  this  township. 

Elkanah  Hutchens  made  a  si  ttlement 
on  the  southwest  quarter  of  section  5,  in 
this  township  during  the  year  1831. 

Elkanah  Hutchens.  an  early  settler  of 
Greene  county,  was  born  in  Surrey 
county,  N.C.,  Nov.  20,  1803, his  parents 


being  John  and  Jane  |  Brazwell  i  Hutch- 
ens. His  father  was  a  native  of  Virginia, 
his  mother  of  South  Carolina.  Elkanah 
was  reared  in  North  Carolina,  living 
with  his  parents  until  the  time  of  their 
death.  His  father  was  a  farmer  and 
mill  owner,  and  Elkanah  learned  the 
miller's  trade,  and  spent  his  early  life 
in  that  business.  At  his  father's  death, 
he  succeeded  to  the  ownership  of  the 
mill  and  continued  in  the  management 
until  he  removed  to  Illinois,  in  1829, 
arriving  in  Morgan  county  in  May. when 
he  commenced  farming.  He  remained 
in  that  county  until  1831,  when  be  re- 
moved to  Greene  county,  and  settled  on 
the  southwest  quarter  of  section  5,  in 
this  township,  where  he  found  a  cabin 
on  the  premises,  but  had  about  all  the 
improvements  to  make  himself.  He 
had  been  married  in  Surrey  county, 
N.  C,  in  1821,  to  Frances  Pilcher, 
a  native  of  that  state,  and  a  daughter  of 
James  Pilcher.  By  this  marriage  there 
were  14  children,  of  whom  five  grew  to 
manhood  and  womanhood.  Gideon, 
married  Rebecca  Short,  lives  in  Marion 
county,  Kan.;  Brazwell,  died  in  July. 
1878,  and  his  widow  now  lives  near 
Woodville;  Mary  T.,  wife  of  Samuel  B. 
Hill,  living  in  Marion,  Kan.;  Ellis  B., 
married  Almira  Starling,  and  Elkanah 
1>.,  whose  sketch  follows  this.  Mr. 
Hutchens  made  his  home  on  the  tract 
of  land  on  which  he  first  settled  in 
Greene  county,  for  over  half  a  century, 
hut  in  the  spring  of  1S82  he  removed  to 
Marion,  Kan.,  where  he  now  resides,  at 
an  advanced  age.  His  wife  died  there, 
July  7,  1884. 

Elkanah  Delaney  Hutchens  is  the 
only  one  of  the  family  of  Elkanah 
Hutchens  that   now   resides   in   Greene 


county.  He  was  born  here,  Dec.  11, 
1845,  and  has  never  made  his  home  per- 
manently in  any  other  place.  He  was 
married  Nov.  16,  1871,  to  Sarah  A.Bell. 
By  that  marriage  there  was  one  child — 
Clara,  wlm  died  in  infancy.  Mrs.  Hutch- 
ens  died  Sept.  20,  1874.  On  the  17th  of 
Feb.,  1876,  Mr.  Hutchens  was  again 
married  to  Lucy  J.  Anderson,  daughter 
of  Samuel  Anderson,  who  resides  in 
Kane  township.  By  this  marriage  there 
are  three  children — Eva  J.,  Clarence 
Elmer  and  Walter  A.  Mr.  Hutchens 
has  480  acres  of  valuable  land,  all  in  T. 
9,  Efc.  12,  and  is  one  of  the  enterprising, 
energetic  farmers  of  that  community. 
He  has  been  engaged  in  teaching  school 
in  this  county  since  1865,  except  about 
five  years,  in  which  he  devoted  most  of 
bis  time  to  farming.  During  the  years 
of  his  teaching,  he  has  always  attended 
to  his  farm  during  the  summer  months. 
In  1885  he  was  elected,  at  the  first  elec- 
tion under  the  new  organization, as  clerk 
of  Woodville  township  for  the  ensuing 
year.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hutchens  are  mem- 
bers of  the  Baptist  church. 

In  the  spring  of  1832,  Daniel  Heron 
came  to  Greene  county  and  made  a  set- 
tlement in  what  is  called  the  bend  of 
the  Macoupin,  in  T.  8,  R.  13,  where  he 
lived  until  called  upon  to  pay  the  debt 
of  nature,  in  1857.  He  was  a  native  of 
Lenore  county,  N.  C,  but  came  here 
from  Randolph  county,  111. 

Robert  Mills,  deceased,  a  settler  of 
the  year  1832,  was  born  in  Maryland,  on 
the  15th  day  of  October,  1777,  as  near 
as  can  be  now  ascertained.  When  he 
was  a  mere  child  bis  parents  removed 
to  North  Carolina,  and  he  there  grew  to 
manhood.  From  there  he  removed  to 
Kentucky,  residing,  while  in  that  state, 


in  Franklin  county.  In  1832,  he  came 
to  Illinois,  and  in  the  fall  of  that  year 
located  in  Greene  county,  settling  first 
in  Carrollton.  In  the  fall  of  1833,  he 
went  to  Edwardsville  and  entered  4n 
acres  of  land  on  the  southeast  quarter 
of  section  13,  in  Woodville  township, 
and  on  going  there  to  locate,  found  a 
log  house  erected  on  the  land,  which 
had  been  put  there  by  a  man  named 
James  Gilleland.  He  also  found  about 
three  acres  of  his  land  broken  out  by 
another  man,  and  in  cultivation.  He 
paid  for  the  improvements  and  took 
possession.  Like  almost  all  the  settlers 
who  had  come  from  the  timbered  states 
of  the  south,  he  preferred  a  location  in 
the  wooded  country,  with  springs  and 
water  courses  at  hand,  to  the  prairie 
regions  already  cleared.  On  taking  up 
bis  location  on  section  13,  he  made  it 
his  home  until  the  time  of  his  death. 
He  had  been  married  in  Kentucky, 
about  the  year  1S08,  to  Susan  Swigert, 
a  native  of  Franklin  county,  Ky.,  born 
Jan.  11,  1797.  Of  their  children,  two 
sons  died  in  Kentucky,  in  infancy. 
Those  who  have  lived  in  this  state  are — 
Mary,  born  in  Franklin  county,  Ky., 
died  in  this  county  in  1834;  Almeda 
Ann,  deceased,  born  in  Franklin  county, 
Ky.,  March  19,  1828;  Lafayette,  born 
in  Kentucky  Oct.  1,  1830;  John  Henry, 
born  Dec.  14,  1832,  in  Kentucky;  Mar- 
garet Ann,  born  July  25,  1835,  married 
William  Thomasson,  who  removed  to 
Osage  county,  Kan.,  in  Feb.,  18S4,  and 
now  resides  there;  Andrew  Jackson, 
born  in  Greene  county,  111.,  Aug.  5, 
1838,  married  Annetta  Reed  on  the  21st 
of  May,  1885,  she  being  a  daughter  of 
William  Reed,  now  living  in  Washing- 
ton   territory.    Andrew  J.    has    taught 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY, 


863 


school  in  Jersey,  Calhoun  and  Greene 
counties,  one  term  in  each.  Lafayette 
and  John  H.  still  occupy  the  old  home- 
stead which  their  father  took  posses- 
sion of  in  the  then  wilderness,  over  a 
half  century  ago.  They,  with  their 
brother,  A.  J.,  cany  on  the  business  of 
farming  and  stock  raising,  in  partner- 
ship. They  have  770  acres  of  land, 
most  of  which  adjoins.  John  H.  has 
been  connected  with  the  schools  of  the 
township,  as  director  of  district  Xo.  2, 
and  is  now  trustee.  Lafayette  has  also 
filled  positions  in  the  township.  The 
house  they  occupy  is  the  same  that  was 
on  the  land  when  they  first  came  to  the 
county,  with  the  exception  of  one  room 
winch  is  added,  hence,  it  is  one  of  the 
old  landmarks  of  the  county. 

William  Thomasson,  an  early  settler 
of  the  county,  came  to  Wdodville  town- 
ship in  1S46,  although  he  first  located 
in  the  county  in  1828.  William  Thom- 
asson, deceased,  was  born  in  Tennessee 
in  1804,  and  was  a  son  of  William 
Thomasson.  His  early  days  were  spent 
in  his  native  state  and  in  the  Carolinas, 
Alabama  and  Mississippi.  He  was 
married  in  Tennessee,  in  1822,  to  Sarah 
Stone,  a  native  of  South  Carolina.  They 
came  to  Illinois  and  located  in  Greene 
county  about  two  and  a  half  miles  east 
ofWoodville,  in  T.  9,  R.  11,  now  in 
Kane  towship,  at  an  early  day.  There 
they  remained  until  1830,  wdien  they 
removed  to  what  is  now  the  Reuben 
Bradley  place,  about  one  mile  west  of 
Woodville,  in  T.  10,  R.  13,  now  in  Bluff- 
dale  township.  There  they  resided 
until  1846,  when  they  removed  to  Texas, 
where  they  spent  the  winter,  returning 
the  next  spring  to  Greene  county,  and 
locating  on  Sec.  18,  T.  9,  R.  12,  in  Wood- 


ville township,  where  he  resided  the 
rest  of  his  life.  Mrs.  Thomasson  died 
on  the  20th  of  June,  1S66.  She  was 
the  mother  of  ten  children,  of  whom 
seven  are  living — Nancy  E.,  deceased; 
Sarah  C,  deceased;  Mahala  M.,  living 
in  this  county;  Cassie  Jane,  widow  of 
Isaac  Newton  Martin,  lives  in  this  town- 
ship; William  B.,  married  Margaret 
Mills,  lives  in  Osage  county,  Kan.;  John 
X.,  whose  sketch  follows  this;  Fannie 
E.,  married  Wiatt  Whitlow,  living  in 
Montgomery  county;  George  W.,  living 
in  Osage  county,  Kan.;  Millie  A.,  wile 
of  John  W.  Clark,  living  in  Macoupin 
county;  and  James  II.,  deceased.  Mr. 
Thomasson  was  married  a  second  time 
to  Mary  Stone,  daughter  ot  John  Stone. 
On  the  23d  of  October,  1881,  Mr.  Thom- 
asson departed  this  life,  and  was  laid  to 
rest  in  the  Dunegan  cemetery.  He  was 
an  highly  respected  citizen  of  the  com- 
munity in  w-hich  he  resided,  and  left 
many  relatives  and  friends  to  mourn  his 
loss. 

John  N.  Thomasson  was  born  July  6, 
1833,  and  was  the  seventh  child  of  Wil- 
liam and  Sarah  (Stone)  Thomasson.  He 
was  born  in  this  county,  in  Bluffdale 
township,  where  his  parents  lived  on 
what  is  now  the  Reuben  Bradley  place. 
He  was  reared  in  this  county,  and  re- 
ceived the  usual  limited  schooling  of 
the  early  days,  to  which  he  afterward 
added  by  study  at  home.  He  learned 
the  carpenter's  trade,  and  worked  at  that 
a  number  of  years,  and  in  186Ghe  began 
business  as  a  contractor.  In  1867  he 
worked  with  David  Hartwell,  and  the 
next  year  engaged  in  contracting  for 
himself  again.  Since  1870  he  has  been 
engaged  almost  exclusively  in  farming. 
Nov.  8,  1868,  he  was  married  to  Sarah 


864 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


Varble,  a  native  of  Kentucky,  and  a 
daughter  of  George  and  Henrietta  Var- 
ble, natives  of  Kentucky.  They  were 
early  settlers  of  this  county,  and  the 
family  are  noticed  elsewhere  in  this 
work.  Mr.  Varble  died  in  the  house  of 
our  subject,  and  is  buried  at  the  Dune- 
gan  cemetery,  as  is  also  his  wife,  who 
died  a  year  or  two  before  him.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  John  N.  Thomasson  were  the  pa- 
rents of  eight  children,  of  whom  seven 
are  living — Sarah  Posey,  Sophia  Jane, 
George  Tilden,  born  July  4,  1872,  John 
Norman,  Parley  Epler,  Bertha  Adeline, 
and  an  infant,  not  named.  One,  named 
Hendricks,  died  in  infancy,  Mr.  Thom- 
asson has  about  300  acres  of  good  land, 
all  in  Sees.  17  and  18,  T.  9,  R.  12.  He 
and  his  wife  are  both  members  of  the 
Mt.  Gilead  Baptist  church,  of  which 
Mr.  Thomasson  has  been  a  member  for 
30   years. 

EDUCATIONAL. 

School  district  No.  1  has  a  building 
on  the  northwest  quarter  of  section  12, 
known  as  Forest  school,  was  built  about 
the  year  1878.  It  is  a  good  sized  brick 
structure,  and  cost  about  $1,500.  J.  C. 
White,  the  present  county  surveyor, 
taught  the  first  term  of  school  in  this 
building.  Samuel  Reynolds  is  the  pres- 
ent teacher.  The  first  school  house  in 
this  district  was  of  frame  construction, 
built  about  25  years  since.  It  was  after- 
ward destroyed  by  fire;  A  log  cabin 
was  then  removed  from  the  farm  of 
Elisha  Varble,  to  the  school  house  site 
of  the  district,  but  a  few  years  after- 
ward, it  was  also  destroyed  by  fire,  at 
which  time  the  present  brick  structure 
was  erected. 

District  No.  2,  Rough  Edge  school 
house,  is  situated  at  the  northeast  corner 


of  the  southwest  quarter  of  Sec.  24,  T.  '.), 
I!.  13.  It  was  preceded  by  a  small  log 
school  house,  which  had  been  used  for 
a  dwelling.  Prior,  even  to  that,  there 
bad  been  used  another  log  cabin,  in 
which  the  first  school  of  the  district  was 
taught.  At  the  time  it  was  used  as  a 
school,  it  had  only  one  window,  and 
that,  with  only  one  pane  of  glass  in  it, 
on  the  same  side  as  one  of  the  doors. 
Among  the  first  scholars  of  this  first 
school  were:  Sarah  Miller,  the  Giber- 
son  children;  John,  Frances  and  Caro- 
line Herring;  James,  Alex.,  and  Eliza 
Gilliland;  Hiram  S.  Miller;  George  and 
Joseph  McCormick;  Thomas  Rayfield; 
Luther  Connor;  Mary  and  Catherine 
Walter;  James  and  Lucy  Rayfield.  This 
first  school  was  taught  by  Katie  Culti- 
more,  in  1861.  The  present  school 
building  was  erected  in  1863,  and  the 
first  school  therein,  was  taught  by  Mag- 
gie Clark.  The  directors  are,  Henry 
Borlin,  John  D.  Varble  and  John  T. 
Heron.  Henry  Borlin  is  clerk.  The 
building  is  18x24,  and  cost  $500. 

School  district  No.  3,  known  as  Mt. 
Gilead,  had  the  first  school  building, 
a  brick  one,  erected  in  the  district 
in  1851.  It  stood  near  the  site  of  the 
present  building,  on  the  southeast  cor- 
ner of  the  northeast  quarter  of  Sec. 
7,  T.  9,  R,  12.  This  edifice  was  used 
for  school  and  church  purposes,  until 
about  June,  1878,  when  it  was  destroyed 
by  fire,  supposed  to  have  been  started 
by  an  incendiary.  Another  brick  struc- 
ture was  built  that  same  fall,  at  a  cost 
of  $1,395,  which  was  used  until  1882. 
Tn  Sept.,  of  that  year  it,  too,  was 
burned.  The  walls  were  not  destroyed, 
however,  and  the  building  was  rebuilt, 
at  a  cost  of  $1,239,  including  furniture. 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


865 


The  directors  are:  Willis  Brooks,  Perry 
C.  Short,  and  Joseph  C.  Reynolds.  The 
ground  on  which  this  school  house  is 
built,  was  donated  by  James  Short,  and 
contains  about  one  acre. 

School  district  No.  6,  is  known  as 
Sunrise.  The  school  house  was  erected 
in  1866,  and  is  about  18x24  feet  in  size. 
The  contractor  who  built  it  was  David 
Hartwell.  It  is  still  standing  on  the 
original  site,  on  the  southwest  quarter 
of  Sec.  20,  T.  9,  R.  12.  The  first  teacher 
was  a  Mr.  McNutt,  and  the  present  one 
is  Jasper  Wright.  The  directors  are: 
Geo.  L.  Scroggins,  J.  D.  Anderson  and 
Isaac  Holmes. 

ORGANIC. 

The  election  for  the  organization  under 
the  township  system,  was  held  at  the 
Pleasant  Grove  school  house,  in  district 
No.  2,  April  7,  1885.  The  judges  of 
election  were:  Jno.  Borman,  Sr.,  Perry 
C.  Short  and  Willis  Brooks.  The  elec- 
tion resulted  in  the  choice  of  the  follow- 
ing officers:  E.  B.  Pegram,  supervisor; 
Samuel  C.  Martin,  collector;  E.  D. 
Hutchens,  town  clerk;  Wm.  T.  Short, 
assessor;  Geo.  Sturman,  Wm.  R.  Heron 
and  John  B.  Logan,  commissioners  of 
highways;  J.  S.  Heron  and  Jno.  Bor- 
man, Sr.,  justices  of  the  peace;  M.  S. 
Ferguson  and  Robert  Martin,  consta- 
bles. 

CEMETERY. 

The  cemetery,  on  the  southwest  quar- 
ter of  section  5,  known  as  the  Hutchens 
burying  ground,  was  established  about 
the  year  1840,  and  contains  about  two 
acres. 

WOODVILLE. 

The  village  of  this  name,  which  lies 
in  the  northern  part  of  the  township  on 
Sec.  1,  T.  '.),  1!.  13,  was  laid  out  on  the 


loth  of  Oct.,  is:;r,.  by  Aman  Wood,  Sea 
wright  'Wood,  Cyrus  A.  Davis,  Squire 
Wood  and  Harrison  Poindexter,  ami  I  he 
plat  thereof  was  filed  for  record  witli  the 
county  recorder,  on  the  26th  of  March, 
1836.  The  first  store  here  was  erected 
prior  to  the  date  of  the  laying  out  of 
the  town,  in  1834,  by  Harrison  Poindex- 
ter. It  was  a  small  shanty,  and  report 
says,  that  whiskey  was  the  principal 
goods  dispensed.  About  1836,  George 
Rice  opened  a  general  merchandise 
store,  and  did  a  large  business.  After 
his  death,  John Bronough,  a  son-in-law, 
and  Allen  Wood,  succeeded  him.  A 
frame  store  building  was  erected  in  1836, 
by  Squire  Wood,  hut  for  some  reason, 
was  never  used  for  that  purpose.  Russell 
Rice  opened  a  small  grocery  in  a 
building  which  he  erected  for  that  pur- 
pose, in  1837.  The  fourth  building 
upon  the  town  site,  was  a  log  dwelling, 
put  up  by  Benjamin  Powell,  for  a  dwell- 
ing, the  same  year.  Allen  Wood  dis- 
pensed drugs,  although  the  hamlet 
never  had  an  exclusively  drug  store. 
There  has  been  but  little  growth  to  the 
village  since  that  date.  In  1870,  Dr. 
Brunei-  located  as  a  physician  at  this 
point,  and  built  a  line  resilience. 

The  general  merchandise  establish- 
ment of  John  W.  Powell,  was  originally 
estahlished  in  1834,  but  was  moved  to 
its  present  location  by  Melvin  Brown- 
ing, who  erected  a  frame  building  on  the 
site  now  occupied  by  Mr.  Powell,  about 
1870.  He  operated  this  until  1876, 
when  the  building  and  its  contents  were 
burned  to  the  ground.  E.  B.  Pegram 
then  erected  the  present  brick  structure 
and  commenced  business  in  this  line. 
He,  in  1879,  sold  out  to  Paul  Wood, 
who  ran   it   until  Oct.,    1883,   when    he 


866 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


\\  as  succeeded  by  the  present  proprietor. 
The  building  is  substantially  construc- 
ted, is  20x40  feet  in  size,  two-stories 
high.  The  upperflooris  used  as  a  hall. 
Mr.  Powell  handles  all  the  various  lines 
of  goods  that  goes  to  make  up  a  store  of 
this  character.  c 

Leonard  W.  Wood  is  also  engaged  in 
the  sale  of  general  merchandise,  hav- 
ing erected  the  building  and  entered 
into  this  business  in  Oct.,  1883.  He  is 
young,  enterprising,  and  endowed  with 
good  business  tact,  and  is  bound  to 
make  a  success. 

Leonard  W.  Wood  was  born  Dec.  31, 
1859,  in  Bluffdale  township,  Greene 
county,  111.,  and  is  a  son  of  Wilson  and 
Luetta  (Mulberry)  Wood.  On  the  29th 
of  April,  1884,  he  was  united  in  mar- 
riage with  Viola  Stone,  a  daughter  of 
•lames  and  Mary  (Allen)  Stone.  One 
child — Clarence — has  blessed  this  union. 
In  Oct.,  1883,  Mr.  Wood  erected  a  store 
building  in  the  town  of  Woodville,  in 
which  he  carries  on  a  general  merchan- 
dise business.  His  stock  consists  of 
dry  goods,  boots  and  shoes,  groceries, 
queensware,  and  everything  belonging 
to  a  general  store.  He  also  owns  a  res- 
idence and  a  blacksmith  shop,  both  in 
Woodville.  Returning  to  the  history  of 
his  youthful  life,  Mr.  Wood  spent  his 
school  days  at  the  Woodville  school  until 
he  was  advanced  sufficiently  to  enter  col- 
lege. He  then  went  33  years  to  the  State 
University  of  Missouri,  at  Columbia. 
Becoming  tired  of  school,  and  wishing 
to  see  the  west,  he  went  to  Colorado, 
where  his  brother  Clarence  was  in  the 
cattle  business,  and  doing  well.  Find- 
ing, however,  that  he  did  not  like  the 
business,  he  went  farther  west,  obtained 
a  position  in   a  grocery  store  at  Canon 


City,  and  remained  there  nine  months. 
He  then  went  to  Leadville  and  other 
points.  Remaining  a  few  days  with  his 
sister  at  Denver,  the  Queen  city,  he  then 
returned  home,  and  soon  went  into  bus- 
iness, having  decided  that  "there  is  no 
place  like  home."  He  has  since  met 
with  good  success,  and  being  a  live,  en- 
ergetic business  man,  increased  pros- 
perity will  doubtless  be  his  lot. 

POSTOFFICE. 

The  Woodville  postoffice  is  known  as 
Woody,  there  being  another  in  the  state 
of  the  former  name.  It  was  established 
here  May  8,  1883,  with  John  W.  Powell 
as  postmaster,  and  he  has  continued  in 
that  capacity  ever  since.  This  postoffice 
was  formerly  known  as  Greenburgh, 
but  did  not  continue  for  any  length  of 
time  under  that  name. 

The  pioneer  blacksmith  of  this  vil- 
lage was  Henry  C.  Sieverling,  who  came 
about  1836,  and  set  up  a  forge.  He  was 
succeeded  by  Andrew  Kelley.  Thomas 
Lyle,  about  1840,  built  a  second  shop. 
A  sketch  of  Mr.  Sieverling  will  be  given 
in  the  history  of  Carrollton,  where  he  is 
now  in  business. 

OTHER  PROMINENT  PEOPLE. 

Thomas  King,  deceased,  was  born  in 
Sheffield,  Yorkshire,  Eng.,  and  was  a 
son  of  Joseph  King.  He  was  reared  in 
his  native  place,  and  there  learned  the 
cutler's  trade,  at  which  he  worked  as  a 
journeyman  some  years.  He  then  went 
into  business  for  himself,  and  was  en- 
gaged in  filling  orders,  in  that  line  of 
business,  for  ten  years,  or  more,  before 
coming  to  America.  In  the  winter  of 
1841,  accompanied  by  his  son,  Thomas, 
Jr.,  he  took  passage  at  Liverpool  on  a 


vessel  bound  for  New  Orleans.  On  ar- 
riving  there  they  came  up  the  river  to 
St.  Louis,  and  on  the  trip  they  became 
acquainted  with  Mordecai  Robinet  and 
Thorret  Griffin,  two  Oreene  county  men 
who  had  been  down  to  New  Orleans 
with  produce,  and  by  the  time  they 
reached  St.  Louis,  In-  had  made  up  his 
mind  to  come  to  this  county  with  them. 
He  located  in  what  is  now  Bluffdale 
township,  where  the  widow  and  family 
of  his  son  Thomas  now  reside.  He  pur- 
chased a  farm  there  from  Mr.  Robinet, 
made  improvements,  and  there  made  a 
permanent  location,  where  he  resided 
until  his  death,  Feb.  23,  1862,  aged  70. 
He  was  buried  near  where  he  lived,  as 
was  also  his  wife,  she  dying  Dec.  12, 
1863,  aged  71.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Thomas 
King  were  the  parents  of  seven  child- 
ren, three  of  whom  died  in  England, 
and  two  in  this  county.  Those  who 
came  to  America  were — Alfred,  de- 
ceased; Charles,  whose  sketch  follows 
this:  Thomas,  deceased:  and  Nathan 
Ashbury,  married  Eugenia  Griffin,  lives 
in  Kansas,  at  last  accounts.  On  coming 
to  this  country,  Mr.  King  adopted  farm- 
ing as  his  future  occupation,  and  carried 
it  on  until  his  death. 

Charles  King,  son  of  Thomas  King, 
was  horn  in  Sheffield,  England,  Aug. 
2.  1821.  He  was  reared  there,  and  in 
that  city  famous  for  its  manufacture  of 
edged  tools,  he  learned  the  cutler's 
trade,  serving  the  full  seven  years,  from 
his  14th  to  his  21st  year.  He  followed 
that  trade  until  coming  to  this  country, 
which  was  our  year  after  his  father  had 
adopted  America  as  his  future  home. 
He  went  in  the  stage  to  Manchester, 
then  by  rail  to  Liverpool,  arriving  there 
the    same   day,   April  1,    and   sailed  on 


the  4th,  on  the  ship  Craton,  commanded 
by    Capt.   Gay.     He   come   by   way    of 

New  Orleans  and  the  river,  arriving  at 
Columbiana.  1 1 1 i r-  county,  June  4.  1842, 
coming  up  the  Mississippi  on  the 
Gulnare,  and  from  St.  Louis  to  Colum- 
biana on  the  Mermaid.  They  had  a 
pleasant  voyage,  and  were  seven  weeks 
and  three  days  making  the  trip,  he  be- 
ing accompanied  by  his  mother  and  the 
rest  of  the  family.  Charles  lived  witli 
his  father  until  his  marriage,  April  15, 
1845,  to  Nancy  Crotchelt,  a  native  of 
southern  Illinois,  and  a  daughter  of 
James  Crotchelt.  By  this  union  seven 
children  were  born,  of  whom  four  are 
living — Martha  Elizabeth,  living  south 
of  Woodville,  married  Jas.  Frye,  now  de- 
ceased; Pauline,  at  home;  Mary  Lo 
wife  of  Martin  Harris,  living  in  Saline 
county,  Mo.;  Lydia  Ann,  wife  of  Jasper 
Short,  living  in  Woodville  township. 
Those  deceased  ar< — Albert,  Hester  and 
an  infant  unnamed.  He  has  followed 
farming  since  coming  to  this  country. 
He  has  lived  at  his  present  location 
since  1852,  then  renting  land,  which  he 
afterward  purchased,  and  he  ha-  by  en- 
terprise and  industry,  added  to  his  pos- 
sessions from  time  to  time,  until  he  now 
owns  520  acres  of  land,  part  in  Wood- 
ville and  part  in  Bluffdale  townships. 
His  present  spacious  and  handsome 
residence  was  erected  in  1869.  The 
main  part  is  26x30,  with  a  wing  16x24, 
it  being  a  two-story  building.  Mr. 
King  has  in  every  day  use.  a  set  of 
table  knives  and  a  eel  of  dessert  knives 
and  forks,  the  blades  and  prongs  of 
which  he  brought  from  Sheffield.  On 
these  he  put  handles  which  he  made 
here  of  buckhorn,  and  though  they  have 
been    in    constant    use    ever    since    bis 


868 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


marriage,  they  are  yet  as  good  as  new. 
They  are  considerable  of  a  curiosity, 
showing  the  difference  between  the  fine 
Sheffield  manufacture  of  that  time,  and 
the  ordinary  cutlery  of  to-day.  Mr. 
King  lias  been  connected  with  the 
schools  of  his  township  as  trustee,  and 
now  holds  that  position,  and  is  one  of 
the  most  prominent  citizens  in  that  sec- 
tion of  country  in  which  he  resides. 

Frank  Schild  was  born  in  Nicholas- 
dorf,  Austria,  on  the  loth  of  December, 
1835,  his  parents  being  Joseph  and  Mary 
(Canote)  Schild.  Frank  was  reared  in 
his  native  country,  and  there  learned 
the  trade  of  shoemaking,  and  after  finish- 
ing his  apprenticeship,  started  to  travel 
through  the  country  in  order  to  better 
familiarize  himself  with  the  details  of 
his  chosen  trade,  as  is  the  custom  in  the 
old  countries.  After  traveling  awhile 
he  concluded  to  cast  his  fortunes  in  the 
new  world.  Repairing  to  Hamburg, 
with  a  brother  and  sister,  they  took 
passage  on  an  ocean  vessel  bound  for 
New  York.  Arriving  at  that  port,  they 
remained  but  one  week  and  then  went 
to  Milwaukee,  where  Frank  obtained 
employment  at  his  trade.  After  spend- 
ing six  months  there  he  went  to  Man- 
istee, Mich.,  where  he  worked  in  a  saw- 
mill about  a  year.  While  in  Michigan 
he  met  his  present  neighbor,  Jacob 
Schueter,  and  becoming  friends  they  re- 
mained together.  From  Manistee  they 
went  to  St.  Louis,  and  from  there,  after 
a.  stay  of  about  a  week,  they  came  up  to 
Greene  county.  The  first  five  years 
Mr.  Schild  worked  by  the  month  for 
11.1'.  Clendenen,  and  at  the  expiration 
of  that  time,  he  rented  land  from  him. 
He  rented  about  five  years,  and  then 
purchased  80  acres  on  section  16,  in  this 


township.  The  land  «;i^  rough  and 
mostly  timbered,  and  he  set  to  work  to 
clear  up  and  make  improvements.  It 
took  many  years  and  a  great  deal  of  hard 
labor  to  bring  it  to  its  present  condition. 
He  now  has  a  substantial  stone  resi- 
dence, erected  in  1871,  and  other  good 
improvements.  He  has  increased  his 
possessions,  until  he  now  has  240  acres 
of  land,  all  lying  on  section  16.  In  the 
month  of  March,  I860,  he  was  married 
to  Anna  Lager,  a  native  of  Hesse-Cassel, 
Germany,  and  a  daughter  of  Henry' 
Rehl,  she  being  a  widow  when  Mr.  Schild 
married  her.  They  are  the  parents  of 
two  children — Joseph  and  George.  Mrs. 
Schild  had  two  children  by  her  first 
marriage — Henry  and  Huston.  They 
both  live  in  this  township.  Mr.  Schild 
has  been  connected  with  the  schools  as 
director  of  district  No.  3. 

Henry  Selhorst  was  born  in  the  prov- 
ince of  Westphalia,  in  the  empire  of 
Germany,  Dec.  2,  1846,  his  parents  be- 
ing Henry  and  Mary  (Koppel)  Selhorst, 
also  natives  of  Westphalia.  Henry  was 
reared  there  to  farm  life,  and  when  21 
years  old,  entered  the  German  army, 
serving  four  years.  During  that  time 
the  Franco-Prussian  war  came  on,  and 
in  this  he  took  part.  His  regiment,  the 
5th  Uhlan,  was  in  the  7th  division, 
under  Gen.  Zoebner,  in  the  corps  com- 
manded by  Gen.  Steinmetz.  Among 
other  battles,  campaigns,  etc.,  he  was 
in  the  siege  of  Metz,and  participated  in 
all  the  fighting  around  that  point  until 
its  capitulation.  From  there  he  went 
into  Normandy,  where  he  was  in  the 
fighting  which  took  place  in  that  de- 
partment. They  then  went  to  Germany, 
and  one  year  later  his  term  of  service 
expired.     He  re-engaged  in  farming, but 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


869 


soon  began  making  preparations  to  come 
to  America.      He  went  to  Bremen  and 

took  passage  for  New  York,  in  the  year 
1874.  On  arriving  there  he  came  di- 
rectly to  St.  Louis,  and  staid  there  one 
year,  then  came  to  Greene  county,  111., 
and  bought  40  acres  of  land  in  T.  9,  R. 
13.  He  kept  that  three  years  and  then 
sold  it  and  moved  to  Jersey  county, 
where  lie  rented  land  for  two  years.  He 
then  returned  to  Greene  county,  and 
bought  80  acres  of  land,  under  the  bluff 
in  Woodville  township.  This  he  sold 
in  the  fall  of  18S4,  and  bought  377  acres 
on  sections  22  and  27,  in  the  same  town- 
ship, on  which  he  now  resides.  He  was 
married  May  25,  1870,  to  Elizabeth 
Goeddy,  a  native  of  this  county,  and  a 
daughter  of  Henry  and  Mary  Goeddy. 
By  this  marriage  there  are  three  chil- 
dren— Mary,  Elizabeth,  and  an  infant, 
not  yet  named.  .Mr.  and  Mrs.  Selhorst 
are  members  of  the  Catholic  church,  at 
Carrollton.  Mr.  Selhorst' s.  parents  both 
died  in  the  old  country. 

Andrew  Witaschek  was  born  in  Prus- 
sia. Nov.  16,  1815,  and  is  a  son  of  Peter 
and  Anna (Tonnebaum)  Witaschek.  His 
father  died  in  1843.  Andrew  was  reared 
in  his  native  country,  and  on  arriving 
at  a  suitable  age,  he  learned  the  trade 
of  stocking  making.  After  an  appren- 
ticeship of  three  years,  he  worked  as  a 
journeyman  for  some  time  at  Neustadt, 
Prussia.  In  1838  he  worked  in  Saxony 
one  year,  and  in  1839  went  to  the  Rhine, 
and  to  Coblentz  and  Koln.  In  1840 
went  to  Bremen,  Hamburg,  Lubec  and 
Berlin,  then  returned  to  Saxony,  not  far 
from  Leipsic,  in  Delitz,  and  from  there, 
in  1841,  went  to  Prague  in  Bohemia,  and 
Wien  in  Austria,  and  from  there  to  Tri- 
este,   Ungarn    and    Hamburg.       From 


there  in  1842,  he  went  to  Ofen  and 
Pesth,  and  from  there  to  Wien,  where 
he  received  from  the  Prussian  consul 
new  passports.  From  there  he  went  to 
Venice  and  Milan,  and  in  February, 
1843,  left  Milan  and  went  to  Home, 
where  he  staid  until  July  of  the  same 
year,  when  he  went  to  Venice  and  Tri- 
este, through  Ungarn,  Hermanstadt and 
Kronstadt,  through  Turkish  Wallacia,  to 
Bucharest.  From  there  he  proceeded  to 
Zchurgug,  Rutschuk  and  Varna,  on  the 
Black  sea,  and  thence  to  Constantinople. 
In  March,  1844,  went  to  Jerusalem; 
then  to  Jordan  and  the  Dead  sea,  and 
thence  to  Nazareth,  on  the  sea  of  Galilee, 
then  to  Mt.  Carmel  and  Beirut,  crossed 
Mt.  Lebanon  to  Damascus  and  thence 
back  to  Jerusalem.  From  there  trav- 
eled to  Damietta  and  Cairo,  in  Egypt; 
from  Cairo  to  Suez,  and  from  there  sailed 
on  the  Red  sea  U  Tor,  and  thence  trav- 
eled on  foot  to  Mt.  Sinai,  Mt.  Horeb  and 
Mt.  Catherine,  and  back  again  to  Cairo. 
From  Cairo,  in  1845,  he  went  to  Alexan- 
dria and  to  Malta,  to  Naples,  to  Civita 
Veechia  and  to  Lome,  and  in  July,  1846, 
again  returned  home.  They  visited 
altogether  463  cities,  Andrew  having 
been  accompanied  in  his  travels  by  his 
brother  Anthony.  In  1850  Andrew  bade 
farewell  to  hie  mother  and  friends  in 
the  fatherland,  and  went  to  Bremen, 
where  he  took  passage  on  a  vessel  bound 
for  New  York.  His  brother  came  to 
America  a  year  before  that.  After  a 
\  iyage  of  live  weeks,  Andrew  arrived 
at  the  port  of  New  York,  and  from  there 
went  to  New  Orleans,  going  by  the  way 
of  the  Ohio  and  Mississippi  rivers.  He 
remained  in  New  Orleans  that  winter, 
and  in  March,  1851,  lie  went  to  Central 
America,   going  to    Chagres,    and   after 


870 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


remaining  a  few  days,  to  San  Juan.  His 
brother  Anthony  was  with  him;  but 
from  there  he  went  back  to  New  York, 
while  Andrew  went  to  New  Orleans, 
and  from  there  to  St.  Louis,  where  he 
staid  about  one  year.  He  then  took  a 
trip  to  New  York  to  see  his  brother, 
and  alter  remaining  a  short  time  in  the 
vicinity  of  that  city,  he  returned  by 
way  of  Detroit  and  Chicago  to  St.  Louis. 
He  staid  there  about  a  year,  but  being 
sick  all  the  time,  he  went  to  St.  Paul, 
andthenceto  Lyons,  la,  for  his  health. 
He  then  came  to  Greene  county,  Illinois, 
and  went  to  work  for  James  Eldred,  an 
old  settler  residing  under  the  bluff.  He 
next  put  in  a  wheat  crop  for  himself, 
but  it  failed.  In  1857  he  came  to  Wood- 
ville  township  and  located  under  the 
bluff.  In  1860  he  bought  80  acres  of 
land  on  sections  14  and  15,  on  which  he 
located.  By  thrift  and  industry  he  has 
added  to  this  until  he  now  lias  200  acres, 
and  he  divides  his  time  between  stock 
and  grain  raising.  He  was  married 
January  1,  1857,  to  Christina  Gralmes, 
a  native  of  Germany,  and  to  them  one 
child  was  born — John,  living  at  home. 
Mrs.  Witaschek  had  two  children  by  a 
former  marriage — Joseph,  and  Ann,  who 
married  Joseph  Lessman,  now  living  in 
Montgomery  county.  Mr.  Witaschek 
has  probably  been  the  greatest  traveler 
among  the  citizens  of  Greene  county, 
be  having  spent  about  eight  years  trav- 
eling through  Europe,  Asia,  North  and 
Central  America,  making  his  own  way 
all  the  time. 

Philip  Varble,  deceased,  an  early  set- 
tler of  tins  county,  was  bom  near  Lex- 
ington, Ky.,  and  was  the  son  of  Charles 
Varble.  He  was  reared  in  his  native 
state   and    was   there    married   to    Sarah 


Barrett,  also  a  native  of  Kentucky. 
They  removed  to  Illinois,  locating  in 
Greene  county,  in  1835,  on  the  south- 
west quarter  of  section  13,  where  Philip 
resided  until  his  death.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Varble  were  the  parents  of  13  children, 
nine  of  whom  grew  to  manhood  and 
womanhood — Henry,  deceased;  Peggv, 
wife  of  William  Barrett,  both  deceased; 
Elisha,  subject  of  the  following  sketch; 
Polly,  wife  of  Andrew  McCormick,  of 
this  township;  George,  deceased;  Har- 
rison, now  living  near  Hepler,  Kan.; 
Betsy,  married  Lewis  Dayton;  Philip, 
married  and  living  in  this  township; 
and  Sallie,  wife  of  John  McCormick, 
also  of  this  township.  Philip  Varble 
died  about  the  year  1850.  Mrs.  Varble 
died  about  the  year  1867,  and  both  are 
buried  at  the  old  homestead. 

Elisha  Varble,  son  of  Philip  and 
Sarah  (Barrett)  Varble,  was  born  on 
the  22d  of  Oct.,  1816,  in  Henry  county, 
Ky.  When  he  had  reached  the  age  of 
19  years,  he  came  with  his  parents  to 
Greene  county,  111.  He  was  married 
July  9,  1838,  to  Sarah  Fry,  born  Sept. 
'2,  1819.  She  was  a  daughter  of  George 
Fry,  well  known  at  that  day.  By  this 
union  there  were  eight  children — James, 
born  June  26,  1839,  married  Elizabeth 
Varble,  daughter  of  Charles  Varble; 
she  died  and  he  was  again  married  to 
Melissa  Nemore,  and  now  resides  in 
this  township;  Emeline,  born  Nov.  4, 
1841,  married  Caleb  Stout,  who  died, 
and  she  was  again  married  to  George 
Anderson;  he  also  died  and  she  then 
married  Muses  Underwood,  and  in  1866 
she,  too,  was  called  hence  by  death; 
George,  born  Feb.  7,  1845,  married 
Nancy  Ann  Gilleland,  who  died,  and 
he   was  again   married    to  Martha  Frv, 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


871 


widow  of  James  Fry,  and  resides  in 
this  township;  John  ]).,  born  Sept.  28, 
1847,  married  Sarah  Malenda  Sturmon, 
resides  in  this  township;  Mary  A.,  born 
Nov.  30,  1849,  married  Samuel  Martin, 
residing  in  this  township;-  Preston,  born 
Jan.  29,  1851,  deceased;  Jacob,  born 
Feb.  22,  18")."),  is  deceased;  Eli/.a,  born 
June  19,  1857,  married  George  Sturmon, 
and  they  now  reside  with  her  lather. 
Mr.  Varble  has  160  acres  of  land  and  is 
comfortably  fixed.  He  has  spent  a  half 
century  in  this  township,  with  the  ex- 
ception of  the  time  occupied  during  two 
trips  to  Kansas.  He  is  a  well  respected 
citizen  of  the  community  in  which  he 
resides. 

Christian  Schmidt  was  born  in  Sax- 
ony, Empire  of  Germany,  on  the  8th  of 
Dec,  1826,  his  parents  being  Michael 
and  Jane  (Bodcher)  Schmidt,  both  na- 
tives of  Saxony.  Christian  was  reared 
in  his  native  country,  and  there  learned 
the  carpenter's  trade,  in  the  town  in 
which  he  was  born.  After  finishing  his 
apprenticeship,  he  started  out  to  travel, 
as  is  usual  in  the  old  country,  so  as  to 
more  thoroughly  fit  himselfin  the  trade 
which  he  had  acquired.  In  his  travels, 
he  went  through  lower  and  middle  Ger- 
many, and  then  went  to  Switzerland,  lo- 
cating in  the  city  of  Basle,  where  he 
obtained  steady  employment  at  his 
trade.  While  there,  he  was  married, 
on  the  4th  day  of  March,  18IJ4,  to  Sophia 
Doebelin,  a  native  of  Baden,  Germany, 
and  a  daughter  of  Mathias  and  Archada 
Doebelin.  In  1869,  Christian  deter- 
mined to  remove,  with  his  family,  to 
America.  He  first  went  home  to  make 
a  parting  visit  to  his  parents,  and  from 
there,  went  to  Bremen,  and  took  passage 
on  a  vessel  bound  for   New  York.     On 


arriving  there,  he  remained  but  a  few 
days,  and  then  came  nut  to  Greene 
county,  111.,  where  he  had  relatives  liv- 
ing. He  first  located  under  the  bluff,  in 
T.  '.),  R.  13.  He  worked  at  his  trade 
live  or  six  years  after  coming  to  this 
county,  part  of  the  time  in  Calhoun 
county,  and  has  built  many  structures 
in  this  vicinity.  In  1875,  he  rented  a 
piece  of  land,  and  commenced  farming. 
In  1880,  lie  bought  200  acres  of  land,  on 
Sec.  1,  T.  8,  R.  13,  on  to  which  he 
moved,  and  has  since  made  his  resi- 
dence there.  He  has  made  all  the  im- 
provements that  are  on  the  place,  there 
being  nothing  on  it  when  he  came,  ex- 
cept some  old  shanties.  Mr.  anil  Mrs. 
Schmidt  are  the  parents  of  live  chil- 
dren— Emma,  Charles,  Emil,  Rosa,  and 
Mollie.  Mr.  Schmidt  has  been  super- 
visor one  term,  and  is  an  energetic  and 
enterprising  man.  His  father  is  still 
living  in  Germany,  his  mother  having 
died  in  1870. 

William  M.  Ashlock  was  born  in 
Greene  county,  near  Kane,  May  28, 
1850.  He  is  a  son  of  Jesse  and  Nancy 
(Boyle)  Ashlock,  the  former  a  native  of 
Tennessee,  the  latter  of  Kentucky. 
Jesse  Ashlock's  death  occurred  about 
1852  or  1853.  His  wife  still  survives 
him,  and  resides  with  her  son  Jesse, 
near  Kane.  William  M.  was  married, 
Jan.  9,  1873,  to  Dora  Ashlock,  daughter 
of  Meredith  and  Lizzie  (Martin)  Ash- 
lock, the  former  a  native  of  Tennessee, 
the  latter  of  Kentucky.  Her  father  re- 
moved from  Illinois  to  Texas  in  1845, 
and  her  mother  removed  from  Kentucky 
to  the  same  state  in  1844,  and  there  they 
were  married.  Dora  was  reared  in 
Texas,  and  in  that  state  occurred  her 
marriage    to    our    subject.       After    this 


872 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


event  they  remained  in  Texas  about 
three  years,  and  then  came  to  Illinois, 
settling  near  Kane,  Greene  county, 
where  they  lived  until  1880,  when  they 
came  to  their  present  location,  in  this 
township.  They  have  a  family  of  six 
children — Docia  B.,  born  Nov.  20,187-'!; 
an  infant  sun,  deceased,  born  Sept.  16; 
1875;  Florence,  born  Oct.  22,  1876;  Liz- 
zie M.,  horn  Jan.  19,  1880; '  Bettie  C, 
born  Sept.  30,  1883, and  William. Jr., born 
May  2,  1884.  Mr.  Ashlock  has  120 acres 
of  good  land,  and  by  thrift  and  energy 
his  efforts  in  farming  are  very  success- 
ful.    Politically,  he  is  a  democrat. 

Peter  Mayer,  was  born  in  the  prov- 
ince of  Lorraine,  then  in  France,  on  the 
10th  of  Oct.,  1826,  his  parents  be- 
ing Peter  and  Margaret  (Ohampierre) 
.Mayer,  natives  of  Lorraine.  There 
Peter  was  reared,  mostly  to  farm  life, 
though  he  worked  some  tvvo  years  at 
weaving,  that  being  his  father's  trade. 
In  1840  he  entered  the  French  army, 
and  served  until  1853.  Three  years 
and  a  half  of  that  time  he  served  in 
Algiers,  Africa,  in  the  department  of 
Oran,  taking  part  in  all  the  service  re- 
quired of  the  soldiers  there.  He  re- 
ceived  his  discharge  from  the  army  in 
Jan.,  1853,  at  Oran.  He  then  returned 
to  France,  and  after  his  return,  visited 
Paris.  In  May,  1854,  he  went  to 
Havre  and  took  passage  on  a  vessel 
bound  fur  New  York,  and  after  a  voy- 
age i  if  69  'lays,  arrived  at  that  port. 
He  remained  there  but  a  few  days,  and 
then  went  to  Dayton,  ().,  when1  he 
staid  a  short  time,  and  then  went  into 
the  county  near  there,  and  worked  on  a 
farm  during  that  winter.  In  the  spring 
he  went  to  Indianapolis,  Ind.,  staid  a 
a  month,   then  returned   to   Hamilton, 


().,  where  he  worked  on  a  farm  until 
fall,  and  then  went  to  New  Orleans. 
Hi'  remained  there  that  winter,  and 
engaged  in  shipping  on  a  boat,  running 
to  St.  Louis,  remaining  on  the  rivet- 
about  two  years.  Mr.  Meyer  has  been 
three  times  married.  In  1857,  he  was 
married  at  St.  Louis,  to  Anna-Schaaf,  a 
native  of  France.  By  that  union  there 
were  two  children,  one  of  whom  is  liv- 
ing— Frank.  Mrs.  Meyer  died,  and  in 
1*77  he  was  again  married  to  Mrs. 
Elzina  P.  Crotchett,  by  whom  one  child 
— Peter,  was  born.  Mr.  Meyer  was 
again  left  a  widower,  and  in  1879  he 
was  a  third  time  married  to  Annie 
Hermsen,  a  native  of  Hanover,  Ger- 
many. By  this  union  there  are  two 
children — Angelina  and  Charles  Ed- 
ward. After  this  last  marriage,  Mr. 
Mayer  removed  from  St.  Louis  to  Greene 
county,  111.,  and  bought  136  acres  of 
land  on  Sec.  2,  T.  9,  R.  13,  where  he 
now  resides. 

Henry  Walter,  a  native  of  Germany, 
was  born  July  18,  1817,  in  Frankfort-on- 
the-Main,  his  parents  being  Henry  and 
Katherine  (Knoepp)  Walter.  When 
Henry  was  12  years  old,  his  parents  de- 
cided to  come  to  America  to  spend  the 
remainder  of  their  days.  They  sailed 
to  New'York  city,  and  from  there  pro- 
ceeded to  Jefferson  county,  X.  Y., where 
Mr.  Walter  bought  a  farm.  He  lived 
there  between  three  and  four  years,  and 
then  removed  to  Oswego, where  he  staid 
about  three  years,  and  then  came  to 
Madison  county,  111., where  lie  bought  a 
farm,  and  he  and  his  wife  resided  there 
while  they  lived.  He  died  about  the 
year  1833,  and  Mrs.  Walter  about  1830. 
In  1S32,  Henry  enlisted  in  Co.  J),  2d 
U.  S.  Inf.,  and  was  soon  on   his  way  to 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


873 


Florida,  to  take  part  in  the  Seminole 
war.  He  served  under  Gen.  Winiield 
Scott,  during  all  the  swamp  fighting, 
marching  and  campaigning  of  that  sev ere 

war,  from  the  time  of  his  enlistment 
until  the  close  of  tin'  war,  retaining  his 
health  all  the  time  they  were  in  the 
Everglades.  When  the  war  with  Mexico 
came  on,  while  not  in  active  service  at 
the  front,  he  was  engaged  as  drill-master 
in  drilling  recruits  for  the  regular  ser- 
vice, at  Governor's  [sland,  and  in  that 
time  drilled  thousands  of  men,  hence 
most  of  them  were  in  good  condition  for 
future  service  in  the  Mexican  war.  As 
soon  as  it  broke  out,  he  went  with  Co. 
A.  3d  U.  S.  Inf.,  to  Vera  Cruz,  arriv- 
ing in  time  to  take  part  in  thebombard- 
ing  and  capture  of  that  city.  The 
authorities  wanted  him  to  remain  at 
Governor's  Island,  hut  he  had  gone 
three  times  to  Mexico  with  squads  of 
men  that  he  had  drilled,  and  the  third 
time  was  allowed  to  remain.  He  was 
given  a  sergeant's  position,  and  served 
with  his  regiment  through  all  their  tri- 
umphant progress  from  Vera  Cruz  to  the 
city  of  Mexico,  engaging  in  every  battle 
with  them.  After  the  capture  of  the 
last  named  city  he  was  given  the  com- 
mand of  a  company  of  city  guards,  dur- 
ing the  four  months  of  occupation.  From 
there  they  went  to  Mobile, where  he  was 
discharged.  He  went  to  St.  Louis,  where 
he  remained  some  time,  and  from  there 
removed  to  Madison  enunty,  111.,  where 
he  bought  a  small  tract  of  land.  In 
1855,  he  came  to  Greene  county,  locating 
where  he  still  resides,  on  Sec.  2,  T.  9, 
R.  13.  Oct.  1,  1851,  he  was  married  in 
St.  Louis,  to  Mary  Kemper,  a  native  of 
Hanover,  and  a  daughter  of  Victor 
Kemper.     To   them   were   horn    eleven 


children,  ten  of  whom  are  living — Mary, 
wife  of  Henry  Borlin;  Katherine,  wife  of 
Harmon  Schepers,  living  in  Carrollton 
township;  Henry,  married  Nettie  Busch, 
and  lives  near  his  parents;  Eliza;  Sophie, 
wife  (.f  Bernard  Wiist,  living  in  Jersey 
enmity:  Charles,  married  Miss  Dugan; 
Laura,  Helen,  and  Rosa.  The  one  de- 
ceased is  Sarah,  who  died  at  the  age  of 
five  years  andfour  months.  Mr. Walter 
has  a  fine  farm  of  560  acres  of  land,  well 
improved.  He  and  his  wife  are  both 
members  of  the  Presbyterian  church. 
Mi'.  Walter  spent  12  years  of  his  life  in 
the  service  of  his  country,  most  of  the 
the  time  in  some  of  the  severest  fighting 
and  campaigning  in  its  history,  and 
though  surviving  all  the  dangers  of  war, 
he  came  out  with  his  health  so  impaired 
that  lie  he  has  endured  much  suffering 
since,  :is  a  result  of  his  service. 

Jacob  Nulton,  deceased,  came  to 
Greene  county  in  1842,  and  located 
under  the  bluff  in  what  is  now  Wood- 
ville  township.  He  was  horn  in  Ohio, 
and  came  to  Illinois  from  there.  He 
was  married  in  Washington  county.  <»., 
to  Pamelia  Cheadle,  a  native  of  Ver- 
mont. They  were  the  parents  of  11 
children,  only  three  of  whom  are  now 
living — Col.  Jerome  Boneparte  Nulton, 
residing  in  Carrollton.  who  commanded 
the  Gist  111.  Inf.  in  the  civil  war,  and 
whose  sketch,  with  a  history  of  his  reg- 
iment, appears  in  this  volume;  Drusilla, 
wife  of  William  Collison,  living  in 
Washington  county,  0.,  and  Elizabeth, 
now  residing  in  the  county.  Jacob 
Nulton  died  Nov.  11,  1857,  and  is 
buried  at  the  Dayton  cemetery,  in  this 
township.  Mrs.  Nulton  died  Sept.  1, 
1S74,  and  is  buried  beside  her  husband. 
Christian    Malcolm    Nulton,    father   of 


874 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


Jacob  Nulton,  was  a  native  of  Switzer- 
land, and  died  in  1835,  at  the  age  of  94 

years.  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Jacob 
Nulton,  was  married  in  1847,  to  John 
Clailin,  a  native  of  Gallipolis,  0.,  born 
in  1824.  He  came  to  this  county 
with  his  parents  in  1827,  and  then 
settled  under  the  bluff,  in  what  is 
now  Woodville  township,  where  his 
hither  built  a  mill.  Mr.  Olallin  was 
reared  in  that  locality,  and,  on  growing 
up,  managed  the  mill,  but,  after  mar- 
riage, adopted  farming  as  his  vocation. 
By  that  marriage,  there  were  five  chil- 
dren, four  of  whom  are  living — Mar- 
shall, died,  aged  one  month;  George, 
married  Margaret  Briscoe,  and  lives  in 
this  township;  Jacob,  living  at  home; 
Florence,  wife  of  Walter  Prather,  who 
lives  in  Chicago;  John  B.,  living  at 
home.  Mr.  Claflin  died  on  the  6th  day 
nf  Feb.,  1868.  Mrs.  Claflin  was  again 
married  on  the  11th  of  April,  1876,  to 
William  Harper,  a  native  of  Greene 
county,  and  a  son  of  Calton  Harper. 
Mrs.  Harper  was  again  left  a  widow,  by 
tlif  death  of  her  husband,  on  the  19th 
day  of  August,  1882,  at  the  age  of  44 
years.  Mrs.  Harper  is  comfortably 
tixed,  having  380  acres  of  land,  all  in 
this  township.  She  makes  her  home  on 
Sec.  4,  T.  9,  R.  13. 

Henry  Borlin  was  born  in  Basle, 
Switzerland,  on  the  10th  day  of  March, 
1843,  his  parents  being  Jacob  and 
Verana  (  YVaibel )  Borlin,  both  nativesof 
Switzerland.  Henry  was  reared  in  his 
native  country,  and  there  learned  the 
trade  of  weaving  silk  ribbons,  which  lie 
followed  while  living  at  Basle.  In  Aug., 
1867,  he  went  to  Liverpool,  England, 
and  from  there  took  passage  for  the 
new  world.     On  arriving  at  New  York, 


he  remained  there  but  one  day,  and 
then  set  out  for  Illinois.  On  arriving 
here  he  located  in  Greene  county,  hir- 
ing out  by  the  month.  After  three 
years  he  rented  land  in  Cafrollton 
township,  from  Leonard  Eldred,  and 
then  sent  for  his  parents,  remitting  to 
the  old  country,  money  which  lie  had 
accumulated  for  that  purpose.  They 
came  to  America,  and  have  been  living 
with  Henry  ever  since.  Henry  con- 
tinued renting  about  seven  years,  and 
then  purchased  80  acres  of  land  on  Sec. 
13,  T.  9,  R.  13,  on  to  which  he  moved, 
and  has  since  resided  there.  Besides 
that  he  has  26  acres  of  good  timber 
land.  On  the  9th  day  of  Nov.,  1870, 
he  was  married  to  Mary  Waiter,  a  na- 
tive of  Woodville  township,  and  a 
daughter  of  Henry  Walter,  one  of  the 
old  settlers  of  the  township.  By  this 
union  there  are  four  children — Jacob, 
John,  Lucy  and  Henry — an  interesting 
family.  Mr.  Borlin  is  one  of  the  direc- 
tors of  school  district  No.  2,  in  his 
township.  The  family  are  members  of 
the  Methodist  church  at  Carrollton. 

George  W.  Hardwick  was  born  in 
Jefferson  county,  111.,  on  the  ■".1st  day 
of  October,  1827,  his  parents  being 
Willis  and  Anna  (Scoggins)  Hardwick. 
From  Jefferson  county,  his  parents  re- 
moved to  Morgan  county,  when  George 
was  but  an  infant,  and  in  1829,  they 
came  to  Greene  county,  and  located  two 
miles  south  of  Woodville,  in  what  is 
now  Woodville  township.  There  they 
resided  until  their  death.  His  father 
died  10  years  before  his  mother,  and  both 
died  at  the  age  of  88  years.  They  are 
buried  in  the  Fry  family  cemetery,  with 
some  of  their  neighbors,  with  whom  they 
spent   their    lives.     George  lived   with 


his  parents,  until  his  marriage,  on  the 
13th  of  April,  1851,  to  Ann  Eliza  Watson. 

She  was  bom  in  Schuyler  county,  111., 
and  is  a  daughter  of  John  and  Charlotte 
Watson.  To  that  union  were  born  10 
children,  four  of  whom  arc  now  living — 
Clarissa  Ellen,  wife  of  John  Tulley, 
living  in  this  township;  George  W., 
married  Julia  Virginia  Admire,  living 
in  this  township  ;  Fannie  Eudora,  wife 
of  George  W.  Jones,  living  in  this 
township:  John  W.,  living  at  home. 
Those  deceased  are — Mary  Elizabeth, 
Robert  W.,  who  was  killed  by  an  acci- 
dent, in  the  Kith  year  of  his  age,  hav- 
ing been  run  over  by  a  wagon;  James 
Allen,  William  LeRoy,  and  two  who 
died  in  infancy.  Mr.  Hardwick  has  120 
acres  of  land,' all  in  Sec.  10,  T.  9,  It.  13. 
He  has  been  connected  with  the  schools 
of  his  township  as  director  of  district 
No.  1,  and  is  an  enterprising  and  indus- 
trious farmer,  well  respected  by  all. 

George  Varble,  son  of  Elisha  ami 
Sarah  (Fry)  Varble,  was  borq  near 
Woodville,  Greene  county,  111.,  on  the 
7th  of  Feb.,  1845.  He  remained  at 
home  with  his  parents  until  he  was  21 
years  of  age.  On  the  11th  of  Feb., 
1865,  he  was  united  in  marriage  with 
Nancy  Ann  Gilliland, daughter  of  Robert 
and  Lucy  (Cummings)  Gilliland.  By  this 
marriage  they  are  the  parents  of  five 
children — Lucy,  born  Nov.  10,  1866; 
Etna  Luella,  bom  Feb.  6,  1868;  George 
Lee,  born  Nov.  1,  1869;  Delia  May, born 
Aug.  2(1,  1871,  and  Julia  Arabella,  born 
Sept.  21,  1873;  Sarah  Lena,  born  Feb. 
25,  1881;  Edgar,  born  July  30,  1884, 
died  Nov.  20,  1884.  Mr.  Varble  owns 
80  acres  of  land  in  Sec.  is,  T.  9,  R.  12, 
but  resides  on  land  belonging  to  his 
father-in-law,  on   section    13,    in  Wood- 


ville township,  and  divides  his  atten- 
tion between  the  raising  of  stock  and 
grain.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Varble  and  family 
are  members  of  the  Foresl  <  >ak  Baptist 
church.  Mr.  Varble's  political  views 
are  democratic.  He  is  a  highly  re- 
spected citizen  of  that  community,  and 
is  a  thrifty,  industrious  farmer. 

Herman  Goeddy,  a  native  of  Langen- 
berg,  Prussia,  was  bom  Nov.  30,  1833, 
his  parents  being  Herman  and  Elizabeth 
Goeddy.  He  was  reared  in  his  native 
country  to  farm  life,  and  at  the  age  of 
21  years  entered  the  army,  serving  three 
years.  After  returning  from  the  service, 
he  remained  in  his  native  country  one 
year,  and  then,  at  the  advice  of  his  phy- 
sician, removed  to  America,  thinking 
tin'  sea  voyage  would  have  a  beneficial 
effect  on  his  health,  he  having  received 
injuries  from  a  fall,  which  took  from 
him  much  of  his  strength.  On  the 
ocean  journey  he  suffered  severe  attacks 
of  sickness,  but  finally  arrived  safely  in 
New  Orleans,  in  the  summer  of  1848. 
The  cholera  was  then  breaking  out  and 
In'  immediately  took  a  boat  for  St.  Louis 
and  from  there  came  up  to  Greene 
county,  where  he  went  to  work  by  the 
month  part  of  the  time  for  the  old  pio- 
neer, Samuel  Thomas,  and  part  of  the 
time  for  Mr.  Clark.  He  was  in  their 
employ  two  years,  then  worked  for 
John  Hetriek,  and  then  for  Martin 
Bomen  over  four  years.  He  then  en- 
tered into  partnership  in  the  livery  bus- 
iness, but  did  not  continue  long.  He 
was  married  in  March,  1858,  to  Eliza- 
beth Brotche,  a  native  of  Switzerland, 
born  near  Solsturn,  her  parents  being 
Nicholas  and  Elizabeth  (Hammer) 
Brotche.  After  their  marriage  Mr.  and 
Mrs.   Goeddy   lived    in   Carrollton   two 


876 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


years,  and  then  came  to  T.  8,  R.  13, 
now  in  Woodville  township,  where  he 
resided  until  his  death,  and  where  his 
family  still  lives.  By  this  marriage 
there  were  six  children,  three  of  whom 
are  now  living — Mary,  wife  of  James 
Burns,  living-  in  Summerville,  Macoupin 
county;  Lizzie  and  Harry,  living  at 
home.  The  other  three  died  in  infancy. 
Mr.  Goeddy  regained  his  health  to  a 
gnat  extent  after  coming  to  this  coun- 
try, but  was  easily  subject  to  sickness, 
and  on  the  4th  of  Jan.,  1870,  he  died  of 
lung  fever,  and  was  buried  in  the  West- 
woods  graveyard.  The  parents  of  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Goeddy  are  all  deceased,  her 
father  having  died  at  the  age  of  70,  and 
her  mother  at  the  age  of  7:2.  Mrs. 
Goeddy  has  122  acres  of  land  in  a  good 
location.  Her  brother,  George  Brotche, 
lives  in  Macoupin  county,  two  and  a 
half  miles  from  Fayette,  and  her  sister 
Anna  lives  with  him. 

William  Allen  Groves  was  born  in 
Sumner  county,  Tenn.,  on  the  10th  day 
of  Oct.,  1856,  and  is  the  son  of  Gabriel 
Jones  droves.  His  mother  died  when 
he  was  a  mere  child.  His  parents  were 
both  natives  of  Tennessee,  in  which 
state  his  father  still  lives.  William 
was  reared  to  farm  life,  and  lived  in  his 
native  state  until  Nov.,  1879,  when  he 
came  to  Greene  county.  111.,  locating  in 
what  is  now  Woodville  township,  where 
he  has  since  continued  to  reside.  He 
was  united  in  marriage  on  the  26th  day 
of  March,  1884,  »vith  Sophronia  Brown, 
a  native  of  Greene  county,  and  a  daugh- 
ter of  William  Brown,  one  of  the  early 
settlers  of  this  county.  He  was  born 
in  Simpson  county,  Ky.,  Dec.  24,  1828, 
and  removed  with  his  parents  to  Greene 
county,  111.,   in  1829,  and  here  resided 


until  his  death,  which  occurred  on  the 
loth  of  (>it.,  lsii'.).  Mr.  Groves  is  now 
engaged  in  farming,  on  Sec.  18,  T.  '.), 
1!.  1 12 ,  and  by  his  thrift  and  energy 
succeeds  in  making  a  comfortable  living, 
and  is  a  well  respected  citizen  of  his 
township. 

John  B.  Logan  was  born  in  Greene 
county,  111.,  in  T.  10,  R.  13,  now  in 
Bluffdale  township.  He  was  born  Jan. 
4,  1843,  his  parents  being  Alexander 
and  Mary  (Flatt)  Logan.  John  B.  was 
reared  and  received  his  schooling  right 
in  the  vicinity  of  his  birthplace,  and 
now  resides  within  six  miles  of  there. 
He  worked  on  the  farm  for  his  parents 
until  he  was  married,  Feb.  5,  1867,  to 
Frances  Wardinski,  a  native  of  Polish 
Germany,  horn  near  Posen.  Her  father, 
John  Wardinski,  a  Union  sympathizer, 
was  killed  at  Columbiana,  this  county, 
during  the  war,  by  bushwhackers.  Her 
mother  now  lives  with  George  W.  Beeh- 
doldt,  a  son-in-law,  in  Bluffdale  town- 
ship. Mr.  and  Mrs.  Logan  are  the  pa- 
rents of  seven  children — George,  Mary, 
Mattie,  Etta,  Alexander,  Josephine, 
Benjamin  F.,  and  one  son,  John  A.,  who 
died  Sept.  1,  1882,  aged  nine  years.  Mr. 
Logan  is  road  commissioner  of  the 
township,  and  is  also  connected  with 
the  schools,  being  director  of  district 
No.  3.  His  parents,  who  are  among  the 
early  settlers,  are  now  residents  of 
Bluffdale  township,  and  are  mentioned 
in  its  history. 

James  Gordon  Heron  was  born  in 
Erie,  Penn.,  March  9,  1827,  and  is  a  son 
of  Robert  E.  and  Sarah  (Bell)  Heron. 
His  father  was  born  in  Canada,  his 
mother  in  Pennsylvania.  Gordon  moved 
with  his  parents  to  Louisville,  Ken- 
tucky, when  he  was  four  years  old.     He 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


877 


remained  with  his  parents  until  1840, 
when  he  came  to  Macoupin  county,  Illi- 
nois, where  he  lived  about  ten  years, 
working  on  a  farm.  He  then  moved  to 
Greene  county  in  1850,  and  settled  on 
Sec.  10,  T.  9,  R.  13.  Mr.  Heron  served 
in  the  Mexican  war,  enlisting  in  Co.  I, 
1st  111.  Inft.,  May  13,  1846,  at  Alton,  to 
serve  during  the  war,  under  the  com- 
mand of  Col.  E.  W.  B.  Ncwby.  He 
was  mustered  out  Oct.  16,  1848,  at  Al- 
ton. On  Sept.  25,  1849,  Mr.  Heron  was 
married  to  Martha  Clark,  daughter  of 
John  and  Elizabeth  (Arnold)  Clark, 
natives  of  Kentucky.  They  are  the 
parents  of  nine  children — James  A., 
married  Alice  Medford,  lives  in  this 
township;  Sarah  E.,  wife  of  W.  P. 
Miller,  living  in  White  Hall;  Martha 
G.,  wife  of  Oscar  P  Reynolds,  living  at 
Carrollton;  Ada  I.,  John  H.,  Gordon 
F.,  Julia  R.,  Luella  A.  and  Carl  C.  Mr. 
Heron  has  80  acres  of  land  on  Sec.  24, 
T.  9,  R.  13.  He  has  served  as  school 
director,  and  has  been  justice  of  the 
peace  for  15  years.  He  is  a  member  of 
the  Baptist  church,  and  is  a  well  re- 
spected, law  abiding  citizen. 

Thomas  Brannan,  deceased,  was  born 
in  Kentucky,  Dec.  18,  1811.  He  is  a 
son  of  Dudley  and  Mary  Brannan,  both 
deceased.  In  1824,  his  parents  came  to 
Greene  county,  and  located  in  Wrights- 
ville,  where  they  spent  the  remainder 
of  their  days.  There  Thomas  was 
reared,  and  there  he  resided  until  his 
marriage,  about  the  year  1838,  to  Nancy 
Orton.  She  is  a  native  of  Tennessee, 
born  Jan.  10,  1821,  and  is  a  daughter  of 
Joseph  and  Mary  (Bryant)  Orton,  both 
deceased.  Her  mother  died  in  Tennes- 
see, about  the  year  1835.  Her  father 
came  to  Greene  county  with  his  family, 

53 — : : : 


about  the  year  1835,  and  located  three 
miles  east  of  Carrollton,  where  he  died 
during  the  time  of  the  civil  war.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Brannan  are  the  parents  of  14 
children,  seven  of  whom  are  living — 
Mary  Jane,  wife  of  William  Short,  liv- 
ing in  Roodhouse;  Lucinda,  wife  of 
Robert  Davidson,  living  in  this  town- 
ship; Caroline,  wife  of  Marion  Cum- 
mings,  a  resident  of  this  township; 
John,  deceased;  Hannah,  deceased; 
Marion,  also  deceased;  Henry  married 
Cora  Nye,  living  in  Booth  county, 
Mo.;  Jasper,  married  Jane  Camp,  liv- 
ing with  his  mother;  Newton,  living  at 
home;  Robert,  deceased;  Thomas,  mar- 
ried Ada  Barber,  living  in  this  town- 
ship. Mr.  Brannan  died  about  the  year 
1874,  and  is  buried  at  the  Pea  Ridge 
cemetery.  Mrs.  Brannan  has  80  acres  of 
land,  located  on  Sec.  11,  T.  9,  R.  13, 
YVoodville  township,  and  is  comfortably 
fixed. 

J.  C.  Mulberry,  was  born  in  Scott 
county,  Ky.,  on  the  18th  of  Aug.,  1821, 
his  parents  being  James  and  Judy  Ann 
(LaForce)  Mulberry.  His  father  was 
born  in  Virginia,  but  was  reared  in 
Kentucky,  from  the  time  he  had  reach- 
ed the  age  of  one  year,  spending  his 
early  days  amid  the  scenes  attending 
the  clearing  up  of  the  wilderness  in  the 
early  times  of  Kentucky.  His  moth  it 
was  born  in  that  state,  and  was  there 
married,  and  spent  the  remainder  of 
her  days.  Our  subject  came  to  this 
county  with  his  father,  when  he  was 
about  17  years  of  age,  and  they  located 
in  what  is  now  Woodville  township, 
where  his  father  remained  until  his 
death,  about  the  year  1865,  and  where 
John  C.  still  resides.  John  was  reared 
to  farm  life,  and  remained  at  home  until 


878 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


after  his  marriage,  Aug.  3,  1852,  to 
Eliza  Brown,  a  native  of  Madison  county, 
111.  She  was  a  daughter  of  I'eter  and 
Jane  (McCormick)  llruivn.  her  father  a 
native  of  Nashville,  Tenn.  Her  parents 
came  to  Greene  county,  in  1837,  and 
settled  under  the  bluff",  on  the  land 
now  included  in  this  township.  Her 
father  died  in  Sept.,  1843,  and  her 
mother  in  the  same  month  and  year, 
there  being  only  four  days  difference  in 
the  time  of  their  death.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Mulberry  were  the  parents  of  11  chil- 
dren, 10  of  whom  are  living — James  W., 
deceased;  Laura  Jane,  wife  of  George 
Rice,  living  in  Montgomery  county; 
Margaret,  wife  of  Russell  Rice,  living 
in     Montgomery    county;    George     P., 


married  LidaBrunk,  livingin  Franklin, 
Morgan  county;  Lucy,  wife  of  Joel  M. 
Mulberry,  living  in  Carrollton;  John 
Shelby,  living  at  home;  Cordelia,  Wil- 
liam, Etta,  Dona  and  Samuel.  Mr. 
Mulberry  has  80  acres  of  land  on  sec- 
tion 17.  Mrs.  Mulberry  is  a  member 
of  the  Mt.  Gilead  Baptist  church.  They 
have  both  been  identified  with  Greene 
county  since  their  younger  days,  and 
have  spent  something  like  half  a  cen- 
tury within  its  limits,  so  that  they  have 
witnessed  its  transformation  from  a 
wilderness  to  its  present  prosperous 
condition.  The  parents  of  both  were 
among  the  early  settlers,  and  took  part 
in  many  of  the  events  of  those  early 
times. 


GHAPTKR    XVIII 


RUBICON  TOWNSHIP. 

A  little  staeam  meanders  through  the  |  made  its  civil  and  surveyors'  lines  co- 
extensive. It  is  bounded  on  the  north 
by  Athensville  township,  on  the  east 
by  Macoupin  county,  on  the  south  by 
Rockbridge  township,  and  on  the  west 
by  Wrights  township.  There  is  no 
town  or  village  within  its  limits,  of  any 
importance,  but  Greenfield,  on  its  south- 
ern border,  supplies  a  good  market  for 
produce,  and  for  the  purchase  of  all  the 
necessaries  of  life. 

The  township,  which  contains  some 
of  the  finest  land  in  the  county,  is  in 
large  part  prairie,  but  still,  enough  is 
timbered  to  make  it  beautiful  and 
sheltered. 


southeastern  portion  ofT.  11,  R.  10,  too 
insignificant  to  have  any  name  for  many 
years,  but  swollen  one  day  by  spring 
rains,  its  turgid  waters  hurrying  by  the 
almost  submerged  banks,  drew  from 
some  classic  scholar  the  title  which  it 
bears,  the  name  of  the  historic  river 
whose  puny  tide  could  not  stay  the  re- 
turning legions  of  victorious  Cajsar,  the 
Rubicon.  Notwithstanding  its  rather 
far-fetched  and  high  sounding  name,  it 
has  bestowed  it  upon  this  civil  sub-di- 
vision of  the  county. 

Rubicon  comprises  all  of  T.  11,  R.  10, 
the  1m. aid  of  county  supervisors  having 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY 


879 


EABLY    SETTLEMENT. 

The  firsi    settlement  in  what  is  now 

Rubicon  township  was  made  in  1826,  by 
Thomas  Piper,  a  native  of  Kentucky. 
From  his  native  state  he  removed  to 
Indiana  in  an  early  day,  and  resided 
there  until  coming  to  Greene  county. 
He  settled  on  section  10,  this  township, 
where  he  lived  until  overtaken  by  the 
hand  of  death.  He  had  a  wife  and  rive 
children  when  he  came  here. 

Israel  Piper,  a  son  of  Thomas,  came 
with  him.  He  was,  at  this  time,  a 
young  man,  having  been  born  in  1813, 
in  Kentucky.  He  helped  his  father  for 
a  time,  but  in  1833,  was  united  in  mar- 
riage with  Louisa  Fair,  and  started  out 
for  himself.  He  was  a  resident  of  this 
township  until  his  death,  which  occurred 
Sept.  5,  1850. 

Isaac  and  Alfred  Wood,  William  Fin- 
ley  and  David  Miller  made  settlements 
in  this  part  of  the  county  in  1826,  lo- 
cating "ii  what  is  now  known  as  String- 
Prairie,  where  they  lived  many  years. 

The  next  settler  was  a  Jeremiah 
Hand,  who  came  here  in  1827. 

Ellis  and  John  Davidson  made  settle- 
ments  here  in  1829. 

Henry  Norris,  the  same  year,  built  a 
cabin  at  a  point  about  three  or  four 
mile-  north  of  Greenfield. 

George  Wright  located  at  White  Oak 
Spring  in  1829. 

Joel,  David  and  Eri  Edwards,  three 
brothers,  came  to  Greene  county  in 
1829,  and  stopping  near  Carrollton, 
rented  -nine  land,  and  then  came  to 
what  is  now  Rubicon  township  in  1830. 
They  all  entered  land  on  section  33  and 
28,  and  settled,  the  fall  of  that  year, 
wdierc  they  resided  until  their  deaths, 
Joel  in  I860,  David  in  1856,  Eri  in  1866. 


Eri  Edwards,  deceased,  an  "Id  settler 
of  Greene  county,  was  born  in  Guilford, 
Vt..  in  1804,  ami  was  a  son  of  Benaiah 
and  Mary  (Stowell)  Edwards,  natives 
df  Vermont.  The  lamily  are  descend- 
ants of  three  brothers,  who  came  to 
America  from  Wales.  Eri's  father  died 
in  P. irk  Island  county.  Eri  came  in 
Greene  county  in  1829.  He  was  mar- 
ried in  Vermont  in  1827,  and  by  that 
marriage  six  children  were  born,  two  of 
whom  are  living— Gilbert  H.  and  Eri  L. 
Mr-.  Edward-  was  born  in  1804,  and 
was  a  daughter  of  James  Worden,  a  na- 
tive of  Vermont.  Mr.  Edwards  died  in 
I860,  and  his  wife  in  1878.  Both  were 
members  of  the  M.  E.  church.  Mr. 
Edwards  was  by  trade  a  blacksmith, 
and  continued  in  that  business  until  a 
few  years  before  his  death,  bein-  the 
first  in  this  vicinity  to  engage  at  it.  He 
was  identified  with  the  organization  of 
the  Agricultural  Society.  In  polities 
he  was  a  republican. 

Eri  L.  Edwards,  son  of  Eri  Edward-, 
of  whom  mention  is  made  in  the  fore- 
going, was  born  Dee.  25,  1836,  at  the  old 
homestead,  where  he  has  ever  since 
continued  to  reside.  He  was  married 
April  20,  1859,  to  Caroline  M.  Hutchin- 
son, a  native  of  Pike  county.  111.,  bom 
Sept.  10,  1838,  and  a  daughter  of  Sam- 
uel Hutchinson,  a  native  of  Boston, 
Mass.  By  tin-  above  marriage  there 
were  three  children,  two  of  whom  a  ri- 
vet living— Minnie  II.  and  Julia  M. 
The  one  deceased  is  Laura  A.  Mis.  E. 
is  a  member  of  the  M.  E.  church.  Mr. 
Edwards  has,  by  perseverance  and  good 
management,  made  himself  one  of  the 
substantial  farmers  of  the  county,  own- 
ing 680  acres  of  land,  located  in  Rubi- 
eon  and  Rockbridge   townships,  and  he 


SSI  I 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


devotes   considerable   attention    to    the 
raising  of  stock. 

Joel  Edwards,  deceased,  an  old  settler 
of  Rubicon  township,  and  one  of  the 
three  brothers  who  settled  here,  on  sec- 
tion 33,  in  1830,  was  born  in  Vermont, 
Aug.  16,  1799.  He  grew  to  manhood  in 
his  native  state,  and  was  there  married 
to  Lucy  Goss,  March  21,  1822,  she  being 
also  a  native  of  Vermont, born  Aug.  13, 
1799,  They  removed  to  Illinois,  ac- 
companied  by  Joel's  two  brothers,  and 
located  in  Wayne  county,  in  1827.  They 
then  removed  to  Greene  county  and 
settled  near  Carrollton,  March,  1829, 
and  there  they  rented  land,  and  raised 
one  crop  They  then  moved  to  this 
township,  in  1830,  as  above  stated.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Edwards  were  the  parents  of 
six  children,  five  of  whom  grew  toman- 
hood  and  womanhood — Oshea, deceased; 
Oshea  L.,  Surry  L.,  Jane  A.,  Tryphena, 
and  Mary  O.  Mr.  Edwards  died,  Sept. 
28,  1860,  and  Mrs.  Edwards,  Sept.  25, 
1869.  Both  were  members  of  the  M. 
E.  Church.  His  parents  were  of  Welch 
extraction. 

Gilbert  H.  Edwards,  the  third  of  a 
family  of  six  children,  of  Eri  and  Na- 
omi ( Worden)  Edwards,  old  settlers  of 
Greene  county,  of  whom  mention  is 
made  elsewhere,  was  born  at  the  old 
homestead,  on  the  southeast  quarter  of 
section  28,  in  this  township,  Aug.  19, 
1832.  Gilbert  was  there  reared  to  man- 
hood, receiving  his  education  in  the 
common  schools  there.  In  the  fall  of 
1853,  he  went  to  Rock  Island  county,  re- 
maining there  two  years,  then  began 
traveling  over  the  country,  first  visiting 
Vermont,  then  the  Southern  states.  In 
the  spring  of  1856  he  went  to  Minnesota, 
pre-empting     land     in     Monongahalia 


county.  In  1859  he  went  to  Colorado, 
where  he  worked  one  and  a  halfyears 
in  the  mines,  also  working  at  the  car- 
penter's trade.  He  then  returned  to 
Rock  Island  county,  and  was  there  mar- 
ried, June  12, 1863,  to  Rebecca  Elizabeth 
Michaels,  a  native  of  Rock  Island 
county,  born  June  9,  1838.  She  is  a 
daughter  of  Philip  and  Esther  (Shanks) 
Michaels,  residents  of  Zuma,  Rock 
Island  county.  After  marriage,  Mr. 
Edwards  moved  to  Macoupin  , county 
where  he  remained  until  1869,  when  he 
returned  to  Greene  county  and  settled 
on  the  farm  where  he  still  resides.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Edwards  are  the  parents  of 
six  children — Albert  L.,  Clara  N.,  New- 
ton, deceased;  Cora  A.,  Cassius  L.,  and 
Dana  C.  Mr.  Edwards  has,  by  indus- 
try and  good  management,  acquired  a 
comfortable  amount  of  property,  having 
310  acres  of  land  lying  in  Greene  and 
Macoupin  counties.  In  politics  Mr. 
Edwards  was  formerly  a  republican, 
but  now  does  not  allow  partisanship  to 
interfere  with  him,  always  voting  for 
the  best  man,  thus  showing  him  to  be  a 
man  of  honesty  and  principle. 

Oshea  L.  Edwards,  eldest  son  of  Joel 
and  Lucy  (Goss)  Edwards,  was  born 
Oct.  6.,  1824,  in  Vermont,  He  was  four 
years  of  age  when  his  parents  moved  to 
this  country,  and  he  here  received  such 
education  as  the  common  schools  of 
that  day  afforded.  He  remained  with 
his  parents  on  the  farm  until  he  became 
of  age,  and  when  he  was  25  years  old, 
he  removed  to  Woodford  county,  111., 
and  engaged  in  farming.  While  living 
there,  he  returned  to  Greene  county  and 
was  united  in  marriage  with  Tabitha  E. 
Foster,  April  26,  1855.  She  was  born 
in  Kentucky,  Aug.  27,  1830,  and  was  a 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


ssi 


daughter  of  David  and  Priscilla  G. 
(Piper)  Foster,  natives  of  Kentucky, 
who  settled  in  Greene  county  in  1834. 
Mr.  Foster  was  born  Feb.  23,  1794,  and 
Mrs.  Foster,  Sept.  12,  1799.  He  died 
March  11,  1835,  and  Mrs.  Foster  was 
again  married  to  Benjamin  King,  a  na- 
tive of  Georgia,  born  Dec.  15,  1809,  by 
whom  she  had  one  child.  Mrs.  King 
died  Dec.  17,  1878,  and  he  survived  her 
only  until  Dec.  25,  1878.  After  their 
marriage,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Edwards  moved 
to  Woodford  county,  remaining  two 
years,  when  they  returned  to  Greene 
county,  and  settled  on  the  site  where 
they  still  reside.  The  farm  contains 
about  300  acres  of  land,  all  in  a  good 
state  of  cultivation,  except  40  acres  of 
timber.  In  1881  Mr.  Edwards  erected 
a  handsome,  commodious  brick  resi- 
dence, and  has  it  nicely  and  comfortably 
furnished  He  makes  a  specialty  of 
raising  stock,  and  is  very  successful 
therein.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Edwards  have 
had  six  children  born  to  them,  four  of 
whom  are  living— Arthur  J.,  born  Aug. 
2,  1856;  Edgar,  born  Jan.  10,  1858,  died 
March  3,  1881;  Mary,  born  June  28, 1862; 
a  son  born  Nov.  23,  1865,  died  in  in- 
fancy; Olive,  born  May  22,  1867,  and 
Howard,  born  Oct.  25,  1869. 

It  was  during  the  year  1829  that  Jacob 
Young  came  to  Greene  county,  and 
made  a  settlement  on  what  is  called 
String  Prairie,  in  Rubicon  township. 
He  entered  the  southwest  quarter  of 
section  26,  where  he  made  a  farm.  He 
was  a  native  of  Pennsylvania,  born  in 
1785.  When  about  three  years  old  he 
went  with  his  parents  to  Kentucky, 
where  they  remained  until  1795,  when 
they  came  to  Monroe  county,  111.  He 
served  through  the  war  of  1812-15,  and 


was  with  the  command  that  burned 
Peoria  during  the  war.  He  was  mar- 
ried twice,  first  to  a  Miss  Kincaid,  by 
whom  he  had  three  children.  After  his 
first  wife's  death,  he  was  united  in  mar- 
riage with  Clarissa  O'Fling.  She  died 
in  1851,  leaving  one  son,  Felix  H.  He 
was  a  whig  andafree-soiler,and  cast  his 
last  vote  for  Abraham  Lincoln.  He 
died  on  his  farm,  in  this  township,  in 
Sept.,  1863. 

Elder  Stephen  Coonrod  made  a  settle- 
ment in  this  township,  in  1829,  on  the 
northwest  quarter  of  the  northeast  quar- 
ter of  section  33,  which  he  entered, 
and  where  he  lived  until  1872,  when  he 
died.  He  was  born  in  Grayson  county, 
Ky.,  Feb.  4,  1798,  being  a  son  of  George 
Coonrod.  He  was  married  Feb.  28, 
1819,  to  Candis  Lee,  born  Dec.  6,  1800, 
in  Kentucky.  Soon  after  marriage  they 
removed  to  Wayne  county,  where  he 
lived  until  1829,  when  he  moved  to 
Greene  county,  as  above.  The  date  of 
his  death  was  Dec.  19,  1872.  He  pro- 
fessed religion  and  was  baptized  in  May, 
1812,  and  in  1S28  he  began  preaching, 
and  continued  doing  so  the  rest  of  his 
life,  being  a  member  of  the  old  Regular 
Baptist  church.  In  polities  he  was  a 
democrat.  His  wife  died  Nov.  11, 1879. 
Their  marriage  was  blessed  witli  ten 
children,  six  boys  and  four  girls. 

William  Smith  came  to  this  township 
in  the  month  of  April,  1831,  and  settled 
on  section  5,  where  he  lived  until  Nov. 
24,  1866,  when  he  was  called  on  to  pay 
the  debt  of  nature. 

William  W.  Smith,  deceased,  an  old 
settler  of  Greene  county,  was  born  Dee. 
1,  1825,  in  Spencer  county,  Ind.  He  is 
a  son  of  William  and  Hannah  (Fair) 
Smith,  natives  of  Kentucky,  who  after- 


882 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


ward  removed  to  Indiana,  where  the 
subject  of  this  sketch  was  born.  His 
father  followed  farming  in  Indiana,  in 
connection  with  shoemaking,  remaining 
in  that  state  until  1831,  when  he  moved 
bia  family  to  Illinois,  arriving  in  Greene 
county  in  April,  after  the  deep  snow, 
lie  had  \  isited  the  county  in  search  of 
a  location,  the  previous  year,  and  had 
entered  landon  section  5,  this  township, 
on  which  he  made  his  home  until  his 
death,  Nov.  24,  1866,  at  the  age  of  82 
years.  His  wife  died  Oct.  13,  1853, 
aged  68.  They  were  the  parents  of  nine 
children.  William  W.  was  the  youngest 
of  them,  and  was  reared  to  manhood, 
receiving  such  education  as  the  common 
schools  afforded.  He  was  twice  mar- 
ried, the  first  time,  January  29,  1852,  to 
Mary  A.  Short,  a  native  of  this  town- 
ship, born  Nov.  24,  1830.  She  was  a 
daughter  of  Thomas  J.  Short,  one  of 
the  first  settlers  here,  who  is  mentioned 
elsewhere.  By  the  above  union  there 
were  six  children — Ewen  B.,  John  P., 
an  infant  not  named,  Henry  S.,  Eliza- 
beth J.,  and  Amanda  E.  Mrs.  Smith 
died  April  25,  1864,  and  Mr.  Smith  was 
again  united  in  marriage,  Sept.  27,  1865, 
to  Lettice  Whitlock,  a  native  of  Morgan 
county,  111.,  b,,rn  Feb.  9,  1834.  She  is 
■a  daughter  of  Luther  and  Margaret 
(Dunbar)  Whitlock,  natives  of  Russell 
county,  Ky.,  who  were  married  there 
about  1821,  and  removed  to  Morgan 
county,  111.,  in  the  fall  of  1830.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Smith  were  the  parents  of  one 
child,  who  died  in  infancy-  Mr.  Smith 
followed  agricultural  pursuits,  living  on 
the  old  homestead  until  one  year  before 
his  death,  when  he  moved  to  Greenfield, 
where  be  died  November  30,  1877.  The 
family    remained    at    Greenfield    until 


Nov.  1881,  when  they  returned  To  the 
farm,  where  they  still  reside.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Smith  were  members  of  the  Bap- 
tist church,  of  which  Mr.  Smith  was  a 
deacon.  He  was  a  member  of  the  I.  0. 
0.  F.,  joining  the  order  at  Athensville, 
and  afterward  uniting  with  the  lodge  at 
Greenfield,  of  which  lie  was  a  member 
at  the  time  of  his  death.  Four  of  his 
children  grew  to  manhood  and  woman- 
hood, and  all  are  married  except  Eliz- 
abeth, living  at  home. 

Henry  S.  Smith,  son  of  William  W., 
was  born  March  25,  1858,  in  Rubicon 
township,  where  he  grew  to  manhood, 
receiving  his  education  in  the  common 
schools.  He  was  married,  Feb.  27, 
1884,  to  Luella  Waltrip.who  was  born  in 
Wrights  township,  Sept.  24,  1853,her  pa- 
rents being  Thomas  T.  and  Mary  (Da- 
vidson) Waltrip,  old  settlers  of  that 
township.  Mr.  Smith  and  wife  are 
members  of  the  Baptist  church,  he  tak- 
ing his  father's  place  as  deacon.  Though 
young,  he  is  an  enterprising  farmer. 

Thomas  Yandeveer,  a  native  of  Ken- 
tucky's soil,  came  to  Greene  county  in 
1831,  and  settled  on  Sec.   31,   T.    12,  R. 

10,  but  afterwards  removed  to  Sec.  4,  T. 

11,  R.  10,  where  he  died  in  1845.  He 
had  been  a  resident  of  Indiana  for  some 
years  prior  to  coming  here.  He  was  a 
veteran  of  the  war  of  1812,  and  of  the 
Black  Hawk  war. 

John  Melvin  came  to  Greene  county 
in  the  spring  of  1831,  settling  on  the 
north  side  of  Apple  creek,  about  three 
miles  east  of  White  Hall,  where  lie  re- 
mained until  the  following  fall,  when  he 
located  upon  the  place  now  occupied  by 
his  son,  Thomas  E.,  on  section  2G,  of 
Rubicon  township.  Here  he  resided 
until  the  fall  of  1853,  when  he  removed 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


883 


to  Greenfield,  where  he  lived  a  retired 
life  during  the  balance  of  his  days,  his 
deatli  occurring  in  the  fall  of  1870.  He 
was  born  in  Tennessee  in  1803,  coming 
directly  from  that  state  to  this  county. 
He  was  married  in  his  native  state  to 
Eliza  Crouch,  by  whom  10  children  were 
born,  The  death  of  Mrs.  Melvin  oc- 
curred Feb.  16,  1874.  Thomas  E.  Mel- 
vin, a  son  of  John,  was  born  in  Tennes- 
see, Dee.  22,  1824,  and  still  resides  on 
on  the  old  homestead.  He  was  married 
June  2,  1847,  to  Elizabeth  Coonrod,  a 
daughter  of  Stephen  Coonrod.  They 
arc  the  parents  of  six  children — Sylves- 
ter, George,  Stephen  E.,  Etna,  Emma 
and  Minnie. 

Asbury  Atkins  made  a  settlement  at 
the  head  of  the  Rubicon  creek,  near  the 
Macoupin  county  line,  in  the  latter  part 
of  1831. 

Hezekiah  Boring  moved  into  what  is 
now  Rubicon,  from  White  Hall  town- 
ship, in  1S32.  He  was  born  in  Maryland, 
Feb.  22,  1789,  but  was  reared  in  Tennes- 
see, where  he  was  united  in  marriage 
with  Mary  Melvin.  in  1823.  He  came 
to  Greene,  in  1829,  and  lived  in  White 
Hall  township  for  a  short  time  before 
coming  here.  He  entered  some  land  on 
section  26,  in  this  township,  and  here 
resided  until  his  death,  which  occurred 
Aug.  2ii,  1884,  when  he  had  reached  the 
advanced  age  of  95  years.  His  wife's 
death  preceded  his  some  15  years. 

George  Coats  was  a  native  of  Ken- 
tucky, born  in  Feb.,  1807.  He  came  to 
this  county  in  1832, and  located  upon  the 
northeast  quarter  of  section  30,  in  this 
township.  Here  he  engaged  in. agricul- 
tural pursuits,  until  his  death,  which 
occurred  in  Oct.,  1875.  He  was  twice 
married,   the    first   time   to  Mrs.   Celia 


Connelly,  nee  Doyle,  who  died  in  April. 
1860,  leaving  six  children:  the  second 
time  to  Mrs.  William  Jours,  nee  Rachel 
Brannon,  who  survives  him.  There 
were  two  children  by  this  last  marriage 

JesseC.  C.  Parks  settled  here  in  1832, 
on  section  10,  where  he  lived  until 
March  4,  1S74,  when  he  was  called  upon 
to  pay  the  debt  of  nature.  He  was 
born  June  16, 1802,  in  Anderson  county. 
Tenn.,  where  he  lived,  working  at  the 
blacksmith  trade,  in  connection  with 
farming,  until  1826,  when  he  came  to 
Greene  county,  but  concluded  to  go  to 
Galena,  where  he  worked  in  the  lend 
mines.  In  1832,  he  returned  here  as 
above  stated.  He  was  married,  in  1831, 
to  Minerva  Yarnall,  by  whom  he  had 
eight  children.  He  was  a  democrat  in 
politics.  He  was  a  major  of  the  state 
militia,  and  a  justice  of  the  peace,  in 
this  county. 

Benjamin  Scott  came  to  this  township. 
in  1832,  at  the  close  of  the  Black  Hawk 
war,  and  made  a  settlement. 

Benjamin  Scott,  one  of  the  successful 
farmers  of  Greene  county,  is  a  native  of 
Casey  county,  Ky..  born  April  29,  1831. 
He  is  a  son  of  Welcome  and  Elizabeth 
(Allen)  Scott,  natives  of  Kentucky,  in 
which  state  they  were  married.  Wel- 
come engaged  in  farming  and  also  dealt 
in  race  horses,  and  did  some  sporting. 
He  died  in  1817,  leaving  a  widow  and 
four  children,  of  whom  benjamin  was 
the  eldest,  and  the  only  boy.  In  1830 
Mrs.  Scott  came  with  her  family  to 
\\  inchester,  Scott  county,  111.,  in  cum 
pany  with  Hiram  Drake,  lie  immedi- 
ately entering  land  on  section  10  and  11, 
in  Rubicon  township,  this  county.  Mrs. 
Scott  remained  in  Scott  county,  until 
1832,  when  her  son,  Benjamin,  entered 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


80  acres  of  land,  with  money  obtained 
by  selling  his  discharge  and  horse,  he 
having  been  in  the  Black  Hawk  war. 
He  received  $100  by  the  above  sale. 
His  present  residence  is  located  on  the 
land  which  he  then  entered.  Mrs.  Scott 
made  her  home  with  Benjamin  for  many 
years,  but  at  the  time  of  her  death,  in 
June,  1865,  she  was  residing  with  her 
daughter,  Mrs.  Jonathan  Lewis.  She 
was  a  consistent  member  of  the  Chris- 
tian church.  On  leaving  Kentucky, 
Mrs.  Scott,  and  all  the  children,  except 
the  youngest  one,  walked  the  whole 
distance  to  Scott  county,  bringing  the 
household  effects  in  a  light,  one-horse 
peddler's  wagon.  On  Mr.  Scott's  side 
the  family  was  of  Scotch  extraction  and 
on  the  mother's  side,  of  Scotch-Irish 
descent,  their  ancestors  being  early  set- 
tlers of  the  Blue  Grass  section.  Grand- 
father Allen,  Mrs.  Scott's  father,  was 
the  first  settler  of  Casey  county,  Ky., 
where  he  lived  until  his  death.  His 
wife  died  in  Greene  county.  When  Ben- 
jamin left  Kentucky,  he  had  but  $7  and 
his  mother  $12,  and  when  they  arrived 
in  Morgan  county,  she  had  but  two  dol- 
lars and  he  five,  and  this  they  investep 
in  fat  hogs,  which  investment  enabled 
Benjamin  to  make  the  start  in  life, 
which  opened  the  path  to  his  present 
wealth  and  comfort.  He  was  married 
Oct.  17,  1834,  to  Lucinda  Ruyle,  a  na- 
tive of  Montgomery  county,  111.,  born 
Aug.  30,  1818.  She  is  a  daughter  of 
Henry  and  Betsy  (Smith)  Ruyle,  the 
father  a  native  of  Virginia,  the  mother 
of  Tennessee,  who  were  married  in 
Tennessee,  and  came  to  Illinois  in  1813. 
They  remained  here  some  time  and  then 
returned  to  Tennessee,  afterward  re- 
moving   to    Macoupin   county,  Illinois, 


where  they  lived  until  their  death. 
They  were  the  parents  of  seven  children, 
Mrs.  Scott  being  the  second  oldest. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Scott  have  a  family  of 
nine  children — James,  Elizabeth  M., 
Edward,  Sally  J.,  Louisa  F.,  Maggie, 
Mary  I.,  William  T.,  and  Anna.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Scott  are  members  of  the 
Christian  church.  Mr.  Scott  has  been 
one  of  the  large  landholders  of  the 
county,  owning  at  one  time,  2,600acres, 
the  greater  part  of  which  he  has  given 
to  his  children,  and  sold,  reserving  for 
himself,  536  acres.  He  makes  a  spec- 
ialty of  raising  and  feeding  stock,  and 
in  this  way  has  made  his  money,  being 
an  energetic,  enterprising  citizen.  Mr. 
Scott  is  a  staunch  republican,  and  has 
held  several  local  offices.  He  is  highly 
respected  by  neighbors  and  friends. 

William  W.  Williams,  in  1833,  came 
to  this  part  of  the  county,  and  finding 
the  land  to  his  liking,  remained  a  resi- 
dent of  his  farm  in  this  township,  until 
his  death,  which  took  place  Dec.  24, 
1884.  He  was  a  native  of  North  Caro- 
lina, born  July  9,  1791.  Left  an  orphan 
at  an  early  age,  he  had  to  battle  for  him- 
self. When  but  17  years  old,  he  moved 
to  Kentucky,  where  he  married  Lydia 
Whitehurst.  From  there  he  removed 
to  Jacksonville,  this  state,  in  1831,  and 
from  there  here.  He  settled  on  the 
farm  where  he  spent  the  remainder  of 
his  lifetime.  This  marriage  was  blessed 
with  seven  children — Mary  A.,  Eliza, 
Edwin  H.,  Martha  E.,  Newton,.  William 
H.  and  Milton  W.  Mrs.  Williams  died 
April  19,  1858,  and  he  was  again  mar- 
ried, Nov.  7,  1S60,  to  Maria  O'Fling, 
widow  of  Felix  O'Fling,  a  native  of 
Greene  county,  N.  Y.,  who  came  to  Illi- 
nois in  the    spring  of  1818.     He   came 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


885 


with  his  father's  family  and  settled  in 
Madison  county,  where  they  lived  a 
short  time,  and  then  moved  to  Greene 
county,  and  settled  on  Apple  creek. 
Felix  was  married  Sept.  26,  1838,  to 
Maria  Oreutt,  a  native  of  Pennsylvania, 
born  Jan.  14,  1818,  while  her  parents 
were  on  the  way  from  Massachusetts  to 
Illinois.  She  is  the  second  daughter  of 
Asa  and  Persenia  (Burt)  Oreutt,  he  a 
native  of  Connecticut,  and  she  of  Mas- 
sachusetts. They  came  to  Illinois  in 
1818.  Her  mother  died  at  St.  Louis,  in 
1827.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  O'Fling  were  the 
parents  of  four  children — Enos;  Lucy, 
wife  of  Alfred  French,  living  in  Kansas; 
Orsa,  living  at  home,  and  Felix.  Felix 
O'Fling  died  Sept.  16,  1849.  Mrs.  Wil- 
liams still  lives  on  the  old  homestead, 
which  contains  50  acres  of  land.  Mr. 
Williams  died  there,  Dec.  28,  1884.  In 
politics  he  was  a  republican.  He  and 
his  family  were  members  of  the  M.  E. 
church.  Mr.  Williams  was  well  liked 
by  all  who  knew  him  and  was  an  indus- 
trious farmer. 

John  H.  Waller,  a  native  of  Queens 
county,  Va.,  born  July  30,  1806,  came 
to  Rubicon  township,  in  1834,  from 
Sangamon  county,  this  state,  whither 
he  had  gone  to  spend  the  winter  with 
his  brother.  He  settled  near  the  town 
of  Greenfield,  where  he  is    still  living. 

T.  J.  Short,  settled  in  this  township, 
about  the  year  1834,  although  he  came 
to  the  county  in  1829,  living  about  five 
years  near  Carrollton. 

Thomas  J.  Short,  deceased,  was  born 
in  Tennessee,  Sept.  27,  1805,  his  father 
being  of  German  descent,  his  mother  of 
Irish  descent.  They  came  to  Greene 
county  in  1829,  and  settled  near  Carroll- 
ton,  where  after  living  five  years,    they 


moved  to  Sec.  7,  T.  11,  R.  10,  they 
owning  some  land  on  sections  7  and  8. 
Thomas  lived  in  the  county  until  his 
death,  Aug.  10,  1876.  His  first  wife  died 
Sept.  9,  1849,  and  he  was  again  married 
in  1862,  to  Rebecca  Wittle,  a  native  of 
Kentucky,  who  is  still  living.  By  that 
marriage  there  were  two  children — Levi 
R.  and  Samuel  J.  Mr.  Short  bad  a  fam- 
ily of  16  children  by  his  first  wife,  and 
at  the  time  of  his  death  had  72  grand- 
children, besides  some  great-grandchil- 
dren. Mr.  Short  took  quite  an  interest 
in  county  affairs,  was  a  staunch  demo- 
crat, served  as  county  commissioner 
three  terms,  and  was  also  a  justice  of 
the  peace.  When  he  decided  to  cross 
the  Ohio  river,  he  had  no  property  but 
a  pony,  and  he  joined  with  another 
neighbor,  who  also  owned  one,  thus 
making  the  trip.  When  he  arrived  in 
Greene  county,  he  was  50  cents  in  debt, 
but  by  hard  work,  industry,  and  good 
business  faculty,  he  was  enabled  to 
acquired  a  large  amount  of  property  dur- 
ing his  lifetime,  becoming  the  possessor 
of  1,100  acres  of  land.  At  his  death  his 
property  was  appraised  at  $55,000,  thus 
showing  what  dauntless  energy  and 
good  management  can  do.  He  and  his 
wife  were  both  members  of  the  M  E. 
church,  he,  also,  of  the  A.  F.  &  A.  M. 
William  S.  Short  was  born  in  Greene 
county,  111.,  Sept.  16,  1832,  and  is  a  son 
of  Thomas  J.  Short.  William  grew  to 
manhood  in  this  county,  receiving  a 
common  school  education.  He  was 
married  June  11,  1854,  to  Elizabeth  M. 
Garrett,  born  March  6,  1830,  her  parents 
being  Joel  and  Nancy  (Gibson)  Garrett, 
natives  of  South  Carolina.  She  came 
with  her  parents,  about  the  year  1838, 
to  Mason  county,  111.,  where  her  father 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


died,  in  July,  1876.  Her  mother  died 
when  she  was  a  child.  Mr.  Garrett  had 
a  family  of  11  children  by  his  firstmar- 
riage.  His  second  wife  was  Eliza  Gar- 
rett, and  by  that  marriage  there  were 
five  children.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Short  are 
the  parents  of  13  children — Amanda  E., 
Rosa  A.,  Louis  S.,  Martha  J.,  Thomas 
J.,  Elijah  B.,  an  unnamed  infant,  Dicy, 
Elizabeth  M.,  William  S.,  Catherine, 
Samuel  J.,  and  Mary  A.  Abundant 
energy  and  steady  attention  to  business, 
have  made  Mr.  Short  very  successful, 
and  he  is  the  possessor  of  a  tine  farm, 
consisting  of  560  acres  of  land.  He  is  a 
member  of  the  Masonic  lodge  at  Green- 
field and  of  the  eommandery  at  Car- 
rollton. 

Nelson  W.  Corrington  came  to  Greene 
county,  a  single  man,  in  1833,  and 
worked  for  some  time  at  carpentering 
trade,  but  finally  settled  in  this  town- 
ship. 

Nelson  W.  Corrington,  deceased,  an 
old  settler  of  Greene  county,  was  born 
Jan.  1,  1812,  in  Harrison  county,  Ky. 
He  was  a  son  of  Stephen  and  Rachel 
B.  (Veach,  Wilson)  Corrington,  he  a 
native  of  New  Jersey,  born  April  5, 
1769,  of  English  descent,  and  she  a  na- 
tive of  Kentucky,  born  Dee.  4,  176"").  of 
Irish  and  English  extraction  They 
were  married  in  Kentucky,  Aug.  14, 
1794,  where  they  resided  until  their 
deaths,  the  father's  occurring  Jan.  2, 
1851,  the  mother's  July  17,  1833,  the 
latter  dying  with  cholera.  They  had 
been  blessed  with  a.  family  of  eight  chil- 
dren. Nelson  Corrington  grew  to  man- 
hood in  Kentucky,  learning  the  carpen- 
ter's and  joiner's  trade,  at  which  he 
worked  when  lie  fust  came  to  Greene 
county,    which    was   in  1833,   he   being 


then  just    at    his   majority.     He   was  a 
brother  of   Revs.   Elijah  and  James  B. 

Corrington,  late  of  the  Illinois  and 
Southern  Illinois  Conference,  and  was 
the  youngest  and  last  of  the  family  of 
eight  children.  He  was  married  Dee. 
24,  1840,  to  Etersa  Keller,  a  native  of 
Grayson  county,  Ky.,  born  Jan.  17, 1817. 
She  is  a  daughter  of  John  and  Zillah 
(VanMctre)  Keller,  the  lather  a  native 
of  Maryland,  born  Oct.  31,  1787,  the 
mother  a  native  of  Elizabethtown,  Ky., 
born  July  1,  1792.  In  1819  the  Keller 
family  moved  to  Indiana,  remaining 
until  1831,  when  they  removed  to  Coles 
.county,  111.,  where  they  resided  one 
year,  and  then  moved  to  Macoupin 
county,  where  they  spent  the  remainder 
of  their  lives.  Her  father  died  in  1862, 
and  her  mother  in  Feb.,  1865.  They 
had  been  blessed  with  a  family  of  12 
children,  seven  boys  and  five  girls. 
After  marriage  Mr.  Corrington  pur- 
chased and  operated  a  saw-mill,  just 
across  the  line  in  Macoupin  county.  He 
afterward  sold  this  mill,  and  in  Jan., 
1844,  he  bought  the  old  homestead, 
on  which  he  lived  until  his  death, 
March  15,  1885.  Mrs.  Corrington  still 
survives  her  husband,  and  lives  at  the 
old  homestead.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Corring- 
ton were  tile  parents  of  13  children — 
Francis  M.,  deceased;  Mary  F.,  de- 
ceased; Wilbur  C,  Wilson  L.,  Rul'us 
K.,  George  A.,  deceased;  Louisana  H., 
Florida  A.,  Mary  F.,  Helen  0., deceased; 
San  Juan  D.,  Esperanza  I',  and  Anna  A. 
J.  When  Mr.  Corrington  came  to  this 
county  he  had  but  $200,  a  saddle  and  a 
horse,  but  by  energy  and  perseverance 
he  -(cured  a  considerable  amount  of 
this  world's  goods,  having  at  one  time 
owned  240  acres,  farming  the  homestead, 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


ss; 


and  at  tin.'  time  of  his  death  80  acres, 
and  a  good  comfortable  residence.  In 
politics  he  was  a  democrat,  and  as  a  citi- 
zen was  a  good  mural  man,  well  liked 
by  neighbors  and  friends.  A  short  time 
before  he  passed  away,  he  gave  his 
heart  to  God  and  exclaimed,  "  What  a 
great  salvation."  at  the  same  time  ex- 
horting his  wife  and  children,  that  they 
make  an  unbroken  family  in  Heaven. 
Mrs.  Corrington  is  a  member  of  the  M. 
E.  church. 

CEMETERY. 

Drake  cemetery  was  surveyed  and 
laid  nut  about  the  year  1856.  It  is  situ- 
ated on  the  northwest  quarter  of  sec- 
tion 15.  The  first  burial  here  was  that 
of  a  child  of  George  Reynolds. 

ORGANIC. 

The  township  of  Rubicon  was  organ- 
ized, and  an  election  held,  April  7, 
1885.  John  S.  Robards  was  elected 
supervisor;  Jackson  Drennan.  clerk. 
M.  V.  Connelly,  assessor;  John  (i. 
Miller,  collector.  At  the  same  time, 
Thomas  Rafferty,  Edwin  Woolley,  and 
T.  Q.  Gapps,  were  elected  justices,  and 
Philip  Kramer,  Joshua  Short,  and  T. 
S.  Weldon,  constables. 

The  first  religious  services  were  held 
in  this  township,  at  the  house  of  Jacob 
Young,  on  section  20,  about  1830,  by 
Rev.  Mr.  Bankerson,  of  the  Methodist 
church. 

REPRESENT ATI YE    MEN. 

Uriah  Converse,  a  prominent  farmer 
of  Rubicon  township  was  born  in  Ad- 
dison county,  Vt.,  Dec.  24,  1821,  his 
parents  being  Alfred  and  Betsey  i  ( lorey  ) 
Converse.  His  father  was  a  native  of 
Connecticut,    and   there    grew    to   man- 

li 1.      lie   then    moved   to    Vermont, 

where    he    was    married,      lie    was    en- 


gaged in  carpentering  while  in  that 
slate,  in  connection  with  farming.  In 
1.S44  he  moved  bis  family  to  Greene 
county,  111. .when;  be  bought  SO  acres  of 
land  on  section  14, in  Rubicon  township, 
on  which  he  built  a  residence,  and  on 
this  place  he  and  his  wife  spent  the  re- 
mainder of  their  days.  They  had  a 
family  of  six  children.  In  politics  Mi'. 
Converse,  Sr.,  was  a  democrat.  The 
family  were  42  days  in  making  the  dip 
srom  Vermont  to  Illinois,  traveling  !•• 
days  of  the  time  by  wagon.  Uriah,  the 
subject  of  our  sketch,  received  a  com- 
mon school  education,  sufficient  for  the 
practical  duties  of  every  day  life,  and 
since  then  has  always  been  engaged  in 
acricultural  pursuits.  He  has  been 
twice  married,  the  first  time  to  Sarah  E. 
Corey,  Dec.  24,  1848.  She  was  a  native 
of  Vermont.,  born  July  15,  1829.  By 
this  union  there  were  two  children — 
Flora,  married  and  living  in  Sangamon 
comity,  and  Harriet  E.,  wdio  died  in  in- 
fancy. Mrs.  Converse  died  May  30, 
1852,  and  Mr.  Converse  was  again  mar- 
ried, Sept.  20,  1855,  to  Minerva  Steande- 
fer,  a  native  Marion  county,  Tenn., 
who  was  reared  in  Missouri.  She  was 
born  Jan.  15,  1835.  By  this  marriage 
there  are  live  children — Otis  E.,  Fannie 
D.,  Harry,  Jennie  and  Truman  U.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Converse  are  members  of  the 
M.  E.  church.  In  politics,  Mr.  Con- 
verse is  a  republican,  and  has  held  local 
offices,  being  at  the  present  time  high- 
way commissioner.  He  is  one  of  the 
substantial  farmers  of  the  township, 
and  by  his  enterprise  and  industry  is 
now  the  possessor  of  540  acres  of  land 
located  in  Rubicon  and  Athensville 
townships,  and  is  engaged  in  mixed 
farming.     He  is  a   respected   citizen  of 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


that  community,  meriting  this  esteem 
by  his  honesty  and  integrity  of  pur- 
pose. 

Alexander  R.  Morrow,  a  son  of  Jesse 
and  Elvira  (Bradshaw)  Morrow,  early 
settlers  of  Greene  county,  who  now  re- 
side in  Rubicon  township,  was  born 
Aug.  27,  1846,  in  Athens ville  township, 
where  he  grew  to  manhood,  receiving  a 
common  school  education.  When  he 
was  18  years  of  age,  he  assisted  his 
father  in  building  a  grist  mill,  in  Ath- 
ensville,  and  at  the  age  of  23,  pur- 
chased an  interest  in  the  mill.  This  he 
continued  to  run  for  about  10  years, 
meeting  with  such  success  that  he  was 
enabled  to  lay  by  a  considerable  amount 
of  money.  He  then  sold  out  his  inter- 
est in  the  mill,  and  after  residing  in 
White  Hall  two  years,  he  purchased  his 
preseut  farm  and  removed  thereto.  Two 
years  from  that  time  he  erected  a  nice 
residence,  costing  $1,800,  doing  the 
work  himself.  It  is  a  two-story  frame, 
24x28  feet,  with  an  L  14x26.  His  farm 
contains  166  acres  of  good  land,  valued 
at  $46  per  acre,  on  which  Mr.  Morrow  is 
engaged  in  stock  raising,  making  a 
specialty  of  hogs,  sheep  and  horses, 
and  is  very  successful.  Mr.  Morrow 
was  united  in  marriage,  Feb.  9,  1870, 
with  Margaret  Scott,  born  in  Rubicon 
township,  March  22,  1847.  She  is  a 
daughter  of  Benjamin  Scott,  an  old  set- 
tler of  the  township,  of  whom  mention 
is  made  elsewhere.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Mor- 
row are  members  of  the  Christian 
church.  In  politics,  Mr.  Morrow  is  a 
republican.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
Atbensville  lodge,  I.  0.  O.  F.  He  is 
highly  respected  and  esteemed  by 
neighbors  and  friends,  and  is  an  upright 
and  enterprising  citizen. 


Rev.  Marcus  W.  Million  is  a  son  of 
Elijah  and  Elizabeth  (Jemison)  Million, 
former  residents  of  the  county.  Elijah 
was  born  in  Stafford  county, Va.,  as  was 
also  his  wife,  and  they  were  married 
there  in  1815.  Mr.  Million  was  a  car- 
penter by  trade.  In  the  fall  of  1823,  he 
left  Virginia,  and  came  west  as  far  as 
Madison  county,  111., and  remained  there 
until  the  fall  of  1830,  when  he  moved  to 
Morgan  county,  and  resided  there  until 
1877.  He  then  came  to  Greene  county, 
where  he  and  his  wife  liyed  the  re- 
mainder of  their  days.  They  had  a  fam- 
ily of  nine  children,  Marcus  W.  being 
the  second.  Elijah  was  a  soldier  in  the 
war  of  1812,  and  also  in  the  Black 
Hawk  war.  His  death  occurred  Nov. 
15,  1875,  his  wife  surviving  him  only 
until  Nov.  25,  1875.  Both  were  mem- 
bers of  the  Baptist  church.  Both 
branches  of  the  Million  family  are  of 
Scotch-Irish  extraction.  Marcus,  the 
subject  of  this  sketch,  was  born  in  Staf- 
ford county,  Va.,  Jan.  22,  1818.  When 
but  a  child  he  removed  with  bis  parents 
to  Kentucky,  and  thence  to  Morgan 
county,  where  he  grew  to  manhood,  re- 
ceiving a  common  school  education, and 
being  reared  to  farm  life.  He  was  mar- 
ried in  Greene  county,  March  22,  1842, 
to  Mary  Drum,  a  native  of  Madison 
county,  born  March  5,  1817.  After  their 
marriage  they  returned  to  Morgan 
county,  where  they  resided  about  two 
years,  and  then  removed  to  Rubicon 
township,  Greene  county,  where  he  still 
resides.  When  he  first  came  to  the 
county  he  had  scarcely  any  capital,  but 
energy,  perseverance  and  willing  hands 
have  accumulated  for  him  240  acres  of 
land  in  a  good  state  of  cultivation.  Mr. 
and   Mrs.    Million   have    been   blessed 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


8S9 


with  a  family  of  11  children — Lovenia 
Jane,  born  Jan.  21,  1S43;  Lueian  B., 
born  Aug.  4,  1844,  died  Feb.  2,  1865, 
while  at  home  on  a  sick  furlough;  Hes- 
ter Ann,  born  March  14,  1848;  Mary  C, 
born  Oct.  12,  1850,  died  Jan.  21,  1859; 
Emma  R.,  born  June  28,  1852;  Tempie 
L.,  born  Aug.  24,  1855;  Eliza  D.,  born 
April  21,  1857,  died  Nov.  5,  1877;  Sarah 
E.,  born  Jan.  20,  1859;  Elijah  E.,  born 
Sept.  18,  1861.  Rev.  and  Mrs.  Million 
are  members  of  the  United  Baptist 
church,  of  which  he  was  ordained  a  min- 
ister. When  young,  he  taught  singing 
school,  deriving  much  pleasure  there- 
from. He  is  a  moral,  industrious  man, 
meriting  the  respect  and  esteem  of  all 
his  acquaintances. 

Alfred  C.  Range,  a  settler  of  Rubicon 
township,  was  born  in  Washington 
county,  Tenn.,  September  18,  1826,  and 
is  a  son  of  Isaac  and  Elizabeth  (Hum- 
phreys) Range.  They  were  natives  of 
Tennessee,  but  the  ancestors  on  his 
father's  side  were  from  Pennsylvania, 
and  were  of  German  descent,  and  on  the 
mother's  side  were  of  Irish  extraction. 
His  father  followed  farming.  Alfred  C. 
was  the  fourth  of  a  family  of  five  chil- 
dren, and  was  reared  to  manhood  on  his 
father's  farm,  and  received  such  educa- 
tion as  the  common  schools  afforded, 
but  by  reading,  he  acquired  a  good  edu- 
cation and  stored  away  quite  an  abund- 
ance of  useful,  practical  knowledge,  and 
has  a  library  containing  many  valuable 
works.  Mr.  Range  was  married  in 
Tennessee,  Jan.  13,  1848,  to  Catherine 
Miller,  a  native  of  that  state,  born 
March  29,  1826.  Mr.  Range  moved  to 
Illinois,  in  1858,  arriving  in  Greene 
county,  Oct.  16.  He  lived  here  until 
the  fall  of  1865,  when  he  took  a    trip  to 


Kansas,  and  after  remaining  there  a 
short  time,  he  returned  to  Greene 
county,  and  settled  on  his  present  farm 
on  the  northeast  quarter,  of  section  27, 
in  this  township,  in  March  1871.  The 
farm  contains  59  acres  of  land  in  a  good 
state  of  cultivation,  on  which  Mr.  Range 
makes  quite  a  specialty  of  fruit  raising. 
Mrs.  Range  died  Oct.  3,  1869,  leaving  a 
family  of  12children--Mary  E.,  Isaac  M., 
Grace  M.,  John  G.,  Martin  K.,  William 
H.,  Solomon  F.,  Julia  A.,  James  M.,  Os- 
car E.,  Lewis  A.,  Charles  E.  and  Frank 
W.  Mr.  Range  was  again  married  Jan.  6, 
1874,  to  Mrs.  Rebecca  S  (Miller)  Sulli- 
van, widow  of  Cornelius  Sullivan,  a 
native  of  Ireland,  who  were  the  parents 
of  three  children — Benjamin  C,  Nora  C. 
and  Margaret  H.  Mr.  Sullivan  died  in 
1S73.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Range  are  the  par- 
ents of  two  children — Ada  L.  and 
Robert  F.  Mr.  Range  is  a  property 
holder  in  Greenfield,  and  is  a  highly  re- 
spected citizen  of  Rubicon  township,  in 
which  he  resides. 

John  T.  Foster,  deceased  husband  of 
Mrs.  Vienna  Woodward,  was  a  native 
of  Kentucky,  born  in  1827,  and  is  a  son 
of  David  Foster,  who  settled  in  this 
county  in  1835.  He  was  killed  by  a  tree 
falling  on  and  crushing  him.  John  T. 
was  married  Feb.  22,  1855,  to  Vienna 
Hockensmith,  a  native  of  Kentucky, 
born  May  9,  1835.  She  came  with  her 
parents  to  Morgan  count}7.  111.,  then  re- 
moving to  Macoupin  county,  where  she 
lived  until  her  marriage.  She  is  the 
daughter  of  Andrew  J.,  and  Mary 
(  Parks)  Hockensmith,  natives  of  Ken- 
tucky, her  father  being  born  in  1802, 
her  mother  in  1808.  Her  father  died 
Aug.  20,  1872,  and  her  mother  is  still 
living,    making    her    home    with     her 


S'.N) 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


daughter,  Mrs.  Woodward.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Foster  were  the  parents  of  two 
children— Everett  E.  and  EttieG.     Mr. 

Foster  died  Aug.  10,  I860.  He  was  a 
member  of  the  M.  E.,  church  and  had 
educated  himself  for  the  ministry,  but 
owing  to  failing  health,  was  obliged  to 
give  it  up.  He  received  his  education 
at  the  college  .in  Jacksonville,  and  at 
McKendree  College,  where  he  graduated. 
He  was  licensed  to  preach  in  1849,  and 
in  1850  was  admitted,  on  trial,  in  the 
Illinois  Conference;  and  was  sent  to  the 
Jacksonville  circuit.  In  1851  he  was 
appointed  to  Marshall  City,  but  during 
that  year  his  health  failed,  and  in  L852, 
having  been  ordained  deacon,  he  was,  on 
account  of  a  diseased  throat,  compelled 
to  ask  to  be  discontinued.  In  1860  he 
was  ordained  elder,  but  was  called  to  the 
other  world  before  the  expiration  of 
thai  year.  Mrs.  Foster  was  again  mar- 
ried Sept.  '.»,  1.866,  to  Henry  Woodward, 
a  native  of  England,  born  Qct.  4,  1827. 
He  had  been  left  an  orphan  when  quite 
young,  and  came  with  friends  to  Chi- 
cago and  from  there  to  Greene  county. 
He  has  been  engaged  in  clerking  a  good 
share  of  his  life,  and  has  also  worked 
at  the  agricultural  pursuits.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Woodward  are  the  parents  of  three 
children —Virginia  E.,  H.  Albert  and 
Don  M.  He  and  his  wife  are  members 
of  the  M.  E.  church. 

Peter  Stewart,    a  native   of  Scotland, 


was  horn  in  the  year  1S24,  and  is  a  son 
of  William  ami  Jane  (Todd)  Stewart, 
natives  of  that  country.  They  are  true 
Scotch',  from  the  south  of  Scotland. 
Peter  immigrated  to  America,  and  came 
to  Illinois  in  1854,  settling  four  miles 
west  of  Greenfield,  where  he  lived  one 
winter.  He  then  moved  six  miles  east 
of  Carrollton,  where  he  resided  three 
years,  and  then  moved  northwest  of 
Greenfield.  He  is  now  living  on  sec- 
tion 8,  in  Rubicon  township.  In  1846, 
he  was  married  to  Margaret  Rutledge,  a 
native  of  Scotland.  By  that  union, 
there  were  three  children — William, 
now  in  Utah,  engaged  as  a  locomotive 
engineer;  Thomas,  who  died  in  1876, 
and  Andrew,  who  also  died  in  1854. 
Mr.  Stewart  was  again  married,  in  1856, 
to  Minerva  Brannan,  a  native  of  Illi- 
nois.      By  this    union,    they    were    the 

parents    of    eight    children John    M., 

died  in  1858;  Mary  Ann,  died  in  1881; 
Peter  C,  living  near  Wrightsville;  Geo. 
J.,  at  home:  Olive  C,  at  home;  Sarah 
J.;  died  in  1883;  Alexander,  at  home, 
and  James  M.  His  second  wife  died  in 
the  year  1882,  and  Mr.  Stewart  was 
again  married  to  Susanna  (Baldwin) 
Williams,  widow  of  John  Williams,  of 
Jefferson  county,  111.  Mr.  Stewart  has 
always  followed  the  occupation  of  farm- 
ing. He  is  a  member  of  the  Baptist 
church,  and  is  an  industrious,  well  re- 
spected citizen  of  this  community. 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


891 


GHAPTER    XIX. 


ROCKBRIDG 

The  civil  sub-division  of  the  county 
of  Greene,  which  bears  the  name  of 
Rockbridge,  lies  in  the  southeast  corner 
of  the  county,  and  comprises  all  of  con- 
gressional T.  10,  R.  10,  Sees.  4,  5,  6,  7. 
8,  9,  and  the  north  half  of  Sees.  16,  17 
and  18,  and  the  northwest  quarter  of 
See.  3,  T.  9,  R.  10,  together  with  Sees.' 
1,  2,  11,  12,  and  the  north  half  of  Sees. 
13  and  14,  T.  9.  R.  11.  It  therefore 
contains  .".1  sections.  It  is  one  of  the 
best  townships  of  land  in  the  county, 
having  some  of  the  finest  natural  advan- 
tages. Nearly  one-half  of  it  is  finely 
timbered  land,  the  balance  b.ing  fine, 
undulating  prairie  of  the  best  descrip- 
tion. It  is  watered  by  Hodges'  and 
Taylor's  creek,  with  their  tributaries. 
No  liner  improvements  arc  to  be  found 
in  the  county  than  are  found  here,  and 
the  inhabitants  are,  as  a  class,  thrifty 
and  prosperous. 

The  St.  Louis  division  o\'  the  C.  B. 
A:  0.  railroad  passes  through  the  entire 
township  from  north  to  south,  and  there 
are  two  stations  of  this  road  located  in 
this  part  of  the  county,  viz:  Greenfield, 
on  section  -1,  ami  Rockbridge,  on  section 
34.  Besides  these  towns,  there  is  one 
smaller  one  in  the  township,  Fayette, 
on  tin'  eastern  border,  on  sections  12 
and  13. 

EARLY    SETTLEMENT. 

John  ami  Ambrose  Taylor  and  Benja- 
min Allen   settled  in  this  township  in 


E  TOWNSHIP. 

1819,  and  were  the  pioneers  of  this  part 
of  the  county.  They  lived  here  for 
many  years.  Taylor's  Prairie  and  Tay- 
Lor's  creek, the  latter  a  small  tributary 
of  the'  Macoupin,  derived  their  names 
from  these  parties. 

Andrew  Kincaid  was  the  first  to  lo- 
cate at  what  was  long  known  as  Kin- 
caid's  Point,  in  1821.  This  point  was 
an  angle  of  timber  laud  which  projected 
into  the  prairie. 

William  T.  Kincaid  a  son  of  Andrew, 
came  to  Greene  enmity,  in  1821,  and 
located  in  Rockbridge  township.  He 
was  born  in  Pennsylvania,  in  1786,  but 
was  reared  in  Kentucky.  In  the  latter 
state  he  was  united  in  marriage  with 
Elizabeth  Mace,  and  moved  with  his 
wife  to  East  St.  Louis,  in  1817.  In  1820 
he  came  here,  and  settled  upon  the 
northeast  quarter  of  section  7,  where  he 
made  his  home  until  his  death.  This 
latter  event  took  place  in  1876.  His 
wife  died  in  1>36,  leaving  nine  children. 
He  was  appointed  justice  of  the  peace 
prior  to  the  organization  of  the  county, 
which  office  be  held  for  eight  years. 

Martin  Burt  came  to  this  part  of  the 
country,  in  1821,  and  erected  a  cabin, 
where  he  dwelt  for  some  time. 

John  Finley,  better  known  as  "Fight- 
ing -lack,''  and  his  son,  Thomas,  came 
to  what  is  now  Rockbridge  township,  in 
1821.  Shortly  after  settling,  John  Fin- 
lev  erected  a  horse-mill  a  short  distance 


S<)2 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


south  of  the  site  of  Greenfield.  Al- 
though very  loosely  constructed,  it  was 
a  great  convenience  for  the  dwellers  for 
many  miles  around.  Men  and  boys 
visited  this  mill  from  beyond  Carroll- 
ton,  riding  on  their  sacks  of  corn  and 
leading  horses  enough  to  turn  the  mill. 
Strange  as  it  may  seem,  this  mill  was 
supplied  with  neither  wheel  nor  cog. 
At  an  elevation  of  six  feet  from  the 
ground,  a  number  of  arms  were  passed 
horizontally  through  the  driving  shaft. 
They  were  of  equal  length,  and  their 
outer  ends  were  deeply  notched  for  the 
reception  of  a  rawhide  band  twisted  like 
a  rope.  This  was  passed  around  the" 
end  of  the  arms  or  spokes,  resting  in 
the  notches,  and  thence  to  the  "trun- 
dle," being  crossed,  however,  between 
the  latter  and  the  driving  wheel  to  pre- 
vent slipping.  To  the  same  shaft  that 
carried  the  arms  was  attached  a  long 
lever,  to  which  the  horse  or  horses  were 
fastened.  This  was  all  the  gearing  be 
longing  to  the  mill,  and  from  its  great 
simplicity  it  was  easily  repaired  when 
out  of  order.  A  few  hickory  withes 
usually  secured  any  part  that  needed  at- 
tention. John  Finley  and  his  son, 
Thomas,  afterward  entered  the  site  of 
the  Rockbridge  mills.  The  old  gentle- 
man settled  on  the  bluff  south  of  the 
creek,  and  his  son  made  a  home  on 
Taylor's  Prairie,  just  north  of  Rock- 
bridge. 

Two  men,  in  1822,  came  into  this 
neighborhood,  looking  for  land.  They 
were  Archibald  Lee  and  an  uncle.  The 
former  had  been  born  in  Rome  county, 
Term.,  but  at  the  time  mentioned  above 
was  a  resident  of  Hamilton  county,  this 
state.  In  the  fall  of  the  same  year  they 
returned  to  the    latter   county,   where, 


on  the  19th  of  March,  1823,  Archibald 
Lee  and  Jane  Upton  were  united  in 
marriage.  The  young  couple  then 
came  to  Greene  county,  and  first  occu- 
pied land  on  Cook's  Prairie,  on  section 
24,  in  what  is  now  this  township.  Find- 
ing that  some  one  had  entered  the  land 
he  moved  to  another  place  and  from 
there  to  section  28,  where  he  lived  some 
six  years.  He  afterward  was  engaged 
in  the  mercantile  business,  in  Green- 
field, and  later  in  Fayette. 

Norman  C.  Woolley  might  be  classed 
among  the  early  settlers  of  this  county, 
coming  here  when  but  two  years  old,  in 
1822.  He  was  born  at  Hartford,  N.  Y., 
July  20,  1820.  The  family  came  to 
Greene  county,  in  1822,  and  located  in 
Bluffdale  township,  where  N.  C.  lived 
until  1845,  when  he  removed  to  Green- 
field. He  was  married  Jan.  27,  1818, 
to  Sarah  Speaks,  who  was  the  daughter 
of  one  of  the  old  settlers,  and  was  born 
here,  Aug.  21,  1822.  They  have  two 
children  living. 

James  Kincaid,  another  son  of  An- 
drew Kincaid,  came  from  Kentucky  to 
Greene  county  in  1S24.  He  was  quite 
conspicuous  in  those  early  days,  as  he 
was  the  captain  of  a  militia  company, 
and  afterward  commanded  a  company 
in  the  Black  Hawk  war.  Old  settlers 
still  tell  of  his  dress — "a  blue  hunting 
shirt  fringed  with  red,  a  belt  about  him 
from  which  he  depended  a  sword,  and 
a  tall  hat  and  feather." 

John  N.  Whitlock,  a  native  of  Ten- 
nessee, came  to  this  county  in  1826,  and 
made  a  settlement  in  this  township, 
where  he  lived  until  he  was  called  onto 
cross  the  river  and  join  the  great  major- 
ity. He  was  quite  prominent  in  early 
days  in  this  part  of  the  county. 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


895 


Andrew  Hamilton,  a  native  of  Great 
Britain,  but  a  citizen  of  Kentucky,  came 
to  this  township  and  made  a  settlement 
near  where  the  town  of  Greenfield  now 
stands,  in  1827.  He  was  a  resident 
of  the  county  until  his  death. 

During  the  year  1S2M.  William  Mason 
came  to  Rockbridge  township  and  lo- 
cated on  120  acres  of  land  there,  where 
he  lived  for  about  20  years.  He  then 
moved  away  from  the  county.  In  about 
1856,  he  returned,  settling  in  Kane 
township.  He  afterward  removed  to 
Jersey  county,  where  he  subsequently 
died. 

William  Grimes  made  a  settlement 
in  this  township  during  the  year  1828. 
Alexander  and  Benoni  Banning,  two 
brothers,  were  pioneers  of  the  year 
1828,  making  a  settlement  and  building 
their  cabins  in  this  township. 

J.  Harvey  Weisner,  familiarly  known 
as  Uncle  Harvey,  a  native  of  Surry 
county,  N.  C,  born  Jan.  10,  1803,  came 
to  this  county  in  1829.  He  was  the  son 
of  John  and  Margaret  Weisner,  natives 
of  North  Carolina,  of  German  and  Irish 
descent.  During  his  14th  year,  the 
family  moved  to  Smith  county,  Tenn. 
He  was  united  in  marriage  Feb.  20, 
1827,  with  Martha  Evans,  by  whom  he 
had  12  children,  six  of  whom,  in  after 
years,  entered  the  United  States  army 
during  the  war,  and  but  three  of  whom 
returned.  When  Mr.  Weisner  first 
came  here  he  worked  at  anything  he 
could  find  to  do,  often  going  many 
miles  in  the  morning  to  do  it,  and  re- 
turning in  the  evening  to  his  family. 
By  hard  work  and  rigid  economy,  he 
accumulated  enough  money  to  buy  a 
barshare  plow,  and  having  a  yoke  of 
oxen  which  he  brought  from  Tennessee, 


he  rented  a  small  patch  of  ground,  and 
commenced  farming.  He  afterward  be- 
came a  resident  of  Greenfield,  and  re- 
tired from  active  business  life,  in  the 
enjoyment  of  an  easy  competence. 
where  he  resided  until  his  death,  in  the 
fall  of  1883. 

James Cannedy  came  to  this  township 
in  1829,  locating  where  the  town  of 
Greenfield  now  stands,  but  in  a  short 
time  moved  south  of  this  place.  He 
died  in  the  township  in  1872. 

James  Cannedy,  deceased,  who  was 
among  the  early  settlers  of  Greene 
county,  was  a  native  of  Darlington,  S. 
C,  was  born  March  18,  1790,  and  was  a 
son  of  John  Cannedy,  also  an  early  set- 
tler of  this  county.  John  Cannedy  was 
of  Irish  descent,  and  his  wife  was  of 
Scotch  ancestry.  James  removed  with  his 
parents  to  Tennessee  in  1807,  where  he 
was  united  in  marriage,  in  1816,  with 
Eliza  Grizzle,  who  departed  this  life 
Aug.  16,  1867,  aged  69  years.  Mr.  Can- 
nedy served  in  the  capacity  of  captain 
of  the  militia  of  Warren  county,  Tenn., 
for  many  years,  as  did  he  also  as  justice 
of  the  peace.  He  was  a  volunteer  of 
the  war  of  1812,  and  served  as  a  ser- 
geant under  Gen.  Jackson.  He  partici- 
pated in  the  battle  of  Horse  Shoe,  on  the 
the  Tallapoosa  river.  In  1S29  he  immi- 
grated to  Greene  county,  111.,  and  set- 
tled where  the  town  of  Greenfield  now 
stands,  where  he  finished  the  first  house 
built  on  the  site  of  Greenfield.  Two 
years  later  he  bought  land  three  mile- 
south  of  that  place,  where  he  settled 
and  remained  up  to  the  time  of  his  death, 
Jan.  19,  1872.  Upon  coming  to  tin' 
county  he  journeyed  in  an  ox  cart,  had 
very  little  money  and  a  large  family. 
Through  the  deep  snow  in  1830-1,    and 


896 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUiNTY. 


many  years  thereafter,  he  labored  hard 
in  making  rails,  the  proceeds  of  which 
went  to  support  his  family.  Notwith- 
standing his  severe  trials,  he  was  always 
cheerful,  and  looked  forward  for  better 
times,  which  finally  came,  and  he 
secured  a  competency,  which  he  enjoyed 
in  his  declining  years.  He  was  elected 
justice  of  the  peace,  which  office  he  held 
for  many  years.  He  was  county  com- 
missioner three  years  and  held  other 
smaller  offices.  He  was  the  father  of 
12  children,  all  of  whom  were  respected 
and  honored  citizens  of  this  county. 

William  II.  Cannedy,  a  son  of  the 
above,  was  born  in  Warren  county,  now 
DeKalb  county,  Tenn.,  on  the  16th  of 
July,  1817.  With  his  parents  he  came 
to  Greene  county,  111.,  in  1829,  and  has 
been  an  honored  citizen  of  the  county 
ever  since.  He  was  united  in  marriage, 
March  6,  1S45,  with  Mahala  Allen,  a 
native  of  Kentucky.  They  are  the  pa- 
rents of  nine  children,  three  boys  and 
six  girls,  as  follows — Louisa  J.,  wife  of 
E.  Reno,  of  this  county;  Mary  A.,  wife 
ofF.  M.  Clampett,  of  Garnett,  Kan.; 
Martha  E.,  wife  of  L.  Reno,  of  Jersey 
county;  Malinda  C,  wife  of  J.  Burger, 
of  Rockbridge;  Sarah  M.,  wife  of  S.  R. 
Clampett,  of  Medora;  Thomas  J.,  John 
W.,  and  Cora  I.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Cannedy 
and  all  of  their  children  are  consistent 
members  of  the  Baptist  church.  Mr. 
Cannedy  has  served  20  years  as  justice 
af  the  peace,  and  now  officiates  in  that 
capacity,  lie  is  also  a  notary  public 
and  the  treasurer  of  the  school  town- 
ship. He  participated  in  the  Mormon 
war,  and  took  part  in  the  battle  of  Nau- 
voo. 

George  W.  Cannedy,  a  son  of  James 
Cannedy,  one    of  the    early   settlers  of 


Greene  county,  was  born  in  Tennessee 
in  1818,  and  came  to  this  count}'  with 
his  parents  in  1829,  settling  on  the  site 
of  the  town  of  Greenfield,  his  father  hav- 
ing finished  the  first  house  built  in  that 
town.  Here  the}7  resided  until  1833, 
when  they  returned  to  Tennessee,  and 
again  came  to  the  county  in  1834,  set- 
tling on  section  21,  Rockbridge  town- 
ship, where  George  W.  still  resides.  In 
the  month  of  Nov.,  1840,  he  was  united 
in  marriage  with  Miriam  Witt,  a  native 
of  Indiana.  By  that  union  they  had 
two  children — Eliza  E.,  widow  of  John 
Hand,  of  Macoupin  county,  and  James 
H.,who  farms  in  Kansas.  Mrs.  Cannedy 
departed  this  life  Sept.  12,  1844,  aged 
22  years.  Mr.  Cannedy  was  again  mar- 
ried, Feb.  20,  1845,  to  Eliza  Gilland,  a 
native  of  Illinois.  She  died  March  23, 
1850.  They  were  the  parents  of  three 
children  —  Martha  E.,  wife  of  Elisha 
Jackson;  William  F.,  of  this  township, 
and  David  G.,  of  Greenfield.  Mr.  Can- 
nedy was  again  married,  in  1850.  to  Aley 
Dowdall,  a  native  of  the  state  of  Indiana. 
They  have  been  blessed  with  11  chil- 
dren, only  four  of  whom  arc  now  living 
— George  L.,  of  Kansas;  Ada,  wife  of 
B.  F.  Taylor;  Love  and  Myron,  living 
at  home.  Of  those  deceased,  Sarah  A., 
died  in  Sept.,  1852,  aged  one  year  and 
six  months;  John  W.,  died  Aug,  6,  1859, 
aged  two  years  and  six  months;  Mary 
D.,  died  Nov.  26,  1859,  aged  14  days"; 
A.  S.,  died  Oct.  13,  1864;  Lucy  O.,  died 
Jan.  16,  1878;  aged  17  years;  Julia  A., 
who  married  W.  S.  Beason,-  died  Feb. 
27,  187S;  Bessie  L.,  died  Jan.  6,  1878, 
aged  five  years  and  one  month.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Cannedy  are  consistent  mem- 
bers of  the  Baptist  church.  He  has  held 
the  offices  of  constable,  school  director 


and  road  supervisor.  He  has  always 
followed  agricultural  pursuits,  and  is 
now  the  owner  of  57  acres  of  well  im- 
proved land  on  section  21,  Rockbridge 
township. 

James  Curnutt  came  here  in  1S2(.I.  He 
was  bum  in  Virginia,  in  1777.  He  was 
reared  on  a  farm  in  the  Old  Dominion, 
where  he  married  Rachel  Wright,  a 
native  of  the  same  state.  She  dying, 
he  was  united  in  marriage  with  Mary 
Rankin.  In  1S27,  he  moved  to  Ten- 
nessee,  but  in  the  fall  of  the  following 
year  came  to  Madison  county,  111.,  and 
in  1829  came  to  this  county,  landing 
herein  March,  and  located  near  where 
the  village  of  Rockbridge  now  stands. 
After  moving  around  this  county  for  a 
few  years,  he  finally  settled  on  the  farm 
on  which  Rivesville  is  now  located, 
where  he  remained  until  his  death,  in 
1851.     He  served  in  the  war  of  1812. 

James  II.  Weisner,  Herod  and  Joel 
Grizzle,  came  to  Greene  county  in  1829, 
and  locating  in  this  township  com- 
menced some  improvements. 

Ichabod  Valentine  and  Howard  Fin- 
ley  settled  in  the  northern  part  of  this 
township,  in  1829. 

Solomon  Dixon,  a  native  of  North 
Carolina,  born  in  1798,  moved  to  Ten- 
nessee, where  he  was  married,  coming 
to  Greene  county  a  few  years  after  that 
event,  in  1830.  He  settled  near  where 
the  town  of  Rockbridge  now  stands, 
wdiere  he  lived  until  1870,  when  he  re- 
moved to  Kansas,  where  he  died  a  few 
months  after  reaching  that  state.  His 
wife  was  Sarah  Burger.  They  bad 
eight  children.  Mrs.  Dixon  died  here 
in  1844. 

Moses  J.  Wilder,  a  native  of  Nash 
county,  N.  C,  born  in    1751,  came  to 


Greene  county  in  1830,  locating  on  the 
present  site  of  Greenfield,  in  this  town- 
ship. He  had  been  a  soldier  in  the 
Revolution,  and  was  with  Gen.  Greene 
in  all  his  campaigns,  and  witnessed  the 
fall  of  Baron  DeKalb.  He  removed  to 
Tennessee  in  1818,  where  he  remained 
until  he  came  to  this  county.  lie  un- 
married some  three  times.  In  1832,  he 
removed  back  to  the  more  genial  clime 
of  Tennessee,  and  died  there  in   1839. 

Langston  Moore,  made  a  permanent 
settlement  in  this  township  in  1831,  and 
resided  here  until  the  fall  of  1869,  when 
he  sold  out,  removing  to  Nilwood,  Ma- 
coupin county,  where  he  died  October 
6,  1882.  He  was  born  in  North  Caro- 
lina, in  1811,  but  was  reared  in  Tennes- 
see, where  he  married  Sarah  Melton,  by 
whom  he  had  13  children. 

James  Rives  came  to  this  township 
in  1834,  and  made  a  settlement  on  the 
west  half  of  section  24,  where  be  resided 
until  he  moved  to  Greenfield,  where  be 
died  July  12,  180(5.  He  was  a  native  of 
North  Carolina,  but  about  1826,  moved 
to  Kentucky.  His  wife  was  formerly 
Elizabeth  Hood.  She  died  in  1851,  on 
the  farm  where  he  first  located. 

Robert  Mitchell  and  his  family  came 
to  Rockbridge  township,  and  settled  on 
Sec.  26,  T.  10,  R.  10,  in  the  fall  of  1835. 
He  was  a  Virginian,  but  was  reared  and 
married  in  Kentucky,  from  which  state 
he  came  here.  He  lived  here  until  his 
death  in  June,  1837.  The  wife  died  in 
March,  1847.  They  had  a  family  of 
nine  children,  only  three  of  whom  are 
now  living.  Andrew  K.  Mitchell  is 
a  son. 

Andrew  K.  Mitchell,  one  of  the  old 
settlers  of  Rubicon  township,  was  born 
in   Bath   county,    Ky.,    June   26,    1811. 


898 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


He  was  raised  on  his  father's  farm,  and 
received  such  education  as  the  old  log 
school  house  of  that  day  afforded.  He 
engaged  in  fanning  for  himself,  after  be- 
coming of  age,  and  afterward  moved  to 
Greene  county.  Sept.  10,  1840,  he  was 
married  to  Sally  Kincaid,  a  daughter  of 
William  T.  and  Elizabeth  (Mace)  Kin- 
caid, her  mother  a  native  of  Kentucky. 
Her  parents  removed  to  St.  Clair 
county,  111.,  in  1817,  and  in  1821  they 
came,  in  company  with  the  Kincaids,to 
Greene  county,  111.  Mrs.  Mitchell  was 
born,  Aug.  22,  1819,  in  St.  Clair  county, 
111.  Their  marriage  was  blessed  with 
12  children,  eight  of  whom  are  still  liv- 
ing— Thomas,  deceased;  Joseph:  James, 
living  at  home;  Mary  E.,  deceased;  Jo- 
hanna, wife  of  Frank  Witt;  Robert,  liv- 
ing at  home;  Luther,  married  and  liv- 
ing in  this  township;  Martha,  wife  of 
Hugh  Clarity,  a  resident  of  this  town- 
ship; Rachel,  wife  of  Joseph  Cress,  liv- 
in  this  county;  Nancy,  deceased;  Ellen 
and  Margaret,  at  home.  Mr.  Mitchell 
has  met  with  decided  success  in  his  bus- 
iness undertakings,  and  has  acquired 
about  500  acres  of  land,  well  improved 
and  with  pleasant  surroundings.  His 
father  was  also  in  good  circumstances. 
The  family  are  members  of  the  Cumber- 
land Presbyterian  church.  Mr.  Mitchell 
is  a  highly  esteemed  citizen. 

David  Foster  settled  in  this  part  of 
the  county  in  1835.  He  was  killed  by  a 
tree  falling  on  him,  at  a  later  date.  He 
was  the  father  of  John  T.  Foster,  long 
and  favorably  known  in  this  count}', 
but  now  dead. 

OTHEB    PROMINENT    PEOPLE. 

James  H.  Van  Arsdale  was  born  in 
Mercer  county,  Ky.,  June  28,  1816.    He 


came  with  his  parents,  who  were  of 
Holland  Dutch  descent,  to  this  state,  in 
1836,  arriving  at  Carrollton,  Oct.  6,  the 
same  year.  He  received  a  fair  common 
school  education  in  his  native  state,  and 
the  home  training  and  associations  were 
such  as  ever  guided  and  controlled  his 
future  course,  in  the  active  duties  of 
life.  His  father,  Peter  Van  Arsdale,  was 
a  blacksmith  by  trade,  and  in  connection 
with  that  business,  owned  and  cultivated 
a  good  farm  of  230  acres,  upon  which 
his  son  J.  H.  grew  up  to  manhood.  His 
father  was  a  close  student  of  books,  and 
a  reader  of  the  newspapers  of  that  day, 
and  kept  himself  well  posted  upon  all 
the  important  events  of  the  times,  both 
from  a  moral  and  political  standpoint. 
In  politics, he  was  decidedly  democratic, 
until  towards  the  latter  part  of  Jack- 
son's administration,  when,  from  moral 
principles,  he  zealously  espoused  the 
anti-slavery  cause,  and  was  known 
as  a  conscientious,  intelligent  voting 
abolitionist  until  his  death,  which  oc- 
curred in  1857.  He  was  also,  from  early 
manhood,  a  strong  advocate  of  the  tem- 
perance cause,  and  taught  his  children 
to  think  for  themselves,  and  ever  dare 
to  do  right.  J.  H.  V.,  his  only  son, 
was  married  Dec.  9,  1839,  to  Susan  De- 
maree,  of  Park  county,  Ind.  She  de- 
parted this  life,  April  8,  1854,  leaving 
two  sons — Alfred  D.  and  James  M.  The 
first  is  now  a  resident  of  Colorado.  The 
second  lost  his  life  in  the  service  of  his 
country,  at  the  age  of  21  years  and  six 
months.  May  9,  1855,  Mr.  YanArsdale 
was  united  in  marriage,  with  Mrs.  Sarah 
S.  Batchelder,  of  Chesterfield,  111.,  and 
by  this  union  there  were  five  children, 
three  daughters  and  two  sons.  They 
are  all  living,  and  qualified,   by  educa- 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


899 


tion  and  association,  to  act  well  their 
part  in  the  drama  of  life,  it'  they  choose 
thus  to  do.  He  has  been,  from  early 
boyhood,  an  earnest  advocate  of  teetotal 
temperance  principles,  and  now,  in  the 
70th  year  of  his  age,  never  has  received, 
or  given,  a  treat  of  intoxicating  liquor 
to  any  person.  He  has  been  a  resident 
of  this  county,  since  Oct.,  1836,  and 
lias  lived  at  his  present  place  of  resi- 
dence, on  Sec.  80,  T.  10,  I!.  10,  since  the 
spring  of  1845.  In  religious  belief  and 
practice,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  VanArsdale  are 
Presbyterian,  and  most  of  their  family 
are  of  the  same  faith.  They  have  ever 
done  what  they  could  to  advance  the 
educational,  and  all  other  elevating  in- 
terests, tending  to  the  elevation  of  the 
community  where  they  reside.  Mr. 
VanArsdale's  first  vote  for  president, 
was  cast  for  Van  Buren,  in  1836;  for 
Harrison,  in  1840;  James  G.  Binney, 
1844;  Martin  Van  Buren,  in  1848;  John 
P.  Hale,  1852;  Col.  J.  C.  Fremont,  1856: 
Abraham  Lincoln,  I860;  and  for  every 
nominee  of  the  Republican  party,  since. 
He  has  held  some  public  offices  of  trust 
and  honor.  He  was  elected  justice  of 
the  peace,  in  1849,  and  held  the  office 
continuously  until  Sept.,  1862,  when  he 
resigned,  to  accept  the  office  of  assist- 
ant assessor  of  this  county,  which  he 
held  until  Oct.,  1866.  He  was,  by  an  ap- 
pointment of  Governor  R.J.  Oglesby,  a 
member  of  the  State  Board  of  Equali- 
zation, for  the  term  of  1867-68.  He 
was  appointed  marshal,  in  187(1,  to  take 
the  national  census,  for  the  east  half  of 
this  county.  He  was  brought  up  on  a 
farm,  and  the  principal  business  of  his 
life,  has  been  in  agricultural  pursuits. 
Samuel  T.  Smith,  a  native  of  Knox 
county,  Tenn.,  was  horn  in  that  state  in 


1844,  he  being  a  son  of  John  T.  ami 
Nancy  (Goldstein)  Smith,  both  of  whom 
were  natives  of  Tennessee.  They  came 
to  Greene  county  in  1864,  and  settled 
in  Linder  township,  where  they  resided 
two  years,  and  then  removed  to  Roek- 
bridge  township,  both  dying  there,  the 
former  in  Sept.,  1866,  and  the  latter  in 
Feb.,  1868.  Samuel  T.  Smith  preceded 
his  parents  in  coming  to  Greene  county, 
having  come  in  Feb.,  1862,  resided  in 
Linder  township,  six  years,  and  then 
removed  to  section  2,  Rockbridge  town- 
ship, where  he  now  resides,  and  is  the 
owner  of  120  acres  of  fine  land.  In 
Nov.,  1864,  he  enlisted  in  the  144th  111. 
Inf.,  and  was  honorably  discharged  one 
year  later.  Samuel  T.  Smith  and 
Patty  Deins,  a  native  of  Leeds,  Eng., 
were  united  in  marriage  in  the  year 
1869.  Their  union  has  been  blessed 
with  three  children — Nellie,  Ralph  and 
Maria.  Mr.  Smith  is  a  member  of  the 
G.  A.  R.,  while  his  wife  is  a  member  of 
the  Presbyterian  church. 

Joseph  Minch,  a  son  of  George  and 
Mary  A.  (Baker)  Minch,  is  a  native  of 
Floyd  county,  Ind.,  having  been  horn 
there,  in  the  year  1843.  George  Minch" 
and  his  wife  were  both  natives  of  Penn- 
sylvania, the  former  having  died  in 
1858,  and  the  latter  in  1869,  both  in 
Kentucky.  Jos.  Minch  attended  school 
and  worked  on  a  farm  until  attaining 
bis  14th  year,  when  he  went  to  New 
Albany  and  learned  the  trade  of  a  car- 
penter. He  served  a  three  years'  ap- 
prenticeship, and  then  went  to  Ken- 
tucky, where  he  followed  steamboat 
carpentering  three  years.  He  then  re- 
ceived a  warrant  as  carpenter  in  the 
United  States  navy,  and  was  detailed 
for  duty  on  the  Mosquito  fleet.     In  1865 


900 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


he  went  td  Missouri,  where  he  remained 
until  1872,  engaged  in  bridge  carpenter- 
ing for  the  Iron  Mountain  R.  R.  Co. 
He  then  came  to  this  state,  worked  at 
his  trade  at  various  points,  then,  in 
1874,  came  to  this  county  and  settled  in 
Rockbridge  township,  where  he  has 
since  resided  and  followed  his  trade. 
Mr.  Minch  is  much  respected  in  the 
neighborhood  in  which  he  resides,  and, 
in  politics,  is  a  republican. 

Charles  F.  James,  a  native  of  Freder- 
ick county,  Va.,  and  a  son  of  Daniel  and 
Ann  James,  was  born  in  the  year  1834. 
He  learned  the  machinist  trade  at 
Harper's  Ferry,  and  when  17  years  of 
age,  went  to  St.  Louis,  Mo.,  and  worked 
at  his  trade.  In  1854  he  came  to  Greene 
county,  111.,  and  settled  in  Rockbridge 
township,  where  he  still  resides.  Aug. 
5,  1858,  he  was  united  in  marriage  with 
Emily  Kirby,  a  native  of  this  county. 
They  were  the  parents  of  two  children — 
Winfield,  who  died  in  July,  1860,  and 
Henry  T.,  who  died  in  January,  1882. 
Mrs.  James  died  Jan.  26,  1870,  and 
Mr.  James  was  again  married,  in  1871, 
1i>  .Martha  Haynes,  widow  of  Thomas 
•Haynes,  and  the  daughter  of  J.  M. 
Washburn  of  this  township.  Sheisthe 
mother  of  one  child,  by  her  former  hus- 
band— Richard  E.  who  is  engaged  in 
farming  in  Rockbridge  township.  Mr. 
James'  father  died  when  C.  F.  was  quite 
young,  and  he  was  left  to  shift  for  him- 
self. He  is  now  the  possessor  of  101 
acres  of  land,  all  improved.  In  politics, 
lie  is  a  republican. 

Win.  M.  Stringer,  a  native  of  Ken- 
tucky, was  born  April  6,  1807,  being  a 
son  of  Elizabeth  Stringer,  now  deceased. 
The  father  died  when  William  was  a 
mere  child.      When  10    years    of    age, 


William  directed  his  footsteps  westward, 
in  company  with  his  uncle,  and  located 
in  Madison  county,  111.,  where,  for  six 
years,  he  was  engaged  on  a  farm.  His 
mother  had  married  a  second  time,  and, 
while  a  resident  here,  he  received  in- 
formation of  the  death  of  his  step-father. 
He  then  returned  to  his  Kentucky  home 
and  took  charge  of  the  home  farm.  He 
was  there  married,  in  1829,  to  Elizabeth 
Joslyn,  a  daughter  of  Elindor  Joslyn. 
In  1829,  William,  in  company  with  his 
mother  and  family,  removed  to  this 
state,  and  settled  in  Scott  county,  near 
Winchester.  In  1833.  he  removed  to 
this  county,  and  one  year  later  entered 
40  acres  of  land  in  Rockbridge  town- 
ship, where  he  built  a  cabin,  and  lived 
the  life  of  a  pioneer  for  a  number  of 
years.  We  cannot  describe  in  detail  the 
hardships  endured  by  Mr.  Stringer, 
but,  suffice  it  to  say,  that  his  present 
competence  was  acquired  by  persistent 
energy.  Eight  children  were  born  to 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Stringer,  two  of  whom  are 
now  living — Leroy  and  Levy,  the  latter 
having  enlisted  at  the  breaking  out  of 
the  war,  and  served  through  the  Rebel- 
lion as  lieutenant. 

Leroy  Stringer,  the  oldest  son  of  Wm. 
M.  and  Elizabeth  (Joslyn)  Stringer,  is  a 
native  of  Greene  county,  111.,  having 
been  born  here  on  the  10th  day  of  Jan., 
1850,  and  has  always  been  a  resident  of 
the  county.  He  was  united  in  mar- 
riage, in  1875,  with  Nancy  Abner,  a  na- 
tive of  this  state.  Their  union  has  been 
blessed  by  two  children — James  Melvin 
and  an  infant,  as  yet  unnamed.  Mr. 
Stringer  received  his  education  in  the 
district  schools  of  his  native  county. 
He,  at  present,  is  the  possessor  of  99 
acres  of  good  land,  all  of  which   is  in  a 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


901 


good  state  of  cultivation,  and  he  carries 
on  genera]  fanning'.  Leroy  is  a  kind, 
genial  gentleman,  and  stands  high  in 
the  community  in  which  lie  was  raised, 
and  now  resides. 

Thomas  Plogger  was  horn  in  Virginia, 
and  was  a  sun  of  John  and  Martha 
(Morris)  Plogger,  both  of  whom  were 
also  natives  of  Virginia.  Thomas  was 
reared  on  a  farm,  and  received  his  edu- 
cation in  the  district  schools  of  his  na- 
tive state.  He  came  to  Greene  county, 
111.,  in  1857,  and  located  on  section  28, 
Rockbridge  township,  where  he  still 
resides,  owns  80  acres  of  land,  and  car- 
ries em  general  farming.  In  1863, 
Thomas  Plogger  and  Mary  Coonrod 
were  united  in  marriage.  By  their  mar- 
riage four  children  were  born  to  them — 
Martha  V.,  wife  of  Edward  Kimbro  of 
Greenfield;  John  H.,  at  home;  Charles 
T.,  died  at  the  age  of  seven  years;  and 
William,  who  died  in  infancy.  Mrs. 
Plogger  died  in  the  month  of  October, 
1S7'_',  ami  Mr.  Plogger  was  again  mar- 
ried in  September,  1874,  to  Sarah  Craw- 
ford, a  native  of  this  state.  By  this 
marriage  they  have  had  five  children 
born  to  them — Oscar,  died  in  infancy; 
Lincoln  died  in  infancy;  Rosa  H.,  How- 
ard and  Virgil  at  home.  Mr.  Plogger 
enlisted  in  the  91st  111.  Inf.  in  August, 
L862,  and  served  his  country  three  years. 
IP-  participated  in  the  siege  of  Mobile, 
Ala.,  but  had  previously  taken  a  part  in 
the  Mississippi  campaign.  He  has  held 
the  offices  of  road  supervisor  and  school 
din. tor  in  his  district,  and  gave  entire 
satisfaction.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Plogger  are 
consistent  members  of  the  M.  E.  church. 
John  Plogger,  the  father  of  our  subject, 
departed  this  life  in  Rockbridge  town- 
ship in  1861,  and  his  wife,   Martha,  fol- 


lowed him  to  the  other  shore  one  year 
later,  and  both  were  deeply  mourned  by 
their  family  and  numerous  friends. 

Moses  Freer,  who  was  born  in  tins 
county  in  1846,  was  a  son  of  Elias  and 
Lucy  A.  (Turwelligar)  Freer,  both  of 
whom  were  natives  of  Ulster  county, 
N.  Y.  They  came  to  Illinois  in  an 
early  day,  and  settled  in  Pike  county, 
where  they  remained  one  year  ami  then 
came  to  Rockbridge  township,  Greene 
county.  Mr.  Freer  remained  a  resident 
of  the  township  up  to  the  time  of  his 
death,  in  1878,  he  having  attained  the 
ripe  old  age  of  78  years.  His  wife  is 
still  living  on  the  old  homestead,  and  is 
now  in  her  68th  year.  Moses  Freer  was 
united  in  marriage,  in  1861,  with  Mar- 
garet Winters,  a  native  of  this  county, 
and  the  daughter  of  William  and  Eliza- 
abeth  (Gilman)  Winters,  of  Linder 
township.  By  their  union  they  have 
been  blessed  with  two  children — Mattie 
E.,  who  was  born  Sept.  :;.  1882,  and 
Minnie  A.,  born  Jan.  1,  1885.  Mr. 
Freer  owns  60  acres  of  land  in  Rock- 
bridge township,  and  carries  mi  general 
farming.     His  postoffice  is  Rockbridge. 

EDUCATIONAL. 

School  district  No.  1,  in  T.  9,  P.  lit, 
had  a  school  taught  during  the  summer 
of  1835  by  James  McFarland,  in  a  lug 
school  house  just  west  of  where  the 
present  school  building  now  stands. 
McFarland,  it  is  said,  came  here  to  see 
a  girl,  and  afterward  went    to   Missouri. 

School  district  No.  2,  in  T.  9,  P.  in, 
has  a  school  building  that  was  put  up 
in  1860,  by  Alexander  Morris,  contrac- 
tor,   for    §400.       The     first    director    heir 

was  I.  M.  P.  Washburn. 

School  district  No.  3,  in  T.  10,  P.  lit, 
has  a  school  house  built  in    1865,  which 


902 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY, 


is  20x26  feet  in  size,  and  which  cost 
$900.  The  first  teacher  in  this  edifice 
was  Samuel  Smith.  The  first  directors 
H  ere  .lames  Cannedy,  L.  J.  Jackson  and 
<!.  W.  Canned}'.  The  present  enroll- 
ment is  about  60,  an  increase  of  30  over 
the  first  term.  The  present  teacher  is 
Jennie  Converse. 

ROCKBRIDGE. 

The  town  of  Rockbridge  is  situated 
upon  the  northwest  quarter  of  Sec.  34, 
in  T.  10,  R.  10,  in  this  civil  sub-division 
of  Greene  count}',  on  the  line  of  the  C, 
B.  »J.  R.  R.,  on  what  has  long  been 
known  as  Taylor's  Prairie. 

In  1826,  a  mill  was  put  up  here,  which 
was  the  first  building  in  this  immediate 
vicinity.  A  history  of  this  mill  is  given 
further  on. 

A  small  settlement  sprang  up  here 
shortly  after  this,  and  a  postoffi.ee  was 
established' in  18-19,  through  the  influ- 
ence of  George  D.  Randle,  the  owner  of 
the  mill. 

About  the  year  1854,  William  Gage 
put  up  a  store  building,  and  put  in  a 
stock  of  general  merchandise,  in  connec- 
tion with  G.  T.  W.  Sheffield,  under  the 
firm  name  of  Gage  &  Sheffield.  Later, 
AY.  H.  Summers  succeeded  this  firm,  in 
the  same  line  of  business.  He  was  suc- 
ceeded in  turn  by  the  various  firms  of 
Valentine  Bros.,  Valentine  &  Bowman 
and  Valentine  &  Son. 

A  lively  business  was  done  here  in 
those  days,  both  at  the  store  and  at  the 
saw  and  grist  mill,  and  the  little  hamlet, 
which  was  about  half  a  mile  southeast 
of  the  present  town,  gained  a  few  in- 
habitants. A  small  settlement  also 
sprang  up  about  half  a  mile  west  of  the 
village  which  was   familiarly  known  as 


Dublin, but  it  contained  but  a  few  houses 
at  the  most. 

The  real  growth  of  the  town  of  Rock- 
bridge, however, dates  from  the  comple- 
tion of  the  railroad  in  1870.  In  that 
year,  what  was  then  known  as  the  R., 
R.  I  &  St.  L.  R.  R.,  now  a  division  of 
the  C.  B.  &  Q.,  was  constructed  to  this 
point,  and  in  the  spring  of  1871,  a  town 
was  laid  out  by  Sheffield  &  Hudson, 
about  a  half  mile  from  the  old  settle- 
ment, which  was  called  Sheffield,  after 
G.  T.  W.  Sheffield,  one  of  the  proprie- 
tors. This  name  it  retained  until  the 
railroad  came  under  the  control  of  the 
C.  R.  &  Q.  Ry.  Co.,  when  they  changed 
the  name  to  Rockbridge,  the  name  of 
the  postoffice,  which  had  remained  un- 
altered. 

Three  additions  have  been  made  to 
the  town  since  the  first  survey, one  each 
by  L.  F.Williams,  James  Valentine  and 
Isaac  Brunei-,  the  latter  being  platted 
in  1S77.  The  first  house  in  the  new 
town  was  erected  by  James  Valentine. 
This  was  a  store  building,  in  which  he 
opened  a  miscellaneous  stock  of  goods, 
thereby  being  the  pioneer  merchant,  of 
the  incipient  town.  He  also  erected  a 
grain  warehouse,  which  he  operated,  as 
well  as  laid  in  a  stock  of  lumber,  being 
the  pioneer  in  both  these  branches  of 
trade.  Others  now  began  to  come  in  and 
the  little  burg  began  to  wear  a  business 
look,  and  grew  to  be  quite  a  lively  place. 
The  population  now  is  about  -'KID.  It  is 
incorporated  as  a  village. 

The  first  school  house  in  the  town 
was  erected  in  1874,  the  first  teacher 
being  John  Howell,  of  Brighton,  Ma- 
coupin county.  The  building  is  32x42 
feet  in  size,  and  was  put  up  and  finished 
at    a    cost   of    about   §2,500,    by   R.    T. 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY 


903 


Dawson,  contractor.  The  present  teach- 
ers are  James  Jackson  and  Alice  Wil- 
liams. 

There  are  two  church  buildings  in  the 
hamlet,  Baptist  and  Catholic;  but  four 
denominations  are  represented,  Presby- 
terian and  Methodist  in  additon  to  those 
named  above. 

The  lumber  yard  of  Kinder  &  Saun- 
ders, was  established  by  James  Valen- 
tine, in  1870.  He  carried  a  stock  of 
about  $2,000,  and  ran  it  in  connection 
with  his  store  and  grain  business.  For 
12  years  he  operated  this  business,  but, 
in  1882,  he  disposed  of  it  to  C.  G.  Ed- 
wards, but  in  about  two  years,  the  latter 
sold  out  to  the  present  proprietors. 

The  drug  firm  of  Jacob  Keeley  &  Co., 
was  established  Jan.  1,  1874,  by  J.  II. 
Gray  &  Co.,  Mr.  Keeley  being  the  jun- 
ior partner.  In  July,  1875,  Dr.  A.  E. 
Miller  purchased  the  interest  of  Mr. 
Gray,  and  this  firm  carried  on  the  busi- 
ness. Jacob  Keeley  was  murdered  in 
the  summer  of  1885. 

Henry  C.  Dawson  is  engaged  in  the 
sale  of  cigars,  tobacco  and  notions,  in 
the  postoftice  building,  he  being  assist- 
ant postmaster. 

Henry  Clinton  Dawson,  one  of  the 
most  enterprising  young  merchants  of 
Rockbridge,  is  a  native  of  Morgan 
county,  W.  Va.,  having  been  born  there 
on  the  19th  of  March,  1857.  He  is  a 
son  of  Nathan  and  Samantha  (Speilman  ) 
Dawson.  Henry  remained  in  his  native 
state  until  he  attained  his  13th  year, 
when,  with  his  parents,  he  came  to 
Fayette,  Greene  county,  111.,  where  he 
resided  until  1876.  Then  his  parents 
removed  to  Rockbridge,  where  they 
still  reside.  Nathan  Dawson  has  been 
engaged    in    blacksmithing,    and    also 


learned  the  trade  of  a  millwright,  which 
he  also  followed.  Henry  Clinton  Daw- 
son received  his  education  in  the  schools 
of  Fayette  and  Rockbridge.  He  was 
united  in  marriage.  Oct.  25,  1881,  with 
Edna  B.  Blodgett,  a  daughter  of  Milo 
R.  and  Permelia  Blodgett.  They  have 
been  blessed  with  one  child — Milo  Ray. 
who  was  burn  Nov.  9,  1883.  Mr.  Daw- 
son is  at  present  assistant  postmaster, 
and  is  engaged  in  the  notion  trade  in 
the  postoffice  building,  and  also  carries 
a  line  of  cigars  and  tobacco,  in  which  he 
does  a  good  trade. 

POSTOFFICE. 

In  the  year  1841),  through  the  in- 
fluence of  George  D.  Randle,  the  owner 
of  the  mill,  at  the  old  town,  a  postoffice 
was  established  at  that  point,  called 
Rockbridge,  and  Mr.  Randle  com- 
missioned as  postmaster.  He  kept  the 
office  at  his  dwelling  house,  a  large  log 
cabin,  which  still  stands  near  the  mill. 
In  1853  or  1854,  William  Gage  became 
the  postmaster,  and  removed  the  office 
to  his  store.  He  was  succeeded  by  Wil- 
liam H.  Summers,  and  he  by  J.  H. 
Valentine,  and  in  1J573,  Milo  R.  Blod- 
gett, the  present  postmaster  entered 
upon  the  duties  of  the  office,  and  has 
retained  it  ever  since.  When  the  new 
town  was  laid  out  the  office  was  moved 
here,  but  the  name  continued  the  same, 
and  has  finally  given  its  name  to  the 
town. 

Milo  R.  Blodgett,  a  son  of  Darius, 
and  Mary  i  Withey  I  Blodgett,  was  horn 
Fill.  11,  1832,  in  Monroe,  N.  H.,  where 
he  resided  with  his  parents  until  reach- 
ing his  25th  year,  when  he  was  married 
to  Amelia  W.  Wood,  lie  followed  agri- 
cultural pursuits  until  1862,  when  he 
went  to  Vermont  and  engaged  in  mer- 


904 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


chandising.  Two  years  later  he  came 
to  Brighton,  111.,  and  in  1SG7,  to  Rock- 
bridge, this  county,  where  he  engaged 
in  business.  This  business  he  con- 
ducted until  1885,  with  different  part- 
ners, and  then  made  an  assignment. 
At  present,  Mr.  Blodgett  is  the  post- 
master at  Rockbridge.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
B.  have  one  child — Edna  B.,  who  is  the 
wife  of  H.  C.  Dawson 

SECRET    SO(  [ETIES. 

Goldeu  Rule  lodge,  No.  1017,  K.  of 
H.,  was  organized  April  4,  1878,  by  J.  B. 
Booker,  with  the  following  charter  mem- 
bers :  W.  P.  Baehelder,  J.  H.  Valen- 
tine, 1!.  T.  I  )a\vs. m,  W.  J.  Moore,  M.  R. 
Blodgett,  <i.  M.  Kinder,  Dr.  E.  Wilson, 
W.  L.  Spear,  ('.  A.  Dannels,  D.  R. 
Coleman  and  W.  B.  Abrams.  The  first 
officers  were  duly  elected  and  installed; 
they  were  the  following:  Dr.  E.  Wil- 
son, D.;  I).  R.  Coleman,  V.  D.;  W.  1'. 
Baehelder,  P.  D.;  M.  R.  Blodgett,  A. 
D.;  J.  H.  Valentine,  P.;  W.  B.  Abrams, 
F.  R.;  G.  M.  Cannedy,  T.;  Wiley  J. 
Moore,  C;  W.  L.  Spear,  G.;  P.  T.  Daw- 
son, Gn.;  C.  0.  Dannels,  S.;  J.  II.  Val- 
entine, Dr.  E.  Wilson  and  D.  R.  Cole- 
man, trustees.  The  present  membership 
is  21,  and  the  lodge  is  in  a  fair  condition, 
meeting  twice  a  month.  The  present 
officers  are  as  follows  :  P.  T.  Dawson, 
D.;  Isaac  Brunei',  V.  D.;  G.  W.  Taylor, 
A.  D.;  H.C.Dawson,  P.;  Dr.  E.Wil- 
son, F.  R.;  M.  R.  Blodgett,  T.;  James 
Huff,  C;  John  Lahr,  G.;  John  Wag- 
goner, I  In.;  X.  L.  Dawson,  S. 

Rockbridge  lodge,  No.  688,  I.  O.  0. 
F.,  was  organized  in  1881,  by  A.  D. 
Sanders  and  J.  S.  C'arr,  with  the  follow- 
ing charter  members  :  Levi  Stringer, 
Frank  Witt,   James  F.  Cannedy,   P.  B. 


Rhoads  and  John  Eggleston.  The  first 
officers  were:  P.  B.  Rhoads,  N.  G.; 
John  Eggleston,  V.  G.;  James  F.  Can- 
nedy, S.;  Levi  Stringer,  T.  The  pres- 
ent membership  is  about  22,  and  much 
interest  is  taken  in  the  workings  of  the 
order.  Financially  the  lodge  is  in  ex- 
cellent condition.  Meetings  are  held  in 
the  town  hall.  The  present  officers  are 
as  follows  :  W.  B.  Osborne,  N.  C;  G. 
Osborne,  V.  G.;  J.  M.  Clark,  S.;  John 
II .  Varble,  T. 

Sheffield  lodge,  No.  678,  A.  F.  and  A. 
M.,  was  instituted  April  4,  1871,  with 
the  following  charter  members — W .  M. 
Rhoads,  Albert  Bowman,  G.  D.  Hudson, 
A.  E.  Miller,  Colin  Keating,  Thomas 
Lawrence,  James  Valentine,  Daniel 
Bowman,  Vilas  L.Dodge,  J.  C.  Daniels, 
Isaac  VanMeter,  J.  H.  Rives,  Hiram 
Dixon,  John  Taylor,  E.  S.  Valentine, 
William  Turner,  B.  F.  Edwards,  and 
Jesse  Robards.  The  lodge  has  prospered 
since  its  organization,  and  now  own  their 
hall,  which  is  located  in  the  second 
story  of  Keeley's  drug  store.  There 
are  now  23  members.  The  first  officers 
were  the  following  named — W.  M. 
Rhoads,  W.  M;  Albert  Bowman,  S.  W.; 
G.  I).  Hudson,  J.  W.;  J.  H.  Valentine, 
S.;  Dr.  D.  Bowman,  T.;  A.  E.  Miller, 
S.  D.;  Colin  Keating,  J.  D.;  Thomas 
Lawrence,  tyler.  The  present  officers 
are  W.  L.  Spear,  W.  M.;  Hiram  Dixon, 
S.  W.;  J.  M.  Clark,  J.  \\\;  James  Dow- 
dall,  T.;  W.  M.  Rhoads.  S.;  A.  E.  Mil- 
ler, S.  D.;  Jacob  Keeley.  J.  D.;  Charles 
Weave!",  tyler;  and  William  Allen  and 
Allen  Taylor,  stewards. 

0THEF,    PROMINENT  PEOPLE. 

Hiram  Dixon,  a  native  of  this  county, 
was  born  June  9,    1835,  being  a   son  of 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


905 


Solomon  and  Sallie  (Burger)  Dixon, 
both  of  whom  wore  natives  of  Tennessee. 
Hiram  was  reared  to  agricultural  pur- 
suits, which  he  followed  until  February, 
1884,  when  he  removed  to  tbe  village  of 
Rockbridge,  where  he  now  bads  a  re- 
tired life.  In  1854,  he  was  united  in 
marriage  with  Nancy  Stevens,  a  native 
of  this  county.  They  have  been  blessed 
with  seven  children,  six  of  whom  are 
now  living — Henry  J.,  Sarah  V.,  wife 
of  Thomas  Cannedy;  Luella  J.,  wife  of 
James  Archer;  Adolphus,  Lecoq,  Floy 
E.  and  Meade.  One  child,  Adrienne  R., 
departed  this  life  in  April.  1869,  aged 
three  years.  Mrs.  Dixon  is  a  daughter 
of  Isaiah  Stevens,  a  native  of  Greene 
county,  and  he  is  a  son  of  John  Stc\  ens, 
one  of  the  early  settlers  of  the  county. 
At  the  age  of  eight  years,  Mr.  Dixon 
started  in  life  for  himself,  bis  mother 
having  died  at  that  time.  He  is  now 
the  owner  of  440  acres  of  land,  200  of 
which  he  himself  cleared,  and  be  it  said 
to  bis  credit  that  his  present  competence 
was  gained  by  honest  toil  and  good  man- 
agement. At  present  he  is  a  member  of 
the  board  of  supervisors,  as  he  is  also  of 
the  town  board  of  Rockbridge.  While 
engaged  in  active  farm  work,  Mr.  Dixon 
also  carried  on  stock  raising.  He  has 
always  been  a  strong  advocate  of  tem- 
perance, and  has  gained  a  reputation  for 
honest  dealing  of  which  he  may  well  be 
proud.  He  is  a  member  of  the  A.  F.  & 
A.  M.,  while  his  wife  is  a  member  of 
the  Baptist  church.  The  father  of  Mr. 
Dixon  departed  this  live  in  1872,  in 
Kansas. 

Henry  Jefferson  Dixon,  a  native  of 
McMinn  county,  Tenn.,  was  born  Oct. 
1,  1823,  and  is  a  son  of  Solomon  and 
Sarah  (Burger)   Dixon,  both   natives   of 


Tennessee.  With  his  parents,  Henry 
came  to  Greene  county,  111.,  in  1829, 
and  located  one  mile  west  of  Fayette, 
in  Rockbridge  township,  and  has  ever 
since  resided  in  the  township.  At  the 
age  of  16  years,  he  began  blacksmithing, 
and,  in  connection  with  fanning,  worked 
at  his  trade  from  1839  to  1866,  when  he 
sold  his  business.  Henry  J.  Dixon  and 
Margaret  Allen,  a  native  of  this  county, 
and  the  daughter  of  Benjamin  Allen, 
were  united  in  marriage  in  the  year 
1848.  By  their  union  they  have  been 
blessed  with  seven  children,  two  of 
whom  are  now  living — Clark,  born  Feb. 
1,  1861;  and  Benjamin  F.,born  Dec.  26, 
1870,  both  now  living  at  home.  Of  the 
five  deceased — John  H.,  died  Feb.  23, 
1858. aged  four  years;  an  unnamed  infant; 
Sarah,  born  June  6,  1849,  married  Isaac 
Hardin,  and  died  April  2.:.  1885;  Al- 
bert, born  Feb.  7,  1864,  died  Feb.  2, 
1882.  Mr.  Dixon  owns  100 acres  of  im- 
proved land  in  Rockbridge  township, 
but  now  leads  a  retired  life.  The  cosl 
of  improvements  on  his  land  are:  house 
$1,200,  barn  $500.  For  a  man  of  his 
age,  Mr.  Dixon  enjoys  remarkable 
health.  At  present  he  resides  in  the 
village  of  Rockbridge,  and  is  much  re- 
spected by  his  friends  and  acquaint- 
ances. 

GREENFIELD. 

Scarcely  more  than  a  half  century  ago, 

this  beautiful  land,  now  teeming  with 
life  and  animation,  and  dotted  all  over 
with  the  happy  homes  and  busy  work- 
shops of  an  intelligent,  wealthy  and 
prosperous  people;  these  noble  wood- 
lands and  prairies  that  have  so  often 
rang  beneath  tbe  strokes  of  the  wood- 
man's axe,  or  the  rattle  of  the  mower; 
and  that  have  echoed  the  clear,  joyous 


906 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


shouts  of  happy  childhood,  were  a  part 
of  a  vast  wilderness,  the  heme  only  of 
wild  animals,  and  still  wilder  savages; 
who  challenged  the  advance  of  civiliza- 
tion at  every  step.  Yet  early  in  that 
day  was  heard — 

"The  tread  of  pioneers 
Of  nations  yet  to  be;" 
And  a  small  hamlet  sprang  up;  true,  a 
feeble  spark  at  first,  but  soon  by  the 
tide  of  immigration  swelled,  branching 
out  into  one  of  the  fairest  of  Greene 
county's  children. 

While  there  may  have  been  nothing 
abnormal  or  wonderful  in  the  develop- 
ment of  the  past,  or  nothing  particu- 
larly striking  in  the  present,  still  there 
is  much  that  cannot  fail  to  be  of  interest 
to  those  who  have  been  closely  con- 
nected and  identified  with  Greenfield  in 
all  the  various  changes  which  have  oc- 
curred from  year  to  year.  To  those  who 
have  watched  its  course  since  first  it  as- 
sumed a  shape,  until  the  present  time, 
the  accomplishment  of  bygone  days 
would  seem  almost  a  herculean  task, 
but  they  are  the  result,  the  certain  and 
sure  result,  of  an  advanced  state  of  civ- 
ilization, aided  by  foresight  and  indefa- 
tigable labor. 

Greenfield,  the  center  of  the  most  of 
trade  of  this  part  of  the  county,  is  situ- 
ated upon  Sec.  4,  of  T.  10,  R.  10,  and 
Sec.  33,  T.  11,  R.  10.  It  was  laid  out 
in  the  fall  of  1834,  by  George  W.  Allen, 
the  plat  being  filed  for  record  on  the  5th 
of  December,  of  that  year.  It  is  con- 
nected by  rail  with  all  the  centers  of 
of  commerce,  which  affords  most  excel- 
lent marketing  facilities.  The  town  is 
surrounded  by  some  of  the  finest  and 
most  productive  agricultural  and  stock- 
raising  lands  in  this  part  of  the  state, 


which  is  a  guarantee  of  a  permanent  and 
ever  increasing  trade.  It  is  laid  out  mi 
the  public  square  plan,  around  which 
are  to  be  seen  many  substantial  brick 
business  structures,  and  the  town  site 
is  dotted  all  over  with  fine  dwellings 
and  cottages,  many  of  them  costly  and 
of  considerable  architectural  preten- 
tions. There  are  some  very  fine  church 
buildings,  and  an  elegant  edifice  for 
educational  purposes.  The  location  is 
exceedingly  healthy,  and  the  society  of 
the  most  refined  and  desirable  character. 
As  an  evidence  of  this,  it  might  be  well 
to  chronicle  the  fact  that  in  all  these  long 
years  of  Greenfield's  history,  it  has 
never  sustained  one  saloon,  or  drinking 
place,  being  a  strictly  prohibition  town. 

EARLY     DAYS. 

In  1830,  Stephen  Hand  located  on  the 
site  of  the  present  town,  and  began  the 
erection  of  a  house,  but  for  some  un- 
known reason,  sold  out,  before  it  was 
finished,  to  James  Cannedy.  This  gen- 
tleman completed  the  rude  habitation. 
and,  with  his  family,  lived  through  that 
terrible  winter  of  the  deep  snow.  They 
were  the  first  residents  of  the  future 
town.  In  the  autumn  of  1831,  Mr. 
Cannedy  sold  out  to  George  W.  Allen, 
and  moved  back  to  Tennessee.  In 
March,  1832,  Mr.  Allen  moved  his  fam- 
ily from  near  where  White  Hall  now 
stands,  to  this  place.  In  a  short  time, 
Mr.  Allen  was  joined  by  the  Rev.  Amos 
Prentice,  his  brother-in-law,  with  whom 
he  opened  the  first  store  in  the  place. 
This  stock  was  kept  in  an  L,  built  on  to 
his  residence,  which  stood  about  where 
the  Masonic  hall  now  stands.  The 
stock  was  of  the  usual  miscellaneous 
character,  found  in  these  pioneer  stores. 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


The  goods  were  brought  from  Alton,  by 
teams.  He  kept  the  postoffice  in  this 
building.  Hecontinuedto  run  this  store 
for  a  few  years,  but  on  account  of  the 
depressed  state  of  the  country,  conse- 
quent upon  the  panic  of  1837,  he  was 
compelled  to  make  an  assignment,  early 
in  1838.  A  biographical  sketch  of  this 
honored  pioneer  is  inserted   elsewhere. 

In  1834,  William  Caldwell  and  fam- 
ily arrived,  and  occupied,  for  a  time,  a 
house  on  the  northwest  corner  of  the 
square,  where  he  erected  a  dwelling,  and 
moved  into  it.  where  he  lived  until  over- 
taken by  death,  some  years  since. 

During  this  year,  1834,  Samuel  B. 
Culp,  afterward  pastor  of  the  Hickory 
Grove  Baptist  church  for  several  years, 
also  took  up  his  residence  in  the  em- 
bryo  town,  and  opened  a  tailor  shop, 
the  first  in  the  place,  occupying  a  room 
over  Allen's  store.  Greater  induce- 
ments being  offered  at  Rivesville,  he 
removed  to  that  place  the  following 
year. 

The  winter  of  1835-6  brought  to  the 
little  hamlet  some  three  or  four  who 
have  figured  somewhat  conspicuously  in 
its  subsequent  history;  therefore  a  brief 
notice  of  these,  in  this  connection,  would 
he  pertinent. 

Benjamin  King,  then  a  young  man, 
was  the  first  to  arrive  in  the  fall  of  1835, 
from  Kentucky,  and  occupied  a  place  in 
the  store  of  Mr.  Allen  for  a  few  years. 
He  afterward  retired,  choosing  the  life 
of  a  farmer,  and  also  discharged  mani- 
fold duties  in  church  and  state,  in  after 
years,  which  a  confiding  public  imposed 
upon  him. 

About  the  same  time  Martin  A. 
Cooper,  then  a  young  and  unmarried 
man,  arrived  from  Tennessee,  and   was 


the  first  representative  of  the  medical 
profession  at  this  point.  He  was  aided 
in  the  erection  of  a  small  cabin  12x14 
feet,  and  shortly  afterward  returned  to 
Tennessee,  where  he  was  married.  He 
practiced  in  Greenfield  for  many  years 
u  it  b  success,  having  no  permanent  com- 
petitor until  about  the  year  1852. 

Another  notable  personage  who,  dur- 
ing his  sojourn  of  seventeen  years  in 
Greenfield,  failed  not  to  leave  his 
impress  upon  persons  and  things,  was 
Richard  M.  Booker,  who  came  in  the  fall 
of  1835.  After  teaching  school  for  three 
months,  he  embarked  in  the  general 
merchandise  business  the  following 
spring,  in  a  building  erected  by  Robert 
II.  Maxfield.  Aiming  to  become  the 
millionaire  of  this  meridian,  he  left  no 
means  untried  to  accomplish  his  pur- 
pose, and  so  sxiccessful  was  lie  in  this, 
that  after  prosecuting  his  business  for 
17  years  with  that  iron,  indomitable  en- 
ergy which  knows  no  failure,  after  a 
brief  illness  of  one  week,  lie  passed  over 
to  the  great  majority,  on  the  24th  day 
of  February.  rS53,  leaving  his  family  a 
snug  fortune  of  $60,000,  to  lie  mostly 
spent,  however,  in  less  than  half  the 
time  he  was  acquiring  it. 

In  1837  or  1838,  Joseph  Atterbury 
built  a  small  cabin  on  the  site  of  the  pres- 
ent Tremont  House,  but  a  year  or  so 
afterwards  disposed  of  it  to  George  W. 
Allen.  As  this  building  and  site  has 
long  been  used  for  hotel  purposes  in 
Greenfield,  it  is  noticed  at  length  fur- 
ther on,  under  the  caption  of  hotels. 

June,  1838,  has  been  rendered  mem- 
orable for  the  most  terrible  and  destruc- 
tive hail  storm  ever  witnessed  in  the 
history  of  this  region.  Swine,  sheep 
and  fowls  without  number  were   killed, 


908 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY, 


buildings  badly  damaged,  and  many 
other  injuries  done  in  the  sudden  de- 
scent of  these  aerial  missiles,  some  six 
of  which  weighed,  the  following  day, 
seven  pounds  and  two  ounces,  while 
others  were  found  to  measure  17  and  18 
inches  in  circumference. 

In  Primary  following  this  avalanche 
from  the  heavens,  Joseph  Hartsook,  the 
pioneer  carpenter  and  cabinet  maker, 
originally  from  Virginia,  made  his  ap- 
pearance with  his  family,  and  occupied 
for  a  season  a  small  residence  on  the 
northwest  corner  of  the  public  square. 
A  residence  for  Dr.  M.  A.  Cooper  was 
about  the  first  dwelling  he  erected,  in 
1840.  To  furnish  himself  with  lumber 
for  contracts,  he  also  constructed  the 
first  whip-saw  machine  used  in  this 
place,  which  rendered  good  services  for 
al  years.  Messrs.  Woolley,  Speaks 
&  Heaton  were  immediate  successors  in 
this  vocation. 

During  the  year  1844,  Norman  C. 
Woolley,  James  Hall  and  Isaac  R. 
Ostrom  came,  the  latter  locating  upon 
land  half  a  mile  west  of  town.  But  not 
confining  his  attention  strictly  to  agri- 
cultural pursuits,  he  soon  afterward 
constructed  the  first  circular  saw-mill  in 
this  vicinity,  a  valuable  accession  to 
the  industries  at  this  point,  furnishing 
as  it  did  a  sufficiency  of  all  the  lumber 
that  could  be  manufactured.  Super- 
added to  this,  Joseph  Hartsook  and 
Edwin  Johnson  put  in  operation  the 
same  year,  1845,  the  first  turning  lathe 
for  the  manufacture  of  bedsteads,  etc. 
Under  the  operation  of  these  increased 
facilities  for  manufacture,  the  incipient 
village  wore  the  appearance  of  greater 
vitality  and  prosperity.  But  the  latter 
firm  diil    not    operate   their   enterprise 


long,  for  within  the  same  year  they 
transferred  their  interest  in  it  to  X.  (.'. 
Woolley  and  William  Speaks,  who,  as 
already  noted,  succeeded  Mr.  Hartsook 
as  carpenters  and  cabinet  makers,  and 
who  turned  it  to  great  practical  utility 
in  the  prosecution  of  their  business  in 
these  directions.  As  an  evidence  of  this 
it  may  here  be  stated  that  the  new  firm 
built,  or  aided  in  building,  most  of  the 
structures  which  were  erected  here  from 
1846  to  1852.  Notably  among  them 
were  Sheffield's  first  residence,  the  early 
palace  of  the  town,  Booker's  house, 
Wilhite's  frame  store,  Edwin  Woolley's 
old  home,  the  Temperance  hall,  Mr. 
Wahl's  resilience,  the  old  seminary,  the 
Union  church,  alias  the  town  hall,  Pro- 
fessor Wilder's  dwelling,  etc.  After 
continuing  a  few  years,  this  firm  dis- 
solved, each  going  in  the  direction  of  his 
inclination  and  interests. 

With  the  foregoing,  the  pioneer  days 
of  the  town  of  Greenfield  may  be  con- 
sidered to  have  passed  away.  Still, 
their  names  are  legion  who  settled  at  a 
later  date,  and  who  have  been  promi- 
nent in  the  history  of  the  growth  and 
development  of  the  place,  and  it  would 
be  unjust  and  improper  to  ignore  these 
strides  forward  by  an  advanced  state  of 
civilization;  therefore  we  append  a  care- 
fully prepared  review  of  Greenfield  to- 
day and  its 

PRESENT     BUSINE8S. 

One  of  the  leading  establishments  in 
Greenfield  is  the  dry  goods  store  of  J. 
11.  Rives,  which  commenced  business, 
May  18,  1882,  in  a  building  erected  for 
the  purpose. 

The  dry  goods  house  now  operated  by 
Metcalf  &  Smith,  was  established,  in 
1879,    by    E.    P.    Metcalf.      Two    years 


HISTORY   OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


909 


later  the  firm  became  MetcaU  &  Wood- 
cock, but  in  1883,  the  latter  gentleman 
retired,  leaving  Mr.  Metcalf  to  run  the 
place  alone,  which  he  did  until  Jan.  1, 
1885,  when  the  present  firm  wasformed. 
John  F.  Collins,  after  leaving  the 
army,  where  hi' served  as  1st  lieutenant, 
on  Jan.  1,  1865,  formed  a  copartnership 
with  E.  Woolley,  under  the  firm  name 
of  Woolley  A:  Collins,  and  buying  the 
stock  nf  Cooper  it  Kinkead,  did  a  busi- 
ness of  about  $20,000  a  year  for  three 
years,  dealing  in  dry  goods,  clothing, 
boots,  shoes,  etc.  <  >n  the  1st  of  Jan., 
1867,  he  sold  his  interest  to  E.  L. 
Cooper,  and  retired. 

John  F.  Collins,  dealer  in  dry  g Is, 

clothing,  etc.,  commenced  buriness  in 
May,  1867,  at  this  point,  in  connection 
with  G.  T.  W.  Sheffield,  under  the  firm 
name  of  Sheffield  &  Collins.  This  part- 
nership endured  until  1874,  when  Jasper 
Johnson  succeeded  Mr.  Sheffield.  Un- 
der the  firm  name  of  CollinsA  Johnson, 
the  business  was  transacted  until  Sept., 
1876,  when  Mr.  Collins  purchased  the 
interest  of  Mr.  Johnson. 

J.  B.  Brodmarkle,  dealer  in  general 
hardware,  farm  machinery,  etc.,  com- 
menced this  business  by  putting  in  a 
stock  of  agricultural  implements,  in 
connection  with  his blacksmithing  busi- 
ness. In  Jan.,  1871,  he  added  hard- 
ware, all  of  which  lines  he  carried  on 
until  Jan.,  1882,  when  he  gave  up  his 
labors  at  the  forge,  giving  his  attention 
to  his  other  business,  in  which  he  has 
secured  a  liberal  patronage. 

John  B.  Brodmarkle,  one  of  the  busi- 
iriess  men  of  Greenfield,  was  horn  April 
2,  1836,  in    Alleghany  county,  Md.,  his 

parents  being  John  and  Ellen  (Beall) 
Brodmarkle.     His   father  was  born  in 


Alleghany   county,    Md.,  Jan.  18,  1804, 

and  was  of  German  extraction.  His 
mother  was  born  at  the  same  place,  in 
1811,  and  was  of  Scotch  descent.  His 
grandfather  was  a  soldier  in  the  British 
army,  and  settled  in  Maryland,  where 
he  died.  In  1839,  his  father  left  Mary- 
land for  Illinois,  and  on  arriving  here, 
settled  in  what  is  now  Wrights  township, 
where  he  resided  until  1848,  when  he 
went  to  Scott  county,  remaining  there 
until  the  spring  of  1850.  He  then  de- 
cided to  go  to  California,  hut  only  went 
as  far  as  St.  Joseph,  Mo.,  and  while 
making  the  return  trip  to  Greene  coun- 
ty, was  drowned  while  crossing  the 
Mississippi,  at  St.  Louis,  Dec.  25,  1850. 
His  wife  had  died  Jan.  18,  1842.  They 
raised  a  family  of  three  children,  of 
whom  John  B.  was  the  second.  He 
grew  to  manhood  in  this  county,  receiv- 
ing a  common  school  education.  He 
learned  the  trade  of  blacksmithing, 
which  he  followed  until  1882.  March 
25,  1858,  lo/  was  married  to  Eliza  Lee, 
born  in  Monroe  county,  111.,  Dec.  21, 
1840.  By  this  union  there  are  three 
children— J.  Ed.  born  Jan.  29,  1860;  Liz- 
zie Lea,  born  Jan.  30,  1865;  Ellen  Love, 
born  June  26,  1871.  J.  Ed  received  his 
education  at  the  Greenfield  high  school, 
and  during  the  year  1878,  he  took 
Horace  Greeley's  advice  and  went  west, 
locating  in  Kansas.  He,  however,  re- 
turned to  the  parental  roof  after  a  period 
of  two  years.  In  1881,  he  engaged  in 
business  with  his  father,  where  he  slill 
continues.  On  the  28th  of  Oct.,  1885, 
J.  Ed  Brodmarkle,  of  Greenfield,  and 
Mae  Worcester  were  united  in  marriage, 
at  the  residence  of  her  father.  F.  A. 
Worcester,  of  Apple  Creek  Prairie,  tin' 
ceremony   being  performed  by  Rev.  D. 


910 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


R.  Thompson,  of  White  Hall.  Mr. 
Brodmarkle,  Jr.,  is  a   charter  member 

of  the  K.  of  P.  lodge,  and  is  a  member 
of  the  orchestra  and  hand  here.  Lizzie 
Lea  is  a  graduate  of  1883,  from  the  city 
high  school,  and  is  now  occupying  a 
position  as  teacher  in  that  school,  this 
being  her  second  term.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Brodmarkle  are  members  in  good  stand- 
ing of  the  M.  E.  church.  Mr.  Brod- 
markle is  now  engaged  in  the  gen- 
eral hardware  and  machinery  busi- 
ness, mentioned  above.  In  politics 
he  is  a  republican,  and  he  has  held 
positions  of  trust  both  in  the  township 
and  city.  He  is  a  member  in  good 
standing  of  both  the  Masonic  and  I.  0. 
O.  F.  societies.  Mr.  Brodmarkle  is 
one  of  Greenfield's  most  enterprising 
citizens,  and  takes  an  interest  in  every- 
thing which  he  deems  beneficial  to  the 
city,  or  community  residing  therein, 
and  is  an  energetic  and  prosperous  busi- 
ness gentleman. 

The  hardware  firm  of  Callaway  & 
Metcalf  commenced  business  Jan.  1, 
1881,  under  the  name  and  style  of  Cal- 
laway, Metcalf  &  Woolley,  which  was 
composed  of  J.  T.  Callaway,  E.  K.  Met- 
calf and  N.  C.  Woolley.  The}' remained 
in  partnership  until  Jan.  1,  1884,  when 
Mr.  Woolley  disposed  of  his  interest  to 
bis  partners,  and  the  firm  became  Calla- 
way &  Metcalf,  which  it  has  since  re- 
mained. They  are  also  the  agents  for 
the  U.  8.  Express  Company,  which 
agency  was  established  here  in  1883. 

The  hardware,  stove  and  tinware  es- 
tablishment of  Jackson  Drennan  was 
purchased  by  him  in  1865,  at  the  close 
of  the  war,  and  has  been  run  by  him 
ever  since. 

Piper  &  Woolley   deal    in  hardware, 


groceries,  queensware,  etc.  In  1877, 
John  W.  Piper  commenced  this  business 
and  ran  it  alone  until  April  1,  1879, 
when  he  removed  his  stock  to  a  new  lo- 
cation and  admitted  his  brother,  Benja- 
min F.,  as  a  partner.  The  latter  was 
in  the  grocery  business,  and  thus  the 
stocks  were  united.  January  1,  1882, 
Emmet  D.  Woolley  purchased  the  in- 
terest of  B.  F.,  and  the  present  firm 
was  formed. 

G.  B.  Metcalf,  dealer  in  groceries, 
etc.,  commenced  business  in  May,  1871, 
in  a  frame  building  on  the  south  side  of 
the  public  square,  built  for  the  purpose, 
in  company  with  W.  T.  Saxton.  They 
put  in  a  stock  of  groceries,  Mr.  Metcalf 
owning  the  building.  They  remained 
in  partnership  until  Oct.  2,  1872,  when 
C.  H.  Hammott  purchased  the  interest 
of  Saxton.  After  about  three  years,  R. 
L.  Metcalf  purchased  a  half  interest, 
but  two  years  after  sold  to  his  brother, 
E.  K.  Metcalf.  This  firm  remained  in 
business  until  1880,  when  G.  B.  Metcalf 
purchased  an  interest  in  the  business, 
which  he  has  operated  ever  since.  In 
the  summer  of  1882,  Mr.  Metcalf  moved 
the  old  building  and  erected  a  fine  brick 
building,  18x90  feet  in  size,  into  which 
he  moved.  The  two  other  store  rooms 
were  built  at  the  same  time,  making  a 
very  handsome  block.  These  were 
built  by  Belknap  &  Metcalf,  dry  goods, 
and  J.  Reeves,  also  dry  goods. 

The  grocery  house  of  Secor  &  Cato  is 
also  a  representative  of  that  line  of  trade 
in  this  place. 

J.  Howard  Cray,  dealer  in  drugs, 
books  and  jewelry,  established  this 
place  in  1859,  and  has  continued  the 
business  ever  since.  His  salesroom  is 
20x104  feet  in  size. 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


911 


Cooper  &  Weisner  commenced  the 
drug  business  on  the  southeast  corner  of 
the  square  in  February,  1883.  In  Feb- 
ruary, 1885,  they  removed  to  their  pres- 
ent quarters.  The  firm  is  composed  of 
John  M.  Cooper  and  Thomas  A.  Weis- 
ner. 

The  clothing  house  of  Wilbert  P.  En- 
nis  was  established  in  October,  1875,  in 
a  building  owned  by  Charles  Wahl, 
where  he  remained  until  1880,  when  he 
purchased  a  lot  on  the  east  side  of  the 
square  and  erected  his  present  brick 
building.  Mr.  Ennis  has  remained 
alone  in  business  ever  since  his  estab- 
lishment here,  except  one  year  when  L. 
E.  Cunningham  was  associated  with  him. 
He  also  carries  on  the  merchant  tailor- 
ing business. 

In  1S74  Mapes  &  Burke  built  a  plan- 
ing mill  here  60  feet  square,  which  they 
ran  for  about  two  years,  when  it  prov- 
ing not  lucrative,  they  removed  the  ma- 
chinery, and  abandoned  the  business. 
The  building  was  afterwards  used  for  a 
cider  mill  and  for  a  cooper  shop,  but  is 
now  vacant. 

The  boot  and  shoe  house  of  T.  N. 
Knudson,  was  established  by  C.  H. 
Schreiner,  in  1865.  In  1879,  the  pres- 
ent proprietor  came  into  possession. 

The  pioneer  lumber  yard,  in  Green- 
field, was  instituted  by  Edwin  Gris- 
wold,  in  1870.  Those  who  have  since 
been  in  this  line  of  trade,  are:  Lemas- 
ter  &  James,  Williams,  King,  VanArs- 
dale  &  Gray,  andC.  J.  Edwards. 

There  are  at  present,  two  lumber 
yards  here,  one  operated  by  J.  H.  Entre- 
kin,  successor  to  G.  G.  Edwards,  who 
purchased  the  business  in  March,  1885; 
and  one  owned  and  controlled  by  Rich- 
ard Simms,   who  commenced   business 


in  May,  1875,  in  company  with  bis 
brother,  C.  H.,  under  the  firm  name  of 
Simmons  Bros.  This  terminated  in 
1879,  Richard  buying  the  interest  of  his 
brotber. 

The  first  blacksmith  in  this  section 
of  country  was  Robert  McKnight,  one 
of  the  early  settlers  of  the  township,  who 
now  resides  in  Macoupin  county. 

GRAIN    WAREHOUSES. 

During  the  summer  of  1870,  the  rail- 
road having  been  completed,  three  grain 
warehouses  were  erected.  One  by  Greer 
&  Eckus,  which  was  24x60  feet  in  ground 
area,  which  has  since  been  destroyed  by 
fire;  one  by  Nulton  &  Davis,  26x72  feel 
in  size,  and  which  is  now  operated  by 
YV.  S.  G.  Allen;  and  one  by  Allen  & 
Haven,  oOxliO,  now  owned  by  G.  W. 
Piper.  The  first  grain  bought  and 
shipped,  was  by  Greer  &  Eckus.  The 
present  representatives  of  this  business 
are:  W.  S.  G.  Allen*  and  John  Wahl. 
Jr.  Each  warehouse  ships  about  100 
car  loads  annually. 


The  banking  establishment  of  Shef- 
field &  Co.,  was  established  in  the  fall 
of  1875,  by  Skilling,  Sheffield  &  Co., 
with  a  capital  of  810,000.  Under  this 
firm  name  it  was  run  until  1874  or  1875, 
when  the  present  firm  was  formed,  buy- 
ing out  the  other  interests.  It  now  has 
a  capital  and  surplus,  of  over  $20,00(1. 
The  first  officers  of  the  bank  were — Dr. 
David  Skilling,  president;  J.  R.  Shef- 
field, cashier. 

The  banking  house  of  Metcalf  & 
Johnson  was  established  Jan.  1,  1884, 
in  a  brick  building,  built  especially  for 
the  purpose.   Their  individual  responsi- 


ill -J 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


bility  will  foot  up  in  the  neighborhood 
of  880,000.     Ralph  Metcalf,  the  cashier, 

has   held  this  responsible  position  ever 
since  the  bank  started. 

POSTOFFICE. 

The  postoffice  was  established  in  1835, 
at  this  point,  and  George  W.  Allen 
commissioned  as  postmaster.  This 
office  he  held  until  1850.  He  was  suc- 
ceeded  by  James  B.  Carter,  who  held 
it  until  1853.  E.  M.  Gilmore,  from 
1853  to  1858  was  the  next  postmaster. 
He  was  followed  by  G.  W.  Coonrod, 
who  served  until  1861,  when  he  was 
succeeded  by  J.  II.  Gray,  who  held  the 
office  until  1870.  E.  A.  Belknap  was 
appointed  in  September  of  the  latter 
year,  but  resigned  Feb.  4, 1871,  and  was 
followed  by  T.  A.  Weisner,  who  served 
until  July,  1875,  when  he  gave  place  to 
W.  M.  Ward,  who  was  postmaster  until 
1883.  V.  H.  Haven  became  the  cus- 
todian of  the  mail  in  July,  1883,  and 
served  until  Aug.,  1885,  when  Harriet 
E.  Cooper,  the  present  incumbent, 
assumed  the  duties  of  the  office.  It 
was  made  a  money  order  office  in  July, 
1872. 

The  first  postal  note  was  issued  from 
the  Greenfield  postoffice,  on  Sept.  3d, 
1883.  It  was  drawn  on  St.  Louis,  and 
was  for  75  cents. 

HOTELS. 

The  site  now  occupied  by  the  Tremont 
house  has  long  been  used  for  hotel  pur- 
poses. As  early  as  1837  or  1838,  a 
small  log  cabin  was  erected  thereon  by 
[seph  Atterberry,  who  transferred  it  to 
George  W.  Allen,  a  year  or  so  after- 
ward, through  whom  William  Brown 
obtained  it,  only  to  occupy  it  a  short 
term,  when  he  in  turn  sold  out  to  the 
late  William    A.    Secor,    who,    moving 


back  the  cabin  for  an  L,  put  up  a  larger 
structure  in  front,  in  which  he  continued 
to  live  for  many  years.  In  1857  or  1858 
he  employed  Messrs.  Drake  &  Stock,  at 
an  expense  of  about  $3,000,  to  transform 
it  into  the  central  structure  of  the  Green- 
field hotel.  This  was  further  improved 
in  1875,  and  transferred  by  the  Secor 
heirs  to  B.  B.  Bartholomew,  who  made 
the  addition  of  a  large  L,  and  otherwise 
improved  it.  Some  time  afterward  O. 
R.  Southworth  came  into  possession  of 
the  business,  and  at  the  time  of  the  de- 
structive conflagration,  May  2,  1873,  the 
building  was  consumed,  being  a  total 
loss  to  its  owner.  Notwithstanding  this, 
however,  Mr.  Southworth  immediately 
began  the  erection  of  the  present  fine 
brick  hotel  building,  which  was  com- 
pleted the  following  fall  at  a  cost  of 
about  $3,500.  He  continued  to  operate 
it  until  August,  1884,  when  it  was  dis- 
posed of  to  W.  H.  Wylder,  the  present 
owner.  At  that  time  Benjamin  U.  Bass- 
ham  leased  the  building,  and  still  con- 
tinues in  the  capacity  of  landlord.  The 
Tremont  house,  as  it  is  called,  is  a  large, 
two  story  brick  building,  well  appointed 
and  furnished  throughout,  and  contains 
some  twelve  sleeping  apartments,  in 
addition  to  parlors,  dining  room,  office, 
etc. 

The  Bassham  house  was  commenced 
in  the  summer  of  1875,  by  B.  U.  Bass- 
ham,  the  present  proprietor.  It  is 
40x60  feet  in  ground  area,  two  stories  in 
height,  with  an  L  2Sx34,  the  whole  sur- 
mounted with  a  hipped  roof.  It  is  built 
of  frame,  and  is  surrounded  on  two 
sides  by  porches.  It  presents  a  fine  ap- 
pearance, which  is  borne  out  by  the 
manner  in  which  it  is  furnished  through- 
out, and  by  an  irreproachable  cuisine. 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


913 


A  first-class  livery  is  also  run  in  con- 
nection with  the  house.  This  house  is 
located  near  the  depot. 

Benjamin  U.  Bassham,  proprietor  of 
both  the  Bassham  house,  and  also  of 
the  Tremont  house,  at  Greenfield,  is  a 
native  of  Jackson  county,  Tenn.,  born 
Nov.  4,  1S42.  He  is  a  son  of  Meredith 
A.  and  Elizabeth  A.  (Fox )  Bassham,  the 
father  a  native  of  Virginia,  born  Nov. 
24,  1805,  the  mother  a  native  of  Ten- 
nessee, born  Nov.  23,  1810.  They  were 
married  in  Tennessee,  Nov.  2, 1826.  His 
father  followed  farming,  and  was  also 
engaged  as  a  blacksmith  and  wagon- 
maker,  fhey  came  to  Illinois,  Nov. 
20,  1852,  making  the  trip  with  teams, 
and  settled  in  Madison  county,  where 
they  remained  for  t.vo  years,  death  tak- 
ing away  two  of  their  children  while 
there.  They  then  removed  to  Jersey 
county,  and  after  remaining  there  10 
years,  they  again  pulled  up  stakes  and 
moved  to  Macoupin  county,  where  Mer- 
edith purchased  a  farm  on  which  he 
lived  until  the  fall  of  1873.  He  sold 
out  there  and  removed  to  Greenfield, 
where  he  lived  until  his  death,  April 
2,  1875.  Mrs.  Bassham  survives  her 
husband,  and  is  still  a  resident  of 
Greenfield.  They  were  the  parents  of 
nine  children — Parizetta  P.,  born  Sept. 
15,  1827;  Pardee  J.,  born  May  24,  1829; 
Sarah  A.,  born  May  15,  1832;  Hhoda  L. 
E.,  born  April  :',,  1834;  Cynthia  A.  T., 
born  Oct,  29,  1836;  William  D.,  born 
Feb.  20,  1838;  Benjamin  l\,  born  Nov. 
4,  1841;  Elvira  E.,  born  Aug.  29,  1844, 
and  John  B.  R,,  born  Dec.  28,  1846. 
Benjamin,  the  subject  of  this  sketch, 
remained  at  home  until  he  was  15  years 
of  age,  and  he  then  went  to  work  on 
neighboring  farms,   continuing  until  he 


was  about  20  years  of  age,  at  first  re- 
ceiving but  $12  per  month  for  his  labor, 
but  when  he  quit  was  getting  $22. 
With  the  money  which  he  had  saved 
from  those  earnings  he  purchased  a 
team.  He  was  married,  in  April,  1865, 
to  Louisa  Y.  McBride,  a  native  of  Ma- 
coupin county,  bom  June  14,  1848,  and 
by  that  marriage  there  were  four  child- 
ren— John  H.,  born  Jan.  12,  1866:  Eva 
M.,  born  May  1,  1868;  Altha  A.,  born 
Sept.  14,  1870,  and  Laura  E.,  born  Feb. 
1,  1873.  Mrs.  Bassham  departed  this 
life  March  11,  1873,  and  after  her  death 
he  remained  on  the  farm  until  Oct.  11, 
of  that  year,  when  he  came  to  Green- 
field and  engaged  in  the  livery  business. 
In  lS7-">  he  built  the  Bassham  House,  of 
which  he  is  still  proprietor.  He  rented 
the  Tremont  House,  Aug.  18,  1884,  and 
is  also  proprietor  of  that.  Mr.  Bass- 
ham was  again  married,  June  22,  1876, 
to  Elizabeth  Crouch  Chinoweth,  a  native 
of  Washington  county,  Tenn.  Mr. 
Bassham  is  one  of  the  must  enterprising 
business  men  of  Greenfield  andhas  met 
with  merited  success. 

MILLS. 

The  first  mill  at  Greenfield  was  built 
in  1838,  by  George  W.  Allen  and  Edwin 
Henderson,  on  the  east  side  of  the  pub- 
lic square.  It  was  quite  primitive  and 
the  power  was  furnished  by  oxen  on  an 
inclined  wheel.  It  was  used  principally 
for  the  grinding  of  corn,  and  a  carding 
machine,  and  was  afterward  sold  and 
used  by  R.  M.  Booker,  for  the  manufac- 
ture of  castor  oil,  considerable  of  that 
bean  being  raised  in  this  neighborhood. 
In  1842,  it  was  torn  down  and  removed 
to  near  N.  C.  Woolley's  residence  where 
castor  oil  was  manufactured.  A  new 
flouring  mill  was  built  the  same   year, 


014 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COINTY. 


by  Allen  &  Henderson.  At  that  time 
the  new  mill  was  18x42  feet  on  the 
ground,  two-stories  in  height,  built  of 
wood.  It  had  been  put  up  at  a  cost  of 
$2,500  It  was  equipped  with  one  run 
of  buhrs  and  was  operated  with  the  aid 
of  a  small  steam  engine  in  connection 
with  a  carding  machine,  and  was  the 
first  grist  mill  in  the  place.  Additions 
were  made  from  time  to  time  and  oper- 
ated by  the  old  firm  until  Mr.  Allen's 
death,  in  1865,  although  Mr.  Henderson 
retired  in  1842.  It  was  then  run  by  W. 
S.  G.  &  G:  B.  Allen  until  1869,  when 
tin'  firm  was  changed  to  Allen  &  Haven, 
W.  S.  G.  Allen  and  W.  W.  Haven,  who 
continued  to  run  it  until  187G,  when 
Haven,  Ardinger&  Co.  assumed  the  con- 
trol, and  run  it  until  the  present  firm, 
Ardinger  &  Cress  took  charge  in  1878. 
In  May,  1884,  the  roller  system  was 
adopted  and  twelve  sets  of  rolls  were 
put  in  by  this  enterprising  firm,  at  a 
cost  of  $S*,653.52.  The  mill,  at  present, 
is  a  large  three-story  frame  building, 
surmounted  by  an  attic.  The  main 
structure  is  32x50  feet  in  ground  area, 
with  an  annex  20x50  feet  in  size,  two- 
stories  high,  and  an  engine  and  boiler 
rooms.  The  motive  power  is  derived 
from  an  engine  of  40-horse  power,  the 
cylinder  of  which  is  12x24.  The  mill 
has  a  capacity  of  100  barrels  of  fine  flour 
every  24  hours.  The  entire  plant  is 
valued  at  about  $20,000.  The  mill  is  well 
equipped  with  four  purifiers,  five  bolt- 
ing chests,  three  wheat  feeders  and  one 
corn  buhr. 

John  W.  Ardinger,  of  the  firm  of 
Ardinger  &  Cress,  proprietors  of  the 
Greenfield  Roller  Mill,  was  born  at 
Williamsport,  Washington  county,  Md., 
Dec.  31,  1837.     He  is  a  son  of  Charles 


and  Jane  (Shook  )  Ardinger,  natives  of 
Virginia,  who  were  married  in  that  state 
in  1836,  and  removed  to  Maryland  soon 
after,  where  they  still  reside.  John's 
father  was  a  miller,  and  from  him,  he 
also  learned  the  trade.  He  grew  to 
manhood  in  his  native  state,  and  receiv- 
ed a  good  common  school  education. 
Mr.  Ardinger  was  a  practical  miller  be- 
fore coining  to  Greenfield,  111.,  in  Feb., 
1876,  when  he  went  in  partnership  with 
William  H.  Cress,  purchased  the  flour- 
ing mill,  and  has  since  continued  in  that 
business.  Mr.  Ardinger  was  married  in 
Maryland,  Nov.  20,  1857,  to  Susan  E. 
Albert,  born  in  Washington  county, 
Md.,  Oct.  13,  1840.  Her  parents  were 
also  natives  of  that  state.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Ardinger  have  been  blessed  with  a  fam- 
ily of  eight  children — Mary  J.,  John 
W.  Jr.,  George  L.,  Susan  E.,  Fannie  E., 
Charles,  Winnie  and  James  Garfield. 
Mr.  Ardinger  is  a  member  of  the  Green- 
field lodge  of  I.  O,  O.  F.,  and  is  one  of 
that  city's  enterprising,  intelligent  citi- 
zens, who  by  industry,  close  attention 
and  good  management,  has  met  with 
merited  success  in  his  business. 

EDUCATIONAL. 
[D.  O.  Witmer.J 

Education  early  engrossed  the  atten- 
tion of  the  citizens  of  Greenfield,  and 
in  1830,  while  there  were  but  few  peo- 
ple in  town,  the  first  school  house  was 
erected  on  the  extreme  southwestern 
portion  of  the  premises  now  occupied 
by  Mr.  Carter  Drake.  It  was  an  un- 
pretentious log  building,  about  20  feet 
square.  A  log  sawed  out  on  the  east 
and  north  sides,  furnished  light,  while 
on  the  west  side  was  a  huge  tire-place, 
for  the  traditional  back-log.     Mr.  Geo. 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


915 


A.  Cowden  was  the  first  teacher.  He 
was  succeeded  by  R.  M.  Booker,  a  new 
arrival  from  Kentucky,  who  quit  the 
profession  after  one  term,  and  engaged 
in  merchandising.  Eliza  Wilson  then 
wielded  the  birch  a  session  or  two,  and 
was  succeeded  by  Matilda Worden,  who 
occupied  the  position  for  three  succes- 
sive terms.  She  afterward  became  the 
wife  of  that  honored  old  settler,  Capt. 
Richard  Robley,  of  Bluffdale,  both  of 
whom  have  since  died.  About  this 
time,  a  moving  family  took  possession 
of  the  school  house,  and  through  their 
negligence,  the  building  caught  tire,  and 
was  entirely  consumed,  thus,  at  once,  de- 
priving the  community  of  a  church  and 
school  house,  for,  in  this  rude  building, 
the  people  worshipped.  It  was  here 
the  first  Sunday  school,  the  beginning 
of  the  present  prosperous  M.  E.  Sun- 
day school,  was  inaugurated,  with  Mr. 
Geo.  W.  Allen,  as  its  steadfast  patron 
and  friend.  At  that  early  day,  it  had  a 
circulating  library,  which  a  Horded  read- 
ing matter  for  the  entire  community. 

Other  buildings  were  used  for  school 
purposes,  and  Mr.  Dickerman,  Gracia 
Gould,  Ira  B.  Picket,  Alva  Craw  and 
Wm.  Brown,  taught  and  trained  the 
youths  of  the  growing  town,  in  the  mys- 
teries of  the  three  R's,  until  1844.  A 
second  school  house  was  erected  on  the 
sput  now  covered  by  the  residence  of 
our  popular  druggist,  J.  Howard  Gray. 
The  building  was  a  frame  one,  22x20, 
built  by  Joseph  Hartsook,  architect. 
Jefferson  Coonrod,  then  a  young  man, 
helped  to  saw  the  timber  with  an  old 
fashioned  whip-saw,  worked  by  hand. 
The  money  was  furnished  by  R.  M. 
Booker,  and  Geo.  W.  Allen  donated  the 
land.     The    first  teacher  was  Wm.   A. 


Tunnell;  his  successors  were,  Reuben 
Andrews,  now  president  of  Asbury  Un- 
iversity, Greencastle,  Ind.;  Hiram 
Sears,  Chas.  Seandreth,  J.  W.  Langly, 
and  Lysander  Edwards.  The  incn  as- 
ing  number  of  pupils  soon  made  addi- 
tional school  facilities  a  necessity,  and 
in  1852,  the  Greenfield  Institute,  now 
used  fur  the  primary  department,  was 
erected  by  enterprising  citizens  of 
Greenfield  and  vicinity.  The  money 
was  raised  by  subscription,  and  the  fol- 
lowing named  gentlemen  contributed 
from  $50  to  $200:  R.  M.  Booker,  Nor- 
man Woolley,  Geo.  W.  Allen,  Wm. 
Speaks,  Jr.,  Geo..  Shackelford,  John 
Anderson,  G.  T.W.  Sheffield,  and  James 
Rives.  The  amount  raised  was  about 
$2,500,  and  the  contract  was  awarded  t<> 
Messrs.  Speaks  and  Kincaid  at  $2,200. 
The  school  was  opened  in  the  fall  of 
1852,  with  two  departments,  Prof.  R.  E. 
Wilder  being  principal,  and  one  assist- 
ant. Prof.  Wilder  was  a  native  of 
Massachusetts  and  well  qualified  for 
the  profession  of  teaching.  He  remain- 
ed at  the  head  of  educational  effort  in 
Greenfield,  until  the  adoption  of  the 
public  school  system  in  1857,  when  he 
erected,  at  his  own  expense,  the  build- 
ing known  as  the  Greenfield  Academy, 
in  which  he  taught  successfully  for 
a  number  of  years,  retiring  with 
honor  and  credit  as  a  thorough  in- 
structor and  efficient  educator  of  youth. 
Prof.  H.  B.  Stockman,  of  Massachu- 
setts, was  the  first  public  school  teacher 
of  Greenfield,  ami  with  Mary  and  Anna 
Eddy;  as  assistants,  gave  universal  sat- 
isfaction. Prof.  John  Burroughs,  with 
Laura  Hodge  and  Miss  Akers,  taught 
the  school  during  the  year  1858-9.  Mr. 
Burroughs    is    remembered   as   a    very 


91G 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


muscular  teacher,  who  used  the  rod  on 
all  occasions,  to  convince  the  youthful 
mind  of  the  importance  of  industry  and 
application  to  study.  Prof.J. P. Mathews, 
with  Mattie  Peoples,  taught  a  very  suc- 
cessful school  during  the  years  1859  and 
1860.  In  1860  Rev.  R.  M.  Tunnell  took 
charge  of  the  school,  Laura  Hodge,  Bet- 
tie  Hodge,  Hattie  Allen,  Mary  Edwards, 
Carrie  Prentiss  and  Mattie  Henderson, 
acting  as  assistants.  Mr.  Tunnell  has 
the  reputation  of  having  heen  one  of  the 
best  teacher's  in  the  county,  and  was  re- 
tained as  principal,  three  years.  In 
the  fall  of  1864,  Rev.  W.  C.  Pratt,  a 
Baptist  minister,  assisted  by  Lydia 
Henderson  and  Anna  Graves,  taught 
the  school  very  acceptably,  and  was 
followed  in  1865,  by  Prof.  C.  G.  Snow, 
as  principal,  who  held  the  position  for 
three  years,  with  the  following  assist- 
ants: Laura  Hodge,  Etna  Cooper,  Car- 
rie Prentiss,  Julia  Graves,  and  Lydia 
Henderson.  Rev.  B.  B.  Hamilton,  now 
postmaster  of  White  Hall,  assisted  by 
Eliza  Banning,  Mary  Holliday,  and  Jane 
Barton,  taught  the  school  of  1867. 
Prof.  Snow  was  again  employed  in  1868, 
1869  and  1870,  with  Etna  Cooper,  Laura 
1  lodge,  Carrie  Prentiss, H.  B.  Hamilton, 
Lydia  Henderson,  as  assistants.  In 
the  fall  of  1871,  II.  J.  Waterman,  an 
erratic  teacher,  was  elected  principal, 
with  Lydia  Henderson,  and  Katie  Pros- 
ser,  as  assistants.  Prof.  R.  M.  Hitch, 
succeeded  as  principal  in  1*7:2  ami  1873, 
with  Mary  Hamilton,  Hattie  Hart, 
Winnie  Beason,  and  Ella  Woolley,  as 
assistants.  Prof,  Hitch  taught  a  most 
successful  school,  and  is  kindly  remem- 
bered by  his  pupils  and  the  community 
generally.  In  1874,  there  were  four 
departments,  and  Prof.  J.    M.    Stewart, 


was  elected  principal,  with  Hattie  Hart, 
Meddie  Fisher  and  Mattie  Henderson, 
as  assistants.  It  was  now  deemed  nec- 
essary to  enlarge  the  main  building 
used  for  school  purposes,  because  of  the 
rapidly  increasing  number  of  pupils, 
and  a  new,  two  story  building,  contain- 
ing four  large  rooms,  was  erected  at  a 
cost  of  $10,000.  The  building  occupies 
a  commanding  position,  is  well  venti- 
lated, and  heated  by  hot  air  furnaces 
that  give  entire  satisfaction  even  in 
the  coldest  weather.  In  1875  the  high 
school  was  inaugurated,  with  H.  H. 
Montgomery,  a  graduate  of  Blackburn 
University,  and  a  gentleman  of  rare  cul- 
ture and  executive  ability,  as  principal 
and  superintendant.  The  course  of 
instruction  is  very  full,  and  supplies  the 
full  preparatory  course  of  collegiate  in- 
struction at  home.  There  were  besides 
the  high  school  five  other  departments 
under  Prof  Montgomery's  supervision. 
His  assistants  during  his  five  years  of 
principalship  were — G.  W.  Piper,  Miss 
Van  Wey,  Ora  Boring,  Laura  Hodge, 
Emma  Tunnell,  R.  M.  Throop,  Hattie 
Hart,  G.  W.  Srubb,  Josephine  Cas- 
tellaw,  Corinne  Bonfoy,  Dora  Johnston, 
J.  W.  Dalby,  Rosa  Caswell,  B.  E.  Harris, 
Delia  Teany  and  Etna  Cooper. 

Prof.  Montgomery  removed  to  Carroll- 
ton,  the  county  seat,  in  1881,  to  pursue 
other  business,  and  was  succeeded  by 
the  present  incumbent,  D.  O.  Witmer, 
as  principal  and  superintendant.  Mr. 
Witmer,  ably  assisted  by  II.  P.  Far- 
relly,  now  editor  of  the  Carrollton  Ga- 
zette, Jennie  Miller,  Nettie  Pratt,  Lillie 
Thaxton,  Mary  Miller,  Etna  Cooper; 
and  his  present  corps  of  assistants — 
Sadie  Burns,  Josephine  Castellaw,  Mary 
Scott,   Annie    Wade,    Lea   Brodmarkle, 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


"i; 


and  Stella  Berry,  have  maintained  the 
splendid  reputation  of  the  Greenfield 
public  schools. 

The  present  board  of  education,  con- 
sisting of  John  Wahl,  John  Brodmarkle 
and  James  H.  Smith,  added  a  new 
department,  3d  primary,  in  1884,  and 
during  the  present  year  procured  read- 
ing and  arithmetical  charts,  outline 
maps;  Chamber's  encyclopedia,  Lip- 
pincott's  biographical  dictionary,  and 
other  needed  b  >uks  of  reference.  They 
are  public  spirited  citizens  and  fully 
alive  to  the  demand-  of  the  present  age, 
for  increased  facilities  for  teaching  the 
young. 

From  this  sketch  it  will  readily  be 
observed  that  Oreenfield  is  not  behind. 
but  fully  abreast  of  the  larger  cities  of 
the  county  and  state,  in  the  facilities 
she  offers  for  the  acquirement  of  an  ex- 
cellent education,  which  will  prepare 
her  rising  generation  for  the  responsi- 
ble duties  devolving  upon  them  as  citi- 
zens of  a  free  government,  that  knows 
no  privileged  class,  save  that  which  is 
made  exclusive  by  intellectual  culture 
and  nobility  of  life. 

D.  0.  Witmer,  principal  and  superin- 
tendent of  the  Greenfield  public  schools, 
was  born  in  Washington  county,  Ind., 
Sept.  6,  1838.  His  forefathers  were 
Swiss  Protestants,  who  emigrated  to  this 
country  and  settled  in  the  Pequa  Valley, 
Lancaster  county,  Pa.,  in  1710.  Mr. 
W.  received  an  academic  education  at 
Mt.  Pleasant,  Washington  county,  and 
graduated  in  1856,  when,  owing  to  ill 
health,  he  was  advised  to  adopt  a  more 
active  life,  and  served  an  apprentice- 
ship of  three  years  with  1).  H.  Karner, 
millwright  and  machinist,  Williamport, 
Md.     In  1860,  he  received  his  first  cer- 


tificate as  a  teacher,  and  taught  his  first 
school  near  his  home.  In  1861  he  en- 
gaged in  farming  on  the  old  homestead, 
and  in  the  spring  of  1863  removed  to 
Hamilton,  Butler  county,  0.,  where  he 
followed  millwrighting  and  teaching. 
He  was  married  Oct.  5,  1865,  to  Christie 
Herr,  youngest  daughter  of  Henry  and 
Elizabeth  Herr,  of  Flemer's  Corner,But- 
ler  county,  0.,  born  Jan.  16,  1843.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  W.  have  a  family  of  four  chil- 
dren— Eugene  Scott,  born  Feb.  25,  1867; 
Helen  Claire,  born  Sept.  5,  1869;  Edith 
Maud,  born  Oct.  3,  1873,  and  Daniel 
Hum,  born  March  31,  1876.  Mr.  W. 
returned  to  Williamsport,  Md.,  in  Aug., 
1871,  where  he  followed  his  trade  until 
Sept.,  1872,  when  he  opened  school  a1 
Fountain  Rock,  near  Williamsport.  In 
Sept.,  1873,  he  took  charge  of  the 
public  schools  »f  Williamsport,  as  prin- 
cipal and  superintendent,  which  posi- 
tion he  filled  acceptably  until  the 
spring  of  1881,  when  he  resigned  his 
position,  to  accept  his  present  one, 
in  the  schools  of  Greenfield,  Illinois. 
where  he  and  his  family  arrived,  in 
Sept.,  1881.  Mr.  Witmer  holds  a  life 
certificate,  from  the  state  of  Maryland, 
dated  1876,  and  is  known  as  an  intelli- 
gent, industrious,  and  successful  in- 
structor. Mr.  and  Mrs.  W.  united  with 
the  Evangelical  Lutheran  church,  of 
Williamsport,  Md.,  in  1873,  and  after 
settling  in  Greenfield,  they  became 
members  of  the  Methodist  church.  Mr. 
W.  was  made  a  mason  in  1859,  and 
joined  the  K.  of  P.,  in  1872.  He  as- 
sisted, as  a  charter  member,  in  the  or- 
ganization of  Herald  bulge.  K.  of  P.,  in 
1882,  at  Greenfield,  being  its  first  past 
chancellor.  In  18S4,  he  became  a  mem- 
ber of  the  order  of  the   K.  of   H.     Mr. 


918 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


Witmer  has  always  been  a  staunch  dem- 
ocrat of  the  Jen'ersonian  school,  and 
never  fails  to  plead  its  cause,  and  up- 
hold its  principles.  He  usually  enters 
the  political  arena  in  presidential  cam- 
paigns, with  an  untiring  zeal,  which 
knows  no  flagging  or  doubt,  and  ably 
advocates  from  the  hustings,  the  prin- 
ciples of  his  party,  and  his  own  convic- 
tions. He  is  a  fluent  speaker,  cogent 
reasoner,  and  never  fails  to  interest  his 
hearers.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  W.  are  genial 
and  hospitable  in  their  home,  and  are 
well  and  favorably  known  in  the  com- 
munity in  which  they  at  present  reside. 

CITY    GOVERNMENT. 

The  town  of  Greenfield  was  incor- 
porated under  the  state  laws  in  regard 
to  the  government  of  towns  and  villages, 
in  1850,  and  in  1867,  was  organized  un- 
der the  special  charter  by  the  legisla- 
ture, the  first  meeting  of  the  council 
taking  place  upon  the  22d  of  April,  of 
that  year.  The  following  were  the  first 
officers  of  the  town:  G.  T.  W.  Shef- 
field, president;  A.  McCauley,  J.  B. 
Brodmarkle  and  Jackson  Drennan,  trus- 
tees; J.  B.  Brodmarkle,  treas.;  and 
R.  E.  Wilder,  sec'y.  On  Jan.  7,  1884, 
a  petition  was  presented  by  60  or  more 
of  the  voters  of  Greenfield,  asking  the 
council  to  call  an  election  for  the  pur- 
pose of  ascertaining  the  wishes  of  the 
people  as  to  organizing  under  the  state 
law  as  a  city,  which  was  granted,  and 
the  election  ordered.  This  election  was 
held  on  the  7th  of  April,  1884,  when 
the  vote  stood:  In  favor  of  incorpora- 
tion, 203;  against,  3.  On  the  8th  of 
May,  of  that  year,  another  election  was 
held  for  the  officers  under  the  new 
regime.     Those    chosen    were:     J.    W. 


Hutchinson,  mayor;  Jesse  A.  Drake,  city 
clerk;  Geo.  W.  Coonrod,  city  attorney 
Samuel  M.  Wilhite,  treas.  Aldermen 
1st  ward,  G.  B.  Metcalf  and  Jno.  Beaty 
2d  ward,  H.  C.  Myers  and  H.  M.  Long 
3d  ward,  J.  H.  Smith  and  J.  J.  Crouch 
The  present  officers  of  the  city  are  as 
follows:  E.  A.  Belknap,  mayor;  V.  H 
Haven,  clerk;  Jasper  Johnson,  treas. 
W.  M.  Ward,  attorney;  0.  B.  Edwards 
police  magistrate.  Aldermen:  1st  ward 
G.  B.  Metcalf,  Carter  Drake:  2d  ward 
H.  M.  Long;  3d  ward,  J.  J.  Crouch 
Richard  C.  Fisher. 

POLICE  JUSTICE  COURT. 

This  was  created  about  the  year- 1840, 
previous  to  which  the  precinct  justices 
of  the  peace  had  jurisdiction.  The 
records  of  the  office,  now  accessible, 
date  back  to  1842,  when  Henry  James 
was  justice.  The  first  case  of  which 
there  seems  to  be  any  record,  is  num- 
bered 289.  The  following  named  gen- 
tlemen have  held  the  office:  William 
E.  Ryan,  Michael  Buchanan,  George 
Allen,  Ira  B.  Picket,  E.  Woolley, 
Geo.  W.  Coonrod,  and  O.  B.  Edwards, 
the  present  incumbent,  who  succeeded 
to  this  office  in  1881. 

RAILROADS. 

Two  railroads  intersect  the  town  of 
Greenfield,  furnishing  it  connection 
with  the  outside  world,  for  the  promo- 
tion of  commercial  interests.  The  R., 
R.  I.  it  St.  L.,  now  owned  and  operated 
by  the  C,  B.  &  Q.  R.  R.  C,  was  com- 
pleted through  Greenfield,  in  the  early 
part  of  1870,  and  is  the  principal  line 
of  road  at  this  place,  giving  them  im- 
mediate connection  with  all  the  leading 
markets   of  the    world.      Greenfield   is 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


919 


also  the  eastern  terminus  of  the  L.,  C. 
&  W      which  was  constructed  in  1585 


The  depot  at  this  place  was  erected 
during  the  summer  or  fall  of  1870,  al 
which  time  the  railroad  was  also  com- 
pleted through  here.  J.  W.  Booth  was 
the  first  station  agent.  He  remained 
until  the  winter  of  1872,  when  John 
Ewald  took  charge,  and  held  it  until 
Oct.,  1879.  Charles  W.  Alexander  was 
the  next  agent,  and  was  succeeded  by 
William  M.  Wallace,  Nov.  1,  1880.  He 
held  it  until  the  1st  of  April,  18S2,  when 
the  present  incumbent,  John  Beatty, 
took  charge. 

EXPRESS    AGENCIES. 

The  American  Express  Company's 
agency  at  this  place,  was  established  in 
1870,  at  the  time  of  the  completion  of 
the  railroad  to  this  point.  J.  W.  Booth 
was  the  first  agent.  The  various  sta- 
tion agents  have  hail  the  control  of  the 
office  since. 

The  United  States  Express  Company 
also  do  business  here,  through  the  L., 
C.  &  W.  Railroad,  establishing  the 
same  soon  after  the  completion  id'  the 
road.  Calloway  &  Metcalf,  hardware 
dealers,  were  the  first  to  represent  the 
company  at  this  point,  and  still  con- 
tinue in  that  capacity. 

CONFLAGRATIONS. 

Greenfield  has  not  been  without  its 
share  of  the  most  destructive  of  all  ele- 
ments— the  fire  fiend.  Two  very  severe 
conflagrations  have  visited  the  place 
which  have  proven  very  disastrous  and 
destroyed  much  property.  The  first 
fire    occurred    Sunday    morning   about 


three  o'clock,  Dec.  31,  L882,  originating 
in  what  was  known  as  the  Crouch  block. 
The  following  business  houses  were 
burned:  Miller's  barber  shop  and  con- 
tents, except  a  few  chairs;  Cooper's  drug 
store  and  contents,  except  two  show 
cases;  the  postoffice  and  contents,  in- 
cluding a  fine  law  library  of  William 
Ward;  Dr.  Martin's  office  and  contents; 
Oscar  Edward's  restaurant,  and  Jones' 
meat  market  and  ice  house.  All  this 
destruction  was  wrought  in  the  short 
space  of  about  an  hour  and  a  half.  The 
buildings  were  of  wood,  very  inflamma- 
ble and  burnt  like  tinder,  the  heat  being 
intense.  Madden 's  harness  shop  and 
Southworth's  hotel,  the  former  sepa- 
rated by  an  alley  and  the  latter  by  a 
street,  were  only  saved  by  the  most 
strenuous  efforts  on  the  part  of  the  citi- 
zens. The  loss  was  exceedingly  heavy 
for  the  town,  being  estimated  at  $10,000, 
with  very  light  insurance. 

The  last  great  fire  at  Greenfield,  oc- 
curred but  a  few  months  afterward,  on 
the  night  of  May  3,  1883,  and  was  the 
most  disastrous  in  its  history,  consum- 
ing the  entire  west  side  of  the  public 
square.  The  business  houses  which 
were  destroyed  were  the  Tremoiit  hotel, 
owned  by  O.  R.  Southworth;  Secor  & 
Cato's,  and  George  Dennis'  grocery 
stores,  Thomas  Knudspn's  hoot  and  shoe 
store,  Charles  Schnell's  and  ().  L.  Sieg- 
el's  restaurants  and  bakeries;  then  came 
the  brick  dry  goods  stores  of  E.  P.  Met- 
call'.and  RenshawA  Co., with  the  Masonic 
and  Odd  Fellows  halls  over  each,  re- 
spectively. The  main  portion  of  the 
contents  of  these  several  business  houses 
including  furniture,  etc.,  was  saved  in  a 
damaged  condition.  Greenfield  is  noted 
for   her    promptness    and  indefatigable 


920 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


energy  on  such  occasions,  and  only  for 
this  there  is  no  telling  what  the  result 
might  have  been.  The  loss  on  build- 
ings :il ■  was  from  $30,000  to   $40,000, 

with  but  comparatively  little  insurance. 
The  fire  is  supposed  to  have  been  the 
work  of  an  incendiary  and  was  first  dis- 
covered by  the  then  constable,  Weldon, 
over  the  store  of  George  Dennis,  on  the 
west  side,  at  about  10:30p.  in.,  when  the 
alarm  was  given  and  the  entire  towns- 
people, and  those  in  the  immediate 
vicinity  in  the  country,  came  to  the  res- 
cue, with  one  accord,  and  almost  all  did 
yeoman's  service  from  the  beginning  to 
the  end  of  the  contest. 

The  burnt  districts  have  since  been 
rebuilt  with  substantial  structures,  al- 
most entirely  of  brick,  and  presents  a 
very  fine  appearance,  making  a  health  v 
and  solid  showing  for  the  town.     • 

SOCIETIES. 

Greenfield  lodge,  No.  129,  A.  F.  &  A. 
M.,  was  organized  under  dispensation 
Oct.  16,  1852,  by  L.  W.  Link,  of  Car- 
rollton,  with  the  following  officers:  H. 
James,  W.  M.;  J.  H.  Gray,  S.  W.;  M. 
A.  Cooper,  J.  W.;  G.  C.  Shackelford, 
T.;  Ira  B.  Picket,  S.;  H.  Holliday,  S. 
D.;  J.  S.  Cooper,  J.  D.;  and  T.  J. 
Orand,  tyler.  Since  that  time  the  fol- 
lowing brothers  have  filled  the  position 
of  worshipful  master:  Andrew  J. 
Steidley,  IraB.  Picket,  James  B.  Carter. 
Edwin  Wbolley,  Thomas  Finch,  T.  J. 
Capps,  W.  S.  G.  Allen,  R.  L.  Crowder, 
\V.  L.  Kinkead,  E.  A.  Belknap,  J.  W. 
Hutchinson,  W.  A.  Saylor  and  W.  P. 
Ennis,  the  present  incumbent.  The 
lodge  received  a  charter  Oct.  4,  IS.").",, 
under  which  it  is  now  working.  The 
present    membership    is    66,    and    the 


lodge  is  highly  prosperous.  When  it 
was  first  organized  they  rented  a  hall 
on  the  north  side  of  the  square,  but 
about  1859,  purchased  the  upper  story 
of  a  frame  building  on  the  west  side, 
and  fitted  up  a  hall.  In  1868,  they  built 
the  second  story  of  the  brick  building, 
on  the  northwest  corner  of  the  square, 
at  a  cost  of  $3,000.  The  lodge  room 
was  23x64  feet  in  size.  On  the  2d  of 
May,  1883,  this  building  was  destroyed 
by  tire,  and  was  a  total  loss,  as  there 
was  no  insurance.  For  about  a  year 
the  society  then  met  in  the  upper  story 
of  W.  A.  Taylor's  drug  store.  About 
that  time  the  present  brick  structure 
was  erected  on  the  site  of  the  one  de- 
stroyed. The  society,  as  formerly,  own 
the  upper  story,  which  is  23x92  feet  in 
floor  area,  20  feet  in  height  from  floor  to 
ceiling.  It  was  constructed  and  com- 
pleted at  a  cost  of  $3,909.81.  It  is  ele- 
gantly furnished,  and  altogether  is  a 
much  finer  hall  than  is  found  in  places 
three  or  four  times  the  size  of  Green- 
field. The  present  officers  are  as  fol- 
lows: W.  P.  Ennis,  W.  M.;  J.  T.  Cal- 
loway, S.  W.;  C.  G.  Edwards,  J.  W.; 
J.  W.  Hutchinson,  T.;  E.  Woolley,  S.; 
R.  A.  Short,  S.  D.;  E.  P.  Metcalf,  J. 
D.;  G.  W.  Kinkead  and  Ralph  Metcalf, 
stewards;  and  H.  Dixon,  tyler. 

Greenfield  chapter,  No.  186,  R.  A. 
M.,  was  organized  under  a  dispensation, 
Dec.  15,  1881,  with  the  following  officers: 
J.  W.  Hutchinson,  M.  E.  H.  P.;  R.  A. 
Short,  E.  K.;  T.  G.  Capps,  8.:  George 
D.  Hudson,  C.  of  H.;  J.  Howard,  P.  S.; 
R.  G.  Robinson,  R.  A.  C;  Thos.  Finch, 
T.;  Geo.  M.  Fortune,  S.;  J.  H.Valen- 
tine, M.  T.  V.;  A.  Waggoner,  M.  S.  V.; 
James  Walker,  M.  F.  V.;  J.  M.  Short, 
tyler.      Oct.    26,   1882,   the  chapter  re- 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


921 


ceived  a   charter.     The  following  is  a 

list  of  the  charter  members:  J.  W. 
Hutchinson,  R.  A.  Short.  T.  G.  Capps, 
G.  D.  Hudson,  J.  H.  Gray,  Thos.  Finch, 

R.  G.  Robinson,  J.  H.  Valentine,  Adam 
Waggoner,  Jas.  Walker,  J.  M.  Short, 
W.  1'..  Short,  W.  A.  Savior,  W.  P.  Ennis, 
H.  F.  Martin,  L.  P.  Allen.  J.  W.  Waller, 
A.  J.  Drum,  and  G.  W.  Fortune.  J.  W. 
Hutchinson  has  continued  to  act  as 
high  priest  ever  since  the  institution 
of  the  lodge.  The  membership  is  now 
24.  The  following  is  a  list  of  the  officers 
for  1885:  J.  W.  Hutchinson,  M.E.H.P.; 
J.  M.  Short,  E.  K.;  T.  G.  Capps,  S.;R. 
A.  Short,  C.  of  H.;  L.  P.  Allen,  P.  S.; 
J.  T.  Calloway,  R.  A.  C:  W.  A.  Savior, 
T.;  J.  B.  Brodmarkle,  S.;  G.  W.  Kin- 
kead,  M.  T.  V.;  E.  Woolley,  M.  S.  V.: 
W.  S.  Short,  M.  F.  V.;  W.  P.  Ennis 
tvler.  The  chapter  lost  its  original 
charter  and  considerable  furniture  at 
the  burning  of  the  Masonic  hall,  but 
have  all  now  been  replaced. 

Greenfield  lodge,  No.  1300,  K.  of  H., 
was  organized  Dec.  20,  1878,  with  the 
following  charter  members:  B.  F.  Piper, 
O.  R.  Southworth,  John  Heiner,  J.  M. 
Cooper.  P.  G.  Mook,  H.  F.  Martin,  J. 
W.  Piper,  Thomas  Doyle,  S.  M.  Wil- 
hite, Milus  Drum,  John  Robards  and 
W.  M.  Ward.  The  following  were  cho- 
sen the  first  officers  of  the  lodge  ami 
duly  installed:  W.  M.  Ward.  D.;  J.  M. 
Cooper,  P.  D.;  J.  W.  Piper,  V.  D.:  Mi- 
lus Drum,  A.  D.;  H.  F.  Martin,  R.:  P. 
G.  Mook,  F.  i;.:  0.  R.  Southworth,  T.; 
B.  F.  Piper,  C;  Thomas  Doyle,  G.; 
John  Heiner,  Gn.;  S.  M.  Wilhite,  Sen.; 
H.  F.  Martin,  M.  E.;  J.  W.  Piper,  W. 
M.  Ward  and  M.  Drum,  trustees.  The 
following  gentlemen  have  filled  the  po- 
sition  of    dictator   since     then:     P.    G. 


Mook,  H.  F.  Martin,  M.  Drum,  H.  P. 
Farrelly,  0.  R.  Southworth,  J.  M. 
Cooper  and  A.  J.  Rives,  the  present  in- 
cumbent. The  present  membership  is 
27.  Meetings  arc  held  twice  each  month, 
and  everything  is  prosperous.  The  fol- 
lowing are  the  present  officers:  A.  J. 
Rives,  D.:  S.  M.  Wilhite,  V.  D.;  J.  M. 
Cooper,  P.  D.;  T.  C.  Brown,  A.  D.;  W. 
M.  Wallace,  R.:  0.  B.  Edwards,  F. 
R.:  J.  W.  Piper,  T.;  James  Boring,  C; 
G.  W.  Kinkead,  G..;  Charles  Meng, 
Gn.;  P.  Bermes,  Sen. 

Greenfield  lodge,  No.  195, 1.  O.  O.  F., 
was  organized  April  1,  1856,  with  the 
following  members:  Henry  Cress,  James 
Carter,  Ephraim  Barnett,  G.  T.  W. 
Sheffield,  Love  Bostick,  I.  R.  Ostrom, 
Henry  Stubblefield  and  Edward  Rut- 
ledge.  They  rented  the  building  on  the 
northwest  corner  of  the  square,  known 
as  Old  Town  Hall,  which  they  used  for 
lodge  purposes  until  the  fall  of  1868, 
when  they  erected  a  hall  over  Sheffield's 
store,  at  a  cost  of  $3,n(j0.  This  they 
furnished  in  nice  style,  as  fine  as  any  in 
this  section.  The  room  was  23x60  feet 
in  size.  They  occupied  this  room  until 
May  4,  1883,  when  it  was  burned  down, 
and  they  lost  their  furniture,  records, 
charter  and  everything  except  the  rega- 
lia. Since  that  eventful  time,  the  lodge 
has  rented  lodge  rooms,  now  meeting  in 
See. a-  and  Cato's  hall.  The  present 
officers  are:  Luther  Mitchell,  N.  (i.; 
James  Mitchell,  V.  G.;  John  Wahl.T.; 
J.  B.  Brodmarkle,  S.;  M.  L.  Mitchell, 
It.  S.;  Henry  Powell,  C;  GeorgeSecor, 
I.  G.;  George  Weisner,  W.;  and  W  P. 
Ennis,  Rep.  to  <1.  L.  and  lodge  deputy. 

Weisner  post.  No.  350,  G.  A.  I!.,  was 
established  Oct.  23,  1883,  by  John  J. 
Baker,   of  Petersburg,   Menard  county, 


922 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


111.,  with  the  following  charter  mem- 
bers: Thos.  A.  Weisner,  Co.  D,  14th 
111.  Inf.;  Thomas  Douglas,  D,  l(h  U.S. 
Cav.;  W.  II.  Robinson,  K,  91st  111.  Inf.; 
W.  S.  Allen,  P,  12th  111.  Cav.;  X.  I.. 
Mitchell,  F, 12th  111.  Cav.;  I.  M.  Linder, 
F.  12th  111.  Cav.:  G.  I'.  Barton,  D,  14th 
Inf.;  W.  W.  Haven,  11,  40th  111.  Inf.; 
Jasper  Dennis,  D,  14th  111.  Inf.;  Fred- 
erick Russell,  L,  1st  HI.  Ait.;  W.  P. 
Baker,  II,  7th  111.  Cav.;  George  0. 
Weisner,  K,  Hist  111.  Inf.,  and  William 
Hand,  F,  12th  111.  Inf.  The  first  offi- 
cers were  Thomas  A.  Weisner,  ('.;  Thos. 
Doyle,  8.  Y.  C;  W.  H.  Robinson,  J.  V. 
C;  I.  P.  Barton,  Chap.;  I.  M.  Linder, 
Surg.;  W.  W.  Haven,  ().  D.:  W.  F.  G. 
Allen,  Adjt.;  N.  L.  Mitchell,  Q.  M.; 
Jasper  Dennis,  S.  M.  There  have  been 
two  deaths  among  the  members  since  its 
organization — W.  P.  Baker,  died  in  the 
si>ring  of  1884,  and  W.  W.  Haven,  died 
Dec.,  1884.  The  post  has  a  member- 
ship of  84,  and  is  in  a  fine  healthy  con- 
dition, and  the  "boys"  take  much  in- 
terest in  it,  all  round.  The  present 
officers  are:  W.  II.  Robinson,  C;  S.  B. 
Johnson,  S.  Y.  C;  S.  B.  Cole,  J.  V.  C.; 
Henry  Powell,  Surg.;  John  Roberts,  O. 
D.;  J.  P.Alexander,  Chap.;  T.  G.  Capps, 
Adjt.;  W.  G.  Secor,  Q.  M.;  John  Mc- 
Querry,  0.  G.;  T.  A.  Weisner,  S.  M.; 
N.  L.  Mitchell,  0.  M.  S. 

CORNET  BAND. 

On  the  9th  of  Feb.,  1876,  the  move- 
ment toward  the  organization  of  a  band 
in  the  town  of  Greenfield  was  consum- 
mated and  the  organization  completed 
with  the  following  members:  E.  M. 
Middleton,  E.  N.  McPherson,  L.  G. 
Riggs,  A.  T.  Burke,  D.  F.  Clark,  J.  T. 
Calloway,  M.  D.  Powell,  R.  L.  Metcalf, 


W.  F.  Stock,  A.  J.  Dixon,  W.  G.  Bean. 
W.  F.  Stock  was  elected  president;  M. 
I).  Powell,  secretary;  J.  T.  Calloway, 
treasurer;  and  Prof.  E.  M.  Middleton, 
musical  director  and  leader.  Instru- 
ments costing  about  $300  were  ordered, 
and  upon  the  evening  of  March  19,  the 
ears  of  the  citizens  were  greeted  by  the 
dulcet  strains  of  Mollie  Darling,  which 
the  band  had  learned  for  their  initiatory 
piece.  Their  first  public  playing  was 
done  upon  Decoration  day,  May  30,  1876. 
The  organization  has  been  kept  up, until 
to-day  this  band  takes  high  rank  with 
any  in  the  state.  The  present  members 
are  as  follows:  Prof.  E.  M.  Middleton, 
leader  and  1st  Eb;  J.  E.  Brodmarkle, 
Eb;  G.  W.  Green,  Bb;  C.  O.  Fesler  and 
W.  E.  Drennan,  altos;  C.  J.  Metcalf, 
tenor;  V.  H.  Haven,  baritone;  L. 
Haven,  tuba;  H.  E.  Wilhite  and  J.  S. 
Dixon,  drums. 

REPRESENTATIVE    PEOPLE. 

George  Washington  Allen,  the  founder 
of  Greenfield,  was  born  May  15,  1801, 
in  Tennessee.  His  father,  Zachariah 
Allen,  emigrated  to  Greene  county  in 
1819,  settling  near  the  present  site  of 
White  Hall.  George  W.  was  the  seventh 
son  of  the  first  wife,  and  whether  from 
being  left  an  infant  by  the  death  of  his 
mother,  or  from  a  desire  that  he  might 
fill  a  clerical  position  in  the  church  of 
his  fathers — the  United  Presbyterians — 
he  was  favored  by  his  father  in  receiving 
the  elements  of  a  good  education.  His 
bent  of  mind  was  indulged  in  books  of 
theology,  philosophy,  science,  jurispru- 
dence and  civil  engineering.  His  the- 
)logy  was  a  disappointment  to  his 
lather,  for  instead  of  a  pastorate  in  the 
church  of  ancestral  faith,  he  became  a 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


923 


member  of  the  M.  E.  church  at  the  age 
of  28;  filling  important  local  positions 
in  this  church  to  the  end  of  his  life; 
often  throwing  open  his  house  to  the 
denomination  for  worship,  and  giving  a 
resting  place  and  home  to  its  weary 
ministers,  while  they  laid  the  founda- 
tion for  one  of  the  strongest  protestant 
churches  in  the  vicinity.  In  1828  he 
was  married  to  Caroline  Henderson, 
oldest  child  of  James  Henderson,  who 
had  removed  from  Ohio  and  settled  near 
White  Hall,  in  1819.  She  was  hum  in 
Ohio,  in  1808,  and  is  now  living  in  the 
city  of  Greenfield,  its  oldest  resident. 
He  was  the  father  of  nine  children,  two 
dying  in  infancy,  and  one — Mary  J., 
wife  of  William  A.  Tunnell,  in  mature 
womanhood.  Four  of  the  children- 
Sarah  A.,  wife  of  J.  Howard  Gray;  W. 
S.  G.;  George  !'>.,  and  Luther  T.,  are 
living  in  the  city  of  Greenfield;  and  two 
daughters.  Mrs.  Harriet  E.  Sweeney, 
and  Mrs.  Caroline  M.  Noftsker,  in  the 
the  city  of  Rock  Island.  The  old  whig 
party  found  in  Mr.  Allen  an  earnest  ad- 
vocate, and  his  home  was  often  honored 
by  the  presence  of  the  leaders  of  this 
party.  The  republican  party  received 
his  last  vote,  it  being  cast  for  Abraham 
Lincoln,  for  his  second  term.  He  re- 
moved from  the  neighborhood  of  White 
Hall, to  the  eastern  portion  of  the  county, 
in  1832,  and  laid  out  the  plat  of  the 
town  of  Greenfield,  in  1834.  He  was  the 
first  postmaster,  and  held  the  office  15 
consecutive  years.  He  was,  also,  justice 
of  the  peace  for  a  number  of  years.  He 
died  Jan.  17,  1865. 

George  W.  Sheffield  was  one  of  the 
pioneers  and  public  spirited  citizens  of 
Greenfield  for  many  years.  He  located 
here  in  the  spring  of  1836,  being  an  or- 


phan boy  of  very  limited  circumstances 
and  education.  He  engaged  in  general 
merchandising.  He  was  enterprising, 
and  by  close  application  to  money-mak- 
ing, he  succeeded  in  reaching  the  top 
round  of  the  ladder  in  business.  He 
carried  on  the  concern  very  success- 
fully, for  many  years,  until  about  1872, 
when  he  established  the  first  hanking 
house,  now  operated  by  his  heirs. 

Edwin  Woolley,  a  son  of  David  Wool- 
ley,  a  sketch  of  whose  early  settlement 
appears  elsewhere,  was  horn  in  Hamil- 
ton county,  111.,  May  22,  1822,  am!  was 
brought  to  Greene  county  in  his  mother's 
arms,  in  the  following  Dec.  In  1826  he, 
with  his  father's  family,  settled  on  a 
farm  in  Bluffdale,  in  said  county,  where 
he,  with  others,  had  excellent  facilities 
for  more  than  an  ordinary  education. 
Being  of  a  studious  turn,  he  acquired  a 
knowledge  of  the  sciences,  superior  to 
his  class-mates.  Upon  arriving  at  his 
majority,  lie  engaged  as  a  teacher  of 
common  schools,  and  continued  in  that 
business  for  four  successive  years.  He 
then,  as  is  common,  concluded  to  seek 
a  companion  to  share  his  joys  and  sor- 
rows, and  in  Nov.  1S47,  was  married  to 
Jane  E.  Barber,  who  still  continues  to 
make  a  happy  home  for  her  husband 
and  children,  of  whom  four  are  living, 
three  of  whom  arc  married,  and  occupy 
homes  of  their  own.       Mr.    Woolley    was 

always  a  strictly  temperate  and  moral 
man,  always  engaging  in  all  temperance 
movements  that  came  within  his  reach. 
In  1845,  he  settled  in  Milton,  Pike 
county.  111.,  where  he  remained  for  12 
years,  when  he  removed  to  Greenfield, 
where  he  now  resides.  He  has  occu- 
pied many  offices  of  trust,  which  his 
friends  put  upon  him.     He  was   always 


924 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


an  active  worker  for  all  enterprises, 
which  he  thought  would  he  beneficial  to 
the  town  in  which  he  resided.  He  at 
mi  time  became  a  member  of  any  church, 
but  believing  that  all  sects  of  Christian- 
ity were  beneficial,  was  always  liberal 
in  his  views,  letting  every  oneenjoy  his 
own  inclinations.  Early  in  life,  he  be- 
came a  member  of  the  masonic  frater- 
nity, and  was  what  is  known  therein  as 
an  active  worker,  holding  the  bead  office 
for  a  number  of  years,  and  a  great  part 
of  the  time,  some  subordinate  position. 
He  is  now  the  president  of  the  Old 
Settlers  Association,  of  Greene  county, 
and  in  that  capacity,  has  rendered  the 
searchers  after  Greene  county  history, 
valuable  assistance. 

Martin  Thorpe,  an  old  settler  and 
prominent  stock  raiser  of  Greene  coun- 
ty, was  horn  in  Drax,  Yorkshire,  Eng- 
land, Nov.  23,  1814,  his  parents  being 
William  and  Ann  (Petty)  Thorpe.  Wil- 
liam was  twice  married,  and  by  bis 
second  marriage  there  were  two  chil- 
dren—  Martin,  our  subject,  and  Jere- 
miah, who  is  still  in  England.  Martin's 
parents  died  when  he  was  quite  young, 
and  he  came  to  America  with  Adam 
Allison,  now  of  Morgan  county,  who, 
upon  their  arrival  there,  located  west  of 
Jacksonville.  Martin  remained  with 
them  until  he  became  of  age,  giving  his 
labor  during  that  time  for  a  horse,  bridle 
and  saddle,  and  the  amount  of  his  pas- 
sage money.  After  that  time  he  received 
a  salary,  remaining  with  Mr.  Allen  until 
he  was  28  years  of  age.  In  February, 
1843,  he  was  united  in  marriage  with 
Hannah  Hembrough,  a  native  of  Eng- 
land, born  in  1822.  By  this  union 
there  was  one  child — William  H.,  born 
July  3,  1844,  now  in  Cass  county.    Mo. 


After  his  marriage  he  rented  land  of 
Mr.  Allison  for  two  years, then  moving  to 
Apple  Creek  Prairie,  near  White  Hall, 
in  1845,  remained  there  until  1S46,  when 
he  moved  to  his  present  location,  on 
section  23,  Rockbridge  township.  His 
wife  died  in  September,  1845,  and  he 
was  again  united  in  marriage  with  Mrs. 
L.  N.  Bibb,  widow  of  Benjamin  Bibb, 
October  7,  1847.  She  was  born  in  Chris- 
tian county,  Ky.,  Oct.  1,  1813,  and  was 
a  daughter  of  James  and  Priscilla 
Fletcher.  She  was  married  in  Kentucky 
to  Mr.  Bibb,  a  native  of  Virginia,  and 
they  came  to  Greene  county,  111  ,  in 
1835,  remaining  the  first  winter  at  Car- 
rollton.  They  afterward  settled  in  Rock- 
bridge township,  where  he  died  in  Feb- 
ruary, 1845.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Bibb  were 
the  parents  of  five  children,  two  of 
whom  are  living — Agnes  E.,  wife  of 
William  R.  Ballingcr,  residing  in  Rich- 
mond, Ray  county,  Mo.;  Richard  D.,  a 
resident  of  Bates  county,  Mo.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Thorpe  are  the  parents  of  five 
children — James  H.,  born  July  9,  1848; 
Benjamin  F.,  born  April  30,  1850;  Mary 
A.,  born  Feb  16,  1852;  Sarah  A.,  born 
October  1,  1851,  and  Maria  Otis,  born 
Feb.  10, 1857.  After  locating,  Mr. Thorpe 
purchased  120  acres  of  land,  and  by 
industry  and  energy  he  was  enabled  to 
add  to  that  until  he  possessed  600  acres 
of  valuable  land  in  Illinois.  He  then 
bought  and  improved  440  acres  of  land 
in  Missouri.  He  was  a  tireless  worker, 
full  of  thrift  and  honest}-,  always  consid- 
ering his  word  as  good  as  his  bond  or 
note.  Those  noble  principles  had  been 
instilled  into  his  character  in  his  youth 
and  considering  all  men  like  himself, 
he  relied  too  much  on  some  of  them, 
who    took    advantage  of  his  confidence, 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY 


925 


thus  causing  him  temporary  embarass- 
ment.       He     had    sufficient    property, 

though,  to  secure  all  his  creditors  and 
have  a  competence  left  for  himself, 
owning  at  the  time  200  acres  in  Illinois, 
and  440  acres  in  Missouri;  15411  acres  in 
all.  He  still  possesses  the  land  in 
Missouri,  and  $8,000  worth  of  money 
ami  notes,  which  insures  him  a  com- 
fortable living  the  remainder  of  his 
days.  No  man  in  the  county  is  more 
highly  esteemed  than  he,  or  stands 
higher  in  commercial  honesty.  He  and 
his  wife  are  members  of  the  M.  E.  church. 
In  politics  Mr.  Thorpe  is  a  republican. 
His  first  vote  was  cast  for  Henry  Clay. 
He  was  an  old  line  whig  and  voted  that 
ticket  until  Abraham  Lincoln  was  nom- 
inated,.when  he  voted  the  republican 
ticket  and  still  continues  to  east  his  vote 
with  that  party. 

Jefferson  Coonrod,  a  son  of  Rev. 
Stephen  Coonrod,  of  whom  mention  is 
made  elsewhere,  was  horn  May  5,  1823, 
in  Wayne  county,  111.  When  six  years 
of  age  he  came  with  his  father  to  this 
county.  He  was  reared  on  his  father's 
farm,  receiving  only  a  limited  educa- 
tion, lie  was  married  June  2,  1S47,  to 
Temperance  Drum,  horn  near  Carroll- 
ton,  Dec.  11,  1827.  She  is  a  daughter 
of  John  and  Dillie  (Wood)  Drum,  early 
settlers  of  Greene  county,  who  resided 
here  until  their  deaths.  After  marriage, 
Mr.  Coonrod  purchased  40  acres  of  land 
on  the  northwest  quarter  of  section  22, 
and  went  to  work  with  willing  hands, 
and  his  energy  and  perseverance  have 
been  rewarded  with  success,  he  being 
now  the  owner  of  475  acres  of  valu- 
able land.  For  the  first  purchase  he 
paid  83  per  acre,  and  for  some  since 
that    time    870  per    acre,    and  he    ex- 


perienced more  difficulty  in  then  pay- 
ing the  first  named  price  than  he 
did  Liter  on  in  paying  the  last.  He  re- 
remained  on  the  farm  until  Feb.,  1873, 
when  lie  rented  his  farm,  and  purchased 
a  lot  in  Greenfield,  on  which  he  erected 
the  fine  residence  in  which  he  now  re- 
sides, and  is  enjoying  the  fruits  of 
many  years  labor.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Drum, 
the  parents  of  Mrs.  Coonrod,  were  na- 
tives of  North  Carolina.  Her  father 
was  a  soldier  in  the  war  of  1812.  They 
first  settled  near  Carrollton,  hut  after; 
wards  moved  to  Rubicon  township, 
where  Temperance  was  married.  Mr. 
Coonrod  is  one  of  the  prominent  citi- 
zens of  Greenfield,  ami  stands  high  in 
the  estimation  of  all  who  have  the 
pleasure  of  his  acquaintance,  meriting 
this  esteem  by  his  honesty,  pleasing 
address,  and  genial  manners. 

FAYETTE. 

The  village  of  Fayette,  was  laid  out 
in  1835,  the  plat  of  the  same  being  tiled 
for  record  Sept.  10  of  that  year.  The 
original  proprietors  were  Manoah  Bost- 
wick,  James  Metcalf,  and  William 
Blair.  Mr.  Metealf's  land  lay  along  the 
county  line,  on  section  12,  Mr.  Bost- 
wick's  south  of  it,  on  section  13,  and 
Mr.  Blair's  on  the  west  of  Mr.  Metealf's. 
Three  buildings  were  at  once  put  up. 
Manoah  Bostwick  and  James  Metcalf 
putting  up  store  buildings,  and  a  Mr. 
Hall  erecting  a  dwelling  house.  The 
first  merchants  were  Metcalfand  Wood- 
son, who  were  followed,  shortly  after, 
by  Blair  &  Brother.  Soon  the  princi- 
pal street  began  to  be  thickly  dotted 
with  dwelling  houses,  and  the  little 
burg  began  to  look  quite  townlike.  But, 
of  late  years, there  has  been  little  growth. 


926 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


CHAPTER    XX. 


LINDER  TOWNSHIP. 


Township  10  north,  range  11  west, 
was  formed  by  the  board  of  county  su- 
pervisors into  a  civil  sub-division  of 
the  county,  in  1885,  to  which  they  gave 
the  name  of  Linder  township,  after  one 
of  the  old  pioneer  families.  It  is 
bounded  on  the  north  by  the  township 
of  Wrights,  on  the  east  by  Rockbridge, 
on  the  south  by  Kane  and  Rockbridge, 
and  on  the  west  by  Carrollton  township, 
and  embraces  nearly  36  sections  of  land, 
or  about  23,000  acres.  Several  streams, 
tributaries  of  the  Macoupin  creek,  me- 
ander throughout  it,  supplying  adequate 
drainage  ami  plenty  of  living  water  for 
all  stock  purposes.  There  are  no  rail- 
roads or  towns  within  its  borders,  but 
its  proximity  to  the  towns  of  Green- 
field, Carrollton  and  Kane,  make  this 
no  great  hardship.  The  inhabitants 
are  a  purely  agricultural  and  pastoral 
people,  as  a  class,  and  are  thrift)'  and 
prosperous.  The  surface  of  the  land  is 
generally  rolling,  the  west  half  being 
pretty  well  covered  with  timber,  while 
the  eastern  half  is  principally  prairie. 
The  soil  is  of  the  rich,  dark,  uctuous 
loam,  so  characteristic  of  tins  state,  and 
for  fertility  has  no  superior  in  the 
world. 

EARLY    SETTLEMENT. 

The  first  lo  make  a  settlement  in  this 
township  was  Martin  Wood,  a  brother 
cit'  Sheriff  Young  Wood.  Martin  came 
here  and  built  the  first  cabin  in  the  pre- 


cinct, in  1818,  on  the  farm  now  known 
as  the  Curtius  place.  He  afterward  re- 
moved to  Athensville. 

Luther  and  Calvin  Tunnel],  in  1818, 
commenced  some  improvements  in  this 
township.  Luther  finished  and  moved 
into  his  cabin,  but  sickness  prevented 
Calvin  from  moving  until  the  spring  of 
1819.  A  sketch  of  these  pioneers  is 
given  elsewhere. 

James  Caldwell  and  Thomas  Crane 
came  to  this  county  in  the  fall  of  1820, 
ami,  before  winter,  had  cabins  built  in 
this  township. 

In  1821,  Jacob  Linder,  with  his  fam- 
ily, among  whom  was  lsham,  now 
known  as  lsham  Sr.,  settled  on  a  tract 
of  land,  on  section  15,  where  George  L. 
Burruss  now  resides.  Jacob  afterward 
settled  on  the  farm  now  owned  by  E. 
Twitchell,  where  he  lived  until  his 
death.  Jacob  Linder  was  born  near 
Abingdon,  Va.,aml  received  the  limited 
education  afforded  by  the  schools  of 
that  day.  Attaining  manhood,  he  im- 
migrated to  Anderson  county,  Tenn., 
where  he  was  married  to  Dicy  Woods, 
of  North  Carolina,  in  1798.  By  this 
marriage  there  were  eight  children.  In 
1810,  he  came,  with  his  family,  to 
Illinois,  locating  in  Madison  county. 
During  the  war  of  1812,  he  took  an  act- 
ive part,  enlisting  in  Capt.  Moore's 
rangers.  In  1821,  he  sold  out  and  came 
here,  as  above  stated.     He  died  here, 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


92; 


full  of  years.  Isham  Linder  was  born 
in  1802,  hence  was  19  years  old  on  his 
advent  to  this  county.  He  was  mar- 
ried, Aug.  5,  182(3,  to  Sarah  Vaughn. 
These  old  people  are  now  living  a  re- 
tired life  in  Carrollton. 

Alexander  King  located  on  section  17. 
in  this  township,  in  1821,  where  he 
went  to  work  to  open  up  a  farm.  He 
was  a  North  Carolinian.  Here  he  lived 
until  deatli  claimed  him  as  his  own,  in 
Aug.,  1872,  when  he  had  reached  the 
advanced  age  of  85.  He  and  his  wife 
were  both  members  of  the  Baptist 
church,  and  are  buried  in  the  graveyard 
at  Providence. 

John  Johnson  came  to  Linder  town- 
ship, in  1821,  and  settled  upon  section 
3,  which  he  had  entered  at  the  land 
office,  in  Edwardsville,  prior  to  his 
coming  here.  He  was  a  native  of  North 
Carolina,  born  in  March,  1792.  He 
came  to  Illinois,  locating  at  Edwards- 
ville, in  1812,  and  entered  the  ranger 
service,  during  the  war  that  began  that 
year.  He  was  married,  in  1812,  to  Mary 
J.  Maines,  by  whom  be  had  nine  chil- 
dren. He  settled  on  the  place  he  thus 
became  the  owner  of,  and  commenced  to 
make  his  improvements,  and  lived  here 
the  balance  of  bis  days. 

In  the  spring  of  1823,  John  W.  Huitt, 
who  had  been  living  south  of  the  Ma- 
coupin creek,  in  what  is  now  Ruyle 
township,  Jersey  county,  since  1818, 
came  to  the  territory  now  known  as 
Linder  township,  purchasing  80  acres  of 
land.     A  full  sketch  is  given  elsewhere. 

William  J.  Brown  made  an  improve- 
ment and  settlement  here  in  1823  or  24. 

William  Crane  took  up  his  residence 
in  this  township  in  1823.  He  died  here 
after  many  years. 

_ -Tj 


In  1823,  A.  J.  Johnson  made  a  settle- 
ment in  this  township,  and  for  some 
years  was  identified  with  its  interests, 
but  in  the  course  of  time  passed  away. 

George  Mehlrum  and  family  came  to 
this  part  of  the  county  in  1825,  and  tak- 
ing up  some  land  entered  upon  the  bard 
work  of  a  pioneer.  He  lived  here  until 
his  death.     Will  Meldrum  is  his  son. 

Will  Meldrum  was  born  in  Linder 
township,  Greene  county,  111.,  bis  par- 
ents being  George  and  Elizabeth  (Stout ) 
Meldrum.  the  former  of  whom  was  a 
native  of  the  Emerald  Isle,  and  the  lat- 
ter of  Pennsylvania.  George  Meldrum 
removed  to  this  county  in  1825,  and 
settled  in  Linder  township,  where  he 
resided  up  to  the  time  of  his  death, 
which  occurred  Dec.  28,  1842.  His 
widow  is  now  the  wife  of  Amos  Mc- 
Pheron.  Mr.  Meldrum  was  a  member 
of  the  M.  E.  church,  and  at  his  death 
was  interred  in  the  Providence  cemetery. 
Will  Meldrum  was  reared  on  a  farm, 
and  received  his  education  in  the  dis- 
trict schools  of  bis  native  county,  lie 
was  united  in  marriage,  in  1867,  with 
Nettie  Bannen,  a  native  of  Ohio,  and  a 
daughter  of  John  Bannen.  Their  mar- 
riage has  been  blessed  with  seven  chil- 
dren, six  of  whom  are  now  living — 
George  E.,  Oscar  L.,  Harry  W.,  Bessie 
J.,  Lottie  M.  and  Fred  W.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Meldrum  are  consistent  members 
of  the  Providence  Baptist  church,  he 
also  being  a  member  of  Carrollton 
lodge,  No.  332,  I.  0.  O.  F.  In  the 
month  of  Aug.,  1862,  he  enlisted  in  Co. 
F,  1st  Mo.  Cav.,  and  served  till  mus- 
tered out,  June  13,  1865.  He  partici- 
pated in  the  Red  River  campaign.  Co. 
F,  serving  as  escort  to  Major-General 
Gordon    Granger.      He   was   also    with 


928 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


Rosecrans  on  the  marc])  from  Murfrees- 
boro,  Tenn.,to  Hunts ville,  Ala.  Acted 
as  orderly  to  Gen.  Phil  Sheridan,  at 
Shelbyville,  Term.,  riding  at  the  gen- 
eral's left  hand,  when  18,000  men 
charged  the  fort,  and  captured  it.  Mr. 
Meldrum  owns  55  acres  of  improved 
land  on  section  27,  Linder  township, 
where  he  carries  on  general  farming. 

George  W.  Meldrum  was  horn  in 
Linder  township,  Greene  county,  in 
1834,  being  a  son  of  George  and  Eliza- 
beth (Stout)  Meldrum.  In  1861  he  en- 
listed in  the  14th  111.  Inf.,  and  served 
line  year,  being  then  discharged  on  ac- 
count of  disability.  He  participated  in 
the  battle  of  Shil'oh.  April  2,  1863,  he 
was  married  to  Jane  A.  Wilson,  a  native 
of  this  county.  They  have  three  child- 
ren— William,  Mary  and  Nellie.  The 
family  arc  members  of  the  M.  E. 
church,  and  he  is  also  a  member  of  the 
A.  V.  A  A.  M. 

About  the  year  1825,  Ephraim  and 
Temple  Nix,  Henry  Cook,  and  John 
Barnett,  came  into  what  is  now  Linder 
township,  and  located.  They  were  the 
pioneers  of  what  is  known  as  the  Wal- 
nut Grove  settlement.  Ephraim  Nix 
settled  on  section  24,  where  he  resided 
until  1842,  when  he  sold  out  and  re- 
moved to  Macoupin  county,  where  he 
died,  a  few  years  ago.  Temple  Nix  en- 
tered 160  acres  just  south  of  his  brother, 
on  the  same  section.  He  died  there 
many  years  ago. 

Henry  Cook  entered  some  700  acres  of 
land  in  their  immediate  vicinity,  and 
made  extensive  improvements.  To 
1 1  note  from  some  articles  written  by  J. 
II.  VanArsdale,  from  which  are  gleaned 
many  facts,  and  to  whom  thanks  are  re- 
turned :     "  Mr.  Cook  was  quite  a  prom- 


inent man  in  his  day,  and  the  settle- 
ment was  for  many  years  known  as 
Cook's  Prairie.  He  was  born  and 
reared  near  St.  Louis,  and  could  speak 
French  and  several  Indian  dialects,  and 
frequently  acted  as  interpreter  for  gov- 
ernment officers  when  transacting  busi- 
ness with  the  Indians.  He  married,  for 
his  fifth  wife,  a  sister  of  the  late  William 
Kincaid,  who  is  still  living,  in  Texas, 
in  the  94th  year  of  her  age.  In  1844,  he 
sold  to  E.  J.  Secor,  the  20  acres  of  land 
on  which  the  Walnut  Grove  church  now 
stands.  In  1846,  he  sold  the  remainder 
of  his  farm,  all  south  of  the  main  road, 
to  John  Rhodes,  the  160  acres  north  to 
John  Hardcastle — and  then,  over  70 
years  of  age,  he  moved  his  family  to 
Texas. 

In  1826,  James  Miller  came  to  this 
county  and  entered  160  acres  on  section 
23,  of  this  township.  He  commenced 
his  improvements  at  once,  and  resided 
on  this  place  for  many  years,  until  re- 
moved by  the  hand  of  death.  He  was  a 
member  of  the  Baptist  church,  and  a 
very  singular  man,  hardly,  if  ever,  seen 
away  from  home,  as  he  made  almost  an 
entire  recluse  of  himself. 

During  the  year  1826,  Elisha  Stout 
and  his  family,  from  Ohio,  located  about 
three  miles  east  of  Carrollton,  in  this 
township,  where  he  resided  for  many 
years.  He  was  a  native  of  the  state  of 
Pennsylvania. 

In  1827  William  Gough  settled  on  sec- 
tion 15,  where  he  lived  until  overtaken 
by  death,  many  years  after  coming  to 
this  county. 

Isaac  Landis,  a  Tennessean,  came  to 
this  township  in  1827,  and  settled  upon 
a  farm.  He  was  married  in  Tennessee 
to  Esther  King,  also  a  native    of    that 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY 


929 


state.  His  son,  William,  now  resides 
in  the  township. 

James  Ashlock,  another  old  pioneer, 
came  to  this  county  in  1828,  and  located 
on  section  22,  of  this  township. 

James  Ashlock,  deceased,  one  of  the 
pioneers  of  the  county,  was  horn  Dec. 
23,  1799,  in  Tennessee.  With  his  fami- 
ly be  came  to  Greene  county,  111.,  in 
Nov.,  1828,  and  settled  on  section  22, 
Linder  township,  where  he  entered  80 
acres  of  land,  and  built  a  log  cabin, 
18x20,  in  which  he  resided  till  1850, 
when  he  built  a  new  one.  in  which  he 
lived  until  his  death,  which  occurred 
April  12,  1862.  He  improved  his  farm 
from  raw  prairie  and  hazel  brush. 
Janus  Ashlock,  and  Edah,  his  wife, 
were  married  Feb.  11,  1819.  She  de- 
parted this  life  April  13,  1850,  having 
been  born  May  4,  1801.  They  were  the 
parents  of  eight  children — James  M., 
born  Fell.  19,  1820,  now  engaged  in  the 
grocer}'  business  at  Litchfield;  Wm.  M., 
born  Nov.  14,  1821;  Jesse  C,  born  Nov. 
2.  1823,  now  living  in  Carrollton:  Eve 
J.,  born  March  22.  1-S:27,  now  the  wife  of 
James  Jackson;  John  N.,  born  Aug.  10, 
1830,  now  living  in  Missouri;  Samuel 
C,  born  July  1,  1835,  now  in  Kansas; 
George  W.,  born  Sept.  16,  1845. 

William  M.  Ashlock,  a  son  of  the 
above,  was  born  Nov.  14,  1821,  in  Ten- 
nessee, and  came  to  this  county,  with 
his  parents,  in  1828.  When  16  years  of 
age,  he  left  home  and  hired  out  by  the 
month,  on  a  farm.  He  continued  as  a 
farm  hand  until  his  marriage,  B'eb.  7, 
1S44,  with  Nancy  Gough,  a  native  of 
Ohio,  and  a  daughter  of  William  Gough, 
of  Ohio.  They  had  12  children  born  to 
them — George  K.,  born  March  2o,  1845; 
William  H.,  born  April   12,  1847;  Mary 


V.,  born  March  7,  1849,  the  wife  of 
Marsh  Steele;  Eliza  J.,  born  Aug.  1, 
1850,  died  July  10,  1857;  Margaret  L. 
and  Martha  Y .,  twins,  horn  April  '!'■'>, 
1852 — the  former  now  the  wife  of  Jacob 
Hunt,  of  this  township,  and  the  latter 
the  wife  of  R.  Johnson,  of  Iowa;  Min- 
erva M.,  born  Dec.  18,  1854.  wife  of 
James  Dixon,  of  Rockbridge  township; 
Luther  N.,  born  June  16,  1857.  died 
Sept.  16,  1858;  Harvey  H.,  horn  April 
10,  1859;  Julia  A.,  horn  Nov.  8,  1861, 
widow  of  Caleb  Dixon;  Henry  C,  born 
Oct.  23,  1864;  Lucy  E.,  horn  Jan.  4, 
1867,  died  Dec.  14,  1884.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Ashlock  and  their  children  are  mem- 
bers of  the  Baptist  church,  while  he  is 
also  an  A.  F.  and  A.  M.  He  has  held 
the  offices  of  township  trustee  and  school 
director  of  his  district  several  terms. 
He  now  owns  800  acres  of  improved 
lands,  on  which  he  has  good  improve- 
ments, and  carries  on  farming  and  stock- 
raising.  He  is  a  breeder  of  thorough- 
bred horses  of  the  Lexington  family. 
His  brood  now  consists  of  lit  mares  ami 
a  stallion.  His  stallion,  Cape  Race, 
was  foaled  in  1869,  by  Lexington  and 
Zene,  by  The  Cure.  One  of  bis  get. 
King  Lion,  sold  by  Mr.  Ashlock  to 
Daniel  O'Connor,  won  s5,ikki  for  his 
owner  last  season.  Mr.  Ashlock  sold 
him  as  a  three-year-old  for  8500.  The 
Ashlock  family  is  one  of  the  well  known 
ones  of  this  county,  and  are  much  re- 
spected by  all  their  friends  and  ac- 
quaintances. 

George  K.  Ashlock,  a  son  of  William 
M.  and  Nancy  (Gough)  Ashlock,  was 
born  in  Linder  township,  Greene  county , 
111.,  in  1845.  He  was  reared  to  agricul- 
tural pursuits,  and  received  his  educa- 
tion in  the  district  schools,  also  attend- 


930 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COL  N  TY. 


ing  school  in  Carrollton,  two  years. 
He  was  united  in  marriage,  in  1868, 
with  Cynthia  A.  Hudson,  a  native  of 
this  county,  and  the  daughter  of  Wil- 
liam W.  Hudson.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Ash- 
loek  have  been  the  parents  of.  four 
children — George  A.,  Laura  J.,  died 
March  14,  1872,  aged  one  year  and  one 
month;  Elizabeth  E.,  and  Edward  L. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Ashlock,  and  their  eldest 
daughter,  are  memberB  of  the  Baptist 
church,  while  lie  is  also  a  member  of 
Carrollton  lodge,  A.  P.  and  A.  M.  Mr. 
Ashlock  is  now  the  owner  of  200  acres 
of  well  improved  land  in  hinder  town- 
ship, and  is  engaged  in  fanning  and 
stock  raising,  having  a  few  thorough- 
bred horses.  In  politics,  he  is  a  staunch 
supporter  of  the  republican  party,  and 
at  present  is  a  member  of  the  school 
hoard  of  his  district.  LLis  father  is 
numbered  among  the  early  settlers  of 
the  county,  and  a  sketch  of  whom  will 
be  found  in  its  proper  place  in  this 
volume. 

Harvey  H.  Ashlock  was  born  in 
Greene  county,  111.,  April  10,  1859,  and 
is  a  son  of  William  M.  and  Nancy 
(Gough)  Ashlock.  He  was  married 
1  »ec.  2(1, 1881,  to  Emma  B.  Hankins,  and 
to  them  one  child  was  born — Elmer 
Blaine,  born  July  23, 1885.  Mr.  Ashlock 
resides  upon  one  of  his  father's  farms, 
which  contains  120  acres,  all  under  cul- 
tivation. In  politics  he  is  a  republican. 
In  1881  he  became  a  member  of  Carroll- 
ton lodge  No  150,  A.  F.  &  A.  M.,  and 
since  received  the  degree  of  R.  A.  M., 
and  is  a  member  of  the  chapter  and  com- 
mandery.  Mr.  and  Mrs  Ashlock  are 
members  of  Providence  Paptist  church. 

John  Hardcastle  came  to  Linder  town- 
ship in  1829,  and  commenced  life  upon 


a  farm.  He  was  a  native  of  Caroline 
county,  Md.,  born  Jan.  27,  1792.  In 
1824,  with  his  three  brothers,  he  came 
to  the  state  of  Illinois,  and  located  in 
the  town  of  Carrollton,  where  they  es- 
tablished a  carpenter  and  cabinet  shop, 
and  also  did  something  in  the  way  of 
farming.  On  the  9th  of  June,  1829,John 
Hardcastle  and  Margaret  Hamilton  were 
united  in  marriage.  They  lived  here 
until  overtaken  by  death.  They  had  a 
family  of  10  children,  six  of  whom  are 
living.  Mr.  Hardcastle  was  called  to 
cross  the  dark  river,  Sept.  10,  1S74;  his 
wife  died  March  27,  1882. 

In  1832,  John  Heaton  and  Benjamin 
Spuance  came  here  and  entered  the  east 
half  of  section  14,  which  they  im- 
proved.    Both  are  long  since  dead. 

Among  other  settlers  of  about  this 
time  may  be  mentioned  the  names  of 
John  Stacy,  a  Mr.  Morris,  and  Rev.  Ab- 
ner  Hill. 

John  Richardson  settled  on  section 
13,  the  same  year.  Lie  was  an  English- 
man, and  sometime  after  his  arrival 
was  married  to  a  daughter  of  John  Bar- 
nett.  He  lived  here  a  number  of  years, 
but  finally  sold  out  and  located  near 
Shipman,  where  he  still  resides. 

Amos  McPheron  came  to  Greene 
county,  in  1832,  and  settled  upon  land, 
which  he  entered,  on  section  26,  and  is 
still  a  resident  on  the  old  homestead. 
He  was  born  in  Knox  county,  Tenn., 
Sept.  22,  1796,  being  a  son  of  Samuel  and 
Elizabeth  (Campbell)  McPheron.  He  re- 
moved to  Morgan  county,  111.,  Dei'.  28, 
1828,  where  he  rented  a  farm.  In  the 
winter  of  1832,  he  came  to  Greene 
county  and  settled  on  section  26,  Lin- 
der township,  where  he  now  lives  and 
owns  40  acres  of  land.     He  was  married 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


931 


in  1819  to  Hetty  Morris,  a  native  of 
Virginia.     By  that  marriage  10  children 

were  born— Samuel,  now  in  Missouri; 
William,  now  in  Missouri;  James  A., 
of  Carrollton  township;  Hester  A.;  Lu- 
cindaJ.,  who  died  in  1833;  Alexander 
and  Lorenzo  D.,  both  died  young;  Eliza 
A.,  wife  of  Robert  Hudelson,  of  Ma- 
coupin county;  Henry  C,  now  in  Kan- 
sas. Mrs.  McPheron  died  in  1841,  and 
Mr.  McPheron  was  again  married,  in 
1842,  to  Elizabeth  Meldrum,  the  widow 
of  George  Meldrum.  By  this  marriage 
two  children  were  born — Margaret  A., 
wife  of  .lames  Hankins;  and  Charles 
Y\\,  of  hinder  township.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
McPheron  are  still  living  upon  the  old 
homestead,  having  arrived  at  a  ripe  old 
age,  and  they  are  much  respected  by 
their  neighbors  and  friends. 

Charles  W.  McPheron,  a  son  of  Amos 
and  Elizabeth  (Meldrum)  McPheron, 
nee  Stout,  was  bom  in  hinder  township, 
Greene  county,  111.,  in  1S4G.  He  was 
reared  on  a  farm,  and  received  his  edu- 
cation in  the  district  schools  of  his 
neigborhood.  He  was  united  in  mar- 
riage, in  1872,  with  Anna  Lanham,  a 
native  of  this  county,  and  the  daughter 
of  Edward  and  Elizabeth  Lanham.  They 
have  been  blessed  with  two  children — 
James  H.  and  Roy.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
McPheron  are  consistent  members  of 
the  M.  E.  church,  and  he  is  also  a  mem- 
ber of  Carrollton  lodge,  No.  150,  A.  F.  & 
A.M.  He  owns  SO  acres  of  improved 
land  on  section  27,  Linder  township, 
where  he  is  engaged  in  agricultural  pur- 
suits. 

Among  the  pioneers  of  this  section  of 
the  county  was  Joshua  Secor,  who,  in 
May,  1833,  immigrated  to  this  county, 
and  settled  on  section  13,  in  this   town- 


ship, after  a  short  stay  in  Carrollton. 
He  was  a  native  of  Westchester  count}  , 
New  York,  born  in  1782.  The  Secors 
were  decendents  of  the  French  Hugue- 
nots, of  the  17th  and  18th  centuries,  who, 
forced  to  fly  their  native  land,  settled 
in  this  country.  Joshua  learned  the 
trade  of  cabinet  making.  He  was  mar- 
ried in  Morristown,  New  Jersey,  June 
27,  1810,  to  Tryphenia  Raynor,  a  native 
of  that  state,  who  was  born  June  19, 
1790.  Shortly  before  his  marriage,  he 
removed  to  Charleston.  S.  C,  but  after 
one  year,  returned  north,  locating  in 
Greene  county,  Penn.,  where  he  resided 
until  coming  here.  He  entered  the 
west. half  of  section  13,  and  being  in  the 
possession  of  means,  and  energy,  soon 
had  everything  in  good  shape.  He 
built  the  first  saw-mill  in  Illinois,  that 
was  propelled  by  wind.  This  stood 
near  where  George  Secor  now  lives.  It 
was  afterward  destroyed  by  fire.  He 
resided  on  his  original  purchase,  until 
after  the  death  of  his  beloved  wife, 
which  sad  event  occurred  Dec.  23,  1859. 
A  short  time  thereafter,  he  went  to  live 
with  his  son,  Elijah  J.,  making  his 
home  with  him,  until  Oct.  24,  1873.  He 
and  his  wife  were  both  members  of  the 
Presbyterian  church,  he  always  taking 
an  active  part  in  church  matters,  as 
leader  of  the  choir,  he  being  a  natural 
musician.  He  received  his  education 
in  an  academy,  at  Horse  Neck,  N.  Y., 
in  1800.  He  then  went  to  the  city  of 
New  York,  where  his  father  bound  him 
to  a  cabinet  maker.  He  worked  at  his 
trade  there,  till  1810,  when  he  went  to 
Morristown,  N.  J.,  and  formed  a  part- 
nership with  Silas  Miller,  in  the  manu- 
facturing business,  which  they  contin- 
ued a  short  time.     He  then  removed   to 


932 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


Clarksville,  Penn.,  where  until  1833,  he 
carried  on  an  extensive  cabinet  making 
business.  He  then  came  to  this  coun- 
ty, as  heretofore  stated.  He  took  an 
active  part  in  political  matters,  first 
being  a  whig  and  then  a  republican. 
He  held  the  office  of  postmaster  20 
years,  in  Pennsylvania.  In  his  com- 
mission was  inserted  the  condition  that 
In  should  not  be  removed  on  account 
of  political  sins.  He  was  commissioned 
a  captain  in  the  war  of  1812,  and  served 
a  short  time.  He  was  noted  as  a  great 
lover  of  home,  and  always  attended 
strictly  to  his  own  business.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Secor  wore  the  parents  of  nine 
children — Mary  A.  C.,the  deceased  wife 
of  Win.  E.  Ryan,  of  Greenfield;  Chas. 
R.,  died  Dec.  11,  1846;  Elijah  J.,  of  this 
township;  Wm.  A.,  died  March  22, 1861; 
Maria  E.,  died  Nov.  25,  1824;  Maria  J., 
deceased  wife  of  Jacob  March;  George 
A.,  of  this  township;  John  J.,  died  Dec. 
18,  1832;  and  .Silas  L.,  now  a  citizen  of 
Moberly,  Mo.  Joshua  Secor  departed 
this  life  on  the  24th  day  of  Oct.,  1873, 
which  event  was  deeply  mourned  by  his 
family  and  many  friends. 

Elijah  J.  Secor,  a  son  of  the  above, 
was  born  in  Clarksville,  Penn.,  Nov. 
16,1816.  With  his  parents  he  came  to 
this  county  in  1833,  where  he  has  since 
resided.  He  was  united  in  marriage, 
Dec.  2,  1841,  in  Belmont  county,  0., 
with  Elizabeth  A.  Lockwood,  a  native 
of  that  state,  and  a  daughter  of  Judge 
David  Lockwood,  an  early  settler  of 
Belmont  county,  0.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Secor  were  blessed  with  S  children — 
Rebecca  T.,  wife  of  Geo.  Robinson,  of 
Kansas;  Theodore  F.,  died  in  infancy; 
Edmund  C,  born  March  28,  1846,  and 
killed   by  lightning,  July   17,  1870;  Le- 


vina  E.,  born  April  is,  1843,  died  in 
infancy;  Eliza  J.,  born  March  Hi,  1851, 
the  wife  of  Prof.  W .  .1.  Davis,  now 
principal  of  the  Cherokee  Male  Sem- 
inary, in  the  Indian  territory;  Benja- 
min L.,  born  Dec.  2,  1852,  at  home  at- 
tending to  his  father's  farm;  James  L., 
born  Jan.  26,  1854,  now  of  St.  Louis, 
practicing  law;  Arthur  T.,  born  May  25, 
1857,  now  living  on  a  stock  farm  owned 
by  his  father,  in  Rockbridge  township. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Secor  and  their  children 
are  members  of  the  Cumberland  Presby- 
terian church,  and  he  has  been  an  elder 
in  the  church  since  1842.  Mr.  S.  now 
owns  700  acres  of  improved  land  in  this 
county,  the  house  in  which  he  lives 
being  valued  at  $5,000,  and  a  house  on 
another  of  his  farms,  occupied  by  his 
son  Arthur,  costing  $2,500.  Although 
a  natural  mechanic,  he  has  always  been 
engaged  in  farming  and  stock  raising, 
and  has  been  eminently  successful.  In 
polities  he  is  a  republican,  has  been 
postmaster  at  Walnut  Grove,  but  has 
had  no  ambition  for  political  prefer- 
ment. Mr.  Secor  is  a  kind,  genial  gen- 
tleman, and  is  much  respected  by  all 
who  are  intimately  acquainted  with 
him. 

OTHER  PROMINENT  PEOPLE. 

John  Rhodes,  a  leading  representa- 
tive of  one  of  the  old  settler  families  of 
this  county,  is  a  native  of  Yorkshire, 
England,  where  he  was  born  Sept.  14, 
1824.  He  was  a  son  of  Joseph  and 
Maria  (Exley)  Rhodes,  both  natives  of 
the  same  country.  Joseph  Rhodes, 
with  his  family,  came  to  America  in 
1831, and  settled  near  Lynnville,  Morgan 
county,  111.,  where  they  remained  till 
the  spring  of  1838.  They  then  came  to 
this  county  and  located  on  section   24, 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


933 


Linder    township,   where    Mr.    Rhodes 
resided  until   his  death,  Sept.  1,  1858, 
his  wife  having  preceded  him  to  that 
far   away   home,    in    Sept.,   1831.     Her 
death  occurred  in   St.    Louis,  while  the 
family  wereimmigrating  to  Morgan  coun- 
ty.    Mr.  and  Mrs.  Rhodes  were  the  par- 
ents of  four  children— William,  df  Vernon 
county,   Mo.;  John,  of   this   township; 
Joseph,  who  died  in  Marshall  county, 
111.,  in  1854;  and  Anna,  who  died  in  in- 
fancy.    Joseph  Rhodes  started  in  life  a 
poor  boy,  but  by   hard  work  and   good 
management,    he   had  amassed    a   com- 
petency hct'ore  his  death.     Both  he  and 
his  wife  were  members  of  the  M.    E. 
church.     John   Rhodes,  the   suhject  of 
our  sketch,  was   united  in  marriage,  in 
June,  1852.  with  Annis  Wright,  a  native 
of  this   county.     By    their    union    they 
have  been  blessed  with  three  children — 
Anna,  the    deceased    wife  of  J.  M.  Val- 
entine, of  Rockbridge;  Ida  M.,  wife  of 
C.  G.  Edwards,   who  now   resides   with 
Mr.    Rhodes  cm   the  home   place.     Mr. 
R.    now   owns   600   acres    of   improved 
land,   the   house  and   out-buildings    on 
the  same  being  valued  at  $6,000.     He 
has  always  been  engaged  in  farming  and 
stock-raising,   paying   particular   atten- 
tion to  he   breeding  of  short-horn   cat- 
tle.    He  is  now    leading  a   retired   life, 
having    retired   in   the  spring    of   1885. 
In  his  younger  days,  Mr.  Rhodes    did 
not    enjoy    the   good   health,  which    lie 
does    in    his    more    mature    years.      In 
1876  he  visited  Philadelphia,  New  York 
anil  Niagara  Falls,  and  enjoyed  the  trip 
very  much.     Mr.  and   Mrs.  Rhodes  are 
consistent  members  of  the  M.  E.  church, 
and     he     is    elass    leader     and     trustee. 
While  the  whig  party  was  in  existence 
he  was  a  member  of  it,  and  is  now  a  re- 


publican.    His   education   was  received 
in  district  schools,  ami  he  is  now  noted 
as  being  a  very  liberal  man  in  every  way. 
Coonrod    Kahm    was   born   in    Hesse 
Darmstadt,  Germany,  -Ian.   2,    1827,  his 
parents  being  Philip  and  Anna  (Sabelle) 
Kahm,  both  natives  of  the  samecountry. 
With    his    parents,  Coonrod     came    to 
America,    in    1845,    and    settled    in    St. 
Louis,  Mo.,  where  they  remained  eighl 
months,  then  coming  to  this  county  and 
settling  on  section  1.'!,  Linder  township, 
where  Philip  afterward  died.      Coonrod 
was  married,  in  1852, to  Margaret  Egel- 
hoff,  a  native  of  Germany.     They  have 
had  three  children  born  to   them — John 
P.,  born  June  27,  1853,    married   .March 
9,  1875,  and  resides   in    this,  township: 
Maggie  A.,  bom  Dec.  17,  1855,  married 
Sept.  8,    1874,   and  died  July    10,  1875; 
Minnie  W.,  born  Jan.   30,  1867,   resides 
at  home.     Mr.  and  Mrs.  Kahm  and  their 
children  are   members   of  the   German 
Reformed  church.      He  now  owns  520 
acres   of  land,    on  which    lie  has    im- 
provements costing  over   $4,000,  and  is 
engaged  in    farming,  and  feeding  cattle, 
in  which    he    has    been    eminently   suc- 
cessful.    He  also  owns  an  $1,800   store 
building  in  Greenfield,  and  once  acre  of 
town  land.     Coonrod  began  the  battle  of 
life  a  poor  boy,   but  by  industry,  lend 
work  and  good  management,  has  suc- 
ceeded in  gaining  a  competency.      He  is 
now  numbered   among  the   leading  and 
substantial  Germans  of  the  county,  and 
has   a    reputation    for   honesty   and    fair 
dealing  of  which  he  and  his  family  may 
well  feel  proud 

Peter  L>.  Hudson,  a  native  of  Georgia, 
came  to  Greene  county.  111.,  in  1837, 
ami  settled  five  miles  northeast  of  Car- 
rollton,  where    he    bought   160  acres   of 


934 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


land,  but  mi  account  of  it  being  a  sickly 
place,  he  only  made  his  home  there 
four  years.  In  the  spring  of  1841  he  re- 
moved to  Rockbridge  township,  where, 
for  seven  years,  he  rented  land.  He 
then  bought  2(H)  acres  on  section  29, 
where,  until  1861,  he  resided.  He  then 
sold  and  bought  232  acres  on  section  27, 
where  he  now  lives.  He  was  married, 
in  May,  1825,  to  Mary  Settle,  a  native 
of  Maryland. 

William  H.  Hudson,  a  son  of  the 
above,  was  born  in  Jefferson  county, 
Ind.,  Aug.  23,  1829.  With  his  parents 
he  came  to  this  county  in  1837.  Feb.  23, 
I860,  he- was  married  to  Levina  Kirby, 
a  native  of  this  county,  and  a  daughter 
of  Daniel  Kirby,  who  came  to  the  county 
in  1828,  from  Maryland.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Hudson  have  had  five  children. 

Philip  Murphy  was  born  in  county 
Mayo,  Ireland,  May  17,  1819,  being  a 
son  of  Francis  and  Bridget  (Mulharen) 
Murphy.  Philip  came  to  America, 
March  10,  1844,  and  settled  in  New 
York,  where  he  remained  until  1851, 
when  he  removed  to  St.  Louis,  Mo., 
where  he  made  his  home  for  10  years, 
engaged  as  a  laborer.  He  then  came  to 
Illinois,  and  settled  in  Jersey  county, 
buying  a  farm  of  60  aires  near  Delhi. 
There  he  remained  three  years,  then 
sold  his  farm  and  came  to  Greene 
county,  buying  SO  acres  of  land  on  sec- 
tion 34,  Linder  township,  where  he  yet 
resides.  By  hard  work  and  good  man- 
agement, he  has  succeeded  in  accumu- 
lating 360  acres  of  land,  160  of  which  is 
in  this  county,  and  200  acres  in  Mis- 
souri. Philip  Murphy  and  Ann  Col- 
lins, a  native  of  Ireland,  were  united  in 
the  holy  bonds  of  matrimony,  in  1851. 
They    were    the    parents    of  eight  chil- 


dren— Francis,  now  in  Nebraska;  Mary 
A.,  wife  of  Thomas  Case,  in  Kane  town- 
ship; William,  deceased;  Thomas,  now 
in  Chicago,  working  at  the  plumber's 
trade;  Maggie,  James,  John  and  Charles, 
at  home.  Mr.  Murphy  and  family  are 
members  of  the  Catholic  church,  and,  in 
politics,  he  is  a  liberal.  Pie  commenced 
life,  a  poor  boy,  but,  by  his  own  exer- 
tion, and  good  management,  he  has  suc- 
ceeded in  gaining  a  competency  for  him- 
self and  family.  Being  very  poor,  and 
desirous  of  having  an  education,  after 
his  day's  work  was  through,  he  would 
study  by  the  light  of  the  fire-place,  and 
at  last,  succeeded  in  getting  a  liberal 
education.  He  left  his  native  country 
on  account  of  the  form  of  government 
he  had  to  live  under,  he  being  a  lover 
of  free  schools,  and  free  soil.  He  is  a 
staunch  supporter  of  the  Irish  land 
league,  and  is  a  liberal  minded  and  pub- 
lic spirited  man.  Philip's  father  spent 
his  declining  years  with  his  son,  depart- 
ing this  life  on  the  20th  day  of  Aug., 
1880.  His  mother  died  in  1850,  in 
Zanesville,  O.  They  were  both  mem- 
bers of  the  Catholic  church. 

George  M.  Witt  was  born  in  Linder 
township,  Greene  county,  111.,  Oct.  6, 
1856.  He  is  a  son  of  Daniel  and  Dicy 
(Linder)  Witt,  the  former  a  native  of 
Tennessee,  and  the  latter  of  Greene 
county,  111.  Our  subject  has  resided  in 
this  county  all  his  life,  having  lived  mi 
the  farm  of  his  father  all  that  time,  with 
the  exception  of  about  one  year.  Mr. 
Witt  has  been  twice  married,  the  first 
time  to  Etna  Waltrip,  a  daughter  of 
Michael  and  Ailsey  Waltrip,  on  the  4th 
of  Oct.,  1879.  She  lived  only  a  few 
months  after  her  marriage,  passing  away 
May  10,  1880,  and  was  buried  two  days 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


935 


later,  at  Hickory  Grove  church,  of  which 
she  was  a  member.  Mr. Witt  was  again 
married,  Dec.  17,  1SM.  toJosle  Detche- 
mendyj  a  native  of  St.  Louis,  Mo.,  and 

a  daughter  of  Julc  and  Edna  i  Mallotte) 
Detchemendy,  of  French  descent,  who 
reside  in  St.  Louis.  Mr.  Witt  owns  250 
acres  of  land,  jointly  with  bis  father, all 
of  which  is  well  improved, showing  them 
to  be  industrious,  enterprising  men.  He 
devotes  considerable  attention  to  the 
raising  of  stock,  and  is  quite  successful 
at  it.  In  politics  Mr. Witt  is  a  democrat. 
Harry  D.  Burruss  was  born  Nov.  20, 
1850, in  this  township,  and  within  three- 
quarters  of  a  mile  of  where  he  now  re- 
sides. He  is  a  son  of  George  L.  and 
Maria  .1.  (Wood)  Burruss,  natives  of 
Kentucky.  They  now  reside  upon  the 
old  homestead  in  this  township.  Harry 
remained  at  home  working  upon  his 
father's  farm,  and  with  him  buying  and 
shipping  stock  to  market,  and  assisting 
him  in  other  farm  duties  until  lss". 
On  the  20th  of  Nov.,  1879,  he  was  mar- 
ried to  Kittie  A.  Beaty,  a  daughter  of 
John  S.  and  Mary  E.  (Ross)  Beaty,  both 
natives  of  Ohio.  They  came  to  Jersey 
county  in  1859,  where  they  resided  until 
1880,  when  they  removed  to  Missouri, 
where  they  now  reside.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Burruss  have  one  child — Vesta  Lois, 
born  April 30,1885.  Mr.  Burruss  hasa  fine 
farm  of  148  acres,  all  well  improved  and 
in  a  high  state  of  cultivation.  He  makes 
a  specialty  of  raising  stock  of  a  high 
grade,  having  a  short-horn  herd  headed 
by  Richmond,  24601,  recorded  in  vol- 
ume 15  of  tlie  American  short-horn  herd 
book,  at  Chicago,  111.  He  also  raises 
the  cotswold  and  southdown  grades  of 
sheep,  and  Poland-China  hogs,  and  has 
altogether  a  finely  stocked    farm.      He 


has  also  a  tine  residence,  pleasantly 
located  and  surrounded  with  all  conve- 
nient outbuildings.  Mr.  Burruss  is  a 
member  of  the  Presbyterian  church, 
having  united  with  that  organization  in 
1875.  In  politics  be  is  republican,  and 
is  one  ofthe  most  enterprising  residents 
of  this  county. 

Jonas  Kirbach,  a  prominent  German 
citizen  of  hinder  township,  was  born  in 
Luxemberg,  Germany,  on  the  6th  of 
Oct..  1833,  hieing  a  son  of  Nicholas  and 
Catherine  (Hoffman)  Kirbach,  both 
of  whom  were  also  natives  of  Germany, 
and  both  of  whom  died  there,  the  former 
in  1842,  and  the  latter  in  1857.  Nicholas 
was  a  miller  by  trade,  and  both  he  and 
his  wife  were  consistent  members  ofthe 
Catholic  church.  Jonas  also  learned 
the  miller's  trade  in  the  old  country,  at 
which  he  worked  there  up  to  the  time 
of  his  coming  to  America.  In  1859,  he 
bade  adieu  to  his  parents,  friends  ami 
fatherland,  and  took  passage  on  a  ves- 
sel, for  this,  his  adopted  country,  ar- 
riving in  New  York  city,  the  voyag 
cupying32  days.  From  New  York  he 
came  to  Chicago,  and  after  remaining 
there  a  week,  he  went  to  St.  Louis  in 
search  of  his  brother,  who  came  to  this 
country  a  year  previous,  ami  whom  he 
found  in  the  American  bottoms,  above 
Venice,  chopping  wood,  in  company 
with  four  other  men.  Here  Jonas  di- 
vided his  time  between  hunting  and 
cooking  for  the  wood  choppers  for  three 
weeks,  after  which  time  he  went  to 
Aurora.  Ill .,  where  he  worked  for  various 
parties  on  the  farm.  After  a  short  time 
he  went  to  LaSalle,  where  he  took  the 
boat  and  .-teamed  down  the  river  to  Har- 
din, where  he  chopped  wood  a  short 
time,  and  then  came  to   Barrow^'s  mill, 


936 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


mi  the  Macoupin  creek,  in  this  county, 
where  he  was  employed  as  a  miller  for 
three  years.  While  engaged  as  a  miller, 
he  rented  a  farm,  which  he  continued  to 
run  for  six  years.  The  next  succeeding 
10  years,  he  rented  the  J.  C.  Gardner 
farm,  and  then  bought  a  farm  of80  acres 
on  sections,  Linder  township,  where  he 
still  resides.  He  came  to  this  country  a 
poor  man,  hut  by  industry  ami  good 
management  has  succeeded  in  accumu- 
lating a  finely  improved  farm  of  160 
acres,  on  which  he  carries  on  farming 
ami  stock-raising,  his  farm  now  being 
well  stocked.  In  addition  to  what  lie 
owns,  Mr.  Kirbach  also  rent-  200  acres 
of  land.  Jonas  Kirbach  ami  Elizabeth 
Leady,  a  native  of  Germany,  were  mar- 
ried July  30,  1860.  By  this  union  there 
were  three  children — Elizabeth,  who 
died  at  the  age  of  11  days;  John,  born 
Nov.  14.  1863;  Henry,  born  April  21, 
1865.  Mrs.  Kirbach  died  Oct.  18.  1865. 
Mr.  Kirbach  was  again  married  Feb. 
25,  18(iii,  to  Barbara  Brown,  a  native  of 
Germany.  Seven  children  have  been 
born  to  them — Coonrod,  born  Jan.  10, 
1867,  deceased:  Frank,  born  Feb.  2, 
1868;  Anna, horn  March  8,  1869;  Joseph, 
born  March  0,  1871;  William,  born 
March  16,  1872;  Thomas,  born  April  11, 
1874,  died  April  22,  1874;  Mary,  born 
Sept,  2,  1876.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Kirbach 
and  family  are  members  of  the  Catholic 
church. which  they  attend  at  Carrollton . 
Philip  Bennes,  one  of  the  prominent 
agriculturists  of  Linder  township,  was 
horn  in  Germany,  in  IS.",!),  he  being  a 
son  of  Peter  and  Margaret  (  Helff  i 
Bermes.  With  his  parents,  Philip  came 
to  this  county,  June  20,  1851,  and  set- 
tled in  Linder  township,  where  he  still 
resides.      His  father  died  here,  Aug.  25, 


1864,  aged  61  years  ami  seven  months, 
ami  his  mother,  March  4,  1881,  aged  75 
years,  live  months  and  live  days.  Both 
were  buried  in  the  Hardin  cemetery. 
Philip  Bermes  was  united  in  marriage, 
April  6,  1863,  with  Susan  Lahr,  a  native 
of  Germany.  They  have  had  eight 
children  born  to  them — Charles,  died 
Aug.  28,  1864,  aged  15  months:  Peter, 
born  March  15,  1866;  John  Philip,  horn 
Aug.  2,  1867;  Mary,  born  Oct.  28,  1869, 
and  died  July  15,  1871;  George,  born 
April  27,  1871,  and  died  July  20,  1872; 
Frederick,  born  Oct.  14,  1*72;  Margaret, 
born  June  25,  1874;  Louis,  born  Sept. 
24,  1S77.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Bermes  are 
members  of  the  German  Reform  church, 
and  he  is  also  a  member  of  the  K.  of  H. 
He  now  owns  244  acres  of  improved 
land  in  this  county,  and  is  engaged  in 
farming  and  stock-raising,  in  which  he 
has  been  eminently  successful,  although 
he  started  in  life  a  poor  hoy.  By  hard 
work,  industry  and  economy  he  has  suc- 
ceeded in  gaining  a  fair  share  of  this 
world's  goods,  and,  in  doing  so,  has 
earned  a  reputation  for  honesty,  of 
which  he  may  well  feel  proud. 

William  Winters,  a  native  of  Ger- 
many, was  born  in  1820,  he  being  a  son 
of  Jacob  and  Adeline  Winters,  both  of 
whom  were  natives  of  ( rermany.  William 
bid  adieu  to  his  friendslmd  Fatherland  in 
1858,  and  embarked  on  a  vessel  for 
America,  and  at  the  end  of  01  days 
arrived  in  New  Orleans.  From  the  lat- 
ter point  he  took  steamboat  passage  for 
St.  Louis,  arriving  there  13  days  later. 
From  there  he  went  to  Alton,  and  later 
to  Carlinville,  coming  to  Greene  county 
from  the  later  point,  and  buying  SO  acres 
of  land.  Most  of  it  was  raw  land,  which 
he    has   since   improved  and    added  to, 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


937 


until  he  now  has  160  acres  of  good  land, 
all  of  which  is  located  in  Linder  town- 
ship. William  Winters  was  united  in 
marriage,  March  2,  1853,  with  Elizabeth 
Oilman,  a  native  of  Germany,  By  their 
marriage  they  have  been  blessed  with 
eight  children — Elizabeth,  the  wife  of 
James  Martin,  of  Dakota;  John,  who 
accidentally  shot  himself  while  out 
hunting,  and  died  six  weeks  later,  Feb. 
27,  1885;  George,  living  in  Lindertown- 
ship;  Maggie,  wife  of  Moses  Freer,  of 
Rockbridge  township;  Susan,  wife  of 
Joseph  Rower,  of  Kane  township;  Mary, 
wife  of  A.  Johnson,  of  Solomon  City, 
Kan.;  William  and  Katie,  at  home.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Winters  are  members  of  the 
Presbyterian  church.  Mr.  Winters' 
grandfather  lived  to  the  ripe  old  age  of 
105  years,  his  father  to  the  age  of  99 
years,  six  months,  and  eight  days,  and 
his  mother  to  the  age  of  88  years  and 
two  months.  Thus  it  will  lie  seen  that 
the  Winters  family  is  a  long-lived  one. 
Charles  Fischer,  a  native  of  Hesse- 
Darmstadt,  Germany,  was  born  Feb.  16, 
1848,  being  a  son  of  Belthaser  and  Ann 
M.  I  Becker)  Fisi  her,  both  of  whom  were 
natives  of  the  same  country.  In  1867, 
Charles  bade  adieu  to  his  friends  and 
fatherland  and  took  passage  for  America . 
landing  in  New  York,  March  12,  1867. 
After  remaining  there  a  couple  of  days. 
he  started  for  <  larrollton,  <  i  reene  county, 
111.,  arriving  in  due  time.  From  there 
he  came  to  Linder  township,  wheVe  for 
seven  years  he  worked  on  a  farm  by  the 
month.  He  then  rented  land  for  three 
years,  at  the  expiration  of  which  time 
he  bought  150  acres  of  land  on  sections 
4  and  5,  Linder  township,  and  still  re- 
sides on  the  place.  Charles  Fischer  was 
united  in  marriage,  March  26, 1874,  with 


Bena  Damm,  a  native  of  this  county, 
ami  a  daughter  of  Dieter  Damm,  de- 
ceased. Their  union  was  blessed  with 
four  children,  two  of  whom  are  living 
— Carl,  bom  Nov,  25,  1880,  and  Bena, 
born  July  18,1883.  In  1882  Charles  vis- 
ited with  his  friends  and  relatives  in  the 
old  country  for  six  weeks.  lie  has  one 
brother  in  this  country — John  H.,  who 
resides  with  him.  One  brother — Theo- 
dore, died  in  this  county,  Nov.  '24,  1881. 
Henry,  also  a  brother  of  Charles,  ami 
one  sister,  Emma,  still  live  in  the  old 
country.  The  father  of  our  subject  died 
in  Germany,  June  24,  1885,  aged  "8 
years,  while  his  mother  is  still  living,  a1 
the  age  of  56  years.  The  family  are 
members  of  the  Lutheran  church. 

Dieter  Damm,  deceased,  was  born 
in  1814,  in  Monzernheim,  Germany,  his 
parents  being  Michael  and  Elizabeth 
(Weifenbacb)  Damm.  He  bade  adieu 
to  the  fatherland  and  friends  in  1839, 
and  took  passage  for  America.  Upon 
coming  to  this  country  he  settled  on  the 
Thomas  Black  farm,  in  Carrollton  town- 
ship, where  he  worked  until  1841. 
Three  years  later  he  bought  80  acres  on 
section  11,  Linder  township,  where  he 
resided  until  his  death,  which  occurred 
Dec.  4,  1879.  He  was  united  in  mar- 
riage Sept.  13,  1839,  with  Lena  Winters, 
a  native  of  Germany.  They  were  the 
parents  of  eight  children — PaulC,  died 
in  infancy;  John  L.,  died  in  1878;  Chris- 
tian; Catherine,  widow  of  Jacob  Rath- 
geber,  now  living  with  her  mother; 
Dieter;  Bena,  wife  of  Charles  Fischer: 
and  Albert,  who  died  in  infancy.  His 
widow  is  a  member  of  the  Presbyterian 
church,  as  was  he  also,  during  his  life. 
At  his  death  he  was  the  owner  of  160 
acres  of  land. 


938 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


Dieter  Damm,  a  son  of  Dieter,  Sr., 
was  born  in  Greene  county,  111.,  in  1851. 
He  was  reared  on  a  farm,  and  received 

his  education  in  the  district  schools. 
In  1870,  he  was  united  in  marriage  with 
Elizabeth  Meister,  a  native  of  this 
county.  Their  union  has  been  blessed 
with  six  children— Elizabeth,  Dieter, 
Bena,  Catherine,  Elias  and  Mary,  who 
are  all  attending  school.  Dieter  farms 
160  acres  of  the  homestead,  and  carries 
on  general  farming.  He  also  runs  a 
cider  mill,  making  cider  for  customers. 
He  is  a  member  of  the  Presbyterian 
church.  Dieter  is  a  pleasant  gentleman, 
and  is  bound  to  leave  a  favorable  opin- 
ion with  all  whom  he  comes  in  contact 
with. 

Christian  Damm  was  born  in  Greene 
county,  111.,  Jan.  21,  1844,  his  parents 
being  Dieter  and  Bena.  J.  (Winters) 
Damm.  Christian  was  married  April 
12,  1865,  to  Margaret  Rathgebcr,  a  na- 
tive of  Germany.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Damm 
have  been  the  parents  of  six  children- 
Catherine;  George,  deceased;  Christian, 
Philip,  Maggie  and  Ellen.  Mr.  Damm 
is  a  member  of  the  I.  O.  0.  F.,  and  in 
politics,  he  is  a  republican. 

Michael  Shallue,  was  born  in  county 
Clare,  Ireland,  Ins  parents  being  Pat- 
rick and  Bridget  Shallue,  both  of  whom 
were  also  natives  of  the  same  country. 
.Michael  left  his  native  land  in  1854, 
arriving  in  Detroit,  Mich.,  in  the  fall  of 
that  year.  He  resided  there  until  the 
fall  of  1858,  when  he  came  to  Carroll- 
ton,  Greene  county,  111.,  with  his  par- 
ents, making  his  home  there  until  1877. 
He  then  bought  315  acres  of  land  south- 
east of  Carrollton,  and  resided  thereon 
until  March,  1885, when  he  sold  that  farm 
and  for  $8,800  bought  his  present  one  of 


Kill  acres,  which  is  situated  on  section  11, 
binder  township.  His  farm  is  well  im- 
proved, the  residence  on  the  same  cost- 
ing some  $:!,(>(J(),  and  the  barn  §500. 
Mr.  Shallue  enlisted  in  the  85th  Mo. 
Inf.  during  the  late  war,  and  served  bis 
adopted  country  for  18  months.  He 
participated  in  the  engagements  of 
Mineral  Point  and  DeSoto,  besides  other 
minor  ones.  He  was  married  Aug.  14, 
1870,  to  Mary  A.  Fleming,  a  native  of 
Connecticut.  They  have  been  blessed 
with  five  children — Sarah  E.,  Mary  J., 
James  P.,  Catherine  M.  and  Michael  F. 
His  father  died  in  Carrollton,  in  Aug., 
1882,  and  was  buried  in  the  Catholic 
cemetery.  Michael  started  the  battle  of 
life  a  poor  boy,  and  has  made  all  he 
now  has  by  hard  work  and  good  man- 
agement. He  is  a  man  of  fair  educa- 
tion, which  he  received  in  the  district 
schools.  Both  he  and  his  wife  are  mem- 
bers of  the  Catholic  church.  His  occu- 
pation at  present  is  general  farming. 

George  Graham  was  born  in  county 
Tyrone,  Ireland,  June  11,  1825,  he  be- 
ing a  son  of  George  and  Sarah  ( Wilson  ) 
Graham,  both  of  whom  were  also  na- 
tives of  the  same  country.  George  left 
his  native  country  in  1846,  came  to 
America,  and  located  in  Monmouth 
county,  N.  J.,  where,  for  10  years,  he 
was  engaged  as  a  farm  hand.  In  1855, 
he  came  to  Jerseyville,  Jersey  county, 
111.,  and  learned  the  baker's  trade, 
which  he  followed  for  12  years.  He 
then  came  to  Greene  county,  and  bought 
60  acres  of  land,  on  section  20,  Binder 
township,  where  he  still  lives.  He  is 
now  the  owner  of  169 acres  of  improved 
land,  and  the  house  in  which  he  now 
lives  cost  over  $2,000.  He  left  home, 
when  10  years  of  age,   without  a  cent, 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


939 


and  entirely  destitute,  and  has  earned 
his  present  competency  by  hard  labor 
.and  good  management.  He  is  a  well 
informed  man,  but  received  his  educa- 
tion by  the  light  of  the  fire-place,  after 
his  day's  work  was  done,  he  having  re- 
ceived only  three  month's  schooling. 
He  is  a  liberal  minded  man,  and  is  a 
firm  believer  in  the  free  school  system. 
George  Graham  and  Loie  B.  Hill,  a  na- 
tive of  New  Jersey,  wore  married  Nov. 
5,  !vi'i7.  They  have  had  two  children 
born  to  them — William,  died  in  infamy, 
and  Austin,  at  home.  Mr.  Graham  is  a 
member  of  the  Presbyterian  church, 
while  his  wife  affiliates  with  the  Bap- 
tists. Mr.  Graham's  father  departed 
this  life,  in  Ireland,  in  1865,  and  his 
mother,  when  George  was  only  six 
years  of  age.  In  politics,  Mr.  Graham 
is  a  staunch  supporter  of  the  republi- 
can party. 

Patrick  \Y.  McMahon,  a  resident  of 
Linder  township,  was  horn  in  the  south 
of  Ireland,  Ins  parents  being  John  P. 
W.  and  Ann  A.  (Considine)  McMahon, 
both  natives  of  Ireland,  the  former 
dying  July  13,  1876,  and  the  latter  in 
1849,  aired  45  years.  Patrick  \V.  came 
to  America,  landing  at  New  Orleans  on 
Dec.  25,  1851,  after  a  voyage  on  the 
ocean  of  36  days.  From  there  he  came 
to  Carrollton.  this  county,  where  he  re- 
mained a  short  time,  and  then  went  to 
work  for  Jacoh  Bowman,  on  a  farm. 
Altogether  he  worked  as  a  farm  hand 
for  five  years,  then  bought  land  one  and 
a  half  miles  east  of  Carrollton,  which 
he  continued  to  own  for  six  years.  Then 
for  one  year  he  rented  land,  at  the  expi- 
ration of  which  time  he  bought  160 acres 
of  land  on  sections  5  ami  8,  Linder 
township,  and  is   still  a  resident  of  the 


township.  In  ISA")  he  was  united  in 
marriage  with  Bridget  Car mody,  a  na- 
tive of  Ireland.  They  are  the  parents 
of  l(i  children— William  A..  John  H., 
Mortimer  A.,  Daniel  J..  Henry  G.,  Ed- 
ward S..  Agnes  A.,  Thomas  C,  Mitchell 
E.,  and  Julia  A.  Daniel  J.  is  a  pro- 
fessor in  St.  Ignatius  College,  Chicago, 
he  having  partly  received  his  education 
in  the  district  schools  of  hi-  township, 
at  Carrollton,. and  finally  finished  at 
Chicago.  He  i-  now  22  year.-  of  age. 
Mr.  McMahon  is  liberal  in  his  views, 
and  his  wife  is  a  member  of  the  Cath- 
olic church.  He  commenced  his  life's 
struggles    a  pom-  hoy.  but    by    energy, 

perseverance  and  g 1  management,  he 

has  succeeded  in  accumulating  a  fair 
share  of  this  world's  goods,  which  will 
mteralh  isoist  in  makmg  his  declin- 
ing years  pleasant.  He  is  a  firm  be- 
liever in  moral  freedom  and  education. 
Alexander  Hankins  was  horn  May  8, 
1819,  in  Knox  county.  East  Tenn.  He 
is  a  son  of  James  and  Margaret  (Mc- 
Pheron  i  Hankins,  natives  of  Tennessi  e. 
They  removed  to  Scott  county.  111.,  in 
1828,  locating  on  a  farm  near  Winches- 
ter, where  they  lived  until  their  death, 
his  father's  occurring  in  1855,  and  his 
mother's  in  1852.  Alexander  remained 
at  home  with  his  parents  until  he  was 
22  years  of  age.  As  his  father  was  a 
poor  man,  he  was  obliged  to  assist  him 
on  the  farm,  so  that  his  advantages  for 
obtaining  an  education  were  not  id'  the 
best,  although  he  improved  the  oppor- 
tunities offered  in  the  common  schools 
of  the  county.  He  was  married  Dec.  7, 
1840,  to  Mary  J.  Kirby,  a  daughter  of 
Daniel  and  Eliza  (Hardcastle)  Kirby, 
natives  of  Maryland,  where  Mary  was 
also  born.     Her  parents  afterward  came 


'.140 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


to  Greene  county,  111.,  and   resided  here 
until    their   death.      Mr.   Hankins  was 

married  in  this  county,  but  resided 
some  six  years  in  Scott  county  before 
loeating  here  permanently,  which  he 
did  in  1846,  upon  the  farm  where  he  re- 
sides. Seven  children  were  horn  to 
them,  six  of  whom  are  now  living — 
Eliza  A.,  James  M.,  John  H.,  Daniel, 
William  ('.,  Mattie,  Margaret,  deceased. 
Mrs.  Hankins  died  June  1,  1855,  and 
was  huried  in  the  Providence  cemetery. 
Mr.  Hankins  was  again  married  Feb.  7, 
1856,  to  Nancy  A.  Gritchfield,  a  daugh- 
ter of  Jesse  and  Ruan  (Cadle)  Critch- 
field,  natives  of  Tennessee.  Nancy  was 
horn  in  that  state  in  1830,  and  removed 
with  her  parents  to  Kentucky  when, 
quite  young,  and  later  on  came  to  this 
county.  Five  children  were  horn  to 
this  union — Albert  F.,  Emma  B.,  Allie, 
Julia  and  Charles.  Mr.  Hankins  has 
160  acres  of  land,  all  improved.  He 
his  served  his  district  in  the  capacity  of 
school  director.  He  became  a  member 
of  Taylor's  Creek  Baptist  church,  in 
1849,  and  continued  in  it  until  1857, 
when  it  dissolved.  In  1858,  he  united 
with  the  Providence  Baptist  church, and 
was  ordained  to  the  ministry,  by  Elders 
J.  Y.  Rhoades  and  A.  Farrow,  in  1864. 
John  IT.  Perrine,  one  of  the  early  set- 
tlers of  Linder  township,  is  a  native  of 
Monmouth  county,  N.  J.,  and  was  born 
in  1812,  being  a  son  of  Henry  and  Josie 
(Holman)  Perrine,  both  of  whom  were 
also  natives  of  New  Jersey.  John  was 
reared  to  agricultural  pursuits,  and  re- 
ceived his  education  in  the  district 
schools  of  his  native  state.  In  the 
spring  of  1832,  he  came  to  Illinois,  set- 
tling on  section  30,  Linder  township, 
Greene  county,  wrhere  he  now   resides, 


and  owns  140 acres  of  improved  land,  be- 
ing engaged  in  agricultural  pursuits. 
John  II.  Perrine  and  Charlotte  Perrine, 
a  native  of  the  state  of  New  Jersey, 
were  united  in  marriage.  By  this  union 
they  have  been  blessed  with  five  child- 
ren, two  of  whom  are  now  living,  and 
three  are  deceased — Mary  A.,  born  May 
11,  1832,  and  died  in  Dec!,  1875;  William 
H.,  born  May  23,  1839,  and  .lied  Aug. 
29,  1877;  Peter,  horn  Oct.  23,  1842,  and 
died  Nov.  15,  1873;  Charles,  born  Dec. 
3d.  1845,  and  Sarah  II.,  born  Oct,  18, 
1849.  Mr.  Perrine  is  one  of  the  promi- 
nent and  substantial  farmers  of  Linder 
township,  and  has  lived  to  see  the  won- 
derful development  made  by  his  adopted 
county.  He  is  a  kind,  genial  gentle- 
man, and  is  highly  respected  in  the 
community  in  which  be  resides. 

Frederick  Wellhausen  was  born  in 
Hanover,  Ger'y,  being  a  son  of  Daniel 
and  Malinda  Wellhausen,  both  of  whom 
were  natives  of  Germany  also.  •  In  1868 
he  came  to  America,  but  had  previously 
spent  one  year  in  the  German  army. 
On  coining  to  this  country  Frederick 
remained  in  St.  Louis,  Mo.,  five  months, 
engaged  in  making  mill  buhrs.  He  then 
came  to  White  Hall,  Greene  county,  111., 
where  for  one  year  he  engaged  in  work- 
ing at  bis  trade,  that  of  a  miller.  At 
the  expiration  of  that  time,  he  returned 
to  St.  Louis  and  followed  milling  for 
four  months,  he  having  learned  the 
trade  in  Hanover,  Germany.  From  St. 
Louis  he  went  to  Belleville,  111.,  where 
be  remained  a  few  months.  He  then 
came  to  Jalappa,  Greene  county,  where 
for  one  and  a  half  years  be  was  engaged  in 
running  a  mill.  He  then  bought  a  farm 
in  Kane  township,  where  be  farmed  for 
three  years,  and   then   went  to    Jersey 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


1141 


county,  working  on  a  farm  for  one  year. 
The  next  succeeding  10  years  he  rented 
land,  and  then  bought  a  farm  on  section 
28,  Linder  township,  where  he  still  re- 
sides, engaged  in  agricultural  pursuits. 
Frederick  Wellhausen  and  Katie  Bow- 
ers, a  native  of  Germany,  were  married 
in  1872.  Among  their  children,  were 
— GuBsie,  deceased,  John  and  Christo- 
pher. Mr.  Wellhausen  is  a  member  of 
Kane  lodge  of  the  I.  0.  ( >.  F.  lie  is  now 
the  owner  of  40  acres  of  land  in  Linder 
township. 

EDUCATIONAL. 

School  district  No.  1,  or  Union,  has  a 
school  building,  which  was  erected  in 
is?  I,  at  a  cost,  of  $1,750.  It  is  built  of 
brick.  The  contractor  was  Adam  Engle- 
iniiii.  The  building  committee  were, 
Peter  M.  Brown  and  Gilbert  Full  r. 
The  first  teacher  was  E.  C.  Sackett. 

School  district  No.  2.  The  school 
building  in  this  district  was  erected  in 
Sept.,  1860.  It  is  a  mat  frame  structure, 
18x22  feet  in  size,  and  cost  about  $450. 
At  the  time  of  the  building  of  it,  there 
was  an  enrollment  of  30  pupils,  while 
now  there  is  some  40.  The  pioneer 
teacher  in  this  building  was  Hulda  G. 
Gage.  The  present  one  is  Adolphus 
Miller. 

School  district  No.  8.  — The  first 
school  house  in  this  district  was  erected 
in  1854.  It  was  a  frame  structure,  about 
24x36  feet  iii  size,  and  cost  about  $500. 
Samuel  Jolly  taught  the  first  school  in 
this.  This  ediliee  was  commenced  by 
the  subscription  of  various  inhabitants 
of  the  district,  hut  was  completed  out 
of  funds  resulting  from  taxation.  It 
stood  on  the  southwest  quarter  of  sec- 
tion 26,  on  the  farm  of  Alexander  Hank- 
ins.     About  the  year   1870,  the  present 


school  house  was  built,  on  the  north- 
west quarter  of  section  27.     It  is  16x28 

feet  in  ground  area.  Joseph  Brown 
taught  the  first  school  in  the  new  edi- 
liee. Rose  Secor  is  the  present  teacher. 
The  average  attendance  is  45.  Wesle}' 
McPheron,  William  Meldrum  and  Rob- 
ert Smith  are  the  present  directors. 

School  district  Xo.  4. — The  school 
house  in  this  district,  is  situated  on  the 
southwest  quarter  of  section  lit.  It  was 
originally  erected  in  IS").",,  by  Kngleman 
&  Bishop,  a  few  rods  west  of  the  resi- 
dence of  Christian  Damm,  hut  was  af- 
terward moved  to  its  present  location, 
and  about  1870,  remodeled  and  rebuilt. 
It  is  a  frame  structure,  20x30  feet  in 
size.  The  first  school  was  taught  by 
Ira  1'..  Pickett.  The  present  teacher  is 
Jennie  Ryan.  William  W.  Johnson, 
Ten  hinder  and  Henry  Robley  are  the 
directors  for  1885. 

School  district  No.  5  has  a  school 
building,  which  was  erected  in  1N74,  at 
a  cost  of  $800.  George  Crane  was  the 
contractor.  The  first  directors  were, 
Jesse  Rohards,  T.  C.  Robinson,  and 
James  Miller.  The  present  ones  are 
John  Rhoades,  William  Turner  and 
Robert  Hardcastle.  The  present  teacher 
is  Belle  Cannedy. 

School  district  No.  7  had  a  school 
building,  which  was  put  up  in  1863, 
The  first  directors  were,  Jonathan  Kind. 
P.  W.  McMahon,  and  John  Coleman. 
This  building  is  20x30  feet  in  size,  and 
cost  877o.  The  first  teacher  was  Belle 
(Iain.  There  was  an  enrollment  here  at 
that  time  of  about  •"•:>>.  This  was  aban- 
doned as  a  school  house  in  March, 1884, 
on  account  of  its  inconvenience  to  a 
portion  of  the  pupils,  and  the  rough 
traveling  necessary  to    reach    it.       The 


942 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


new  school  house  is  on  the  west  side  of 
the  district,  and  bears  the  name  of  Dia- 
mond. This  was  built  in  1883,  at  a  cost 
of  $575,  and  is  20x26  feet  in  size.  They 
had  one  erected  previous  to  this,  hut  it 
was  burned  when  about  completed. 

CEMETERY. 

Harden  cemetery  is  located  upon  the 
southeast  corner  of  section  1"2.  The 
land,  one  acre,  was  donated  by  a  Doctor 
Culver,  to  the  public,  for  cemetery  pur- 
poses, about  tlic  year  1  s:;2  or  1833. 
Culver  afterward  returned  to  the  state 
of  Pennsylvania^  from  which  he  came, 
when:'  he  died.  The  land  upon  which 
the  cemetery  is  located  was  afterward 
sold  to  Robert  A.  Harden,  who  died 
without  executing  any  deed,  and  so  it 
remains  to  this  day. 

DAUM     POSTOFFICE. 

The  postoffice  at  Daum,  which  is  lo- 
cated upon  the  southeast  corner  of  the 
northeast  quarter  of  section  9,  was  es- 
tablished as  such,  July  14,  1884,  and 
Charles  A.  Campbell  commissioned  as 
postmaster.  This  office  is  located  on 
the  L.,  C.  &  W.  R.  R. 

There  is,  at  this  place,  a  general  mer- 
chandise store,  kept  by  Benjamin  M. 
Spaulding,  who, succeeded  Charles  A. 
Campbell  in  the  business,  Sept.  1,  18S5. 
Mr.  Campbell  established  this  store  in 
June,  1884.  It  is  contained  in  a  room 
about  16x20  feet  in  dimensions,  and  the 
stock  would  invoice  about  $1,000. 

COUNTY    POOR    FARM. 

The  building  on  the  fine  Poor  farm  of 
Greene  county,  was  erected  in  the  fall 
of  1870,  and  is  a  large,  three-story, 
brick  building,  with  commodious  base- 


ment under  the  entire  edifice.  Joseph 
C.  Brown  was  the  first  superintendent 
of  the  place,  and  remained  in  charge 
for  two  years.  He  was  succeeded  by 
Asa  Slone,  who  has  remained  in  that 
capacity  ever  since.  During  the  last 
seven  or  eight  years,  the  average  num- 
ber of  inmates  has  been  about  30.  The 
farm  embraces  160  acres  of  excellent 
land,  on  section  7,  most  of  which  is 
nicely  improved.  When  Mr.  Slone 
took  charge,  the  farm  was  nearly  all 
covered  with  timber  of  a  young  growth, 
with  the  exception  of  about  30  acres. 
hut  at  present  there  can  be  seen  marked 
improvement  in  every  respect.  In  the 
building  there  are  nine  rooms  in  the 
basement,  which  includes  dining  room, 
kitchen,  flour  room,  etc.  On  the  next 
floor  are  12  rooms,  seven  of  which  are 
bed  rooms  for  male  paupers.  The  bal- 
ance of  the  apartments  on  this  floor  are 
used  by  Mr.  Slone  and  family,  as  sitting 
rooms  and  parlors.  In  the  second  story 
there  are  eight  rooms,  one  of  which  is 
quite  large,  originally  intended  for  a 
chapel,  but  has  never  been  put  to  that 
use,  but  is  put  into  requisition  as  a  gen- 
eral work  room.  The  rest  of  the  rooms 
on  this  floor  are  used  as  sleeping  apart- 
ments by  the  inmates.  In  the  third 
story  there  are  three  dormitories  for  the 
women  inmates,  not  otherwise  pro- 
vided for.  This  makes  a  total  of  32 
rooms,  besides  several  halls  running 
through  the  different  parts  of  the  house. 
It  is  well  appointed  throughout,  and  is 
decidedly  to  the  credit  of  Greene  county, 
and  an  honor  to  Mr.  Slone  and  his  es- 
teemed wife  for  the  able  manner  in 
which  it  is  managed. 

Asa  Slone,  superintendent  of  the  poor 
farm,  was  horn  in  Chatham  county,   N. 


C,  Oct.  17,  1825.  He  is  a  son  of  Mat- 
thew and  Chloe  (Hughes)  Slone,  also 
natives  of  the  above  state.  In  1833 
they  came  to  Greene  county,  111.,  set- 
tling in  the  town  of  Carrollton,  where 
they  resided  some  seven  or  eight  years, 
when  they  removed  to  Macoupin  county, 
and  spent  the  remainder  of  their  lives 
there.  His  father  died  Aug.  10,  1843, 
and  his  mother  Aug.  19,  1868,  at  the 
home  of  her  son  in  Carrollton.  Asa, 
the  subject  of  this  sketch,  is  the  young- 
est and  only  one  living  of  a  family  of 
four  children,  those  deceased  being — 
Nancy,  Martha  and  David.  He  re- 
moved with  his  parents  to  Macoupin 
county,  where  he  resided  some  eight 
months,  when  he  returned  to  Carrollton 
and  began  to  learn  the  trade  of  black- 
smithing,  which  he  afterwards  followed 
for    main-    years.      When  the    Mexican 


war  broke  out,  he  enlisted  in  Co.  C,  Is! 
111.  Inf.,  and  took  part  in  the  battle  of 
Buena  Vista,  besides  being  in  several 
skirmishes.  He  was  mustered  out  in 
the  latter  part  of  June,  1847.  at  Ca- 
tnargo,  Mex.,  and  returned  to  Carroll- 
ton, where  he  resided  until  taking 
charge  of  the  county  poor  farm,  in 
March,  1873.  It  is  unnecessary  to  extol 
the  merits  of  Mr.  Slone  in  this  capacity, 
as  the  length  of  time  he  lias  already 
served  will  prove  his  ability  for  the  po- 
sition, and  the  satisfactory  manner  in 
which  he  conducts  the  business.  He 
was  married  July  6,  1848,  to  Ann  M. 
Colwell.  By  this  marriage  there  were 
seven  children,  six  of  whom  are  living — 
Margaret  V.,  deceased;  William  M., 
Samuel  T.,  Robert  A.,  John  C,  Mary 
C.  and  Maud  A.  Mr.  Slone's  political 
views  are  democratic. 


CHAPTER    XXI. 


WRIGHTS  TOWNSHIP. 


This  comprises  all  of  congressional 
T.  11  north,  R.  11  west,  and  is  bounded 
on  the  north  by  White  Hall  township, 
on  the  east  by  Rubicon,  on  the  south  by 
Linder,  and  on  the  west  by  White  Hall 
and  Carrollton.  Part  of  the  township 
is  well  covered  with  timber  while  the 
balance  is  either  prairie  or  cleared  land, 
and  all  of  a  very  fine  grade.  The  soil 
is  a  warm,  black,  clayey  loam,  with 
innate  powers  of  fertility  beyond  the 
possibility  of  exhaustion.  The  surface 
is  generally  gently  undulating  except  in 


|  the  neighborhood  of  the  creeks,  when  it 
becomes  a  little  more  abrupt,  but  not  so 
as  to  interfere  with  the  tillage  of  it. 
Apple,  Big  Bear,  Little  Bear,  and  Whit- 

i  aker's  creeks  supply  an  abundance  of 
water  for  all  stock  purposes,  and  afford 
ample  drainage.  Apple  creek  crosses 
the  township  in  a  diagonal  line  from 
northeast  to  southwest,  leaving  the 
township  about  the  center  of  the  west 
line.  The  Big  Bear  is  a  tributary  of 
Apple  creek,  making  a  confluence  with 
the  main  stream  on    section    16.     Little 


-ZT 


'.1-1-1 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY 


Bear  isa  small  rivulet  flowing  into  the 
Big  Bear.  Whitaker's  creek  is  in  the 
south  part  of  the  township.  The  St.  Louis 
branch  of  the  C,  B.  &  Q.  R.  R.  passes 
through  the  township,  and  there  is  one 
town  on  the  line,  in  Wright's  township 
— Wrightsville.  The  citizens  of  this 
township  are,  as  a  rule,  well-to-do, 
thrifty  and  intelligent. 

EARLY  SETTLEMENT. 

The  first  to  make  a  settlement  within 
the  territory  now  embraced  in  the  town- 
ship of  Wrights,  was  William  Waltrip, 
who  came  here  in  1819,  and  located  on 
the  north  of  Apple  creek,  on  the  south- 
west quarter  of  section  18.  A  sketch  of 
this  pioneer  is  appended. 

William  Waltrip  was  the  first  settler 
of  what  is  now  Wrights  township,  locat- 
ing on  the  north  side  of  Apple  creek,  on 
the  southwest  quarter  of  section  18,  in 
Dec,  1879.  In  October  of  that  year  he 
left  Kentucky,  in  company  with  his  and 
several  other  families,  with  the  inten- 
tion of  locating  in  Missouri,  where  one 
of  his  brother's  had  gone  the  previous 
year.  But  on  crossing  the  river  at 
Smeltzer's  ferry, and  going  to  St.  Charles, 
they  met  his  brother  returning  to  Ken- 
tucky. They  then  returned  to  the  neigh- 
borhood of  Edwardsville,  111., where  the 
family  were  left  until  a  location  could 
be  decided  on.  Mr.  Waltrip  and  his 
brother,  Luke,  came  up  into  Greene 
county,  and  selected  the  location  pre- 
viously described  on  section  18,  in  this 
township.  They  then  returned  to  Ed- 
wardsville for  their  families, and  arrived 
at  the  place  selected,  in  Dec,  1819. 
There  were  about  20  of  them,  and  they 
passed  the  winter  in  a  camp,  which  Ihe 
men  had  arranged,  their  food  consisting 


principally  of  venison  and  corn  bread. 
The  following  spring  a  clearing  was 
made,  and  quite  a  crop  of  corn  was 
raised  that  year.  They  remained  here 
until  the  spring  of  1823,  when  they  re- 
moved to  the  northeast  quarter  of  sec- 
tion 31,  and  made  a  settlement,  where 
they  remained  many  years.  Mr.  Wal- 
trip was  born  in  Halifax  county,  Ya., 
Aug.  1,  1776,  and  was  a  son  of  Luke  and 
Mary  (Bunton)  Waltrip,  also  natives  of 
that  state.  He  was  married  Dec.  27, 
1802,  to  Elizabeth  Thaxton,  a  daughter 
of  William  and  Sarah  (Gravitt)  Thax- 
ton, natives  of  Virginia.  In  1803,  they 
removed  to  Kentucky,  where  they  re- 
mained until  coming  to  this  county. 
They  were  the  parents  of  10  children — 
Bird,  Sarah,  Michael, Mary, William  G., 
Martha,  Eliza,  Luke,  Lucretia  and  Wil- 
son. Mr.  Waltrip  died  Feb.  28,  1850, 
and  Mrs.  Waltrip,  Aug.  23,  1855. 

William  G.  Waltrip,  son  of  William 
and  Elizabeth  (Thaxton)  Waltrip,  was 
born  in  Kentucky,  Aug.  5,  1814.  He 
came  with  his  parents  to  this  county  in 
1819,  where  he  has  since  resided,  being 
a  resident  of  the  town  of  Wrightsville. 
He  was  married  July  20,  1841,  to  Mary 
Heater,  a  native  of  this  county,  born 
Dec.  24,  1824,  and  a  daughter  of  David 
and  Mary  (Reeder)  Heater,  natives  of 
Ohio.  They  resided  near  White  Hall 
where  her  father  died  in  May,  1827,  her 
mother  surviving  him  until  July  23, 
1834,  when  she  too  passed  away.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Waltrip  are  the  parents  of  10 
children — William  D.,  deceased;  Emily 
J.,  Angeline,  Elsa  A  ,  deceased;  Leo, 
deceased;  John  L.,  deceased;  Luke  de- 
ceased; Howard,  deceased;  and  two  who 
died  in  infancy.  Mrs.  Waltrip  died 
Aug.  15,  1877.     Mr.  Waltrip  was   again 


married  Nov.  7.  1878,  to  Susan  Ogle,  a 
daughter  of  Benjamin  and  Hannah 
(Hill;  Ogle,  natives  of  Tennessee.  They 
came  to  this  county  in  1818,  settling  on 
the  Macoupin  creek,  two  miles  south- 
west of  Carrollton.  Two  years  later 
they  purchased  a  farm,  three  miles  and 
a  half  north  of  Carrollton,  where  they 
passed  the  remainder  of  their  days, 
Mr.  Ogle  dying  in  1864,  and  Mrs.  Ogle 
in  1872.  Mr.  Waltrip  has  a  farm  of  64 
acres.  He  was  reared  in  this  county, 
and  has  spent  nearly  his  entire  life 
here,  and  is  now  spending  his  remaind- 
ing  days  in  contentment  in  the  village 
of  Wrightsville. 

Larkin  Thaxton  came  to  this  town- 
ship in  1819,  and  made  a  settlement. 

Larkin  Thaxton,  deceased,  was  a  na- 
tive of  Old  Virginia.  He  came  to 
Greene  county,  111.,  in  1819,  and  set- 
tled on  Apple  creek  bottom,  where  he 
lived  for  some  three  years,  prior  to  the 
government  survey.  He  then  entered 
a  40-acre  tract  of  land,  in  school  district 
No.  4,  and  resided  there  up  to  the  time 
of  his  death,  following  agricultural  pur- 
suits as  his  life-long  avocation.  His 
wife  was  Catherine  Dudley,  who  was  a 
native  of  Scotland. 

Parham  Thaxton,  a  son  of  the  above, 
was  born  in  Wrights  township,  this 
county,  on  the  8th  day  of  Jan.,  1821. 
He  was  reared  on  a  farm  up  to  his  14th 
year,  when  he  went  to  Carrollton,  and 
learned  the  trades  of  stone-mason,  brick- 
laying and  plastering,  which  he  has 
followed  almost  ever  since,  with  satis- 
faction and  profit.  He  was  also,  quite  a 
successful  contractor,  and  has  built  a 
great  many  residences  and  buildings  in 
this  county.  He  has  now  retired  from 
mechanical  pursuits,    but   occasionally 


does  a  job  of  building.  While  follow- 
ing his  trade,  he  also  ran  a  farm,  and 
was  successful  as  an  agriculturist.  In 
the  month  of  Feb.,  1857,  he  was  united 
in  marriage  with  Ann  Drum,  a  native 
of  this  county,  and  a  daughter  of  John 
Drum,  one  of  the  pioneers  of  this  coun- 
ty. By  this  marriage  they  have  had 
four  children  born  to  them — Florence, 
at  home;  Luella,  who  died  in  the  fall  of 
1882;  Jeannette,  at  home;  Clifford,  at 
home.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Thaxton  and  eld- 
est daughter  are  members  of  the  Hickory 
Grove  Baptist  church.  He  is  township 
trustee  at  present,  this  being  his  second 
term.  He  was  appointed  by  the  court 
to  fill  out  the  unexpired  term  of  John 
D.  Jack,  as  coroner,  and  two  years  later 
was  elected  to  the  office,  and  served  a 
full  term.  He  now  owns  some  200 acres 
of  improved  land,  and  his  residence 
cost  $2,000.  At  the  age  of  14  years  he 
started  for  himself,  a  poor  hoy,  and  has 
made  his  present  competence  by  his 
own  exertions.  Early  in  life  he  formed 
good  moral  and  industrious  habits, 
which  he  continued  through  life. 

Thomas  Lorton  made  his  settlement  in 
this  township,  on  section  8,  in  1820.  He 
was  born  in  Virginia,  in  17N4,  and  was 
the  son  of  Robert  and  Tabitha  (  Gana- 
way)  Lorton.  His  father  was  a  Revo- 
lutionary soldier.  When  about  17  years 
of  age,  Thomas  removed  to  Cumberland 
county,  Ky.,  where  he  lived  until  1818, 
when  he  came  to  this  state,  locating, 
for  the  time  being,  in  Bond  county, 
from  where  he  came  here.  He  was 
married  Sept.  22,  1810,  to  Frances 
Nance,  also  a  native  of  Virginia,  and 
they  were  the  parents  of  12  children. 
Mr.  Lorton  spent  the  balance  of  his 
days  in  this  township,   dying   Dec.   17, 


946 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COl'NTY. 


1863.  His  wife  died  Aug.  15,  1871,  and 
both  are  buried  in  White  Hall  ceme- 
tery. 

In  1820,  Zachariah  and  James  Allen 
made  settlement  in  this  township,  as 
did  David  Battle. 

David  Henderson  came  to  this  town- 
ship in  1820,  and  taking  up  a  farm  on 
section  7,  entered  upon  the  life  of  a 
pioneer.  He  came  from  Ohio.  He  re- 
mained upon  the  old  homestead  until 
his  death. 

Joseph  Henderson,  a  worthy  repre- 
sentative of  one  of  the  old  settler  fami- 
lies of  this  county,  is  a  native  of  Ohio, 
having  been  born  there  in  1813,  his  pa- 
rents being  Daniel  and  Sarah  I  Collins) 
Henderson.  'With  his  parents,  Joseph 
came  to  Illinois,  in  1820,  and  settled  on 
section  7,  Wrights  township,  where 
Joseph  has  ever  since  resided.  He  was 
united  in  marriage,  in  1832,  with  Mary 
Ann  Stout,  a  native  of  Ohio.  Mrs. 
Henderson  departed  this  life  Sept.  3, 
1876.  Mr.  Henderson  was  again  mar- 
ried, Sept.  3,  1885,  to  Clara  Davidson,  a 
native  of  this  county,  born  Feb.  20, 
1867.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Cumber- 
land Presbyterian  church,  while  his 
wife  affiliates  with  the  Baptists.  Joseph 
was  reared  to  agricultural  pursuits, 
which  he  has  followed  all  his  life.  He 
is  now  the  owner  of  100  acres  of  land, 
which  is  all  improved.  In  politics,  he 
is  a  republican,  but  has  had  no  ambition 
for  political  preferment.  He  is  a  kind, 
genial  gentleman,  and  is  much  respected 
by  all  his  friends  and  acquaintances. 

H.  Clay  Thaxton  was  one  of  the  ear- 
liest settlers  in  this  county.  He  came 
here  in  1818,  and  went  to  work  on  gov- 
ernment land,  on  the  Apple  creek  bot- 
tom.    In  1821,  when  these   lands  came 


into  the  market,  he  entered  80  acres  of 
land  on  section  28,  of  this  township,  on 
to  which  he  moved.  He  was  born  in 
Virginia,  Aug.  5,  1799.  When  12  years 
of  age  he  moved  to  Kentucky  with  his 
parents,  where  he  remained  until  he 
was  about  !'•>,  when  he  came  to  this 
county.  He  has,  since  making  his  first 
entry,  purchased  other  property,  and 
has  owned  considerable  tracts  of  land. 
He  was  married  Nov.  9,  1829,  to  Caro- 
line Whitaker,  a  daughter  of  Robert 
Whitaker,  one  of  the  old  settlers  of 
the  county,  by  whom  he  has  had  11 
children,  two  of  whom  died  in  infancy. 
He  is  still  a  resident  of  this  township, 
having  been  spared  to  witness  the  tre- 
mendous growth  of  Greene  county, 
from  its  primitive  wilderness  to  the 
civilization  of  to-day. 

William  Hart,  with  his  family,  emi- 
grated from  Indiana,  in  the  spring  of 
1822,  and  entered  some  80  acres  of  land 
on  Lorton's  Prairie,  where  he  lived 
about  30  years,  when  he  removed  to 
Piatt  county,  this  state,  but  eventually 
returned  to  this  county  and  died  here. 

Jesse  Stark  and  family  made  their 
settlement  in  Greene  county,  in  1823,  on 
section  31.  He  was  a  native  of  the 
state  of  New  Jersey,  and  served  in  the 
army  during  the  war  of  1812-15.  After 
the  close  of  the  hostilities.,  he  removed 
to  Tennessee,  where  he  was  married. 
From  thence  he  removed  to  Madison 
county,  this  state,  and  shortly  after  to 
this  county.  He  had  a  large  family  of 
children.  He  resided  upon  the  home- 
stead, which  he  had  established,  until 
the  day  of  his  death,  in  Aug.,  1854.  His 
wife  died  in  March,  1829.  But  two  of 
his  children  are  living  now,  and  they 
are  both  residents  of  Nebraska. 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


'.)47 


Dudley  Brannan,  with  his  family,  set- 
tled in  Wrights  township,  in  1824, 
where  they  resided  until  his  death.  Mr. 
Brannan  came  from  Kentucky  to  this 
county. 

Louis  J.  Ballard,  in  1829,  came  to 
Greene  county,  looking  for  a  home.  He 
found  that  which  he  sought,  on  section 
7,  in  Wright's  township,  and  soon  com- 
menced improvements.  He  was  born 
in  Lincoln  county,  N.  C,  Oct.  4,  1800. 
At  the  age  of  10  years  he  moved  with 
his  parents  to   Tennessee,   where,  July 

22,  1824,  he  was  united  in  marriage  with 
Ruth  Pace.  The  result  of  this  union 
was  twelve  children,  several  of  whom 
are  still  living.  Mr.  Ballard  resided 
here  until  his  death,  which  took  place 
in  1878.  His  wife  survived  him  until 
1882.  Both  are  buried  in  the  White 
Hall  cemetery. 

William  H.  Goode  came  to  Wright's 
township  in  1829,  settling  upon  section 
31,  upon  the  place  now  owned  by  E. 
Meister. 

William  B.  Goode  was  born  in  Chris- 
tian county,  Ky.,  Sept.  16,  1827.  He  is 
a  son  of  William  H.  andJinsa  (Walker) 
Goode,  the  former  a  native  of  Halifax 
county,  Va.,  and  the  latter  a  native  of 
Tennessee.  When  William  II.  was 
about  12  years  of  age,  his  parents  re- 
moved to  Kentucky,  where  William  was 
reared  and  married.  In  1829  he  came 
to  this  county,  and  settled  in  Wright's 
township,  mi  the  place  now  owned  by 
E.  Meister,  where  he  broke  some  ground 
and  put  in  a  corn  crop.  Here  he  re- 
mained until  1856,  when  he  removed  to 
Davis  county,  la.,  where  he  lived  until 
his  death.  Jan.  12,  1874,  in  the  76th 
year  of  his  age,  having  been  born  Feb. 

23,  1797.     Jinsa  (Walker).  Goode  died  in 


1835.  William  B.  came  to  this  county 
with  his  parents  in  1S29,  and  lias  since 
resided  here.  On  Aug.  22, 1845,  he  was 
married  to  Eliza  A.  Davidson.  By  this 
union  there  were  five  children — Jinsa  A  ., 
deceased  wife  of  William  D.  Waltrip, 
now  deceased;  Emeline  and  Angeline, 
twins;  Melissa  J.,  wife  of  Robert  Good- 
hall;  JohnL.,  married  Abbie  Pinkerton, 
who  died  in  1885.  Mrs.  Goode  died  in 
IS.-,.",,  and  on  Oct.  12,  1854,  Mr.  Goode 
was  again  married  to  Elizabeth  Walker. 
By  this  marriage  there  were  the  follow- 
ing children — William  H.,  died  July  25, 
1860;  .Mary  E.,  died  Nov.  7,  1859;  Sarah 
M.,  died  Oct.  2,  1863;  Louisa,  died 
March  14,  1866;  Alzina,  living  at  home; 
Laura,  died  Dec.  24,  1870;  Fannie,  died 
May  19,  1873,  and  Alvin,  living  at  home, 
born  April  20,  1872.  Mr.  Goode  owns 
532  :ures  of  land,  part  of  which  is  in 
Iowa.  He  has  served  his  district  nine 
years  as  school  director,  and  has  also 
held  the  office  of  supervisor  for  a  num- 
ber of  years;  and  is  an  enterprising  and 
highly  esteemed  citizen. 

John  L.  Goode  was  horn  on  the  farm 
and  homestead  now  occupied  by  his 
father,  in  this  township,  July  25,  1851. 
He  is  a  son  of  William  B.  and  Eliza  A. 
(Davidson)  Goode.  John  obtained  his 
education  in  the  district  schools  of  the 
township.  He  remained  at  home  until 
he  was  19  years  of  age,  and  was  then 
married,  Oct.  30,  1870,  to  Abigail  Pink- 
erton. She  was  born  about  a  half  mile 
east  of  Berdan,  May  7,  1854.  and  is  a 
daughter  of  James  G.  and  Martha  A. 
(Waltrip)  Pinkerton.  Alter  marriage. 
Mr.  Goode  resided  upon  some  land 
which  he  rented  from  his  father,  for 
about  two  years,  and  then  moved  on  a 
farm  of  his  own,   situated  about   three- 


948 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


quarters  of  a  mile  north  of  his  father's 
farm,  He  remained  there  until  Oct., 
1878,  when  he  sold  out  and  removed  to 
his  present  location,  on  the  northwest 
quarter  of  section  22,  in  this  township. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Goode  had  one  child  born 
to  them — Lillie  May,  born  May  13, 
1873.  On  Feb.  24,  1885,  Mrs.  Goode 
was  taken  away  from  this  world,  hav- 
ing been  afflicted  with  derangement  of 
the  nerves.  Her  remains  were  interred 
in  Hickory  Grove  cemetery.  Her  loss 
was  deeply  mourned  by  relatives  and 
friends.  Mr.  Goodeis  very  comfortably 
fixed,  and  has  140  acres  of  land,  all  well 
improved,  except  10  acres  of  timber 
land.  He  is  a  member  of  Hickory 
Grove  Baptist  church,  as  was  also  his 
wife,  before  her  death.  In  politics,  he 
is  a  democrat. 

Lemuel  Stuhblefield  came  to  this 
township  in  1830.  He  had  come  to  the 
county  some  three  yearB  previous,  and 
settled  near  Carrollton.  When  he  came 
here  he  located  upon  some  land  on  sec- 
tion 7. 

.lames  H.  Stuhblefield  was  born  in 
Tennessee  in  1817,  he  being  a  son  of 
Lemuel  and  Jane  (Henry)  Stuhblefield, 
both  of  whom  were  natives  of  North 
Carolina.  With  his  parents,  James 
came  to  Illinois  in  1821,  and  located  in 
Randolph  county.  In  1827  they  came 
to  Greene  county  and  settled  near  Car- 
rollton.  Three  years  later  they  removed 
to  section  7,  Wrights  township,  where 
•lames  still  resides.  He  was  united 
in  marriage,  in  1849,  with  Martha 
Johnson,  a  native  of  Ohio,  and  a 
(laughter  of  John  L.  Johnson.  Mr. 
ami  Mrs.  Stuhblefield  have  eight  chil- 
dren— Mary  W.,  a  teacher,  at  home; 
James  H.,  who  died  in  1853;   Laura  J., 


at  home;  Arabella,  teacher,  at  home 
Mattie,  wife  of  Albert  Allen,  of  Pal- 
myra; John  H.,  at  home;  William  S. 
engineer  on  the  C.  B.  &.  Q.;  Frank, 
attending  school  at  White  Hall.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Stuhblefield  and  their  daughters 
are  members  of  the  M.  E.  church.  He 
is  the  owner  of  298  acres  of  improved 
land,  and  is  engaged  in  farming  and 
stock-raising,  and  makes  a  specialty  of 
fine  hogs,  of  the  Poland-China  variety. 
He  keeps  thoroughbreds  on  hand  for 
sale  at  all  times.  He  also  handles 
Clydesdale  and  Norman  horses,  and 
hjgh  bred  short-horn  cattle,  and  now 
has  on  hand  a  half-breed  Clyde  stallion. 
He  is  a  stock-holder  in  the  Greene 
County  Agricultural  Society,  of  which 
he  has  been  a  director  several  terms. 
His  education  was  received  in  the  prim- 
ative  log  school  house,  of  early  days, 
and,  although  he  began  life  a  poor  boy, 
by  industry  and  economy  he  has  suc- 
ceeded in  gaining  competency. 

Charles  Bradshaw  came  to  this  town- 
ship from  Morgan  county,  in  1831,  and 
settled  down  upon  a  farm  on  section  4. 
Here  he  resided  until  called  to  "that 
land  from  whose  bourne  no  traveler  ever 
returns." 

Perry  Bradshaw,  a  native  of  White 
county,  Tenn.,  was  born  May  17,  1828, 
and  is  a  son  of  Charles  and  Mary  A. 
(Baker)  Bradshaw,  natives  of  South 
Carolina.  The  former  was  born  March 
26,  1795,  and  the  latter  Jan.  26,  1804. 
They  were  married  in  1820,  in  Tennes- 
see, where  they  had  previously  removed, 
and  become  acquainted.  They  removed 
to  Morgan  county,  111.,  in  1828,  where 
they  remained  until  the  spring  of  1831, 
when  they  came  to  this  county,  settling 
on  section  4,  Wrights  township.      They 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


949 


were  the  parents  of  16  children — Elvira, 
deceased;  John;  Joel,  deceased;  Mary, 
deceased;  William  M.;  Perry;  Vance, 
deceased;  Charles,  deceased;  Nancy; 
Francis  M.;  Mary  J.;  Frances,  de- 
ceased; Drusilla,  deceased;  Lucinda; 
Andrew  J.,  deceased;  and  George  W., 
deceased.  Mr.  B.  was  one  of  the  early 
settlers  of  this  township,  and  resided 
here  until  his  death,  Dec.  23,  1869.  He 
was  county  commissioner  during  the 
years  184(5-7-8,  and  also  served  his  town- 
ship in  various  official  capacities.  His 
wife  still  survives  him,  at  an  advanced 
age,  and  resides  at  the  old  homestead. 
Perry  was  about  three  years  old  when 
his  parents  came  to  this  county,  and 
was  reared  upon  a  farm  within  a  mile  of 
where  he  now  resides,  and  obtained  his 
education  at  the  district  schools  of  the 
neighborhood.  He  was  married,  March 
28,  1849,  to  Phoebe  Wise,  a  native  of 
this  state,  and  a  daughter  of  Joseph  and 
Sarah  (Barrow)  Wise,  the  former  a  na- 
tive <>f  Virginia,  and  the  latter  of  Ken- 
tucky. By  this  union  there  were  four 
children,  all  of  whom  are  dead — Min- 
erva E.,  Ann  M.,  George  M.,  and  Na- 
home.  Mrs.  Bradshaw  died  Nov.  15, 
1856.  Mr.  Bradshaw  was  again  mar- 
ried, March  is,  I860,  to  Elizabeth  J. 
Wells,  horn  in  this  county,  March  6, 
1844.  She  was  a  daughter  of  James  F. 
and  Eliza  C.  (Ford)  Wells,  the  latter 
afterward  becoming  the  wife  of  James 
Baird.  Mrs.  Bradshaw's  father  was 
born  March  6,  1822,  and  died  in  1850; 
her  mother  was  horn  June  13,  1823,  and 
died  Jan.  30,  1878.  They  were  married, 
Sept.  8,  1842.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Bradshaw 
are  the  parents  of  12  children — Laura  J., 
born  July  3,  1861;  Oliver  P.,  born  Jan. 
19,  1863;  Albert  J.,  born   Oct.  23,   1864; 


Charles  F.,  born  March  14,1867;  Lewis 
A.,  born  Nov.  28,  1868;  William  R., 
born  April  18,  1871,  died  Oct.  28,  1873; 
John  E.,  born  Jan.  6,  1873;  ShannonO., 
born  April  20,  1875;  Miner  D.,  born 
Aug.  1,  1877,  died  May  29,  1879;  Edith 
E.,  born  Jan.  24,  1879;  Mary  C,  born 
March  25,  1881;  and  Bernice  A.,  born 
Feb.  16,  1883.  Mr.  Bradshaw  has  373 
acres  of  land,  all  well  improved  except 
40  acres.  He  has  served  as  school  di- 
rector almost  constantly  for  the  past 
30  years,  and  in  politics  is  a  republican. 
He  is  a  member  of  the  Christian  church, 
and  is  noted  for  his  honesty  and  integ- 
rity- 
William  Jones  settled  in  Wrights 
township  in  1833,  entering  the  farm  now 
known  as  the  Wright's  place.  He  was 
a  native  of  Christian  county,  Ky.,  and 
was  a  resident  of  that  state  until  coming 
here.     He  died  on  this  place  in  1853. 

Thomas  Wright  made  a  settlement  in 
this  township  in  1833.  A  sketch  of  this 
pioneer  is  here  inserted. 

Thomas  Wright,  Sr.,  one  of  the  early 
settlers,  came  to  Greene  county  in  the 
fall  of  1833,  and  entered  240  acres  of 
land  in  Wrights  township,  mi  of  which 
was  timber  land.  He  was  a  widower  at 
that  time,  but  he  returned  to  Barren 
county,  Ky.,  that  fall,  and  was  married 
to  Mary  Snowden,  a  native  of  that 
county,  Nov.  12,  1833.  The  following 
March,  Mr.  Wright  returned  to  this 
county  and  resided  upon  the  farm  now 
owned  by  J.  K.  Farrelly,  until  the  fall 
of  1834, when,  having  erected  a  cabin,  he 
removed  his  family  thereto.  He  was 
born  in  North  Carolina,  Aug.  11.  1777, 
and  spent  his  early  life  there.  He  after- 
ward removed  to  Kentucky,  where  he 
was  married  to  Elizabeth  ]!.  Bell,  a  na- 


950 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


tive  of  that  state.  They  were  the  parents 
of  eight  children — George  M.,  Felix  P., 
Margaret,  Stephen,  Elizabeth,  Eleanor, 
Parmelia,  and  White.  All  are  deceased 
except  Elizabeth,  and  George  M.  The 
former  resides  in  Christian  county,  111., 
and  the  latter  at  Sedalia,  Mo.  Mrs. 
Wright,  the  tirst  wife,  died  in  Kentucky. 
By  his  second  marriage  to  Mary  Snow- 
den,  who  was  born  Jan.  30,  1796.  there 
were  four  children — Andrew  J.,  Thomas, 
Robert  \\\,  and  Nancy,  deceased.  Mr. 
Wright's  death  occurred  March  3,  1851, 
and  his  wife  survived  him  until  Dec. 
11,  186V),  when  she,  too,  passed  away. 
Thomas  Wright,  Jr.,  was  born  upon 
the  farm  on  which  he  now  resides,  Dec. 
27,  1835,  and  with  the  exception  of  Par- 
ham  Thaxton,  is  the  oldest  man  now  liv- 
ing in  the  county,  who  was  born  upon  the 
same  forty  on  which  they  now  reside. 
He  was  a  son  of  Thomas  and  Mary 
(Snowden)  Wright.  Thomas  obtained 
his  education  in  the  district  schools  of 
this  township,  being  one  of  the  scholars 
in  the  pioneer  schools  of  those  days. 
He  was  married  Feb.. 25,  1869,  to  Ange- 
line  Goode,  horn  Jan.  28,  1848.  She 
was  a  daughter  of  William  B.  and  Eliza 
(Davidson)  Goode.  By  this  marriage 
there  are  three  interesting  children — 
William  M.,  horn  Jan.  23,  1870;  George 
W.,  horn  July  S,  1876;  Mary  L.,  born 
I  M.21,  1881.  Mr.  Wright  is  in  very 
comfortable  circumstances,  having  420 
acres  of  land,  part  of  which  is  timber. 
He  has  served  the  county  in  the  offices 
of  coroner  and  constable.  Hispolitica) 
views  arc  democratic.  His  industry, 
energy  and  perseverance,  which  have 
been  marked  characteristics,  have  been 
rewarded  with  success. 

Robert    M.   Close  came  to  this  town- 


ship in  1835,  and  locating  on   section  5, 

has  made  it  his  residence  ever  since. 

OTHER  PROMINENT  CITIZENS. 

Samuel  Cunningham,  deceased,  was 
born  in  Marion  county,  Ky.,  Feb.  16, 
1818,  his  parents  being  Robert  and 
Nancy  Cunningham,  the  former  being  a 
native  of  Pennsylvania,  and  the  latter 
of  Kentucky.  Mr.  Cunningham  came 
to  Greene  county  in  1853,  and  settled  on 
the  southwest  quarter  of  section  36, 
Wrights  township,  where  he  lived  until 
his  death  occurred,  March  5,  1880.  He 
was  married  in  Dec,  1850,  to  Emeline 
E.  Cooper,  a  daughter  of  Edmund  L. 
and  Mary  (Perry)  Cooper,  whose  sketch 
appears  in  another  chapter  of  this  book. 
They  had  nine  children  born  to  them — 
Robert  L.,  born  Oct.  1,  1851;  Wm.  B., 
born  March  4,  1854,  died  Jan.  18,  1868; 
Richard,  born  Dec.  3,  1855,  died  Oct.  5, 
1856;  Belle,  born  March  19,  1864,  died 
Jan.  18,  1868;  Mary  E.,  born  Nov.  19, 
1866,  died  Feb.  27,  1868;  Henry,  born 
Sept.  7,  1857;  Geo.  W.,  born  Oct,  10, 
1859;  Lewis,  born  Jan.  13,  1SG2;  Ann 
J.;  born  Feb.  28,  1869,  died  Dec.  19. 
1879.  Mr.  Cunningham  was  long  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Cumberland  Presbyterian 
church,  living  a  life  consistent  with  his 
profession,  and  establishing  a  name  and 
reputation  of  which  those  who  succeed 
him  may  justly  feel  proud.  At  the  time 
of  his  death  he  had  accumulated  con- 
siderable property,  and  was  ranked 
among  the  wealthy  and  solid  men  of  the 
county.  Mrs.  Cunningham  and  chil- 
dren own  770  acres  of  land,  all  in  a  high 
state  of  cultivation,  and  continue  in  the 
steps  of  their  predecessor  as  successful 
operators  of  the  same. 

Samuel  Doyle,  deceased,  was  born  in 


North  Carolina,  in  1786,  his  father  being 
a  native  of  England  and  his  mother  of 
Scotland.     His  father  died  in  the  state 

of  Kentucky,  and  his  mother  in  North 
Carolina.  Samuel  was  reared  in  North 
Carolina,  and  was  there  married  to  Ma- 
hala  Lovelace,  also  a  native  of  that 
state.  This  marriage  was  blessed  with 
nine  children — Isaac,  Nancy,  Alethea, 
Gregory,  Celia,  Thomas,  John,  James 
and  Matilda.  Mr.  Doyle  came  to 
Greene  county,  111.,  in  the  fall  of  1829, 
settling  on  Apple  Greek  Prairie,  about 
five  miles  west  of  White  Hall,  on  Sec. 
36,  T.  12,  R.  12.  He  only  lived  about 
a  year  after  settling  there,  as  he  died  in 
Oct.,  1830.  Mrs.  Doyle  survived  her 
husband  about  15  years,  departing  this 
life  at  the  old  homestead  west  of  White 
Hall. 

Thomas  Doyle,  son  of  Samuel  and 
Mahala  (Lovelace)  Doyle,  was  born  in 
the  state  of  Kentucky,  Jan.  15,  1809. 
He  lived  there  until  coming  to  this 
county  in  the  fall  of  1830.  He  was 
married  in  Kentucky,  Jan.  27 ,  1829,  to 
Mary  ('oats,  a  native  of  Kentucky,  and 
a  daughter  of  John  and  Rachel  (Rich- 
ardson) Coats,  also  natives  of  that  state, 
where  they  afterward  died.  When  Mr. 
Doyle  had  decided  on  coming  to  this 
county,  where  his  father  had  already 
located,  he  had  made  all  necessary  pre- 
parations and  was  just  ready  to  start  on 
the  journey,  when  he  received  the  sad 
intelligence  of  the  death  of  his  father. 
He  was  not  able  to  arrive  here  in  time 
to  see  his  remains  before  burial,  al- 
though he  made  a  very  quick  trip,  con- 
sidering the  mode  of  travel  in  those 
days,  being  only  15  days  on  the  road. 
Mr.  Doyle  located  west  of  White  Hall, 
near  where  his  father  had  settled,  built 


a  log  cabin  and  resided  there  about  five 
years  and  a  half.  He  then  moved  to 
his  present  location,  on  section  25,  in 
Wrights  township,  where  he  has  since 
remained.  He  has  a  fine  farm  of  280 
acre-,  all  of  which  is  improved,  and  he 
pays  some  attention  to  the  raising  of 
stock.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Doyle  are  the 
parents  of  eight  children,  seven  of 
whom  are  living — Mahala,  Arena,  John, 
James,  Nancy.  Isaac,  Perry,  and  Mar- 
cus, deceased.  The  entire  family  have 
been  blessed  with  good  health,  and  their 
parents  have  lived  to  see  all  their' chil- 
dren attain  manhood  and   womanh 1; 

but  the  cold  hand  of  the  grim  destroyer 
snatched  from  them  their  youngest, 
Marcus,  Sept.  14,  1884,  in  the  36th  year 
of  his  age.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Doyle  are 
members  of  the  Baptist  church,  having 
united  with  that  society  35  years  ago. 
In  politics  Mr.  Doyle  is  a  democrat.  He 
is  an  old  ami  much  respected  citizen  of 
this  township  and  county,  and  has  been 
a  kind  and  generous  father  to  his  chil- 
dren, having  given  each  of  his  sons 
land,  etc.,  to  start  in  life  for  themselves. 
James  Dodgson  was  born  in  Creene 
county,  May  14,  1831.  He  is  a  son  of 
John  and  Lucinda  (Brown)  Dodgson, 
the  former  being  a  native  of  England, 
and  the  latter  of  Illinois.  John  came 
to  this  country  from  England  about  the 
year  1820,  settling  about  two  miles  north 
of  Carrollton,  Greene  county,  111.  He 
afterward  removed  one-half  mile  east  of 
where  he  first  settled,  and  lived  there 
until  his  death,  which  occurred  in  ISIS, 
he  then  being  about  54  years  of  age. 
He  was  married  in  this  county  to  Lucinda 
Drown,  who  died  in  tin-  spring  of  1880. 
James  Dodgson,  the  subject  of  this 
sketch,  was  united    in    marriage,    Sept. 


952 


HISTORY  OF  GKEFNE  COFNTY. 


28,  1852,  with  Sarah  Lee,  a  daughter  of 
Green  and  Mary  (  Hamilton)  Lee.  Green 
Lee  was  horn  May  8,  1791,  and  his  wife 
was  born  May  29.  1790,  and  they  were 
among  the  early  settlers  of  the  county. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Dodgson  are  the  parents 
of  six  children — Mary  F.,  born  July  10, 
1853;  Ann,  born  July  7,  1857;  Hardin, 
born  Oct.  2,  1860;  Emma,  born  Aug.  24, 
1863;  Etna,  born  Aug.  21,  1867;  and 
Freddie,  born  April  7, 1871.  Mr.  Dodg- 
son now  owns  233  acres  of  land,  and 
carries  on  general  farming.  He  is  a 
member  of  White  Hall  M.  E.  church, 
and,  in  politics  is  a  republican. 

William  T.  Cooper,  deceased,  was 
born  in  Kentucky,  Sept.  25,  1826.  He 
was  a  son  of  Edmund  L.  and  Mary 
(Perry)  Cooper,  natives  of  Virginia. 
They  reside  in  this  county,  about  three 
miles  westof  Greenfield.  They  are  the 
oldest  couple  now  living  in  the  county, 
and  they  represent  five  generations,  he 
being  about  86  years  of  age,  and  she 
about  92.  William  came  with  his  par- 
ents to  this  county,  settling  on  the  farm 
now  occupied  by  his  widow,  and  there 
be  ever  afterward  resided.  He  was 
married  April  17,  1856,  to  Margaret  C. 
Johnson,  born  in  this  county,  Aug.  16, 
1837,  and  a  daughter  of  Joel  and  Nancy 
(banning)  Johnson.  The  former  was 
a  native  of  this  state,  and  was  indenti- 
fied  with  its  interests  until  his  death, 
in  Dec,  1873.  The  latter  was  also  a 
native  of  this  state,  and  died  about  the 
year  1842.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Cooper  were 
the  parents  of  10  children — Owen,  born 
June  2i;,  185J,  died  Aug.  2(i,  1878;  Rosa 
J.,  born  April  15,  I860,  died  March  VI, 
1885;  George  E.,  horn  March  29,  1864, 
living  with  his  mother  on  the  farm; 
William    E.,  horn   March  26,  1866,  also 


at  home;  Martha  A.,  born  April  17, 
1868,  living  at  home;  Minnie  L.,  horn 
June  5,  1872;  Mary,  born  May  10, 1875; 
Alvin,  born  June  11,  1862,  died  Sept. 
1,  1863,  and  two  who  died  in  infamy, 
unnamed.  Mr.  Cooper  was  engaged  in 
farming  during  his  lifetime.  His  death 
occurred  July  19,  1875,  be  being  a  victim 
to  that  dreadful  disease,  consumption. 
He  was  a  man  who  was  highly  esteemed 
in  the  circle  of  his  acquaintances, and  dur- 
ing his  life  was  a  consistent  member  of 
the  Hickory  Grove  Baptist  church,  of 
which  his  wife  has  also  been  a  member. 
Since  the  death  of  her  husband,  Mrs. 
Cooper  has  conducted  the  farm  enter- 
prise, consisting  of  200  acres,  giving  her 
own  supervision  to  the  management 
thereof.  On  the  22d  of  June,  1884, 
Mrs.  Cooper  was  married  to  James 
Isaacs,  a  native  of  Kentucky,  born  in 
1855. 

John  O.  Carmody  was  born  in  county 
Clare,  Ireland,  in  1835,  his  parents  be- 
ing John  and  Honora(0'Brien)Carmody, 
both  natives  of  the  same  country,  the 
former  having  died  about  1845,  in  Ire- 
land, and  the  latter  in  this  township,  in 
1883.  She  came  to  this  country  to  make 
her  home  with  her  son,  John  O.,  who 
came  to  America  in  1852,  landing  at 
New  Orleans.  From  there  he  went  to 
Alton,  111.,  where  for  two  years  he 
worked  as  a  laborer,  and  then  came  to 
Greene  county  and  rented  a  farm  one 
year.  He  then  entered  40  acres  of  land 
on  section  19,  Wrights  township,  on 
which  he  resided  15  years,  and  then 
moved  three-quarters  of  a  mile  south, 
on  the  same  section,  where  he  still  lives. 
He  commenced  life  a  poor  boy,  and  by 
industry  and  economy  has  succeeded  in 
getting    240    acres    of  improved    land, 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY 


953 


which  will  have  a  tendency  t<>  make  his 
declining  years  more  pleasant  John 
0.  Carmody  and  Ellen  Griffin,  a  native 
of  county  Clare,  Ireland,  were  united  in 
the  holy  bonds  of  matrimony,  in  1856. 
Their  union  has  been  blessed  with  six 
children — James,  of  Carrollton;  Daniel, 
John,  Thomas,  William  and  Martin. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Carmody  and  family  are 
members  of  the  Catholic  church. 

Patrick  Ryan,  deceased,  was  born  in 
Tipperary  county,  Ireland,  March  27, 
1828,  and  was  a  son  of  Michael  and  Mary 
Ryan,  who  died  when  Patrick  was  quite 
young.  He  then  went  to  live  with  an 
uncle,  from  whom  he  did  not  receive 
very  good  treatment,  and  accordingly  he 
left  and  went  to  work  on  a  farm,  where 
he  continued  for  four  years,  saving  in 
that  time  about  $325.  He  then  set  sail 
for  America,  and  after  landing,  came  as 
far  west  as  Illinois,  settling  in  Greene 
county  about  the  year  1858.  He  worked 
on  a  farm  then  for  nearly  four  years, 
when  he  was  married  Sept.  1,  1861,  to 
Margaret  Welsh,  a  daughter  of  Thomas 
and  Catharine  Welsh,  natives  of  Ireland. 
Margaret  was  born  Jan.  14,  1835,  and 
came  to  this  country  with  her  brother, 
arriving  in  Jerseyville,  on  New  Year's 
day,  1852.  Their  parents  died  in  Ire- 
land. The  brother,  with  whom  she 
came,  is  also  dead,  having  departed  this 
life  Oct.  26,  1876,  at  the  home  of  his 
sister.  Margaret.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Ryan 
were  the  parents  of  five  children,  Mary 
E.,  Katie  and  Maggie,  twins;  Emma  M., 
and  James.  After  marriage,  Mr.  Ryan 
rented,  fur  three  years,  when  he 
settled  on  a  farm  on  sect  inn  15,  Wrights 
township,  where  he  lived  until  his  death 
Dec.  30,  1875.  Mr.  Ryan  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the   Catholic   church,    an   honest 


and  industrious  man,  and  was  much 
thought  of  by  all  who  knew  him.  He 
began  life  as  a  laborer  and  farm  hand, 
then  as  renter,  and  at  the  time  of  his 
death,  had  accumulated  enough  property 
to  keep  his  family  in  comfortable  cir- 
cumstances, so  that  they  have  no  fear  of 
want.  Mrs.  Ryan  is  now  living  npon 
the  farm  of  Sylvanus  Barnett,  keeping- 
house  for  him,  although  she  owns  a  nice 
farm  of  100  acres,  besides  a  house  and 
lot  in  Alton.  She  is  a  member  of  the 
Catholic  church,  as  are  also  the  other 
members  of  the  family. 

Anthony  Cunningham  was  born  in 
Ireland,  on  the  15th  of  August,  in  the 
year  1818.  He  is  a  son  of  Anthony  and 
Elizabeth  (Morris)  Cunningham,  also 
natives  of  Ireland.  His  father  died 
there,  about  the  year  1838,  and  his 
mother  survived  him  about  10  years. 
When  Anthony  was  about  29  years  of 
age,  he  decided  to  come  to  America, 
and  embarking  on  the  E.  E.  Perkins, 
arrived  here  after  a  journey  of  two 
months.  He  landed  at  New  Orleans, 
where  he  worked  for  some  time,  and 
afterward  traveled  considerably  through 
Missouri,  and  as  far  east  as  Pennsyl- 
vania. He  was  married  Dee.  25,  1853, 
to  Mary  Roly,  a  native  of  Ireland.  By 
this  marriage  they  are  the  parents  of 
7  children — Winifred,  deceased;  George 
R..  Edward  R.,  Mary  J.,  James,  deceas- 
ed, and  two  who  died  in  infancy.  Mr. 
Cunningham  has  190  acres  of  good  land, 
part  of  which  is  timber,  and  he  is  com- 
fortably situated.  He  and  his  family 
have  been  members  of  the  Catholic 
church  since  infancy.  Politically,  he  is 
a  democrat.  Mrs.  Cunningham's  parents, 
James  and  Winifred  (Costello)  Roly, 
died   in  Ireland,    their   native  country. 


954 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


Thomas  Moore  was  bom  in  county 
Carlow,  Ireland,  Aug.  15,  1826,  and  is  a 
son  of  Edward  and  Ellen  (Harden) 
Moore,  natives  of  Ireland.  His  father 
died  about  the  year  1820.  ana"  hismother 
about  1850.  Thomas  came  to  America 
in  1843,  sailing  on  the  ship  Java,  and 
landed  at  Quebec,  Canada,  about  the 
middle  of  April.  He  then  went  to 
Boston, where  he  remained  about  a  year, 
then  spent  a  year  in  the  state  of  New- 
York,  when  he  went  to  Texas,  where  he 
staid  about  six  months.  He  then  re- 
moved to  Louisiana,  and  soon  afterward 
went  to  Mississippi,  where  he  remained 
about  a  year,  then  went  to  St.  Louis, 
Mo.,  remaining  there  until  he  came  to 
Illinois.  In  Oct.,  1852,  he  was  married 
to  Mary  Rowly,  a  native  of  Ireland. 
They  have  a  family  of  eight  children 
living — Mary,  Hose  A.,  Thomas,  Ellen, 
Edward,  James,  Frank  and  Elizabeth. 
Mr.  Moore  has  110  acres  of  land,  most 
of  which  is  timber.  By  perseverance 
and  industry,  he  succeeds  in  making  a 
comfortable  living.  In  politics,  he  is  a 
democrat.  The  family  are  members  of 
the  Catholic  church. 

Robert  L.  Cunningham,  a  native  of 
Marion  county,  Ky.,  was  born  in  1851, 
and  is  a  son  of  Samuel  and  Emeline 
(Cooper)  Cunningham.  In  1852,  he 
came  to  Greene  county,  111.,  with  his 
parents,  and  settled  three  miles  west  of 
Greenfield.  Robert  worked  on  the  home 
farm  until  1S77,  when  he  was  united  in 
marriage  with  Mary  Jane  Jones,  a  na- 
tive of  this  county,  ami  a  daughter  of 
Enoch  Jones.  Mr  and  Mrs.  Cunning- 
ham have  had  four  children  born  to 
them— Mary  E.,  George  W.,  Cynthia 
E.  and  Nellie.  lie  is  a  member  of  the 
Baptist  church,  while  his  wife  affiliates 


with  the  Presbyterians.  He  now  owns 
120  acres  of  land,  40  of  which  is  timber, 
and  he  is  engaged  in  general  farming. 
In  polities  he  is  a  staunch  republican. 
The  father  of  Robert  departed  this  life 
in  18711, and  was  interred  in  the  Hickory 
Grove  cemetery.  In  life  he  was  a  con- 
sistent member  of  the  Cumberland  Pres- 
byterian church,  and  held  the  office  of 
justice  of  the  peace  for  a  number  of 
years.  Robert's  mother  is  still  living 
on  the  old  homestead,  she  also  being  a 
member  of  the  Cumberland  Presbyterian 
church. 

Joseph  White  is  a  native  of  the  state 
of  Ohio,  and  was  born  in  1831,  his  pa- 
rents being  John  and  Elizabeth  White, 
both  of  whom  were  natives  of  the  same 
state,  the  former  having  departed  this 
life  in  1859,  aged  74  years,  and  the  lat- 
ter in  1858,  aged  65  years.  In  1857, 
Joseph  White  and  Arminda  McGuire,  a 
native  of  Ohio,  were  united  in  marriage. 
Their  union  was  blessed  with  seven 
children — Albert,  Olive,  Annie,  John- 
nie and  Ida,  living  at  home.  They  had 
the  misfortune  to  lose  two  children  by 
the  hand  of  the  grim  destroyer.  Mr. 
White  learned  the  carpenter  trade  at 
the  age  of  19  years,  which  he  continued 
to  follow  until  1867,  when  he  began  his 
agricultural  pursuits.  In  1865,  he  re- 
moved to  Illinois,  and  located  at  White 
Hall,  where  he  worked  at  his  trade  for 
one  year.  He  then  bought  40  acres  of 
land  on  section  7,  Wrights  township, 
where  he  has  lived  ever  since,  engaged 
in  general  farming.  He  has  added  to 
his  possessions,  until  he  now  has  120 
acies  of  land,  to  which  he  devotes  his 
care  and  attention,  and  by  industry 
and  thrift  has  deservedly  earned  a  repu- 
tation as  a  model  farmer. 


EDUCATIONAL. 

School  districl  No.  1.— The  first  build- 
ing for  school  purposes  in  this  district, 
which  is  also  known  as  Jericho,  was  a 
log  cabin  after  the  pioneer  style,  erected 
in  the  fall  of  1840  or  1841,  about  a  quar- 
ter of  a  mile  south  of  where  Thomas 
Featherston  now  resides  The  pioneer 
teacher  of  this  school,  was  Abraham 
Siiencer,  afterward  county  clerk.  This 
building  was  afterward  removed  to  a 
point  about  half  a  mile  northwest  of 
where  the  present  building  stands.  It 
was  used  by  the  district  here  until 
the  present  school  house  was  elected  in 
the  fall  of  1863,  by  William  Lorton,  and 
a  man  by  the  name  of  Copley.  Par- 
ham  Thaxton  spread  the  mortar  upon 
the  ceiling  and  walls  with  his  charac- 
teristic style  and  ability  for  such  work. 
The  building  is  about  18x24  feet  in  size, 
ami  cost  about  $500.  The  first  term  of 
school  in  this  building  was  taught  by  R. 
A.  Short.  The  present  teacher  is  Mag- 
gie Carlina.  The  directors  for  1885  are 
—J.  C.  Rafferty,  J.  II.  Stinnet,  and  J. 
M.  Short. 

School  district  No.  l'. — The  first  house 
for  educational  purposes  in  this  district 
was  erected  in  the  fall  of  1862,  and  is 
still  standing  on  the  original  site,  on 
the  northeast  quarter  of  section  3.  The 
first  term  of  school  was  taught  by  a  Mr. 
Smith,  familiarly  known  as  "Limpy," 
as  he  was  somewhat  lame.  William  L. 
Lorton,  Perry  Bradshaw  and  \V.  J. 
Davis,  were  the  first  directors.  The 
building,  which  is  still  in  use,  is  a  frame 
structure,  20x26  feet,  in  dimension,  and 
was  erected  at  an  expenditure  of  $425. 
At  the  time  of  building,  it  was  consid- 
ered a  very  fine  school  house,  but  it  has 
outlived  its  usefulness,  and  will  doubt- 


less  soon  be  replaced  by  another.  The 
present  board  of  directors  are — Perry 
Bradshaw,  James  E.  Davis  and  George 
W.  Hutton. 

School  district  No.  .".  has  a  school 
house  standing  on  the  northeast  quarter 
of  section  8,  which  was  erected  in  1852, 
by  John  C.  Winters  and  J.  S.  Benear. 
The  first  teacher  was  Joshua  Bigam. 

School  district  No.  4, better  known  as 
the  Appaloona  district,  has  a  school 
house  on  section  291  It  was  built  in  the 
summer  of  1880.  at  a  cost  of  $900,  and 
is  _!i»x2fi  feet  in  size.  The  land  upon 
which  it  stands,  consisting  of  one  acre, 
was  donated  to  the  district  by  Win.  P>. 
Goode.  D.  M.  Whitesides  was  the  first 
teacher.  Miss  Ada  Halbertis  the  pres- 
ent preceptress.  The  first  school  house 
in  this  district  was  a  log  cabin,  erected 
at  an  early  day  on  the  site  of  the  pres- 
ent building.  It  was  replaced  by  a 
frame  structure,  about  the  year  1855, 
which  was  about  20x24  feet  in  size. 
With  remodeling,  this  building  served 
the  district  for  school  purposes  until  the 
present  house  was  erected.  The  pres- 
ent directors  of  this  district  are,  Wil- 
liam D.  Waltrip,  Thomas  Fox  and 
Jacob  Meister. 

District  No.  5. — The  school  building 
stands  ahput  the  center  of  section  26, 
and  was  erected  in  the  fall  of  3SS2.  It 
is  26x36  feet  in  size,  and  cost  about 
81,000.  The  first  teacher  in  this  build- 
ing was  Rosa  Moore.  The  present  ped- 
agogue is  J.  C.  Bowman.  The  first 
school  house  in  the  district  was  built 
about  1839,  almost  exactly  where  the 
present  one  stands.  It  was  about  16x18 
feet  in  size,  constructed  of  logs,  and 
was  a  typical  representative  of  pioneer 
times.       Wooden    slabs,  with    pegs  for 


956 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


legs,  were  the  only  seats,  desks  there 
were  none.  The  cabin  was  lighted  by  hav- 
ing a  part  of  two  logs  cut  out  of  one  side, 
covered  with  greased  paper  for  window 
panes.  Stephen  Wright  was  the  pioneer 
teacher  in  tins  building,  which  was 
among  the  first  in  the  township.  The 
building  was  used  for  several  years,  but 
in  the  fall  of  1849,  a  frame  edifice  was 
raised  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  further 
west,  where  it  yet  stands,  used  for  the 
storage  of  farm  machinery.  Ira  B. 
Pickett  taught  the  first  school  in  this 
building.  The  third  building  was  put 
up  in  1861,  upon  the  site  of  the  present 
one,  and  was  used  until  the  commence- 
ment of  the  new  one,  when  it  was  sold 
to  W.  Y.  Rhoads.  who  moved  it  away. 
School  district  No.  6. — A  school  house 
was  built  about  the  year  1865,  where  the 
present  building  stands,  on  the  north- 
west quarter  of  section  22.  Andrew 
McGowan  was  the  first  teacher  in  this 
building,  but  something  occurred  that 
caused  him  to  give  it  up  before  the  com- 
pletion of  the  term,  and  a  young  man 
by  the  name  of  English  finished  it. 
Prior  to  the  building  of  this  edifice, 
school  was  taught  in  a  log  cabin,  which 
was  built  at  an  early  day,  for  school 
purposes.  Mary  Lee.  afterward  the 
wife  of  John  B.  Dodgson,  is  generally 
supposed  to  have  been  the  first  teacher 
in  the  district.  The  frame  structure, 
built  in  1865.  was  remodeled  and  an  ad- 
dition built  in  1879,  so  that  at  present  it 
covers  24x40  feet  of  ground.  Miss  Jo- 
anna Morrissey  is  the  present  teacher. 
The  directors  for  1885  are,  James  Dodg- 
son, Isaac  Davidson  and  Robert  Goodall. 

CEMETERY. 

Hickory    Grove  cemetery  is  situated 
upon  the  southeast  quarter   of  section 


27,  of  this  township.  The  first  burial 
here  was  Nancy,  a  daughter  of  Thomas 
and  Mary  Wright,  who  died  July  10, 
I845j  and  was  buried  the  following  day. 
The  next  was  the  interment  of  two 
children  of  Julius  Neymore,  during  the 
autumn  of  the  same  year. 

FIRST    ITEMS. 

The  first  corn  planted  in  the  township 
was  by  William  Waltrip,  in  the  spring 
of  1820,  and  the  first  wheat  in  1822. 

The  first  church  building  was  a  log 
structure,  built  on  section  20,  during  the 
year  1826. 

The  first  preaching  in  the  township 
was  done  by  Isaac  X.  Piggott,  at  the 
cabins  of  the  pioneers. 

The  first  school  was  taught  in  the  log 
church  above  mentioned  by  David  Pink- 
erton. 

The  first  marriage  was  that  of  Cyrus 
Tolman  to  Polly  Eldred,  in  Jan.,  1823, 
by  Samuel  Lee,  a  justice  of  the  peace. 

A  child  of  Thomas  Rattan,  born  in 
1820,  is  believed  to  have  been  the  first 
birth  in  this  township. 

The  first  death  in  this  township  was 
that  of  Luke,  father  of  William  Waltrip, 
which  occurred  March  12,  1820,  being 
buried  on  the  north  side  of  Apple  creek, 
on  section  7.  The  coffin  was  rudely 
constructed  of  slabs  split  from  native 
timber,  and  dressed  and  put  together 
with  wooden  pegs  in  place  of  nails,  by 
John  Allen.  Mr.  Waltrip  Was  76  years 
of  age  at  the  time  of  his  death. 

WRTGHTSYILLE. 

A  small  village  located  upon  section 
23,  of  this  township,  on  the  line  of  the 
C,  B.  &  Q.  R.  R.,  bears  the  name  of 
Wrightsvillc.     This  was  laid  out  by  A. 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


957 


J.Wright,  on  June  18,  1872.     The  first 

business  transacted  here  was  by  the  town 
proprietor,  A.  J.  Wright,  who  erected  a 
platform  shortly  after  the  railroad  was 
built,  in  1870,  and  shipped  grain.  The 
first  car-load  was  sent  from  here  in  May, 
1870,and  was  wheat  raised  by  William  T. 
Cooper,  and  purchased  by  Mr.  Wright. 
No  other  business  was  done  here,  except 
the  grain  buying,  until  1871,  when  A.  J. 
Wright  built  the  first  store.  This  was  a 
small  frame  building  20x24,  with  shelves 
and  counter  on  one  side  only.  The  first 
stock  of  goods  was  put  in  at  a  cost  of 
$292.92.  The  store  was  opened  Feb.  1, 
1871.  The  first  article  sold  was  a  dollar's 
worth  of  sugar  to  John  Doyle. 

The  building  in  which  this  stock  was 
kept,  is  now  in  use  by  William  Wright, 
as  a  furniture,  undertaking  and  hard- 
ware store. 

The  second  store  was  opened  by  Wil- 
liam and  Daniel  Merrick,  in  June,  1873. 
They  erected  the  building  upon  a  lot  do- 
nated  by  Mr.  Wright,  and  which  is  now 
occupied  by  Gardner  &  Kesinger,  as  a 
hardware  and  agricultural  implement 
depot.  Several  other  small  stores  were 
afterward  started,  but  none  of  them 
continued  very  long. 

William  Ickes  was  the  first  black- 
smith. He  constructed  a  shop  in  the 
fall  of  1871,  and  continued  in  business 
two  or  three  years,  and  afterward  moved 
to  a  farm. 

A.  J.  Wright  built  the  first  house  for 
residence  purposes,  in  the  fall  of  1*72. 

PRESENT    BUSINESS. 

A.  J.  Wright  &  Son,  dealers  in  gen- 
eral merchandise,  are  the  lineal  repre- 
sentatives of  the  pioneer  store  in  the 
town,    established   by    Mr.    Wright,   in 


1871.  He  continued  in  business  until 
ISM,  when  the  present  firm  was  formed, 
by  admitting  his  son,  Richard  D., 
to  a  partnership.  At  that  time,  they 
erected  their  present  commodious  store 
building,  at  a  cost  of  $3,000.  This  is 
28x70  feet  in  ground  area.  They  carry 
a  large  line  of  miscellaneous  goods, 
which  will  invoice  fully  86,000,  and  are 
the  leading  merchants  in  the  town. 

Andrew  J.  Wright,  the  founder  of  the 
town  of  Wrightsville,  and  one  of  the 
most  prominent  citizens  of  Wrights 
township,  was  born  southwest  of  the 
town  of  Wrightsville,  on  the  farm  now 
owned  by  J.  K.  P.  Farrelly.  His  birth 
occurred  Aug.  29,  1834,  he  being  a  son 
of  Thomas  and  Mary  (Cole)  Wright. 
Andrew  was  reared  in  his  native  town- 
ship, and  received  his  early  education 
in  the  old  log  school  house  which  stood 
within  the  boundary  of  the  present 
school  district  No.  5.  At  that  time  it 
took  a  portion  of  four  different  town- 
ships to  comprise  a  school  district,  thus 
showing  how  thinly  settled  the  county 
was  in  those  days.  Some  two  years  ago 
Mr.  Wright  counted  some  35  of  the 
scholars  of  that  school  who  were  yet 
living,  displaying  a  surprisingly  small 
number  of  deaths  during  that  period. 
March  25,  1856,  Andrew  J.  Wright  was 
united  in  marriage  with  Lucinda  E. 
Cunningham,  a  daughter  of  R.  B.  and 
Mary  i  Brannan  |  Cunningham.  By  their 
marriage  they  have  been  blessed  with 
three  children — Mary  A.,  born  Feb.  S, 
1857,  married  George  A.  Palmer,  and 
now  resides  in  Kansas:  James  W.,  born 
Aug.  21,  1858,  married  Mary  A.  Fair, 
and  Richard  D.,  born  Oct.  30,  1860,now 
in  partnership  with  his  father  in  the 
mercantile  business.    In  addition  to  his 


958 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


store,  Mr.  Wright  is  the  possessor  of 
415  acres  of  land,  all  situated  in  this 
county,  with  the  exception  of  120  acres 
in  Shelby  county,  this  state.  In  poli- 
ties he  is  a  prohibitionist,  and  although 
he  lias  never  sought  political  prefer- 
ment, lie  has  been  called  upon  a  number 
of  times  to  serve  the  people,  which  he 
did  with  credit  to  himself,  and  satisfac- 
tion to  his  constituents.  He  is  at  pres- 
ent a  notary  public,  which  office  he  has 
held  for  the  past  nine  years.  Mr.  Wright 
is  an  honest,  upright  man,  and  has 
never  made  a  promise  of  any  kind  which 
he  has  not  fulfilled  to  the  letter.  His 
course  through  life  is  worthy  of  imita- 
tion by  those  who  will  succeed  him. 

Emerson  &  Ford,  dealers  in  merchan- 
dise, commenced  business  in  Wrights- 
ville,  Oct.  9,  1883,  as  successors  to  Beth- 
ard,  Emerson  &  Co.,  who  established 
the  same  Sept.  11,  1882.  The  building 
they  occupy,  was  built  during  the  sum- 
mer of  1882,  and  is  30x70  feet  in  size, 
and  was  completed  at  a  cost  of  $2,250. 
They  carry  a  well  selected  stock  of 
about  85,000,  and  are  doing  a  large  and 
increasing  business. 

Jerr\'  Bethard  is  also  engaged  in  the 
general  merchandise  business  at  this 
point.  He  established  the  stand  in 
1875,  at  which  time  he  erected  the  main 
part  of  the  building  he  now  occupies. 
This  was  20x48  feet  in  size,  and  cost 
about  $450.  He  has  since  made  addi- 
tions, one  12x16,  the  other  16x30  feet  in 
dimension.  He  ran  alone  until  1878, 
when  his  brother  became  a  partner,  and 
under  the  firm  name  of  J.  and  J.  C. 
Bethard,  they  operated  about  a  year, 
when  the  brother  retired.  Thus  it 
stiu ill  until  1880,  when  the  firm  became 
Bethard  Bros.,  but   in    1883,    this    was 


dissolved,  and  Mr.  Bethard  has  contin- 
ued alone.  'He  carries  a  stock  of  be- 
tween $2,500  and  $3,000. 

The  elevator  owned  by  Hunt  &  Kes- 
inger,  was  originally  erected  by  A.  J. 
Wright,  as  a  grain  warehouse.  In  1880, 
it  was  remodeled  and  rebuilt,  as  an  ele- 
vator, by  the  present  owners,  who  had 
just  purchased  the  building.  It  was  a 
frame  structure,  32x80  feet  in  size,  and 
cost,  when  complete,  84,500.  It  has  a 
capacity  of  holding  16,000  bushels  of 
grain,  and  is  operated  by  a  12-horse 
power  engine.  This  firm  also  own  a 
warehouse,  30x40  feet  in  size,  which  has 
a  capacity  of  about  4,000  bushels. 

John  Goodall  established  a  wagon 
building  and  repairing  shop  at  this 
place,  in  1876,  which  he  continues  to 
operate. 

In  addition  to  those  already  men- 
tioned, the  following  are  carrying  on 
business  at  this  place:  J.  W.  Wright, 
furniture,  stoves  and  tinware;  Wright 
&  Kesinger,  undertaking;  Gardner  & 
Kesinger,  blacksmiths  and  hardware 
dealers;  A.  L.  Brannen  blacksmith. 

I'liSTOFFICE. 

This  was  established  in  March,  1871, 
when  A.J.  Wright  was  commissioned 
as  postmaster.  He  held  the  office  until 
1875,  when  he  was  succeeded  by  Jerry 
Bethard,  the  present  incumbent.  The 
office  is  in  the  store  of  the   postmaster. 

RAILROAD. 

Wrightsville  has  connection  with  the 
outside  world  by  means  of  the  C,  B.  & 
Q.  R.  R.  This  railroad  was  constructed 
as  the  R.,  R.  I.  &  St.  L.  R'y,  and  was 
completed  through  this  place  in  the 
early  part  of  1870.     In   1878,  the  com- 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


959 


pany  which  huilt  and  owned  it  became 
bailkrupt.  A  receiver  was  appointed 
and  the  mad  finally  became  the  property 
of  the  C.  B.  &  Q.  R'y  Co., who  still  con- 
tinue to  own  and  operate  it.  The  first 
station  agent  at  this  point  was  A.  J. 
WrigbtjWho  took  charge  of  the  business 
shortly  after  the  road  was  completed, 
continuing  in  that  capacity  for  about 
five  years,  and  transacting  the  business 
of  the  road  at  his  store  building.  He 
was  succeeded  by  his  son,  James  W., 
for  five  years.  In  March,  1870,  the  depot 
building  was  completed,  and  a  telegraph 
office  established, when  John  Ewald  be- 
came agent  and  telegraph  operator. 
There  has  been  several  clianges  since 
then,  the  present  incumbent  of  the 
station  being  Charles  Stone. 


The  American  Express  Co.  have  car- 
ried on  business  here  since  the  con- 
struction of  the  railroad,  and  when  the 
depot  and  telegraph  office  was  estab- 
lished in  1880,  an  express  agency  was 
formed  at  Wrightsville  by  that  com- 
pany, who  still  continue  to  do  business. 


FIKST    ITEMS. 

The  first  child  in  the  village  was  t 
of  a  boy,  in  the  family  of  a  man  by 
name  of  Mansfield,  who  worked  en 
railroad,  in  1871. 

The  first  marriage  was  that  of  Gee 
W.  Rhoads  and  Nancy  J.  Davidson, 
April,  1873. 

The  first  station  agent  here  was  A 
Wright,  who  was  also  the  first  p< 
master. 


hat 
the 
the 


GHAPTRR    XXII. 


This  sub-division  of  the  county  of 
Greene,  lies  in  the  extreme  northwest- 
ern corner,  and  embraces  all  of  town- 
ship 12,  range  13,  sections  5,  6,  7,  8,  17, 
18,  19,  20,  29,  30,  31  and  32,  of  township 
12,  range  12,  and  all  of  township  12, 
range  14,  lying  in  this  county.  It  is 
bounded  on  the  north  by  Scott  county, 
on  the  east  by  Roodhouse  and  White 
Hall  townships,  on  the  south  by  Walker- 
ville  township,  and  west  by  Pike  coun- 
ty, from  which  it  is  separated  by  the 
Illinois  river.  Tin1  soil  in  the  western 
part  is  the  rich,  black,  alluvial  soil  of 
the  river  bottom,  while  the  eastern  part 
is  mostly  the  dark  colored  leafy  mould 
and  argrilleous  marl. 


PATTERSON  TOWNSHIP. 

Much  of  the  bottom  lands  is  unavail- 
able for  culture,  owing  to  the  many 
lakes,  ponds,  etc.,  and  the  danger,  or 
almost  certainty  of  an  overflow. 


EARLY   SETTLEMENT. 

Settlement  did  not  set  in  quite  as 
early  in  this  portion  of  the  county  as  it 
did  in  some  others,  but  the  first  to 
locate  in  the  present  limits  of  Patterson, 
was  a  Mr.  Swanson,  who  came  here  in 
the  spring  of  1820,  and  made  a  settle- 
ment on  section  13.  Here  he  remained 
some  years. 

Anthony  S.  Seely  was  a  settler  of  the 
year  1823.  He  was,  in  later  years,  one 
of  the  most  prominent  farmers  in   the 


960 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


county.  He  was  born  at  St.  Louis,  Mo., 
Dec.  27,  1812.     He  was  left  an  orphan 

at  the  age  of  11  years,  and  being  thrown 
on  bis  own  resources,  he  found  his  way 
into  Illinois,  locating  at  Greene  county. 
lie  at  first  hired  out  as  a  farm  hand.  In 
his  21st  year  he  was  married  to  Laney 
Hodges,  a  daughter  of  Samuel  Hodges. 
In  a  short  time  afterward  he  purchased 
80  acres  of  land,  and  went  to  work  on 
his  own  account.  This  little  piece  of 
hind  proved  to  be  the  nucleus  of  one  of 
the  finest  farms  in  the  state,  for  at  the 
time  of  his  death,  Judge  Seel}7'  was  the 
owner  of  about  2,000  acres.  He  was 
always  a  hard  worker,  thrifty,  prudent 
and  public  spirited.  For  many  years 
he  was  justice  of  the  peace,  and  for  14 
years  he  was  a  member  of  the  board  of 
county  commissioners.  He  died  at  his 
home  near  White  Hall,  Sept.  24,  1885. 
He  leaves  eight  living  children,  as  fol- 
lows— Rufus  G.,  William  Frank,  Amer- 
icas, Anthony,  Mrs.  Louisa  Cobb,  Mrs. 
Gus  Lang  and  Addie  Seely. 

Reuben  Martin  made  a  settlement  on 
section  13,  during  the  year  1823.  He 
was  a  native  of  Tennessee,  and  was 
there  married  to  Betsy  Carriger,  a  sister 
of  Leonard  Carriger.  Mr.  Martin  died 
in  1873,  and  Mrs.  Martin  followed  him 
t<>  the  grave  in  1882.  Both  were  buried 
in  the  Martin  cemetery. 

Joseph  Buck  strayed  this  way  in  1825, 
and,  taking  a  fancy  to  the  locality, 
made  a  settlement  on  section  3,  and 
lived  there  until  his  death,  which  oc- 
curred about  1835.  Mrs.  Buck  after- 
ward married  Joshua  Jones. 

Elijah  Little  also  made  a  settlement 
in  this  township,  shortly  after  Mr.  Buck 
came  here. 

In    the    year    1820,    Elisha    Brown, 


Stephen  Schmalt  and  William  Shelton, 
came  to  this  part  of  Greene  county  and 
made  settlements  at  a  place  called 
Happyville. 

Among  the  settlers  of  1827,  was  Thos. 
Groce,  who  came  from  Tennessee  to  this 
township,  and  a  year  later  settled  on 
section  18,  where  the  town  of  Wilming- 
ton is  now  located.  He  erected  the 
first  house  in  that  village.  He  was 
born  in  Surry  county,  N.  C,  in  Nov., 
1796,  being  a  son  of  Peter  Groce.  When 
quite  young  he  removed  with  his  par- 
ents to  Tennessee,  where  he  was  mar- 
ried to  Nancy  Cunningham  in  1818, 
coming  to  this  county  in  1827,  as  above. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Groce  were  the  parents  of 
eight  children,  some  of  whom  are  still 
residents  of  this  township.  Mr.  Groce's 
death  occurred  in  1873,  and  his  wife 
survived  him  until  1875.  They  are 
both  buried  in  Missouri. 

David  Hahn  came  to  Greene  county 
in  1829,  and  afterward  located  upon 
Sec.  31,  of  T.  12,  R.  12,  being  among 
the  pioneers  of  this  township.  He 
was  born  in  1810,  in  Cape  Girardeau 
county,  Mo.,  where  his  youthful  days 
were  spent.  He  was  twice  married  after 
coming  to  this  township,  the  first  time 
to  Mary  Hubbard,  who  was  born  in 
Kentucky,  and  who  came  with  her  par- 
ents to  this  county  in  1820.  His  second 
marriage  was  with  Keziah  Seely. 

Leonard  Carriger  and  family  made  a 
settlement  in  this  township  in  the  fall 
of  1830,  on  Sec.  8,  of  T.  12,  R.  12,  where 
he  purchased  80  acres  of  land,  upon 
which  were  a  few  improvements.  He 
was  born  in  Carter  county,  Tenn.,  May 
4,  1794,  his  parents  being  Nicholas  and 
Catherine  (Millard)  Carriger.  When 
he  was  quite  young  his  parents  removed 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


'.Mil 


to  Lincoln  county,  Tenn.,  where  Leon- 
ard was  reared  and  where  he  was  mar- 
ried, March  6,  1823,  to  Sylvania  Marsh, 
born  in  North  Carolina,  Feb.  17,  1796, 
although  reared  and  educated  in  South 
Carolina.  By  this  union  five  children 
were  horn,  two  of  whom  are  still  resi- 
dents of  (his  township — Martha  J  and 
Nicholas.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Garriger  re- 
sided upon  the  old  homestead  until 
called  upon  to  pay  the  debt  of  nature, 
her  death  occurring  April  17.  1870, 
while  her  husband  survived  her  until 
Jan.  10,  1871.  They  are  both  buried  in 
what  is  known  as  the  Martin  cemetery. 
Mr.  Carriger  served  his  country  in  the 
war  of  1812,  and  also  took  part  in  the 
Seminole  war.  He  was  truly  one  of  the 
pioneers  of  Greene  county,  and  as  such 
contributed  to  the  transformation  of  an 
almost  primitive  wilderness  into  what 
is  now  one  of  the  best  counties  in  the 
state. 

James  Ford,  with  his  family,  natives 
of  North  Carolina,  came  in  the  fall  of 
1835,  and  after  a  year  at  Grand  Pass, 
settled  on  Sand  ridge,  where  he  remained 
until  his  death,  in  1845.  His  wife,  who 
was  also  horn  in  North  Carolina,  where 
they  were  married,  was  Jane  Watts, 
who  survived  her  husband  until  July  7, 
1864.  They  are  both  interred  in  the 
Wilmington  cemetery. 

John  Coates  and  family  made  a  settle- 
ment in  this  township  in  1835.  He  was 
a  native  of  South  Carolina,  and  resided 
here  until  his  death.  His  place  of  settle- 
ment was  between  Schutz's  mill  and 
Patterson. 

John  Coates,  deceased,  was  born  in 
Edgefield  district,  S.  C,  in  1799.  He 
was  there  reared  and  learned  the  miller's 
trade,  which  had  also  been  his  father's 


occupation.  He  there  married  Eliza- 
beth Owdom,  a  native  of  the  same  state, 
and  they  resided  there  until  coming  to 
Greene  county,  111.,  in  the  spring  of  1835, 
making  the  entire  trip  by  wagon.  They 
first  located  in  the  northern  part  of  what 
is  now  Patterson  township,  under  the 
bluff,  where  they  remained  but  a  short 
time,  and  then  removed  to  Wilmington, 
remaining  but  a  short  time  there,  also, 
when  he  moved  to  the  neighborhood  of 
the  present  Schutz's  mill.  At  that  time 
the  old  mill  was  yet  standing,  and  he 
leased  it  from  Hodges,  the  builder,  lie 
took  charge  of  the  mill,  it  being  then 
run  by  water-power,  and  conducted  it  a 
number  of  years,  when  in  turnleased  it 
to  Seely,  Patterson  A-  Sehutz.  during 
whose  time  of  management  it  was 
burned.  Mr.  Coates  had  erected  a 
dwelling  on  section  25,  and  there  resided 
until  his  death,  May  4,  1876.  He  is 
buried  in  the  Wilmington  cemetery.  He 
was  one  of  the  first  to  conduct  an  in- 
dustrial institution  in  this  township, 
the  mill  having  been  run  by  only  one 
person  before  that.  Mrs.  Coates  had 
preceded  him  in  death  over  two  sin  re 
years,  having  died  in  March,  1849,  and 
both  now  lie  buried  in  Wilmington  cem- 
etery. Mr.  and  Mrs.  John  Coates  were 
the  parents  of  ten  children — Leonidas, 
John  S.,  James,  living  at  Pearl;  Wil- 
liam, Milton,  Chester,  Jasper,  Marcus, 
Mary,  wife  of  Elihu  Yates,  living  at 
Roodhouse,  and  Elizabeth,  wife  of  Luke 
Farmer,  living  in  Kansas. 

Milton  Coates  was  horn  in  Greene 
county,  111.,  near  Schutz's  mill,  in  what 
is  now  Patterson  township,  Feb.  3,  1839, 
and  is  a  son  of  John  and  Nancy  (Ow- 
dom )  Coates,  as  mentioned  above.  Mil- 
ton  was   reared   to    farm   life,   and  has 


962 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COl  X  TY. 


always  been  engaged  in  that  business. 
He  was  married  on  March  1,  1S63,  to 
Barbara  Schutz,  a  daughter  of  Thomas 
Schutz,  deceased.  By  this  union  they 
arc  the  parents  of  four  children — John, 
Christina,  Ida  and  Willie,  all  living;  at 
home.  Mr.  Coates  has  a  farm  contain- 
ing 109  acres  of  land,  under  good  culti- 
vation, located  on  Sec.  25,  T.  12,  I!.  13, 
on  which  he  raises  stock  and  grain,  and 
is  comfortahly  fixed.  He  has  been  con- 
nected with  the  schools  of  his  district 
as  trustee,  and  is  a  well  respected 
citizen. 

SCHUTZ'S    MILL. 

This  mill  stands  on  the  site  of  one 
that  burned  down  long  ago.  The  old 
one  was  built  away  back  in  the  thirties, 
ami  after  passing  through  several  hands, 
came  into  the  possession  of  Thomas 
Hodgson.  He  was  succeeded  in  the 
proprietorship  by  John  Coates,  the  lat- 
ter never  operating  it,  but  rented  it  to 
George  Schutz,  L.  J.  Patterson  and  A. 
S.  Secly,  who  conducted  the  business 
until  the  spring  of  1859,  when  it  burned 
down.  This  mill  was  run  by  water 
power,  and  did  only  custom  work.  Noth- 
ing was  done  toward  re-building  the 
mill  until  I860,  when  George  Schutz 
erected  the  present  mill,  which  is  run 
by  steam  power.  The  main  building  is 
28x60  feet  in  size.  An  addition,  con- 
taining the  engine  and  boiler  room,  is 
50x60  feet  in  size,  three  stories  high, 
with  a  basement  under  all.  The  engine 
was  made  by  Gates,  McEwen  &  Co.,  St. 
Louis,  and  is  of  4U-hor.se  power.  The 
mill  has  two  run  of  buhrs,  and  has  a 
capacity  of  20  barrels  every  day  often 
hours.  The  mill  was  conducted  by 
Ceo.  Schutz  until  1867,  when  he  died. 
His  widow  then  ran  it  until  1873.     Up- 


to  this  time  it  had  been  run  as  a  dis- 
tillery and  corn  mill,  but  at  the  latter 
date,  John  Schutz  came  into  possession, 
and  put  in  the  milling  machinery,  and 
is  running  it  now. 

George  Schutz,  deceased,  the  builder 
of  Schutz's  mill,  was  born  in  Bavaria, 
Germany,  in  1815,  and  was  a  son  of  B. 
Schutz.  He  was  reared  in  his  native 
country,  and  there  learned  the  miller's 
trade.  In  1842,  he  took  leave  of  his 
friends  in  his  native  country,  and  took 
passage  on  an  ocean  vessel  destined  for 
New  Orleans.  Thence  he  came  to  St. 
Louis,  Mo.,  where  he  remained  two 
years,  engaged  in  distilling  at  Rock 
Springs,  St.  Louis  county.  From  there 
he  came  to  Greene  county,  and  engaged 
in  the  same  business,  at  what  is  now 
known  as  Schutz's  mill.  Connected  with 
him  in  this  enterprise  was  L.  J.  Patter- 
son and  Judge  A.  S.  Seely.  Mr.  Schutz 
built  the  present  mill,  and  engaged  in 
business  at  that  point  until  his  death. 
He  was  married  in  1852,  to  Lena  Hugh, 
a  native  of  Switzerland.  They  were  the 
parents  of  seven  children — John,  the 
subject  of  the  following  sketch;  Louisa 
M.,  married  Jacob  Meister,  and  lives 
near  Berdan;  George;  Sophia,  wife  of 
Rudolph  Klamm,  of  Christian  county; 
Joseph,  Amelia  C,  and  Ann,  who  died 
at  the  age  of  two  years.  Mr.  Schutz 
died  in  1867,  on  the  20th  of  November, 
and  was  buried  in  the  Wilmington  cem- 
etery. He  was  a  member  of  the  Catholic 
church,  and  up  to  the  time  of  his  death 
had  accumulated,  in  addition  to  his 
manufacturing  interests,  some  500  acres 
of  land,  and  was  ranked  as  a  go-a-head, 
enterprising  man. 

John  Schutz,  the  eldest  son  of  the 
above,  was  born  in  this  county,  on  the 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


963 


27th  day  of  May,  1853.  He  was  reared 
and  educated  in  the  county,  and  made 
his  home  with  his  parents  up  to  the 
present  time.  Besides  attending  the 
district  schools,  he  spent  three  years 
in  the  Burlington,  Iowa,  schools,  where 
he  finished  his  education.  He  succeed- 
ed to  the  ownership  of  the  mill  in 
1873,  at  which  time  he  turned  it  into 
a  Hour  mill.  He  is  the  present  post- 
master at  Schutz's  Mill,  having  been 
appointed  to  the  office  in  1880. 

In  1856,  a  store  building  was  erected 
at  Seliut/.'s  mil),  and  a  general  stock 
added  by  Matthew  Schutz,  the  building 
at  that  time  standing  over  near  the 
mill.  Mr.  Schutz  continued  business 
here  until  1869,  when  he  erected  the 
building  which  is  located  south  of  the 
railroad  track,  and  which  is  2<>x40  feet 
in  dimensions.  The  store  was  con- 
ducted by  Matthew  Schutz,  until  his 
death,  in  the  latter  part  of  1879,  since 
which  time  it  has  been  conducted  by 
his  son,  Joseph  J.  He  handles  dry 
goods,  groceries,  boots,  shoes,  and,  in 
fact,  everything  that  goes  to  make  up  a 
general  stock  of  a  country  Btore. 

Matthew  Schutz,  deceased,  originator 
of  the  store,  and  the  first  store  keeper 
at  this  point,  was  born  in  Bavaria,  Ger- 
many, July  4,  1823.  He  was  reared  to 
farm  life,  in  his  native  country,  and  re- 
mained with  his  parents  until  coming 
to  this  country.  In  Is  17,  he  took  leave 
of  friends  and  relatives,  in  his  native 
land,  and  sailed  for  America.  His  first 
location  here  was  in  St.  Louis,  where 
he  remained  between  two  ami  three 
years,  and  then  came  up  to  Greene 
county,  111.,  locating  in  what  is  now 
Patterson  township.  Here  he  engaged 
in  the  distillery   and  milling  business, 


with  his  brother  George,  at  Schutz 's 
Mill,  to  whom  he  afterward  sold  out 
his  interest,  having  started  in  the  mer- 
cantile business,  which  he  carried  on,  in 
connection  with  farming,  during  the  re- 
mainder of  his  life.  He  owned  1,020 
acres  of  land,  mostly  in  Patterson  town- 
ship. He  was  married  in  Iowa,  in  1846, 
to  Christina  Hug,  a  native  of  Switzer- 
land, and  by  this  marriage,  there  were 
nine  children,  of  whom  seven  are  liv- 
ing— Sophia,  wife  of  August  Raabe,  liv- 
ing in  this  township;  Christina,  wife  of 
Marcus  Lee  Coatcs,  living  in  this  town- 
ship; Mathias,  deceased;  Mary,  wife  of 
William  Wells,  living  in  this  township; 
Andrew  M.;  Joseph  J.,  subject  of  the 
following  sketch;  Albert  J.:  Charles: 
and  one  who  died  in  infancy.  Mr. 
Schutz  was  postmaster  at  Schutz's  Mill, 
for  a  number  <>t'  years.  On  Dec.  27. 
1879,  he  departed  this  life,  and  was  bur- 
ied at  the  Wilmington  cemetery.  The 
family  are  living  at  Schutz's  Mill. 

Joseph  J.  Schutz,  the  present  propri- 
etor of  the  store  at  this  point,  was  born 
- .  1863,  in  the  neighborhood  where 
he  now  resides,  and  where  he  was 
reared,  and  has  spent  his  life  thus  far. 
At  the  death  of  his  father,  he  became 
the  proprietor  of  the  store  at  the  Mill-. 
in  which  business  he  still  continues. 
He  is  deputy  postmaster,  and  I 
the  office  in  the  store.  He  was  married, 
in  this  county.  Jan.  2.  1881,  to  Eliza  .1. 
McConnell,  a  native  .if  Greene  county, 
and  a  daughter  of  Andrew  L.  and  Eliz- 
abeth McConnell.  This  marriage  has 
been  blessed  with  two  children — Hattie 
and  Harry.  Mr.  Schutz,  although  quite 
young,  is  an  enterprising,  go-ahead  bus- 
iness man,  who  will  doubtless  meet 
with  success  in  all  his  undertakings. 


!ii;-| 


HISTORY  OK  GREENE  COUNTY 


OTHEK  REPRESENTATIVE  PEOPLE. 

Davis  Carter,  a  prominent  early  set- 
tler of  Greene  county,  was  born  in 
Ninth  Carolina,  about  1784,  and  was  a 
son  of  Michael  Carter.  His  parents 
died  when  he  was  young,  and  Davis 
then  removed  with  his  brother-in-law 
Mr.  Powell,  and  sister,  to  Tennessee. 
In  1811  he  came  to  Illinois,  locating 
near  the  fort  in  Wood  river  settlement, 
Madison  county.  There  he  lived  until 
1820,  amid  the  scenes  then  attending 
the  early  settlement  of  that  part  of  the 
territory.  While  there  he  was  married 
to  Catherine  Reagan,  a  native  of  Ala- 
bama.  It  was  the  wife  and  two  children 
of  her  brother  Reason,  who,  among 
others,  were  killed  at  the  Wood  river 
massacre.  In  the  spring  of  1820,  Mr. 
Carter  moved  his  family  up  to  Greene 
county  and  located  on  Sec.  25,  T.  11,  R. 
13,  now  in  Walkerville  township.  There 
they  remained  until  the  spring  of  1821, 
when  they  removed  across  the  creek  on 
to  Sec.  35,  T.  11,  R.  13,  now  Bluffdale 
township.  In  1824,  they  returned  to 
Walkerville  township,  locating  on  sec- 
tion 16,  where  they  resided  seven  years, 
and  then  lived  at  two  other  locations  in 
that  township,  respectively  one  and  two 
years.  After  that  they  removed  to  Sec. 
4,  T.  12,  R.  13,  and  there  resided  until 
Nov.,  1S47,  when  Mr.  Carter  died,  hav- 
ing survived  his  wife  since  1844.  Both 
are  buried  at  the  Hunnicutt  cemetery. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Davi<  Carter  were  the 
parents  of  6  children-Eleanor,  deceased 
wife  of  William  Little;  LorenzoE.,  sub- 
jecl  of  the  following  sketch;  John,  mar- 
ried Ann  Siienccr,  died  in  this  county, 
Joseph,  enlisted  in  Co.  I),  2d  111.  Inf., 
for  the  entire  Mexican  war,  but  fell  a 
victim  to  theyellow  fever,  at  Vera  Cruz: 


Ruth,  deceased  wife  of  John  Buck; 
Elizabeth,  deceased  wife  of  Wesley 
Clevenger,  of  Macoupin  county.  Davis 
Carter  was  in  the  Black  Hawk  war,  and 
was  a  ranger  in  the  war  of  1812,  with 
headquarters  at  the  Wood  river  fort. 
He  assisted  in  burning  the  fort  at 
Peoria.  As  early  as  1827  he  drove  cat- 
tle from  this  county  to  Green  Bay, 
Wis.,  for  the  soldiers.  It  may  there- 
fore be  said  that  several  years  of  his 
life  wrere  spent  in  the  loyal  defense  of 
his  country. 

Lorenzo  E.  Carter,  a  prominent  resi- 
dent of  this  township,  and  the  only 
surviving  child  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Davis 
Carter,  early  pioneers  of  Greene  county, 
was  born  at  the  Wood  river  settlement, 
in  Madison  county,  on  Christmas  day, 
1817.  Before  he  was  three  years  of  age, 
his  parents  removed  to  Greene  county, 
into  which,  but  a  short  time  before  the 
first 'pioneers  had  gone.  Here  they  set- 
tled permanently,  andhere  Lorenzo  was 
reared  amid  the  scenes  attending  the 
clearing  up  of  the  wilderness.  He  re- 
ceived his  education  in  the  log  school 
house  of  the  early  days,  and  among 
others  went  to  school  to  the  father  of 
Rowel  1  Hunnicutt.  He  was  reared  to 
farm  life,  and  remained  with  his  par- 
ents until  his  marriage  in  May,  1843,  to 
Sarah  Silkwood,  a  native  of  Greene 
county,  born  June  11,  1827.  Her  par- 
ents were  Obadiah  and  Sarah  Silk- 
wood,  natives  of  Kentucky,  who  re- 
moved to  St.  Clair  county,  111.,  and 
from  there  to  Greene  county,  in  1824, 
settling  on  Sec.  15,  T.  11,  R.  13,  where 
her  father  died.  Her  mother  died  after- 
wards, while  they  were  living  under  the 
bluff.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Carter  were  the 
parents  of     seven    children,    of    whom 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


six  are  living — Eveline,  wife  of  Henry 
Gollier,  living  in  Patterson  township; 
John,  married  Melanie  Manger,  lives  in 
this  township;  Mary,  wife  of  Joseph 
Dagly,  living  in  this  township;  Sylvia 
J.,  wife  of  John  Deeds,  living  in  Pearl, 
Pike  county:  William  and  Marcus. 
George,  deceased,  was  married  to  Mary 
Boyer,  and  died  Nov.  22,  1879.  Mr. 
Carter  has  about  1,500  acres  of  land  in 
T.  11  and  12,  R.  13.  He  was  justice  of 
the  peace  at  one  time,  and  has  been 
connected  witb  the  schools  at  various 
times,  and  in  different  capacities.  Mr. 
Carter  enlisted  in  the  Mexican  war  in 
June,  1847,  and  was  assigned  to  Co.  D, 
2d  111.  Inf.,  under  Captain  Bristow  and 
Colonel  Collins,  commanded  by  General 
Patterson.  He  returned  in  1848,  and 
was  mustered  out  at  Alton,  where  he 
had  also  been  mustered  in.  He  started 
from  there  as  a  sergeant  of  his  company, 
and  while  in  Mexico,  was  elected  lieu- 
tenant of  the  same.  A  generation  has 
passed  away  since  Mr.  Carter  first  came 
to  this  county,  and  he  has  witnessed 
almost  the  entire  development  of 
Greene  county,  in  the  course  of  his  life 
of  over  three  score  years. 

T.  A.  Little  was  born  in  Greene 
county,  111.,  on  the  23d  of  June,  1844, 
and  is  a  son  of  William  and  Ellen  (Car- 
ten  Little.  A  full  sketch  of  the  lives 
of  his  mother's  parents  will  also  be 
found  in  this  volume,  in  connection 
with  the  history  of  this  township.  T.A. 
was  reared  to  farm  life  and  has  always 
been  engaged  in  that  occupation.  On 
the  20th  of  April,  1865,  he  was  united 
in  marriage  with  Sarah  llunnieutt,  a  na- 
tive of  this  county,  and  a  daughter  of 
Thomas  and  Ruth  (Silkwood)  llunni- 
eutt, a  mention  of  whom    will   be   made 


in  this  work.  This  marriage  lias  been 
blessed  by  four  children — John,  Wil- 
liam, Belle  and  Anna, all  living  at  home. 
Mr.  Little  is  in  very  comfortable  circum- 
stances, having  a  nice  farm  of  160  acres 
of  land  on  See.  30,  T.  12,  R.  13,  on  which 
he  is  quite  successful  in  the  raising  of 
stock  and  grain.  Mr.  Little  is  an  indus- 
trious, go-ahead  farmer,  and  is  well  re- 
spected by  the  community  in  which  he 
resides. 

William  S.  Smith  was  born  in  Pitt- 
sylvania county.  Va.,  Oct.  2,  1826,  and 
is  a  son  of  William  S.  and  Martha  A. 
(Creary)  Smith,  his  father  a  native  of 
South  Carolina,  his  mother  a  native  of 
Virginia.  They  moved  to  Kentucky  in 
1828,  where  they  remained  about  two 
years,  and  in  the  fall  of  1830,  came  to 
Scott  county,  111.  There  William  was 
reared,  and  was  brought  up  to  farm  lite. 
His  father  died  there  in  1851.  In  1852, 
William  journeyed  overland  to  Cali- 
fornia, where  lie  remained  four  years, 
being  engaged  in  the  lumber  business. 
In  1856,  he  returned  to  Scott  county. 
where  he  resided  until  1858,  when  he 
came  to  Greene  county,  and  purchased 
240  acres  of  land  on  Sees.  2  and  11,  in 
T.  12,  P.  13.  Mr.  Smith  was  first  mar- 
ried toThisubaJ.  Smith,  and  by  that 
union  there  were  two  children,  ofwhom 
one  is  living — Sarah,  wife  of  Field 
Fielding,  residing  in  this  county.  Mr. 
Smith  was  again  married,  in  1862,  to 
Sophronia  A.  Edwards,  and  by  that 
union  there  was  one  child — Hernon.who 
lives  at  home.  Mrs.  Smith  died  in  1863, 
and  was  buried  in  Seutt  county.  In 
1865,  Mr.  Smith  was  again  united  in 
marriage  with  Jane  Lay,  a  native  of 
Scott  county,  111.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Smith 
are  the  parents  of  six  children — Rebei  ca 


966 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


A.,  deceased;   Littie,  deceased;  William 
H.,  Bonnie,  Tuny,  and  Elsie;  those  liv- 
ing, all  residing  at  home.     Mr.  Smith 
is  a  well-to-do  farmer,  heing  the   owner 
of  982  acres  of  land  on   sections  2,   3,  10 
and  11,  in  what  is  now  Patterson  town-  ] 
ship.     He  is  engaged  in   the   raising  of  | 
stock  and  grain,  in  which    he  has  been  j 
very  successful.  He  has  been  connected 
with  the  schools  of  his  district  as  direc- 
tor, and  is  one  of  the  most  enterprising 
and  highly  esteemed  citizens  of  the  com- 
munity in  which  he  resides. 

J.  D.  McLane,  an  enterprising  citizen 
of  this  county,  was  born  in  Lincoln 
county,  Tenn.,  April29, 1838,  his  parents 
being  G.  L.,  and  Emeline  (Dusenberry) 
McLane,  his  father,  a  native  of  South 
Carolina,  his  mother  of  Tennessee.  J. 
D.,  was  reared  in  his  native  state,  and 
lived  there  until  after  the  civil  war, 
when  he  removed  to  western  Alabama, 
where  he  carried  on  farming.  He  lived 
in  that  state  until  1881,  when  he  came  to 
Illinois,  and  located  in  what  is  now 
Patterson  township.  He  has  95  acres 
of  land  on  section  24,  T.  12,  R.  13,  where 
he  carries  on  farming,  and  incidental 
stock  raising,  and  through  his  industry 
and  energy,  has  been  quite  successful. 
He  was  married  in  Alabama,  Dec.  24, 
18G8,  to  Sophronia  J.  Randall,  a  native 
of  Alabama,  and  a  daughter  of  Asa  and 
Eleanor  Randall.  By  this  marriage, 
there  are  six  children — Edwin  J.,  Ellen 
E.,  Henry  E.,  Keener  J.,  Irwin  and 
Charles.  In  the  civil  war,  Mr.  McLane 
was  a  soldier  in  Co.  K,  8th  Tenn.  Inf. 
He  was  at  the  battle  of  Murfreesboro, 
Chickamauga,  Nashville,  Franklin,  Per- 
ryville,  Ky.,  Atlanta,  and  numerous 
other  smaller  engagements,  and  was  in 
the  service  until  the   close  of  the   war. 


He  went  in  as  a  private,  but  rose 
through  various  promotions,  command- 
ing Co.  K  a  great  part  of  the  time,  the 
captain  being  in  prison,  and  was  first 
lieutenant  at  the  close  of  the  war.  Mr. 
McLane  now  holds  the  office  of  township 
treasurer,  and  is  the  present  representa- 
tive of  his  township  in  the  board  of  su- 
pervisors, of  Greene  county.  He  is  the 
cc  ntral  committeeman  of  the  democratic 
party,  from  Patterson  township,  having 
been  chosen  to  that  position,  before  the 
last  presidential  campaign.  Mr.  Mc- 
Lane's  mother,  died  in  Tennessee,  and 
his  father,  in  Alabama.  Mr.  McLane 
is  fast  taking  rank  among  the  prominent 
men  of  Greene  county. 

Wilson  Cunningham,  deceased,  was 
born  in  South  Carolina,  and  was  a  son  of 
Abram  Cunningham.  When  he  was  a 
mere  boy  his  parents  removed  to  Ten- 
nessee, settling  in  Lincoln  county.  There 
Wilson  was  reared,  and  there  remained 
until  he  came  to  Illinois  and  located  in 
what  is  now  Patterson  township,  in 
Greene  county.  He  was  here  married 
to  Mary  Wells,  a  native  of  North  Caro- 
lina, and  a  daughter  of  John  Wells,  a 
sketch  of  whom  will  appear  in  this 
work.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Wilson  Cunning- 
ham were  the  parents  of  six  children, 
of  whom  three  are  living — Frankie,  de- 
ceased; George,  whose  sketch  follows 
this;  John,  living  with  his  mother  in 
this  township;  Jane,  deceased  wife  of 
Jabez  Irwin;  James,  married  Ella  Irwin, 
lives  in  Sumner  county,  Kan.;  and  one 
who  died  in  infancy.  Mr.  Cunningham 
departed  this  life  about  1857,  and  is 
buried  near  Walshville,  Montgomery 
county.  His  widow  still  survives  him 
and  resides  in  this  township. 

George  W.  Cunningham, the  oldest  liv- 


ing  child  of   Wilson  Cunningham,   was 

born  in  Greene  county,  Dec.  26,  1836.  He 
was  reared  amid  the  scenes  attending 
the  clearing  up  of  the  wilderness,  and  re- 
sided with  his  parents  until  his  marriage, 
in  1865,  to  Jane  Garrett.  She  died  in 
1867,  and  Mr.  Cunningham  was  again 
married  in  1869  to  Sarah  Clemens,  who 
died  in  the  early  part  of  1870.  He  was 
married  in  February,  1875',  to  his  present 
wife,  Jane  Beavers,  a  native  o{  Canada. 
Mr.  Cunningham  has  200  acres  of  good 
land  on  See.  11.  T.  12,  R.  13,  all  under 
cultivation  with  comfortable  surround- 
ings. He  is  a  member  of  the  Salem 
Baptist  church.  He  has  been  connected 
with  the  schools  as  director  of  district 
No.  1.  In  his  political  views  he  affili- 
ated with  the  democratic  party. 

Hiram  Paire,  now  deceased,  was  born 
in  Mercer  county,  Ky.,  in  1805.  His 
boyhood  days  were  spent  in  his  native 
state.  His  lather  was  a  slaveholder  in 
Kentucky,  in  which  state  he  died. 
After  his  death,  his  widow  and  the  fam- 
ily removed  to  Calloway  county,  Mo. 
where  Hiram's  mother  died.  Hiram 
then  came  to  Greene  county,  111.,  locat- 
ing on  section  36,  in  what  is  now  Pat- 
terson township.  He  was  one  of  the 
early  settlers  of  this  county,  and  when 
he  came  it  was  nothing  but  wild  coun- 
try, but,  like  the  other  settlers  of  that 
time,  he  set  about  clearing  up  a  home. 
He  lived  the  remainder  of  his  life  in 
this  county.  While  in  Missouri  he  was 
married  to  Matilda  Wood,  a  native  of 
Tennessee,  and  a  daughter  of  Zachariah 
and  Nancy  Wood,  who  were  also  among 
the  early  settlers  of  the  county,  and 
who  will  be  mentioned  elsewhere  in 
this  work.  Hiram  Paire  and  wife  were 
the  parents    of  five,  children — Melinda, 


deceased  wife  of  Edward  Powell;  Jane, 
now  the  wife  of  Samuel  .Martin,  liv- 
ing in  this  county;  Nancy,  deceased 
wife  of  John  H.  Thomas;  Julia,  de- 
ceased wife  of  John  Lemon,  and  John, 
the  subject  of  the  following  sketch. 
Hiram  Paire  died  June  1,  1875,  and  is 
buried  on  the  old  homestead.  His  wife 
died  about  1844,  and  is  buried  at  the 
Bellew  graveyard.  He  left  a  large  farm, 
consisting  of  640  acres  of  valuable  land, 
which  he  accumulated  by  thrift  and 
energy.  He  was  a  member  of  the  M. 
E.  church. 

John  Paire,  the  youngest  child  of 
Hiram  and  Matilda  Paire.  was  born  on 
June  12,  1837,  in  Greene  county,  111., 
where  he  was  reared,  and  for  nearly 
half  a  century  has  made  it  his  home. 
Even  in  his  recollection,  this  county 
was  almost  a  wilderness,  and  in  the 
length  of  time  he  has  lived  here,  he  has 
seen  its  towns  grow  up,  and  most  of  the 
improvements  in  the  county  made.  He 
was  married,  Sept.  10,  1865,  to  Eliza 
Ford,  a  native  of  Illinois.  By  this 
union  there  were  six  children — George 
Washington,  married  Nevia  J.  Kiuser, 
lives  in  this  county;  Addie,  Mark,  Ne- 
via J.,  and  two  who  died  in  infancy. 
Mr.  Paire  is  an  industrious  farmer,  and 
is  the  possessor  of  240  acres  of  land, 
lying  in  Walkerville  and  Patterson 
townships. 

W.  W.  Owdom  was  born  in  South 
Carolina.  March  It),  1818,  be  ing  a  son  of 
Willis  and  Betsey  I  Forest)  Owdom,  na- 
tives of  South  Carolina.  He  was  there' 
brought  up  to  farm  life,  and  in  1838,  lie 
came  to  Greene  county,  111.,  settling  on 
section  24.  in  this  township,  where  lie 
purchased  4ti  acres  of  land,  on  which 
he  still  resides.     In   1839,  he   was   mar- 


968 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


rii'il  to  Mary  Groce,  a  daughter  of 
Thomas  and  Nancy  Groce,  and  by  this 
union  there  were  nine  children,  seven 
of  whom  arc  living — Melissa,  wife  of 
John  Roberts,  residing  in  Manchester; 
Elizabeth,  wife  of  Benjamin  Drum- 
monds,"residingin  Vernon  county,  Mc*; 
William  D.,  married  Jane  Gurley, 
lives  in  Wilmington;  John,  whose 
sketch  follows  tliis;  Ellis,  Sarah  and 
Emeline.  Mrs.  Owdom  departed  this 
life  (let.  17,  1852,  and  is  buried  at  the 
Wilmington  cemetery.  Mr.  Owdom  has 
a  farm  of  240  acres,  on  sections  24  and 
25,  in  Patterson  township,  on  which  he 
raises  stock  and  grain,  lie  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Baptist  church,  and  is  a 
highly  respected  citizen  of  that  com- 
munity. 

John  Owdom  was  born  in  Greene 
county,  111.,  Sept.  7,  1854,  and  is  a  son 
of  W.  W.  and  Polly  (Groce)  Owdom. 
John  was  reared  to  farm  life,  and  is  now 
engaged  in  that  business.  March  22, 
1883,  he  was  united  in  marriage  with 
Emma  Gollier,  a  daughter  of  Philip  and 
Katie  Gollier,  and  a  native  of  Germany 
By  this  marriage,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Owdom 
are  the  parents  of  one  child — Lotta  V. 
Mr.  Owdom  has  20  acres  of  land  on 
Sec.  19,  T.  12,  II.  12,  in  what  is  now  Pat- 
terson township,  and  is  engaged  in  rais- 
ing stock  and  grain.  He  has  traveled 
wesl  as  far  as  California,  where  lie  staid 
one  year,  and  was  engaged  at  farming 
there.  Mr.  Owdom  was  a  member  of 
the  Grange. 

William  15.  Atchison,  was  born  near 
Belleville,  St.  Clair  county,  111.,  Aug. 
22,  1830,  and  was  a  son  of  John  and 
Eliza  (Badgley)  Atchison.  William 
was  reared  to  farm  life,  in  which  he  al- 
ways has  continued,      lie  was  married, 


March  •">.  1850,  in  Monroe  county,  to 
Sarah  II.  Jennings,  born  in  1830.  She 
was  a  daughter  of  Samuel  and  Matilda 
(Bickers)  Jennings,  natives  of  Tennes- 
see. William  removed  to  Greene  county 
in  1855,  and  settled  on  section  2,'!,  T.  12, 
1!.  12.  Here  he  resided  until  his  death 
Feb.  25,  1861.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Atchison 
were  the  parents  of  three  children — 
Edward  L.,  married  Elizabeth  Shelton, 
now  resides  on  his  mother's  farm;  Wil- 
liam E.,  married  Anna  Hoskins,  also 
lives  on  bis  mother's  farm;  Eliza  Viola, 
married  Christopher  Howard,  and  re- 
sides with  her  mother.  Mr.  Atchison 
was  a  member  of  the  Baptist  church,  as 
is  also  his  wife.  His  father  died  in  the 
year  1841,  and  his  mother  is  still  living 
in  Belleville,  being  now  in  her  73rd 
year.  Mrs.  Atchison  has  a  nice  farm  of 
160  acres,  located  on  the  northeast  quar- 
ter of  section  22,  in  what  is  now  Patter- 
son township.  Her  family  is  highly 
respected  by  the  community  in  which 
they  reside. 

Lafayette  Deeds,  deceased,  was  born 
in  Virginia,  Feb.  14,  1846,  his  parents 
being  Henry  and  Sarah  Jane  (Timmer- 
maii)  Deeds,  natives  of  Virginia.  When 
Lafayette  had  reached  the  age  of  13  years 
his  parents  removed  to  Illinois,  locating 
near  Wilmington,  where  they  remained 
about  two  years,  and  where  his  father 
died.  From  there  the  family  removed 
to  Pike  county,  where  they  spent  two 
years  and  then  returned  to  Greene 
county  to  their  first  location,  where  his 
mother  was  again  married  to  J.  L. 
Sampson.  Lafayette  lived  with  bis 
mother  until  his  marriage,  Oct.  •">,  18b7, 
to  Lucinda  Wells,  daughter  of  Philip 
and  Sarah  A.  (Yinyard)  Wells.  Her 
father  was  born  in  Kentucky   and  came 


to  this  county  in  1S34.  Her  mother  was 
born  in  this  county,  and  here  they  were 
married.  Her  father  died  in  August, 
1850,  and  is  buried  at  Bluefield  cem- 
etery. Her  mother  died  in  Feb.,  1850, 
and  is  buried  at  Walkerville  cemetery. 
Mrs.  Deeds  was  then  reared  by  her 
grandmother.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Deeds 
were  the  parents  of  seven  children — John 
H.,  born  July  19,  1868;  Elvira  E.,  born 
March  29,  1870;  Cordelia  A.,  bom  Dec. 
20,  1872;  Carrie  E.,  born  Sept.  20,  1874; 
George  E.,  born  Jan.  26,  1876;  Lou 
Alma,  born  April  9,  1879;  Harry  Lee, 
horn  Oct.  3,  1882,  and  Emily  Louisa, 
born  Jan.  3,  1885,  died  on  the  16th  of 
the  same  month.  Mr.  Deeds  died  on 
June  17,  1885,  and  is  buried  at  the  Blue- 
field  cemetery.  His  parents  both  died 
in  this  county,  his  mother  at  the  age  of 
60  and  his  father  at  the  age  of  57.  Mr. 
Deeds  was  a  member  of  the  Pleasant 
Dale  United  Baptist  church,  as  is  also 
Mrs.  Leeds,  and  he  was  one  of  the 
trustees  of  that  church.  A  brother  and 
sister  of  Lafayette  Deeds  are  living  in 
this  vicinity — John  Franklin,  living  at 
Pearl,  Pike  county,  and  Henrietta,  wife 
of  Samuel  Leonard,  living  in  Patterson 
township.  He  had  one  brother,  James 
Henry,  who  was  in  the  Union  service 
until  the  close  of  the  war,  having  en- 
listed in  Co.  II,  91st  111.  Inf.,  and  served 
three  years.  Mrs.  Deeds  is  comfortably 
fixed,  having  123  acres  of  land,  83  of 
which  are  on  the  home  place  on  section 
26.  Her  parents'  families  on  both  sides 
came  here  over  half  a  century  ago,  and 
took  part  in  many  of  the  early  events 
hence  a  mention  of  all  of  them  will  ap- 
pear in  their  proper  places  in  tins  work. 
Mrs.  Deeds  had  one  brother.  George  W. 
Wells,  who  died  Jan.  9,  1S74. 


George  Wilkinson,  deceased,  was  born 
Aug.  25,  1833,  in  Kentucky,  his  parents 
being  James  and  Metis  (Post)  Wilkin- 
son, natives  of  Kentucky.  George  came 
to  Greene  county,  111.,  with  his  parents, 
and  having  been  reared  to  farm  life, 
always  continued  at  it.  He  was  united 
in  marriage  Aug.  28,  L848,  with  Lucetta 
Martin,  a  daughter  of  Reuben  and 
Elizabeth  (Carriger)  Martin,  natives  of 
Lincoln  county,  Term.,  who  are  men- 
tioned elsewhere.  She  was  born  there 
Aug.  25,  1834,  and  came  with  her  par- 
ents to  Greene  county,  111.,  in  1835,  they 
settling  on  the  place  where  -Mrs.  Wilkin- 
son now  resides.  Her  father  died  July 
8,  1865,  and  is  buried  in  the  Martin 
cemetery.  Her  mother  died  Sept.  20, 
1878,  and  was  laid  to  rest  by  the  side  of 
her  husband.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Wilkinson 
were  the  parents  of  three  children — 
James,  married  Sarah  Wells,  resides 
with  his  mother;  Jane,  wife  of  Staunton 
Patterson,  residing  in  this  township; 
and  Metis,  wife  of  James  Floyd,  also 
residing  in  this  township.  Mr.  Wilkin- 
son departed  this  life  on  the  10th  of 
June.  1852,  while  on  his  way  to  Cali- 
fornia, and  was  buried  on  the  plains. 
Mrs.  Wilkinson  is  in  very  comfortable 
circumstances,  having  a  farm  containing 
300  acres  of  land  on  Sees.  8  and  17,  T. 
12,  R.  12.  The  family  are  highly 
esteemed  by  neighbors  and  friends. 

John  W.  Allen  was  born  in  Greene 
county,  Illinois,  on  Aug.  10,  1861,  and 
i<  a  son  of  J.  T.  and  Jane  Allen,  resi- 
dents of  Greene  county,  a  sketch  of 
whom  will  also  appear  in  this  work. 
John  was  reared  to  farm  life,  receiving 
such  education  as  the  district  schools 
afforded.  On  Aug.  20,  1884,  he  was 
united  in  marriage  with    Lena   House, 


'.(70 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


daughter  of  Adam  and  Eliza  House,  who 
will  be  mentioned  elsewhere  in  this  vol- 
ume. Mr.  Allen  spent  the  year  l^s  1  in 
Texas,  where  he  was  engaged  in  farm- 
ing, and  also  in  the  stock  business,  and 
is  now  employed  in  the  same  way  here. 
Mr.  Allen  is  unite  a  young  tanner,  and 
being  industrious  and  energetiCj  will 
doubtless  he  successful  iii  all  his  under- 
takings. 

Thomas  Knox  was  limn  in  the  north 
of  Ireland,  on  Oct.  29,  1839,  his  parents 
being  John  and  Elizabeth  Knox,  natives 
of  Ireland.  When  he  was  only  15  years 
of  age  he  decided  to  come  to  this  coun- 
try, and  after  taking  leave  of  home  and 
friends,  sailed  for  America.  On  arriving 
here  he  came  as  far  west  as  Illinois, 
where  he  settled  in  Greene  county,  in 
1854.  Mr.  Knox  has  always  been  en- 
gaged in  farming,  with  the  exception  of 
about  three  years  which,  he  spent  in  the 
'service  of  this  country.  He  enlisted 
Aug.  8,  1862,  in  Co.  K,  7th  111.  Cav.,  and 
was  in  all  the  engagements  in  which  his 
regiment  participated.  He  was  mus- 
tered out  at  Vicksburg,  Miss.  On  the 
24th  of  April,  1866,  Mr.  Knox  was  mar- 
ried to  Octavia  Hatcher,  a  daughter  of 
John  Hatcher.  This  union  has  been 
blessed  by  seven  children,  Frank  R., 
John  E.,  Anna  ('.,  Belle  0.,  Thomas  A., 
Elsie  J.,  and  Emery  E.,  all  living  at 
home.  Mr.  Knox  is  one  of  the  enter- 
prising farmers  of  this  township,  and  by 
industry,  frugality,  and  good  manage- 
ment, has  accumulated  a  considerable 
amount  of  property,  having  S(.K)  acres 
of  valuable  land  on  sections  17,  18,  20, 
2'i  and  28,  in  what  is  now  Patterson 
township,  and  is  very  successful  in  the 
raising  of  stock  and  grain.  He  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Wilmington  lodge  A.  0.  U.W., 


and  is  highly  esteemed  by  all    for  his 
honesty  and  integrity. 

The  first  building  in  school  district 
No.  2,  was  a  log  edifice  located  on  sec- 
tion 8,  and  erected  in  1864.  The  pioneer 
teacher  in  this  structure  was  Mary 
Hubbs.  This  served  the  district  for 
school  purposes  until  1870,  when  a  new 
building  was  constructed  on  section  2i>. 
Three  or  four  years  later  it  was  removed 
to  section  8,  and  in  1880  brought  to  its 
present  location  on  section  29.  There 
was  also  a  log  school  house  on  section 
11),  which  was  erected  about  1860.  It 
has  since  rotted  away. 

PATTERSON 

Is  a  neat  little  village  of  about  200 
inhabitants,  in  this  township.  It  is  lo- 
cated on  the  southwest  quarter  of  section 
IS,  and  was  laid  out  on  May  18,  1836,  by 
Lucius  Norton,  Thomas  Groce,  Thomas 
Hanks,  Young, '  Henderson,  Lane  and 
Higbee,  and  the  plat  filed  for  record  as 
Wilmington,  in  the  ollice  of  the  circuit 
clerk,  May  21,  1836.  This  name  it  bore 
for  many  years,  but  it  was  changed  to 
Breese  and  then  to  Patterson.  In  1836, 
John  Chester  opened  a  store  for  the  sale 
of  groceries,  dry  goods,  etc.,  which  he 
ran  for  a  short  time,  when  lie  sold  out 
to  Ishani  Cranfil.  The  latter  gentle- 
man did  an  extensive  business,  buying 
beef  and  pork,  at  from  $1,25  to  $1,75 
per  hundred,  and  packing  it,  and  also 
buying  grain  and  teaming  it  to  Alton. 
He  afterward  sold  out  the  place  to  L.  D. 
Morris,  and  emigrated  to  Oregon.  Mr. 
Morris  did  no  business  but  disposed  of 
the  property  to  L.  J.  Patterson. 

In  1836,  Peter  Gibbon  established  a 
tannery  here  which  gave  employment 
to    several  hands    and    made    business 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


'.171 


lively.  Ho  commanded  a  good  trade 
here  for  many  years. 

Wickliff  Post  opened  a  blacksmith 
simp  about  the  year  1835  or  6;  and  kepi 
it  for  several  years.  He  came  here  from 
Apple  i  !reek  Prairie. 

The  second  to  open  up  a  store  was  Era 
Clark.  lie  had  a  grocery  store  in  a 
building  built  by  Thomas  Groce. 

Shortly  after  the  commencement  of 
the  town  a  hotel  was  put  up.  which  was 
run  by  Thomas  (Iron'.  The  sign  was 
the  "Rising  Sun." 

William  Flemming  engaged  in  the 
cooper  trade  in  1814  or  5,  and  was  suc- 
ceeded by  Charles  Wiggins,  who  was  the 
last  to  follow  the  business  here,  lie 
closed  up  his  shop  in  1849. 

Drs.  Gosnold,  Charles  Hardt,  Burns, 
Garrison,  Higbee,  and  others,  practiced 
medicine  in  those  early  days. 

The  first  school  was  taught  by  Dr. 
Joe  Garrison,  he  teaching  and  practic- 
ing medicine  at  the  same  time. 

Quite  a  little  settlement  now  sprang 
up,  to  trace  which  in  all  its  detail  would 
require  too  much  space.  Let  us  there- 
fore clip  the  following  excellent  article 
in  regard  to  the  little  hamlet: 

"Whiteside  &  Eaton  put  up  a.  saw- 
mill in  1859,  that  ran  by  steam,  which 
greatly  facilitated  the  erection  of  build- 
ings, and  aided  materially  in  the  pros- 
perity of  the  town.  This  mill  was  af- 
terward sold  to  a  party  who  moved  it  to 
( Hasgow. 

'■<;.  W.  Burns  came  from  Pennsyl- 
vania, and  located  here  about  1868,  and 
now  resides  in  White  Hall. 

"The  school  building  was  erected  in 
1873;  is  furnished  with  40  patent  seats, 
capable  of  seating  80  pupils;  has  abund- 
ance of  blackboard   room,  will  lighted, 


vestibule  in  front  end,  furnished  with 
hat  hooks,  shelves,  etc.  The  yard  is 
beautifully  adorned,  and  shaded  with  a 
grove  of  maples,  planted  by  W.  l'>. 
( 'nates,  who,  at  tin'  time,  was  director  of 
the  school.  As  it  isimpossible  to  name, 
consecutively,  the  links  which  formed 
the  business  of  this  village,  we  shall  eon- 
tent  ourselves   with    giving  it  thus:     In 

1855,  J.  R.  Pruitt  and  L.  T.  Whitesides 
were  the  business  men  of  the  place.    In 

1856,  Lee  Coates  and  his  father.  John 
Coates,  engaged  in  the  mercantile  busi- 
ness,  and  for  four  or  live  years  had  a 
good  trade.  In  lSo7,  W.  B.  Coates  suc- 
ceeded his  father,  becoming  a  partner 
with  his  brother  Pee,  thus  forming  a 
strong  and  prosperous  firm,  which  con- 
tinued till  1861,  when  they  dissolved, 
and  Lee  continued  some  time  alone, 
dealing  heavily  in  grain,  and  barge 
building,  with  L.  E.  Carter,  at  Grand 
Pass,  etc.  About  that  time,  W.  1'.. 
Coates  did  considerable  business  as  a 
stock  and  grain  dealer,  till  in  the  spring 
of  1864,  he  went  to  the  Montana  gold 
mini's,  where  he  remained  four  years. 
lie  afterward  engaged  in  husiness  here. 
About  1857,  Morris  &  Simons  sold  goods 
here  for  a  short  period,  and  were  suc- 
ceeded by  Heal  Cotter,  in  1859.  In 
1860,  Aaron  Reno  &  Pro.,  succeeded  J. 
R.  Pruitt.  In  1865,  Elihu  Yates  and 
.lames  Wilkinson  embarked  in  the  dry 
goods  and  grocery  business,  but  not 
succeeding  well,  soon  retired.  About 
1866,  J.  R.  Pruitt  and  Philemon  Reno 
formed  a  dry  goods  firm,  and  after  a 
short  time  retired.  Edward  S.  Hough- 
ton, also,  dealt  in  hoots,  shoes,  etc,  for 
a  short  time.  About  the  same  time 
Junes,  Patterson  it  Howard  formed  a 
co-partnership,   and   sold    an    immense 


972 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY 


amount  of  goods,  continuing  some  three 
or  four  years.  In  1869,  Philemon  Reno 
dealt   in  groceries    alone." 

The  village  was  incorporated  in  1869, 
under  the  general  laws  of  the  state,  as  a 
town,  and  as  a  village  under  special  act, 
in  1N7.">. 

Ford  Brothers,  dealers  in  general 
merchandise,  engaged  in  this  line  April 
13,  1883,  in  the  building  which  was  built 
in  1835  by  Thomas  Groce,  and  firstused 
as  a  general  store  by  Mr.  Groce  and  Ira 
Clark.  Additions  have  since  been  made 
to  this  historic  structure  and  it  has  had 
about  as  many  owners  and  occupants  as 
it  is  years  of  age,  therefore  to  mention 
them  would  be  almost  an  impossibility. 
The  present  firm  carry  a  complete  stock 
in  their  line,  and  also  have  the  post- 
office  in  this  building. 

D.  H.  Gilson,  dealer  in  drugs,  groce- 
ries, etc.,  commenced  business  Aug.  11, 
1885,  as  successor  to  Coates  &  Lovelace. 
This  stand  was  originally  established 
as  a  dry  goods  store  by  Pruitt  &  Wil- 
kinson. 

The  store  building  occupied  by  Ford 
&  Gurley  was  erected  by  Isaac  Lowen- 
stein,  now  a  resident  of  White  Hall,  in 
1874.  He  put  in  a  general  stock,  which 
he  operated  three  years.  His  succes- 
sors have  been  B.  F.  &  G.  W.  Carriger, 
T.  J.  Albert,  Gurley  &  Doyle,  F.  M. 
Gurley,  J.  S.  Watt,  Wells  &  Ford,  and 
the  present  firm  of  Ford  &  Gurley,  who 
began  business  Sept.  1,  1884.  The 
building  is  30x40  feet  on  the  ground  and 
two  stm-ies  high.  They  carry  a  stock 
of  general  merchandise. 

POSTOFPICE. 

The  postoffice  at  Patterson  was  origi- 
nally   known    as    Breese,  deriving   its 


name  from  Chief  Justice  Breese.  The 
first  postmaster  was  L.  T.  Whiteside, 
followed  by  James  Pruitt,  Lemuel  J. 
Patterson;  D.  H.  Gilson,  and  the  pres- 
ent incumbent,  C.  C.  Eaton. 


Wilmington  lodge,  No.  167,  Ancient 
Order  of  United  Workmen,  was  organ- 
ized April  17,  1880,  with  the  following 
charter  members:  James  M.  Linder, 
Henry  C.  Roberts,  Joseph  P.  James, 
William  Jones,  Henry  Boyer,  G.  B. 
Patterson,  Sidney  H.  Wilmington,  Geo. 
W.  Burns,  Samuel  F.  Hicks.  Perry 
Wilmington,  A.  B.  Collister,  Stanton H. 
Patterson,  William  Gollier,  Benjamin 
Hahn,  Adam  House,  Thomas  Knox, 
Absalom  Mitchell,  Lemuel  B.  James. 
The  lodge  has  been  kept  in  a  flourishing 
condition,  and  the  membership  has 
gradually  increased  until  it  now  num- 
bers about  28.  Those  who  are  officers 
at  present  are  L.  B.  James,  M.  W.; 
Stanton  II.  Patterson,  P.  M.  W.;  James 
M.  Binder,  F.;  John  J.  Wilkinson,  0.; 
S.  H.  Wilmington,  G.;  James  D.  Cade, 
R.;  Adam  House,  F.;  Perry  Wilmington, 
T.;  A.  T.  Peighani,  J.  A.  Cunningham 
and  Henry  Boyer,  trustees.  Meetings 
are  held  every  Saturday  evening  at 
Patterson,  over  the  store  of  Ford  & 
Gurley,  in  Eagle  hall,  the  second  story 
of  this  building  being  the  property  of 
this  society. 

PROMINENT    CITIZENS. 

Among  the  representative  men  of 
Patterson  may  he  mentioned  the  follow- 
ing: 

John  House  was  born  in  Hesse-Darm- 
stadt, Germany,  Dec.  2,  1827,  his  pa- 
rents being  John  and  Savina  House.  On 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


973 


arriving  at  the  age  of  16.  having  finished 
his  education,  he  started  to  Irani  the 
trade  of  stone-mason  and  plasterer,  and 
after  serving  an  apprenticeship  of  three 
years,  he  worked  at  his  trade  at  Frank- 
fort-on-the-Rhine.  He  returned  home 
in  1849,  and  taking  have  of  home  and 
friends,  went  to  Antwerp. and  took  pass- 
age on  the  ship  Victoria,  bound  for  New 
York.  After  a  voyage  of  37  days,  he 
arrived  at  New  York,  Sept.  1  * > ,  1849, 
and  the  same  evening  started  west.  He 
stopped  at  Pittsburgh  three  months, 
where  he  worked  at  his  trade,  and  from 
there  he  came  to  St.  Louis,  where  he 
worked  at  ins  trade  three  years  and  a 
half.  He  then  came  to  this  county, 
the  first  fall  engaging  at  general  work, 
and  after  that  time  working  steadily  ai 
his  trade  until  1868,  since  which  time 
he  has  divided  his  time  between  farming 
and  working  at  his  trade.  He  was  mar- 
ried, Aug.  13,  1853,  to  Sarah  Cianfill,  a 
native  of  Tennessee,  and  a  daughter  of 
George  and  Mary  Cranfill,  who  were 
early  settlers  here.  Mr.  House  and 
wife  are  the  parents  of  four  children  — 
Mary  Saviria,  Lura  Adelia,  John  Eras- 
mus and  Adam  Benjamin.  When  Mr. 
House  came  to  this  country,  he  had  no 
capital  save  willing  hands,  and  accu- 
mulated gradually,  until  he  now  has  75 
acres  of  valuable  land,  adjoining  Wil- 
mington. He  is  a  member  of  the  Cath- 
olic church.  His  parents  both  died  in 
Germany,  in  1836,  his  mother  dying 
just  two  weeks  before  his  father.  Mr. 
House  has  a  brother,  Adam,  living  at 
Wilmington,  and  a  sister.  Eliesabetha. 
wife  of  Charles  Voelp,  living  in  St.- 
Louis. 

Adam  House  was  horn  in    Muenster, 
Hesse-Darmstadt,  Nov.  11,    1S34,  and  is 


a  s f  John  and    Savina   House,  who 

died  Nov.  11,  1836,  when  Adam  was  a 
mere  child,  leaving  him  an  orphan 
almost  from  infancy.  After  finishing 
his  schooling,  he  learned  the  mason's 
trade,  and  in  1851,  having  a  chance  to 
conic  to  America,  he  embraced  the  op- 
portunity, and.  bidding  farewell  to  home 
and  friends,  took  passage  at  Antwerp, 
on  the  ship  John  Hancock,  hound  for 
New  Orleans,  on  the  20th  of  May,  1851. 
After  a.  voyage  of  11  days  he  arrived  at 
I  he  Crescent  City,  and  from  there  went 
to  St.  Louis,  being  11  'lays  on  the  river. 
On  arriving  there  he  began  to  learn  the 
carpenter's  trade,  at  which  he  was  em- 
ploy, d  about  three  years.  He  then 
came  to  Greene  county,  locating  at 
White  Hall,  and  after  one  year  removed 
to  Wilmington,  where  he  remained  from 
March.  1856, until  1864,when  he  returned 
to  St.  Louis,  and  while  there  he  was  in 
the  militia  for  a  time.  He  remained 
there  between  one  and  two  years  and 
then  returned  to  Wilmington,  where  he 
lias  ever  since  resided.  Mr.  House  has 
been  twice  married:  the  first  time,  Sept. 
1"),  1855, to  Kathrina  Ebbert.  a  native  of 
Saxony.  By  that  union  (here  were  three 
children — John  William,  horn  July  18, 
1858,  died  July  26,  1860;  Mary  C,  living 
in  Patterson  township,  married  Leonard 
Owdom,  and  George,  married  Luella 
Smith,  and  lives  in  Texas.  Mrs.  House 
died  March  1,  1863,  and  Mr.  House  was 
again  married  September  14,  1863,  to 
Fli/.a  King,  a  daughter  of  William  and 
Jane  (Drummond)  King.  By  that  mar- 
riage there  were  four  children,  three  of 
whom  are  living — Lena  I'...  wife  of  John 
Allen,  living  in  Patterson  township: 
Carrie,  Manelius,  and  one  who  died  in 
infancy.      Mr.    House  has    property   in 


974 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY 


Wilmington,  and  he  has  erected  all  the 
besl  buildings  in  thai  town  and  vicinity, 
besides  constructing  many  in  the  towns 
of  White  Hall,  Roodhouse,  and  other 
points,  showing  his  ability  and  popu- 
larity as  a  carpenter.  He  is  a  member 
of  the  A.  (V.  I).  W.  lodge,  and  lias  held 
the  office  of  financier,  ever  since  the 
organization  of  the  lodge. 

A.  B.  Collister  was  horn  in  Greene 
county,  HI.,  Aug.  14,  1840,  and  is  a  son 
of  G.  W.  and  Maria  Collister.  He  was 
reared  in  the  town  of  Wilmington,  in 
Patterson  township,  and  in  1857,  in  the 
17th  year  of  his  age,  he  commencing 
to  learn  the  blacksmith's  trade,  and 
continued  in  that  business  until  Oct., 
1861.  He  then  enlisted  in  the  service 
of  his  country,  in  Co.  E,  28th  HI.  Inf. 
He  was  mustered  in  at  Ft.  Holt,  Ky., 
and  participated  in  the  battle  of  Shiloh, 
after  which  battle  he  worked  in  the 
blacksmith  department.  In  June,  1864, 
he  was  taken  prisoner  and  confined  at 
Catawba,  Ala.,  for  two  months,  and  was 
then  transferred  to  Millen  prison,  near 
Savannah.  Ga.,  and  from  there  to  An- 
dersonville,  where  he  had  to  undergo 
the  most  terrible  confinement  for  seven 
long  months.  When  the  war  was  over, 
Mr.  Collister  returned  home,  and  then 
built  a  blacksmith  shop   on   Bridgeport 


street,  in  Wilmington,  where  he  carried 
on  the  business  from  1867  until  1880. 
He  then  purchased  the  building  of  Wil- 
liam Taylor  &  Bro.,  on  the  corner  of 
White  Hall  and  Bridgeport  streets, 
where  he  carries  on  a  general  repair 
business,  and  has  considerable  trade. 
The  building  is  40x4(1  feet,  and  contains 
two  rooms.  Mr.  Collister  was  married 
March  13,  1863,  in  Indiana,  while  he 
was  in  the  service,  being  united  with 
Sarah  E.  Stoleup,  a  daughter  of  Peter 
and  Jane  Stoleup,  deceased.  By  this 
marriage  they  are  the  parents  of  five 
children — William.  Lucy,  Daisy,  Bert 
and  Harold,  all  living  at  home.  Mr. 
Collister  is  a  member  of  White  Hall 
lodge,  No.  227,  I.  0.  0.  F.,  and  also  of 
the  Wilmington  lodge,  No.  1G7,  A.  0. 
U.  W..  and  is  an  enterprising  citizen  oi 
the  town  in  which  he  resides. 

FIRST  ITEMS. 

Among  the  first  religious  services 
here  were  those  held  by  Peter  H.  Clark, 
who  was  a  Methodist  preacher.  Rev. 
William  McAdams  held  services  in  this 
neighborhood  at  an  early  day. 

The  first  mill  was  built  by  David 
Seely,  in  1833.  It  was  agristmill.  run 
by  water  power.  It  was  operated  by 
David  Seely  and  David  Hodge. 


CHAPTER    XXIII. 


ATHENSVILLE  TOWNSHIP. 

The  township    now  known  as  Athens-     nically   known    as    congressional    town- 


ville  embraces  the    greater  part   of  the 
old  precinct  of  Mount  Airy,  and  is  tech- 


ship  12  north,  range  10  west.     It  is  sit- 
uated in  the  extreme  northeastern  part 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


'.17.-, 


of  the  county,  and  contains  some  of  the 
finest  farm  land  in  the  county.  It  is 
well  watered  by  Apple,  Marks  and  Nig- 
ger Lick  creeks.  The  first  of  these  en- 
ters the  township  on  the  east  line  of 
section  12,  crosses  that  section  and  on 
11  receives  the  waters  of  a  small  branch 
locally  known  as  Fanning's  creek,  it 
then  proceeds  on,  in  a  southwesterly 
course,  traversing  sections  14,  15,22,  21, 
20,  30,  making  a  confluence  on  the  lat- 
ter with  Mark's  creek,  and  on  passing 
out  of  the  township  on  the  west  line  of 
section  31,  after  crossing  its  territory. 
Nigger  Lick  creek  crosses  the  entire 
southern  part  of  the  township,  and 
Marks  creek  the  western.  These  streams 
and  numerous  small  tributaries  and  af- 
fluents, thoroughly  drain  the  country, 
and  supply  an  abundance  of  running 
water  for  all  stock  purposes.  Most  of 
this  territory  was  covered  with  timber 
when  the  first  settlers  came,  but  it  is 
somewhat  cleared  now,  as  a  large  11  urn 
ber  of  elegant  farms  have  been  made. 

EARLY    SETTLEMENT. 

The  first  to  make  a  settlement  was 
Edward  Prather,  who  came  to  Greene 
county  and  settled  in  what  is  now  Ath- 
ensville  township,  in  1822,  entering 
land  in  both  this  and  Rubicon  town- 
ship. He  was  a  resident  here  for  a  time, 
when  he  removed  to  the  latter  named 
township,  where  he  lived  until  1881, 
when  he  died.  He  was  a  native  of 
Kentucky's  dark  and  bloody  ground, 
born  in  1795.  He  grew  to  manhood  on 
that  classic  soil,  and  was  there  married 
to  Maria  Harrison,  a  native  of  Culpep- 
per county,  Va.  They  came  to  Illinois 
in  1819,  but  remained  for  about  three 
years  in  Madison  county,  when  he  came 


— 


here  as  above.     He  had  a   family  of  13 
children. 

Thomas  Sharp  settled  on  what  was 
known  as  the  Nigger  Lick  springs,  in  this 
township,  in  1827.  He  did  not  remain 
very  long,  but  moved  to  other  lands. 

William  Hopper  left  his  home  in  Ken- 
tucky in  1828,  and  journeyed  to  this 
part  of  the  great  state  of  Illinois.  On 
arriving  in  Athensville  township,  he  en- 
tered land  on  section  Hand  built  a  home 
thereon,  in  1830.  This  was  a  log  cabin 
16x18  feet  in  size,  containing  but  one 
room.  The  floor  was  made  of  puncheons 
and  the  door  of  clapboards. 

The  next  settler  was  William  Whit- 
lock,  who  came  here  in  1828,  and  enter- 
ing land  on  section  11,  built  a  cabin.  He 
was  born  in  Adair  county,  Ky.,  Dec.  l'1, 
1813,  and  was  the  son  of  William  and 
Rosanna  (Shelton)  Whitlock.  He  re- 
sided with  his  parents  until  his  16th 
year,  when  he  came  to  Illinois,  but  after 
a  short  stay,  returned  to  Kentucky.  In 
1829,  he  came  here  and  built  the  home 
as  above  stated,  and  went  back  for  his 
parents,  returning  the  next  year.  He 
returned  to  his  native  state  to  get  mar- 
ried, girls  being  quite  scarce  as  yet  in 
this  part  of  the  state,  which  is  quite  the 
reverse  at  the  present.  He  was  there 
united  with  Ali  Sheppard,  Jan.  29, 1829, 
and  came  back  to  this  section,  where  be 
still  resides.  They  were  the  parents  of 
nine  children,  six  of  whom  arc  living. 
Mrs.  Whitlock  died  Dec.  13,  1S80,  and 
Mr.  Whitlock  again  married  in  October, 
1885.  This  lady's  name  was  Rebecca 
Neece,  widow  of  C.  W.  Neece. 

David  Jackson,  a  North  Carolinian  by 
birth,  came  from  Tennessee  to  Morgan 
county,  Illinois,  in  1829,  but  in  1832 
removed  to  this  township    and    county, 


976 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


settling  on  section  24,  where  he  lived 
until  his  death,  which  occurred  Aug.  9, 
1851. 

Russell  .Stoddard  came  to  this  local- 
ity in  1829,  and  settled  upon  the  north- 
west quarter  of  the  northeast  quarter 
of  section  20.  He  was  a  native  of 
Vermont,  but  when  young  immigrated 
to  Indiana,  where  he  afterward  was 
united  in  marriage  with  Ellen  Kelly,  a 
Virginian.  He  lived  in  this  township 
until  his  death,  which  occurred  in  1838. 
His  wife  died  in  1840.  They  had  a  fam- 
ily of  six  children. 

Charles  Whitlock,  a  native  of  Vir- 
ginia, but  for  some  years  a  resident  of 
the  state  of  Kentucky,  came  to  this 
county  in  the  fall  of  1829,  and  settled  on 
section  10,  in  this  township,  where  the 
family  resided  but  about  a  year,  when 
they  moved  to  section  14,  where  he  en- 
tered 120  acres  of  land,  now  belonging 
to  David  Jackson,  where  they  lived  un- 
til the  death  of  Charles,  which  occurred 
Sept,  24,  1846.      His  wife  died   in  1864. 

A  man  whose  name  is  believed  to  have 
been  Scroggs,came  from  Morgan  county, 
in  1829,  and  made  a  settlement  on  sec- 
tion 26  or  27.  He  did  not  reside  here 
long. 

Sandy  Wiggins  located  upon  a  farm 
on  section  26,  in  1830,  but  the  following 
year  he  removed  from  the  county,  and 
his  place  taken  possession  of  by  a  Mr. 
Rigsby,  who  came  to  this  county  about 
that  time. 

John  Ruyle  settled  in  this  township 
in  1830,  on  section  24. 

George  M.  Hopkins,  about  the  year 
1830, settled  in  this  township, on  section 
29,  where  he  made  his  home  until  Oct. 
14,  1866,  when  he  died. 

John  Mason  was  one  of  the  settlers  of 


1830,  in  this  township.  He  was  born  in 
Kentucky,  May  IS,  1812,  and  was  mar- 
ried in  that  state,  Jan.  1,  1830,  to  Re- 
becca Moss,  born  in  Tennessee  in  1813. 
In  1846,  he  enlisted  in  the  1st  111.  Inf., 
and  served  in  the  Mexican  war. 

Theophilus  Sheppard  made  a  settle- 
ment about  a  mile  northeast  of  the 
present  site  of  the  village  of  Athens- 
ville,  where  he  resided  many  years.  He 
located  here  in  1831.  A  Mr.  Morton 
settled  about  the  same  distance  west  of 
the  village,  the  same  year,  as  did  Alex- 
ander  Johnsen    and  Musgrove. 

Benoni  Banning,  also,  moved  to  this 
neighborhood  in  1831. 

Ben.  Sanders  came  to  Greene  county 
in  1831,  from  Morgan  county,  this  state. 
He  was  born  in  North  Carolina,  Sept. 
30,  1803,  and  immigrated  to  Morgan 
county  in  1827.  He  was  married  in 
Kentucky,  where  he  was  living,  June, 
1846,  to  Elizabeth  Strong,  who  died 
March,  1872,  and  May  20,  1876,  he  was 
united  in  marriage  with  Mattie  Brink- 
ley,  widow  of  Thomas  Brinkley. 

Isham  Wood,  who  had  come  heir 
with  his  parents  in  1832,  entered  land 
on  section  23,  his  father  living  on  sec- 
tion 28.  Isham  was  married  in  Ma- 
coupin county,  and  they  lived  on  the 
old  homestead  until  death,  claiming 
Isham,  dissolved  the  link  that  bound 
them.  His  widow  died  Nov.  10,  1885, 
at  an  age  of  about  75  years. 

Andrew  Downs  came  to  this  township 
about  the  year  1833.  He  was  born  in 
Kentucky  in  1810,  and  was  the  son  of 
Thomas  Downs.  From  his  native 
state  he  moved  to  Indiana,  where  he 
was  married  to  a  Miss  Bullington,  and 
by  that  union  had  four  children.  Mrs. 
Downs  died  about  1832  or  3,  and  in  1834 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY 


977 


he  was  married  to  Eleanor  Spencer, and 
they  were  the  parents  of  1-  children, 
four  of  whom  are  living.  In  1824,  Mr. 
Downs  had  moved  to  Morgan  county, 
this  state,  from  whence  he  had  come 
heir  as  above  stated.  He  settled  on 
section  18,  in  this  township,  where  he 
lived  until  death  overtook  him.  This 
event  occurred  in  August,  1865.  He 
followed  blacksmithing  and  ran  a  saw- 
mill here,  while  living,  as  well  as  car- 
ried on  his  farm. 

Thomas  B.  Downs,  son  of  Andrew 
and  Ellen  (Spencer)  Downs,  was  born 
Feb.  3,  1848,  in  Athensville  township, 
Greene  county.  He  remained  with  his 
parents  until  he  was  l(i  years  old.  when 
lie  ran  away  from  home,  and  enlisted  in 
the  KHst  111.  Inf.,  Co.  F,  Jan.  3.  1864. 
He  served  18  months,  and  was  then 
mustered  out  at  Fort  McDougall,  Aug. 
4,  1865.  He  took  part  in  the  battle>  of 
Lookout  Mountain,  Resaca,  Dallas, 
Peach  Tree  Creek,  Columbia,  Goldsboro, 
and  Big  Shanty,  and  was  with  Sherman 
on  his  inarch  through  Georgia  to  the 
sea.  After  Gen.  Johnston's  surrender, 
Thomas  was  taken  sick  with  typhoid 
fever,  and  was  taken  on  a  dirt  train  to 
the  sea,  from  there  to  Washington,  and 
thence  to  Fort  McDougall,  where  lie 
was  mustered  out.  He  remained  there 
two  months,  and  then  returned  home, 
where  he  resided  during  the  remainder 
of  his  father's  lifetime.  In  May,  1S66, 
he  began  blacksmithing  at  his  location, 
em  section  16,  where  he  still  resides, 
and  does  a  flourishing  business,  at  re- 
pairing and  horse-shoeing  He  was 
married,  May  23,  1866,  to  Mary  E. 
Hicks,  daughter  of  Washington  Hicks. 
By  this  marriage  there  are  four  chil- 
dren— James    Monroe,    Andrew  Wash- 


ington, George  Green,  and  Thomas 
Henry.  Mr.  Downs  owns  40  acres  of 
land,  on  section  16,  where  he  carries  on 
farming  in  connection  with  blacksmith- 
ing. He  belongs  to  the  G.  A.  R.,  Jacob 
Fry  post,  at  Roodhouse,  and  is  a  union 
democrat.  When  in  the  campaign  from 
Atlanta  to  the  sea,  lie  and  a  man  named 
Wheeler  were  detailed  by  the  colonel 
and  major  as  foragers.  Adjt.  Wheeler 
was  taken  prisoner  at  the  battle  of  Pea 
Ridge,  and  afterward  enlisted  in  the 
101st  111.  Inf.,  Co.  A.  They  were  fur- 
nished with  a  complete  outfit,  and  were 
to  share  the  contents  of  each  house,  the 
signal,  when  in  close  quarters,  to  lie  the 
report  of  a  pistol.  While  Downs  was  at 
a  place  one  day,  and  Wheeler  was  guard- 
ing, the  former,  not  hearing  any  signal, 
came  around  the  house  with  a  demijohn 
of  apple-jack  for  the  colonel,  but  was 
met  by  an  officer  and  six  privates, rebels, 

who  said,  "You Yankee,  drop  that 

and  throw  up  your  hands!"  Downs  im- 
mediately did  so,  hut  it  required  con- 
siderable effort  on  the  part  of  the  officer 
to  keep  his  men  from  shooting  him. 
The  officer  then  found  out  from  him  that 
there  were  three  more  Yankees  a  (pun- 
ter of  a  mile  south  of  there,  and  taking 
five  of  his  men  with  him,  left  Downs  in 
charge  of  one,  but  did  not  make  him 
deliver  his  gun.  He  was  sent  a  short 
distance  north  of  there  with  a  man 
named  Welliford,  who  came  from  the 
same  county  as  Mr.  Down's  father,  and 
he  made  him  believe  they  were  related, 
by  getting  him  so  drunk  with  apple- 
jack that  he  was  unable  to  take  care  of 
himself,  much  less  guard  Downs.  The 
latter  then  grappled  with  him,  took 
away  his  arms,  shot  him  in  the  arm, 
and  succeeded  in  gettingaway,  although 


978 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COl  X  TY. 


pursued  by  the  other  rebels,  who  had 
come  at  the  report  of  the  pistol.  He 
gol  back  to  hiss  regiment  just  as  Wheeler 
was  reporting  to  the  colonel  that  he 
i  I  lowns)  had  met  his  death  at  the  hands 
of  the  rebels. 

Simon  Nixon,  when  but  17  years  of 
age  came  to  this  county  with  his  father, 
in  1834,  and  the  family  settled  in  this 
township.  Simon  was  born  in  North 
Carolina,  in  1S17. 

Anderson  Mitchell  came  to  this  part 
of  the  county,  in  1835,  and  located  upon 
section  4.  His  son,  Jackson,  is  a  resi- 
dent of  the  township. 

Jackson  G.  Mitchell  was  born  in 
Greene  county,  111.,  Aug.  21,  1838,  his 
parents  being  Anderson  and  Elzira 
(Whitlock)  Mitchell,  the  former  a  na- 
tive of  Tennessee,  and  the  latter  of 
Kentucky.  His  parents  came  to  Greene 
county  in  1835,  locating  on  section  34, 
where  they  built  a  residence,  and  other- 
wise improved  it,  and  remained  there 
until  1846.  His  father  then  sold  out, 
and  removed  to  Pike  county,  where  he 
purchased  a  tract  of  land,  but  the  man 
he  bought  of,  had  no  title  to  the  land, 
and  his  father,  therefore,  was  the  loser 
of  the  property.  In  1849,  he  returned 
to  Greene  county,  rented  land  for  one 
year,  and  then  bought  40  acres,  on  sec- 
tion 14,  on  which  he  lived  until  the 
spring  of  1855.  He  then  sold  out  and 
moved  to  Macoupin  county,  where  he 
remained  only  a  short  time,  when  he 
returned  to  Greene  county,  and  bought 
120  acres  of  land,  on  sections  10  and  11, 
<>n  which  he  lived  until  his  death,  in 
1866.  His  mother  is  yet  living,  and  re- 
sides with  her  son,  Jackson  G.  Our 
subject  was  reared  on  a  farm,  remain- 
ing at  home  until  about  22  years  of  age, 


when  he  was  married,  Feb.  2,  1860,  to 
Sarah  E.  Hubbell,  daughter  of  Justus 
and  Nancy  Hubbell.  He  then  went  to 
live  by  himself,  building  a  small  cabin 
on  his  father's  farm,  where  he  lived 
about  one  year.  He  then  bought  40 
acres,  on  section  2,  to  which  he  moved, 
and  lived  eight  years.  In  the  spring  of 
1870,  he  moved  onto  the  old  homestead, 
and  built  a  large  two-story  frame  house 
and  a  large  barn,  at  a  costof  $2,000,  and 
has  since  resided  at  this  place.  Mr. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Mitchell  are  the  parents 
of  11  children,  eight  if  whom  are  liv- 
ing— Oscar,  John,  Nancy  E.,  Emily, 
Alice  J.,  Richard,  Charlie  and  Edgar. 
Those  who  have  passed  away  are,  Ro- 
sanna,  one  who  died  in  infancy,  and 
Laura.  Mr.  Mitchell  now  owns  343 
acres  of  land  on  Sees.  2,  10,  11  and 
12,  in  T.  12,  R.  10.  He  raises  and  feeds 
stock,  but  makes  no  traffic  of  it.  He  is 
an  enterprising,  energetic  citizen  of  this 
county,  and  is  highly  respected  by  all. 
Mrs.  Mitchell  is  a  member  of  the  Rich- 
woods  Baptist  church. 

PROMINENT    CITIZENS. 

Elisha  Spencer,  deceased,  was  a  na- 
tive of  Virginia,  being  born  about  1790. 
From  his  native  state  he  went  to  In- 
diana, and  was  married  there  in  1811, 
just  10  days  before  the  battle  of  Horse- 
shoe Bend.  His  wife's  name  was  Nancy 
Hupp,  she  being  a  native  of  Kentucky. 
They  staid  in  Indiana  until  1819,  then 
removed  to  Lawrence  county,  111.  The 
following  year  they  came  to  Greene 
county  and  located  in  Roodhouse  town- 
ship, on  the  farm  now  owned  by  John 
Spencer.  In  1S64,  Mrs.  Spencer  died, 
and  was  buried  in  Martin's  Prairie  cem- 
etery.    There  were  seven  children  born 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


979 


to  them,  four  of  whom  are  now  living — 
James  R.;  Ellen,  widow  of  Andrew 
Downs;  Sarah,  widow  of  Martin  Smith; 
and  Major,  of  Morgan  county.  Of  their 
children,  the. three  deceased  were — Wil- 
liam, Elijah  and  Polly.  Mr.  Spencer 
was  again  married,  in  I860,  to  Mrs. 
Margaret  (Morton)  Depew.  By  this 
marriage  two  children  were  born,  now 
deceased.  Mr.  Spencer  departed  this 
life  in  Oct.,  1882,  and  was  buried  in 
Martin's  Prairie  cemetery.  His  widow 
is  now  a  resident  of  Athensville  town- 
ship. Mr.  Spencer  was  a  consistent 
member  of  the  Richwoods  Baptist 
church  at  the  time  of  his  death,  he  hav- 
ing been  a  member  of  that  church  for 
the  last  20  years  of  his  life. 

James  R.  Spencer,  a  son  oftheabove, 
was  born  May  23, 1814, in  Hardin  county, 
Ky.  He  remained  with  his  parents  un- 
til reaching  his  14th  year, when  he  went 
to  Jacksonville,  111., and  remained  until 
his  marriage,  June  6,  1835,  with  Eliza- 
beth Gilmore,  a  daughter  of  Henry  and 
Mary  (  McDaniel)  Gilmore,  the  former 
of  whom  was  a  native  of  Georgia,  and 
the  latter  of  Tennessee.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Spencer  have  had  six  children  born  to 
them,  five  of  whom  are  yet  living — 
Mary  ('.,  wife  of  George  W.  Fanning; 
Celia,  wife  of  Samuel  Goacher;  Sarah, 
wife  of  John  Story;  J.  Thomas  and 
Peter.  They  lost  one  child — James  H., 
by  the  hand  of  the  grim  destroyer.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Spencer  came  to  their  present 
location,  on  section  .">,  Athensville  town- 
ship, in  1865,  but  lived  one  mile  north 
ot  that  ever  since  1844.  He  started  in 
life,  a  poor  hoy,  and  although  having 
met  with  a  great  many  disheartening 
trials,  by  hard  work  and  good  manage- 
ment, he  succeeded  in  accumulating  360 


acres  of  land, which  he  has  since  divided 

among  his  children,  with  the  exception 
of  100  acres,  which  he  still  retain-,  lie 
participated  in  the  Black  Hawk  war. 
from  beginning  to  end.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Spencer  are  consistent  members  of  the 
Richwoods  Baptist  church,  they  being 
among  its  original  members. 

Marshall  F.  Grider,  a  prominent  citi- 
zen of  Athensville  township,  was  born 
in  Morgan  county,  111.,  Feb.  10,  1834, 
and  is  a  son  of  Martin  S.  and  Ava  1  Dun- 
can) Grider,  natives  of  North  Carolina. 
His  father  was  born  July  2,  1701,  and 
his  mother,  Aug.  25,  1795.  His  parents 
removed  to  Kentucky  and  were  there 
married.  Martin  was  engaged  in  farm- 
ing and  remained  in  that  state  until 
1820,  when  he  removed  to  Illinois  and 
located  eight  miles  southeast  of  Jack- 
sonville, in  Morgan  county,  where  he 
and  his  wife  spent  the  remainder  of 
their  lives.  He  died  in  1834,  while  on 
a  visit  in  Kentucky,  and  Mrs.  Grider 
died  in  1854.  They  had  a  family  of 
five  children — Sarah,  born  Aug.  25,  1815; 
Emery  I).,  bora  Dec.  26,  1818;  Elijah 
T.,  bom  May  7,  1824;  James  M.,  bom 
June  15,  1829;  and  Marshall  F.,  born 
Feb.  10,  1834.  The  family  were  mem- 
bers of  the  Regular  Predestinarian  Bap- 
tist church.  When  Mr.  Grider  came  to 
Illinois  he  had  nothing  but  a  horse,  but 
at  the  time  of  his  death  he  left  a  com- 
fortable home  for  his  family.  In  poli- 
tics he  was  a  staunch  democrat.  Mar- 
shall F.  Grider  grew  to  manhood  in 
Morgan  county,  receiving  hi-  education 
in  the  common  schools  of  that  day.  He 
was  reared  on  the  farm,  his  mother  hav- 
ing married  again  after  his  father's 
death,  so  that  at  the  age  of  14,  he 
started  out  for  himself,  working  out   on 


980 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


neighboring  farms  until  1853,  when  he 
rented  land  there  until  1S55.  On  April 
13,  1853,  he  was  married  to  Martha 
Sheppard,  a  native  of  Russell  county, 
Ky.,  born  Nov.  14,  1825.  She  is  a 
daughter  of  Elder  Thornton  Sheppard, 
a  native  of  North  Carolina,  born  in 
1796,  who  removed  with  bis  parents  to 
Russell  county,  Ky.,  where  he  grew  to 
manhood  and  married  Elender  Hopper, 
also  a  native  of  North  Carolina,  born  in 
1803,  and  who  removed  to  Russell 
county,  Ky.,  with  her  parents.  Mr. 
Sheppard  engaged  in  farming  there 
until  1830.  when  he  came  to  Illinois, 
settling  in  Morgan  county,  where  he 
bought  and  entered  land,  on  which  he 
and  his  wife  resided  until  their  deaths. 
They  had  a  family  of  12  children,  11  of 
whom  grew  to  manhood  and  woman- 
hood. They  came  to  Illinois  with  only 
ox  teams,  but  left  a  farm  of  200  acres  at 
their  death.  Mr.  Sheppard  was  an 
elder  in  the  Baptist  church,  of  which 
his  wife  was  also  a  member.  After  mar- 
riage Mr.  G rider  rented  land  for  awhile 
and  then  purchased  80  acres  of  timber 
land,  south  of  Jacksonville,  which  he 
cleaved  and  on  which  he  remained  until 
Oct.,  1866,  when  he  bought  120  acres  on 
sections  14  and  23,  in  Athensville  town- 
ship, Greene  county,  where  he  has  since 
resided.  He  has  by  thrift  and  industry 
added  to  this  until  he  now  has  289  acres 
under  a  good  state  of  cultivation,  and 
good,  comfortable  buildings  thereon. 
Mr.  and  Mis.  (Wider  have  had  a  family 
of  six  children — Sarah  M.,  born  July  1, 
1854,  now  the  wife  of  Samuel  Hicks; 
Sidney  S.,  born  Dec.  9,  1856,  died  Oct. 
23,  1877;  Emery  II.,  born  Feb.  4,  1860; 
Clinton  A.,  born  Aug.  10,  1802;  Rachel 
J.,  born  Feb.  28,   1865,  died  Sept,    18, 


1871;  and  Albin  L.,  born  March  21, 
1868.  Mr.  Grider  professed  religion  in 
1866,  and  united  with  the  Primitive 
Baptist  church  in  1SG9,  and  is  still  a 
consistent  member.  He  is  a  democrat, 
politically,  his  first  vote  having  been 
cast  for  James  Buchanan,  his  last  for 
Cleveland.  He  is  a  highly  esteemed 
citizen  of  that  community. 

Thomas  Wilson  was  born  in  Leeds, 
Yorkshire,  England,  Dec.  5,  1840,  his 
parents  being  Benjamin  and  Sarah  (God- 
ding) Wilson.  When  he  was  11  years  old, 
his  parents  left  their  native  country  and 
immigrated  to  America,  landing  at  New 
Orleans  in  the  fall  of  1851.  They  sailed 
from  Liverpool,  and  were  nine  weeks 
making  the  trip.  Mrs.  Wilson  died 
while  they  were  in  New  Orleans,  and 
Thomas  came  up  to  St.  Louis  with  his 
father,  who  there  engaged  in  teaming. 
They  remained  there  about  two  years, 
and  then  Thomas  entered  the  employ 
of  the  Pacific  Railroad  Company,  and  his 
father  became  foreman  of  a  gang  of  men 
who  built  the  tunnel  near  Jefferson 
City,  on  that  road.  The  latter  after- 
ward moved  to  Warrington,  Mo.,  where 
he  entered  the  employ  of  the  North 
Missouri  Railroad  Company,  being  en- 
gaged in  grading.  He  remained  there 
one  year, and  in  the  spring  of  1857, came 
to  Illinois,  and  took  a  contract  to  build 
the  second  and  third  sections  of  road 
south  of  Jacksonville.  He  then  came 
to  Greene  county,  and  purchased  land 
on  Sec.  2,  T.  12,"  R.  10,  where  he  lived 
about  10  years,  and  then  moved  to  Mur- 
rayville.  While  engaged  in  digging  a 
well  there,  in  1873,  he  was  killed  by  a 
rock  falling  on  him,  and  was  buried  at 
the  Youngblood  cemetery.  Thomas, 
the  subject  of  our  sketch,   was  married 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


981 


Feb.  7,  1860,  to  Euphemia  Cruthers,  a 

daughter  of  Peter  and  Jeannette  Cruth- 
ers. By  this  marriage  there  were  six 
children, two  of  whom  are  living — David, 
horn  Jan.  10,  1863;  Laura  E.,  born 
March  31,  1871.  Those  deceased  are — 
Lucy  L.  B.,  horn  July  '24,  1865,  died 
June  23,  1883;  two  infants,  unnamed, 
and  Sarah  Jane,  horn  Feb.  25,  1861, died 
July  24,  18G2.  Mrs.  Wilson  died  Aug. 
11,  1878, and  is  buried  at  the  Youngblood 
cemetery.  Mr.  Wilson  was  again  mar- 
ried to  Mary  E.  Palmer,  wife  of  the  late 
George  Palmer,  and  daughter  of  James 
and  Nancy  (Osborne)  Evans.  By  this 
union  there  are  three  children  living — 
Thomas  J.,  John  R.  and  Mary  N.  The 
ones  deceased  are — Nellie,  born  April 
25,  1882,  died  Sept.  12,  1882,  and  Oliver 
A.  Mr.  Wilson  owns  229  acres  of  land 
on  section  1,  in  this  township,  on  which 
he  resides,  and  has  it  well  improved. 
He  has  a  fine  dwelling  and  barn,  with 
comfortable  and  pleasant  surroundings. 
He  is  engaged  in  general  farming  and 
stock-raising,  in  which  he  is  very  suc- 
cessful. Pie  has  held  the  office  of  school 
director  for  a  number  of  terms,  and  is 
at  present  road  supervisor.  He  is  an 
enterprising  citizen,  and  commands  the 
respect  of  all  who  know  him.  In  1863, 
while  living  in  Morgan  county,  he  was 
drafted  into  the  army,  but  furnished  a 
substitute. 

Thomas  Neighbours,  deceased,  was 
born  in  December,  179'.),  in  the  state  of 
Tennessee,  beinga  son  of  Bluford  Neigh- 
bours, lie  came  to  Jacksonville,  111.,  in 
1831,  and  April  15,  1884,  he  was  married 
to  Mrs.  Mary  McGill,  whose  maiden 
name  was  ( rordon.  In  1847  they  removed 
to  Greene  county  and  located  on  Sec.  4, 
T.  12,  R.   10,  where  he  resided  until  his 


death.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Neighbours  were 
the  parents  of  six  children,  four  now  liv- 
ing— Elizabeth,  wife  of  Edward  Burrill; 
William  T.,  married  Julia  A.  ShaUnce; 
Josiah,  married  Elizabeth  Jane  Spencer, 
and  John,  whose  sketch  follows  this. 
Mrs.  Neighbours  had  one  child  by  her 
former  marriage,  which  is  now  deceased. 
She  now  makes  her  home  with  her  son 
John,  having  reached  her  84th  year, 
Aug.  15,  1885.  Mr.  Neighbours  was  a 
consistent  member  of  the  Mt.  Zion  M. 
E.  church.  He  started  in  life  a  poor 
boy,  but  by  industry  and  economy,  he 
succeeded  in  accumulating  240  acres  of 
land.  He  was  a  soldier  in  the  Black 
Hawk  war,  but  arrived  home  safe  and 
sound  at  the  close  of  it. 

John  Neighbours,  youngest  child  of 
Thomas  Neighbours,  deceased,  was  horn 
near  Jacksonville,  Morgan  county,  HI.. 
June  14,  1845.  He  remained  with  his  pa- 
rents during  their  lifetime,  and  when 
his  father  arrived  at  a  good  old  age, 
John  took  charge  of  the  farm  and  pur- 
chased the  land  of  his  father,  who 
divided  the  proceeds  among  the  other 
children.  John  still  resides  on  the  old 
home  place.  He  was  united  in  marriage 
Nov.  31,  18G5,  with  Nancy  JaneBaines, 
a  daughter  of  Sullivan  and  Caroline 
S.  (VanGuisen)  Baines.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Neighbours  are  the  parents  of  five  chil- 
dren, all  of  whom  are  now  living — Wil- 
liam H.,  Lizzie  A.,  James  E.,  Perry  O., 
and  Jacob  <i.  Mr.  Neighbours  is  at 
present  school  director  in  district  No.  1, 
this  being  his  second  term.  He  nun 
270  acres  of  good  land,  on  which  he  car- 
ries on  farming  and  stock-raising,  and 
through  his  industry  and  good  managi  - 
meiit.  has  been  very  successful.  In  pol- 
itics he  is  a  republican.     Mr.  and  Mrs. 


982 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


Neighbours,  and  three  of  the  children, 
are  members  of  the  Mt.  Zion  M.  E. 
church.  Mr.  Neighbours  is  also  class 
leader  in  the  church,  having  held  that 
position  for  10  years,  and  was  also,  for 
three  years,  superintendant  of  the  Sun- 
day school. 

William  Heywood,  a  native  of  Old- 
ham, Lancashire,  England,  was  born 
Sept.  30,  1831,  his  parents  being  Ed- 
mund and  Mary  (Hilton)  Heywood. 
William  remained  at  home  with  his 
parents  until  he  was  21  years  of  age. 
In  June,  1853.  he  was  united  in  mar- 
riage with  Bettie  Holt,  a  daughter  of 
John  and  Bettie  Holt.  In  the  year  1855 
they  sailed  from  America,  and  landed 
at  New  York  city,  on  the  4th  of  July. 
From  there  they  came  west  as  far  as 
Illinois,  and  settled  in  Athensville 
township,  Greene  county,  where  his 
father  had  previously,  come.  Here 
William  engaged  at  farming,  working 
by  the  month  for  about  five  years,  when 
he  purchased  SO  acres  of  land  from  his 
lather,  on  section  9.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Heywood  were  the  parents  of  two  chil- 
dren, one  of  whom,  James,  is  now  liv- 
ing with  his  father.  The  one  deceased 
is  George  Henry,  died  Oct.  15,  1875. 
Mrs.  Heywood  afterwards  died,  and  he 
was  again  married,  Dec.  30,  1875,  to 
Amelia  Robinson,  daughter  of  Jackson 
and  Elizabeth  (Anderson)  Robinson, 
natives  of  Virginia.  Mr.  Heywood 
ow.ns  a  nice  farm  of  175  acres,  on  which 
he  resides,  and  which  is  all  under  good 
cultivation.  The  family  are  members 
of  the  Union  Grove  Baptist  church. 
In  Aug.,  1862,  Mr.  Heywood  enlisted  in 
the  Jacksonville  Beg..  101st  111.  Inf., 
and  served  three  years  under  General 
Sherman.     He  participated  in  the  bat- 


tles at  Lookout  Mountain,  Pallas,  Col- 
uml'ia.  Peach  Tree  Creek,  Goldsboro 
and  Big  Shanty. 

Stephen  D.  Hopper  was  born  in  Greene 
county,  111.,  in  1830,  and  made  this 
county  his  home  until  1S69,  when  he 
removed  to  Forsythe,  Mo.,  where  he  re- 
mained one  year.  He  then  removed  to 
Arkansas,  where  he  resided  two  years, 
and  then  he  returned  to  Greene  county, 
TIL,  where  he  remained  three  years, 
and  again  removed  to  Missouri,  settling 
at  Howell,  where  he  now  resides.  He 
was  a  son  of  Calvin  and  Polly  (Spencer) 
Hopper,  both  natives  of  Kentucky.  In 
1857,  Stephen  was  united  in  marriage 
with  Sarah  J.  Florence,  a  daughter  of 
Thomas  and  Mary  (Griffith)  Florence. 
This  union  was  blessed  with  seven  chil- 
dren, six  of  whom  are  now  living.  Hat- 
tie,  wife  of  William  M.  Smith,  of  this 
township  ;  James  M.,  of  this  town- 
ship; John  T.,  also  residing  here  ; 
Henrietta,  the  widow  of  Silas  Ruyle, 
now  residing  with  her  brothers,  James 
M.  and  John  T;  Jasper  N.,  living 
in  this  township ;  Mary  Anna,  at 
home,      and       Albert,     deceased.       In 

1862,  Mr.  Hopper  enlisted  in  Co.  II, 
61st  111.  Inf.,  and  gallantly  served 
until  the  close  of  the  war,  when  he  was 
honorably  discharged.  While  in  the 
service,  his  eyesight  was  injured  by  a 
cannon  being  fired  over  him,  he  being 
ordered  to  lie  down  just  as  it  was  fired, 
and  he  has  never  since  recovered  the 
full  use  of  his  eyes.  James  M.  and 
John  T.,  his  two  sons,  now  own  the 
.home    place,  he  deeding  it  to  them  on 

his  departure  for  the  war.  James  was 
horn  August  2,  1861,  and  John,  May  12, 

1863.  Both  are  still  single  and  are  en- 
gaged in  general  farming  on  Sec.  16,  T. 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


983 


12,  R.  10.     They  are  careful,  industrious 

young  men,  and  hence  their  undertak- 
ings can  not  fail  to  meet  with  success. 
In  politics,  they  are  republicans. 

James  F.  Cannedy,  the  present  com- 
petent clerk  of  the  Richwoods  United 
Baptist  church,  was  horn  in  Rockbridge 
township,  Greene  county,  111.,  Jan.  15, 
1846,  and  is  a  son  of  W.  II .  Cannedy, 
of  Rockbridge  township.  James  was 
reared  to  agricultural  pursuits,  and  re- 
ceived a  liberal  education  in  the  schools 
of  this  county.  On  March  21,  1866,  he 
was  united  in  marriage  with  Martha  J. 
Jones,  a  native  of  this  county,  and  a 
daughter  of  Noah  and  Elizabeth  Jones. 
She  was  horn  in  Patterson  township, 
June  25,  1848.  They  were  the  happy 
parents  of  seven  children,  but  one  of 
them  have  been  called  to  that  far  away 
home — William  J.  W.,  born  Oct.  9, 
1867;  Mary  E.,  horn  Jan.  18,  1870,  died 
March  5,  1S70,  aged  two  months  and 
rive  days;  Fannie  L.,  born  Feb.  26, 
1871;  Thomas  E.,  born  April  9,  1875; 
John  0.,  born  Aug.  25,  1877;  Ada  May, 
born  Feb.  11),  1881;  and  Lillie  L.  B., 
born  March  16,  1884.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Cannedy  are  consistent  members  of  the 
Richwoods  Baptist  church,  of  which  he 
is  the  present  clerk.  He  is  also  a  mem- 
ber of  the  I.  0.  0.  F.,  of  which  organi- 
zation he  has  been  a  member  for  the 
past  12  years,  and  has  held  the  office  of 
noble  grand  for  several  terms.  He  was 
initiated  in  Greenfield  lodge,  No.  195, 
I.  0.  0.  F.,  July  5,  1873,  and  was  a 
charter  member  of  Rockbridge  lodge, 
No.  688,  of  which  he  was  past  grand,  at 
tin'  time  of  his  withdrawal.  He  with- 
drew from  the  latter  lodge,  in  1882,  in 
order  to  join  Athensville  lodge,  No. 
368,  and  was  made   past  grand  of  that 


lodge,  and  was  elected,  the  next  term, 
to  noble  grand.  Mr.  Cannedy  was 
elected  constable,  in  the  fall  of  1ST.".,  and 
served  four  years,  giving  entire  satis- 
faction to  his  constituents.  He  now  re- 
sides on  section  20,  Athensville  town- 
ship; his  postoffice  address  is  Felter. 
He  is  engaged  in  agricultural  pursuits, 
and  is  much  respected  in  the  neighbor- 
hood in  which  he  resides. 

Edward  Burrill  was  horn  July  (',,  1S'_'."., 
in  Lincolnshire,  England,  his  parents 
being  Henry  and  Mary  (Freschner) 
Burrill,  of  Welton,  England.  His  father 
died  there  in  1839,  and  his  mother  in 
1828.  Edward  is  the  youngest  of  a  fam- 
ily of  nine  children,  there  being  eight 
hoys  and  one  girl.  In  1851  he  decided 
to  come  to  America,  and  going  to  Hull 
took  passage  on  the  ship  Margaretta,  a 
cotton  trading  vessel,  November22,  sail- 
ing for  New  Orleans,  which  port  he 
reached  after  a  voyage  of  ten  weeks. 
He  remained  there  but  one  week  and 
then  sailed  on  one  of  the  William  Ken- 
dall boats,  for  Cincinnati,  where  he 
arrived  after  a  three  weeks'  trip,  being 
delayed  on  account  of  the  floods  in  the 
Mississippi  river.  He  immediately  left 
Cincinnati  for  Newport,  where  he  was 
employed  at  gardening  for  three  and 
one-half  months,  receiving  therefor  $12 
a  month.  In  July,  1852,  he  came  to 
Chicago,  his  object  being  to  view  the 
Prairie  State,  and  since  that  lie  has  lived 
in  the  state  almost  continuously,  except 
a  short  time  spent  in  Michigan,  and  six 
months  of  the  year  1852,  in  Missouri. 
In  the  latter  part  of  that  year  he  came 
down  to  Morgan  county,  where  he 
worked  for  William  Delaney,  Daniel 
Holmes,  and  others,  for  over  four  years, 
and  then  came  to  Greene  county  and  pur- 


984 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


chased  40  acres  of  land  in  Richwoods, 
Athensville  township.  He  was  married 
Sept.  15,  1854,  to  Mary  A.  E.  Delaney, 
daughter  of  William  and  Catherine 
Delaney.  She  only  lived  about  one 
year,  dying  with  fever.  By  that  mar- 
riage there  was  one  child,  now  deceased. 
Mrs.  Burrill  was  buried  in  the  Holmes 
cemetery.  On  May,  15, 1856,  Mr.  Burrill 
was  again  married  to  Elizabeth  Neigh- 
bours, a  daughter  of  Thomas  and  Mary 
(Gordon)  Neighbours,  who  are  alsomen- 
tioned  in  this  volume.  Ten  children 
have  been  born  to  them,  five  of  whom 
are  living — Thomas  H.,  married  Ellen 
Prather;  Rebecca,  wife  of  Greenup 
Spencer;  Susie,  George,  and  Norah. 
Those  deeeasedare — Sarah  A.,  Mary  J., 
Fiance,  and  two  infants.  Mr.  Burrill 
came  to  his  present  location  on  Sec.  5, 
T.  12,  R.  10,  in  1856,  where  he  now  owns 
200  acres  of  good  land.  He  has  been 
road  supervisor  nine  years  and  school 
director  for  seven  years.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Burrill  are  members  of  the  Methodist 
church. 

J.  Garland  Pennell  was  born  Jan.  22, 
1840,  his  parents  being  Bin  ford  and 
Charlotte  (Overton)  Pennell,  natives  of 
Indiana.  He  remained  with  his  parents 
until  he  had  reached  the  age  of  19  years, 
when  he  took  a  trip  to  California,  where 
he  staid  one  year,  and  then  returned  to 
Greene  county,  111.,  where  he  has  since 
been  engaged  in  farming.  He  was 
united  in  marriage,  March  1,  1858,  with 
Mary  Gilmore,  daughter  of  John  M. 
and  Rachel  (Stockton)  Gilmore,  natives 
of  Tennessee.  This  union  has  been 
blessed  with  ninechildren — Sarah  Eliz- 
abeth, Laura,  John,  Bluford,  Everett, 
Charles,  Cora,  Ernest  and  Lulu.  Mr. 
Pennell  has  195  acres   of  land,  80  acres 


of  which  is  on  section  9,  and  115  acres 
on  section  15,  on  which  he  resides.  He 
was  at  one  time  connected  with  a  saw- 
mill at  Richwoods,  which  he  ran  for  one 
year,  and  then  sold  out  to  William  Tur- 
ner. He  divides  his  attention  between 
the  raising  of  stock  and  grain,  and  stock 
buying.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Athens- 
ville lodge,  No.  368,  I.  0.  0.  F.  Mr. 
Pennell  is  a  steady,  industrious  farmer, 
and  is  highly  respected  by  neighbors 
and  friends. 

George  W.  Fanning  was  born  near 
St.  Joseph,  DeKalb  county,  Mo.,  Dec. 
7,  1842,  and  is  a  son  of  Joseph  and 
Susan  (Nichols)  Fanning.  In  the  third 
year  of  his  age,  his  parents  removed  to 
Carroll  county,  Ark.,  where  they  resid- 
ed 12  years,  and  then  moved  to  Greene 
county,  111.  George  lived  with  his  father 
until  he  was  21  years  of  age,  when  the 
latter  returned  to  Arkansas.  George 
remained  here,  and  on  March  22,  1867, 
was  united  in  marriage  with  Ledosia 
Nichols,  widow  of  the  late  John  Nichols. 
This  union  was  blessed  with  one  child 
— Dora  May.  Mrs.  Fanning  died,  and 
was  buried  in  the  Youngblood cemetery. 
Mr.  Fanning  was  again  married,  Dec. 
14,  1884,  to  Mrs.  Mary  C.  Goacher, 
whose  maiden  name  was  Spencer,  she 
being  a  daughter  of  James  R.  and  Eliza- 
beth Spencer.  Mr.  Fanning  owns  1231 
acres  of  land,  833  acres  of  which  is  in 
Greene  county,  and  40  acres  in  Morgan 
county.  He  is  engaged  in  farming  and 
stock-raising,  and  is  meeting  with  suc- 
cess, through  his  industry  and  perse- 
verance. Mrs.  Fanning  is  a  member  of 
the  Union  Baptist  church,  and  he  of  the 
Youngblood  Baptist  church.  In  politics 
lie  is  a  Union  democrat. 

Albert  Goacher,  deceased,   was  born 


iii  Alabama,  Oct.,  18,  1824,  and  was  a 
son  of  Henry  Goacher.  He  came  with 
his  father  to  Jersey  county,  111.,  about 
1834,  where  he  resided  until  his  mar- 
riage, .March  20,  1851,  to  Mary  C.  Spen- 
cer, daughter  of  James  R.  and  Elizabeth 
(Gilmore)  Spencer,  now  the  wife  of 
Geo.  W.  Fanning.  He  then  removed 
to  Sec.  5,  T.  12,  R.  10,  where  he  re- 
mained until  Jan.,  1868,  when  he  moved 
on  to  the  place  where  he  resided  at  the 
time  of  his  death,  Jan.  28,  1881.  They 
had  a  family  of  four  children,  three  now 
living — Sarah  E.,  wife  of  Jas.  L.  West- 
rope;  James  H.;  A.  I.,  deceased;  and 
Clarnettie.  When  they  first  hegan  house- 
keeping, not  having  anything  but  cloth- 
ing, her  father  gave  them  a  start  with 
geese,  chickens,  a  hog  and  a  cow,  and  a 
year  afterward  gave  them  40  acres  of 
timber  Land,  which  Mr.  Goacher  cleared. 
By  industry,  perseverance  and  good 
management,  he  succeeded  in  accumu- 
lating 120  acres  for  himself,  besides 
giving  each  of  his  children  80  acres 
apiece,  when  they  were  married,  and 
also  set  them  up  in  housekeeping.  The 
first  child  was  three  years  old  before 
they  owned  a  stove,  the  cooking  being 
done  in  a  (ire-place.  Mr.  Goacher  was 
a  man  much  respected,  and  his  word 
was  considered  as  good  as  his  bond.  He 
instilled  the  same  principles  of  honesty 
into  his  children. 

James  Barnard  was  born  Dec.  3,  1832, 
in  Sumner  county,  Tenn.,  his  parents 
being  Elisha  and  Mahala  (Mayberry) 
Barnard.  With  his  parents,  James 
came  to  Greene  county,  111.,  in  1835, 
and  located  in  Carrollton  town-hip,  in 
the  Black  and  Hobson  settlement.  Mr. 
Barnard,  Sr.,  died  about  1842,  and  was 
buried   in    the    Jackson    cemetery,    in 


Athensville  township.  James, the  sub- 
ject of  our  sketch,  was  united  in  mar- 
riage, Sept.  9,  1S52,  with  Mary  Jane 
Raffety,  a  daughter  of  William  M.  Raf- 
fety,  of  Roodhouse.  Seven  children 
were  born  to  them,  only  two  of  whom 
are  now  living — Mahala  A.,  wife  of 
Philip  Prather;  Laura  P.,  at  home. 
The  deceased  children  were — John  O., 
Sarah  E.,  Nancy  M.,  William  E.  and 
Isabella  F.  Mrs.  Barnard  departed 
this  life  in  July,  1*84,  and  was  hurried 
in  Prather's  cemetery.  She  was  a  con- 
sistent member  of  the  Christian  church 
having  been  a  member  28  years.  Mr. 
Barnard  was  again  married,  Dec.  6, 
1877,  to  Mrs.  Mary  L.  Day,  a  daughter 
of  Noah  and  Elizabeth  (Thomas)  Day. 
Three  childen  were  born  to  them — 
Charles  E.,  at  home,  and  Nora  and 
Dora,  (twins)  deceased.  Mr.  Barnard 
moved  to  his  present  location,  on  sec- 
tion 20,  20  years  ago  this  fall.  He  now 
owns  60  acres  of  land,  and  is  engaged 
in  farming  and  stock-raising.  In  poli- 
tics he  is  a  "dyed-in-the-wool"  demo- 
crat, but  has  had  no  ambition  for  polit- 
ical preferment. 

James  Preston,  a  son  of  James  and 
Silence  (Chamberlain)  Preston,  was 
born  in  Trenton,  N.  J.,  Oct.  12,  1826. 
When  he  was  nine  years  of  age  his  par- 
ents removed  to  Indiana,  and  live  years 
later  to  St.  Louis,  Mo.  Thence,  three 
years  later,  to  Morgan  county.  111., 
where  James  resided  15  years.  He  then 
removed  to  Athensville  township,  this 
county,  and  bought  land  on  section  8, 
where  he  now  lives,  engaged  in  farming. 
He  enlisted  in  the  service  of  his  coun- 
try, Aug.  I',,  1862,  in  Co.  A.,  under  ('apt. 
B.  LaSage.  His  enlistment  was  for  a 
term  of  three  years,  but,  May  25,  1864, 


986 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


he  received  a  wound  in  the  right  thigh, 
which  disabled  him,  and  he  was  honora- 
bly discharged.  He  lias  never  recov- 
ered from  bis  wound,  and  is  not  able  to 
do  manual  labor.  He  now  receives  a 
small  pension,  but  has  applied  for  an 
increase,  and  it  will  be  no  more  than 
justice  that  the  department  should  allow 
his  claim.  He  followed  engineering  on 
the  Mississippi  for  some  15  years. 
James  Preston  and  Margaret  Ruyle 
were  married  May  7,  1848.  She  was  a 
daughter  of  John  and  Anna  (Gilpin) 
Ruyle.  Sixteen  children  have  been 
born  to  them — James  \Y\,  Joseph  A., 
John  W., William  R.,  Margaret  E., Sarah 
A.,  Thomas  B.,  Wesley  E.,  all  liv- 
ing; Gabriel,  Charles  Edward,  Silence 
Ann,  and  Rachel  E.,  are  deceased,  also, 
four  died  in  infancy.  He  owns  a  small 
farm  on  section  8,  where  he  now  resides. 
In  polities,  he  is  a  republican,  and  is 
also  a  member  of  the  United  Baptist 
church . 

James  G.  Hubbell  was  born  in  Peoria 
county,  111.,  April  12,  1852,  bis  parents 
being  John  and  Clara  (Billings)  Hub- 
bell,  natives  of  Illinois.  His  mother 
died  in  Peoria  county,  in  1861.  His 
father  then  moved  with  bis  family  of 
four  children  to  Greene  county,  locating 
near  the  Richwoods  church,  in  Athens- 
ville  township.  He  afterward  removed 
to  Morgan  county,  where  he  resided 
until  his  death,  which  occurred  in  1865. 
James  was  reared  on  a  farm,  having 
gone  to  live  with  Jackson  G.  Mitchell 
when  only  nine  years  of  age,  with  whom 
he  remained  until  he  was  16  years  of 
age.  He  then  returned  to  Peoria  county, 
where  he  resided  until  he  reached  the 
age  of  25  years,  when  he  removed  to 
Macoupin  county,  and   was  there  mar- 


ried, Jan.  28,  1876,  to  Jane  Fanning, 
daughter  of  William  R.  and  Nancy  Fan- 
ning. By  this  union  there  are  five  chil- 
dren—Mary, John  W.,  Lyman  T.,  Mil- 
lie and  Orna.  Mr.  Hubbell  resided  in 
Macoupin  county  until  1883,  when  he 
moved  to  Greene  county  and  purchased 
80  acres  of  land  on  Sec.  1,  T.  12,  R.  10, 
where  he  has  since  resided  and  where 
he  is  engaged  in  general  farming.  Mr. 
Hubbell  is  a  member  of  the  Baptist 
church. 

FIRST     THINGS. 

The  first  saw-mill  in  this  township 
was  built  about  1840, by  Andrew  Downs, 
on  what  was  then  called  Marks  creek. 
He  ran  this  until  1863,  when  a  freshet 
in  the  stream  tore  out  the  dam,  where- 
upon, he  sold  the  machinery,  and  the 
building  rotted  away. 

FELTER    POSTOFFICE. 

This  was  established  in  1880,  on  sec- 
tion 17,  in  a  building  on  the  farm  of 
W.  F.  Hicks,  who  was  the  first  post- 
master. He  continued  until  Oct.,  1883, 
when  Syrrel  Whitaker,  the  present  in- 
cumbent, took  charge.  Mr.  Whitaker 
has  the  office  in  a  store  which  he  has 
opened  at  this  point, and  is  doing  a  very 
nice  business,  and  by  attention  to  his 
patrons,  keeping  the  postoffice  every 
day,  Sunday  morning  included,  be  has 
gained  many  friends  in  business  Mr. 
Whitaker  has  appointed  a  deputy  post- 
master, Lewis  Sheppard,  and  he  is  now 
in  the  merchandise  business  in  Athens- 
ville. 

RICHWOODS     CEMETERY. 

This  city  of  the  dead  was  laid  out  in 
in  1861,  on  an  acre  of  ground  that  was 
donated  for  the  purpose  by  W.F. Hicks. 
Paul    Castleberry  and  his  wife  are  be- 


lieved  to  have  been  the  first  interments 
here,  or  at  any  rate,  among  the  very 
first. 

SAW     MILL. 

In  1876,  tin  firm  of  Morrow,  Rigg,, 
&  Whitaker,  built  a  saw  mill  on  the 
southeast  quarter  of  the  northwest  quar- 
ter of  section  20,  into  which  they  re- 
moved most  of  the  machinery  of  an 
older  mill,  they  owned  south  of  the 
creek.  On  putting  this  one  up,  they 
put  in  some  new  parts  of  machinery, 
among  other  improvements,  a  new 
boiler.  Hardly  had  they  got  in  opera- 
tion, when  Syrrel  Whitaker  retired 
from  the  firm,  leaving  William  P.  Rigg 
and  William  M.  Morrow,  to  carry  it  on. 
About  1880,  these  gentlemen  sold  out  Eo 
Samuel  J.  Rigg,  who  continued  to  ope- 
rate it  for  over  a  year,  when  it  was  pur- 
chased by  W.  M.  Morrow.  In  the 
spring  of  1882,  Syrrel  Whitaker,  James 
Rouett  and  John  Whitaker  purchased 
the  mill,  and  ran  it  until  Feb.  19,  1883, 
when  W.  P.  Rigg  bought  out  two  of 
the  partners,  and  the  firm  changed  to 
Whitaker  &  Rigg.  This  partnership 
continued  until  July,  1884,  when  Mr. 
Rigg  retired,  and  a  new  firm  was 
formed,  consisting  '<(  Messrs.  Prather, 
Sheppard  &  Whitaker.  In  Oct.,  1884, 
Mr.  Whitaker  retired,  and  the  mill  is 
now  owned  and  operated  by  Prather  & 
Sheppard. 

ATI!  ENS  VI  RLE. 
The  beautiful  village  that  bears  the 
above  name  was  laid  out  by  Greene 
Weaver,  in  the  summer  of  1834,  and 
the  plat  of  the  same  was  filed  for  record 
on  the -2d  of  Oct.,  1834.  It  is  located 
on  the  southwest  quarter  of  the  north- 
west quarter  of  section  26,  and  is   beau- 


tifully situated  as  to  surroundings.  Some 
of  the  finest  farms  in  eastern  Greene 
county  are  in  the  immediate  vicinity, 
of  this  ''loveliest  village  of  the  plain.'' 

The  first  building  erected  on  the  site 
of  the  town  was  put  up  about  the  year 
1832.  It  was  a  -tore  room.  Greene 
Weaver  had  been  sent  from  Carrollton 
with  a  stock  of  goods  by  John  Evans, 
with  which  he  was  to  stock  a  store  at 
Mount  Airy,  hut  he  came  to  this  place, 
built  the  building  and  put  in  the  stock 
of  goods,  and  was  thus  the  pioneer 
merchant  of  the  village.  About  the 
year  1*40  he  sold  out  to  John  Arm- 
strong, an  Englishman,  who  had  come 
to  tin  county,  early  in  its  history.  He 
had  originally  a  store  near  the  town, 
and  in  the  year  above  named, had  moved 
to  the  "burg"  and  bought  out  Mr. 
Weaver.  He  was  made  postmaster  and 
served  for  years.  He  was  in  partnership 
with  Alexander  King  and  with  T.  S.  Pat- 

-  a,  and  about  L845,  sold  out  to  tin- 
latter.  He  died  in  this  town  about 
1854  or  1855.  Mr.  Patterson  ran  the 
store,  until  l>7r>.  when  it  was  sold  to 
John  Morrow,  and  two  years  later  to  Z 
D.  Morrow,  and  is  now  run  by  Isaac 
Morrow. 

The  business  of  the  village  is.  at 
present  represented  by  five  general 
stores,  one  drug  store,  three  black- 
smiths, two  wood  working  shops,  and 
tie  grist-mill. 

McCauley  &  Spencer  are  the  present 
leading  dealers  in  general  merchandise. 
This  establishment  originated  with 
John  English,  in  1880.  He  erect-, 1  a 
building  30x60  feet  in  size,  at  a  cost  of 
about  $700,  the  second  story  of  which 
was,  and  is  occupied  by  the  I.  O.  0.  F. 
lodue.        Mr.   English    put  in    a    stock 


988 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


valued  at  about  $1,500,  and  ran  it  suc- 
cessfully for  about  two  years,  when  he 
sold  to  George  Wood.  In  about  a  year 
he  disposed  of  it  to  Rigg  &  Spencer. 
A  short  time  since  "\Y.  W .  McCauley 
purchased  the  interest  of  Mr.  Rigg,  and 
the  present  firm  was  funned. 

W.  W.  McCauley  was  born  July  1"-', 
1858,  at  Milton,  Pike  county,  111.,  his 
parents  being  0.  F.  and  Margaret  1!. 
(Bowie)  McCauley.  When  he  was  seven 
years  old,  his  parents  moved  to  Green- 
field, where  he  lived  with  them  until 
the  year  1877,  when  he  graduated  at  the 
high  school  there.  He  then  began 
teaching,  his  first  situation  being  at  the 
Franklin  school,  about  2*  miles  west  of 
Fidelity,  Jersey  county,  111.,  where  he 
taught  for  a  term  of  eight  months.  He 
then  came  to  Athensville,  where  he 
taught  the  village  school  for  five  years, 
and  is  at  present  the  teacher  at  the  Mt. 
Airy  school,  in  district  No.  3,  two  miles 
west  of  Athensville.  He  is  an  ener- 
getic, intelligent  gentleman,  and  is 
very  successful  in  his  chosen  profession. 
On  the  12th  of  October,  1882,  he  was 
united  in  marriage  with  Mittie  A.  Bar- 
nard, a  daughter  of  Elisha  Barnard. 
Mr.  Barnard  resides  in  Athensville,  and 
is  at  present  holding  the  office  of  town 
clerk.  Mr.  McCauley  owns  a  half 
interest  in  the  general  merchandise  store 
of  the  firm  of  McCauley  &  Spencer. 
He  is  well  liked  and  highly-esteemed 
by  all  who  have  the  pleasure  of  his  ac- 
quaintance. 

Henry  M.  Spencer  was  born  near  Mur- 
rayville,  Morgan  county,  111.,  Oct.  3, 
1850, his  parents  being  Major  and  Nancy 
(Duncan)  Spencer.  He  resided  with  his 
parents  until  the  date  of  his  marriage, 
Nov.   16,  I860,  and   received  his  educa- 


tion in  the  common  schools.  He  was 
united  in  marriage  with  Virginia  Bar- 
nctt,  a  daughter  of  William  and  Cather- 
ine Barnett.  This  union  has  been 
blessed  with  five  children,  all  of  whom 
are  living — Calvin,  Laura,  William, 
Dora  and  Pius.  Mr.  Spencer  was  en- 
gaged in  farming  previous  to  the  time 
of  entering  into  partnership  in  the  mer- 
cantile business  with  W.  P.  Rigg.  He 
is  a  member  of  the  Athensville  lodge, 
I.  0.  0.  F.  ami  has  held  all  the  offices 
pertaining  to  a  membership  in  that 
lodge.  His  political  views  are  demo- 
cratic. He  is  an  industrious,  go-ahead 
business  man,  hence  is  meeting  with 
success  in  his  undertakings. 

Zaehari.ah  D.  Morrow  is  engaged  in 
(In  sale  of  hardware,  groceries,  etc.,  in 
this  village.  This  business  was  estab- 
lished by  J.  B.  Morrow,  in  April,  1880, 
who  built  the  edifice  and  put  in  a  stock 
of  boots,  shoes  and  groceries,  valued  at 
§2,000.  He  operated  this  business  un- 
til July  14,  ISM,  when  he  sold  to  O.  A. 
Morrow,  who  on  the  2d  of  May,  1882, 
turned  it  over  to  the  present  proprietor, 
for  a  consideration.  The  latter  changed 
the  stock  from  boots  and  shoes  to  hard- 
ware, still  retaining  the  grocery  branch. 
He  carries  a  stock  of  $2,500. 

Syrrel  Whitaker  is  engaged  in  the 
general  merchandising  business  here. 
John  L.  Stoddard  established  this  busi- 
ness, for  his  daughter  Lillie  May,  Oct. 
15,  1882,  putting  in  a  stock  of  about 
6700.  April,  1885,  the  lady  propii- 
etress  getting  married,  the  stock  was 
thrown  on  Mr.  Stoddard's  hands,  and  he 
ran  it  for  some  months,  when  he  sold 
out  to  the  present  proprietor. 

Syrrel  Whitaker,  the  present  post- 
master  at   Felter  postoffice,  was   born 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


989 


Aug.  10,  1832,  in  Morgan  county,  111., 
near  Exeter,  his  parents  being  Joseph 
and  Hannah  (Chrysler)  Whitaker,  the 
former  of  whom  was  a  native  of  Rhode 
Island,  and  the  latter  of  New  York. 
They  removed  *<•  Morgan  county  in 
1821,  where  our  subject  was  born.  Jos. 
Whitaker  died  in  1876,  while  his  wife 
departed  this  life  in  IS.").").  Syrrel  re- 
mained with  his  parents  until  1850, 
then  coming  to  the  county  line,  just 
across  in  Morgan,  lie  was  united  in 
marriage,  March  20,  1854,  with  Marga- 
ret E.  Wilcox,  a  daughter  of  Joshua 
and  Martha  (Jones)  Wilcox.  In  the 
fall  of  1854,  Mr.  Whitaker  removed  to 
Powasheik  county,  la.,  and  remained 
until  the  spring  of  1856,  when  he  re- 
turned to  Illinois,  ami  settled  in  Athi  ns- 
ville  township,  Greene  county,  one 
mile  south  of  his  present  residence,  to 
which  he  moved  in  March.  1883.  He  is 
a  member  of  Athensville  lodge,  No. 
368,  I.  O.  O.  F.,  having  been  a  charter 
member  thereof,  and  in  which  he  has 
held  the  offices  of  secretary,  vice  grand, 
and  noble  grand,  besides  other  appoint- 
ive ones,  a  number  of  times.  He  was 
constable  for  six  years,  and,  in  April, 
1885,  resigned,  and  was  elected  justice 
of  the  peace,  which  office  he  now  holds. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Whitaker  had  four  chil- 
dren born  to  them — Mary  J.,  wife  of 
Wm.  Moore,  of  this  township;  Anna 
E.,  wife  of  Robert  Dikis,  of  this  town- 
ship; Martha  H.  and  Oscar E.,  both  de- 
ceased. Mr.  W.  owns  a  farm  on  sec- 
tion 19,  and  has  a  third  interest  in  a  40- 
acre  tract,  on  section  in.  The  most  of 
his  time  in  this  county  has  been  de- 
voted to  saw-mill  interests,  which  he 
has  just  disposed  of.  He  holds  a  cer- 
tificate in  the  Covenant  Mutual   Benefit 


Association,  of  Galesburg,  111.  He  has 
lately  engaged  in  business  in  Athens- 
ville, so  that  he  has  appointed  a  deputy 
postmaster  at  Felter. 

The  pioneer  drug  store  of  Athensville 
was  opened  by  Messrs.  John  Jones  and 
James  Butler,  in  1861.  They  ran  it  but 
a  short  time,  when  they  were  succeedi  d 
by  Dr.  J.  E.  Waters,  who  continued  the 
business  for  several  years.  Augustus 
Lewi-  &  Bro.  wen1  the  next  to  manipu- 
late drugs  in  tins  store,  and  after  about 
three  years,  gave  way  for  Barnard  A' 
Waters.  In  a  very  short  time,  they 
were'- succeeded  by  Downs  Hardcastle, 
who  was  burnt  out  in  about  a  year  1  here- 
after. In  1879,  Dr.  .1.  E.  Waters  started 
another  drug  store,  and  is  the  present 
ri  pn  sentative  <<(  that  line  of  business. 

Isaac  Massey,  the  postmaster,  is  en- 
gaged in  running  a  grocery  and  notion 
store,  and  does  a  very  nice  business. 
The  postoffice  is  in  his  store. 

POSTOFFICE. 

The  postoffice  of  Athensville  was  es- 
tablished in  1835,  at  the  store  of  John 
Armstrong,  located  about  a  quarter 
of  a  mile  east  of  the  present  site  of  the 
village.  Mr.  Armstrong  was  the  first 
postmaster.  When  the  village  was  laid 
out,  he  moved  store  and  office  to  this 
place.  In  1845,  T.  S.  Patterson  suc- 
ceeded to  the  office,  which  he  retained 
until  1876,  when  John  Morrow  became 
the  postmaster.  Two  years  later  it  was 
transferred  to  Ins  brother,  Zachariah, 
who  acted  in  that  capacity  until  1S7'J, 
when  Isaac  Massey,  the  present  incum- 
bent, was  appointed. 

FLOURING    MILL. 

The  Morrow  grist  mill,  was  originally 
built  in  1S69,  at  a  cost  of  $7,000.     It  was 


990 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


24x36  feet  in  size,  three  stories  high, 
with  an  engine  room  18x36  feet  in  size, 
in  an  addition.  The  engine  was  made 
by  Duncan  &  Brooks,  of  Alton.  This 
mill  was  equipped  with  two  setof  buhrs 
and  all  other  necessary  equipment. 
This  mill  was  burned  down  in  1869, and 
in  1870,  Morrow  it  Son,  erected  the 
present  building,  at  a  cost  of  $10,000. 
This  is  30x46  feet  in  ground  area,  three 
stories  high,  with  an  engine  room,  in 
addition,  20x50  feet  in  size.  This  mill 
is  fully  equipped  with  the  newest  ma- 
chinery, having  two  run  of  buhrs,  one 
corn  buhr,  one  Garden  city  first  break 
machine,  one  set  of  Gray's  double  por- 
celain rolls,  Geo.  F.  Smith  bolting  ma- 
chinery, complete,  and  other  necessary 
adjuncts  to  make  this  a  first-class  mill. 
It  has  a  capacity  of  turning  out  25  bar- 
rels of  Hour  per  day.  The  firm  of  Mor- 
row &  Sim  is  composed  of  Jesse  and 
Marshall  Morrow. 


Athensville  Lodge,  No.  368,  I.  O.  O. 
F.,  was  duly  organized  Mar.  16,  1868, 
with  the  following  charter  members : 
T.  S.  Patterson,  Syrrel  Whitaker,  Stew- 
art McBride,  S.  S.  Patterson  and  C.  A. 
Worley.  As  the  records  were  burned 
the  names  of  the  first  officers  of  this  so- 
ciety can  not  be  given.  This  lodge 
owned  a  hall  which  it  had  fitted  up,  and 
in  which  they  held  their  meeting  until 
the  year  1879,  when  the  building  was 
destroyed  by  fire  with  its  contents. 
They  then  purchased  the  second  story 
of  a  building  owned  by  E.  M.  Husted, 
of  Roodhouse,  in  which  they  now  meet. 
The  lodge  has  a  present  membership  of 
27,  and  is  in  excellent  condition,  not- 
withstanding   its    small    number.     The 


present  officers  are  :  W.  J.  Barnard, 
X.  G.  ;  Albert  Tompkins,  V.  (i.  ;  W. 
G.  Sorter,  R.  S.  ;  W.  P.  Rigg.  T.  andR. 
to  G.  L.       ' 

OTHEH  PROMINENT  CITIZENS. 

Wm,  P.  Rigg  was  born  in  Waverly, 
Morgan  county,  111.,  April  8,  1839,  and 
is  a  son  of  Archibald  P.  and  Elizabeth 
I  McLane)  Rigg,  the  former  a  native  of 
Kentucky,  the  latter  of  Illinois.  His 
father  immigrated  from  Kentucky  to 
Morgan  county,  111.,  where  he  remained 
until  1858.  He  then  moved  to  Greene 
county,  and  located  about  five  miles 
northwest  of  Athensville,  where  he 
bought  a  tract  of  land  on  which  he  re- 
mained until  1863.  He  then  returned 
tn  Waverly,  Morgan  county,  remaining 
there  until  1873,  when  he  removed  to 
Franklin,  residing  there  until  1881,  and 
then  moved  to  Macoupin  county,  where 
he  now  lives.  William  was  reared  in 
Waverley,  where  he  attended  school 
until  he  was  16  years  of  age.  He  was 
then  engaged  in  running  a  saw-mill, 
which  business  he  followed  until  about 
1883.  In  1861,  he  enlisted  in  Co.  C, 
6th  111.  Cav.,  and  served  throughout  the 
war.  He  was  engaged  in  the  battle's  of 
Nashville  and  Franklin,  and  was  on  the 
march  from  LaGrange  to  Baton  Rouge. 
Soon  after  his  discharge  he  came  to 
Greene  county,  and  engaged  in  running 
a  saw-mill.  In  1879,  he  moved  to 
Athensville,  where  he  engaged  in  mer- 
chandising, in  which  business  he  con- 
tinued three  years,  and  then  sold,  and 
has  since  been  milling  to  some  extent, 
lie  has  been  justice  of  the  peace  of 
Athensville  precinct  for  10  years.  He 
owns  a  residence  and  an  acre  of  land  in 
town.     He  was    married    in  Nov.,  1866, 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


993 


to  Hettie  A.  Tunnell,  daughter  of  Nich- 
olas M.  and  Martha  Tunnell.  They 
are  the  parents  of  eight  children — Ed- 
win, Charlie,  Frederick  A.,  Luella, 
Samuel  A.,  Emma  A.,  Dora  E.,  and 
Laura  A.  Mr.  Rigg  is  a  member  of  the 
Richwoods  Baptist  church,  and  is  a 
well  respected  citizen  of  his  township. 
John  D.  Johnson  was  horn  near  Jack- 
sonville, Morgan  county,  March  28, 
1843,  his  parents  being  Benjamin  and 
Mary  (Boyd)  Johnson,  the  former  a  na- 
tive of  Virginia,  the  latter  of  Kentucky. 
They  removed  from  Kentucky  to  Mor- 
gan county,  111.,  in  1829,  Benjamin  being 
the  first  Baptist  preacher  in  that  county. 
He  entered  320 acres  of  land  there,  made 
improvements  on  it  and  resided  there 
until  his  death,  March  18, 1861.  He  died 
standing  on  his  feet,  saying  that  he  de- 
sired to  die  in  that  way,  like  a  man. 
Mrs.  Johnson  survived  him  several 
years,  she  dying  July  4,  1873.  There 
were  seven  sons,  five  of  whom  were  min- 
isters, all  of  the  same  denomination. 
Those  living  are — Henry  L.,  Andrew 
Jackson,  Jonas  M.  and  John  D.  Those 
deceased  are  Commodore  P.,  Marcus  and 
Benjamin  F.  John  D.  was  reared  on  a 
farm,  remaining  at  home  until  he  was 
19  years  of  age,  and  attended  school. 
He  then  began  to  teach  school  at  $1  per 
day,  and  most  of  the  time  since  that, up 
to  about  two  years  ago,  he  has  engaged 
in  teaching  during  the  winter.  He  was 
united  in  marriage  April  14,  1863,  with 
Sarah  J.  Ford,  daughter  of  William  F. 
and  Lucinda  (Drummond)  Ford.  By 
this  marriage  seven  children  were  born, 
six  of  whom  are  living — Leonora;  Laura 
L.,  wife  of  T.  L.  Patterson,  Jr.,  residing 
near  Athensville;  Lulu  L.;  Henry  B., 
named  after  Gen.    Buell;    John  W.  R., 


and  Benjamin  P.  The  one  deceased  is 
Frank.  Nov.  29,  1861,  Mr.  Johnson 
enlisted  in  Co.  A.,  61st  111.  Inf.,  and 
served  nine  months,  being  then  dis- 
charged on  account  of  disability.  He 
was  in  the  battles  of  Corinth  and  Shiloh, 
and  in  a  few  small  skirmishes.  In  the 
spring  of  1867,  he  with  his  family  re- 
moved to  southeastern  Kansas,  Craw- 
ford county,  where  he  lived  about  three 
and  a  half  years,  and  then  came  to 
Greene  county,  111.  In  1874,  he  was  or- 
dained as  a  Baptist  minister,  at  Pleas- 
ant Dale  Baptist  church,  five  miles  west 
of  White  Hall,  and  has  been  pastor  of 
four  churches  since.  Mr.  Johnson  owns 
a  house  and  an  acre  of  land  in  Athens- 
ville, and  is  comfortably  fixed,  having 
all  the  necessary  improvements  on  his 
place. 

EDUCATIONAL. 

The  first  school  in  the  township  was 
taught  by  William  Mitchell  in  a  log 
house  erected  in  1835,  on  section  ■">. 
This  building  was  built  of  logs  and  fur- 
nished, as  all  the  primitive  schools 
were,  with  puncheon  floor  and  slab  seats. 
Mr.  Mitchell  was  paid  the  exorbitant 
salary  of  $15  per  month. 

School  district  No.  1,  had  a  school 
house  erected  in  1856,  at  a  cost  of 
$440.  and  is  22x24  feet  in  size.  The  first 
teacher  in  this  building  was  Elizabeth 
Heaton.  This  structure  stood  on  sec- 
tion 3,  was  used  until  1880,  when  it  was 
sold  to  J.  G.  Mitchell,  and  on  the  north- 
west quarter  of  the  northwest  quarter  of 
section  10,  the  present  building  was 
erected  at  a  cost  of  $5.r>0.  It  is  24x30 
feet  in  dimensions.  James  Story  was 
:  the  first  teacher  in  this  building,  and 
Mary  Reed  the  present  one. 


'.I'. 1 1 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


School  district  No.  2. — This  district 
has  a  school  house  located  upon  the 
southwest  quarter  of  the  northeast  quar- 
ter of  section  17,  and  which  was  erected 
in  1874.  The  first  teacher  in  this  house 
\v;ts  Theodore  Lee,  who  taught  two 
terms.  The  present  teacher  is  Walter 
Mullins.  Syrrel  Whitaker,  James  Bar- 
nard and  George  W.  Crayne  are  the 
directors  for  1885. 

In  district  No.  3  there  is  a  school 
house,  neat  and  commodious  in  appear- 
ance,  which  was  erected  in  1878. 

School  district  No.  4. — The  present 
school  house  was  built  in  1881  at  a  cost 
of  about  $500.  There  was  a  school  house 
built  previous  to  this  a  number  of  years 
ago.  The  present  teacher  in  this  dis- 
trict is  William  McCauley. 

School  district  No.  5.  — The  first 
school  house  in  this  district  was  erected 
in  1836,  on  the  site  of  the  present  one. 
This  was  a  log  structure,  20x24  feet  in 
size,  and  within  its  classic  walls  George 


Reynolds  was  the  first  to  wield  the 
bircli.  This  building  was  used  until 
1850,  when  a  frame  edifice,  18x20  feet 
in  size,  was  put  up.  An  addition  was 
afterward  put  to  this,  which  increased 
its  size  to  20x30  feet.  In  1881,  the  pres- 
ent edifice,  which  is  24x36  feet  in  ground 
.area,  was  built,  at  a  cost  of  about  $900. 
B.  P.  Vauter,  the  present  teacher,  has 
an  average  attendance  of  about  60 
pupils. 

School  district  No.  6  has  a  school 
house  which  was  erected  in  1876  and 
which  is  18x22  feet  in  size.  It  was  built 
at  a  cost  of  $300.  The  first  teacher  was 
Mary  J.  Reed,  a  Miss  Hall  being  the 
present  one.  The  average  attendance 
is  22  in  winter  and  seven  in  summer. 

In  district  No.  7  is  a  school  house  on 
the  southwest  quarter  of  section  1, 
which  was  erected  in  the  fall  of  1878. 
It  is  16x20  feet  size  and  cost  about  $250. 
Edward  Mason  was  the  first  and  Laura 
Story  is  the  present  teacher. 


GHAPTRR    XXIV. 


This  township  lies  in  the  western 
part  of  the  county,  on  the  Illinois  river, 
and  embraces  25   sections  of  township 

11.  range  13,  6  sections  of  township  11, 
range  12,  and  the  fractional  sections  1, 

12,  13,  24  and  25,  of  township  11,  range 
14.  It  is  bounded  on  the  north  by  the 
township  of  Patterson,  on  the  east  side 
by  White  Hall,  on  the  south  by  Bluff- 
dale, and  on  the  west  by  Calhoun  county, 


WALKERVILLE  TOWNSHIP. 

from  which  latter  it  is  separated  by  the 
Illinois  river.  Apple  creek  entering  at 
the  southeast  corner  of  the  township, 
winds  with  tortuous  course  through  sec- 
tion 25,  26,  27, 28,  30, 19, 20  and  the  frac- 
tional sections  east  of  these,  making  its 
confluence  with  the  river  just  below  the 
southern  boundary  line  in  Bluffdale 
township.  Here,  as  in  the  other  river 
township,  the  land  is  of  two    descrip- 


tions,the  west  half  being  the  rich, fertile, 
river  bottoms,  that  but  for  their  being 
liable  t<>  overflow  from  annual  freshets, 
would  have  no  peer  in  the  world,  and 
the  elevated  plateau  of  land  on  the  top 
of  the  bluffs.  A  large  portion  of  the 
bottom,  in  this  county  is  taken  up  by 
Grassy  lake,  a  shallow  body  of  water 
lying  near  the  foot  of  the  bluffs.  These 
latter  traverse  the  county  in  a  north  and 
south  direction  to  the  hanks  of  Apple 
creek,  and  are,  here,  in  the  neighbor- 
hood of  300  feet  high.  On  the  upland, 
the  bulk  of  the  land  is  covered  by  a  fine 
growth  of  timber,  except  where  the  en- 
terprising hand  of  man,  has  with  vast 
labor,  cleared  up  a  farm.  Most  of  the 
first  comers  to  this  part  of  the  county 
were  from  the  southern  states, as  will  be 
seen  by  a  glance  over  the 

'     EARLY    SETTLEMENT 

It  is  very  difficult,  at  this  late  day,  to 
determine  who  was  the  first  to  make  a 
settlement  in  the  territory  now  com- 
prised in  the  township  of  Walkerville, 
but  the  balance  of  testimony  seems  to 
be,  that  the  pioneers  of  this  locality 
were  Henry  and  Cyrus  Griswold.  In 
1820,  they  entered  165  acres  of  land,  on 
Sec.  6,  T.  11,  R.  12.  where  they  built  a 
cabin  and  dwelt  about  three  years, 
when  they  removed  to  White  Hall 
township,  in  connection  with  the  his- 
tory of  which  a  sketch  of  them  is 
given. 

The  next  was  John  Powel,  who  came 
from  his  native  state,  Kentucky,  to  this 
county,  in  1821,  settling  in  this  town- 
ship, on  section  21,  where  he  resided 
until  overtaken  by  death.  His  son, 
James,  who  was  born  in  Kentucky,  in 
1810,  remained  a   resident  of  this  town- 


ship until  1830,  when  he  was  married 
to  Harriet,  a  daughter  of  Obadiah  and 
Sally  Silk  wood,  when  he  removed  in 
Madison  county,  this  state.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Powel  died  in  that  county,  and  are 
buried  there.  Some  of  their  family  are 
still  residents  of  this  county. 

With  Mr.  Powel,  came  Davis  Carter. 
who,  in  the  spring  of  1820,  made  a  set- 
tlement here.  An  extended  sketch  of 
this  representative  pioneer  will  lie  seen 
in  the  history  of  Patterson  township. 

In  the  spring  of  1824  Obadiah  Silk- 
wood  came  to  this  township,  and  set- 
tled on  section  15,  where  lie  passed  the 
remainder  of  his  days.  Some  of  his 
descendants  are  still  residing  in  this 
count\T.  He  was  a  native  of  Kentucky, 
and  removed  from  there  to  St.  Clair 
county,  111.,  and  from  there  to  this 
county. 

John  Walker  came  to  Walkerville 
township,  to  which  in  after  years  he 
gave  the  name,  and  located  on  section 
24. 

Hartwell  Hunnicutt  made  a  settlement 
in  this  township  in  1823,  on  section  20, 
moving  here  from  Bluffdale  township. 
He  died  here  in  1833.  A  sketch  of  him 
appears  in  Bluffdale  township,  the  place 
of  his  first  settlement  in  the  county. 

John  C.  Wells  came  to  this  part  of 
the  county  in  1823,  or  thereabouts  and 
entering  a  farm  in  this  township,  com- 
menced to  improve  it.  He  was  a  na- 
tive of  Tennessee,  but  while  yet  a  young 
man  came  to  this  state.  He  located  at 
Alton  and  entered  the  butcher  busine^. 
While  there  he  took  a  hand  in  destroy- 
ing the  office  of  an  abolition  paper 
printed  by  E.  P.  Lovejoy.  Coming  to 
Greene  county,  he  was  united  in  mar- 
riage with  Hannah  Garrison.  Some  time 


996 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COL  X  TY. 


after  this  he  removed  to  Jefferson  coun- 
ty, and  from  there  to  Scottcounty.  He 
returned  here  in  1853,  again  settling  in 
this  township  and  here  he  lost  his  wife. 
When  the  dark  cloud  of  war  hung  over 
our  country,  he  enlisted  in  Co.  H,  91st 
111.  Inf.,  and  died  while  in  the  service, 
June  10,  1S63. 

Alexander  S.  Boirun  and  family  set- 
tled in  what  is  now  Walkerville  town- 
ship in  1827. 

Benjamin  Joseph  Boirun,  deceased, 
was  horn  in  Madison  county,  111.,  Feb. 
23,  1820,  his  parents  being  Alexander 
S.  and  Polly  I  Wood)  Boirun,  the  former 
of  whom  was  horn  Dee.  2,  1792,  and  the 
latter  Aug.  30,  1801.  The  family  came 
to  Greene  county,  111.,  at  an  early  day, 
and  located  under  the  bluff,  in  what  is 
now  Walkerville  township.  Here  Ben- 
jamin J.  was  reared  and  resided  up  to 
the  time  of  his  death,  which  occurred 
Jan.  28,  1863.  He  was  united  in  mar- 
riage Sept.  7,  1848,  with  Maria  Jane 
Wood,  a  native  of  Missouri,  and  daugh- 
ter of  William  and  Nancy  (Kline) 
Wood,  both  of  whom  were  born  and 
reared  in  the  state  of  Tennessee,  from 
whence  they  removed  to  Missouri  at  an 
early  day.  They  came  to  Greene  coun- 
ty, 111.,  in  1827,  and  located  about  five 
miles  west  of  White  Hall,  in  what  is 
now  Walkerville  township,  where  they 
resided  until  their  death,  the  former  dy- 
ing about  1870,  and  the  latter  in  1840. 
They  are  both  buried  in  the  Wood  ceme- 
tery. Mr.  and  Mrs.  Boirun  were  the 
parents  of  six  children,  three  of  whom 
are  living — Silvia  Jane,  wife  of  Elisha 
Bridgewater  ;  Sarah  C,  who  died  at  the 
age  of  five  years;  John  Wesley,  who 
died  in  1863;  William  A.  married  Har- 
riet A.  Kinser;  Geo.  D.  married  Nancy 


Watts.  Mrs.  Boirun  was  next  married 
to  Isaiah  Whiteman.  By  that  marriage 
she  had  one  child,  Charles,  who  now 
lives  with  his  mother.  Jan.  21,  1875, 
Mrs.  Whitman  was  united  in  marriage 
with  Joseph  Tomlinson.  She  owns  400 
acres  of  well  cultivated  land  in  Walker- 
ville township. 

James  Fears  located  in  this  township 
in  1830,  coming  here  from  White  Hall 
township,  where  he  had  settled  the  pre- 
vious year.  He  took  up  his  residence 
on  section  11.  He  was  a  Tennessean 
and  was  married  in  the  state  of  his  na- 
tivity to  Catherine  Douglas.  They  were 
the  parents  of  12  children.  Mr.  Fears 
died  here  in  1862. 

Mrs.  Lucinda  (Crafton)  Vinyard,  who 
was  married  to  John  Vinyard,  who  died 
in  Kentucky,  in  1825,  came  to  this  county 
from  that  state  in  1831,  settling  in  what 
is  now  known  as  Walkersville  township, 
where  she  resided  until  her  death,  about 
the  year  1853.  She  is  buried  in  the 
Walkerville  cemetery.  Some  of  her 
children  still  survive  her  and  are  resi- 
dents of  this  township. 

John  Suttles  settled  in  this  township 
in  1831.  He  was  born  in  1810,  and  with 
his  father's  family  came  to  Illinois  in 
1821,  locating  in  Madison  county,  from 
where  he  came  to  Greene  county.  He 
made  this  his  residence  until  1863,  where 
he  died. 

Jesse  Suttles,  the  father  of  John  Sut- 
tles, came  to  this  county  in  the  year 
1831. 

Philip  Wells,  in  the  year  1834,  made 
a  settlement  in  this  township,  on  section 
2,  but  afterward  removed  to  section  9. 
He  died  January  1,  1856. 

Samuel  Wells,  his  son, came  with  him. 
He  was  born  in  Kentucky,  in  Sept.  1809, 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


997 


but  was  reared  in  Hickman  county,  Ten- 
nessee. In  1822  the  family  moved  to 
Nashville,  and  from  there,  in  1829,  to 
Hamilton  county,  all  in  the  same  state. 
The  next  move  was  to  Greene  county, 
as  above  Btated.  Samuel  moved  to  sec- 
tion 11,  in  1847,  where  he  still  lives. 

REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS. 

Bainbridge  Gillingham,  one  of  Walk- 

erville's  most  prominent  citizens,  is  a 
native  of  Merrimac  county,  N.  H,,  hav- 
ing been  born  there  on  the  15th  of  Sep- 
tember, 1S'26,  his  parent-  being  James 
and  Elizabeth  (Lane)  Gillingham,  both 
of  whom  were  natives  of  the  same  state. 
Bainbridge  was  reared  to  agricultural 
pursuits  in  his  native  state,  where  he 
remained  until  coining  to  Illinois  in 
1849.  At  that  time,  he  located  in 
Greene  county,  buying  land  upon  which 
he  now  resides,  on  section  2.'!,  Walker- 
ville  township.  He  was  united  in  mar- 
riage, in  this  county,  on  the  22d  day  of 
Jan  ,  1857,  with  Mrs.  Juliet  A.  E.  Til- 
den,  widow  of  Alfred  Tilden,  and  daugh- 
ter of  John  and  Laura  i  Spencer  i  Russell. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Gillingham  have  been 
blessed  with  two  children — Willis,  who 
married  Elizabeth  Tatman,  and  now  re- 
sides in  this  township;  and  Daisy  Jose- 
phine, the  wife  of  Dr.  G.  W.  Ross,  of 
Carrollton.  Mrs.  Gillingham  has,  by 
her  first  marriage,  four  children  living 
— Charlotte  S.,  wife  of  L.  B.  Richard- 
son, of  Danville,  111.;  Elizabeth  F., 
wife  of  Stephen  F.  Farrow,  of  Kingman, 
Kan.;  Mattie  L.,  widow  of  1).  C.  Rum- 
mell,  of  Virginia,  this  state;  and  Kate 
R.,  wife  of  John  W.  Gamble,  of  Bluff- 
dale  township.  Mr.  Gillingham  is  now 
the  owner  of  428  acres  of  good  land,  all 
situated  in  this  township.     He  is  vice- 


president  of  the  Old  Settlers' Society, 
having  first  been  elected  in  1884,  and 
again  in  1885,  and  in  politics,  is  a  re- 
publican. Both  he  and  his  wife  are 
consistent  members  of  the  White  Hall 
Christian  church. 

Harry  Rollins  was  born  in  Warren 
county.  N.  Y.,.Ian.  15,  1806,  his  parents 
being  James  and  Hepzibah  (  Greenwood  i 
Rollins.  He  was  reared  in  his  native 
state,  to  farm  life,  and  remained  there 
until  1854,  when  he  came  to  Greene 
county.  He  lived  the  first  year  with 
B.  Gillingham,  and  the  next  year  pur- 
chased 128  acres  on  section  23,  Walker- 
ville  township,  where  he  has  sine 
sided.  He  was  married  in  New  York, 
in  1833,  to  Hannah  Lane,  a  nat: 
New  Hampshire.  They  were  the  par- 
ents of  eight  children,  six  of  whom  are 
living — Samantha,  Hepzibah,  Thomas, 
Alonzo,  deceased;  Orson,  Juliet,  de- 
ceased; Lucina  and  Joseph.  He  is  the 
owner  of  56  acres  of  land  on  section  23, 
Walkerville  township. 

Orson  Rollins,  the  second  youngesl 
son  of  Harry  and  Hannah  i  Lane  Rol- 
lins, was  born  in  Warren  county,  N.  Y., 
Mays,  1840.  He  remained  in  his  na- 
tive county  until  reaching  his  14th  year, 
when,  with  his  parents,  he  came  to 
Greene  county,  and  has  made  this  his 
home  ever  since.  He  was  united  in 
marriage,  in  this  county,  Nov.  26,  1866, 
with  Anna  Lovett,  a  native  of  New  York. 
and  daughter  of  Charles  Lovett.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Rollins  are  the  parents  of 
four  children — Ida  May,  Etta,  Harry 
and  Fred.  He  owns  2o6  acres  of  land 
in  Walkerville  township,  and  di 
his  attention  principally  to  farming  and 
stock-raising.  He  enlisted  in  the  ser- 
vice of  his  country,  in  1861,  in  Co.  <i. 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


10th  Mo.  Inf.,  and  served  with  his  reg- 
i in i mi t  until  his  discharge,  in  1862.  He 
was  mustered  in  at  St.  Louis.  During 
the  first  part  of  his  service  he  was  en- 
gaged in  operations  in  Missouri.  He 
went  with  Rosecrans  to  Mississippi,  and 
while  there  took  an  active  part  in  the 
battle  of  Iuka.  The  next  engagement 
in  which  he  participated  was  that  of 
Corinth,  where  he  was  wounded  in  the 
left  arm,  and  had  to  have  it  amputated. 
On  this  account  he  was  discharged,  hav- 
ing honorably  lost  a  limb  in  defense  of 
the  Union.  Since  coming  to  Greene 
county,  Mr.  Rollins  has  never  made  his 
home  permanent,  but  has  accumulated, 
from  time  to  time,  until  he  now  ranks 
among  the  prosperous  men  of  the  town- 
ship. 

I  i  eorge  Hoselton,  one  of  Walkerville's 
prominent  agriculturists,  is  a  native  of 
Ohio,  having  been  born  in  Fairfield 
county,  on  March  17,  1832,  being  a  son 
of  John  and  Nancy  (  Buzzard)  Hoselton, 
tin'  tuvmer  being  a  native  of  Maryland, 
and  the  latter  of  Ohio.  George  was 
reared  in  Ohio,  and  when  17  years  of 
age,  walked  from  there  to  Ft.  Wayne, 
Ind.,  carrying  his  pack.  After  remaining 
there  a  short  time  he  went  to  LaGrange, 
where  he  spent  that  winter,  and  in  the 
spring  returned  to  Ft.  Wayne.  He  re- 
mained there  until  Sept.,  1850,  and  then 
came  to  Greene  county,  locating  south 
of  Carrollton.  He  lived  in  Greene  and 
Jersey  counties,  alternately,  until  1850, 
since  which  time  he  has  resided  in 
Greene  almost  continuously.  On  Oct. 
11,  1852,  Jane  Hunnicutt  became  the 
beloved  wife  of  Mr.  Hoselton.  She  isa 
native  of  this  county,  and  was  a  daugh- 
ter of  Rowell  Hunnicutt,  one  of  the 
early  settlers  of  the  county,  and  whose 


sketch  appears  elsewhere  in  this  vol- 
ume. Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hoselton  are  the 
happy  parents  of  eight  children — Mary, 
who  resides  in  Missouri;  Ellen,  Lee, 
Nora,  John,  Edgar,  Ross  and  Julia. 
Mr.  H.  has  200  acres  of  good  land  in 
Walkerville  township,  and  his  house  is 
one  of  the  finest  in  this  section  of  the 
county,  in  dimension  being  21x14  and 
30x14,  with  an  L,  26x14.  The  building 
is  handsomely  fitted  up  with  trimmings 
and  porches,  and  is  two  and  a  half 
stories  in  height.  By  marriage,  Mr. 
Hoselton  is  connected  with  one  of  the 
oldest  families  in  the  county,  which 
figured  in  its  early  history.  John  Hos- 
elton. the  father  of  our  subject,  died  in 
Jersey  county,  in  Jan.,  1880,  and  his 
widow  now  resides  in  Mississippi  town- 
ship. 

Aaron  Otey,  one  of  Walkerville's  in- 
telligent citizens,  is  a  native  of  Mont- 
gomery county,  Virginia,  and  was  born 
March  11,  1851,  his  parents  being  Sam- 
uel and  Nancy  (Conner)  Otey,  both  of 
whom  were  natives  of  the  state  of  Vir- 
ginia, the  former  having  departed  this 
life  in  1858,  and  the  latter  in  1862. 
Aaron  remained  in  his  native  state  un- 
til reaching  his  17th  year,  when  he  re- 
moved to  Ohio.  His  destination  was 
Greene  county,  111.  He  walked  across 
the  mountains,  and  being  out  of  funds, 
necessary  for  traveling,  he  stopped  at 
Gallipolis,  Ohio,  where  he  secured 
work,  and  attended  school.  He  re- 
mained there  five  years,  the  last  three 
months  of  which  time  he  was  engaged 
in  teaching  school.  He  then  came  to 
this  county,  arriving  August  28,  1S73, 
and  has  ever  since  been  engaged  in 
teaching,  with  the  exception  of  one  win- 
ter.    March  15,  1874,  he  was  united  in 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


999 


marriage  with  Nancy  Bashon,  a  native 
of  Ohio.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Otey  are  the 
parents  of  five  children — Harry  E., 
Mabel  M.,  Lucy  M.,  Ellen  F.  and  Maude. 
Mr.  Otey  is  the  owner  of  60  acres  of  land 
in  Walkerville  township,  and  at  present 
is  teaching  school  in  district  No.   1. 

Cassius  Hesket  was  born  in  Guernsey 
county,  Ohio,  May  29,  1829,  his  parents 
being  Landon  and  Rachel  (Galloway) 
Hesket.  Cassius  was  reared  in  his 
native  county,  in  Ohio,  where  he  re- 
mained until  he  had  attained  the  age  of 
32  years,  when  he  removed  to  this  state 
and  took  up  his  residence  in  what  is 
now  Walkerville  township.  He  re- 
moved to  his  present  location,  on  Sec. 
11,  T.  11.  R.  13,  in  1857.  Cassius 
Hesket  and  Sarah  M.  Collins,  a  native 
of  Ohio,  were  united  in  marriage,  in 
their  native  state,  on  Sept.  11,  1862. 
As  a  result  of  this  marriage,  there  were 
six  children  born  to  them,  four  of  whom 
are  now  living — Homer  Ellwood,  mar- 
ried Ella  Cox  ;  Artlissa  ;  Emily  Caro- 
line, wife  of  Samuel  Johnson ;  and 
Mina  Elizabeth.  Two  of  their  chil- 
dren, Sarah  Jane  and  Rosa  Bella,  are 
dead.  Mr.  Hesket  is  now  the  possessor 
of  160  acres  of  land  in  Walkerville 
township,  which  is  well  improved. 
Both  of  Mr.  H.'s  parents  died  in  the 
state  of  Ohio. 

Anselam  Myers  is  a  native  of  Greene 
county,  Illinois.  His  parents  being 
Elisha  and  Rebecca  (Chapman)  Myers. 
Anselam  was  reared  to  farm  life  and  fol- 
lowed that  pursuit  uninterruptedly  un- 
til Oct.  23,  1865,  when  he  enlisted  in 
the  10th  Mo.,  Inf.  He  served  three 
years  and  four  months  before  returning 
home,  and  participated  in  the  following 
engagements — Shiloh,    Corinth,     Iuka, 


Tallahatchie,  Jackson,  Miss.,  Champion 
Hills,  siege  of  Vicksburg,  Chattanooga, 
and  Lookout  Mountain,  and  went  with 
Sherman  as  far  as  Atlanta,  Ga.  After 
his  discharge,  Mr.  Myers  removed  to 
Logan  county,  111.,  where  he  remained 
some  three  years,  and  then  returned  to 
this  county,  where  he  has  since  re- 
sided. Anselam  Myers  was  united  in 
marriage,  July  4,  1858,  with  Susan  E. 
Hudson,  daughter  of  Drury  Hudson, 
and  his  wife,  both  natives  of  Kentucky. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Myers  were  the  parents 
of  five  children,  three  of  whom  are  now 
living — John  H.,  Lillie  B.  and  William 
J.  Mrs.  Myers  departed  this  life  1»>  c. 
20,  1879,  and  was  interred  in  the  Walk- 
erville cemetery.  Mr.  Myers  was 
again  married,  March  7,  1882,  to  Alice 
R.  VanMeter,  a  native  of  Illinois.  By 
this  marriage  there  are  two  children — 
Luella  M.  and  Harry  LeRoy.  Mr. 
Myers  is  the  present  road  commissioner 
of  his  district,  and  divides  his  atten- 
tion between  the  raising  of  stock  and 
grain.  He  is  the  possessor  of  40  acres 
of  landon  Sec.  14,  T.  11.  R.  13. 

Nicholas  Schier  was  born  in  I 
Prussia,  Aug.  22,  1819,  and  is  a  son  of 
Joseph  and  Catherine  (Binns)  Schier, 
natives  of  Prussia.  He  received  his  ed- 
ucation in  his  native  country,  and,  after 
reaching  manhood,  he  engaged  in  the 
milling  business  there  for  11  years,  in 
1852,  after  bidding  adieu  to  friends  ami 
home,  he  sailed  down  the  river  Rhine, 
to  Rotterdam,  and  from  there  to  Goole, 
England,  where  he  went,  byrailroad,  to 
Liverpool.  He  there  took  passage  for 
America,  on  a  vessel  hound  for  New 
Orleans,  and  after  a  voyage  of  nine 
weeks,  he  arrived  at  the  Crescent  City, 
and  then  came  up  to  St.  Louis.     There. 


1  ( II II ) 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY 


in  August,  1857,  he  was  married  to 
Catherine  Baltes,  a  native  of  Prussia. 
By  this  marriage  there  were  five  chil- 
dren, all  of  whom  are  deceased.  His 
wife  died  Sept.  15,  1865,  and  Mr.  Schier 
«as  again  married  to  Mary  Taffner,  also 
a  native  of  Prussia.  This  union  was 
blessed  with  five  children,  one  of  whom 
died  in  infancy.  Those  living  are — 
Katie,  Elizabeth,  Johnnie,  and  Chris- 
tina. Mr.  Schier  lias  40  acres  of  land 
on  Sec.  2,  T.  11,  R.  13,  and  divides  his 
attention  between  raising  stock  and 
is  a  steady,  industrious  farmer.  He 
came  to  this  county  in  1855. 

FIRST    ITEMS. 

The  first  religious  services  were  held 
in  the  house  of  John  Walker,  by  Wil- 
liam J.  McAdams. 

The  first  death  was  that  of  James, 
son  of  Obediah  Silkwood,  in  1822. 

First  school  was  taught  by  Hartwell 
Hunnicutt,  in  1X24,  in  a  log  cabin  on 
section  23. 

The  first  marriage  took  place  in  1826, 
when  Hezekiah  Crosby  and  Eliza  Silk- 
wood  united  their  destinies. 

EDUCATIONAL. 

The  pioneer  school  of  this  township 
was  taught  by  Hartwell  Hunnicutt,  in 
1824,  in  a  temporary  log  structure  erec- 
ted by  the  citizens  of  that  neighbor- 
hood. The  building  was  located  upon 
section  23,  northeast  of  the  present 
home  of  Bainbridge  Gillingham.  About 
the  year  1830,  the  old  pioneer  land- 
mark of  education  was  destroyed  by 
lire.  Mr.  Hunnicutt  was  a  teacher  in 
i  he  schools  of  the  township  for  a  num- 
ber of  years,  and  was  the  father  of  one 
'■I'  its  present  citizens,  Rowell. 


School  district  No.  1,  had  the  first 
school  house  erected  in  1841,  where  the 
church  on  section  11  now  stands.  It 
was  an  humble  log  cabin.  The  pioneer 
teacher  was  Isaac  Osborn.  About  1853, 
a  frame  school  building  was  erected, 
near  the  old  one,  which  lasted  until 
1878,  when  the  present  frame  building 
was  put  up.  Aaron  (Key  is  the  present 
pedagogue. 

School  district  No.  5. — The  first 
school  house  in  the  district  was  erected 
in  1879,  and  is  the  one  used  at  present. 
The  first  teacher  was  James  Ingram. 
The  present  directors  are  W.  A.  Hubi- 
bard,  Hiram  Powel  and  Daniel  Otey. 
The  present  teacher  is  Mary  King. 


At  the  township  organization  in  1885, 
the  following  officers  were  duly  elected 
to  fill  the  positions  made  by  the  new 
method  of  government:  James  M.  Otey, 
supervisor;  J.  H.  Greene,  clerk;  I.  R. 
Kinser,  assessor;  William  Yinyard, 
collector;  John  Painter  and  H.  T.  Hun- 
nicutt, justices;  Floyd  Otey  and  B.  R. 
Cox,  constables;  Ensel  Myers,  Wash. 
Brubaker  and  John  C.  Price,  highway 
commissioners. 

WALKERV1LLE. 

In  1835,  John  Walker,  one  of  the 
earl}'  settlers,  conceived  the  idea  of 
laying  out  a  town  on  his  farm  on  section 
24,  T.  11,  R.  13.  This  he  proceeded  to 
do,  and  on  the  18th  of  July.  1831'.,  he 
filed  for  record,  with  the  clerk  of  the 
circuit  court,  a  plat  of  the  town.  Mr. 
Walker  was  the  first  resident  of  the 
town  site. 

The  pioneer  store  building  was  put 
up   by   Jason    C.    Lewis,    in    1836,   and 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


KMIl 


dealt  in  all  the  miscellaneous  goods  us- 
ually dispensed  in  stores,  in  early 
times,  and  sometimes  now,  in  small 
places.  The  postoftiee  was  established 
about  this  time,  and  Mr.  Lewis  was  ap- 
pointed postmaster,  and  served  several 
years. 

Squire  Vinyard  built  one  of  the  first 
residences  in  the  town,  and  he  put  up  a 
building  and  was  the  second  to  open  a 
store  here.  After  a  time  he  sold  out  to 
Kinser  and  Brantlett. 

The  latter  firm  was  not  very  long  in 
business,  when  they  became  bankrupt, 
were  closed  out,  and  have  removed  from 
the  village. 

They  were  succeeded  by  Ezra  Swank, 
who  kept  the  postofnce  in  his  store. 
In  thepostmastership,  he  was  succeeded 
by  Jesse  Ballard,  and  he,  in  1884,  by 
E.  J.  Green,  and  he  in  turn,  by  Kane 
Fields.  The  latter  is  the  present  in- 
cumbent. Mr.  Swank  died  in  the  fall 
of  1882. 

J.  H.  Greene  is  one  of  the  present 
representatives  of  the  business  of  the 
place,  dividing  with  Kane  Fields  the 
general  merchandise  business  of  the 
place. 

Kane  Fields,  one  of  the  merchants, 
started  in  business  in  this  place,  in 
May,  1SS4.  His  store  room  is  18x30 
feet  in  size,  two  stories  high,  the  upper 
room  having  formerly  been  used  as  a 
hall  for  dancing.  This  structure  was 
built  by  Thomas  S.  Tatman,  and  was 
used  at  first  as  a  saloon,  but  afterwards 


a  small  stock  of  goods  was  put  in  by 
him.  Ezra  Swank  succeeded  him,  but 
moving  out,  it  remained  idle  until  Mr. 
Fields  opened  his  stock  here.  He  car- 
ries groceries,  boots  and  shoes,  flour,  etc. 


The  Christian  church,  of Walkerville, 
was   organized   April     1,    1861,    at    the 

school  house  in  Walkerville,  Revs.  J. 
W.  Miller  and  Hiram  Hess  officiating. 
The  first  members  were,  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
B.  Gillingham,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  E.  B. 
Mays,  Elsie  Mays,  Andrew  Kelley,  Sr., 
Jordan  Suttles  and  Elizabeth  Suttles. 
The  congregation  has  no  church  edifice 
as  yet,  worshipping  in  the  school  house 
still. 

Andrew  Kelley,  early  in  the  history 
of  the  little  village,  built  a  blacksmith 
shop  and  therein  set  up  the  first  forge 
in  it.  He  continued  for  many  years  ami 
was  succeeded  by  his  son,  D.  Kelley, 
and  he  by  Washington  Brubaker. 

The  edifice  in  which  school  is  held 
was  erected  in  1855  by  Newton  Cox,  and 
is  18x26  in  dimensions,  and  one  story 
high.  The  first  teacher  was  Samuel 
Wing.  The  present  one  is  Maggie  Kil- 
larney.  The  directors  are,  Jesse  Ballard, 
Albert  Swank  and  Robert  Allen. 

Walkerville  once  was  ambitious,  and 
for  a  time  promised  to  become  one  of 
the  leading  villages  in  the  county,  but 
the  railroads  of  this  section  passing  nil 
around  it,  has  naturally  forced  it  into 
a  decline. 


1(1(12 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


GHAPTRR     XXV. 


CARROLLTON   TOWNSHIP. 


The  township  of  Carrollton,  one  of 
the  most  beautiful  in  the  county,  em- 
braces all  of  township  10,  range  12,  and 
all  that  part  of  township  11,  range  12, 
that  lies  south  of  Apple  creek,  and  alto- 
gether comprises  about  45  sections  of 
most  excellent  land.  The  surface  is 
most  beautifully  diversified,  containing 
almost  level  prairie,  rolling  prairie, 
timbered  land,  cleared  land,  hills  and 
hollows,  and  the  picturesqueness  and 
beauty  of  the  scenery  is  almost  unsur- 
passed in  the  eyes  of  the  cultivated 
viewer.  In  the  north  part,  Apple 
creek,  with  its  smaller  affluents,  afford 
an  abundance  of  water,  and  in  the 
southern  part,  tributaries  of  the  Ma- 
coupin creek  furnish  water,  as  well  as 
drain  the  surrounding  country.  The 
soil  is  the  rich,  dark,  loamy  soil,  so 
characteristic  of  this  section  of  the 
state,  and  for  fertility  and  productive 
power  has  no  superior  in  the  world. 
Corn,  wheat,  oats,  barley  and  the  other 
cereals  flourish  luxuriantly,  while  vege- 
tables and  fruits  bear  abundant  evi- 
dence of  the  nourishing  qualities  of  the 
soil,  and  indigenous  and  imported 
grasses  run  wild  in  a  marvel  of  incredi- 
ble growth.  The  C.  &  A.  R.  R.  passes 
through  the  entire  township,  from  north 
to  south,  and,  with  the  L.,  C.  &  W.  R. 
R.,  affords  easy  facilities  for  communi- 
cation with  the  markets  of  the  world. 
Carrollton  and  Berdan  are  the  towns  in 
this  township. 


EARLY    SETTLEMENT. 

During  the  summer  of  1818,  Samuel 
Thomas  came  to  Greene  county,  and, 
arriving  on  the  banks  of  the  Macoupin, 
cast  his  eyes  over  at  the  earthly  para- 
dise north  of  the  creek,  as  yet,  totally 
uninhabited,  and,  fording  that  stream, 
came  to  section  33,  where,  in  August, 
he  erected  a  cabin.  He  had  been  in 
this  neighborhood  in  1816,  and  cut  some 
hay,  and  made  some  preparations  look- 
ing to  a  residence,  but  the  Indians  de- 
stroyed the  result  of  his  labors. 

Samuel  Thomas  was  a  native  of  Pen- 
dleton  county,    S.    C,    born    Sept.    13, 

1794.  He  was  the  youngest  of  five 
children,  of  Irwin  and  Elizabeth  (Hub- 
bard) Thomas.     His  father  died  in  July, 

1795,  when  Samuel  was  less  than  a  year 
old.  After  her  husband's  death,  his 
widow  labored  in  the  field  and  garden,  to 
keep  her  children  together,  and  provide 
for  them.  She,  in  about  a  year,  was 
united  in  marriage  with  Wm.  Hamilton, 
by  whom  she  had  five  children.  He 
proved  an  excellent  husband  and  kind 
father  to  his  step-children.  About  1802, 
the  family  removed  to  Kentucky,  and 
located  in  Caldwell  county,  where  Sam- 
uel was  reared  to  firm  life.  He  had 
but  meager  facilities,  but,  through  his 
indomitable  energy,  mannged  to  learn 
to  read  and  write,  and  to  acquire  a  fair 
education,  being  almost  entirely  self- 
taught.  In  1811,  his  step-father  died, 
and  his  mother  married  a  man  by  the 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


1003 


name  of  John  Flint:  In  1822,  Mr. 
Flint  died,  and  his  widow,  with  her  son, 
Lewis  Hamilton,  came  to  Greene  county, 
but,  after  about  a  year,  moved  to  Adams 
county.  111.,  where  she  died  in  1840.  In 

1813,  in  company  with  two  of  his  broth- 
ers-in-law, Reason  Reagan  and  Dennis 
Davis,  and  their  wives  and  children, 
came  to  Illinois,  landing  at  the  forks  of 
Wood  river.  Here  he  showed  his  me- 
chanical ingenuity,  by  building  a  loom 
for  his  sister,  a  species  of  furniture  he 
often  made  afterward.  In  the  summer  of 

1814,  he  joined  the  company  of  rangers, 
under  Capt.  Judy,  but  after  a  short 
campaign,  joined  Capt.  Whiteside's 
company,  and  continued  in  that  service 
until  peace  was  declared.  While  on 
one  of  his  trips,  he  passed  over  what  is 
now  Greene  county,  in  1816.  After  his 
return  from  the  war,  Mr.  Thomas  put  in 
a  crop  of  corn,  in  what  is  now  Madison 
county,  and  June  4,  1816,  he  was  united 
in  marriage  with  Elizabeth  Isley.  Mrs. 
Thomas  was  born  in  Sullivan  county, 
Tenn.,  Sept.  2,  1796,  and  was  the  daugh- 
ter of  Philip  and  Margaret  Isley.  In  a 
few  days,  the  young  couple  moved  into 
a  cabin  which  he  had  built,  where  he 
lived  about  two  years.  He  then  made 
a  trip  to  Greene  county,  as  recounted 
elsewhere,  and  in  Aug.,  1818,  built  a 
cabin  on  the  section  where  he  long 
lived.  Nov.  9,  1818.  he  arrived,  with 
his  family,  at  this  cabin,  and  made  a 
settlement,  which  was  the  first  in  the 
county  north  of  Macoupin  creek,  and 
here  he  lived  the  balance  of  his  natural 
life.  Mr.  Thomas  and  wife  were  blessed 
with  twelve  children,  of  whom  eleven 
are  yet  living,  as  follows — John  I.,  who 
was  a  small  child  when  his  parents 
immigrated  to  their  present  residence, 


is  married  and  settled  near  the  obi 
homestead,  whose  sketch  is  given  else- 
where; Eliza  J.,  wife  of  the  well  known 
and  successful  agriculturist,  Jeduthan 
B.  Eldred;  Mary  A.,  who  was  married 
to  Win.  H.  Bowlin,  and  after  his  death, 
married  Francis  Brown,  both  of  Pike 
county;  Nancy,  wife  of  Otis  Haskins, 
of  Pike  county,  111.;  Elizabeth  A.,  the 
wifeof  John  Clemnions;  Lewis  H.,  and 
Samuel  R.,  now  living  in  Montgom- 
ery county;  Matilda  A.,  wife  of  Dr.  C. 
P.  Clemmons,  of  Carrollton;  William  D., 
residing  on  his  farm,  which  is  in  close 
proximity  to  the  old  homestead;  Cath- 
arine M.,  the  wife  of  John  Rainey 
Henry  D.,  residing  near  Virden,  Mont- 
gomery county;  Gila  A.,  the  only  child 
(In cased,  died  July  27th,  1883.  In 
1839,  Mr.  Thomas  built  a  large  and 
commodious  brick  house,  in  which  he 
resided  until  called  by  death  to  cross 
the  dark  river.  From  his  earliest  rec- 
ollection; Mr.  Thomas  ever  loved  the 
beautiful  scenery  and  pleasures  of  na- 
ture, the  sweet  fragrance  of  flowers,  the 
beauty  of  green  pastures,  inviting 
groves,  and  sparkling  water  courses; 
and,  more  than  this,  he  loved  the  rich, 
productive  soil,  that  had  made  himself 
and  children  opulent.  Whatever  he 
undertook  he  did  with  all  his  might, 
and,  with  well  developed  order,  worked 
to  successful  ends.  He  was  plain  in 
manners,  companionable  in  intercourse, 
and  genial  indisposition;  and,  from  the 
clearness  of  his  mind,  and  elasticity  of 
his  step,  we  hardly  recognized  the  fact 
that  he  lived  an  active  life  for  upwards 
of  three-quarters  of  a  century.  He  was 
a  little  impetuous  sometimes,  but  usu- 
ally well  guarded,  and  found  to  he 
nearly  right  in  his  conclusions.   He  was 


Kin! 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


one  of  those  men  who  were  always  look- 
ing ahead.  Truthfulness  and  sobriety 
were  among  his  shining  virtues;  honor- 
able and  reliable,  he  was  a  fair  example 
of  the  older  pioneers  of  the  west.  Mr. 
Thomas  was  long  identified  with  the 
best  interests  of  the  country,  of  which 
he  was  a  loyal  citizen,  whether  in  the 
proudness  of  her  prosperity,  or  in  the 
darker  and  humbler  hours  of  her  adver- 
sity. He  gave  to  the  Union  his  quiet, 
though  earnest,  support,  and  even  when 
the  state  of  his  nativity  was  in  arms 
against  the  life  of  the  government,  it 
had  no  influence  in  swerving  him  from 
the  determination  of  standing  firm  to  the 
cause  of  the  Union.  Mr.  Thomas  died 
at  his  residence  near  Carrollton,  in  the 
fullness  of  time,  mourned  by  a  large  cir- 
cle of  friends,  and  by  the  community  in 
general. 

One  of  the  most  prominent  and  rep- 
resentative men  of  Greene  county,  and 
one  of  the  oldest  living  residents,  is 
John  I.  Thomas,  son  of  Samuel  Thomas, 
the  pioneer  of  Greene  county,  north  of 
the  Macoupin  creek,  and  of  Elizabeth 
Thomas,  nee  Isley,  his  wife.  John  I. 
Thomas  was  horn  on  Wood  river,  in 
Madison  county,  111.,  March  15,  1818, 
and  was  the  oldest  of  11  children  that 
came  to  hless  the  home  and  cheer  the 
loving  parents.  He  resided  with  the 
"old  folks''  until  his  marriage  to  Ann 
Ghorn,  daughter  of  Jesse  and  Ann  |  Sam- 
uels) Chorn,  Nov.  12,  1840.  For  15 
years  this  affectionate  couple  have  jour- 
neyed down  the  rugged  path  of  life, 
hand  in  hand,  and  during  this  almost  a 
life  time  of  connubial  bliss,  they  have 
had  five  children  born  to  them,  tour  of 
whom  are  living — Alniira;  Elizabeth, 
born  Sept.  25,   1811,  is  now  the  wife  of 


Henry  Ryan,  of  Ruyle  township,  Jersey 

county;  Alice  Catherine,  born  June  22, 
1843,  was  united  in  marriage  with  Wil- 
liam Baker,  who  dying,  she  was  again 
married  to  Leonard  Ryan,  but  Nov.  17, 
1885,  was  herself  called  hence;  Jane 
Eliza,,  born  Jan.  6,  184-">,  married  Elon 
Eldred,  of  this  county,  but  died  April 
21,  1871);  Samuel  Lewis,  born  April  15, 
1847,  now  living  in  Carrollton  township, 
near  his  father;  and  Mary  Lenora,  born 
Feb.  11,  1856,  wife  of  Frank  Robertson, 
living  near  the  city  of  Jacksonville, 
Morgan  county.  Mrs.  Thomas  was  born 
in  Chillicothe,  0.,  Feb.  21,  1821,  and 
although  over  114  years  old  bears  her 
age  most  remarkably  well,  and  takes  as 
much  interest  in  life  as  if  she  was  30 
years  younger.  Mr.  Thomas  ranks 
with  the  largest  land  owners  in  the 
county,  possessing  852  acres  of  as  fine 
land  as  lies  under  the  sun;  300  acres  are 
on  section  33,  on  which  are  a  brick  res- 
idence and  commodious  barn;  over  165 
acres  are  on  section  34,  both  these  in  T. 
10,  R.  12,  and  in  T.  9,  R.  12,  he  has  408 
acres  on  sections  3  and  9.  He  is  a  suc- 
cessful farmer  and  stock-raiser,  and  has 
added  largely  to  his  store.  He  is  the 
president  of  the  Greene  County  National 
Bank,  of  Carrollton,  and  one  of  the  fi- 
nancial pillars  of  that  monetarily  strong 
institution,  and  is  looked  up  to  as  a  sue- 
cessful  and  able  financier.  One  of  the 
pioneers  of  Greene  county,  coming  here 
with  his  parents  in  1818,  when  but  an 
infant,  he  has  grown  up,  so  to  speak, 
with  the  county,  and  watched  it  develope 
from  a  virgin  wilderness,  destitute 
of  inhabitants,  its  rich  acres  running 
waste  with  a  luxuriant  growth  of  grass, 
or  covered  with  the  primeval  forest,  to  a 
state  of  high  cultivation  and  civilization, 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


1(KI.-) 


teeming  with  busy  inhabitants  and  cov- 
ered with  towns,  cities,  villages  and 
farms,  until,  to-day,  Greene  county 
stands,  almost  pre-eminent  among  the 
bright  jewels  that  cluster  in  the  diadem 
of  a  noble  state.  Still  he  lingers  in  his 
strength,  just  as  stout,  just  as  healthy 
as  in  his  younger  days,  when  he  took 
his  part  in  the  rough  spoils  of  the  pio- 
neers, and  is  an  excellent  example  of 
the  healthier  condition  of  life  of  our  an- 
cestors, who  first  "blazed"  the  broad 
mark  of  civilization  into  these  pristine 
waste-. 

Samuel  F.  Thomas  was  horn  in 
Greene  county,  April  15,  1847,  his  par- 
ents being  John  I.  and  Ann  (Chorn) 
Thomas,  mentioned  above.  Samuel  F. 
was  reared  to  farm  life,  remaining  with 
his  parents  until  he  was  l'-'I  years  of  age, 
when  he  was  married,  and  then  started 
in  life  for  himself.  He  located  one  mile 
east  of  the  homestead,  on  section  34, 
where  lie  owned  154  acres  of  land,  on 
which  he  resided  five  years.  He  then 
traded  that  tract  of  land  for  one  lying 
partly  in  Kane  township,  and  partly  in 
Carrollton  township,  and  moved  all  his 
buildings  except  the  house,  from  where 
he  first  lived  to  his  present  location, 
where  he  has  since  resided.  He  has 
been  twice  married,  first  in  (let.,  1870, 
to  Susan  Clark,  daughter  of  Israel  and 
Esther  Clark.  By  this  union  there  were 
four  children,  three  of  whom  are  living 
— Arthur  Lee,  Albin  ('lark  and  Walter 
E.  His  wife  died  July  22,  1881.  In 
1880,  before  the  death  of  his  first  wife, 
Mr.  Thomas  ami  the  spent  a  year  in 
Marion  Center.  Marion  county,  Kan., 
and  in  September  of  the  same  year, 
went  to  Glasgow,  Cloud  county,  in  the 
same  state,  where  they  spent  the  winter. 


Sept.  13,  1882,  Mr.  Thomas  was  again 
married  to  Belle  M.  Eldred,  daughter 
of  Lucius  S.  and  Nellie  (Cavanaugh) 
Eldred.  They  celebrated  their  union 
with  a  wedding  tour  to  the  east,  going 
by  way  of  Chicago,  through  Canada  to 
the  Niagara  Falls,  and  from  there  to 
Boston,  New  York,  Philadelphia  and 
Washington.  From  there  they  returned 
to  St.  Louis,  and  thence  home,  having 
remained  four  or  five  days  in  each  city, 
and  enjoying  a  delightful  time.  This 
union  has  been  blessed  with  one  child 
—  Edward  M.  Mr.  Thomas  now  owns 
460  acres  of  land  and  his  residence  and 
other  surroundings,  show  that  he  is  one 
who  appreciates  the  comforts  of  life, 
obtained  by  industry  and  enterprise. 
He  buys  cattle,  which  he  feeds  during 
the  winter,  and  sells  off  in  the  spring. 
He  now  resides  on  the  first  40  acres  of 
land  which  his  grandfather,  Samuel 
Thomas,  located  on,  when  he  came  to 
the  county.  Mi'.  Thomas  is  one  of  the 
enterprising  citizens  of  this  township, 
and  is  highly  esteemed  by  all. 

With  Mr.  Thomas  came  no  less  a  per- 
son than  Thomas  Carlin,  afterwards  one 
of  the  most  prominent  men  ofthisstate, 
and  its  governor  from  1838  to  IMl'.  He 
is  spoken  of  at  length  in  the  chapter 
entitled  National,  State  and  County  Rep- 
resentation, in  this  volume.  Oncoming 
here.  Mr.  Carlin  left  his  companion, 
Samuel  Thomas,  and  inclining  to  the 
cast,  journeyed  on  north  and  made  a 
settlement  on  section  .!:!.  where  he 
erected  a  cabin  in  the  southern  part  of 
what  is  now  the  corporation  of  the  city 
of  Carrollton.  Here  he  resided  for  some 
years. 

Thomas  Hall,  a  native  of  North  Caro- 
lina came  to  this  township  in   1819,  and 


1006 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


settled  on  section  32,  where  he  resided 
until  1854,  when  he  died.  A  sketch  of 
him  is  found  elsewhere  in  this  volume, 
in  a  biography  of  Joseph  C.  Reynolds, 
nf  Woodville  township,  whose  wife  is  a 
daughter  of  Mr.  Hall.  He  has  two  sons 
— Enoch  and  Samuel  now  living  near 
Yirden,  Macoupin  Co. 

John  Dodgson,  a  native  of  "White 
Cliffed  Albion,"  came  to  Greene  county 
in  1820,  and  located  about  two  miles 
north  of  Carrollton.  in  this  township. 
He  died  here  in  1848.  A  sketch  of  him 
occurs  in  connection  with  that  afhis  sun 
James  Dodgson,  in   Wrights  township. 

Andrew  Pinkerton,  another  of  the 
hardy  pioneers,  came  from  Kentucky, 
in  1820,  and  located  upon  section  25  in 
this  township,  where  he  built  an  hum- 
ble log  cabin,  in  which  he  lived  until 
I860,  when  he  erected  a  frame  building, 
in  which  he  still  resides.  Another 
brother  and  sister,  John  and  Elizabeth, 
came  with  the  family.  The  latter  is 
still  living  at  Berdan,  with  her  brother, 
Andrew.  John  died  about  the  year 
1865,  and  in  his  will  bequeathed  $2,000 
to  the  government  to  pay  his  share  of 
the  public  debt. 

James  Pinkerton,  the  father  of  sev- 
eral of  the  most  prominent  and  influen- 
tial citizens,  brought  his  family  from 
Kentucky  to  Greene  count)',  in  1820, 
and  made  a  farm  on  Sec.  26,  T.  11,  R.  12. 
He  was  a  native  of  the  "Emerald  Isle." 
He  bought  80  acres  of  land  on  coming 
here,  where  he  lived  until  overtaken  by 
death,  in  1840. 

Andrew  Pinkerton  is  a  native  of  Adair 
county,  Ky.,  and  was  born  December 
31,  1799.  He  is  a  son  of  James  and 
Mary  ( Foster)  Pinkerton,  his  father  a 
native    of  Ireland,  his  mother  of  Vir- 


ginia. In  1820  he,  with  his  parents,  came 
to  Greene  county  and  located  where  the 
village  of  Berdan  now  lies,  bis  father 
buying  80  acres  of  land  on  which  he  re- 
sided until  his  death,  which  occurred 
Feb.  19,  1840.  His  mother,  Mrs.  Mary 
Pinkerton  died  Oct.  9,  1834,  and  both 
are  buried  side  by  side  in  the  Berdan 
cemetery.  Andrew  was  21  years  of  age 
when  he  came  to  this  county  and  he  re- 
mained with  his  parents  two  or  three 
years  after  coming  here.  He  had  been 
brought  up  to  farm  life,  but  worked  at 
the  turner's  trade  five  or  six  years.  He 
then  bought  80  acres  of  land  on  to  which 
he  moved  and  has  since  resided.  In  the 
year  1825  he  was  united  in  marriage  with 
Ellen  Johnson,  daughter  of  Isaac  and 
Catherine  (Reeds)  Johnson.  Thisunion 
was  blessed  with  seven  children,  four  of 
whom  are  living — Mary  J.,  born  June 
6,  1S26  ;  James  G.,born  June  6,  1830, 
married  Martha  Waltrip  and  resides  in 
Carrollton  township  ;  Sarah  A.,  born 
Nov.  26,  1836,  married  James  A.  Wood 
and  resides  in  Kansas  ;  Eliza  E.,  born 
Aug.  21,  1844.  Mr.  Pinkerton  is  yet 
enjoying  life  at  the  advanced  as;e  of  86 
years.  He  is  one  of  the  old  pioneers  of 
the  county  and  has  witnessed  the  great 
changes  which  have  been  made  here 
during  the  past  65  years.  Mrs.  Pinker- 
ton died  Dec.  11,  1881. 

William  Pinkerton  located  on  section 
25  in  1820,  and  built  a  log  cabin.  In  a 
short  time  he  removed  to  another  quar- 
ter of  the  same  section,  where  he  made 
a  homestead  and  a  residence  until  his 
death. 

J.  K.  Pinkerton  was  born  in  Greene 
county,  Illinois,  February  7,  1844,  his 
parents  being  William  and  Sarah  (Yin- 
yard)  Pinkerton,  his  father  a  native  of 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


1007 


Tennessee,  his  mother  of  Kentucky. 
His  father  came  to  Greene  county  in 
1820  and  located  on  section  25,  where 
he  entered  80  acres  of  land.  This  he 
afterward  sold  to  his  brother  Andrew, 
and  entered  160  acres  on  the  same  sec- 
tion, on  which  he  built  a  log  cabin  and 
there  spent  the  remainder  of  his  days, 
his  death  occurring  in  1860.  His  mother 
also  died  that  year.  Our  subject  was 
reared  to  the  pursuits  of  agriculture  and 
has  always  remained  at  the  old  home- 
stead. He  received  his  education  in 
the  common  schools.  He  was  married 
May  11,  1873,  to  Etta Thaxton ,  daughter 
of  Henry  and  Marinda  (Daniels)  Thax- 
ton. This  union  has  been  blessed  with 
five  children  —  Bert,  Fannie,  Elsie, 
Floyd,  and  Herbert.  Mr.  Pinkerton 
now  owns  160  acres  of  land  and  is  en- 
gaged in  general  farming.  In  1883  he 
bought  an  Eclipse  engine  and  separator, 
and  he  now  does  about  all  the  thresh- 
ing in  his  neighborhood.  He  is  an  ener- 
getic and  successful  farmer,  and  a  well 
respected  citizen. 

John  Drum  settled  in  Greene  county 
in  1820,  on  the  Alfred  Hinton  place, 
He  was  a  native  of  North  Carolina,  and 
came  west  as  a  soldier  in  the  war  of 
1812.  He  was  married  in  Madison 
county,  this  state,  to  Gilly  Wood,  a 
native  of  Tennessee.  Mr.  Drum  died 
in  this  county. 

James  Williams  was  also  among  the 
pioneers  of  the  year  1821.  He  was 
born  in  England,  in  1795,  and  came  to 
the  United  States  in  182d,  coming  to 
Greene  county  the  following  year.  At 
first  he  engaged  in  work  as  a  laborer, 
but  was  afterwards  engaged  as  butcher 
and  as  miller  for  many  years.  He  died 
here  in  1848. 


Peter  Dodgson  came  to  Greene  county 
in  1820  with  his  parents,  who  settled 
on  section  33,  in  this  township.  He 
was  born  Jan.  2,  180(5,  at  Colton,  York- 
shire, England.  He  was  a  son  of  John 
and  Elizabeth  I  Wells ,  Dodgson.  In  1821 
he  came  to  Greene  county,  111.  May 
19,  1N_'~>,  he  was  "horn  again;"  in  1832 
was  ordained  local  deacon  in  the  M.  E. 
church,  and  in  1840  was  ordained  elder. 
He  was  blind  during  nearly  the  last 
four  years  of  his  life.  Having  served 
hi-  generation  faithfully,  he  departed 
in  great  peace,  Oct.  28,  1868.  His  wife 
following  him  July  25,  1884,  and  both 
are  buried  at  the  Hopewell  cemetery. 
They  were  the  parents  of  12  children, 
six  of  whom  are  living — David,  Nathan, 
Sarah,  wife  of  Patrick  Turney;  Mary 
E.,  wife  of  John  Gilbert;  Oman  and 
Maria  L.,  wife  of  John  G.  Winn. 
Those  deceased  arc  Jacob,  Peter,  John 
Wesley,  William  P.,  Sophia  and  Eliza 
E.,  all  of  whom  are  buried  in  the  Hope- 
well cemetery.  Mrs.  Dodgson  was  a 
native  of  Kentucky. 

David  Dodgson  was  born  in  Greene 
county,  111.,  Oct.  27,  1849,  his  parents 
being  Peter  and  Jane  |  Brown)  Dodgson, 
early  settlers  here.  His  father  loca- 
ted on  section  33,  in  this  township, 
where  he  entered  quite  a  tract  of  land, 
and  later  on  bought  a  great  deal  of  sec- 
ond-handed land.  When  he  entered 
bis  land  in  this  county,  he  had  hut  $50 
to  start  with,  and  he  built  a  little  log 
cabin  and  lived  in  it  until  he  made 
enough  money  to  build  another  house. 
He  erected  a  fine  brick  residence,  ami 
lived  in  it  until  his  death,  Oct.  28,  1868. 
At  the  time  of  his  death  he  owned  about 
600  acres  of  land  and  was  a  well-to-do 
farmer,  although  he  started  with  merely 


II II  IS 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


nothing.  Being  aminister,  he  preached 
nt  a  greal  many  of  the  funerals,  and  per- 
formed a  great  many  of  the  marriage 
ceremonies  in  his  neighborhood.  David 
remained  with  his  parents  on  the  farm 
until  he  was  about  23  years  of  age, 
when  he  was  married, April  20,  1854,  to 
Sarah  ('.  Chinn,  daughter  of  James  and 
Sarah  (Williams)  Chinn.  He  then  be- 
gan life  for  himself,  buying  12  acres  of 
land  on  Sec.  4,  T.  10,  R.  12,  on  which 
he  moved,  and  resided  there  about  18 
months.  He  then  sold  out  there  and 
bought  180  acres  on  section  13,  on  to 
which  he  moved,  and  remained  there 
about  seven  years,  adding  another  80 
acres  to  his  farm  during  that  time.  He 
then  trailed  that  tract  of  land  for  what 
was  called  the  Farmer's  Home,  near 
Alton,  and  there  resided  about  a  year, 
when  he  sold  it  to  Peter  Wise  for 
$3,200,  and  moved  on  to  section  4.  He 
bought  300  acres  of  land  north  of  Ap- 
ple creek  after  coming  from  Alton,  but 
soon  afterwards  sold  it  for  $4,500,  to  B. 
F.  Baldwin.  With  the  money  he  pur- 
chased 175  acres  of  land  within  a  mile 
of  V'irden,  in  Macoupin  county,  which 
he  kept  about  11  months,  and  then  sold 
for  8<>,500.  He  then  bought  160  acres 
of  land,  within  one  and  one-half  miles 
of  where  he  now  resides,  for  which  he 
paid  $1,500,  and  afterwards  added  80 
more  to  it,  for  which  he  paid  $3,300. 
The  land  that  his  father  left  to  he 
divided  among  his  two  sons  was  valued 
at  $50  per  acre,  and  cost  David  about 
$28.50  per  acre,  cash.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Dodgson  have  had  seven  children  born 
to  them,  four  of  whom  are  living — 
Leonard  P.,  married  Salina  N.  Lee, 
resides  in  Carrollton  township;  Alice 
J.,   wife  of  Daniel  H.  McLaughlin,   re- 


siding in  Piatt  county;  Carrie  B.  and 
Edgar  D.,  at  home.  The  deceased  are 
—Peter  W.,  Sept.  18,  1885;  Laura,  Aug. 
12,  1876;  Sarah  Caroline,  July  5,  1872. 
Mr.  Dodgson  was  called  to  mourn 
the  loss  of  his  wife,  March  29,  1872. 
He  was  again  united  in  marriage  Aug. 
31,  1877,  with  Elizabeth  (Edwards) 
Goode,  daughter  of  Ezekiel  and  Polly 
(Ruckle)  Edwards,  natives  of  Tennes- 
see. Mr.  Dodgson  now  owns  485  acres 
of  land,  all  in  this  township.  He  deals 
in  stock  of  all  grades,  buying  and  sell- 
ing. He  is  a  very  prominent  man,  and 
an  intelligent  enterprising  citizen,  and 
much  credit  is  due  him  for  having  made 
his  own  way  up  in  life.  In  1864  he 
erected  a  large  two-story  brick  resi- 
dence at  a  cost  of  about  $5,000,  cutting 
all  the  wood  used  therein,  and  burning 
all  the  bricks,  himself.  About  the  year 
1865,  he  built  a  store  at  the  corner 
opposite  the  C.  &  A.  depot,  in  Carroll- 
ton,  which  cost  him  about  $1,700,  and 
there  engaged  in  business  a  short  time, 
when  he  sold  out  for  $2,000.  Through 
the  first  tract  of  land  which  he  owned, 
he  gave  the  right  of  way,  for  half  a  mile, 
to  the  C.  &  A.  R.  R.,  this  showing  his 
liberality  and  enterprise.  He  also  gave 
$100  for  the  erection  of  the  C.  &.  A. 
depot,  at  Carrollton. 

Oman  Dodgson  was  born  in  Greene 
county,  111.,  Oct.  18,  1844,  and  is  a  son 
of  Peter  and  Jane  (Brown)  Dodgson, 
early  pioneers  of  this  county,  a  full 
sketch  of  whom  is  given  elsewhere.  Af- 
ter the  death  of  their  father,  Oman, 
David  and  their  mother,  erected  a  fine 
monument  to  his  memory,  having  a  his- 
tory of  his  life  inscribed  on  the  tomb. 
The  two  sons  have  also  had  a  large  mon- 
ument erected  to  the    memory    of  their 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


II  «  '.) 


mother  since  her  departure.  Oman  re- 
mained at  home  with  his  parents  dur- 
ing their  lifetime,  being  reared  to  the 
duties  of  farm  life,  and  lias  always  re- 
sided at  tile  old  homestead.  About  the 
year  1880  he  purchased  a  house  and  two 
lots  in  Roodhouse,  which  he  now  rents 
nut.  He  owns  264  acres  of  land,  all  in 
Carrollton  township  except  mi  acres, 
which  is  in  T.  11,  R.  12.  He  was  united 
in  marriage,  March  11,  1869,  with  Sarah 
L.  Raines,  daughter  of  Robert  and  So- 
phia ^Wright )  Baines.  By  this  union 
there  was  one  child,  who  died  in  infancy. 
Mr.  Dodgson  is  a  member  of  the  M.  E. 
church,  of  the  Carrollton  circuit,  in 
which  he  has  held  the  office  of  steward 
and  class  leader.  He  has  served  his 
township  as  director  of  the  district 
school  for  one  term.  He  is  an  enter- 
prising, intelligent  citizen,  highly  es- 
teemed by  all,  for  his  honesty  and  integ- 
rity of  purpose. 

John  Morfoot,  his  wife,  Elizabeth, 
and  family,  natives  of  "White  Cliffed 
England,"  started  for  the  United  States 
in  1820,  and  landing  in  New  York  pro- 
ceeded to  the  west  and  passed  the  win- 
ter in  East  St.  Louis,  and  in  1821,  came 
to  Greene  county  and  located  on  section 
3,  where  he  resided  until  1332,  when  he 
died.  His  widow  survived  until  1874. 
With  them  came  their  son,  afterwards 
one  of  the  substantial  men  of  the  county. 

Abraham  Bowman,  in  1820,  settled 
west  of  Carrollton. where  he  resided  un- 
til his  death.  He  was  liorn  in  Warren 
county,  Ohio,  in  1804.  He  was  at  one 
time  judge  of  the  county  court  of  this 
county. 

Richard  Ward  and  his  family,  natives 
of  Yorkshire,  England,  crossed  the 
stormy  ocean  and  journeyed  to  the  far 


west,  and  landed  in  Greene  county  in 
the  winter  of  1821,  and  bought  out  some 
improvements  on  Sec.  32,  T.  10,  R.  12, 

where  he  lived  until  removed  by  death. 
With  them  came  their  son,  Jonas,  who 
was  for  many  years  one  of  the  promi- 
nent agriculturalists  of  the  county.  In 
1828,  he  was  united  in  marriage  with 
Hester  Fry,  a  native  of  Kentucky,  by 
whom  he  had  four  children.      He   died 

Nov.  13,  is:;. 

Ward  Eldred  came  to  Greene  county 
in  ISIS,  seeking  a  home,  and  found  land 
to  his  liking  on  section  20,  of  this  town- 
ship. He  had  come  afoot,  with  a 
cousin,  from  the  state  of  New  York, 
camping  out  on  the  way.  They  re- 
turned to  their  home  the  same  year,  and 
in  the  early  spring  he,  with  his  father 
and  brothers,  came  by  flat-boat,  anil, 
after  one  summer  spent  in  the  vicinity 
of  Alton,  came  to  this  county  in  1821, 
and  located  on  the  farm  he  had  selected. 
Mr.  Eldred  died  here  in  1851. 

William  Eldred,  who  had  been  living 
in  Madison  county,  came  over  into 
Greene  county  in  1821,  and  made  a  set- 
tlement, with  his  family,  on  the  north- 
west quarter  of  Sec.  20~,  T.  10,  R.  12. 
He  was  a  native  of  Warren,  Litchfield 
county,  Conn.,  born  in  1791,  but  lived 
for  many  years,  in  Herkimer  county,  N. 
Y.,  where  he  was  united  in  marriage 
with    Ruth    Brace.      He   came   west    in 

1820,  landing  in  Madison  county,  May 
20,  where   he    resided   until   April    12. 

1821,  when  he  came  here.  He  had  pre- 
viously left  his  family  and  come  to 
Greene  county,  purchased  some  Aon 
acn  -  of  land,  and  erected  a  small  hewed 
log  cabin,  in  wdiich  heinstalled  his  fam- 
ily. Here  he  resided  until  called  by  the 
angel  of  death,  July  8,  1856. 


1010 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


Leonard  E.  Eldred  was  born  in  Greene 
county,  111.,  Dec.  26,  1827,  and  is  a  son 

of  William  and  Ruth  (Brace)  Eldred, 
his  father  a  native  of  Connecticut,  his 
mother  of  Herkimer  county,  N.  Y.  His 
father  came  to  Greene  county  in  1821 
and  located  on  section  20,  where  he  en- 
tered land,  and  resided  until  his  death  in 
1856.  Leonard  was  reared  on  a  farm, 
remaining  with  his  parents  until  he  was 
married,  when  he  went  to  do  for  himself. 
He  was  united  in  marriage,  June  23, 
1863,  with  Sarah  J.  Gilchrist,  daughter 
of  James  and  Ann  B.  (Dickey)  Gilchrist. 
By  this  union  they  are  the  parents  of 
two  children — William  G.  and  Leonard 
K.  Mr.  Eldred  now  owns  240  acres  of 
land  on  Sees.  17  and  20  in  T.  10,  R.  12, 
he  residing  on  one-half  of  the  home- 
stead, where  he  has  a  nice  comfortable 
home  and  is  pleasantly  situated.  His 
brother  Elon  A.  lives  on  the  other  half 
of  the  homestead.  In  December,  1872, 
Mr.  Eldred  andhiswife  removed  to  Fre- 
niunt  county,  Colorado,  where  they  re- 
mained seven  years,  spending  the  win- 
ters at  Canon  City,  the  county  seat  of 
Fremont  county,  and  the  summers  on 
his  ranch  on  Wilson  creek,  among  the 
mountains,  where  he  has  a  herd  of  cat- 
tle Mr.  and  Mrs.  Eldred,  their  oldest 
son,  William,  and  her  mother,  Mrs. 
A.  B.  Gilchrist,  are  all  members  of 
the  Presbyterian  church  at  Carrollton. 
Mr.  Eldred  is  a  member  of  lodge  No. 
50  of  the  Masonic  fraternity,  and  also  of 
chapter  No.  77,  R.  A.  M.  He  is  an  in- 
telligent, enterprising  citizen  and  stands 
high  in  the  estimation  of  all  who  know 
him. 

Elon  A.  Eldred  was  born  in  Greene 
county,  July  11,  1S42,  his  parents  being 
William  and  Ruth  (Brace)  Eldred,  men- 


tion of  whom  is  made  in  the  foregoing 
sketch.  Elon  remained  with  his  parents 
until  he  was  21  years  of  age,  assisting 
in  the  duties  of  farm  life,  when  he  was 
married  and  started  out  for  himself.  He 
located  on  section  20,  where  he  has  since 
resided,  all  the  improvements  being 
made  by  himself.  He  has  a  nice  com- 
fortable residence  and  a  good  home 
pleasantly  located.  He  has  been  mar- 
ried three  times — first,  on  Sept.  17, 1863, 
to  Helen  A.  Dorson,  a  daughter  of 
Charles  Dorson,  and  by  this  union  there 
was  one  child — Charles  D.  Mrs.  Eldred 
died  Feb.  12,  1865,  and  on  May  26, 1871, 
he  was  again  married  to  Jane  E.  Thomas, 
daughter  of  John  I.  and  Ann  Thomas. 
By  this  union  there  were  two  children, 
both  of  whom  are  deceased.  April  21, 
1876,  Mr.  Eldred  was  again  called  to 
mourn  the  loss  of  his  wife.  He  was 
again  married  Feb.  4,  1879,  to  Mattie  A. 
Robertson,  daughter  of  John  and  Mary 
Robertson.  Mr.  Eldred  now  owns  380 
acres  of  land  on  sections  4,  17  and  20, 
in  this  township,  his  residence  being  on 
section  20.  He  raises  stock  of  all  kinds, 
making  a  specialty  of  Poland-China 
hogs  and  Durham  cattle.  He  deals  ex- 
tensively in  stock,  and  his  surroundings 
show  him  to  be  an  enterprising  citizen. 
He  was  elected  associate  judge  in  1884, 
and  has  been  a  member  of  the  board  of 
supervisors  since  April,  1885,  having 
been  elected  by  a  majority  of  304  in 
Carrollton  township,  and  23  in  the 
county.  He  and  his  family  are  mem- 
bers of  the  Presbyterian  church  at  Car- 
rollton. 

Elon  Eldred  was  born  in  Connecticut, 
in  1802.  In  an  early  day  his  parents 
moved  to  Herkimer  county,  N.  Y., 
where  Elon  grew  to   manhood.     About 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY 


Kill 


the  year  1820  glowing  accounts  of  the 
the  west  reached  his  ears,  and  accord- 
ingly thither  he  directed  his  footsteps. 
Pleased  at  the  prospect,  he  returned 
again  to  the  east,  where  he  united  his 
fortunes  with  Jane  Stuart,  and  shortly 
thereafter  returned  to  Illinois,  and  set- 
tled at  Edwardsville,  Madison  county, 
and  shortly  after,  in  1822,  located  in 
Greene  county,  on  the  farm  lately  owned 
by  Frank  M.  Bridges.  When  the  family 
became  fairly  located  in  Greene  county, 
a  cabin  composed  of  hewn  logs  was 
erected,  it  being  some  eighteen  feet 
square,  this  forming  the  main  structure. 
In  after  years,  other  buildings  composed 
of  logs,  but  of  smaller  dimensions,  were 
erected  for  the  accommodation  of  hands, 
Mr.  E.  becoming  largely  engaged  in  the 
manufacture  of  castor  oil.  After  along 
life  of  usefulness,  while  Elon  Eldred, 
who  had  journeyed  to  a  farm  owned  by 
him  in  Montgomery  county,  was  on  his 
return  trip,  and  near  Girard,  in  Ma- 
coupin county,  he  was  taken  violently 
ill,  and  expired  very  suddenly. 

Archibald  \Y.  Bridges,  a  young  man 
at  the  time,  made  a  settlement  in  this 
township,  in  1822.  He  was  a  native  of 
North  Carolina,  born  March  21,  1802. 
Shortly  after  coming  here,  he  was 
married  to  Dorlesky  Eldred,  who  was 
born  in  Connecticut,  Aug.  25,  1803. 
They  have  long  since  passed  to  "that 
land,  from  whose  bourne  no  traveler 
ever  returns."  They  were  the  parents 
of  the  following  children — Julia  E., 
Anthony  S.,  Sylvester  H.,  Jehosophat 
E.,  Frank  M.,  Oman  W.,  Drusilla  J., 
Thaddeus  H.,   Ruth  E.,and  Cassius  E. 

Thos.  Meek  and  wife,  Anna  (Barnes) 
Meek,  both  natives  of  Yorkshire,  Eng., 
left    the    green     lanes     and    hawthorn 


hedges  of  the  little  island,  and  immi- 
grated to  the  United  States  in  1821,  and 
came  to  Greene  county,  the  same  fall. 
On  their  arrival,  they  settled  on  Sec. 
34,  in  T.  11,  R.  12,  which  farm  they 
made  their  residence  until  their  deaths. 
Thomas  died  in  Jan.,  1865,  his  wife  in 
Oct.,  of  the  same  year. 

On  June  10,  1822,  a  colony  of  English 
people,  from  the  neighborhood  of 
Wiglon,  Cumberland  county,  left  their 
home  in  the  North  of  England,  for  the 
"land  of  the  free."  They  came  to 
Liverpool,  and  embarked  on  the  Niag- 
ara, which  proved  unseaworthy,  and, 
suffering  a  wreck  when  but  10  or  15 
miles  from  that  port,  put  back,  and  en- 
gaged passage  on  the  brig  Yamacrow, 
Bates,  captain,  and  made  the  voyage  to 
New  York  in  47  days.  The  names  of 
these  colonists  were  :  James  Hobson, 
Elizabeth  Hobson,  Peter  Hobson,  John 
Hobson,  Thomas  Hobson,  Mary  Hob- 
son, Robert  Hobson,  Jane  Hobson,  sis- 
ter of  the  former,  John  Hobson,  Mar- 
garet Black,  John  Black,  David  Black, 
Win.  Black,  Thomas  Black,  Elizabeth 
Black,  John  Armstrong,  Isaac  Richard- 
son, Chas.  F.  Hobson,  Ruth  Richard- 
son, Jeremiah  Richardson,  Elizabeth 
Richardson,  and  Geo.  Beaty.  From 
New  York  they  journeyed  both  by 
wagon  and  flat-boat,  and  settled  in  the 
neighborhood  of  Mount  Pleasant,  which 
was  supposed  to  be  the  future  seat  of 
justice  of  the  county.  These  settle- 
ments were  all  in  the  southwest  quarter 
of  township  10,  range  12. 

Thomas  Black  was  born  in  Cumber- 
land county,  Eng.,  Nov.  5,  1810,  his 
parents  being  William  and  Margaret 
( Hobson)  Black,  natives  of  Cumberland, 
Eng.     His   father  died  June   17,  1817, 


1012 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


and  was  buried  in  the  parish  of  Wig- 
ton.  When  but  11  years  old,  Thomas' 
mother  and  family  decided  to  leave 
their  native  country,  and  took  passage 
'at  Liverpool,  on  the  vessel  Yamacrow, 
bound  for  New  York.  On  arriving 
there,  they  started  for  Illinois,  coming 
much  of  the  way  in  a  two-horse  wagon. 
They  landed  in  Greene  county,  about 
Dec.  20,  1822,  Ideating  on  section  28, 
where  his  uncle,  Robert  Hobson,  had 
laid  out  a  town,  called  Mt.  Pleasant,  and 
the  year  following,  located  on  section 
21.  Mr.  Hobson  had  entered  more  than 
1,400  acres  of  land,  in  1821,  and  Mrs. 
Black  took  the  control  of  500  acres  on 
which  she  farmed,  and  there  resided 
until  her  death,  Feb.  7,  1854.  Thomas 
then  took  charge  of  the  homestead,  and 
since  resided  on  it.  He  has  been  three 
times  married;  first  to  Adele  E.  Russell, 
daughter  of  William  and  Murtilla  (He- 
purn)Russell  by  which  union  there  were 
three  children,  only  one  of  whom  is  liv- 
ing— William  Armstrong,  married  Kate 
Bowman,  and  resides  in  Pawnee  county, 
Neb.^  Mrs.  Black  died  Aug.  22,  1839, 
and  he  was  again  married  Oct.  17,  1842, 
to  Cornelia  P.Wood,  daughter  of  Eli- 
sha  K.  and  Emily  M.  Wood.  By  that 
union  there  were  six  children,  five  of 
whom  are  living — George  E.,  married 
Mary  Maxwell,  resides  in  Saline  county, 
Mo.;  Charles  A.,  married  Margaret 
Rowe,  resides  in  Saline  county,  Mo.; 
Harriet  R.,  wife  of  Charles  W.  Keeley, 
living  in  Carrollton;  Adela  M.,  wife  of 
Arthur  Secor,  residing  in  Binder  town- 
ship, and  Kent  W.,  residing  in  Carroll- 
ton.  Mr.  Black's  wife  died  April  22, 
1865,  and  lie  was  again  married  Sept. 
21.  1.8G9,  to  Martha  E.Robinson,  daugh- 
ter  of  Gregory   and  Louisa  Robinson. 


This  marriage  has  been  blessed  with 
three  children — Russell  B.,  Ella  L.  and 
Robert  T.  Mr.  Black  owns  440  acres  of 
land,  mostly  under  cultivation,  there 
being  but  40  acres  of  timber.  His  land 
lies  on  sections  20,  21,  28,  and  36,  in 
Carrollton  township,  and  section  18,  in 
Woodville  township.  He  is  an  enter- 
prising farmer,  hence  has  been  very  suc- 
cessful, and  is  surrounded  with  all  the 
comforts  of  life.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Black 
are  members  of  the  Baptist  church. 

William  Black  was  born  near  Wigton, 
in  Cumberland,  Eng.,  April  6,  1807, 
his  parents  being  William  and  Marga- 
ret (Hobson)  Black,  natives  of  England, 
where  his  father  died,  June  17,  1817, 
and  was  buried  at  Wigton.  His  mother 
and  five  children — John,  David,  Wil- 
liam, Thomas  and  Elizabeth,  left  Eng- 
land, June  10,  1822,  and  took  passage 
at  Liverpool  on  a  vessel  bound  for  New 
York.  On  arriving  at  that  port,  they 
started  west  in  a  two-horse  wagon,  com- 
ing as  far  as  Pittsburg,  where  tin  y 
bought  a  fiat  boat,  on  which  they  loaded 
their  wagon  and  team,  and  came  as  far 
as  Wheeling  by  boat,  but  the  water  get- 
ting so  low,  they  disposed  of  their  fiat 
boats  and  started  out  again  with  the 
wagon.  They  came  as  far  as  Louisville, 
Ky.,  where  all  but  one  of  the  company 
took  the  water  again,  and  came  to  Shaw- 
neetown,  where  John  Armstrong  met 
them  with  a  team,  and  brought  them  to 
Greene  county ,  landing  here  about  Dec. 
2U,  1S22.  They  located  on  section  21, 
where  his  mother  owned  500  acres  of 
land,  on  which  she  resided  until  her 
death,  Feb.  7,  1854.  William  remained 
with  his  mother  until  he  was  23  years  of 
age  when  he  started  out  in  life  for  him- 
self, locating  on  section  32  in  this  town- 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


Mi:-: 


ship,  where  he  purchased  200  acres  of 
land,  on  which  he  has  since  resided. 
He  was  married  March  27,  1830,  to  Car- 
oline Woodman,  daughter  of  Elijah  and 
Catherine  (Clifton)  Woodman.  This 
union  was  blessed  with  eight  children, 
only  three  of  whom  are  living — John, 
married  Delilah  Early,  and  resides  in 
this  township;  Catherine,  wife  of  Curtius 
Brace,  residing  in  Kane;  Alice  E.,  wife 
of  James  Cullimore,  residing  in  Carroll- 
ton.  Those  deceased  are — Oscar,  James, 
Charles,  Henry  andOrville.  Mr.  Black 
has,  by  thrift  and  energy,  added  to  his 
land  until  he  now  has  317  acres,  all  on 
section  32,  which  is  under  cultivation 
and  nicely  improved.  Mr.  Black  is  one 
of  the  pioneer  settlers  of  Greene  county, 
and  has  been  through  all  the  hard  times 
incident  to  the  building  up  of  tho  new 
country.  He  is  highly  esteemed  by  all 
who  know  him,  or  have  any  dealings 
with  him.  Mr.  Black'  started  out  in 
politics  as  a  whig,  but  now  votes  the 
republican  ticket. 

Peter  Hobson,  deceased,  was  born  in 
Cumberland  county,  England,  Sept.  29, 
1804,  his  parents  being  James  and  Eliz- 
abeth (Goldsmith)  Hobson,  natives  of 
England.  When  he  was  in  his  18th 
year  he  came  with  his  parents  to  Amer- 
ica, they  coming  as  far  west  as  Greene 
county,  111.,  arriving  here  the  last  of 
December,  1822.  They  located  on  land 
that  was  previously  purchased  in  1821, 
at  the  land  sale  of  the  government.  He 
worked  on  the  homestead  from  the  time 
he  was  tall  enough  for  his  head  to  reach 
as  high  as  the  plow  handles.  His  ear- 
ly life  was  spent  in  the  usual  pioneer 
fashion,  with  an  interest  (if  no  ordinary 
nature.  A  few  short  years  before  that, 
the  red  men  had  been  as    numerous   as 


the  leave  of  the  forest,  but  were  com- 
pelled to  go  farther  westward  as  the  en- 
croachments of  the  white  man  drove 
them  from  the  domain  where  they  had 
hunted  from  childhood.  On  Dec.  IS, 
184S,  Mr.  Hobson  was  married  to  Mary 
Chorn,  daughter  of  Jesse  and  Ann 
(Samuels)  Chorn.  This  union  was  bless- 
ed with  seven  children,  five  of  whom 
are  living — Thomas, married  Bell  Wood, 
resides  in  Montgomery  county,  on  land 
which  his  father  entered;  Robert,  George 
Charles  and  William.  Two  died  in  in- 
fancy. Mr.  Hobson,  a  man  of  wonder- 
ful vitality,  had  always  been  a  hard 
worker,  but  was  unfortunately  stricken 
down  with  paralysis,  and  it  was  ;i 
source  of  deep  regret  to  his  many  friends. 
He  departed  this  life  Dec.  19,  1884,  and 
was  laid  to  rest  in  the  Carrollton  ceme- 
tery. He  and  his  brother  Thomas  were 
engaged  fur  several  years  in  running  a 
flouring  mill,  on  his  farm,  in  which 
business  they  continued  until  after  the 
war.  The  mill  was  then  sold  out  and 
moved  to  Carrollton,  where  it  burned 
down  a  few  years  afterward.  The  fam- 
ily now  owns  the  farm,  consisting  of 
532  acres  of  land,  132  acres  of  which 
lies  on  section  29  in  this  township,  a 
part  in  Woodvillc  township  and  the 
balance  in  Montgomery  county.  Mrs. 
Hobson  and  her  son,  Robert,  are  now 
guardians  of  the  property.  The  family 
is  well  respected  and  highly  esteemed 
by  all  who  know  them. 

Thomas  Hobson  was  a  native  of  Cum- 
berland county,  Eng.  In  his  13th  year 
his  parents,  James  and  Elizabeth  Hob- 
son, crossed  the  Atlantic.  During  the 
autumn  of  1822,  laird  having  been  pre- 
viously purchased,  the  little  party  of 
emigrants   settled  down  to  farm  life  in 


1014 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


Greene  county.  On  their  arrival,  the 
family  consisted  of  the  husband,  wife 
and  six  children — Peter,  John,  Thomas, 
Robert,  Mary  and  Jane.  The  home- 
stead, comprising  320  acres,  was  un- 
broken, save  three  acres,  on  which  was 
erected  a  small  cabin  composed  of  logs. 
The  neighbors  of  those  days  were  few, 
I  nit  generous  to  a  fault,  and  all  were  on 
an  equal  footing  as  regards  finances,  or 
nearly  so.  In  1839  James  Hobson,  the 
father,  departed  to  a  home  not  made 
with  hands.  A  true  type  of  the  hardy 
Briton,  of  an  extremely  energetic  dispo- 
sition, he  accumulated  wealth  for  the 
period  of  time  in  which  he  lived,  erect- 
ing during  the  days  of  his  earlier  man- 
hood the  substantial  brick  building 
where  the  subject  of  this  sketch  now  re- 
sides. Three  years  after  the  death  of 
this  pioneer,  the  wife  and  mother,  a 
most  estimable  lady,  also  passed  away. 
Thomas  was  then  in  his  33d  year,  mar- 
ried, having  united  his  fortunes  witli 
Catherine  Chorn,  by  whom  he  had  two 
children,  now  living — James  and  John. 
Mrs.  Hobson  died  March  6,  1851,  and 
was  laid  at  rest  in  the  Mount  Pleasant 
cemetery.  March  11.  1858,  Mr.  Hobson 
was  married  to  Elizabeth  Ann  Tribble, 
by  whom  he  had  two  children,  not  liv- 
ing, whose  names  were  Elizabeth  G.  and 
Mary  0. 

Peter  J.  Hobson  was  born  in  Greene 
county,  111.,  in  March,  1845,  his  par- 
ents being  Thomas  and  Catherine 
(Chorn)  Hobson.  his  father  a  native  of 
England,  his  mother  of  Kentucky.  His 
father  came  to  Greene  county  in  1S22, 
and  located  on  Sec.  29,  T.  10,  R.  12, 
where  he  built  a  log  cabin  and  lived 
there  for  some  years.  He  then  built  a 
brick  house,  moulding  and   burning  the 


brick  himself,  and  the  brick  house  that 
our  subject  now  lives  in  is  the  same  one 
built  by  Thomas  Hobson  some  50  years 
ago,  and  in  which  he  resided  until  his 
death,  which  occurred  January  16,  1881. 
Peter  J.,  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  was 
reared  on  the  farm,  remaining  with  his 
parents  during  their  lifetime.  His 
mother  died  when  he  was  only  nine 
years  of  age.  He  has  always  resided 
at  the  old  homestead.  Mr.  Hobson 
was  united  in  marriage  July  27,  1881, 
with  Effie  C.  Cannaday,  daughter  of 
William  and  Mary  C.  Cannaday.  This 
union  has  been  blessed  with  two  bright 
children — John  C.  and  Myrtle  G.  In 
August,  1884,  Mr.  Hobson  took  a  trip 
to  Harvey  county,  Kan.,  on  a  visit  and 
also  for  the  purpose  of  examining  the 
land,  but  he  did  not  like  the  country 
and,  therefore,  did  not  purchase.  He 
owns  162  acres  of  land  on  section  29, 
Carrollton  township,  and  160  acres  in 
Montgomery  county.  He  is  in  very 
comfortable  circumstances,  and  is  an 
industrious,  intelligent  and  enterprising 
citizen,  highly  esteemed  by  all.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Hobson  are  members  of  the 
Baptist  church  at  Carrollton. 

William  J.  Brown  came  to  Carrollton 
township  in  1822,  from  St.  Clair  county, 
this  state,  whither  he  had  gone  from 
Kentucky,  in  1821.  He  settled  on  sec- 
tion 22,  of  this  township,  where  he  re- 
sided until  1846,  when  he  removed  to 
Hancock  county,  but  after  a  residence 
there  and  in  Scott  county,  returned,  and 
is  now  living  in  Linder  township. 

David  Norton  moved  from  Utica,  N. 
Y.,  in  1823,  to  a  home  in  Greene  county, 
locating  on  Sec.  27,  T.  10,  R.  12,  enter- 
ing 80  acres  of  land.  He  lived  here 
until  his  death. 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


1015 


In  1824,  John,  James,  William  and 
Edward  Hardcastle,  natives  of  Mary- 
land, came  to  Carrollton,  then  but  a 
collection  of  log  cabins,  and  opened  a 
carpenter  and  cabinet  shop,  in  connec- 
tion with  their  farming  operations. 
They  were  the  sons  of  James  and  Eliz- 
abeth (Clarke)  Hardcastle.  They  re- 
sided here  for  many  years,  respected 
citizens  of  the  county. 

About  1826,  William  Lee  made  his 
appearance  in  this  county,  and  for  a 
time  worked  for  other  parties, but  finally 
located  on  section  '■>'■'>.  There  he  made 
his  residence  until  his  death.  He  was 
a  native  of  England,  and  his  wife,  Sus- 
annah (Miller)  Lee,  of  Pennsylvania. 
William  came  to  this  country  when  but 
17  years  of  age,  locating  at  first  in  Indi- 
ana.    He  died  here,  July  19,  1854. 

Jordan  Howard  is  a  native  of  New 
York  state,  born  in  the  year  1808.  He 
there  passed  his  earlier  years.  At  16  he 
accompanied  his  parents,  Sylvester  and 
Lydia  Howard,  to  the  broad  prairies  of 
southern  Illinois.  The  family  settled 
permanently  in  Morgan  county,  on  a 
farm.  Jordan  settledin  Greene  county, 
as  early  as  1826.  In  what  is  now  com- 
prised in  the  city  of  Carrollton,  there 
stood  an  old  frame  building,  erected  for 
a  tannery,  and  here  the  youth  became 
instructed  in  the  mysteries  of  the  trade. 
Remaining  in  this  capacity  for  a  num- 
ber of  years,  he  eventually  became  a 
clerk  for  David  Pearson,  with  him,  in 
after  years,  transacting  a  successful 
mercantile  business.  In  1842,  he  was 
united  in  marriage  with  Eveline  Ryder, 
a  daughter  of  John  Ryder.  Two  chil- 
dren blessed  this  union — Charles,  who 
died  in  early  infancy,  and  Mary,  who 
married  Thomas  D.    Price,   one   of  the 


editors  of  the  Carrollton  Gazette.  Since 
his  retirement  from  mercantile  pursuits, 
Mr.  Howard  has  devoted  his  time  and 
attention  to  farming,  owning  140  acres 
in  one  of  the  best  townships  of  Greene 
county.  Mrs.  Howard  passed  to  the 
other  world,  Sept.  1,  1857. 

Absalom  Clark,  with  his  family,  set- 
tled in  Carrollton  township  in  1826, 
about  a  mile  from  where  John  I.  Thomas 
now  lives.  He  died  many  years  ago,  a 
resident  of  the  county.  His  son  Joshua, 
then  16  year  old,  came  with  his  father. 
He  resided  here  until  his  death,  in  1866. 
Another  son,  John,  one  of  the  oldest 
children,  who  has  been  residing  in 
Idaho,  is  now  living  with  Franklin 
Clark,  the  youngest  of  the  family,  near 
Yirden,  Macoupin  county. 

Lemuel  Stubblefield,  in  1827,  came 
from  Tennessee,  and  located  near  Car- 
rollton, where  he  resided  about  three 
years,  when  he  removed  to  Wrights 
township,  where  he  died. 

Thomas  Lakin  settled  near  Carrollton 
in  1827.  He  built  a  cabin,  and  with  his 
wife  and  family,  lived  here  until  death 
removed  him  in  1841.  His  wife  died  in 
1854.  He  came  to  this  locality  from 
Sangamon  county,  111.,  but  had  origin- 
ally came  from  Ohio.  He  was  the  father 
of  Alexander  Lakin, of  this  county,  men- 
tioned elsewhere. 

Leonard  Brace  came  to  this  section  in 
the  spring  of  1828, and  settled  on  a  tract 
near  the  town  of  Carrollton,  and  now 
included  within  the  limits  of  that  city. 
He  was  a  native  of  Herkimer  county, 
N.  Y.,  born  in  1796.  In  Litchfield,  in 
that  county,  he  was  united  in  marriage 
with  Julia  Eldred,  about  1818  or  1820. 
In  1828,  they  came  west,  and  located  as 
above.     He  had  been  a  soldier  of  the 


war  of  1812-15,  and  hud  made  a  gallant 
record.  Mr.  Brace  at  once  commenced 
farming,  but  in  a  few  months  he  was 
snatched  from  his  family  by  the  hands 
death.  This  was  in  1829.  He  was  bur- 
it  data  point  about  two  miles  north- 
west of  the  Carrollton  cemetery.  His 
widow  is  still  a  resident  of  the  county 
seat.  He  was  the  parent  of  six  children, 
five  of  whom  are  living — Joshua  T., 
Thaddeus  W.;  Clara  M.,wife  of  Edward 
Ferguson;  Ann  E.  and  Curtius  W.  All 
of  these  children,  although  young  at  the 
time  of  coming  here,  are  to  be  ranked 
with  the  old  settlers,  by  right  of  a  con- 
tinuous residence  of  over  56  years. 

During  the  year  1828,  when  Illinois 
was  a  far  western  point,  Mrs.  Brown,  in 
order  to  give  her  children  a  start  in  the 
world,  migrated  to  Greene  county,  set- 
tling on  the  farm  now  owned  by  John 
Brown,  of  this  count}'.  Here  this  ener- 
getic lady  settled  down  to  the  hard  task 
of  making  a  comfortable  home.  Mrs. 
Brown  was  a  native  of  North  Carolina, 
a  most  kindly  woman,  and  merited  the 
respect  of  her  pioneer  neighbors. 

In  1828,  also,  came  Henry  Brooks, 
ami  made  a  settlement  in  what  is  now 
Carrollton  township,  about  a  mile  anda 
quarter  west  of  the  county  seat.  He 
was  a  native  of  Virginia,  but  was  reared 
in  Kentucky,  where  he  was  married. 
He  was  the  father  of  13  children,  some 
of  whom  are  still  residents  of  the 
county. 

Thomas  J.  Short  came  from  his  home 
in  Summertown,  Tenn.,  to  Greene 
county,  in  the  fall  of  1829.  He  was 
born  in  Tennessee,  Sept.  27,  1805,  and 
was  married  to  Catherine  Overby.  On 
coming  to  this  county,  being  in  very 
poor  circumstances,  he  rented  land  in 


Carrollton  township,  but  soon  settled 
in  Rubicon  township.  He  died  Aug. 
10,  1876. 

Eli  Witt  settled  in  Greene  county  in 
1829.  He  was  a  native  of  Jefferson 
county,  Tenn.,  of  English  ancestry.  At 
the  age  of  21  he  was  united  in  marriage 
with  Nancy  McNealy.  He  was  engaged 
in  farming  in  the  county  of  his  nativity 
until  Dec,  1829,  when  he  immigrated 
to  this  county,  settling  in  the  township 
of  Carrollton.  Here  he  resided  some 
years  when  he  removed  to  Texas,  but 
later  returned  and  bought  a  farm  east  of 
Carrollton,  where  he  resided  until  over- 
taken by  death,  in  Oct.,  1851.  He  had 
been  a  soldier  of  the  war  1812.  With 
him  came  his  son,  Randolph,  then  a 
young  man  of  19  years. 

On  the  12th  of  Nov.,  1829,  William 
Winn  and  family  settled  in  this  town- 
ship, about  four  miles  west  of  the  town 
of  Carrollton.  The  land  where  the  pio- 
neers settled  was  unbroken,  requiring 
the  muscle  of  the  head  of  the  family  to 
subdue  it.  Here  he  lived  for  many  years, 
in  a  simple  manner,  his  wants  few  be- 
cause easily  satisfied.  He  died  in  Car- 
rollton. 

This  part  of  the  state  seemed  to  have 
had  a  strong  attraction  for  the  emigrants 
from  England.  In  1830,  John  Wright, 
a  native  of  Yorkshire,  Eng.,  came  to 
this  county,  and  located  on  section  15, 
where  lie  remained  until  he  died,  March 
23,  1865. 

Col.  Purnell  Short,  a  Kcntuckian, 
came  to  Carrollton  township  from  his 
"native  heath,"  about  1830,  and  located 
near  the  county  scat.  He  resided  here 
only  about  a  year,  when  he  removed  to 
Woodville  township,  where  he  died. 

Peter  Montague  Brown  came  to  Car- 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


10M 


rollton,  in  1830,  and  carried  on  carpen- 
tering until  1S36,  when  he  bought  tin- 
stock  of  Shackelford,  Hodges  &  Co., 
and  entered  into  mercantile  life,  but  dis- 
continued it  after  about  two  years. 

Benjamin  B.  Powell  made  a  settle- 
ment in  Carrollton  township  in  the  fall 
of  1830.  He  was  a  native  of  Tennessee, 
born  July  24,  1801.  His  parents  came 
to  Illinois  as  early  as  1805  or  6,  where 
they  died,  and  Benjamin  went  back  Jto 
Tennessee,  and  later  to  Alabama,  where 
he  married  a  Miss  Lancaster.  He  re- 
moved to  Illinois  as  above  stated.  His 
wife  died  in  1831,  and  was  among  the 
first  to  be  interred  in  the  Carrollton 
cemetery.  He  again  married  Phoebe 
Wood.  He  died  a  resident  of  the 
county,  in  Woodville  township,  Dec.  9, 
1874. 

John  Dowdall  came  to  Carrollton,  in 
1831,  and  after  a  short  stay  in  that  vil- 
lage moved  on  to  a  farm  about  four 
miles  southeast  of  that  place,  where  he 
lived  many  years. 

Henry  Ballard,  a  native  of  Onandaga 
county,  N.  Y.,  came  to  Greene  county 
in  1831,  from  Ohio,  where  he  had  been 
living,  and  located  in  this  township. 
He  was  a  carpenter  by  trade,  and  helped 
build  some  of  the  earliest  carding  ma- 
chines in  the  county.  His  family  found 
the  fever  and  ague  so  prevalent  in  this 
locality,  that  in  the  fall  of  1832  he  re- 
turned to  Athens  county,  0., where  they 
lived  until  1S44,  when  they  returned  to 
Greene  county.  Mrs.  Ballard  had  been 
formerly  Margaret  Anderson.  They  had 
some  six  children.  Mr.  Ballard  died  in 
this  county,  Nov.  10.  1858,  and  his  wife 
Nov.  26,  1861. 

Elisha  Barnard  came  to  Greene 
county  in  1835,   and   settled   in  what  is 


now  Carrollton  township.  Here  he  re- 
sided until  1842.  when  he  was  snatched 
from  his  loving  family  by  death. 

Mathew  Stone  located  in  Carrollton 
in  1833,  where  he  resided  until  1841, 
when  he  moved  to  Macoupin  county, 
where  he  died  in  1845. 

OTHER    PROMINENT    CITIZENS. 

Willis  Randall  Pinkerton  was  born  in 
Greene  county,  111.,  March  Ml,  1827, his 
parents  being  David  and  Celia  (Barnes) 
Pinkerton.  They  were  natives  of  Vir- 
ginia and  North  Carolina,  and  came  to 
Greene  county  in  1823,  locating  on  sec- 
tion 25,  T.  11,  R.  12,  where  they  entered 
about  300  acres  of  land,  on  which  they 
built  a  log  cabin,  in  which  Willis  R.  was 
born.  They  resided  here  until  about 
1837,  when  they  built  a  frame  house,  a 
story  and  a  half  high,  in  which  his  father 
lived  until  his  death,  Oct.  4,  1853.  His 
wife  survived  him  until  April  G,  1863. 
Willis  R.  was  reared  to  farm  life,  assist- 
ing his  parents  in  their  farm  labors  un- 
til he  was  about  26  years  of  age.  He 
then  began  life  for  himself,  locating  on 
80  acres  of  land,  that  was  left  to  him  by 
his  father,  and  has  ever  since  resided 
there,  on  the  homestead.  He  was  mar- 
ried, Oct.  7,  1858,  to  Mary  E.  King, 
daughter  of  Samuel  P.  and  Elizabeth 
(Sawyer)  King.  By  this  marriage  there 
were  seven  children,  six  of  whom  are 
living— Eva  E.,  Ulysses  S.,  David  S., 
Rhoda  E..  Martha  1!. .  and  Mary  D.  The 
one  deceased  is  Celia  A.,  who  died  April 
25,  1865.  Mr.  Pinkerton  has  added 
some  to  his  original  80acres,  so  that  now 
he  has  a  good  farm  of  160  acres,  which 
is  under  cultivation,  and  comfortably 
improved.  Mrs.  Pinkerton  is  a  mem- 
ber   of    the    Cumberland    Presbyterian 


1018 


HISTORY   OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


church  at  New  Providence.  Mr.  Pink- 
erton  holds  a  letter  from  the  United 
Baptist  church  at  Hickory  Grove,  this 
county.  He  is  an  industrious  fanner, 
and  well  respected  citizen.  His  politi- 
cal views  are  democratic. 

Michael  L.Carmody  was  born  in  county 
Clare,  Ireland,  in  Sept.,  1820,  and  is  a 
son  of  Peter  and  Mary  (Lyden)  Car- 
mody,  natives  of  Ireland.  In  1849, 
Michael  left  the  Emerald  Isle,  went  to 
Liverpool,  and  took  passage  on  a  vessel, 
sailing  for  New  Orleans.  From  there 
he  came  up  to  Greene  county,  111.,  ar- 
riving in  the  latter  part  of  Dec.,  1849. 
He  then  worked  for  one  man  by  the 
month,  and  saved  enough  money  in  a 
year  to  bring  his  brother  and  sister  out 
to  this  country.  He  continued  working 
by  the  month  for  about  three  years, buy- 
ing some  land  in  the  meantime,  and  on 
the  12th  of  Sept.,  1853,  was  married  to 
Ilonora  Nagle,  daughter  of  John  and 
Bridget  (Carmody)  Nagle.  This  union 
was  blessed  with  nine  children,  five  of 
whom  are  living — Mary,  wife  of  John 
Carmody,  residing  in  Carrollton;  Mag- 
gie, wife  of  John  Dunworth,  living  in 
Carrollton  township;  Ellen,  Michael  J. 
and  Timothy  U.  Those  deceased  are — 
William  T.  and  Bridget,  who  died  with 
the  scarlet  fever,  John  and  Honora. 
Mr.  Carmody  now  owns  579  acres  of 
land  in  this  township,  and  deals  in 
stock  of  all  grades,  buying  and  selling, 
mostly  Durham  cattle  and  hogs.  He  was 
the  third  Irishman  to  locate  in  Greene 
county,  and  he  has  by  economy,  indus- 
try and  good  habits  acquired  a  vast 
amount  of  wealth  and  a  good  home,  and 
but  few  of  his  nationality  have  succeeded 
in  gaining  the  wealth,  prosperity  and 
friends  which  Mr.   Carmody  is  blessed 


with.  He  and  his  family  are  devout 
members  of  the  Catholic  church,  at  Car- 
rollton. Mr.  Carmody's  parents  came 
to  Greene  county,  111.,  in  1858,  and  re- 
sided with  him  for  several  years.  His 
father  died  in  Sept.,  1860,  and  his 
mother  May  12,  1881.  Both  are  buried 
in  the  Carrollton  cemetery.  Connor  and 
Honora,  Mr.  Carmody's  brother  and 
sister,  landed  in  Greene  county  July  12, 
1850,  and  were  employed  by  the  month 
until  they  were  married.  John  and  Mar- 
garet, the  younger  brother  and  sister, 
came  to  this  county  in  1S52.  John  en- 
listed in  Co.  F,  1st  Mo.  Cav.,  and  served 
through  the  war,  when  he  was  dis- 
charged. Thomas,  another  brother, 
came  here  in  1851.  The  whole  family 
were  persuaded  to  come  to  this  country 
by  Michael,  who  came  first,  and  was  so 
impressed  with  this  country  that  he  in- 
fluenced them  to  come  also. 

John  B.  Schnelt  was  born  in  Hanover, 
German)7,  in  1837,  his  parents  being 
William  and  Elizabeth  (Bohm)  Schnelt, 
natives  of  Germany.  He  engaged  in 
farming,  while  in  the  old  country,  until 
1860,  when  he  took  leave  of  home  and 
friends  and  went  to  Bremen,  where  he 
set  sail  on  a  vessel  bound  for  New  Or- 
leans. On  arriving  there  he  came  up  to 
St.  Louis,  where  he  remained  until  the 
spring  of  1883,  working  in  the  sugar  fac- 
tory most  of  the  time.  While  there  he 
was  married,  in  1865,  to  Mary  liowe,  a 
daughter  of  Bernhardt  and  Margaret 
Rovve.  In  the  spring  of  1883,  he  came 
to  Greene  county  and  located  with  his 
brothers  on  section  30,  where,  in  con- 
nection with  them,  his  attention  is  now 
turned  to  farming. 

Henry  Schnelt,  a  brother  of  John  B., 
left  his  fatherland  in  1864,  or  four  years 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


1019 


after  John's  departure,  and  taking  pass- 
age at  Bremen,  sailed  for  New  York, 
from  which  port  he  came  west  as  far 
as  St.  Louis,  where  he  remained  three 
years,  engaged  in  teaming.  In  1867  he 
came  to  Greene  county,  and  worked  out 
hy  the.  month  until  1871,  when  he,  with 
two  of  his  brothers,  rented  a  farm  on 
the  same  section,  where  they  reside, 
which  they  farmed  for  three  years. 
Then  he  and  his  brothers,  Tobias  and 
Lucas,  bought  210  acres  of  land  on  Sec. 
30,  T.  10,  R.  12,  where  they  have  since 
resided. 

Tobias  and  Lucas  Schnelt  left  Ger- 
many in  1S68,  sailing  from  Bremen  on  a 
vessel  bound  for  New  York,  from  where 
they  came  to  St.  Louis,  where  Lucas 
remained  four  years,  working  in  the 
sugar  factory.  Tobias  only  remained 
about  two  months  in  St.  Louis,  when  he 
came  to  Greene  county,  and  was  em- 
ployed by  the  month  until  1871,  when 
he  and  his  brother  Henry  rented  the 
farm  for  three  years.  Lucas  came  to 
Greene  county  that  year,  and  they  all 
farmed  together.  Aug.  13,  1875,  the 
three  brothers,  Tobias,  Lucas  and  Henry 
purchased  210  acres  of  land,  as  before 
mentioned,  moved  on  to  it  and  has  since 
resided  thereon.  By  hard  labor  and 
money  saved  by  working  by  the  month, 
they  succeeded  in  saving  enough  to  buy 
the  farm  and  make  a  good  home  for  them- 
selves, thus  showing  them  to  be  hard- 
working, industrious,  and  enterprising 
men.  They  arc  now  enjoying  the  fruits 
of  their  labor,  and  are  highly  esteemed 
by  all  of  their  acquaintances.  Their 
mother,  Elizabeth  Schnelt,  came  to  this 
country  with  Tobias  and  Lucas,  and  is 
now  residing  with  her  four  sons,  being 
at  the  ripe  old  age   of  72  years,  and  en- 


joying good  health.      The  brothers  are 
all  democrats  in  politics. 

Lewis  Becker,  a  native  of  Baden, 
Germany,  was  born  June  19,  1850,  his 
parents  being  Ignatius  and  Catherine 
(Straub)  Becker,  natives  of  Germany. 
His  father  was  a  tailor  by  trade,  at 
which  line  of  business  he  always 
worked  until  he  came  to  this  country, 
with  the  exception  of  a  few  years  that 
he  farmed.  March  10,  1865,  Lewis, 
with  his  parents,  left  the  fatherland, 
taking  passage  at  Havre,  on  the  ship 
Mercury,  boundfor  New  York.  During 
the  voyage  16  persons  died,  12  children 
and  four  grown  persons.  One  man  bad 
the  small-pox  and  he  was  locked  up  in 
a  box  to  keep  the  disease  from  spread- 
ing. On  arriving  at  New  York  they 
came  west  as  far  as  St.  Louis,  and  from 
there  came  up  to  Calhoun  county,  where 
his  parents  remained  nine  years.  After 
being  there  about  four  months,  Lewis 
was  taken  down  with  the  chills  and  was 
not  able  to  do  much  for  about  two  years. 
!n  the  spring  of  1868  became  to  Greene 
county  and  was  employed  by  William 
Bagby  about  18  months,  during  which 
time  .Mr.  Bagby  died.  He  staid  there 
that  winter,  and  assisted  Mrs.  Bagby 
with  the  feeding  and  chores,  attending 
school  two  months  of  the  time.  This 
was  all  the  American  schooling  he  re- 
ceived, but  he  had  attended  school  eight 
years  in  Germany.  Lewis  next  worked 
for  Jehosophat  Eldred  for  about  five 
years.  He  then  rented  ground  near 
Walkerville  and  put  in  a  crop  of  wheat, 
but  it  was  all  frozen  out  that  winter, 
and  he  only  staid  there  one  year,  and 
then  rented  a  farm  of  Schnelten  brothers, 
west  of  Carrollton,  on  which  he  re- 
mained  two   years.     He  next   rented  a 


1020 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


farm  of  240  acres  from  Geo.  \Vr.  Wright 
and  son,  paying  SI, 200  per  year,  cash 
rent,  and  renting  fur  live  years.  In  1882 
lie  bought  108  acres  of  land  on  section 
25,  and  in  1883  he  moved  on  to  it,  and  it 
has  since  been  his  home.  He  was  mar- 
ried April  22,  1879,  to  Sophia  linger, 
daughter  of  Timothy  and  Christine 
Cnger.  and  by  this  union  there  are  four 
children — Anna  C,  Katie  M.,  Lawrence 
F.  and  Joseph  A.  Lewis  had  to  give  all 
his  wages  to  his  parents  until  he  was  21 
years  of  age,  so  that  his  start  in  life  did 
not  begin  until  after  that  time;  but  by 
hard  work  and  perseverance  he  suc- 
ceeded, and  is  now  enjoying  the  fruits 
of  his  industry.  But  few  know  how  our 
foreign  people  toil  to  make  a  beginning 
in  life,  but  their  labors  usually  reap  a 
rich  harvest.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Becker  are 
members  of  the  Catholic  church,  at  Car- 
rollton.  In  politics  he  is  a  democrat. 
In  1874,  Mr.  Becker's  father,  Ignatius 
Becker,  with  a  family  of  six  children, 
moved  over  from  Calhoun  county,  and 
he  is  now  living  with  Lewis.  There 
were  12  children  in  the  family,  but  one 
died  in  the  old  country,  two  in  Calhoun 
county,  and  one  was  drowned  while  in 
Arkansas.  Those  living  are — Lewis; 
Oswald,  now  in  Washington  territory; 
Reinhart,  now  in  Arkansas;  Annie, 
Sarah,  Windelein,  Romeon  and  Maggie. 
Mr.  Becker  thinks  it  would  be  profitable 
to  most  of  our  young  American  people 
to  be  in  Germany  three  or  four  years, 
as  it  would  teach  them,  first,  to  work; 
second,  to  save,  and  third,  the  value  of 
a  nickel  or  a  dollar.  There  would  not 
then  be  so  many  of  them  failing  in  bus- 
iness. But  the  way  it  is,  they  do  not 
save  in  good  times,  and  in  hard  times 
they  haven't  anything  to  save. 


Henry  Schnelten  was  born  in  Han- 
over, Germany,  Jan.  3,  1847,  and  is  the 
son  of  John  B.  and  Mary  (Schneider) 
Schnelten,  natives  of  Germany.  In  1866 
he,  with  his  parents  and  the  rest  of  the 
family,  bade  adieu  to  fatherland  and 
friends,  and  going  to  Bremen  set  sail 
for  America.  They  landed  at  the  city 
of  Baltimore  and  from  there  came  on  to 
St.  Louis,  where  they  remained  about 
one  week  and  then  came  up  to  Greene 
county  and  resided  with  John  Schneider 
about  a  year  and  a  half.  They  then 
rented  land  from  Robert  Evans  three 
years,  and  after  that  from  Thomas  Evans 
about  five  years,  but  in  the  meantime 
bought  187  acres  of  land  from  Robert 
Evans,  on  to  which  he  moved  and  erect- 
ed a  nice  two  story  frame  house  at  a  cost 
of  $2,000,  where  they  have  since  resided. 
There  were  in  the  family,  the  father, 
mother,  and  five  children,  but  one  of 
these,  John  Herman,  born  April  1,  1845, 
died  of  typhoid  fever  in  St.  Louis,  in 
the  year  1867,  and  another,  Bernard  II., 
born  June  15,  1854,  died  Oct,  30,  1881, 
at  the  home  place,  of  the  same  disease. 
Their  father  died  Sept,  22,  1878,  and  is 
buried  in  the  Carrollton  cemetery.  Two 
of  the  brothers,  Gerhardt  and  Henry, 
with  their  mother,  are  now  residing  at 
the  homestead.  Gerhardt  was  born 
Jan.  7,  1840,  in  Germany.  He  was 
married  Jan.  6,  1878,  to  Elizabeth  Guter, 
daughter  of  Anton  and  Ellen  (Bruny) 
(inter.  By  this  union  there  are  four 
children — Mary,  Ellen,  Lizzie  and  Anna. 
John  B.  was  born  Sept.  14,  1850,  in 
Hanover,  Germany.  He  is  now  study- 
ing for  the  priesthood  in  Milwaukee. 
Henry  and  Gerhardt  own  a  farm  of  280 
acres,  260  of  which  is  under  cultivation 
and  20  in  timber.     They  have,  by  hard 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


1021 


work,  untiring  energy  and  perseverance, 
succeeded  in  making  a  good  start  in  life 
and  are  now  enabled  to  enjoy  the  fruits 
of  their  industry.  The  family  are  mem- 
bers of  the  Catholic  church  at  Carroll- 
ton  and  are  held  in  high  esteem  by  all. 
James  Flemming  was  hum  in  county 
Roscommon,  Inland,  about  1833,  and 
is  a  son  of  Peter  and  Bridget  (Burke) 
Flemming,  natives  of  Inland.  In  1849 
he  decided  to  leave  his  native  eountry, 
and  going  to  Liverpool,  sailed  for  Amer- 
ica on  a  vessel  hound  for  New  Orleans. 
From  there  he  came  up  to  Cincinnati. 
where  he  remained  nine  years,  and  was 
employed  at  hod-carrying  and  shoveling 
coal.  While  there  he  was  married,  in 
L853,  to  Sarah  Cavay,  of  Cincinnati. 
daughter  of  Patrick  and  Mary  (Rodg- 
ers)  Cavay.  In  1858  Mr.  Flemming 
came  to  Greene  county,  111.,  and  located 
on  section  10  in  this  township,  where  he 
bought  80  acres  of  land  on  which  he 
soon  afterward  erected  a  nice  frame 
house  and  has  ever  since  resided  here. 
Mr.  Flemming  arrived  at  Cincinnati 
with  but  a  capital  of  $25,  but  by  hard 
work,  diligence  and  good  management, 
he  is  now  the  possessor  of  a  nice  farm 
of  200  acres,  well  improved,  on  which  is 
a  good  residence  and  outbuildings,  and 
everything  slowing  prosperity.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Flemming  are  the  parents  of 
four  children — Mary,  wife  of  Michael 
Shallue,  now  residing  near  Greenfield; 
Bridget,  wife  of  James  Mack,  who  is 
now  deceased;  Patrick;  and  Kate,  wife 
of  Martin  Layden,  residing  in  Chicago. 
Mr.  Flemming  and  family  are  members 
of  the  Catholic  church.  Few  men  of 
Mr.  Flemming's  nationality  have  been 
enabled  to  acquire  the  comforts  of  life 
which  he  now  enjoys. 


Michael  McMahon  was  horn  in  county 
Clare,  Ireland,  Fee.  8,  1832,  his  parents 
being  John  P.  "W.  and  Anna  (Considine) 
McMahon,  natives  of  Ireland.  July  2, 
1852,  he  left  home  and  friends  in  his 
native  country,  and  taking  passage  at 
Liverpool  sailed  for  this  country  on  a 
ve-  el  bound  for  New  Orleans.  On  ar- 
riving there  he  came  up  to  Carrollton, 
where  he  worked  out  for  about  seven 
years,  during  which  time  he  saved  money 
enough  to  buy  a  house  and  lot,  which 
he  rented.  He  was  engaged  at  making 
brick  for  about  six  years,  and  then  began 
farming  on  land  which  he  rented  from 
Z.  A.  Morrow  fur  one  year.  After  that 
time  he  bought  P-'n  acres  of  land  from 
F.  P.  Vedder,  on  Sec.  36,  T.  10,  R.  12, 
on  to  which  he  moved  and  lived  about 
10  years.  He  then  purchased  120  acres 
on  the  same  section,  on  which  lie  moved 
and  has  since  resided  He  was  married 
Nov.  1.  1859,  to  Honora  Hogan,  daugh- 
ter of  Michael  and  Ann  (Fitzpatrick) 
Hogan.  They  are  the  parents  of  11 
children,  nine  of  whom  are  living — 
Thomas  P..  John  S.,  Patrick  Henry, 
Michael  W.,  Ellen,  Ann,  Elizabeth, 
Sedalia  and  Honora.  Mr.  McMahon 
now  owns  360  acres  of  land,  12(1  of 
which  lies  in  T.  0,  R.  11.  He  came  to 
this  country  with  no  capital  save  willing 
hands,  hut  by  hard  work,  industry  and 
economy,  has  accumulated  a  great  dial 
of  property,  and  is  now  enjoying  the 
fruits  of  his  labor.  He  is  an  enterpris- 
ing, intelligent  citizen,  and  hence  asso- 
ciates with  only  our  best  people.  He 
and  his  family  are  meiiihers  of  the 
Catholic  church.  His  father,  Patrick 
W.,  came  to  this  country,  in  L858, 
bringing  with  him  the  maiden  who  was 
soon    afterward    to  become  the   wife  of 


1022 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY, 


our  subject,  Michael.  His  father  re- 
sided with  his  sons  until  his  death, 
which  occurred  in  1877. 

Frederick  Conk,  a  native  of  Prussia, 
Germany,  was  horn  Sept.  20,  1819,  his 
parents  being  John  and  Lottie  Cook, na- 
tives ofGermany.  He  learned  the  shoe- 
maker's trade,  and  traveled  seven  years 
after  serving  his  apprenticeship,  going 
to  Hamburg,  Lebert,  Bremen,  Frank- 
fort. Horbusk,  Berlin,  Ochen,  Littich, 
Brussels,  Belgin,  Lana,  Teni,  Cente, 
Elbert,  Felt,  Oscha,  Brich,  where  he 
worked  two  years,  Altenburg  and  sev- 
eral other  places,  where  he  worked  as  a 
journeyman.  In  March,  1847,  after  bid- 
ding adieu  to  fatherland  and  friends,  he 
set  sail  at  Bremen,  on  the  vessel  Jose- 
phine, hound  for  New  York,  at  which 
port  he  arrived  after  a  voyage  of  32  days. 
Since  leaving  the  old  country  he  has 
never  seen  a  single  person  from  there. 
From  New  York  he  went  to  Philadel- 
phia, and  after  staying  five  weeks  there 
he  came  on  to  Pittsburg,  and  from  there 
to  Louisville,  Ky..  where  he  worked  at 
his  trade  eight  months.  He  then  re- 
moved to  St.  Louis,  where  he  remained 
about  18  months,  engaged  at  shoemak- 
ing,  and  then  set  out  for  Greene  county, 
arriving  at  Carrollton  on  Easter  Sun- 
day, 1849.  He  worked  there  10  or  12 
years,  and  then  bought  "200  acres  of  land 
on  sections  24  and  25,  in  this  township, 
on  which  In-  moved,  and  after  living 
there  five  years,  he  rented  it  out  and 
moved  back  to  Carrollton,  where  here- 
sided  seven  years, and  then  moved  back 
on  the  farm,  and  has  since  resided  there. 
Mr.  Cook  has  been  twice  married.  In 
Feb.,  1849,  he  was  married  to  Clarissa 
Rice,  who  died  in  1863.  He  was  again 
married,  Aug.  23,  1S65,  to  Relief  War- 


ren, daughter  of  Harry  and  Rebecca 
Warren.  By  this  union  there  were  10 
children,  nine  of  whom  are  living — 
Frank,  Lottie,  Augusta,  George:  Me- 
linda  and  Rebecca,  twins;  Lends  Harry 
and  John.  The  one  deceased  is  James. 
Mr.  Cook  has  seen  hard  times  in  his 
early  days  in  trying  to  make  a  start  in 
life, and  but  few  of  the  rising  generation 
know  what  hardships  their  parents  had 
to  contend  with  in  making  for  them- 
selves ahome.  Mr. Cook  has  by  economy 
and  untiring  energy  been  enabled  to  ac- 
cumulate considerable  wealth,  and  now 
owns  200  acres  of  fine  land,  80  of  which 
is  in  Carrollton  township,  and  120  acres 
in  Wrights  township.  All  this  has  been 
acquired  since  he  was  28  years  of  age, 
a-<  he  then  came  here  with  but  10  cents 
in  his  pocket. 

Gilbert  L.  Purl  was  horn  in  Wayne 
county,  Ind.,  on  the  18th  of  Nov.,  1856, 
and  is  a  son  of  Thomas  and  Violet 
(Jones)  Purl,  his  father  a  native  of 
Pennsylvania,  and  his  mother  of  In- 
diana. His  parents  came  to  Greene 
county  in  the  year  1858,  and  located  in 
Carrollton,  where  his  father  still  re- 
sides. Gilbert  L.  was  reared  to  farm 
life,  ami  remained  with  his  father  until 
he  reached  the  age  of  19  years.  He 
then  removed  to  Kansas,  where  he  was 
employed  for  about  seven  years  on  a 
farm  which  his  father  owned.  He  then 
returned  to  Greene  county,  and  has 
since  engaged  in  farming  at  home.  He 
is  now  managing  105  acres  of  land, 
located  about  three  miles  north  of  Car- 
rollton, which  is  owned  by  his  father. 
Although  quite  young,  Mr.  Purl  is  an 
intelligent,  enterprising  gentleman,  and 
these  qualities  united  with  those  of  in- 
dustry and  honesty  are   bound  to  meet 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


1023 


with  the    success    which  they    so  truly 

deserve. 

FIRST     ITEM. 

The  first  child  born  in  this  township 
was  William,  son  of  Benjamin  and 
Hannah  Ogle,  born  in  1818.  This  is 
said  to  have  been  the  first  birth  in  the 
county. 

ORGANIC. 

At  the  election  in  1885,  when  the 
township  organization  went  into  effect, 
the  following  officers  were  elected:  E. 
A.  Eldred,  supervisor;  T.  E.  Evans, 
clerk;  N.  J.  Andrews,  assessor;  F.  M. 
Roberts,  collector;  A.  J.  Tunnell,Henry 
Schnelton  and  R.  P.  Driver,  highway 
commissioners;  Edward  Booth,  Jehose- 
phat  Eldred  and  T.  J.  Carlin,  justices; 
J.  R.  Kennedy,  Warren  English  and 
William  E.  Ashlock,  constables.  Thos. 
E.  Evans,  the  clerk,  moving  away,  D. 
M.  Fishback  was  appointed  in  his  stead. 
This  election*  took  place  April  7,  1885, 
and  the  judges  of  the  election  were: 
\V.  L.  Armstrong,  B.  C.  Hodges  ami 
John  L.  Eldred  ;  the  clerks  were  :  L. 
D.  Simpson  and  John  Lavery. 

EDUCATIONAL. 

District  No.  1.— In  1888,  a  school 
house  was  erected  of  brick,  20x20  feet  in 
size,  the  first  teacher  in  which  was 
Cyrus  Sargent.  This  was  turn  down  in 
1848,  ami  a  new  one  erected  at  a  cost  of 
about  $800,  which  is  20x26  feet  in  size 
This  is  also  built  of  brick.  It  is  situ- 
ated on  the  northeast  quarter  of  section 
20,  in  township  10. 

School  district  No.  3,  has  a  school 
house  located  on  the  east  side  of  sec- 
tion 5,  which  was  built  in  1865,  at  a  cost 
of  about  $1,000.  It  is  20x30feet  in  size, 
a   neat  frame   structure,    and   in   a  fair 


state  of  repair.  Winnie  Beason  was  the 
first  teacher,  and  the  present  one  is  Jes- 
sie Simpson.  Average  attendance  about 
25,  with  some  -in  enrolled. 

School  district  No.  5. — A  school 
house  was  built  in  1856,  at  a  cost  of 
$408,  which  was  used  until  1869,  when 
the  school  was  moved  to  the  village  of 
Berdan.  The  first  teacher  was  T.  O. 
Strain. 

CEMETERIES. 

Pinkerton  cemetery  was  laid  out  by 
John  F.  Pinkerton  in  1844.  The  first 
person  buried  in  this  cemeter\'  was 
Sarah  Pinkerton,  who  died  June  15. 
1844. 

Berdan  cemetery  was,  at  one  time, 
opened  for  a  burial  place,  but  is  now 
abandoned  for  that  purpose,  only  nine 
bodies  having  been  interred  here.  The 
first  one  was  an  infant  son  of  William 
and  S.  M.  Pinkerton,  who  died  July  15, 

1832. 

BERDAN. 

The  village  of  Berdan,  which  lies  in 
the  southeast  quarter  of  Sec.  26,  of  T. 
11, R.  12,  May  12.  was  laid  out  and  platted 
in  September,  1865,  the  plat  being  filed 
for  record  on  the  20th  of  that  month,  by 
William  R.  Kellogg,  Lewis  S.  Olmsted, 
and  Linus  E.  Worcester.  It  was  named 
after  James  Berdan,  of  Jacksonville, 
who  was  prominently  connected  with 
the  railroad.  The  pioneer  business 
house  was  a  grocery  and  notion  store, 
opened  at  that  point  by  Richard  Vedder, 
the  same  fall  that  the  town  was  born. 
Shortly  after  this  George  Sleight  opened 
a  grocery  store,  and  a  saloon  in  connec- 
tion, which  he  kept  until  1881,  when  he 
sold  out  to  Patrick  Layden,  who  is  the 
present  store  keeper. 

M.   L.  Mi  Hedge   came   to    Berdan    in 


1024 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


December,  1882,  and  started  in  business 
in  tbe  village  as  a  dealer  in  groceries, 
medicines  and  notions.  He  alsocarries 
on  the  general  blacksmith  business  in 
connection,  is  also  dealer  in  agricultural 
implements  and  sewing  machines,  and 
is  notary  public  and  pension  agent.  He 
erected  the  building  in  which  be  does 
business  in  1883.  It  is  20x46  feet  in 
size,  two  stories  high.  He,  when  called 
upon,  furnishes  entertainment  to  the 
traveling  public. 

REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS. 

Revel  E.  Pinkerton  was  born  in  Greene 
county,  111.,  March  22,  1846,  and  is  a 
son  of  Wiley  E.  and  Sally  (Allen)  Pink- 
erton, his  father  a  native  of  Tennessee, 
his  mother  of  Illinois.  His  father  came 
to  Greene  county,  A.  D.,  1823,  and 
located  near  Berdan,  where  lie  pur- 
chased a  tract  of  land  on  to  which  he 
moved  and  there  resided  until  his  death, 
Jan.  17,  A.  D.,  1849.  His  mother  is 
yet  living  and  resides  near  Roodhouse 
with  her  daughter,  Melissa.  Revel  was 
reared  to  the  duties  of  farm  life  until  he 
was  17  years  of  age,  when  in  1863  he 
enlisted  in  company  A,  61st  111.  Inf., 
and  served  until  the  close  of  the  war. 
He  then  returned  borne  and  attended 
school  one  year  in  the  country  and  one 
term  at  Manchester,  at  the  end  of  which 
time  he  begun  to  learn  the  carpenter's 
trade,  partly  under  O.  H.  McGarvey, 
then  going  to  Morgan  county,  Mo., 
where  he  finished  under  James  Cowan. 
From  there  he  removed  to  Washington 
county,  Ark.,  where  he  was  married 
and  there  remained  eight  years,  working 
at  carpentering  and  wagon-making.  In 
1878  he  returned  to  Berdan  and  bought 
a  house  and  two  lots  where  he  has  since 


made  his  home.  He  was  married  Dec. 
11,  1870,  to  Nancy  J.  Atkisson,  daugh- 
ter of  William  Atkisson.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Pinkerton  are  the  parents  of  six  chil- 
dren, four  of  whom  are  living — Sarah 
L.,  William  W.,  Mary  A.  and  Ernest 
H.  Those  deceased  are,  Ethel  J.,  who 
died  July  5,  1883;  and  Revel  E.,  who 
died  July  31,  1883.  Mr.  Pinkerton  is  a 
member  of  the  Christian  church  and  his 
wife  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church. 
He  is  a  member  of  Carrollton  lodge, 
No.  342,  I.  0.  0.  F.,  and  is  a  man  of 
intelligence,  industry  and  enterprise. 
Mr.  Pinkerton's  forefathers  were  of 
Irish  origin,  and  being  Protestants  were 
banished  from  the  north  of  Ireland, 
coming  to  America  at  the  close  of  the 
Orangemen  troubles. 

George  W.  Reynolds  was  born  in 
Henry  county,  Va.,  Nov.  28,  1803,  and 
is  a  son  of  Richard  D.  and  Nancy 
(Grisom)  Reynolds,  natives  of  Virginia. 
His  father  removed  his  family  to  Muhl- 
enburgh  county,  Ky.,in  1805,  locating  on 
a  farm,  where  he  spent  the  remainder  of 
his  days,  his  death  occurring  in  1835. 
Airs.  Reynolds  survived  him  until  1845. 
George  was  brought  up  to  farm  life,  liv- 
ing at  home  with  his  parents  until  he 
was  24  years  of  age,  most  of  which  time 
was  spent  in  attending  school.  So 
much  time  was  spent  in  his  education 
on  account  of  his  being  crippled,  at  the 
age  of  16  years;  while  out  swimming 
one  day,  he  contracted  a  cold,  resulting 
in  white  swelling  in  the  left  leg,  which 
confined  him  to  his  bed  for  a  year,  and 
left  him  a  cripple  for  life.  In  the  spring 
•  it'  1836,  be  came  to  Illinois,  and  bought 
610  acres  of  land  in  township  11,  range 
10,  and  also  purchased  town  property 
in  Fayette.       In  1837  he  went  back  to 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


1025 


Kentucky,  and  brought  bis  family  here 
to  the  town  cit'  Fayette,  and  there  they 
resided  until  the  spring  of  1838,  when 
he  moved  on  to  bis  farm  in  the  same 
township,  and  remained  there  until 
1869.  Mr.  Reynolds  then  sold  out,  and 
moved  on  a  place  near  the  Carrollton 
fair  grounds,  where  he  purchased  190 
acres  of  hind,  and  on  which  be  lived 
until  1879.  He  again  sold  out,  and  re- 
moved to  Berdan,  where  he  bought  five 
lots  and  seven  acres  of  land,  and  he  has 
since  continued  to  reside  there.  Mr. 
Reynolds  was  married  in  Kentucky, 
May  '-'7,  1832,  to  Elizabeth  Bellamy, 
and  this  union  has  been  blessed  with  12 
children,  only  six  of  whom  are  now  liv- 
ing— Thomas  F.,  married  Rebecca  Farr, 
and  resides  in  Cass  county,  .Mo.;  Mary 
J.,  wife  of  Asbury  Vandeveer,  resid- 
ing near  Greenfield;  Elizabeth,  wife  of 
John  Armstrong,  residing  in  White 
Hall;  Nancy,  wife  of  Clinton  Arm- 
strong, residing  in  Berdan;  Maria  A., 
wife  of  William  J.  Armstrong,  residing 
near  Carrollton;  Bell,  widow  of  Fred- 
erick Smith,  living  near  Carrollton. 
Mrs.  Reynolds  died  May  6,  1878,  and 
Mr.  Reynolds  was  again  married,  May 
18,  1879,  to  Mary  Taylor,  daughter  of 
Samuel  and  Jeannette  (Mitchell)  Taylor. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Reynolds  arc  members  of 
the  Cumberland  Presbyterian  church. 
Mr.  Reynolds  became  a  member  in 
1824,  a  ministei  in  1*28  and  was  or- 
dained in  1830.  He  is  an  intelligent, 
upright  citizen. 

POSTOFFICE. 

The  postoffice  was  established  in  Jan., 
1870,  with  George  W.  Sleight  as  the 
first  postmaster.  He  held  the  commis- 
sion until  his  death,  in  1881,  but  it  was 


continued  in  his  name  until  1882,  when 
Patrick  Layden  was  appointed  to  the 
office, and  is  the  present  incumbent. 

SCHOOL. 

A  school  house  was  erected   in    1869, 

by  subscription,  which  was  to  be  used 
for  a  church  and  school.  Into  this  the' 
school  of  district  No.  5  was  moved,  and 
is  kept  there  now. 

CARROLLTON. 

The  beautiful  city  of  Carrollton,  the 
seat  of  justice  of  the  county  of  Greene, 
is  located  on  Sees.  22  and  2.'!,  T.  10 
north,  R.  12  west  of  the  3d  principal 
meridian.  The  history  attending  the 
birth  of  the  town  has  been  already  given 
in  the  chapter  relating  to  county  gov- 
ernment. Thomas  Carlin,  afterwards 
governor  of  Illinois,  was  the  first  set- 
tler, of  whom  there  is  any  record, 
within  what  is  now  the  corporate  limits 
of  the  city.  In  the  spring  of  1819,  he 
came  to  this  vicinity,  with  his  mother 
and  step-father,  and  camped  under  a 
large  tree  in  the  southern  part  of  what 
is  now  the  town  site.  He  determined 
to  make  his  home  upon  the  prairie 
here,  and  built  a  log  cabin  about  half  a, 
mile  south  of  the  square,  and  this  was 
the  nearest  to  what  is  now  the  center  of 
a  busy,  thriving  city.  Michael  Head- 
rick  lived  about  a  mile  west  of  the  same 
point,  and  Samuel  Thomas,  Abram 
Sells  and  others  were  at  various  dis- 
tances in  the  same  general  direction. 

The  county  seat  was  located  by  the 
commissioners  upon  the  20th  of  Febru- 
ary, 1821,  and  was  immediately  sur- 
veyed on  the  loth  of  March,  of  the 
same  year,  but  was  not  filed  for  record 
until  July  30,  1825. 


~rrr 


1026 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


Thomas  Carlin,  the  proprietor  of  the 
new  town,  offered  Jacob  Fry,  afterward 
well  known  as  General  Fry,  a  lot  in 
Carrollton  if  lie  would  build  a  house 
upon  it,  which  was  accepted.  He  im- 
mediately came  here  and  cut  the  tim- 
bers, split  the  boards  and  put  up  a 
house,  which  stood  for  some  57  years, 
and  for  a  long  time  formed  a  part  of  the 
St.  James  hotel,  and  was  consumed  by 
fire  with  the  balance  of  that  block,  on 
the  night  of  Thursday,  March  21,  1878. 
But  before  Mr.  Fry  had  finished  his 
building  he  stopped  his  work  to  assist 
Thomas  Rattan  in  the  building  of  his 
log  cabin,  upon  the  northeast  corner  of 
the  square.  Thus,  this  was  the  first 
building  finished  in  the  new  town,  and 
Fry's  the  second.  This  building  of 
Mr.  Rattan's  was  built  for  and  used  as 
tavern  or  inn, and  was  the  pioneer  hotel  of 
Carrollton. 

Probably  the  next  building  put  up  in 
the  town  was  a  temporary  office,  built 
on  the  west  side  of  the  square,  by  Sam- 
uel Lee,  Jr.,  clerk  of  the  circuit  court, 
recorder,  county  clerk,  justice  of  the 
peace,  etc. 

Next  was  the  court  house,  the  contract 
to  build  which  was  let  on  the  13th  of 
June,  1821,  to  William  and  Thomas 
Finley,  who  agreed  to  build  it  for  $380. 
In  the  following  September  a  contract 
was  entered  into  with  Thomas  Rattan 
to  build  a  chimney  for  the  same,  at  an 
expense  of  $55,  6000  bricks  to  be  fur- 
nished him.  The  building  was  entirely 
finished  by  the  1st  of  June,  1822.  It 
was  if  long,  two-story  building,  with 
one  end  to  the  square,  a  plain,  wooden 
building,  dingy  in  appearance,  and  far 
from  ornamental  or  attractive. 

In  Dec,  1821,  a  contract  was  also  let 


to  John  Dee  and  Henry  Teagarden,  to 
build  a  hewn  log  jail,  a  little  west  of 
the  court  house. 

On  the  east  side  of  the  square,  on  the 
north  end,  was  erected  the  first  store  in 
the  town  of  Carrollton.  This  was  opened 
by  a  party  in  Edwards ville  by  the  name 
of  Pogue,  who  placed  it  in  charge  of 
John  W.  Skidmore,  who  sold  the  first 
goods  in  the  young  village.  This  build- 
ing stood  on  the  site  of  the  Sharon  store, 
and  was  a  small  frame  structure.  Skid- 
more  was  an  active,  restless,  nervous 
little  man,  wdio  was  always  in  a  hurry, 
knew  everybody,  was  everywhere  at 
once,  at  least  it  seemed  so,  and  always 
busy.  He  kept  a  small  stock  of  goods 
of  the  general  character  usually  found 
stores  in  all  new  countries,  including 
liquors. 

Shortly  after  this,  Samuel  Lee  erected 
a  dwelling  on  the  north  side  of  the 
square,  on  the  site  of  the  present  Rus- 
sell block,  where  he  boarded  with  John 
Skidmore,  whose  sister-in-law.  Miss 
Faust,  he  afterward  married.  This  was 
a  neat  frame  building  with  a  portico  in 
front.  This  building  was  afterward 
known  as  the  haunted  house.  Mr.  Lee 
died  here  in  1829,  having  commenced  a 
house,  afterward  inhabited  by  Judge 
Hodges,  and  which  was  finished  after 
his  death.  After  Mrs.  Lee  had  moved  into 
the  new  house,  a  man  by  the  name  of 
Clements,  who  had  the  contract  for  car- 
rying the  mail  from  St.  Louis  to  Car- 
rollton moved  into  the  old  house,  which 
had  been  enlarged,  and  here  his  wife 
died  of  cholera,  in  the  fall  of  1832. 

David  Locke,  deceased,  was  born  in 
Shelby  ville,  Ky.,  on  Feb.  22,  1799,  and 
there  grew  to  manhood,  serving  an  ap- 
prenticeship to  the  trade  of  brick-mason. 


July  24,  1823,  he  was  united  in  marriage 
with  Caroline  M.  Burford,  a  native  of 
Lynchburg,  Va.  The  marriage  cere- 
mony wars  performed  by  Rev.  Simon 
Peter,  who  was  afterward  one  of  the 
pioneer  ministers  at  Brighton,  111.  After 
marriage  they  resided  in  Mason  county, 
K\\,  and  from  there  removed  to  St. 
Louis,  and  engaged  as  contractor  and 
builder.  While  there  he  contracted  to 
build  a  residence  for  Samuel  Lee,  Jr., 
of  Carrollton,  then  circuit  clerk.  Mr. 
Locke,  in  1828,  removed  his  family  to 
Carrollton,  and  afterwards  built  the  first 
brick  houses  in  Greene,  Jersey  and  Ma- 
coupin counties.  He  built  the  first 
brick  court  bouses  in  Greene  and  Ma- 
coupin counties,  and  also  the  original 
building  of  the  Shurtleff  College,  at 
Alton.  In  1838  he  contracted  to  erect 
the  buildings  of  the  Indian  Missions, 
near  Westport,  Mo.,  for  the  M.  E. 
church,  and  removed  his  family  to  Lex- 
ington, Mo.,  which  was  then  the  near- 
est town  to  Westport,  and  the  largest 
place  on  the  Missouri  river  west  of  St. 
Louis.  He  continued  as  contractor  and 
builder  until  just  before  the  war.  Po- 
litically, Mr.  Locke  wasa  whig  from  the 
time  he  attained  his  majority  till  the 
dissolution  of  that  party,  and  then 
joined  the  know-nothing  party.  He 
was  a  believer  in  states  rights,  that  the 
Union  was  a  confederation  of  states. 
That  a  state  had  the  right  to  secede, 
and  that  a  man  should  obey  the  laws 
and  commands  of  his  state.  Mr.  Locke, 
like  nearly  all  other  men  of  Southern 
birth,  claimed  that,  as  Missouri  had 
seceded  from  the  Union,  he  must 
cast  his  lot  with  the  south.  At  the 
beginning  of  the  war  many  of  his 
personal  and  political  friends  in  Lexing- 


ton were  arrested  by  the  Federal  troops. 

For  giving  them  a  salutation,  while  they 
were  in  jail,  he  was  arrested  and  placed 
in  jail,  in  the  summer  of  1861.  He 
\\:i-  afterward  removed  to  the  Masonic 
College,  which  was  occupied  as  a  fort  by 
Col.  Mulligan,  and  there  kept  as  a  po- 
litical prisoner.  While  Gen.  Price  was 
bombarding  the  town  and  commenced 
storming  the  fort,  David  Locke  and 
other  political  prisoners  were  put  in  the 
pockets  of  the  breast-works  between  the 
lire-  of  the  Federal^  and  Confederates, 
and  were  kept  in  that  condition  two 
days.  In  the  meantime,  all  the  pris- 
oners took  the  oath  of  loyalty  prescribed 
by  Col.  Mulligan,  and  were  released, 
except  Mr.  Locke,  who  refused  to  take 
the  oath,  even  under  such  trying  cir- 
cumstances. Gen.  Price,  being  made 
aware  of  this,  sent  a  Hag  of  truce  to 
Col.  Mulligan,  informing  him  that  if 
Mr. Locke  was  not  immediately  removed 
to  a  place  of  safety,  he  (Gen.  Price) 
would  put  Ex-Gov.  Austin  A.  King  and 
John  F.  Ryland,  and  others,  whom  he 
held  as  political  prisoners,  in  like  jeop- 
ardy,  which  produced  the  desired  effi  cl 
Mr.  Locke  was  then  confined  in  the 
basement  of  the  building,  where  he 
spent  his  time  during  the  remainder  of 
the  battle.  During  the  time  of  his  im- 
prisonment, his  wife  resided  on  the 
homestead  at  Lexington.  She,  during 
the  battle,  took  refuge  in  the  basement 
of  her  house,  to  avoid  stray  shots  and 
shell,  and  while  in  the  basement,  a  can- 
non ball  passed  through  the  house  At 
the  surrender  of  the  tort,  Mr.  Locke  re- 
fused his  release,  until  formally  released 
by  Col.  Mulligan  without  any  oath. 
After  the  war  Mr.  Locke  was  too  far  ad- 
vanced in  life  to  resume  an  active  career. 


1028 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


He,  however,  resided  at  Lexington  un- 
til the  death  of  his  wife,  in  1868,  after 
which  he  resided  with  his  children.  In 
1878,  he  visited  Carrollton,  Jerseyville 
and  Carlinville,  and  found  a  few  old  as- 
sociates and  acquaintances  of  forty  years 
before,  but  most  of  them  had  either 
died  or  moved  away.  Mr.  Locke  was  a 
devoted  member  of  the  M.  E.  church. 
He  built  the  first  church  of  that  denom- 
ination at  Carrollton,  and  nearly  paid 
for  the  same  alone.  Upon  the  division 
of  the  church  in  1844,  he  went  with  the 
church  south,  and  remained  a  member 
at  Lexington,  state  of  Missouri,  until  his 
death,  which  occurred  at  the  home  of 
his  daughter,  Mary  A.,  at  Bunceton, 
Mo.,  in". Jan.,  1879.  Of  the  children 
born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Locke,  five  at- 
tained their  majority — George  and  Mary 
A.,  reside  at  San  Diego,  Cal.;  Morris 
R.,  resides  at  Jerseyville;  and  two  sons 
are  deceased.  The  eldest,  Powhattan 
Bnrford,  was  a  colonel  in  the  Federal 
army  and  judge  of  the  United  States 
district  court,  under  President  Lincoln. 
His  death  took  place  at  Louisiana,  Mo., 
in  1868.  He  was  the  only  one  in  the 
family  who  fought  in  the  Federal  army, 
George,  James  A.  and  Morris  R.  being 
in  the  Confederate  army.  James  A. 
died  at  Jerseyville  Aug.  1,  1881,  after  a 
brief  and  painful  illness.  He  was  con- 
nected with  every  enterprise  for  the  im- 
provement and  betterment  of  the  com- 
munity in  which  he  lived.  With  his 
associates  he  projected  the  St.  L.,  J.  & 
S.  R.  R.,  and  the  Chesterfield  Coal  and 
Mining  Co. 

The  principal  store  of  early  days  was 
opened  in  the  spring  of  1822,  by  Pres- 
ton D.  Kennett,  who  for  many  years  car- 
vied  on  the  largest  business  there. 


Prior  to  June,  1823,  lots  were  sold  in 
Carrollton  to  the  following  named  indi- 
viduals, who  settled  here:  William 
Pinkerton,  Martin  Wood,  A.  W.  Cav- 
erly,  William  Finley,  John  Brown,  R. 
Stephens,  Willis  Webb,  Stark  Foster, 
Thomas  Gilliland,  Jacob  Waggoner, 
Isaac  Pruitt,  Charles  Banes,  William 
Reay,  Charles  Gregory,  John  Huitt,  Jr., 
Isaiah  Streetor,  Hugh  Jackson,  Samuel 
Whitley,  John  Moore  and  A.  K.  Barber. 
For  many  years  the  growth  of  the  town 
was  slow,  so  much  so  that  in  1829  it  was 
but  a  cluster  of  log  hou  es,  according  to 
the  account  of  Prof.  J.  M.  Sturtevant,  of 
the  Illinois  College,  who  visited  it. 
Willis  Webb  was  one  of  the  first  settlers 
in  the  town  of  Carrollton,  the  house 
which  he  built  in  the  fall  of  1821  being 
rented  in  March,  1822,  by  the  county 
commissioners,  in  which  to  hold  a 
session  of  court. 

Quite  a  number  of  taverns  sprang 
into  existence  during  the  years  1822  and 
3,  as  it  is  found  that  on  the  5th  of 
March,  1822,  a  license  was  granted  to 
Henry  Teagarden,  to  keep  a  place  of 
entertainment  for  one  year,  that  was 
reissued  the  following  year.  In  April, 
1823,  licenses  were  granted  for  the  .same 
purposes  to  Lewis  Abrams,  Lester 
Brown,  Willis  Webb  &  Edward  Prather 
and  Samuel  Howe. 

The  first  church  building  in  the  town 
of  Carrollton  was  erected  by  the  Bap- 
tists, who  were  the  pioneer  denomina- 
tion of  this  locality.  This  building 
stood  a  little  to  the  southeast  of  the 
square,  a  little  out  of  town  in  those 
da}'S.  For  several  years  Rev.  Aaron 
Smith,  a  Revolutionary  pensioner,  who 
had  been  badly  wounded  at  the  battle 
of  Eutaw  Springs,  was  pastor.     He  did 


not  reside  in  the  village,  but  about  a 
mile  and  a  half  southeast,  but  after- 
ward  removed   north   of  Apple  creek. 

He  some  years  later  emigrated  to  Ar- 
kansas, where  lie  died.  A  history  of 
this  church  is  found  with  the  other 
churches  of  Carrollton  in  the  Ecclesias- 
tical chapter  of  this  volume. 

The  history  of  Carrollton  was  for 
some  years  so  interwoven  with  that  of 
tin-  county,  that  it  has  been  difficult  to 
separate  them,  and  will  be  found  in  the 
general  chapters  of  this  work. 

In  1833,  the  little  to.vn,  then  contain- 
ing but  about  300  inhabitants,  was  swept 
by  that  dreadful  scourge,  Asiatic  cholera, 
and  over  30  inhabitants  succumbed  to 
the  dreadful  epidemic.  A  stage  line 
ran  from  this  place  to  St.  Louis,  where 
it  was  raging,  and  thus  was  it  brought 
to  the  pretty  little  village,  to  desolate 
so  many  hearths.  Nearly  every  one  in 
the  town  was  either  .sick  or  busy  in  at- 
tendance on  the  sick.  Business  was 
entirely  suspended,  grass  grew  in  the 
streets  and  the  entire  place  had  a  de- 
serted, funereal  appearance.  Those  who 
lived  in  the  country  dared  not  venture 
to  leave  their  homes,  being  fearful  of 
being  stricken  down  among  comparative 
strangers,  and  so  perishing. 

The  first  newspaper  in  Carrollton  was 
the  Peoples  A<lco<;ii-:.  published  in  1842, 
of  which  an  account  is  given  in  the 
chapter  in  relation  to  the  press  of  the 
county. 

PRESENT    BUSINESS    INTERESTS. 

One  of  the  largest  and  finest  dry  goods 
establishments  in  Carrollton  is  that  of 
Vedder,  Johnou  &  Davis.  It  was  es- 
tablished in  1881,  by  Vedder  &  John- 
son, who  conducted  it  until  Jan.,  1882, 
when    the    present    firm    was    formed. 


They  occupy  a   fine,   large    store   i 
in  the  block  owned  by  Kergher  &  E 
which  is  30x80  feet  in  size,   and  have  a 
well  selected  stock  of  dry  goods,  b 
shoes,  hats,   caps,   etc.,    which  will   in- 
voice about  814,000. 

Orange  T.  Vedder,  one  of  the  firm  of 
Vedder,  Johnson  &  Davis,  the  mammoth 
dry  goods  house  of  Carrollton,  is  a  na- 
tive of  this  city.  He  was  burn  Nov.  7, 
1850,  his  parents  being  Francis  P.  and 
Wilhelmina  (Lerpune)  Vedder,  natives 
of  New  York,  who  came  to  Greene 
county  in  1830.  Francis  P.  held  the 
office  of  county  clerk  for  17  years.  Mrs. 
Vedder  died  in  1861,  and  he  in  1874. 
Orange  was  educated  in  the  Carrollton 
schools,  and  in  1867  took  a  posit! 
clerk  in  a  dry  goods  house,  where  he 
remained  until  1881,  when  in  company 
with  F.  A.  Davis  and  J.  I.  Johnson  he 
started  in  the  dry  goods  business  for 
himself,  in  which  lie  still  continues,  al- 
ways on  hand  at  his  busy  post,  where  he 
lias  met  with  much  success.  He  was 
united  in  marriage  Jan.  31,  1882,  with 
Mollie  G.  Jackson,  daughter  of  Hayden 
and  Louisa  I  Hinton  |  Jackson.  By  this 
marriage  there  is  one  daughter — Vena, 
born  April  15,  1884.  Mrs.  Vedder  is  a 
member  of  the  Christian  church.  Mr. 
Vedder  is  a  member  of  the  K.  of  1'. 
lodge. 

James  I.  Johnson,  partner  in  the 
large  dry  goods  firm  in  Carrollton,  was 
born  in  Alton.  (Jet.  27,  1854, his  parents 
being  James  I.  and  Zella  (Edwards) 
Johnson,  natives  of  Maryland.  They 
came  to  Illinois  in  183S,  and  both  died 
in  Greene  county  in  1SC.7,  his  father  in 
April,  and  his  mother  in  May.  They 
engaged  in  fanning  here.  James  was 
educated  in    the    common    schools    and 


1030 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY, 


finished  at  Blackburn  College,  in  Car- 
linville.  He  afterward  engaged  in  the 
livery  business  in  Carrollton,  which  he 
conducted  four  years,  and  then  com- 
menced his  present  business,  in  part- 
nership with  F.  A.  Davis  and  0.  T. 
Vedder,  and  has  met.  with  excellent  suc- 
cess. In  187S  Mr.  Johnson  was  elected 
alderman,  and  served  one  term  to  the 
benefit  of  our  city  and  its  population. 
lie  is  a  memherof  Carrollton  lodge  No. 
342,  I.  0.  0.  F.,  in  which  he  is  past 
grand,  and  of  the  encampment  No.  81. 
lie  is  also  a  member  of  Olympic  lodge, 
No.  913,  of  the  K.  of  H. 

Francis  Addison  Davis,  one  of  the 
genial  and  enterprising  proprietors  of 
the  dry  goods,  boot  and  shoe  house, 
known  as  the  firm  of  Vedder,  Johnson 
A*  Davis,  in  Carrollton,  was  born  in  this 
city  Feb.  27,  1858,  his  parents  being 
James  M.  and  Sarah  (Vedder)  Davis, 
his  father  a  native  of  Kentucky,  his 
mother  of  Lysandcr,  N.  Y.  His  father 
was  a  physician  and  enjoyed  an  excel- 
lent reputation  and  a  fine  practice.  His 
death  occurred  June  8,  1885.  He  was 
honored  and  esteemed  by  all  who  knew 
him.  Mrs.  Davis  still  resides  in  Car- 
rollton. Francis  was  educated  in  the 
schools  here,  after  which,  in  1874,  he 
entered  a  dry  goods  store  as  clerk  and 
was  thus  engaged  until  1881.  Then  in 
company  with  James  I.  Johnson  and 
Orange  T.  Vedder,  he  opened  up  with 
a  stock  of  dry  goods,  boots,  shoes,  etc., 
and  the  firm  are  now  doing  a  heavy 
business,  having  met  with  success  be- 
yond their  anticipations. 

In  June,  1885,  E.  F.  Wheeler  engaged 
in  the  sale  of  dry  goods,  boots,  etc. 

McFarland,  Weagley  A  Co.,  dealers 
in    dry  goods,    etc.,  in    1878  succeeded 


McFarland  it  Robinson,  who  had  con- 
ducted the  business  since  1870.  At 
that  time,  this  firm  succeeded  McFar- 
land, Robinson  A  Hodges,  who  had  suc- 
ceeded Z.  A.  Morrow.  McFarland. Hub- 
bell  &  Co.  established  the  business  in 
1864,  and  were  succeeded,  in  1866,  by 
Z.  A.  Morrow. 

Sharon  Bros,  are  dealers  in  dry  goods, 
etc.  The  business  was  established  in 
1857,  by  John  K.,  Joseph  K.  and  John 
J.  Sharon.  In  1860,  Jos.  K.  and  J.  J. 
took  the  business,  and  continued  it  un- 
til 1869,  when  C.  C.  Sharon  joined  the 
firm.  Since  18S2,  the  present  firm  has 
conducted  the  business. 

The  popular  grocery  and  queensware 
establishment  conducted  by  William  E. 
and  George  W.  Clark,  is  one  of  the 
largest  in  the  city.  By  honesty  and  fair 
dealing,  these  gentlemen  have  succeeded 
in  building  up  a  large  trade,  which 
keeps  constantly  increasing.  They  are 
pleasant  gentlemen,  and  richly  deserve 
the  success  they  are  meeting  with.  They 
carry  a  full  stock  of  goods  in  their 
lines. 

William  E.  Clark,  proprietor  of  the 
grocery  ami  queensware  store  in  Car- 
rollton, in  partnership  with  his  brother, 
George  W.,  is  a  native  of  Eockport,  111. 
He  was  born  June  7,  1857,  and  is  a  son 
of  Rev.  W.  D.  and  Mary  S.  (Wright) 
Clark,  natives  of  New  York,  who  came 
to  Illinois  in  1849.  Rev.  Mr.  Clark  has 
been  pastor  in  the  cities  of  Carrollton, 
Quincy,  Galesburg  and  Aurora,  111.,  and 
is  now  associate  editor  on  the  li<ii>t:M 
Flag,  of  St.  Louis.  As  a  minister  he 
has  been  very  successful  in  the  places 
where  he  has  preached,  and  is  probably 
one  of  the  most  noted  clergymen  in  the 
state.     Rev.  Mr.  Clark  is  now  residing 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


1031 


in  St.  Louis,  having  removed  there  re- 
cently. William  E.  received  his  educa- 
tion in  the  high  school  of  Quincy,  and 
alter  his  school  days  were  over,  he  went 
to  California,  where  he  engaged  in  the 
mercantile  business,  at  San  Francisco. 
In  this  he  continued  for  a  year  and  a 
half,  and  then  proceeded  to  Detroit, 
Mich.,  where  he  took  a  position  in  the 
office  of  the  Pullman  Palace  Car  Co.  He 
remained  there  six  months,  and  then  re- 
moved to  Council  Bluffs,  la.,  and  there 
tuck  charge  of  some  railroad  contract 
work,  for  two  years,  after  which  time 
he  entered  the  freight  office  of  the  W., 
St.  L.  &  P.  R.  R.,  in  that  city,  as  ab- 
stract or  receiving  clerk.  He  was  thus 
engaged  for  two  years,  then  was  on  the 
road  three  years  as  traveling  salesman 
for  a  di-y  goods  house,  and  then  located 
in  Carrollton,  where  he  is  now  doing  a 
prosperous  business,  being  known  to  all 
as  a  genial,  accommodating  gentleman. 
Mr.  Clark  is  a  member  of  Carrollton 
lodge  No.  50,  A.  F.  &  A.  M. 

G.  E.  Johnson  established  his  present 
grocery  business  in  April,  1881,  at  the 
southeast  corner  of  the  public  square. 
He  carries  a  stock  of  groceries,  pro- 
visions, queensware,  etc.,  which  will 
invoice  about  $2,000.  The  salesroom  is 
20x66  feet  in  size. 

Gouvcrneur  E.  Johnson  was  born  in 
Alton,  111.,  Nov.  5,  1852,  and  is  a  son  of 
James  I.  and  Zabie  (Edwards)  Johnson, 
natives  of  Maryland.  They  came  to 
Illinois,  in  1848,  locating  at  Alton, 
where  Mr.  Johnson  became  deputy  war- 
den of  the  state  penitentiary,  under 
Col.  Buckmaster,  which  position  he  held 
for  16  years.  He  subsequently  removed 
to  eastern  Greene  county,  where  he 
engaged  in  farming  until  1867,  when  he 


was  the  victim  of  a  sad  accident.  He 
was  breaking  a  pair  of  mules,  when 
they  ran  away,  throwing  him  out  and 
breaking  his  neck.  His  wife  died  in  il 
days  after  his  death,  on  the  6th  of  May. 
G.  E.  Johnson  received  his  education 
in  the  Blackburn  University,  at  Carlin- 
ville,  and  after  finishing  there,  he  pro- 
ceeded to  Baltimore,  where  he  remained 
four  years,  being  engaged  in  settling  up 
the  estate  of  two  of  his  deceased  uncles. 
He  then  returned  to  Greene  county  and 
engaged  in  the  livery  business  at  Car- 
rollton, in  which  he  continued  one  year. 
This  business  he  then  sold  out,  and 
opened  up  a  stock  of  groceries  and 
queensware,  in  which  he  met  with  such 
success  that  he  is  still  conducting  the 
same  prosperous  business.  In  1880, 
Mr.  Johnson  was  united  in  marriage 
with  Fannie  E.  Scott,  daughter  of  Thos. 
and  Kate  (Doran )  Scott,  natives  of  Liv- 
erpool, Eng.,  who  came  to  America  in 
1851,  and  are  now  residing  in  Carroll- 
ton. Mrs.  Johnson  is  a  member  of  the 
Episcopal  church.  Mr.  Johnson  is  a 
member  of  the  city  council,  having  been 
elected  in  April,  1885,  and  holds  the 
office  until  1887.  He  is  there  doing 
many  acts  of  kindness  to  his  needy  fel- 
low-men, in  endeavoring  to  relieve  their 
distress.  He  is  a  member  of  the  I.  O. 
0.  F.  and  K.  of  H.  lodges  of  this  city, 
and  is  an  enterprising  citizen. 

Cornelius  Carmody  has  a  general 
store  opposite  the  C.  A*  A.  depot.  He 
has  been  doing  business  in  Carrollton 
since  1867. 

Cornelius  .Carmody  came  to  Greene 
county  in  July,  1850,  and  for  six  or 
seven  years,  worked  by  the  month,  tin  a 
farm,  lie  then  bought  land  and  began 
farming  for  himself.  In  1865  he  removed 


1032 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY 


to  Carrollton,  and  engaged  in  the  gro- 
cery business.  He  also  purchased  land 
at  different  times  afterward,  and  now 
owns  120  acres,  all  within  the  city  lim- 
its, for  which  he  paid  from  $61  to  $100 
per  acre.  He  also  owns  his  store,  and 
lot,  two  houses  and  lots,  and  another 
stoic  and  lot,  which  cost  him  $4,500. 
He  was  born  in  county  Clare.  Ireland, 
in  1830,  and  came  to  America  in  1850, 
landing  at  New  Orleans  July  1,  and  ar- 
riving in  Carrollton  July  12.  He  mar- 
ried Bridget  Hines,  and  by  that  union 
there  were  four  children,  only  one  of 
whom  is  now  living — Lydia,  wife  of 
George  D.  Hill.  Mrs.  Carmody  died, 
and  he  was  again  married  to  Ann  Con- 
nole.  They  are  the  parents  of  seven 
children  —  John,  Cornelius,  Minnie, 
Maggie,  Nora,  Katie  and  Emma.  Mr. 
Carmody  is  a  member  of  the  Catholic 
Church.  His  political  views  are  demo- 
cratic. 

George  D.  Hill,  who  conducts  the 
leading  tonsorial  establishment  of  this 
city,  was  born  in  Carrollton,  Aug. 
15,  1861.  his  parents  being  John  and 
Martha  Hill.  He  received  his  education 
in  the  public  schools,  and  afterward  was 
employed  with  his  father  as  a  painter. 
But  his  health  would  not  permit  him 
to  follow  that  business,  and  he  thus,  in 
the  year  1880,  commenced  working  at 
the  barber's  trade.  In  1881  he  bought 
out  his  employer,  and  engaged  in  busi- 
ness for  himself,  in  which  he  still  con- 
tinues, with  goodsuccess.  .May  13,  18S4, 
Mr.  Hill  was  united  in  marriage  with 
Lydia  Carmody,  daughter  of  Cornelius 
Carmody,  which  union  has  been  blessed 
with  one  son — George  C.  Mr.  Hill  at- 
tends closely  to  business,  and  is  re- 
spected for  his  honesty  and  fair  dealing. 


J.  Rainey  &  Son  have  been  engaged 
in  the  grocery  and  queensware  business 
since  IS?'.). 

Greene  &  Bingham,  grocers,  com- 
menced business  in  1885,  succeeding 
Greene  &  Simpson,  who  established  the 
same  in  July,  1881. 

H.  Schafer  &  Co.,  grocers,  established 
their  business  in  1882. 

R.  G.  Johnson,  grocer,  is  the  suc- 
cessor of  H.  L.  Johnson  &  Son,  who 
established  the  business  in  1871. 

John  J.  Sharon,  grocer,  commenced 
business  in  1882,  as  successor  to  Sharon 
Bros.,  who  established  the  same  in  1866. 

The  wholesale  and  retail  business  of 
Charles  H.  Hodges,  dealer  in  groceries, 
provisions,  chinaware,  etc.,  was  estab- 
lished by  Hodges  &  Keeley,  in  1872, 
who  operated  the  same  two  years,  when 
they  were  succeeded  by  Hodges  &  Bro. 
In  1881  the  present  firm  took  charge. 

The  business  of  E.  Smith  &  Co., 
druggists  and  book-sellers,  was  estab- 
lished in  1867,  by  A.  H.  and  Henry 
Smith,  under  the  firm  caption  of  Smith 
Brothers.  They  continued  the  same 
until  1875,  when  they  were  succeeded 
by  Smith  &  Crow,  and  followed  in  1877 
by  the  present  firm,  which  is  composed 
of  Edward  and  A.  H.  Smith.  Their 
store  room  is  20x60  feet  in  dimensions. 
They  carry  a  stock  which  will  invoice 
from  $5,000  to  $6,000. 

Alexander  H.  Smith,  M.  D.,  was  born 
in  New  Brunswick,  N.  J.,  Aug.  24, 1816. 
He  took  a  literary  course  at  Rutger's 
('"Iliac,  from  which  he  graduated  in 
1834,  after  which  he  entered  the  medical 
college  at  Philadelphia,  and  in  1837 
graduated  as  physician  and  surgeon. 
He  soon  afterward  came  to  Illinois  and 
located  in  Jersey    county,  near   Jersey- 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


1033 


ville,  giving  his  attention  to  farming. 
Later  he  removed  to  Kane,  in  this 
county,  and  engaged  in  mercantile  pur- 
suits. In  1867  he  came  to  Carrollton 
and  has  since  been  interested  in  the 
the  drug  trade.  While  a  resident  of 
Jersey  county,  he  married  Amanda 
Robinson,  of  Greene  county,  who  died 
in  Dec,  lss_»,  having  live  children — 
Charles,  Henry,  Edward,  Greg  R.  and 
Mamie  E. 

Edward  Smith,  of  the  dvug  firm  of  E. 
Smith  A  Co.,  was  born  in  Kane,  Feb. 
■"..  1855,  and  is  a  son  of  Alexander  H. 
and  Amanda  (Robinson)  Smith.  He  has 
been  engaged  in  the  drug  business,  at 
Carrollton,  since  1871,  and  has  been  a 
member  of  the  firm  since  1S75.  He 
takes  an  active  part  in  the  literary  in- 
terests of  the  place,  and  his  religious 
connection  is  with  the  Baptist  church. 
He  is  a  member  of  the  board  of  educa- 
tion, and  in  politics  is  a  democrat. 

C.  P.  Clemmons  also  handles  drugs, 
stationery,  etc.  The  business  was  estab- 
lished by  this  gentleman  in  1862. 

S.  A.  Vedder,  druggist,  engaged  in 
business  in  1870,  as  successor  to  Fry  & 
Armstrong.  The  trade  was  established 
by  Vedder  &  Davis  in  1864.  In  1868, 
Eobson  &  Dor.aho.  became  the  proprie- 
tors. Two  years  later  Fry  A  Armstrong 
took  charge. 

L.  Levy  &  Co.  are  engaged  in  the 
clothing  and  merchant  tailoring  busi- 
ness, which  was  established  in  1866,  by 
H.  *  S.  Levy.  In  1877,  Samuel  Levy 
succeeded  that  firm.  In  1885  the  pres- 
ent firm  took  charge. 

H.  L.  Horwitz,  dealer  in  clothing, 
etc.,  established  the  business  in  1879. 

H.  C.  Sieverling,  dealer  in  agricul- 
tural     implements,      manufacturer      of 


wagons  and  plows,  and  a  general  black- 
smith at  Carrollton,  111.,  established 
this  business  in  1866. 

H.  C.  Sieverling  is  a  native  of  Bruns- 
wick, Germany.  He  was  born  on  Easter 
Sunday,  April  9,  1828,  his  parents  being 
Conrad  and  Eliza  (Bullman)  Sieverling, 
also  natives  of  Brunswick.  Both  are 
now  deceased.  H.  ('.  was  educated  in 
Germany,  ami  there  served  an  appren- 
ticeship at  the  lockmaker's  and  black- 
smith's trade,  and  then  reported  for 
military  duty.  In  1S4S  he  sailed  for 
America,  on  a  vessel  hound  for  New 
Orleans.  He  located  first  in  that  city, 
and  afterwards  in  Baton  Rouge,  where 
he  staid  for  nine  years,  being  employed 
at  machine  work.  In  1853  he  engaged 
in  the  building  of  snag  boats,  and  thus 
continued  until  1857,  when  he  came  up 
to  St.  Louis.  From  there  he  removed 
to  Keokuk,  la.,  but  in  a  short  time  re- 
turned to  St.  Louis,  thence  coming  to 
Illinois,  and  in  1858,  located  at  Wood- 
ville,  this  county,  where  he  carried  on 
a  successful  business  until  1866.  He 
then  removed  to  Carrollton,  purchased 
property,  and  commenced  his  present 
business.  Mr.  Sieverling  is  a  skillful 
artisan,  well  worthy  of  the  patronage 
he  has  succeeded  in  obtaining.  In  1855 
he  was  joined  in  marriage  with  Elean- 
ora  Helmbold,  a  native  of  Philadelphia. 
They  are  the  parents  of  three  children 
—William  H.,  born  Jan.  16,  1860;  Otis 
A.,  born  Aug.  24,  1862;  George  1'..,  born 
Oct.  15,  1864.  Mrs.  Sieverling  was  a 
widow,  and  has  two  children  by  her 
former  marriage  —  Henrietta,  wife  of 
Col.  J.  B.  Nulton,  id'  Carrollton;  and 
Sophia,  wife  of  Adam  Gimmy,  id'  Car- 
rollton. Mrs.  Sieverling  and  her  young- 
est daughter  are  members  of  the  Pres- 


1034 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


byterian  church,  aird  her  oldest  daugh- 
ter is  a  member  of  the  Episcopal  church. 
Mr.  Sieverling  has  represented  his  ward 
in  the  city  council,  having  been  electi  d 
alderman  at  one  time.  He  is  a  member 
of  Carrollton  lodge  No.  50,  A.  F.  &  A. 
M.;  of  chapter  No.  77:  of  Hugh  DePay- 
en  commandery,  No.  29,  and  of  lodge 
No.  342,  I.  0.  (>  F.,  and  ln.s  also  been 
a  member  of  the  encampment.  Thus 
il  will  he  seen  that  he  is  an  enterprising 
citizen. 

About  the  year  1863,  A.  B.  Whitney 
established  the  hardware  and  agricul- 
tural implement  business,  now  carried 
on  by  J.  P.  Morrow  &  Co.  After  two 
years  the  firm  became  Morrow  &  Whit- 
ney, but  in  1868  the  former  retired.  In 
1868  the  present  firm  came  into  exist- 
ence. 

Stout  &  Smith  sell  hardware,  farm 
machinery  and  implements.  This  bus- 
iness was  established  by  J.  II.  Stout 
about  the  year  1879.  In  1885,  S.  O. 
Smith  became  a  member  of  the  firm. 

Thomas  Scott,  dealer  in  stoves,  tin- 
ware and  fancy  goods,  commenced  bus- 
iness in  1860,  on  the  northeast  corner  of 
the  square.  In  1868,  he  erected  a  build- 
ing on  the  southeast  corner  of  the  public 
square,  and  moved  his  stock  thereto. 
The  building  is  a  brick  structure,  20x84, 
and  two  stories  high,  built  at  a  cost  of 
$4,500.  He  carries  a  finely  assorted 
stock  in  his  line,  which  will  invoice 
about  $3,000. 

Simpson  &  Black,  dealers  in  stoves, 
tinware,  established  business  in  1884. 

Jacob  Tendick,  hoot  and  shoe  dealer, 
engaged  in  the  business  in  1879,  moving 
to  his  present  quarters  in  1882. 

The  restaurant,  bakery  and  confec- 
tionary of  H.  T.   Eberlein    was  estab- 


lished by  Beatty  &  Porter,  about  the 
year  1879.  They  conducted  it  about 
two  years,  when  they  were  succeeded  by 
John  Plattner,  who  continued  the  busi- 
ness until  1881,  at  which  time  the  pres- 
ent proprietor  assumed  control. 

Herman  T.  Eberlein, proprietor  of  the 
restaurant  on  the  west  side  of  the 
square,  in  Carrollton,  is  a  native  of 
Saxe-Coburg,  German}-,  and  was  born 
July  28,  1853.  He  is  a  son  of  Paul  and 
Adelaide  (Conrad)  Eberlein,  also  na- 
tives of  Germany.  Herman  \vas  edu- 
cated at  Coburg,  graduating  from  the 
gymnasium  in  1867.  He  then  engaged 
as  a  salesman  in  the  mercantile  business 
for  one  year,  and  in  1868  immigrated  to 
America.  On  reaching  here,  he  came 
west  as  far  as  St  Louis,  where  he  learned 
the  confectioner's  trade.  He  remained 
there  four  years  and  then  came  to  Car- 
rollton, where  he  entered  the  employ 
of  Frank  Vivell,  baker  and  confectioner; 
and  was  thus  engaged  two  years.  He 
then  went  to  Burlington,  la.,  where 
he  continued  in  the  same  business, 
and  during  the  three  last  years  of  his 
stay  there  carried  on  a  restaurant.  This 
be  sold  out,  and  then  returned  to  Car- 
rollton, and  purchased  the  confectionery 
and  restaurant  in  which  he  is  now  do- 
ing a  paying  business,  and  by  attending 
closely  to  the  wants  of  his  customers, 
is  meeting  with  deserved  success.  In 
1874,  he  married  Frances  C.  Britchge, 
daughter  of  Joseph  and  Regina  (Vonah) 
Britchge,  natives  of  Switzerland,  who 
came  to  America  in  1853,  locating  in 
Greene  county,  where  they  now  reside. 
This  union  has  been  blessed  with  five 
children — Amanda,  born  Nov.  4,  1875; 
Francis  J.,  horn  June  21,  1877;  Paul, 
born  June  11,    1878;  Albert,  born  June 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


1035 


16,  1880;  and  Selma,  born  Feb.  16,  1884, 
Mr.  Eberlein  is  a  member  of  Carrollton 
lodge  No.  342,  1.  0.  0.  F.,  and  of  Car- 
rollton encampment  No.  ML  He  is  also 
a  member  of  the  order  of  Knights  of 
Pythias. 

The  bakery  business  now  operated  by 
G.  L.  Williams, was  established  in  1856 
by  F.  Vivell. 

The  harness  and  saddlery  business  is 
represented  by  J.  T.  Cameron,  who  es- 
tablished the  same  in  1855.  The  build- 
ing is  located  on  the  west  side  of  the 
square,  and  is  45x23  feet  in  size.  He 
has  a  stock  worth  about  $1,000. 

Joseph  T.  Cameron  is  a  native  of 
Smithville,  Tenn.  He  was  born  Nov. 
5,  1832,  and  is  a  son  of  Joseph  ami 
Mary  (Phillips)  Cameron,  native-  of 
South  Carolina.  His  father  was  a  far- 
mer and  located  in  Greene  county  as 
early  as  1836.  He  died  at  Pueblo,  Mex- 
ico, in  1S4S,  whither  he  had  gone  as  a 
soldier.  Mrs.  Cameron  had  died  in 
Tennessee  many  years  before.  Joseph 
T.  was  educated  in  the  common  schools 
of  this  state,  and  learned  the  trade  of  a 
tanner,  being  indentured  to  Charles  Mc- 
Fadden.  He  subsequently  learned  the 
saddlery  business,  under  Hiram  Reach. 
and  has  since  engaged  in  it  with  the  ex- 
ception of  about  two  years  during  the 
war,  when  he  clerked  in  a  store.  He 
then  again  resumed  his  former  business 
and  is  still  occupied  thereat.  Mr.  Cam- 
eron was  married  Dee.  6,  1859,  to  Jane 
E.  Morrow,  daughter  of  Z.  A.  and  Re- 
becca (Edmonds)  Morrow,  native-  of 
Tennessee  and  South  Carolina,  respect- 
ively. Her  father  is  now  a  resident  of 
Texas.  Her  mother  died  in  this  county. 
Mr.  anil  Mrs.  Cameron  are  the  parents 
of  one  child — George  M.,  born  June  1*. 


1861.  They  are  members  of  the  Bap- 
tist church.  Mr.  Cameron  is  a  member 
of  Carrollton  lodge  No.  50,  A.  F.  &  A. 
M.;  of  chapter  No.  77.  and  of  Hugh 
DePayen  commandery  No.  29,  and  of 
the  G.  T.  lodge,  No.  393.  He  lias  Keen 
master  in  the  blue  lodge,  has  been  ami 
is  now  king  in  the  chapter,  and  is  now 
warder  in  the  commandery.  Mr.  Cam- 
eron has  held  the  office  >>f  alderman  of 
the  city  several  terms,  lie  is  a  genial, 
industrious  business  man,  and  has  met 
with  a  liberal  patronage  in  consequence. 

Adam  A.  Weimer,  cigar  manufacturer, 
ami  retail  dealer  of  all  kinds  oftobaCCO, 
established  the  same  Feb.  10,  1885,  on 
the  north  side  of  the  square.  The 
building  is  20x60  feet  in  size,  and  he 
carries  a  stoek  of  about  $80  I. 

Adam  A.  Weimer,  son  of  John  Adam, 
Sr..  and  Anna  Weimer,  was  born  in 
Orb,  Germany.  July  t'>,  L859.  During 
his  youthful  days  he  attended  school  in 
his  native  land,  for  about  eight  year-, 
attaining  a  good  education.  At  the  age 
of  14,  he  became  apprenticed  to  the 
trade  of  a  cigar-maker,  and  at  the  ex- 
piration of  three  years,  immigrated  to 
this  country,  sailing  from  Bremen,  and 
landing  in  New  York,  June  16,  1*77.  He 
came  direct  to  Carrollton,  and  after  a 
couple  of  years  upon  a  farm,  proceeded 
to  Colorado  ami  New  Mexico,  following 
blacksmithing  in  the  mines  of  that 
country,  during  most  of  the  time  he 
was  there.  After  spending  about  a  year 
in  the  west,  he  returned  to  Carrollton, 
and  entered  the  employ  of  his  brother, 
Charles  A.  In  the  fall  of  1881,  he 
joined  an  opera  company,  at  Chicago, 
and  for  13  months  served  as  general  mu- 
sician of  the  same,  traveling  as  far  west 
as  Salt  Lake  City,  south  to  New  Orleans, 


1036 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


east  to  Boston,  and  north  to  Manitoba. 
Returning  to  Carrollton  in  the  fall   of 

1883,  he  was,  for  a  short  time,  in  part- 
nership with  his  brother,  Joseph  J.,  in 
the  manufacture  of  cigars,  hut  has  since 
become  successor  to  the  firm,  and  is 
still    engaged   in    that   line.     Sept.    10, 

1884,  he  was  married  to  Mattie  E.,  a 
daughter  of  James  Y.  and  Elizabeth 
Mayberry.  Mr.  Weimer  is  a  member 
of  both  the  subordinate  and  encamp- 
ment of  the  I.  0.  O.  F.  order,  and  still 
retains  a  membership  in  the  Chicago 
Musical  Society,  and  is  a  charter  mem- 
ber of  the  Carrollton  Musical  Associa- 
tion. 

Charles  A.  Weimer,  cigar  manufac- 
ture and  retail  dealer  of  all  kinds  of 
tobacco,  pipes,  etc.,  is  located  on  the 
east  side  of  the  square.  He  carries  a 
stock  of  upwards  of  $1,000,  and  does 
a  fine  business.  He  was  formerly  in 
partnership  with  Mr.  Southworth  but 
now  is  the  sole  owner  of  the  stock. 

Charles  A. Weimer  has  been  a  resident 
of  Carrollton  since  1873,  and  has  since 
that  time  been  engaged  in  the  manufac- 
ture of  cigars.  He  was  born  in  Ger- 
many, Aug.  30,  1849,  and  attended 
school  there  from  the  age  of  six  years 
to  13  years.  He  then  commenced  to 
work  at  cigar  making  and  while  follow- 
ing the  trade,  traveled  in  nearly  all 
parts  of  his  native  country.  In  L872, 
he  concluded  to  immigrated  to  Amer- 
ica, as  his  parents  did  not  wish  him  to 
go,  he  left  without  their  knowledge, 
taking  passage  at  Bremen  on  a  vessel 
bound  for  New  York.  He  had  to  bor- 
row the  money  with  which  he  crossed 
the  Atlantic,  and  of  course,  when  hi' 
landed  here,  had  but  very  little.  But 
having  a  letter  of  recommendation  with 


him,  he  succeeded  in  borrowing  enough 
money  to  take  him  to  St.  Louis,  where 
he  was  employed  at  his  trade  18  months, 
and  then  come  to  Carrollton.  Mr. 
Weimer  was  so  well  pleased  with  the 
this  country  that  he  sent  tickets  to  his 
five  brothers  in  Germany,  so  that  they 
too  might  come  and  reside  in  this  land 
of  the  free.  All  these  brothers  are  now- 
engaged  in  the  cigar  business,  and  are 
meeting  with  good  success.  Mr.  Weimer 
has  been  twice  married.  In  1875  he 
was  united  in  marriage  with  Ida  Hall, 
who  died  in  the  year  1878.  He  was 
again  married  in  1S85  to  Susan  A.  Yed- 
der,  daughter  of  Frank  I.  and  Harriet 
Vedder,  Mr.  Weimer  is  a  Knight  Tem- 
plar, and  a  member  of  the  K.  of  H. 
lodge  of  this  city.  He  is  very  prompt 
in  the  fulfilment  of  all  his  obligations, 
and  during  his  stay  at  Carrollton  has 
made  many  warm  friends  who  wish  him 
success  in  all  his  undertakings. 

Julia  E.  Hall  is  well  and  favorably 
known  to  all  the  old  settlers  of  Greene 
county,  as  the  oldest  daughter  of  Maj. 
A.  W.  and  Dorlesky  Bridges,  living  one 
mile  north  of  Carrollton.  She  was 
born  Jan.  9,  1828,  and  at  the  age  of  23, 
was  married  to  Wm.  A.  Hall,  of  Ches- 
terfield, Macoupin  county.  This  union 
was  blessed  by  one  child — Ida  M.,  who, 
at  the  age  of  20, was  married  to  Charles 
A.  Weimer,  of  Carrollton.  Win.  A. 
Hall  died  Jan.  20,  1856,  an. 1  then  Mrs. 
Hall  returned  to  her  father's  home, 
near  this  city,  and  after  parents'  death 
moved  to  her  portion  of  the  farm,  where 
she  managed,  by  energy  and  economy 
to  lay  the  foundation  to  a  snug  com- 
petency. In  1885  she  moved  to  this 
city  to  live  with  her  daughter  and  son- 
in-law,  with  whom  she  has  resided  since 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


1037 


her  daughter's  death,  up  to  the  present 
day;  a  rave  instance  of  mother-in-law 
and  son-in-law  dwelling  harmoniously 
together.  She  has  became  quite  a  real- 
estate  owner,  owing  to  her  energy  and 
economy,  assisted  by  the  skilful  man- 
agement of  her  son-in-law,  and  is  in 
a  position  now  to  look  forward  to  a  com- 
ing old  age,  with  ease  and  comfort. 

L.  W.  Loomis,  dealer  in  jewelry,  etc 
This  business  was  established  in  1860, 
by  V.  Villinger. 

Gustav  Wiemer  engaged  in  the  sale  of 
watches,  eloeks.  jewelry,  etc.,  and  also 
the  repairing  of  the  same  in  .March, 
1880. 

The  firm  of  Kergher  &  Son  embarked 
in  the  sale  of  furniture,  wall  paper  and 
undertaking  in  1850. 

Alvin  Pegram,  an  enterprising  lumber 
and  grain  dealer  in  Carrollton,  was  born 
in  Greene  county,  March  15,  1839,  and 
.is  a  son  of  Nathaniel  H.  and  Amanda 
Elizabeth  (King)  Pegram.  His  father 
was  a  native  of  Virginia,  his  mother  of 
Mississippi,  and  they  came  to  Illinois 
in  the  year  1838.  His  father  is  a  farmer 
and  is  now  living  in  Greene  county. 
Alvin  was  educated  in  the  Carrollton 
schools  and  has  ever  since  engaged  in 
farming.  He  is  now  the  heaviest  grain 
dealer  in  the  county.  In  1880  he  built 
an  elevator,  which  he  afterward  sold. 
but  now  has  large  conveniences  for 
handling  grain  extensively,  besides  own- 
ing two  large  farms  near  Carrollton.  In 
the  year  1870,  Mr.  Pegram  was  married 
to  Alnieda  DeKalb  Cook,  daughter  of 
James  Cook, now  deceased.  Thisunion 
lias  been  blessed  with  four  children — 
Nathaniel  James,  born  July  11,  1871; 
Mary  Elizabeth,  horn  Dec.  20,  1872; 
Alnieda  DeKalb,  born   Sept.  20,    1874, 


and  Abbie  Ah  in.  horn  Sept.  5,  hs7l>. 
Mrs.  anil  Mrs.  Pegram  are  members  of 
the  M.  E.  church,  and  enjoy  the  esteem 
and  respect  of  many  friends.  In  husi- 
ness  Mr.  Pegram  is  known  as  a  reliable, 
go-ahead  citizen. 

Otto  Kolkhoff,  proprietor  of  the 
foundry  and  machine  shop  on  Locust 
street,  was  horn  in  Saxony,  Germany, 
on  the  6th  «>f  Feh.,  1851.  He  is  a  son  of 
Fred  and  Mary  (Potesky)  Kolkhoff,  na- 
tives of  Germany.  In  1863  they  left 
fatherland  and  friends  and  sailed  for 
this  country,  arriving  at  New  York, 
where  they  now  reside.  His  father  was 
there  engaged  in  the  wholesale  wine  and 
Liquor  business,  but  is  now  living  a  re- 
tired life.  Otto  received  his  education 
in  Germany,  attending  the  gymnasium 
there.  At  the  age  of  14  years  he  began 
to  learn  the  trade  of  a  machinist,  and 
after  serving  his  apprenticeship,  set 
sail  in  1868,  on  a  vessel  hound  for  New 
York.  He  remained  in  that  city  two 
years, working  at  his  trade  awhile  there. 
He  then  traveled  all  over  the  United 
States,  and  was  during  all  that  time, 
employed  at  his  trade.  He  remained  in 
California  a  short  time,  and  was  in 
Omaha  live  year-,  lie  afterward  came 
to  Carrollton,  where  he  has  resided 
about  eight  years.  In  hsTl.)  he  was 
united  in  marriage  with  Emily  Wolke, 
daughter  of  Louis  Wolke,  a  native  of 
Germany,  who  came  to  this  country 
some  years  ago.  Emily  was  horn  in  St. 
Louis.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Kolkhoff  are  the 
parents  of  two  sons — Benjamin,  born 
Fell.  13,  1880,  and  Franklin,  born  July 
15,  1882.  Mrs.  Kolkhoff  is  a  member  of 
the  Presbyterian  church.  Mr.  Kolkhoff 
is  a  member  of  the  A.  O.  U.  W.  lodge, 
and  is  an  honorable  business  man. 


1038 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


Oswald  Jackson,  proprietor  of  the 
Carrollton  Machine  Shop  and  Foundry, 
is  a  native  of  Rochford,  Essex  county, 
England,  and  was  born  July  2.'!,  1854. 
He  is  a  son  of  Edward  Trotter  and 
Mary  Ann  (Giles)  Jackson.  Mrs. 
Jackson  died  March  5,  1867.  Oswald 
received  his  education  in  the  grammar 
school  at  Forest  Hill,  England,  and 
served  an  apprenticeship  at  the  machin- 
ist's trade  in  Rochford,  at  the  Essex 
Steam  Plow  and  Traction  Engine  works. 
After  learning  his  trade,  he  left  his  na- 
tive country  and  embarked  for  America, 
and,  on  arriving  there,  came  next  to 
Illinois,  locating  at  Carrollton.  Here 
he  engaged  as  machinist  for  J.  C.  Bur- 
russ,  with  whom  he  remained  a  short 
time  and  then  took  the  machine  shop 
and  foundry  and  engaged  in  business 
for  himself.  He  is  still  conducting  it 
with  skill  and  energy,  and  is  prepared 
to  fill  all  orders  in  machine  or  foundry 
work  in  the  most  scientific  manner  and 
on  the  shortest  notice,  making  a  spec- 
ialty of  house-front  work,  such  as  col- 
umns, steps,  plates,  window  sills,  etc. 
Although  young,  Mr.  Jackson  has  the 
ability  and  experience  of  men  who 
have  been  in  business  for  years. 


The  history  of  banking  in  Carrollton 
dates  from  about  1848.  At  that  time, 
David  Pierson  was  engaged  in  general 
mercantile  business,  and  occasionally 
accommodated  his  friends  and  neighbors 
by  furnishing  them  exchange,  which  lie 
continued  to  do  until  about  1854,  when 
he  closed  out  a  part  of  his  general  busi- 
ness, and  gave  more  of  his  attention  to 
banking.  In  1858,  Mr.  Pierson  disposed 
of  his  outside  business,  and  turned  his 


attention  to  banking  alone.  In  1859  he 
erected  the  building  which  has  ever 
since  been  occupied  by  the  bank.  In 
1860,  having  got  in  the  new  quarters, 
Mr.  Pierson  advertised,  now,  largely, and 
in  1861,  notwithstanding  so  many  banks 
failed,  the  "Exchange  Bank"  daily  re- 
ceived deposits  of  merchants  and  oth- 
ers, carrying  its  customers  all  safely 
through  the  critical  period,  without  the 
loss  of  a  dollar.  In  1864,  Mr.  Pierson 
associated  in  business  his  two  sons, 
Robert  and  David  D.,  but  the  name  of 
the  bank  remained  the  same  until  1878, 
when  it  was  converted  into  the 

GREENE  COUNTY  NATIONAL  BANK. 

This  institution  was  organized  with  a 
paid  up  capital  of  $100,000.  The  fol- 
lowing were  the  stock-holders — Robert 
Pierson,  David  D.  Pierson,  Oman  Pier- 
son, A.  B.  Gregory,  George  Wright,  H. 
W.  Wright,  John  I.  Thomas,  Daniel 
Morfoot,  John  Brown,  George  W.  Davis, 
James  M.  Davis,  William  D.  Chinn, 
James  T.  Crow,  T.  W.  Brace,  F.  M. 
Fishback,  John  Snyder,  and  John 
Rainey. 

At  the  first  meeting  John  I.  Thomas 
was  elected  president;  David  D.  Pierson, 
vice-president;  Robert  Pierson,  cashier; 
Oman  Pierson,  assistant  cashier,  and 
John  I.  Thomas,  Daniel  Morfoot,  Rob- 
ert Pierson,  James  M.  Davis,  H.  W. 
Wright,  David  D.  Pierson  and  Oman 
Pierson,  directors.  Jan.  1, 1882.  Robert 
Pierson  resigned  as  cashier,  and  Oman 
Pierson  was  elected  in  his  stead.  A.  B. 
Gregory  has  since  been  elected  director 
in  place  of  James  M.  Davis,    deceased. 

July  1,  1885,  the  bank,  after  paying 
its  regular  dividends,  had  a  surplus  of 
$11,000,  and  undivided  profits,  $11,500. 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


1039 


Thus  it  can  be  s&en  thai  the  Greene 
County  National  Bank  may  well  be  num- 
bered amongthe  most  reliable  moneyed 
institutions  of  the  land. 

Oman  Pierson  was  hum  July  17,  BS39, 
at  Carrollton,  111.,  and  is  a  son  of  David 
and  Eliza  Jane  (Norton)  Pierson.  He 
lived  with  his  parents  until  his  majority, 
receiving  his  education  in  the  common 
schools  of  Carrollton.  He  wasmarried 
Jan.  31,  1861,to  Maria  Stryker,  daughter 
of  Henry.  Sr.  and  Elizabeth  Stryker. 
They  are  the  parents  of  five  children — 
Maria  Louise,  Joseph  Henry,  Albert  L., 
Florence  Eugenia  and  David  0.  Mr. 
Pierson  was  employed  as  salesman  for 
Wright,  Rickart  &  Co.,  for  a  period  of 
aboul  two  years,  and  in  the  spring  of 
1862,  formed  a  co-partnership  with  Geo. 
"Wright,  in  the  dry  goods  business,  the 
firm  being  known  as  Wright  &  Pierson. 
He  continued  in  partnership  until  Jan. 
1.  1865,  whi  nhe  purchased  Mr. Wright's 
interest,  and  continued  the  business 
alone  until  1^72,  when  he  sold  out  and 
made  an  engagement  with  L.  M.  Bates 
&  Co.,  in  the  fancy  dry  goods  business, 
at  No.  351  Broadway,  New  York  city. 
He  remained  with  them  one  year,  and 
then  took  a  trip  to  Colorado  in  the  in- 
terest of  the  firm,  settling  the  affairs  of 
a  bankrupt  firm.  lie  then  returned  to 
Carrollton,  ami  in  1875,  entered  the 
banking  house  of  David  Pierson  &  Sons, 
where  he  took  an  active  interest  in  the 
business,  working  hard  for  its  sui 
July  1.  1878,  the  business  of  David 
Pierson  &  Sons  was  succeeded  by  the 
Greene  County  National  Bank,  with  a 
cash  capita]  of  sin  1,000.  In  making 
this  change,  it  devolved  upon  Mr.  Pier- 
son to  visit  New  York  and  Washington 
to  make  the   necessary    arrangements. 


In  the  new  organization  he  was  elected 
a  director  and  assistant  cashier.  In 
1880,  Mr.  Pierson  was  elected  to  repre- 
sent the  39th  senatorial  district, consist- 
ing of  Greene  and  Morgan  counties,  in 
the  32d  general  assembly,  in  which  he 
was  chairman  of  the  committee  on  hanks 
and  banking,  and  a  member  ef  the  com- 
mittees on  finance,  corporations  and  in- 
surance. In  1882,  Mr.  Pierson  having 
received  the  endorsement  of  his  county, 
was  a  candidate  for  re-election  in  the 
new  district,  composed  of  Greene,  Jer- 
sey and  Scott  counties,  and  not  until  the 
third  day's  balloting,  and  after  being 
voted  for  471  times,  was  he  defeated. 
His  entire  delegation  stood  by  him  to 
the  end,  ami  died  in  the  last  ditch.  In 
polities,  Mr.  Pierson  has  ever  bin  a  re- 
publican. In  lss-2  he  was  elected  cashier 
of  the  Greene  County  National  Bank, 
which  position  he  now  holds. 

The  Carrollton  Bank  was  established 
in  Aug.,  1877,  by  a  company  composi  d 
of  Benj.  Roodhouse,  I».  Wright,  J. 
Kaser,  Jeduthan  B.  Eldred  and  Charles 
H.  Hodges.  The  officers  were  Benja- 
min Roodhouse,  president,  and  William 
Beatty,  cashier.  In  the  spring  of  1SS0, 
E.  lb  Hobson  was  chosen  cashier,  in 
place  of  William  Beatty,  resigned,  and 
has  continued  to  acl  in  that  capacity 
since  that  time.  In  April,  1S83,  the 
bank  was  reorganized  with  new  officers 
and  directors.  The  bank  is  supplied 
with  a  fire-proof  vault,  which  contains 
a  burglar-proof  safe,  manufactured  by 
MacNcalc  and  Ervin,  of  St.  Bonis,  with 
Yale  time-lock  for  both  safe  arid  vault. 
Tin  bank  is  a  private  institution,  but 
the  management  guarantee  security  to 
depositors  of  at  least  $300,000,  making 
it  one  of  the  most  solid  monetarv  insti- 


1040 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


tutions  in  the  county.  The  officers  at 
present  arc,  George  W.  Davis,  presi- 
dent; James  P.  Morrow,  vice-president; 
Edward  B.  Hobson,  cashier.  The  di- 
rectors are  as  follows:  John  Rhodes, 
George  W.  Davis,  N.  J.  Sanders,  J.  E. 
Brace,  J.  P.  Morrow,  E.  B.  Hobson,  W. 
M.  Morrow,  C.  McAninch  and  C.  W. 
Keeley. 

The  private  banking  institution  of 
John  Long  &  Co.,  was  established  in 
Sept.,  1866. 

The  Greene  County  Saving  and  Loan 
Association,  was  organized  July  22, 
1884,  the  first  payment  being  made  in 
August  of  that  year.  The  officers  are 
the  following  named.  Conrad  Kergher, 
pres.;  C.  A.  Weimer,  vice-pres.;  F.  M. 
Roberts,  sec'y.;  W.  L.  Armstrong, tres.; 
and  a  hoard  of  directors  composed  of 
the  above  officers,  and  Joseph  Milnes, 
Clias.  McAninch,  J.  E.  Ferguson,  S. 
Levy,  M.  L.  Reed,  T.  P.  Greene  and 
L.  Lynn. 

LIVERY    STABLE. 

In  the  fall  of  1871,  James  E.  Fergu- 
son established  his  half  brother,  Abram 
Massey,  in  the  feed  stable  business,  but 
that  gentleman  living  soon  after,  Mr. 
Furgeson  was  obliged  to  take  the  busi- 
ness. He  had  but  three  head  of  horses, 
and  no  money,  and  thus  began  the  liv- 
ery business  on  a  small  scale.  In  the 
fall  of  1872,  during  the  campaign,  livery 
horses  were  scarce  and  in  great  demand 
by  the  politicians.  Robert  Pierson  let 
Mr.  Furgeson  have  a  team,  David  Pier- 
son  furnished  a  horse,  and  George 
Evans,  four  horses.  These,  and  the 
horses  which  he  had  himself,  he  let  out 
nearly  every  day  at  $5  per  diem,  and 
thus  got  a  good  start.  Later  in  the 
same  year,  he   and  Jehosaphat  Eldred 


formed  a  co-partnership  under  the  firm 
name  of  Eldred  &  Furgeson,  and  in 
1873,  they  erected  the  fine  stable  on  tin1 
west  side  of  the  square,  into  which 
they  moved.  This  firm  lasted  until 
April,  1884,  when  Mr.  Furgeson  became 
sole  proprietor.  He  now  has  a  fine 
stable  and  stylish  turnouts. 

James  E.  Furgeson  was  born  in  Car- 
rollton,  111.,  May  2,  1837,  his  parents 
being  Edward  and  Sarah  Furgeson.  At 
the  early  age  of  12  years  he  commenced 
working  at  the  blacksmith  trade.  His 
father  having  died,  he  was  bound  out  to 
V.  F.  Williams,  a  blacksmith,  whom  he 
served  until  lie  had  attained  his  major- 
ity. He  then  worked  with  him  several 
years  more,  receiving  a  salary  for  his 
services.  He  subsequently  spent  four 
years  in  Johnson  county,  Mo.,  and  then 
returned  to  Carrollton  and  engaged  in 
blacksmithing,  running  a  shop  of  his 
own,  which  he  conducted  until  1871, 
when  he  established  the  livery  business, 
as  given  above.  Mr.  Furgeson  has  been 
twice  married.  In  the  year  1860,  he 
was  united  in  marriage,  in  Johnson 
county,  Mo.,  with  Clara  A.  Bowman. 
She  died  in  1863,  leaving  one  son — 
Charles  E.  Mr.  Furgeson  was  again 
married,  Nov.  2,  1869,  to  Mary  C.  Brace, 
a  sister  of  J.  E.  Brace.  Politically 
speaking,  our  subject  is  a  republican, 
but  does  not  take  any  active  part  in  pol- 
itics, preferring  rather  to  devote  his 
time  and  attention  to  the  advancement 
of  his  business  and  the  welfare  of  his 
family.  He  is  a  member  of  the  K.  T., 
and  I.  0.  O.  F.   lodges,  of  Carrollton. 

The  extensive  livery  business  of  Ro- 
bards  &  Bridges  was  established  in  1884. 

Oman  Bridges  was  born  in  Greene 
county,  111.,  Sept.  17,  1838,  and  is  a  son 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


1(141 


of  Archibald  W.  Bridges,  who   was   an 

early  settler  of  the  county.  Oman  was 
reared  upon  the  farm  of  his  father,  and 
educated  in  the  common  schools  of  the 
county.  His  father  was  a  dealer  in 
horses,  and  Oman,  at  an  early  age,  de- 
veloped an  attachment  for  the  horse, 
and  followed  in  the  footsteps  of  his 
father.  He  resided  upon  the  farm, 
which  consisted  of  about  600  acres,  until 
the  death  of  his  mother,  when  he  re- 
moved to  Carrollton.  In  1884,  withW. 
L.  Robards,  he  established  the  livery 
business  of  Bridges  &  Robards.  They 
have  none  hut  the  finest  of  horses  and 
buggies  for  the  accommodation  of  the 
public,  and  are  doing  a  thriving  busi- 
ness. In  politics,  Mr.  Bridges  is  a  dem- 
ocrat. 

W.  L.  Robards,  son  of  Jesse  Robards, 
is  a  native  of  Greene  county.  His  early 
days  were  spent  upon  a  farm,  and  his 
education  obtained  in  the  schools  of 
Carrollton.  He  remained  upon  the  farm 
until  1881,  when  he  engaged  in  the  liv- 
ery business  at  Carrollton,  and  in  July, 
1884,  entered  into  partnership  with  0. 
W.  Bridges,  under  the  firm  name  of 
Bridges  it  Robards,  which  has  continued 
ever  since.  November,  1871,  he  was 
married  to  Laura  Carlin,  a  daughter  of 
Thomas  J.  Carlin.  They  have  two  chil- 
dren living — Mazy  and  Douglas. 

Edward  D.  Johnson,  livery  stable. 
commenced  business  in  April,  1885, 
renting  of  some  of  the  heirs  of  Jacob 
Hunt,  win)  established  the  same  many 
years  ago,  in  a  frame  building  on  the 
present  site,  which  building  was  de- 
stroyed by  fire.  In  1878,  the  present 
brick  structure,  which  is  50x180  feet  in 
size,  two  stories  high,  was  built,  at  a 
cost  of  87,500.    It  is  supplied  with  about 


12  single  and  double  rigs,  with  an  aver- 
age of  10  or  12  head  of  stock. 

Edward  D.  Johnson  was  born  in  Jer- 
sey ville,  111.,  on  April  22,  1852,  and  is  a 
son  of  H.  L.  and  Martha  (Hutchinson) 
Johnson,  the  former  a  native  of  Eng- 
land, the  latter  of  Ohio.  His  father  has 
been,  at  various  times,  a  miller,  farmer, 
livery-man  and  grocer,  and  has  accumu- 
lated a  handsome  fortune.  He  is  now 
residing  in  Carrollton.  Edward  received 
his  education  at  Jacksonville,  111.,  and 
subsequently  commenced  business  as  a 
clerk  in  his  father's  grocery  store,  being 
thus  engaged  for  14  years.  In  the  year 
1885,  he  embarked  in  the  livery  busi- 
ness, and  has  his  building  stocked  with 
the  best  of  horses  and  finest  of  vehicle-. 
In  1885,  Mr.  Johnson  was  united  in 
marriage  with  Lottie  English,  a  daugh- 
ter of  J.  W.  and  Eliza  (Striker)  English, 
residents  of  Jacksonville,  111.,  J.  W. 
English  being  an  attorney  of  that  city. 
Mis.  Johnson  is  a  member  of  the  Epis- 
copal church.  Mr.  Johnson  is  an  active, 
energetic  and  reliable  business  man.  and 
his  undertakings,  we  hope,  will  always 
meet  with  success. 

Lyman  S.  Bushnell,  dealer  in  lumber 
and  all  kinds  of  building  material,  in- 
cluding paints,  hardware  and  coal,  is 
also  proprietor  of  the  Carrollton  Tile 
Works,  and  half-owner  of  the  Enter- 
prise Iron  Works  of  Carrollton,  is  a  na- 
tive of  Illinois,  born  in  Greene  county. 
May  11,  1838.  He  is  a  son  of  Lyman 
and  Susan  (Taylor)  Bushnell,  natives 
of  Connecticut  and  Ohio.  He  has  one 
brother  and  two  sisters  deceased,  and 
two  sisters  now  living.  Lyman,  Sr.. 
practiced  medicine  many  years  in  this 
county,  serving  several  years  as  justice 
of  the  jieace,  performing  marriage  cere- 


1042 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


monies,  and  holding  court  in  one  of  the 
rooms  of  his  dwelling,  which  was 
among  the  first  frame  buildings  in  the 
western  part  of  the  county.  There  was 
timber  sufficient  in  the  house  and  barn 
to  build  four  or  five  modern  frames.  He 
also  engaged  in  farming.  He  came  as 
rarlv  as  1819,  to  view  the  land,  and  in 
1822,  arrived  with  father,  mother,  four 
brothers  and  two  sisters,  none  of  whom 
are  now  living,  and  located  several 
eighties  of  land,  in  T.  10,  R.  13.  Lyman 
S.  was  educated  in  the  common  schools 
of  the  county,  some  of  which  were  very 
excellent  for  the  early  day,  and  was  oc- 
cupiedat  farming  until  25  years  of  age, 
then  enlisted  in  Co.  G,  101st  111.  Inf., 
for  three  years,  under  Capt.  McKee, 
entering  a  drilling  camp  at  Morgan 
county  fair  grounds,  board  being  pro- 
vided at  the  Illinois  Female  College  for 
;i  short  time,  and  then  at  the  camp. 
The  regiment  was  ordered  to  Cairo, 
being  quartered  there  a  short  time. 
From  there  it  moved  to  Holly  Springs, 
Miss.,  joining  a  part  of  Gen.  Grant's 
command,  marching  en  route  to  the  rear 
of  Vieksburg,  where  the  regiment,  after 
a  few  days,  was  ordered  back  to  assist 
in  guarding  Holly  Springs,  where  im- 
mense stores  were  accumulated,  Gen. 
Murphy  being  commander  of  the  post. 
Mr.  BushnelPs  company  was  one  of 
those  stationed  along  the  railroad,  north 
of  the  city.  He,  having  been  appointed 
regimental  postmaster,  remained  in  the 
city  to  care  for  the  300  to  500  letters  re- 
ceived and  mailed  each  day,  while  re- 
maining in  camp;  resuming  the  musket 
or  cartridge-box,  on  the  inarch,  or  field. 
Before  many  days,  early  one  morning, 
picket  firing  and  awful  yelling  was 
heard,  and  the  streets  began  to  till  with 


what  proved  to  be  VanDorn's  cavalry 
raiders,  numbering  7,000.  Certain  of 
the  officer's  quarters,  and  Mr.  Bush- 
nell's  postoffice,  located  in  the  court- 
house, were  summarily  dispensed  with, 
under  the  influence  of  the  ready  carbine 
and  revolver.  The  vast  stores  were 
quickly  destroyed  and  prisoners  paroled, 
as  they  were  in  too  great  haste  to  care 
for  them,  the  Union  army  being  too 
near  and  too  strong.  The  four  compa- 
nies, outside,  with  others,  joined  the 
90th  111.  Inf.,  escaping  capture  by  suc- 
cessful maneuvering,  and  a  bold  front. 
Mr.  Bushnell,  with  the  paroled  part  of 
the  regiment,  was  sent  to  St.  Louis, 
Mo.,  and  quartered  in  the  fair  grounds 
for  six  months,  being  part  of  the  time 
at  home  on  leave  of  absence.  They 
were  then  exchanged,  rejoined  the  regi- 
ment in  Tennessee,  and  were  quartered 
for  a  time  at  Union  City,  30  miles  from 
Columbus, Ky.  Mr.  Bushnell  was  placed 
in  charge  of  the  brigade  mail,  making 
daily  trips  by  rail  to  Columbus,  and 
passing  out  citizens'  mail  at  stations, 
when  occasion  required.  From  this, 
the  regiment  was  ordered  to  Louisville, 
Ky.,  en  route  for  Chattanoogna,  where 
large  numbers  of  troops  were  concen- 
trating, and  where  the  regiment  was 
merged  into  the  20th  army  corps,  under 
the  command  of  Maj.-Gen.  Hooker. 
Mr.  Bushnell  participated  in  the  activ- 
ities around  Mission  Ridge,  Dalton, 
Resaca,  New  Hope  Church,  Kenesaw 
Mountain,  Atlanta, through  to  Savannah, 
Columbus,  S.  C,  Raleigh,  N.  C,  Rich- 
mond, Va.,  and  Washington,  D.  C, 
where  he  was  in  the  grand  review  of  all 
the  armies,  and  where  the  regimental 
colors  of  the  101st  received  special 
notice  for   its  war-scarred  appearance, 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


1043 


they  having  marched  over  1,200  miles," 
almost  continuously.  Mr.  B.  then  came 
to  Springfield,  111.,  by  rail,  where  he 
was  mustered  out,  in  1865,  and  from 
there  came  to  Carrollton,  111.,  where  he 
engaged  with  Henry  L.  Clay,  lumber- 
man, remaining  three  years.  Then 
forming  a  partnership  with  William  R. 
Davis,  he  bought  out  Messrs.  Clay  A: 
Price,  and  continued  in  the  lumber  bus- 
iness with  him  for  five  years,  when  Mr. 
D.  was  removed  by  death,  and  his  son 
and  daughter  represented  his  interest  in 
the  business  for  one  year,  since  which 
time  Mr.  Bushnell  has  continued  the 
business  alone.  In  1S66,  he  married 
Mary  C.  Pinkerton,  daughter  of  Andrew 
H.  and  Nancy  A.  Pinkerton,  natives  of 
Kentucky  and  Ohio.  Her  father  is  now 
deceased,  and  her  mother,  brother  and 
two  sisters  reside  in  Carrollton.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Bushnell  are  the  parents  of 
six  children,  five  of  whom  are  now  liv- 
ing— Emily  M.,  Wm.  L.,  Andrew  H., 
Anna  May  and  Lyman  S.  The  one  de- 
ceased, Elon  A.,  was  about  11  months 
old.  The  parents  and  three  eldest 
children  are  members  of  the  M.  E. 
church.  Mr.  Bushnell's  motto  has  al- 
ways been,  "his  own  shoulder  to  the 
wheel,"  when  necessary;  living  up  to 
that  rule  energetically,  has  made  him 
measurably  successful  in  all  his  under- 
takings. 

CARROLLTON  ROLLER  MILL. 

In  1852,  a  grist  mill,  equipped  with 
three  run  of  buhrs,  was  built  by  Wright 
&  Germain  at  a  cost  of  about  $10,000,  at 
this  place.  In  September,  1862,  F.  P. 
Vedder  purchased  the  property  of  R.  F. 
Germain,  who  had  bought  out  his  part- 
ner  some   time    previous.     In    March, 


ISC,.'!,  lie  disposed  of  it  to  David  Pier- 
son.  This  gentleman  ran  it  until  Aug., 
1866,  when  it  was  sold  to  Paris  &  John- 
son, of  Jerseyville.  In  1867,  Mr.  Paris 
sold  his  interest  to  David  Pierson,  who 
five  years  later,  became  sole  proprietor. 
In  April,  1881,  it  was  purchased  by 
Thomas  Hough,  who  is  now  operating 
it.  He  remodeled  the  mill,  putting  in  a. 
full  set  of  roller  machinery,  for  making 
the  best  quality  of  flour  the  market 
affords.  The  additional  machinery  for 
making  flour  by  this  new  process  was 
put  in  at  a  cost  of  $6,000.  The  mill  is 
operated  by  steam,  an  engine  of  45 
horse  power  furnishing  the  motive 
power.  The  building  proper  is  32x40 
feet  in  ground  area,  three  stories  high, 
frame,  with  a  two  story  addition  on  the 
west  side,  24  feet  square,  and  a  ware- 
house, on  the  east  side,  3<>x50  feet  in 
size.  The  engine  room  is  30x32.  The 
mill  property  is  valued  at  from  $12,000 
to  $15,000. 

Thomas  Hough,  proprietor  of  the  Car- 
rollton roller  mills,  has  been  a  resident 
of  the  county  since  1863.  He  was  horn 
in  Yorkshire,  England,  Jan.  6,  1844,  his 
parents  being  Thomas  and  Elizabeth 
Hough.  At  the  early  age  of  eight  years 
he  entered  a  cotton  factory  where  he 
was  employed  11  years.  May  6,  1863, 
he  left  his  native  country  and  sailed  for 
Quebec,  Canada.  In  August  of  that 
year  he  came  to  Carrollton,  where  his 
uncle,  William  O.  Graves,  resided,  and 
immediately  commenced  work  in  the 
Carrollton  mill,  and  there  continued 
until  he  thoroughly  understood  the  bus- 
iness. On  the  6th  of  April,  1881,  Mr. 
Hough  purchased  the  mill  and  has  since 
been  the  sole  proprietor.  In  Septem- 
ber, 1867,  he  was  married  to  Jane  Wood- 


1044 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


head,  also  a  native  of  England.  This 
union  has  been  blessed  with  three  chil- 
dren— Elizaheth  Helen,  James  Carlisle, 
and  Thomas  Crispin.  Mr.  Hough  is  an 
industrious  man  who  believes  in  always 
having  his  time  occupied  in  doing  some- 
thing useful.  He  commenced  life  poor, 
but  by  being  frugal  and  energetic  be  has 
acquired  a  comfortable  amount  of  this 
world's  goods,  and  is  entirely  out  of 
debt.  He  is  honest  in  all  his  dealings, 
and  courteous  to  all  whom  he  meets, 
hence  is  highly  esteemed  for  these  ster- 
ling qualities.  He  is  a  student  of  astron- 
omy, in  which  study  he  takes  much 
interest.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Chris- 
tian church,  and  in  politics  is  a  repub- 
lican. Mr.  Hough's  mother  died  in 
England,  in  1868,  and  in  1869,  he  pre- 
vailed on  his  father  to  come  to  this 
country,  but  within  three  months  after 
his  arrival  in  Carrollton,  he  was  called 
to  his  heavenly  home. 

ELEVATORS. 

There  are  two  elevators  in  this  city, 
one  operated  by  R.  H.  Davis,  the  pres- 
ent member  of  the  general  assembly, 
and  the  other  by  Hussey  &  Co. 

THE  GREENE  COUNTY  CREAMERY. 

This  institution  was  established  Oct. 
2,  1885,  and  is  located  on  Fourth  street, 
in  what  is  known  as  the  old  factory.  It 
was  established  by  a  stock  company, 
the  officers  being — John  Kaser,  presi- 
dent; A.  J.  Tunnell,  vice-president;  F. 
M.  Roberts,  secretary;  Wm.  L.  Arm- 
strong, treasurer;  JohnY.  Sawyer,  sup- 
erintendent. The  directors  are — John 
Kaser,  A.  J.  Tunnell,  Frank  P.  Greene, 
N.  J.  Andrews,  Wm.  D.  Waltrip.  The 
company  is  composed  of33  stockholders. 


EDUCATIONAL. 

As  to  who  taught  the  first  school 
within  the  limits  of  the  city  of  Carroll- 
ton,  Fame,  otherwise  correct,  is  silent. 
The  matter  is  entirely  lost  in  oblivion, 
and  covered  by  the  dead  ashes  of  the 
years  long  gone.  Probably  about  the 
year  1824,  a  school  was  opened  here,  as 
a  subscription  or  private  academy. 
The  first  public  school  in  the  town  was 
not  opened  until  1850,  in  a  rented  build- 
ing, but  in  1851  a  school  building  was 
erected,  and  dedicated  Jan.  3,  1852, 
with  appropriate  ceremonies.  Prof. 
Wm.  T.  Bartle  was  the  first  principal. 
Prof.  Russell  was  the  second  principal. 

The  school  continued  in  charge  of 
Professor  Russell  during  the  remainder 
of  that  year,  when  he  was  succeeded  by 
Henry  Bonfoy.  It  does  not  appear 
that  at  this  time  there  existed  what  now 
is  called  a  graded  school.  The  plan 
seemed  to  be  modeled  after  the  old 
academy  system,  with  a  female  depart- 
ment, but  those  who  lived  within  the 
district  received  the  benefit  of  the  school 
fund.  In  1855,  David  G.  Peabody  was 
was  employed  as  principal.  He  orga- 
nized the  school  upon  the  graded  basis, 
and  the  enrollment  for  that  year  was 
220.  He  was  assisted  by  his  sister, 
Miss  H.  G.  Peabody.  He  was  re-em- 
ployed, and  served  six  months  of  the 
following  year.  In  the  fall  of  1857, 
Charles  K.  Gilchrist  was  employed  and 
served  two  years. 

From  this  time  on  there  was  a  change 
of  principals  nearly  every  year,  no  one 
serving  longer  than  two  years.  Dr. 
Buckley  taught  a  very  large  and  well 
advanced  high  school  for  two  winters. 
Among  their  successors  were  Alfred 
Harvey,  for  many  years  superintendent 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


1045 


of  school?  at  Paris,  Edgar  county,  111., 
and  president  of  Illinois  State  Teachers' 
Association;  Francis  W.  Parker,  after- 
wards superintendent  schools  at  Quincy, 
Mass.,  and  of  many  others. 

At  last  the  school  building  became 
inadequate  to  the  wants  of  the  people, 
and  it  was  voted  to  build  a  new  school 
house.  The  board  of  directors,  George 
W.  Davis,  Thomas  Boyd,  and  Rev.  E. 
L.  Craig,  pushed  the  matter  forward 
with  vigor,  and  during  the  summer  and 
fall  of  1870  the  elegant  and  commodious 
school  building  was  erected,  which  now 
forms  the  most  striking  object  in  the 
town,  to  the  eye  of  the  passer-by.  The 
building  is  of  brick,  faced  with  stone, 
three  stories  in  height  with  a  basement. 
The  upper  story  is  a  mansard,  and  the 
whole  is  set  off  by  a  square  tower. 
which  rises  from  the  center  of  the  build- 
ing in  front,  SO  feet  from  the  ground. 
It  is  finished  inside  with  alternate  wal- 
nut and  ash  panels,  oak  floors,  hard- 
finish  walls,  is  well  provided  with 
blackboards,  and  is  seated  with  An- 
drews' latest  style  of  school  desks. 
The  original  cost  of  the  building,  includ- 
ing the  furnace,  was  840,000.  The 
directors  were  ably  seconded  by  the 
principal,  Joseph  Dobbin,  then  serving 
his  second  year.  In  the  first  week  of 
Jan.,  1871,  Mr.  Dobbin  transferred  the 
pupils  to  the  new  building,  and  pro- 
ceeded to  organize  and  grade  the  school. 
He  was  assisted  by  S.  Alice  Judd, 
Mary  Pike,  Anna  Pike,  Delia  Schenck, 
Miss  H.  G.  Peabody  and  Nannie  Price. 

SOCIETIES. 

Carrollton  lodge,  No.  50,  A.  F.  &  A. 
M.,  was  organized  under  charter,  Feb. 
21,   1848,    under  the    name  of  Fletcher 


lodge,  same  number,  with  the  following 
charter  members — Henry  Dusenberry, 
Edward  A.  D'Any,  David  M.  Woodson, 
Isaac  Darneille,  R.  S.  Hollenbeck.  E. 
Van  Home,  D.  B.  Stith,  and  Dr.  .1.  1'.. 
Samuel.  The  first  officers  were — J. 
B.  Samuel,  W.  M.;  E.  A.  D'Any.  S. 
W.;  and  David  M.  Woodson,  J.  W. 
Shortly  after  its  institution  the  name  of 
the  lodge  was  changed  to  that  of  Carroll- 
ton,  but  as  the  record  from  184S  to  1851 
is  lost,  it  is  not  certain  of  the  exact  date 
when  the  change  was  made,  except  that 
it  was  prior  to  1851.  The  followin 
temen  have  served  as  masters  of  this 
lodge — James  B.  Samuel,  1848-50;  Cyrus 
A.  Davis  was  elected  in  1851,  but  died 
while  in  the  chair;  L.  W.  Link,  lkol-L': 
J.  B.  Samuel.  1853-4;  L.  W.  Link,  1855; 

D.  M.  Woodson,  1856;  J.  B.  Samuel. 
1857-8;  Clinton  Armstrong,  1850;  James 
W.  English,  1860;  J.  B.  Samuel,  1861-4; 
James  W.  English,  1865-8;  George  W . 
Davis,  1869-70;  William  R. Davis,  1871; 
C.W.  Keeley,  1872-3;  John  Hill,  1874-5; 
Albert  G.  Burr,  1876-7;  G.  W.  Davis, 
1878-9;  J.  T.  Cameron,  1SS0;  G.  W. 
English,  1881;  J.  T.  Cameron,  1882; 
John  Hill,  1S83.  The  present  officers 
of  the  lodge,  elected  in  1884,  are  the 
following  gentlemen — George  W.  Davis; 
W.  M.;  Thomas  C.  Jeffries,   S.  W.;  C. 

A.  Weimer.  J.  W.;  James  P.  Morrow, 
T.;  F.   P.  Greene,  S. 

Carrollton  Chapter,  No.  77,  R.  A.  M., 
was  organized  under  dispensation  April 
7,  1865,  with  the  following  officers  : 
James  W.  English,  M.  E.  H.  P.;  James 

B.  Samuel,  E.  K.;    James  W.  Gregory, 

E.  S.;  John  M.  Pierson,  C.  H.;  James 
P.  Morrow,  R.  A.  C;  James  W.  Wil- 
cox, P.  S.;  John  Laird,  M.  T.  V.;  Peter 
Fenity,    M.   S.   V.;  John   D.   Baird,   M. 


1046 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


F.  V.  The  lodge  continued  under  dis- 
pensation until  Oct.  (i,  18(')5,  when  a 
charter  w;\s  granted  it,  and  it  was  re- 
organized with  the  following  charter 
members:  James  W.  English,  James 
Samuel,  Wm.  R.  Davis,  J.  W.  Gregory, 
J.  P.  Morrow.  J.  M.  Wilcox,  J.  D. 
Baird,  It.  (i.  Robinson,  W.  L.  Greene, 
J.  P..  Eldred,  J.  G.  Reed,  M.  L.  Wood, 
('.  Armstrong,  L.  E.  Eldred,  W.  P. 
Burroughs,  J.  M.  Davis,  M.  L.  Robin- 
son, Paul  Wright,  Edwin  Woolley,  and 
A.  C.  Reno.  The  first  officers  under 
the  charter  were  then  installed,  as  fol- 
lows ■  James  W.  English,  M.  E.  H. 
P.;  J.  B.  Samuel,  E.  K.;  W.  R.  Davis, 
E.  S.;  J.  P.  Morrow,  C.  H.;  J.  M.  Wil- 
cox, P.  S.;  R.  G.  Robinson,  R,  A.  C; 
M.  L.  Robinson,  M.  T.  V.;  W.  L. 
Greene,  M.  S.  V.;  J.  W.  Davis,  M.  F. 
V.:  M.  L.  Wood,  S.;  J.  B.  Eldred,  T.; 
J.  (i.  Reed,  G.  The  following  gentle- 
men have  filled  the  position  of  M.  E. 
H.  P:  J.  W.  English,  1865-69;  H.  C. 
Withers,  1870-1;  George  W.  Davis, 
1872-3;  C.  W.  Keeley,  1874;  J.  W. 
Davis,  1875-6;  J.  P.  Morrow,  1877; 
H.  C.  Withers,  1878-9;  J.  P.  Morrow. 
1880;  John  Hill,  1881;  Wm.  L.  Orr, 
1882;  J.  P.  Morrow,  1883,  and  H.  H. 
Montgomery,  1884-5, 

Carrollton  council  No.  48,  R.  &  S.  M., 
was  instituted  on  the  6th  of  Oct.,  1870, 
with  the  following  charter  members: 
John  Hill,  H.  C.  Withers,  C.  W.  Keeley, 
A.  H.  Smith.  W.  W.  Beaty,  J.  C.  Wool- 
ford,  J.  P.  Morrow,  J.  1'..  Nulton,  J  W. 
English,  W.  H.  Perry  and  W.  L.  Orr. 
The  present  officers  arc:  ('.  W.  Keeley, 
T.  S.  G.  M.;  H.  C.  Withers,  S.  D.  M.; 
Geo.  W.  Davis,  P.  C.  of  W.;  W.  II. 
Ncwhold,  M.  of  E.;  Frank  P.  Greene, 
Pec;    L.    R.  Lakin,    C.    of  G.;  Jas.  P. 


Morrow,  C.  of  C.;  T.  G.  Jeffries,  Sd.; 
John  Hill,  Sent. 

Hugh  DePayen  commandery,  No. 
29,  K.  of  T.,  was  organized  under  a 
charter  dated  Nov.  16,  1878,  with  the 
following  original  members:  H.  C. 
Withers,  Frank  Winfield,  Allen  Mar- 
shall, James  W.  English,  G.  W.  Davis, 
J.  B.  Nulton,  J.  S.  Vedder,  William  L. 
Orr  and  W.  L.  Greene.  The  first  officers 
of  the  commandery  were:  H.  C.  With- 
ers, E.  C;  Frank"  Winfield,  G.;  Allen 
Marshall,  C.  G.;  J.  W.  English,  P.; 
Geo.  W.  Davis,  S.  W.;  J.  B.  Nulton,  J. 
W.;  W.  L.  Greene,  T.;  J.  S.  Vedder,  R.; 
W.  L.  Orr,  W.  There  are  66  members 
in  good  standing,  and  the  commandery 
is  one  of  the  finest  in  this  section  of  the 
state.  The  present  officers  are:  J.W. 
Hutchinson,  E.  C;  Morris  R.  Locke, 
G.;  J.  B.  Nulton,  C.  G.;  Geo.  W.  Davis, 
P.;  T.  G.  Jeffries,  S.  W.;  H.  H.  Mont- 
gomery, J.  W.;  W.  H.  Newhold,  T.;  J. 
P.  Morrow,  S. 

Carrollton  lodge  No.  342,  I.  O.  0.  F., 
was  instituted  Jan.  31,  1867,  with  the 
following  charter  members:  Walter  S. 
Tandy,  J.  J.  Paris,  J.  Donald  Gee,  Ben- 
jamin Shetterly,  J.  M.  Russell,  J.  W. 
Montague,  T.  G.  Jeffries,  J.  Q.  Adams, 
John  Cox  and  James  Pope.  The  first 
officers  were:  J.  J.  Paris,  N.  G.;  W.  S. 
Tandy,  V.  G.;  J.  M.  Russell,  R.  S.;  T. 
J.  Jeffries,  T.;  G.  W.  Rumrill,  R. 
The  lodge  has  been  presided  over  by 
the  following  Noble  Grands  since  its  or- 
ganization: J.  J.  Paris,  W.  S.  Tandy, 
J.  (J.  Adams,  M.  L.  Wood,  J.  C.  Wool- 
ford,  G.  W.  Rumrill,  W.  S.  Tandy,  A. 
Headrick,  S.  F.  Corrington,  W .  W. 
Beaty,  J.  H.  Stout,  E.  C.  Sackett,  A. 
Headrick,  J.  L.  Marmon,  A  Jackson,  G. 
L.  Williams,  H.  L.  Clay,  E.  A.  Doolittle, 


H.  C.  Sieverling,  H.  C.  Withers,  G.  W. 

Rumrill,   J.    H.   Short,  J.    I.   Johnson, 
S.  0.  Smith,    G.  Sleight,   J.    E.   Furge- 
son,  W.   J.    Roberts,  Warren   English, 
William  Lavery,  David  Felmley,  H.  T. 
Eberlein,  David  Felmley  and  Jos.   W. 
Beaty.      The  present  officers  are:  H.  T. 
Eberlein,    N.   G.:  James    C.  Cannedy, 
V.  G.:  Gustav  Wiemer,  S.;  Amos  Jack- 
son, T.;  and   E.  A.  Doolittle,  R.      The 
present  membership  is  67  in  good  stand- 
standing.    The  hall  of  this  lodge  is  over 
Long  &  Co.'s  bank,  on  the   east   side  of 
the  square,  and  is  24x60  feet  in   size;  is 
well  furnished,   and  fitted  up,  and  the 
lodge  has  fine  regalia.     The  society  has 
about  SI,  100  in  the  treasury,  and  is  in  a 
prosperous    condition    in    all   respects. 
Meetings  are  held  every  Friday  evening. 
Carrollton  Encampment  X".  80,  I.  O. 
0.  P.,  was  instituted  Oct.  4.  1867,  by  D. 
G.  P.  R.  D.  Landers,  with  the  following 
charter    members:     Thomas   J.   Carlin, 
A.'Headiiek.  LeRoy  McFarland, James 
E.   Furgeson,    N.    E.  Bowman,    George 
W.   Rumrill,  John  Q.  Adams,  John  Q. 
Ward.  W.  E.  Carlin,  John  C.  Woolford, 
Fred  W.   Lewis,  Walter  S.  Tandy,  Jas. 
W.  English,  James  W.  Montague.     The 
first   officers    elected    were   as    follows  : 
C.  P..   James  W.    English;   H.  P.,  Geo. 
W.  Rumrill;    S.  W.,  Thomas  J.  Carlin; 
J.    W.,  J"hn  l).    Adams:     S.,  John   C. 
Woolford:   <;..  James  W.  Montague;  O. 
S.    S.,  James   E.    Furgeson.       The  en- 
campment  was  highly    prosperous  and 
flourishing  up    to   the    year    1874.    but 
from  that  time  the  members  seemed  to 
lose  interest  in  it,  and  for  three  or  four 
years    it     was    very    difficult    to    get  a 
quorum  present,  only  three  or  four  of 
the  faithful  attending  the   regular  meet- 
ings.      During  the    years    1878-9,    no 


meetings  were  held  at  all,  and  no  reporl 
was  made  to  the  <■.  E.  for  the  year 
1879.  During  that  year  the  G.  S. 
changed  the  location  of  the  encamp- 
ment, and  actually  moved  its  property 
to  Medora,  111.,  without  the  know! 
consent  or  desire  of  the  few  remaining 
faithful  members.  Deeming  this  action 
of  the  G.  E.  to  be  unjust,  Patriarchs 
Corrington,  Sackett  and  Rumrill  deter- 
mined to  reorganize  the  encampment 
and  regain  their  property  and  effects, 
which  they  deemed  had  been  unjustly 
taken  from  them.  Patriarch  Corring- 
ton went  to  Springfield,  at  his  own  ex- 
pense, and  consulted  with  the  G.  S. 
about  the  matter,  the  result  of  which 
was  that  the  property  was  ordered  to  be 
returned  to  Carrollton  and  the  encamp- 
ment placed  in  the  same  position  that 
it  was  before. 

The  encampment  was,  thereto: 
organized  in  Dec,  1880,  a  large  amount 
of  new  blood  being  infused  in  the  new 
encampment.  Thirteen  new  members 
were  initiated  on  that  evening.  From 
that  time  until  the  present,  the  encamp- 
ment has  been  in  a  flourishing  condi- 
tion. Whilst  it  has  not  increased  as 
rapidly  as  some  encampments,  yi 
increase  has  been  steady,  :,nd  the  addi- 
tions of  first-class  material.  The  fol- 
lowing named  persons  have  presided 
over  the  deliberation  of  the  encamp- 
ment from  its  institution  to  the  presenl 
day:  James  W .  English,  Win.  Scruby, 
M.  M.  Engleman,  John  L.  Marinon, 
JohnC.  Woolford.  E.  I..  Craig,  Walter 
S.  Tandy,  Thomas  J.  Carlin.  A.  Head- 
riek,  Leroy  McFarland,  James  E.  Fur- 
geson, S.  F.  Corrington.  George  W. 
Rumrill,  E.  C.  Sackett,  E.  A.  Doolittle, 
Amos    Jackson,    G.   L.  Williams.    Wil- 


1048 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


Ham  Lavery,  John  H.  Stout,  N.  E. 
Bowman,  II.  C.  Seiverling,  H.  T.  Eber- 
lein  and  H.  C.  Withers.  The  present 
officers  are  as  follows,  to-wit:  E.  A. 
Doolittle,  C.  P.;  G.  W.  Rumrill,  H.  P.; 
S.  F.  Corrington,  S.j  Gustav  Wiemer, S. 
W.;  Adam  Weimer,  J.  W.;  Joseph 
Beatty,  T.;  H.  T.  Eberlein,  G.;  J.  A. 
Hilleg,  O.  S.  S.;  James  L.  Dawson,  I. 
S.  S.;  James  I.  Johnson,  1st  G.  to  T.; 
(i.  E.  Johnson,  2nd  G.  to  T.;  W.  B. 
Osborne,  1st  W.;  Grant  Osborne,  2d  \\\; 
James  R.  Cannedy,  3d  W.;  John  H. 
Stout,  4th  W.  Finance  committee:  Pa- 
triarchs II.  T.  Eberlein,  William  Lav- 
ery and  Gustav  Wiemer.  Trustees — 
Patriarchs  S.  F.  Corrington,  H.  T.  Eb- 
erlein, G.  E.  Johnson,  W.  B.  Osborne 
and  James  L.  Dawson. 

Olympic  lodge,  No  913,  K.  of  H.,was 
organized  Feb.  25,  1878,  with  the  fol- 
lowing 13  members:  W.  L.  Armstrong, 
C.  L.  Clapp,  J.  M.  Davis,  R.  H.  Davis, 
E.  A.  Doolittle,  J.  W.  English,  T.  E. 
Evans,  John  Jones,  Ed.  Miner,  T.  D. 
Price,  C.  E.  Russell,  F.  M.  Roberts  and 
H.  C.  Withers.  On  institution  the  fol- 
lowing officers  were  installed:  E.  A. 
Doolittle,  D.;  Ed.  Miner,  P.  D.;  C.  L. 
Clapp,  P.;  T.  E.  Evans,  F.  P.;  John 
Jones,  T.;  C.  E.  Russell,  C;  F.  M. Rob- 
erts, G.;  T.  D.  Price, S.,  and  W.L. Arm- 
strong, G.  M.  Since  the  organization 
the  following  gentlemen  have  served  as 
Dictator: Edward  Miner,  E.  A. Doolittle, 
John  Jones,  C.  L.  Clapp,  C.  H.  Weag- 
ley,  T.  J.  Albert,  W.  L.  Armstrong,  J. 
B.  Schwartz  and  Wm.  Lavery.  The 
present  membership  is  about  35.  The 
lodge  meets  the  first  and  third  Tuesday's 
of  each  month  in  their  hall, at  the  north- 
east of  the  square.  Since  their  organi- 
zation   there    have    been    three    deaths: 


John  M.  Roodhouse,  James  M.  Davis 
and  Dr.  Lindsey  English.  There  has 
been  some  $4,1<>0  paid  into  the  widows' 
and  orphans'  fund  since  the  institution 
of  the  lodge,  and  $6,000  has  been  paid 
to  the  lodge  by  the  supreme  treasurer  on 
account  of  the  above  deaths.  The  pres- 
ent officers  are:  William  Lavery,  D., 
William  Egelhoff.V.D.;  F.  M.  Roberts, 
F.  R,;  B.  C.  Hodges,  T.;  John  Jones, 
C;  E.  Miner,  G.;  E.  A.  Doolittle, R.;  W. 
L.  Armstrong,  D.  G.  I).  and  R.  to  G.  L. 
Carrollton lodge,  No.  293,  I.  O.  G.  T., 
was  organized  June  19,  1880,  with  the 
following  charter  members:  J.  T.  Cam- 
eron, J.  H.  Underwood,  C.  W.  Kelley, 
E.  E.  Williams,  David  Pierson,  W.  11. 
Emery,  W.  H.  Howard,  A.  W.  Greene, 
Mrs.  S.  J.  Turner,  Mrs.  M.  E.  Kelley, 
Belle  C.  Kirby,  Laura  A.  Binker,  Anna 
Gamble,  Josie  Holland,  Mary  Harney, 
Maggie  Scruby,  Ella  Binker  and  Mrs. 
C.  J.  Binker.  The  first  officers  were  as 
follows:  J.  T.  Cameron,  W.  C.  T.;  Mrs. 
S.  J.  Turner,  W.  Y.  T.;  J.  H.  Under- 
wood, W.  C;  E.  E.  Williams,  W.  S.; 
Belle  Kirby,  W.  A.  S.;  Mrs.  J.  E.  Cam- 
eron, W.  F.  S.;  Mrs.  M.  E.  Kelley,  W. 
S.;  Maggie  Scruby,  W.  M.;  Laura  Bin- 
ker, W.  D.  M.;  C.  W.  Kelley,  W.  I.  G.; 
Josie  Holland,  W.  O.  G.;  David  Pier- 
son,  P.  W.  C.  T.;  Edward  Miner,  D.  G. 
W.  0.  T.  The  lodge  is  in  good  con- 
dition, and  is  officered  as  follows:  T. 
P.  Bellas,  W.  C.  T.;  Fannie  A.  Sleight, 
W.  V.  T.;  David  Pierson,  W.  C;  C.  E. 
Underwood,  W.  S.;  Mina  Higbee,  W. 
U.  S.;  Eugene  Hall,  W.  F.  S.;  Sarah 
Underwood,  W.  T.;  Geo.  Sleight,  W.M.; 
Maggie  Sinclair,  W.  D.  M.;  William 
Carmody,  W.  I.  G.;  J.  J.  Dyson,  W. 
O.  G.;  J.  T.  Atchinson,  P.  W.  C.  T.; 
S.  A.  Black,  D.  G.  W.  C.  T. 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


1049 


SHAKSPEAREAN    CLUB. 

As  long  ago  as  1844,  a  dramatic  asso- 
ciation flourished  in  the  town  of  Car- 
rollton,   which   had    all   the   necessary 

stage  fittings,  scenery,  and  other  para- 
phernalia, but  little  of  it  is  remem- 
bered. Of  late  years,  the  first  social 
organization  for  mutual  improvement, 
in  Carrollton,  was  called  the  Carrollton 
Literary  Club.  On  Friday  evening, 
Jan.  14,  1876,  at  the  office  of  Dr.  B.  F. 
Kingsley,  this  club  was  organized.  -Tas. 
R.  Ward,  the  prime  mover  in  the  incep- 
tion and  organization  of  the  society,  de- 
serves special  credit.  The  first  officers 
chosen  were:  Dr.  B.  F.  Kingsley,  pres- 
ident; James  R.  Ward,  vice-president; 
John  Worthington,  secretary;  Charles 
Luthy,  treasurer;  and  John  Worthing- 
ton, Ed  Smith  and  C.  L.  Clapp,  execu- 
tive committee.  James  R.  Ward,  vice- 
president,  withdrew  from  the  society 
within  a  short  time  after  its  inaugura- 
tion. At  the  second  meeting  of  the  so- 
ciety, the  president  delivered  his  inaug- 
ural address,  and  recitations  were  given 
by  Ed  Smith,  Charles  Luthy,  John 
Worthington  and  others.  Shortly  after 
this,  a  new  set  of  officers  were  chosen, 
as  follows:  Dr.  B.  F.  Kingsley,  presi- 
dent; William  Keating,  vice-president; 
C.  L.  Clapp,  secretary;  Ed  Smith, 
treasurer;  and  John  Worthington,  Chas. 
Luthy,  and  C.  L.  Clapp,  executive  com- 
mittee. Meetings  were  held  once  a 
month,  and  three  sessions  more  were 
held.  There  were,  at  the  time,  no  lady 
members. 

On  Dee.  2,  1876,  a  meeting  was  held 
at  the  residence  of  Dr.  C.  Armstrong, 
and  a  new  society  organized,  with  the 
following  members:  Dr.  E.  B.  Hohson 
and  wife,  Ada  Harden,  Millie   Harden, 


Hattie  Hodges,  Ada  Wheeler,  Lucy 
Armstrong,  Dr.  B.  F.  Kingsley,  and  C. 
L.  Clapp  and  wife.  It  was  decided  to 
bend  their  energies  to  the  study  of  the 
higher  parts  of  standard  English  liter- 
ature, and  Shakespeare  was  chosen  for 
their  first  author.  After  some  debate, 
"Midsummer  Night's  Dream,"  was  the 
play  selected  for  examination  and  study, 
to  begin  with.  The  first  officers  chosen 
were  as  follows:  Dr.  B.  F.  Kingsley, 
president;  Dr.  Massee,  vice-president; 
Lucy  Armstrong,  secretary.  Meetings 
were  held  until  May  21,  following, when 
the  club  adjourned,  to  meet  in  the 
autumn,  in  response  to  a  call  from  the 
president,  E.  A.  Doolittle,  who  had 
been  elected  in  the  interim. 

October  1,  1*77,  the  club  gathered 
together  for  their  winter's  campaign 
among  the  authors,  at  the  residence  of 
C.  L.  Clapp,  when  the  following  officers 
were  elected — Ed.  Smith,  president  ; 
Chas.  Luthy,  vice-president;  Mrs.  E.  A. 
Doolittle,  secretary.  The  meetings  were 
held  twice  a  month  all  winter  until  the 
season  closed,  April  1,  1878. 

During  the  next  three  winters  there  is 
no  record  of  any  meeting,  and  it  is  pre- 
sumed there  were  none  held.  However, 
on  the  evening  of  Oct.  31,  1881,  a  num- 
ber of  gentlemen  met  at  the  office  of  J. 
\V.  English,  and  there  organized  a 
society  under  the  name  of  the  Carroll- 
ton Shakspearean  club,  with  R.  H. 
Davis  as  president,  and  selected  the 
"  Merchant  of  Venice,"  from  the  works 
of  the  great  delineator  of  humanity,  as 
first  upon  which  to  commence  their 
study. 

Nov.  15,  1881,  a  number  of  the  young 
people  met  at  the  residence  of  Lyman 
Wheeler,    and    organized    the    Junior 


1050 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


Shakspearean  club,  with  the  following 
members — W.  M.  Montgomery,  Miss 
Hinton,  Ed.  Smith,  David  Felmley,  H. 
R.  Heaton,  C.  S.  Luthy,  Ettie  Wheeler, 
Mollie  E.  Payne,  Hattie  Hodges,  .lames 
Davis,  and  Nellie  Bonfoy.  David  Felm- 
ley was  elected  president,  and  Miss  Hin- 
ton, secretary. 

Meetings  were  held  by  both  clubs  dur- 
ing the  winter,  the  junior  club  holding 
its  last  one  Feb.  14,  1882,  and  the  senior, 
April  20.  Oct  9,  1882,  the  senior  club 
met  at  the  residence  of  Mrs.  L.  M. 
Davis,  and  organized  tor  their  winter 
work.  H.  H.  Montgomery  was  elected 
president,  and  C.  C.  Sharon,  secretary. 
The  last  meeting  of  the  season  was  held 
May  1,  1883.  October  29,  of  that  year, 
they  met  at  the  residence  of  0.  L.  Clapp 
for  the  first  meeting  of  the  season.  Ed. 
Smith  was  elected  president,  and  Miss 
E.    C.    Bulkley,    secretary.     The    last 

l iting  was  held  March  30,  1885.   Many 

parties  have  served  as  officers  of  this 
club,  whose  names  do  not  appear  here, 
but  who  reflected  credit  upon  theorgani- 
zation. 

CARROLLTON    LIBRARY. 

The  subject  of  instituting  a  library  in 
the  city  of  Carrollton  had  been  several 
times  agitated  in  that  community,  but 
it  was  not  until  1873,  that  success  at- 
tended the  efforts  of  its  originators.  In 
that,  year,  the  Carrollton  Library  Asso- 
ciation was  organized,  with  the  follow- 
ing officers:  H.  C.  Withers,  Pres.;  Dr. 
E.  B.  Hobson,  See.;  L.S.  Eldred,  Treas.; 
and  A.  G.  Burr,  R.  G.  Robinson  and 
Dr.  E.  B.  Hobson,  Fin.  Com.  They 
have  a  tine  and  select  library  of  several 
hundred  books,  which  are  well  read. 
Among  the  priiniinent  lite  members  of 
the  association   are   the   following  well 


known  citizens:  H.  C.  Withers,  Isham 
Linder,  Jr.,  E.A.  Doolittle,  Den  Linder, 
John  Jones,  Ed.  Miner,  Mrs.  Ed.  Miner, 
Thomas  D.  Price,  Henry  N.  Price,  Fred. 
F.  Vedder,  J.  W.  English,  S.  F.  Cor- 
rington,  Mrs.  George  Wright,  G.  S. 
Wright,  J.  M.  Roodhouse,  George  L. 
Burruss,  II.  D.  Burruss,  Thomas  Scott, 
Jr.  W.  W.  Peaty,  J.  T.  Crow,  B.  Rood- 
house,  J.  P.  Morrow,  J.  C.  Hardcastle, 
Spencer  Smith,  W.  B.  Robinson,  W.H. 
Newbolt,  C.  L.  Clapp,  C.  C.  Furgeson, 
L.  S.  Busline]],  Chas.  McAninch,  Geo. 
L.  Williams,  John  Kaser,  and  many 
others.  The  institution  is  in  quite  a  bad 
shape,  and  some  idea  is  had  to  turn  it 
ever  to  the  care  of  the  school  board.  It 
is  located,  at  present,  in  the  office  of  H. 
C.  Withers. 

FIRE    DEPARTMENT. 

The  Carrollton  fire  department  is 
equipped  with  a  hook  and  ladder  truck, 
which  has  two  extension  ladders,  re- 
spectively 36  and  30  feet  in  length,  one 
single  ladder,  20  feet  long,  and  a  hook 
ladder,  also  20  feet  long.  It  has  28 
buckets, and  four  Babcock  extinguishers. 
The  truck  cost  about  $650.  The  last 
officers  elected  were:  M.  L.  Reed,capt:_: 
H.  S.  Moore,  sec;  Wm.  St.  Clair,  lad- 
derman.  The  last  election  was  in  1883. 
The  apparatus  is  kept  in  a  frame  build- 
ing, erected  by  the  city  for  that  purpose 
in  the  rear  of  the  calaboose. 

GOVERNMENT. 

Carrollton  was  incorporated  as  a  town 
at  a  very  early  date,  as  will  be  shown 
by  the  following  entry  which  was  spread 
upon  the  records  of  the  county  under 
the  date  of  Sept  4,  1S33: 

At  a  meeting  of  the  citizens  of  the 
town    of  Carrollton.    convened    at    the 


court  house,  in  said  town,  pursuant  to 
public  notice  given  for  that  purpose,  on 
the  15th  of  Aug.,  1833,  at  2  o'clock  p.m. 
The  meeting  was  organized  by  electing 
William  C.  Rainey,  president,  and  A. 
W.  Caverly,  secretary.  Ten  days  notice 
having  been  given  for  the  purpose  of  as- 
certaining the  vote  for  and  against  a  cor- 
poration, and  the  president  and  secre- 
tary having  taken  the  oath  prescribed 
by  law,  the  votes  were  31  for  incorpora- 
tion and  1  against  incorporation,  and 
afterward,  according  to  notice  given,  an 
election  was  held  on  the  22d  of  Aug., 
is.',;;,  I'm-  trustees  of  said  town,  when 
James  Reno,  P.  M.  Brown,  A.  W.  Cav- 
erly, Mathias  Link  and  Edward  1). 
Baker  were  duly  elected  trustees  for  the 
term  of  one  year,  and  have  severally 
taken  the  oath  of  office  as  prescribed  by 
law,  in  open  court. 

Early  in  1847  this  charter  was  re- 
pealed and  the. town  was  re-incorporated 
in  1849.  July  6,  of  this  year,  an  elec- 
tion was  held  under  the  new  charter, 
which  resulted  in  the  choice  of  officers 
as  follows:  President,  C.  A.  Davis: 
trustees,  Jordan  Howard,  A.  W.  Lynn, 
C.  P.  Heaton.  Alfred  Hinton  and  J. 
E.  Walker  each  received  29  votes,  con- 
sequently neither  were  chosen.  A  new 
election  was  ordered,  at  which  Alfred 
Hinton  received  a  majority.  F.  P.  Ved- 
der  was  made  clerk,  Z.  A.  Morrow,  con- 
stable, and  Dr.  John  Hardtner,  super- 
visor. 

The  following  are  the  present  officers: 
Mayor,  Thomas  ('.  Hussey;  clerk,  Ed- 
ward Miner:  attorney,  E.  A.  Doolittle; 
marshal,  Michael  Hogau;  treasurer, 
William  L.  Armstrong;  aldermen — 1st 
ward,  Luther  Lynn;  i2<  1  ward,  Samuel 
Hazel;  3d  ward,  G.  E.  Johnson. 


POSTOFFICE. 

The  postoffice  at  Carrollton  was  first 
established  in  1822,  with  John  W.  Skid- 
more  as  postmaster.  He  was  succeeded 
by  Samuel  Lee,  Jr..  sonic  time  after. 
He  was  succeeded,  about  1829  or  '30,  by 
Philip  N.  Rampy.  Others  followed, 
among  whom  have  been  Alfred  Hinton, 
Hill,  Gaylord,  Kay,  Marshall  Dulaney, 
Cox,  Frank  B.  Roberts,  (i.  L.  Williams, 
who  went  into  office  in  1867,  and  held  it 
until  sueeeeded  by  Charles  Lynn,  Feb. 
17,  1878.  The  latter  was  followed  by 
his  brother.  James  Lynn,  Feb.  7,  1885, 
and  is  the  present  incumbent.  The 
number  of  postal  money  orders  issued 
from  this  office,  up  to  Aug.  28,  1885,  was 
17,74-").  The  first  postal  note  issued 
by  this  office,  was  dated  Sept.  4,  1883, 
was  drawn  upon   Alton,  and  was  for  $1. 

While  a  portion  of  this  book  was  in 
the  hands  of  the  publisher,  a  destructive 
conflagration  visited  the  city  of  Carroll- 
ton,  of  which  the  following  description 
is  given: 

On  the  morning  of  Oct.  IS,  1885, 
about  2:30  o'clock,  an  explosion  was 
heard  in  the  rear  of  Levy's  block,  in  or 
about  John  Rainey's  grocery  store,  on 
the  northeast  corner  of  the  square,  and 
immediately  flames  burst  forth  from 
Rainey's  building.  The  fire  wagon, 
buckets,  ladders  and  hooks,  and  all 
water  buckets  obtainable,  were  at  once 
summoned  and  put  in  use.  At  first  it 
looked  like  the  entire,  east  side  of  the 
square  would  burn.  Fortunately,  how- 
ever, the  wind  became  more  quiet,  and 
the  fire  was  gotten  under  control,  but 
not  until  Levy's  magnificent  double 
two-story  building,  with  almost  all  the 
contents  of  the  second  story,  both  in  the 
part  he  was   occupying,  and  that  occu- 


1062 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


pied  by  Sharon  Bros.,  was  consumed; 
and  John  Rainey's  two-story  grocery 
store,  with  all  its  contents,  including 
about  $2,500  worth  of  accounts  and 
notes  of  J.  Rainey  &  Son.  and  about 
$2,500  of  notes  and  accounts  Henry  T. 
Rainey  had  for  collection.  Much  of  the 
stock  of  all  parties  was  saved,  but  in  a. 
damaged  condition.  The  loss  is  footed 
up  to  have  been  about  $23,500,  mostly 
covered  by  insurance. 

OTHER  PROMINENT  CITIZENS. 

Among  the  men  who  have  and  are 
making  Carrollton  what  is,  are  the  fol- 
lowing gentlemen: 

Josiah  Jones  was  a  native  of  North 
Carolina,  horn  in  Jan.,  1813.  He  set- 
tled in  Greene  county  in  1835,  and  with 
the  exception  of  a  short  time  that  he 
followed  teaching  school,  was  engaged 
in  farming  until  his  death,  which  oc- 
curred Jan.  7,  1870.  He  was  a  man 
who  manifested  great  delight  and  in- 
terest in  agricultural  and  horticultural 
pursuits,  and  although  his  farm  was 
comparatively  small,  yet  he  realized 
more  net  profit  than  hundreds  of  far- 
mers with  more  land.  The  cultivation 
of  the  choicest  fruits  was  to  him  a  great 
source  of  pleasure  and  profit.  Mr. 
Jones  was  a  thorough  democrat  of  the 
Jeffersonian  school, and  never  wavered  in 
his  political  faith.  He  was  elected  jus- 
tice of  the  peace  several  terms,  serving 
his  fellow  citizens  very  satisfactorily  in 
that  capacity.  Although  he  was  not  a 
member  of  any  particular  sect  or 
church,  he  was  a  firm  believer  in  reve- 
lation, and  bis  life  was  that  of  a  con- 
sistent christian.  He  was  a  kind  devoted 
husband,  an  affectionate  father  and  a 
good  neighbor  and  excellent  citizen,    lie 


was  married  in  Greene  county,  in  1838, 
to  Elizabeth  A.,  daughter  of  Robert 
and  Penninah  Ncece,  who  came  from 
Tennessee  and  made  settlement  in  this 
county  at  an  early  day.  They  were  the 
parents  of  five  children — John;  Robert, 
who  enlisted  in  Co.  A,  Gist  111.  Inf., 
and  was  killed  at  the  battle  of  Shiloh, 
April  6,  18(52,  aged  18  years;  Jennie  E., 
wife  of  Captain  William  Seeley;  Cullen, 
and  Fannie,  who  died  in  infancy.  Mrs. 
Jones  is  still  living,  and  resides  in 
White  Hall  with  her  son-in-law,  Capt. 
Seeley. 

The  Very  Rev.  William  Tilly  Whit- 
marsh  is  the  rector  of  Trinity  Episcopal 
church,  of  Carrollton,  and  the  church 
of  the  Holy  Cross,  at  Jerseyville,  and 
also  holds  the  office  of  dean,  of  Litch- 
field. He  was  born  at  Portsmouth, 
England,  May  28,  1S34,  his  parents 
being  John  G.  and  Martha  (Tilly)  Whit- 
marsh,  natives  of  Hampshire,  England. 
His  father  was  a  lithographer,  in  Lon- 
don, in  which  city  he  died  in  1854.  His 
mother  is  still  living  and  resides  in  Lon- 
don. William  was  educated  privately 
for  the  Baptist  ministry,  and  began 
active  work  in  that  vocation  in  1856, 
holding  pastorates  respectively  at  Shef- 
ford  Beds  and  Brixham  Devon.  In 
1868,  he  resigned  the  pastorate  and  be- 
came principal  and  proprietor  of  a  large 
school  in  Barnstaple,  Devonshire,  where 
he  continued  five  years.  He  then  came 
to  America,  in  1S73,  and  became  suc- 
cessively the  pastor,  at  East  Winthrop, 
Me.,  and  at  Warren,  O.  Here  he  was 
received  into  the  Episcopal  church  Feb. 
2,  1879,  and  accepted  a  position  as  as- 
sistant rector  of  Trinity  church,  Cleve- 
land, where  he  was  ordained  deacon,  in 
August,  of  the  same  year,  and  priest  in 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


1053 


February  following.  In  June,  1881,  he 
became  rector  of  St.  Paul's  church,  at 
Muskegon,  Mich.,  which  position  he 
resigned  three  years  after,  to  take  his 
present  one.  In  1856,  he  married  Sarah 
Welch,  daughter  of  John  and  Sarah 
(Whitmarsh)  Welch,  the  former  a  native 
of  Bath,  the  hitter  of  Hampshire,  Eng- 
land. John  Welch  was  a  turner  and  a 
manufacturer  of  furniture.  Both  he 
and  his  wife  are  now  deceased.  The 
above  union  was  blessed  with  six  chil- 
dren, four  now  living — Agnes,  wife  of 
Owen  Hicks,  of  Cleveland,  0.;  Frank, 
Walter  and  Katie.  Those  deceased  are 
— Bertha,  who  died  in  Cleveland;  and 
Ernest,  who  died  in  England.  Mrs. 
Whitmarsh  died  in  Warren,  Ohio, 
in  the  early  part  of  IS?1,).  In  1881, 
Dean  Whitmarsh  married  Rebecca  A. 
Sheldon,  daughter  of  Capt.  Pardon 
Sheldon,  of  Rhode  Island.  Dean  Whit- 
marsh is  a  member  of  Muskegon  lodge, 
No.  ;;■_'.  A.  F.  &  A.  M.,  of  commandery 
No.  22,  K.  T.,  and  of  the  K.  of  P.,  in 
which  he  holds  the  office  of  B.  C.  U.  R. 
for   the  state  of  Illinois. 

Thomas  Ward,  a  retired  mechanic,  of 
Carrollton,  is  a  native  of  Stokes  county, 
N.  C,  and  was  born  July  26,  1811.  He 
is  a  soil  of  Randolph  and  Eunice  (Moore) 
Ward,  both  natives  of  England.  They 
left  their  native  country  and  came  to 
the  United  States  when  quite  young, 
and  here  Randolph  Ward  engaged  in 
farming.  Both  he  and  his  wife  are  now- 
deceased.  Thomas  received  his  educa- 
tion in  the  schools  of  middle  Tennessee, 
and  afterwards  learned  the  trade  of  a 
carpenter,  there,  which  occupation  he 
has  followed  most  of  his  life.  In  1863 
he  came  to  Greene  county  and  has  since 
resided  here.     He  was  united  in    mar- 


riage, in  the  year  1835,  with  Elizabeth 
Jane  Gossaway,  daughter  of  Benjamin 
and  Polly  (Smith)  Gossaway,  natives 
of  Kentucky.  Elizabeth  was  born  April 
8,  IMS.  Their  marriage  has  been  blessed 
with  three  children,  only  one  of  whom 
is  now  living — Mary  Ann,  wife  of 
Thomas  Warren,  residing  in  Ottawa, 
Kan.  Those  deceased  are,  Adrian  and 
Caroline,  who  was  married.  Mr.  Ward 
ami  wife  are  members  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  church. 

Rev.  Augustine  J.  Saner,  Rector  of 
St.  John's  Catholic  church  at  Carrollton, 
is  a  native  of  Baden,  Germany,  born 
Aug.  28,  1848.  He  is  a  son  of  Herbert 
and  Theresa  (Miller)  Sauer,  natives  of 
Germany.  His  father  was  a  farmer, 
and  immigrated  to  America  when  Augus- 
tine was  not  yet  three  years  of  age. 
Augustine  was  reared  in  New  York  city 
from  that  time,  receiving  his  education 
in  the  schools  of  that  city.  In  1868  lie 
returned  to  Germany  to  finish  atheolog- 
ical  course,  and  in  1S72  graduated  from 
the  university  at  Munster,  Westphalia, 
and  was  ordained  as  a  priest.  He  then 
returned  to  America,  and  came  to  the 
Diocese  of  Alton,  taking  his  first  charge 
at  Belleville,  where  he  remained  but  a 
short  time,  when  he  was  appointed  Rec- 
tor of  Petersburg.  There  he  remained 
four  years,  and  in  1877  came  to  Carroll- 
ton, and  took  his  present  charge,  begin- 
ning the  good  work  by  establishing  and 
building  parochial  schools  during  the 
first  year,  in  which  he  placed  secular 
teachers.  In  1841  he  built  a  convent, 
and  called  four  sisters  here  to  take 
charge  of  this  school,  which  is  still  con- 
ducted by  them.  There  is  a  daily  aver- 
age attendance  of  from  100  to  125  pupils. 
All  the  elementary  branches,  up  to  and 


10.-.4 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


including  the  high  school  studies,  are 
taught,  with  the  addition  of  music,  and 
several  of  the  graduates  are  now  teach- 
ing in  the  county,  while  some  are  in 
higher  colleges.  In  1882,  the  chancel, 
sacristies  and  transepts  of  a  large  new 
church  building  were  erected,  and  fur- 
nished at  a  cost  of  $10,000,  to  take  the 
place  of  the  old  one.  Improvements 
are  constantly  being  made  in  the  parson- 
age and  grounds.  The  communicants 
number  about  800,  and  are  about  equally 
divided  among  Irish  and  German  Amer- 
icans. The  parish  is  in  a  very  prosper- 
ous condition,  owing  to  the  generosity 
of  her  members,  and  not  less  to  the  ex- 
ertions of  their  zealous  pastor. 

Edward  Miner  was  horn  in  Jersey- 
ville,  Jersey  county,  111.,  in  1835,  and 
was  the  eldest  of  a  family  of  seven  chil- 
dren, his  parents  being  Nathaniel  and 
Louisa  (Jackson)  Miner.  As  a  complete 
sketch  of  these  people  appear  in  connec- 
tion with  the  history  of  Jersey  county, 
we  now  follow  the  fortunes  of  Edward, 
the  subject,  who  grew  to  manhood  in 
that  county,  wdiere  he  also  received  a 
liberal  education.  On  attaining  his 
majority,  he  proceeded  to  Carlinville, 
Macoupin  county.where  he  entered  into 
mercantile  pursuits.  This  not  proving 
remunerative,  at  the  expiration  of  two 
years  he  abandoned  this  calling  and 
turned  his  attention  to  farming,  which 
he  followed  for  some  time.  He  then  re- 
turned to  Jerseyville, where  he  assumed 
the  local  editorship  of  the  Republvean, 
;md  as  such  he  conducted  this  enter- 
prise with  marked  ability.  During  the 
spring  of  1S74,  Mr.  Miner  concluded  to 
cast  his  lot  among  the  people  of  Carroll- 
ton,  and  accordingly  took  possession  of 
the  Patriot,  its  former  proprietor  having 


signally  failed  to  bring  the  paper  up  to 
anything  like  a  general  circulation.  To 
the  trying  task  of  resuscitating  this  wan- 
ing sheet,  Mr.  Miner  bent  all  the  en- 
ergies^ofhis  nature,  and  that  he  suc- 
ceeded admirably,  is  well  known  to  the 
people  of  the  county.  As  further  notice 
to  his  editorial  duties, we  now  state  that 
he  disposed  of  his  interest  to  C.L.Clapp, 
the  presentproprietorof  that  live  paper. 
During  the  year  1877,  when  L.  R.Lakin 
was  re-elected  county  clerk,  Mr.  Miner 
became  his  aide  deputy.  In  1882,  he 
was  the  republican  candidate  for  that 
office, but  was  defeated  with  the  balance 
of  the  ticket.  However,  realizing  his 
ability  for  the  position-^  Mr.  Jones,  his 
opponent,  retained  him  as  his  deputy, 
in  which  capacity  he  still  serves  in  a 
satisfactory  manner,  and  with  credit  to 
himself.  Mr.  Miner  has  been  secretary 
of  the  Old  Settlers'  Association  for  six 
years, and  of  the  Carrollton  school  board, 
seven  years,  and  still  retains  those 
positions.  He  is  also  serving  his  third 
term  as  clerk  of  the  city  of  Carrollton. 
He  is  a  R.  A.  M.,  being  a  charter  mem- 
ber of  Burke  chapter,  at  Carlinville, 111. 
He  is  also  a  member  of  the  K.  of  H.  and 

1.  O.  G.  T. 'societies.  In  1861  Mr. Miner 
united  his  fortunes  with  Ella  YanArs- 
dale,  a  daughter  of  W.  H.  YanArsdalc, 
by  whom  four  children  have  been  born 
James  E.,  Nettie   L.,  Willie  and  Lucy. 

Hugh  P.  Farrelly  was  born  Sept.  2, 
1858,  in  Greene  county,  111.,  his  parents 
being  Hugh  P.  and  Elizabeth  (Brewer) 
Farrelly,  the  former  a  native  of  Ireland 
and  the  latter  of  Virginia.  Hugh  lived 
with    his  mother  until  her  death,  July 

2,  1878,  she  being  buried  at  the  Carroll- 
ton cemetery,  where  his  father  is  also 
buried,  he  having    died  two  weeks  be- 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


1055 


fore  Hugh  was  born.  Hugh  received 
his  education  in  the  common  schools, 
and  graduated  in  1*77,  with  the  first 
class  that  graduated  from  the  Green- 
field high  school.  After  leaving  school 
he  was  engaged  in  farming  one  year. 
He  then  taught  six  months,  at  what  is 
known  as  the  Bear  (.'reek  school,  in  this 
county,  after  which  he  taught  two  terms 
at  the  Dover  school.  The  next  year  he 
taught  an  eight  month's  term  in  the 
grammar  department  of  the  Greenfield 
schools,  and  then  accepted  a  position 
as  principal  of  the  Rockbridge  schools, 
where  he  taught  one  term.  May  19, 
1883,  he  purchased  H.  H.  Montgom- 
ery's interest  in  the  Gazette  office  at 
Carrollton,  it  being  a  half  interest,  the 
firm  being  known  as  Price  &  Farrelly. 
Since  his  connection  with  the  paper  the 
subscription  list  has  increased  nearly 
300.  Mr.  Farrelly  was  married  June 
2,  1885,  to  Florence  E.  Robinson, 
daughter  of  T.  C.  and  Eliza  ( Legg) 
Robinson.  Mr.  Farrelly  is  a  member  of 
the  Olympic  K.  of  H.  lodge,  Carrollton, 
having  passed  through  the  different 
offices  of  the  same  order,  at  the  Green- 
field lodge,  and  has  represented  the 
Greenfield  lodge  twice  in  the  grand 
lodge  of  the  state.  He  was  a  charter 
member  of  the  K.  of  P.  of  Greenfield, 
and  passed  through  the  chair  of  that 
lodge,  also  representing  that  lodge  in 
the  grand  lodge  of  the  state.  He  is 
also  a  member  of  the  I.  O.  G.  T.,  of 
Carrollton.  He  and  his  wife  are  mem- 
bers of  the  M.  E.  church  of  this  city. 
Mr.  Farrelly  assisted,  as  far  as  was  in 
his  power,  to  elect  Cleveland. 

Clement  L.  Clapp,  proprietor  of  the 
Carrollton  Patriot,  was  born  in  Ohio,  in 
18-52.     He  removed,  with  his  parents,  to 


Connecticut,  where  he  spent  his  boy- 
hood. They  afterward  removed  to  Iowa, 
where  he  graduated  from  college,  in 
1871.  He  then  taught  school  three 
years;  after  which  he  spent  two  years  at 
Yale  college,  as  a  graduate  student. 
He  was  then  engaged  for  two  years  as  a 
member  of  the  editorial  staff  of  the  New 
Haven,  Conn.,  Daily  Journal  << ml  Courier. 
Alter  coming  to  this  state  lie  was  em- 
ployed one  year  as  tutor  in  the  Illinois 
College,  at  Jacksonville,  and  in  187"', 
bought  the  Carrollton  Patriot,  a  history 
of  which  is  given  elsewhere.  Mr.  Clapp 
was  married,  March  '-'•'!,  1875,  to  Mima 
Allen,  a  native  of  New  Haven,  Conn. 
They  are  the  parents  of  one  child — Allan 
Charles.  They  are  members  of  the 
Presbyterian  church,  of  which  Mr. 
Clapp  has  officiated  as  superintendent 
of  the  Sunday  school  for  seven  years. 

Luther  M.  Kennctt,  well  known  in  the 
real  estate  and  abstract  business,  was 
born  in  Carrollton,  March  26,  1833,  and 
is  a  son  of  Dixon  II.  and  Fanny  (Wil- 
son) Kennett,  the  former  a  native  of 
Snowhill,  Md.,  the  latter  of  Virginia. 
They  were  united  in  marriage  in  Bour- 
bon county,  Ky.,  ami  in  1830,  removed 
to  Greene  county,  HI.  Mr.  Kennett 
was  engaged  in  the  mercantile  business 
for  many  years.  He  died  at  Carrollton, 
in  1854,  his  wife  having  died  there,  with 
that  dreadful  disease,  cholera,  in  the 
year  1833.  Luther  received  his  educa- 
tion in  the  university,  at  St.  Louis,  Mo., 
and,  after  leaving  school,  proceeded  to 
New  Orleans,  and  there  engaged,  with 
his  brother,  in  a  wholesale  grocery 
house,  in  which  he  remained  20  years. 
Since  then  he  has  engaged  in  sundry 
pursuits,  doing  considerable  traveling, 
particularly  through   Colorado  and  the 


vm 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY, 


west.  He  returned  to  Carrollton  in 
1879,  and  has  since  resided  here.  In 
1862,  Mr.  Kennett  enlisted  in  the  Wash- 
ington artillery,  of  New  Orleans,  com- 
manded by  Capt.  Slocum,  and  partici- 
pated in  the  engagement  at  Jackson, 
Miss.,  where  he  was  taken  sick.  A  few 
daj'S  before  the  battle  of  Mission  Ridge, 
he  was  detailed  to  the  quartermaster's 
department,  as  a  clerk,  and  remained 
there  until  the  close  of  the  war.  He  was 
discharged  at  Macon, Miss.,  and  returned 
to  New  Orleans.  Press  G.  Kennett,  an 
uncle  of  Luther  M.,  settled  in  Carroll- 
ton  as  early  as  1825,  and  here  died.  A 
son  of  his,  Luther  M.,  had  been  mayor 
of  St.  Louis  three  terms.  Ferdinand, 
another  son,  was  also  well  and  favor- 
ably known  in  that  city.  Mortimer, 
too,  was  a  son  of  his,  but  all  three  are 
now  deceased. 

Geo.  Wright,  a  retired  merchant,  of 
Carrollton,  was  born  in  Yorkshire, Eng., 
in  1808.  He  was  bound  seven  years  to 
the  trade  of  a  carpenter,  but  before  his 
time  expired  he  purchased  his  inden- 
tures. At  21  he  had  acquired  a  liberal 
education,  and  tbeii  turned  his  attention 
to  the  New  World.  Crossing  the  ocean 
on  a  sailing  vessel,  in  1830,  he  landed 
in  New  York,  where  he  remained  but  a 
a  short  time,  when  he  made  his  way  to 
Greene  county,  where  he  first  worked 
at  his  trade  and  farming.  In  1836  he 
made  his  way  to  Carrollton,  where  he 
began  life  as  a  merchant,  on  a  very 
small  scale  indeed.  For  a  period  of  20 
year  Mr.  Wright,  who  was  slowly 
climbing  to  a  front  position  as  a  mer- 
chant, bought  his  goods  in  St.  Louis. 
Year  by  year  he  went  steadily  forward 
to  a  successful  mercantile  career.  His 
indomitable    will,    great  industry    and 


honest}',  brought  its  reward,  and  the 
statement  is  to-day  given,  on  good 
authority,  that  George  Wright  was  the 
most  successful  dry  goods  merchant  in 
Greene  county.  Mr.  Wright  has  been 
twice  married.  In  1844  he  was  united 
in  marriage  with  Miss  Anna  Turnstall,  a 
daughter  of  Jno.  Turnstall,  ex-nwiyor  of 
Louisville,  Ky.  Mrs.  Wright  died  in 
1856.  There  were  four  children  born 
of  this  marriage;  three  are  living — 
Warrick,  Harry  and  Lenctte.  Jan.,  1860, 
Mr.  Wright  was  married  to  Mrs.  Lat- 
timer,  a  sister  of  his  former  wife,  by 
whom  he  has  two  children — Sidney  and 
Arthur.  Mr.  Wright  was  a  participant 
in  the  Black  Hawk  war.  Mr.  Wright 
and  wife  are  members  of  the  Presbj'- 
terian  church. 

John  G.  F.  Powell  was  born  in 
Jamaica  Plains, Queens  Co.,  N.  Y.,  Sept. 
4,  is:!!),  and  is  a  son  of  James  H.  and 
Jane  (Bernard)  Powell.  He  was  edu- 
cated in  the  common  schools  there,  and 
when  16  years  of  age  he  went  to  New 
York  city  and  entered,  as  errand  boy, 
the  dry  goods  house  of  Perego  &  Son. 
He  made  a  three  year  engagement  with 
this  firm  at  a  graduated  salary,  but  at 
the  end  of  the  first  year  he  was  pro- 
moted from  errand  boy  to  take  charge 
of  the  hosiery  department  of  the  busi- 
ness. He  served  this  firm  six  years, 
and  then  established  a  mercantile  busi- 
ness in  Brooklyn.  A  year  later  his 
former  employers  induced  him  to  sell 
out  and  take  an  interest  in  their  busi- 
ness, and  he  thus  became  the  junior 
partner  in  the  firm  of  Perego  &  Son. 
Here  he  continued  until  the  spring  of 
1871.  when  on  account  of  failing  health, 
he  withdrew  from  the  firm,  and  in  Feb- 
ruary, 1872,  came  to  Illinois  and  located 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


1057 


at  Carrollton.  Here  he  carried  on  a 
meat  market  a  few  months  and  then 
followed  various  employments  until  1874 
when  he  became  deputy  county  clerk, 
under  L.  R.  Lakin.  He  afterwards  be- 
came deputy,  under  John  Jones,  in  the 
sheriffs  office,  and  has  served  under 
succeeding  sheriffs,  in  like  capacity, 
ever  since,  being  now  the  able  assistant 
of  Sheriff  Morrow.  On  Oct.  14,  1876, 
Mr.  Powell  was  united  in  marriage  with 
Nellie  Brown.  They  are  the  parents  of 
one  son,  Harold.  In  politics  Mr.  Pow- 
ell is  a  staunch  democrat,  as  was  his 
father  before  him.  He  is  a  member  of 
the  A.  0.  U.  W.  and  K.  of  H.  lodges  at 
Carrollton.  He  is  an  active  business 
man,  always  at  his  post  of  duty,  which 
fact  has  secured  him  a  large  circle  of 
warm  friends  whose  confidence  and 
esteem  he  enjoys. 

Rev.  William  M.  Campbell,  pastor  of 
the  Presbyterian  church  at  Carrollton, 
is  a  native  of  Woodstock,  Ontario,  Can- 
ada, where  he  was  born  Jan.  21,  1846. 
He  is  a  son  of  Murdoch  and  Ann  (Mc- 
Kay) Campbell,  natives  of  Sutherland- 
shire,  Scotland.  They  came  to  Canada 
about  1835  and  engaged  in  farming, 
after  having  spent  some  time  in  the 
Maritime  Provinces.  His  father  died 
in  1881,  but  his  mother  still  resides  in 
Woodstock.  William  received  his  ad- 
vanced literary  training  in  Toronto, 
after  which  he  pursued  his  theological 
studies  in  Auburn,  N.  Y.,  and  Chicago, 
111.  He  was  ordained  to  the  ministry 
in  the  Presbyterian  church  by  the  Pres- 
bytery of  Saginaw,  Synod  of  Michigan, 
in  1877.  After  being  engaged  in  mis- 
sionary work  in  the  west,  and  laboring 
in  Michigan,  for  a  year  or  .two,  he  came 
to  Carrollton,  in  the  fall  of  1883,  and 


took  charge  of  the  Presbyterian  church, 
where  he  at  present  labors.  The  rela- 
tions between  himself  and  people  have 
been  pleasant,  and  the  work  has,  mi 
various  lines,  been  moving  encourag- 
ingly onward.  Rev.  Mr.  Campbell  was 
united  in  marriage,  in  New  York  city, 
in  1883,  shortly  after  commencing  bis 
Carrollton  pastorate,  with  Caroline  Wil- 
hclmine  Berbecker,  daughter  of  Julius 
and  Emma  Marie  (Lueneschloss)  Ber- 
becker, natives  of  Germany,  in  the  vi- 
cinity of  Cologne.  They  came  to 
America  about  1855,  and  resided  in  New 
Orleans,  Mrs.  Campbell's  birth-place, 
for  a  few  years.  They  removed  to  New 
York  city  and  afterward  to  Chicago. 
From  the  latter  city,  having  been  burned 
out,  Mr.  Berbecker  removed  again  to 
New  York,  engaging  in  the  wholesale 
upholsters'  hardware  business,  where 
he  at  present  resides,  his  wife  having 
died  in  Chicago.  Rev.  Mr.  Campbell 
is  a  member  of  the  Masonic  fraternity. 
He  is  a  contributing  member  of  the 
American  Akademe,  a  philosophical  so- 
ciety having  its  headquarters  at  Jack- 
sonville, 111.  He  is  also  a  member  of 
the  Victoria  Institute  of  Philosophy,  of 
London,  England,  of  which  the  late 
earl  of  Shaftesbury  was  president. 

James  McPheron  was  born  in  Anderson 
county,  Tenn.,  Feb.  8,  1826,  his  parents 
being  Amos  and  Hettie  (Morris)  Mc- 
Pheron, the  former  a  native  of  Tennes- 
see, the  latter  of  Virginia.  His  parents 
were  married  in  Tennessee,  where  they 
remained  until  1829,  when  they  removed 
to  Jacksonville,  Morgan  county,  111., 
where  his  father  engaged  in  farming 
about  three  years.  They  made  the  trip 
to  this  state  in  a  four-horse  wagon,  that 
being  the  only  means   of  conveyance  in 


1058 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


pioneer  times.      In  the  winter  of  1831, 
they  came  to  Greene  county,  and  located 
in  Linder   township,  where   he   entered 
80  acres  of  land,  for  which  he  gave  $100, 
and  what  is  very  remarkable,  he  is  still 
living  on  the  land  which  he  first  entered. 
He  is  now  in  his  89th  year, and  is  among 
the  oldest  settlers  now  in  Greene  county. 
James  was   reared  on   a   farm,  staying 
with  Ins  parents  until  he  was  17  years 
old,  when  he  started  out  in  life  for  him- 
self, working  out  from   1843  until  1847. 
He  was  then  married,  and  settled  down 
in   Linder   township,  where  he  farmed 
two  years  on   rented  ground.     He  then 
l»>ught  130  acres    of  land   in    the  same 
township,  on  which   he  remained  eight 
years,  or  until  1858,  when  he  sold  out, 
and  with  his  family  took  a  pleasure  trip 
to   Fayetteville,   Ark.,  where    they  re- 
mained one  winter,  returning  to  Carroll- 
tun  in  the  spring   of    1859.       Mr.   Mc- 
Pheron  then  engaged   in   teaming    and 
huckstering  for  one  year,   and   in  1860 
purchased  11'  acres  of  ground  on  section 
26,    which  was    owned    by  the   Boston 
company.  There  were  no  improvements 
on  the  place,  but   it  cost  him  $100  per 
acre.     On  this  ground  he  started  in  the 
garden  and  nursery  business.       He  im- 
proved   the    place,  built    a    nice  brick 
house  and  all   necessary  out-buildings, 
and  the  present  surroundings  show  that 
be  has  been  a  successful,   enterprising 
business  man.     Four  years  previous  to 
going  into  the  nursery  business,  he   ran 
a  grocery  store  at  the  C.  &  A.  depot,  just 
after  the  completion    of  the  road.       He 
now  has  a  business  place  at  Carrollton, 
opposite  the  Walker  House,  where  he 
disposes  of  fruits  and  vegetables,  all  of 
which  he  raises,  and  he  carries  on  the 
most  extensive  business  of  that  kind  in 


this  vicinity.  He  is  located  inside  the 
city  limits,  and  cultivates  16  acres  of 
ground.  He  was  married,  Nov.  4,  1847, 
to  Amanda  C.  Cato,  daughter  of  George 
E.  and  Euphemia  (Rief)  Cato.  By  this 
union  there  are  six  children — Edwin  N., 
married  Katie  Doublebower,  resides  in 
Greenfield;  Ella,  wife  of  John  Scruby, 
living  at  Roodhouse;  Anna  E.,  wife  of 
L.  W.  Loomis,  of  Carrollton;  Laura B., 
wife  of  John  Clough,  Jr.,  of  Carrollton 
township;  Robert  A.,  married  Maggie 
E.  Camp,  resides  in  Carrollton;  and 
James  C,  at  home.  Mr.  McPheronhas 
a  floral  department  in  connection  with 
his  business,  which  was  organized  on  a 
small  scale,  in  1882,  by  Robert,  who  is 
the  florist.  It  is  now  one  of  the  largest 
greenhouses  in  the  county.  It  is  18x70 
feet  in  size,  is  covered  with  1,600  feet  of 
glass,  and  is  the  only  house  in  the  county 
heated  with  hot-water  pipes. 

William  C.  Kennett,  a  native  of  Mil- 
lersburg,  Bourbon  county,  Ky.,  was 
born  Feb.  6,  1814,  his  parents  being 
Dixon  H.  and  Fanny  (Wilson)  Kennett. 
D.  H.  Kennett  was  a  native  of  Mary- 
land, born  in  1782.  He  came  to  Illi- 
nois at  an  early  day,  and  was  a  mechanic 
and  justice  of  the  peace  at  Carrollton. 
Mrs.  Kennett  was  a  native  of  Pendle- 
ton county,  Ky,  Her  father  was  a  native 
of  Virginia,  and  was  a  soldier  in  the 
Revolutionary  war.  He  departed  this 
life  in  the  year  1854.  Mrs.  Kennett 
died  with  the  cholera  in  1833.  William 
was  educated  in  the  common  schools, 
and  afterward  clerked  in  a  dry  goods 
store  in  St.  Louis.  He  then  engaged  as 
clerk  on  a  steamboat  for  a  number  of 
years,  and  subsequently  was  employed 
by  an  insurance  company,  as  book- 
keeper, during  which   time   his   health 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY 


1059 


failed  and  he  decided  to  take  a  trip  to 
the  Rocky  mountains  to  see  if  possibly 
he  might  be  benefitted.  He  traveled 
with  a  party  of  some  fifty  persons, 
among  whom  were  Father  De  Smet,  and 
several  Englishmen,  who  were  journey- 
ing for  pleasure.  Many  of  them  died 
on  the  way,  but  Mr.  Kennet  improved 
so  in  health,  that  he  increased  in  weight 
from  128  pounds  to  192  pounds  in  six 
months.  He  returned  to  St.  Louis,  and 
from  there  removed  to  New  Orleans, 
where  he  engaged  in  the  commission 
business,  in  which  he  continued  until 
the  breaking  out  of  the  civil  war,  which 
caused  his  failure.  Since  then  he  re- 
turned to  St.  Louis,  where  he  again 
engaged  in  the  commission  business, 
until  having  acquired  a  competency, 
he  decided  to  retire  from  business. 
This  he  did,  and  took  up  his  place 
of  residence  at  Carrollton,  where  he  has 
been  for  the  past  eight  years.  He  first 
came  to  this  city  in  1831,  remaining  but 
a  short  time  and  often  afterwards  he 
made  visits  here.  In  the  year  1847, 
Mr.  Kennett  was  united  in  marriage 
with  Julia  Clapp,  daughter  of  Benjamin 
Clapp,  a  native  of  New  York.  Julia 
was  born  March  5,  1829,  in  New  York 
city.  By  the  above  marriage  they  are 
the  parents  of  7  children — Fannie, 
Alfred,  Violet,  Lucy,  Dixon  H.,  Grace 
and  Agnes.  The  family  are  members 
of  the  Episcopal  church.  Mr.  Kennett 
has  many  friends,  being  highly  esteemed 
for  his  many  good  qualities. 

Thomas  D.  Price,  of  the  Carrollton 
Gazette,  was  born  March  22, 1836,  in  New 
York  city,  and  is  a  son  of  Geo.  B.  and 
Mary  A.  (Green)  Price,  the  former  a  na- 
tive of  Massachusetts,  the  latter  of 
England.       In  1838  they  moved  to  St. 


Louis,  where  they  resided  a  short  time, 
bis  father  being  engaged  in  the  Bulletin 
office,  now  the  St.  Louis  Republican. 
From  there  they  removed  to  Bowling 
Green,  Mo.,  where  Geo.  B.  edited, 
printed  and  published  the  first  religious 
paper  ever  published  in  that  state.  Two 
years  after,  they  removed  to  Pittsfield, 
111.,  where  he  was  engaged  in  publish- 
ing a  paper  for  'Squire  Noyes,  remaining 
there  two  years.  He  then  removed  to 
Carlisle,  there  publishing  the  Truth- 
Teller  for  about  two  years, and  from  there 
came  to  Carrollton,  establishing  the 
Gazette,  June  26,  1847,  since  which  time 
they  have  resided  here.  In  1882,  Geo. 
B.  turned  the  office  over  to  Thomas, 
who  with  his  brother  Matthew  N., 
and  his  brother-in-law,  H.  S.  Clay, 
took  charge  of  it,  the  two  latter  being 
connected  with  it  about  two  years.  In 
1878  they  established  the  Jacksonville 
Courier,  under  the  firm  name  of  Messrs. 
T.  D.  Price  &  Co.,  Mathew  N.  Price  and 
H.  S.  Clay  conducting  it.  They  pub- 
lished this  paper  about  six  years,  and 
then  sold  out  to  Doying  &  Hinrichsen. 
Thomas  D.,  during  the  time  of  this  en- 
terprise, had  remained  in  Carrollton, 
conducting  the  Gazette,  and  in  July,  1881, 
had  admitted  H.  H.  Montgomery  as  a 
partner.  This  firm  continued  until  May, 
1883,  when  H.  P.  Farrelly  purchased 
Montgomery's  interest  in  the  enterprise, 
since  being  ably  conducted  under  the 
firm  name  of  Price  A  Farrelly,  Mr. 
Price  was  married  Oct.  3,  1861,  to  Mary 
J.  Howard,  daughter  of  Jordan  and 
Eveline  (Rider)  Howard.  By  this  union 
there  is  one  child — George  Howard, 
who  was  born  on  the  21st  Dec,  1863. 
Mr.  Price  is  a  member  of  the  I.  0.  0.  F. 
and  K.  of  H.  lodges. 


1060 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


CHAPTER    XXVI, 


WHITE  HALL 

The  civil  sub-division  of  the  county  of 
Greene,  known  as  White  Hall,  isoneof 
the  most  irregularly  shaped  of  any.  It 
lies  in  the  northern  part  of  the  county, 
and  is  bounded  on  the  north  by  Rood- 
house  township,  on  the  east  by  Athens- 
ville  and  Wrights,  on  the  south  by  Car- 
rollton  township,  from  which  it  is  sep- 
arated by  Apple  creek,  and  on  the  west 
by  Walkerville  and  Patterson  town- 
ships. It  comprises  about  42  sections 
of  some  as  fine  land  as  there  is  in  this 
section  of  the  state.  Apple  creek,  with 
its  tributaries,  chief  among  which  are 
Seminary  and  Wolf  creeks,  afford  ample 
drainage.  Some  portions  of  this  terri- 
tory are  high,  rolling  prairie,  stretching 
in  "airy  undulations,  far  away,"  while 
others  are  more  hilly  and  covered  with 
a  mature  growth  of  valuable  timber. 
The  soil  has  the  same  general  character- 
istics that  have  made  this  portion  of  the 
state  so  famous  in  agricultural  history, 
and  is  prolific  and  fertile  beyond  com- 
pare. The  C.,  A.  &  St.  L.,  and  the  C, 
B.  &  Q.  railroads  traverse  a  portion  of 
this  township,  meeting  at  the  city  of 
White  Hall,  where  both  have  stations. 
These  unequalled  railroad  facilities 
have  doubtless,  been  an  important  fac- 
tor in  the  building  up  and  development 
of  this  portion  of  the  county. 

I    \KI.Y    SETTLEMENT. 

There  seems  to  be  no  doubt  but  that 
the  first   settler  north  of  Apple    creek 


TOWNSHIP. 

was  James  Henderson.  He  first  crossed 
that  stream  in  Aug.,  1818.  His  family 
settled  here,  as  soon  as  he  could  get  a 
cabin  up,  which  was  not  until  the  fol- 
lowing year. 

The  same  summer  of  1819,  Thomas 
and  Samuel  Allen,  Thomas  Rattan, Levi 
Reeder,  and  others  crossed  Apple  creek, 
attracted  by  the  beauty  of  the  land,  and 
made  settlements. 

Thomas  Allen  and  his  brother  also 
built  the  first  mill  in  this  county  at  this 
point  on  Apple  creek,  near  the  present 
site  of  New  Providence.  Thomas  Allen 
was  one  of  the  prominent  men  of  that 
early  day.  He  was  a  large,  corpulent 
man, weighing  over  2.50  pounds, and  was 
good  natured  and  jolly,  and  especially 
delighted  in  romping  with  children.  He 
had  a  great  love  for  the  young  folks, 
common  to  all  men  of  his  build.  His 
mill,  of  which  a  history  is  given  further 
on,  was  one  of  the  leading  institutions 
of  the  county,  in  its  day,  and  for  many 
years  the  place  was  known  as  Allen's 
mill.  He  died  at  this  place  about  the 
year  1833. 

Thomas  Rattan  did  not  live  here  very 
long,  for  when  the  new  county  seat  was 
laid  out  in  1821,  he  removed  to  that  lo- 
cality, where  he  finished  the  first  house, 
and  where  he  kept  the  only  tavern  or 
hotel  in  the  place.  Mr.  Rattan  repre- 
sented this  district  in  the  general  assem- 
bly of  the  state  several  times,  and  is 
noticed  in  that  connection,  in  the  chap- 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


1061 


ter  entitled  National,  State  and  County 
Representation. 

All  of  these  parties  settled  just  east  of 
the  road  now  leading  from  Carrollton  to 
White  Hall,  except,  that  part  of  Thomas 
Rattan's  land  lay  to  the  west  of  it. 

In  the  autumn  of  the  same  year,  1819, 
Zachariah  and  John  Allen,  Isaac  Hill 
and  others  crossed  the  creek,  and  aug- 
mented the  little  settlement. 

William  Allen  came  to  what  is  now 
Greene  county  in  1818,  and  settled  in 
White  Hall  township,  in  1819.  He  was 
born  in  Rowan  county,  N.  C,  July  17, 
179S,  and  was  the  son  of  Thomas  and 
Mary  (Pinkerton)  Allen.  He  came  to 
what  is  now  the  city  of  Alton,  in  1817, 
and  coming  to  this  county  looked  the 
country  over,  and,  in  the  spring  of  1818, 
came  here  as  above.  He  lived  here 
until  his  death,  April  4,  1874.  He  had 
a  family  of  nine  children,  seven  of 
whom  are  living.  He  and  his  wife  were 
members  of  the  United  Presbyterian 
church,  and  he  was  a  staunch  democrat. 
During  the  war  of  1812,  Mr.  Allen  was  a 
soldier  in  the  United  States  army,  and 
participated  in  the  glorious  victory  at 
New  Orleans,  Jan.  8,  1815.  Mr.  Allen 
was  a  man  much  respected  by  all,  and 
held  several  local  offices  in  the  county. 

Seldon  Beebe,  a  native  of  the  "Key- 
stone State,"  and  his  wife,  Fidelia 
(Bushnell)  Beebe,  came  to  Illinois  in 
1818,  and  made  a  settlement  on  Apple 
(reck  Prairie,  in  this  township,  in  1820. 
In  a  short  time  he  removed  to  Biuffdale, 
and  located  under  the  bluffs,  where  he 
resided  until  1853,  when  he  died.  His 
wife,  who  was  a  native  of  Connecticut, 
survived  him  until  1870,  when  she  too, 
was  called  to  the  other  shore. 

William  Speaks  came  with  the  others, 


from  Tennessee,  in  1819,  and  located  on 
Apple  creek,  in  what  is  now  White  Hall 
township.  The  first  winter,  for  it  was 
late  in  the  fall  when  they  came  here, 
they  were  unable  to  put  up  a  house,  or 
get  one,  so  they  were  compelled  to  camp 
out  all  that  inclement  season,  by  the 
side  of  a  big  log.  While  roughing  it  in 
this  fashion,  a  child  was  born  unto 
them. 

William  Speaks  was  born  in  Mary- 
land, Jan.  17,  1782,  his  father  being  a 
native  of  North  Carolina,  his  mother oi 
Welsh  descent.  His  wife  was  Sarah 
Orten,  .born  July  14,  1782,  in  Rowan 
county,  N.  C.  William  removed  to 
North  Carolina  when  quite  young,  and 
later  on,  was  married  there.  He  then 
removed  to  Tennessee,  and  after  five 
years,  came  to  Greene  county,  111.,  in 
the  fall  of  1819,  accompanied  by  the 
Aliens,  Morrows  and  Bells.  They  set- 
tled on  Apple  creek,  near  White  Hall. 
Mr.  Speaks  lived  on  the  old  homestead 
until  he  was  too  old  to  work,  when  he 
sold  out  and,  with  his  wife,  removed  to 
Greenfield,  where  they  spent  the  bal- 
ance of  their  days  with  their  daughter, 
Mrs.  N.  C.  Woolley.  He  died  July  3, 
1854,  of  cancer,  and  his  wife  died  Oct. 
11,  1864.  Both  were  members  of  the 
Baptist  church.  They  had  raised  a 
family  of  nine  children. 

Francis  Bell,  a  Tennessean,  came  to 
this  county  in  1819,  and  settled  upon  a 
farm  on  Apple  creek  prairie,  in  this 
township.  He  lived  here  many  years, 
and  died  in  Tallula,  this  state,  in  June, 
1866. 

Francis  M.  Bell  was  born  in  Upper 
Alton,  111.,  March  15,  1819,  and  wasthe 
son  of  Francis  and  Elizabeth  (Allen) 
Bell.     Francis   M.   came  with  bis   par- 


1(m;i> 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


ents  to  this  county  in  1819,  when  but 
an  infant.  His  parents  settled  on  Ap- 
ple Creek  Prairie,  where  F.  M.  was 
reared.  His  mother  died  in  1835,  his 
father  in  1866.  Francis  M.  was  married 
June  4,  1840,  to  Margaret  A.  Morrow, 
by  which  union  there  were  four  chil- 
dren. Mrs.  Bell  died  March  29,  1861. 
Sept.  2,  1862,  he  was  again  married  to 
Jane  F.  Allen.  By  her  there  were  born 
four  children,  three  of  whom  died  in 
extreme  infancy.  Mr.  Bell  was  elected 
sheriff  as  before  stated,  serving  with 
faithfulness.  He  was  the  owner  of  the 
mill  at  Belltown,  from  1853  till  1870. 
Upon  the  expiration  of  his  term  of 
office  moved  to  Wrights  township,  where 
he  resided,  upon  a  farm  until  Sept.  6, 
1879,  when  he  died. 

A  little  school  was  organized  in  the 
winter  of  1819,  which  was  taught  by 
William  Welch,  and  the  young  settlers 
attended  to  their  early  education. 

In  the  year  1820,  Charles  Kitchen 
made  a  settlement  in  T.  12,  R.  12,  and 
is  believed  to  have  been  the  pioneer  of 
this  part  of  the  township.  He  made 
some  improvements  on  section  27,  in 
the  fall  of  the  above  year.  He  was 
afterward  a  Baptist  minister,  but  was 
guilty  of  misconduct  and  left  the  county 
under  a  cloud. 

With  him  came  Lewis  Roberts,  who 
located,  also,  upon  section  27,  where  he 
resided  many  years.  He  was  a  native 
of  North  Carolina,  born  in  1797.  In 
early  youth  he  became  a  resident  of 
Kentucky,  where  he  was  united  in  mar- 
riage to  Miss  Rebecca  Day.  In  1820  he 
set  out  from  Kentucky  to  Illinois  in  a 
covered  wagon.  He  became  quite  pros- 
perous, owning  some  600  acres  of  land, 
and  died  here. 


About  a  month  after  these  men  had 
shown  the  way,  John  Thompson  fol- 
lowed them  and  located  on  the  same 
section,  where  he  passed  many  years. 
Mr.  Thompson  taught  the  first  school 
in  this  part  of  White  Hall  township,  in 
1823,  and  was  the  first  justice  of  the 
peace. 

Thomas  Rattan  came  to  this  part  of 
the  county  in  1820,  and  built  a  cabin, 
and  put  up  the  first  ox-mill  and  dis- 
tillery in  this  township,  which  he  run 
but  a  short  time,  for  on  the  organization 
of  the  county,  and  the  laying  out  of  the 
county  seat,  he  removed  to  Carrollton, 
where  he  lived  for  years. 

David  J.  Seeley,  came  to  Greene 
county,  in  1820,  but  effected  no  perma- 
nent settlement  until  1824,  when  he  lo- 
cated on  Sec.  33,  T.  12,  R.  12,  in  what 
is  now  known  as  White  Hall  township. 
Here  he  remained  until  1833,  when  he 
removed  to  Galena,  and  engaged  in  the 
mining  business.  He  afterward  re- 
moved to  Wisconsin,  where  he  died 
May  4,  1868. 

Probably  James  Martin  Allen  was 
the  first  settler  on  the  site  of  White 
Hall.  A  native  of  Tennessee,  he  was 
born  in  1794.  He  found  a  home  in 
Greene  county  as  early  as  1820.  Shortly 
after  his  arrival  he  was  married  to  Eliz- 
abeth A.  Morrow.  For  many  years  he 
kept  the  only  inn,  or  tavern,  on  the 
property  now  owned  by  Mr.  Adams. 
When  the  present  town  of  White  Hall 
was  laid,  out,  he  concluded  to  settle  on 
a  farm,  and  accordingly  purchased  a 
tract  on  Lorton's  Prairie.  He  died  in 
1873,  and  his  wife  11  months  prior. 

Andrew  Pinkerton  came  to  this  settle- 
ment, in  1820.  He  was  born  in  Ken- 
tucky, in  Dec,  1799.     He  was  married 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


1063 


in  1825  to  Ellen  Johnson,  by  whom  he 
had  seven  children. 

Cyrus  Tolman,  who  was  afterward 
identified  with  the  official  life  of  the 
county,  came  to  this  settlement  in  1820, 
and  located  upon  120  acres  of  land  on 
Sec.  2,  T.  11,  R.  12,  south  of  White 
Hall,  where  he  resided  several  years. 
He  was  a  native  of  Massachusetts,  and 
his  wife,  Polly  (Eldredge)  Tolman,  of 
Ohio.  From  the  place  of  his  first  set- 
tlement he  removed  to  Sec.  36,  T.  12, 
R.  12.  After  a  time  spent  here,  he  sold 
out  and  bought  280  acres  of  land  in  Jer- 
sey township,  Jersey  county,  where  he 
died  April  16, 1876.  His  wife  died  Oct. 
17,  1860.  He  was  the  father  of  W.  O. 
Tolman,  who  was  born  in  this  county 
in  1869.  Cyrus  was  a  member  of  the  first 
grand  jury  of  Greene  county. 

Charles  Baines,  deceased,  was  born  in 
Yorkshire,  Eng.,  Feb.  8,  1797,  and  was 
a  son  of  Robert  and  Margaret  A.  (Walls') 
Baines,  natives  of  England.  His  father 
was  a  rope-maker  by  trade,  as  was  also 
his  son  Charles,  who  followed  that 
occupation  until  coming  to  this  country. 
In  1820  they  came  to  Greene  county, 
111.,  his  father  entering  160  acres  of 
land,  and  Charles,  80  acres,  both  on 
section  11,  in  this  township.  His  father 
afterward  sold  out,  and  resided  with  his 
son,  Solomon,  until  his  death,  which 
occurred  in  Dec,  184S.  Charles  had 
also  entered  160  acres  of  land  on  section 
23,  and  he  afterward  erected  on  this  a 
large  two-story  brick  dwelling,  and 
there  resided  the  balance  of  his  days, 
his  death  occurring  Dec.  25,  1865.  He 
was  beloved  by  all,  being  an  honest,  up- 
right citizen,  an  affectionate  husband 
and  father,  and  a  friend  to  the  needy 
and  distressed.     Being  among  the  ear- 


liest settlers  of  the  count)',  he  had  wit- 
nessed the  development  of  a  vast  wil- 
derness into  a  flourishing  and  wealthy 
county.  At  the  time  of  his  death,  he 
owned  -100  acres  of  land,  thus  leaving 
his  family  in  comfortable  circumstances. 
He  was  married  Aug.  17,  1850,  to  Jane 
Milnes,  a  daughter  of  Adam  and  Mary 
Milnes,  and  this  union  was  blessed  with 
three  children — Charles,  Solomon,  and 
Henry.  Mrs.  Baines  had  a  family  of 
five  children  by  a  former  marriage. 
They  are — John,  who  married  Jane 
Edwards,  and  resides  in  Rockbridge; 
Joseph,  married  Mary  Green,  and  re- 
sides in  Carrollton;  Mary,  wife  of  J. 
Umpton,  living  in  Scott  county;  David, 
married  Nellie  Kendall,  and  resides 
near  White  Hall;  and  Thomas,  married 
to  Virginia  Starks,  and  residing  in 
Linder  township.  The  family  now  own 
the  estate  that  was  left  them  by  Mr. 
Baines,  and  Mrs.  Baines  is  now  enjoy- 
ing the  comforts  of  life,  which  are  the 
result  of  her  own  and  her  husband's  in- 
dustry. 

William  Potts,  one  of  the  Argonauts 
of  1820.  located  upon  Sec.  33,  T.  12,  1!. 
12,  the  Rattan  place.  He  was  an  En- 
glishman by  birth.  He  entered  80  acres 
prairie,  and  80  of  timber  land,  and  built 
a  log  cabin  in  which  he  lived  for  several 
years.  He  then  traded  for  another 
quarter  of  the  same  section,  and  built  a 
good  hewed  log  cabin,  a  story  and  a 
half  high,  where  he  passed  the  balance 
of  his  life.  He  died  in  1862.  His  son, 
Elam  A.  Potts,  born  in  1821.  is  one  of 
the  oldest  living  residents  of  the  county. 
With  him  came  Jeremiah  Smith,  who 
settle.!  on  the  same  section. 

In  1820,  Henry  and  Cyrus   Griswold 
made  a  settlement  on  Sec.  5.  T.  11,  1!.1l'. 


1064 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


Henry,  commonly  called  Harry,  and 
Cyrus  Griswold,  deceased,  were  born  in 
Waltham,  Addison  county,  Vt.,  Harry 
being  born  Jan.  9,  1790,  and  Cyrus, 
Sept.  15,  1792.  Their  parents  were 
Adonijah  and  Mary  (Barton)  Griswold, 
natives  of  Vermont.  In  the  spring  of 
1819,  Cyrus  Griswold,  in  company  with 
Capt.  .Spencer  and  others,  came  to  Mis- 
souri in  wagons,  and  in  the  fall  of  the 
same  year,  returned  by  wagon  to  Ver- 
mont, in  company  with  Caleb  Post.  In 
the  spring  of  1820,  Harry  and  Cyrus,  in 
company  with  Capt.  Richard  Robley 
and  Desire,  his  wife,  their  sister,  and 
others, comprising  a  company  of  between 
■'!(>  and  40  persons,  started  on  their  way 
to  Illinois,  the  train  consisting  of  16 
wagons,  Mrs.  Robley  being  the  only 
woman  in  the  company.  She  and  her 
brother  Cyrus,  did  the  cooking  for  the 
company.  After  being  on  the  road  10 
weeks  they  arrived  in  Missouri,  in  what 
is  called  Bonhomme  bottom, on  the  Mis- 
souri river,  some  35  miles  west  of  St. 
1. wuis.  Not  being  satisfied  with  the 
prospect,  part  of  the  company  built  a 
Hal -boat,  on  which  they  loaded  their 
effects,  bringing  them  down  the  Missouri 
river,  and  up  the  Illinois,  opposite  to 
what  is  now  called  Bluffdale,  in  this 
county,  the  others  bringing  their  teams, 
all  this  occurring  in  1820.  Capt.  Robley 
and  others  located  at  Bluffdale,  and  Har- 
ry and  Cyrus  on  Apple  Creek  Prairie, 
on  Sec.  (i,  T.  11,  R.  12, where  they  built 
a  log  cabin,  and  for  a  time  kept  bach- 
elor's hall.  The  next  year  D.E.Woolley 
moved  in  and  kept  house  for  them. 
Dec,  24,  1823,  Cyrus  married  Abby  Post, 
(laughter  of  John  and  Elizabeth  (Stick- 
les) Post,  then  residents  of  Missouri. 
John  Post  was  a  brother   of  Col.  Justus 


Post,  who  was  educated  at  West  Point, 
and  served  his  country  in  the  war  of 
1812,  with  credit  to  himself  and  country. 
She  is  still  living  on  the  old  homestead, 
and  is  the  oldest  settler  now  living  on 
Apple  Creek  Prairie,  having  lived  on 
the  homestead  63  years.  She  has  prob- 
ably seen  more  changes  than  any  one 
now  living  in  the  neighborhood.  The 
Post  family  are  all  natives  of  Addison 
county,  Vt.  After  marriage  they  com- 
menced life  in  the  log  cabin  above 
spoken  of,  with  but  few  conveniences. 
Her  husband  and  Harry,  being  pos- 
sessed of  energy  and  ingenuity,  soon 
manufactured  the  necessary  furniture 
out  of  such  materials  as  could  be  ob- 
tained at  that  date,  to  supply  their  pres- 
ent wants,  and  make  them  quite  com- 
fortable for  the  time  being.  The  churn 
that  was  made  of  mulberry  wood,  at 
that  time,  is  still  in  use  by  the  Tunison 
family,  and  a  number  of  other  articles 
that  were  then  made,  are  still  in  use. 
In  the  spring  of  1824  they  moved  from 
their  first  location  to  a  tract  of  land  on 
Sec.  5,  T.  11,  R.  12,  where  they  had 
built  a  story  and  a  half  hewed  log  house 
weathered  on  the  outside  with  shaved 
boards,  it  then  being  considered  the 
best  house  in  the  neighborhood.  Here 
they  erected  a  wagon  shop  in  which 
Cyrus  worked,  while  Harry  worked  on 
the  farm,  except  in  very  busy  times, 
when  they  both  worked  on  the  farm  and 
in  the  shop.  Cyrus  being  considered 
the  best  wagon-maker  in  the  county, 
they  had  an  extensive  sale  for  their 
wagons.  Oct.  5,  1826,  Harry  was  mar- 
ried to  Maria  Post,  daughter  of  John 
and  Elizabeth  (Stickles)  Post,  of  Mis- 
souri, and  sister  of  Abby.  Previous  to 
his  marriage,  the  brothers  built  a  hewed 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


1065 


log  house  similar  to  the  one  before  men- 
tioned, on  the  same  tract  of  land,  and 
continued  their  partnership  business  as 
before,  which  proved  remunerative. 
They  soon  accumulated  considerable 
wealth  by  the  shop  and  farm  connected. 
Money  being  in  demand  at  that  time, 
all  of  it  not  needed  in  their  business  was 
loaned  to  advantage  on  real  estate  and 
in  other  ways.  Cyrus  Griswold  died 
July  "28,  1838,  from  being  overheated  in 
the  harvest  field,  only  living  three  days 
after  taking  sick.  Dr.  Wood,  of  Car- 
rollton,  was  the  attending  physician, 
who  is  still  living  at  the  age  of  about  90 
years.  About  this  time  the  money 
crisis  came,  and  Cyrus'  death  was  a 
heavy  blow  upon  Harry,  leaving  him 
with  all  the  partnership  business  to 
settle.  They  having  large  sums  of 
money  loaned  on  real  estate,  he  was 
forced  to  foreclose  mortgages,  and 
thereby  came  in  possession  of  consider- 
able land, besides  many  losses  otherwise. 
Previous  to  Cyrus'  death,  the  two  broth- 
ers had  contemplated  building  each  a 
house,  both  of  the  same  pattern,  and 
exactly  alike  in  every  particular,  and 
Harry,  the  surviving  one,  carried  out 
the  contemplated  plan  to  the  letter,  in 
every  respect,  thus  proving  his  devo-. 
tion  and  his  high  estimation  of  his 
brother's  counsel.  These  buildings  were 
erected  in  1845,  of  brick,  about  40  rods 
distant  from  each  other.  After  the 
houses  were  built,  in  1^41—42,  the 
partnership  was  dissolved, and  the  lands 
divided,  sold,  and  equally  distributed 
among  the  proper  heirs.  Cyrus  Gris- 
wold was  a  Master  Mason  of  Dorchester 
lodge,  No.  320,  Yergennes,  Vt.,  having 
been  made  a  mason  about  the  year  1816, 
and    received   his   demit  Aug.  20,  1820, 


He  was  the  father  of  three  children 
— Justus,  who  died  June  9,  1829,  age, 
14  months;  Rosetta,  born  April  1,  1832; 
and  Lucy,  born  Jan.  8,  1836,  the  latter 
two  now  living.  Harry  Griswold  died 
Oct.  15,  1850;  and  Maria,  his  wife  died 
Aug.  31,  1854,  in  St.  Louis  county,  Mo., 
while  on  a  visit  there,  her  disease  being 
cholera.  She  lies  buried  in  Fe  Fee 
cemetery  withher  brothers  and  sisters. 
Their  children  were — Delia,  born  Oct. 
6,  1827,  died  Oct,  27.  1827;  Henry  Ado- 
nijah,  born  Dec.  2!>,  1828;  John,  born 
Jan.  24, 1832,  died  Oct.  20,  1832;  Loyal 
Post,  born  Aug.  14,  is.!:'.;  Mary  E.,  born 
Oct.  31,  1836;  Geo.,  born  Sept.  26,  1839, 
died  Oct.  26,  1862;  Emily,  born  Jan. 
28,  1843;  and  Lois,  born  Nov.  1,  1846. 
Henry  Griswold  was  made  a  Master  Ma- 
son in  Dorchester  lodge,  No.  320,  Yer- 
gennes, Vt. ,  and  was  raised  to  the  de- 
gree of  R.  A.  M.  about  the  year  1815. 
After  coming  to  Greene  county,  he  was 
among  the  first  in  organizing  White 
Llall  lodge,  No.  80,  he  being  one  of  the 
charter  members.  No  one  stood  higher 
in  the  estimation  of  his  brother  masons 
than  he.  He  lived  and  practiced  the  prin- 
ciples of  masonry  in  every  respect,  and 
was  charitable  to  all,  at  all  times  help- 
ing the  needy  and  comforting  the  dis- 
tressed. He  was  a  delegate  to  the  grand 
lodge  of  masons,  held  in  Shawneetown 
in  Oct.,  1850,  having  gone  there  after 
the  charter  for  White  Hall  lodge, No.  80. 
He  died  in  three  days  after  his  return, 
and  was  buried  with  masonic  honors. 
The  history  of  these  two  brothers  was 
identical  up  to  the  death  of  Cyrus,  who 
died  at  the  age  of  45  years.  Both  were 
energetic,  industrious,  honorable  and 
upright  men,  noted  for  their  benevolence 
to  the  poor,  their  kindness  to  the  si;  k 


1066 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


and  suffering,  their  honesty  and  truth- 
fulness in  all  dealings  with  their  fellow 
men. 

Loyal  P.  Griswold  was  born  in  Greene 
county,  111.,  Aug.  14,  1833,  his  parents 
being  Harry  and  Maria  (Post)  Gris- 
wold, natives  of  Vermont.  Five  chil- 
dren, out  of  the  family  of  eight,  are 
now  living — Henry,  married  Sallie  E. 
Baker,  and  resides  on  the  homestead; 
Loyal  P.,  the  subject  of  this  sketch; 
Mary  E.,  wife  of  George  W.  Barton,  re- 
siding in  New  Haven,  Vt.;  Emily,  sin- 
gle, and  residing  with  her  sister  in  Ver- 
mont; Lois,  wife  of  Albert  H.  Chapin, 
residing  in  in  Franklin  county,  Kan. 
Loyal  P.  Griswold  was  raised  on  the 
old  homestead,  remaining  there  until 
he  had  reached  the  age  of  23  years, 
when  he  started  out  in  life  for  himself. 
He  was  united  in  marriage,  Dec.  25, 
1856,  with  Nancy  C.  Swallow,  daughter 
of  Guy  and  Catherine  Swallow.  After 
marriage  he  lived  on  the  homestead  one 
year  and  then  moved  to  Manchester 
Prairie,  where  he  bought  160  acres  of 
land,  which  he  farmed  six  years.  This 
he  then  traded  for  160  acres  on  Sec. 5,  T. 
11,  R.  12,  on  to  which  he  moved  and 
has  since  remained  there.  He  has 
made  many  improvements  on  this  place, 
and  his  residence,  with  all  its  surround- 
ings, show  him  to  be  a  gentleman  of 
taste  and  enterprise.  He  has  traveled 
through  Nebraska,  Kansas  and  Colo- 
rado, and  while  in  Nebraska  purchased 
a  tract  of  land  which  he  yet  owns.  He 
also  owns  477  acres  in  this  county,  and 
has  an  interest  in  something  over  :'.(«) 
acres,  located  in  Jersey,  Macoupin  and 
Clinton  counties.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Gris- 
wold have  been  blessed  with  a  family  of 
eight  children,  five  of  whom  are  living 


— Allen  C,  Hattie  M.,  Harry,  Lucian 
Guy,  and  Frank.  The  children  de- 
ceased are — Lucius  J.,  born  Nov.  2, 
1857,  died  Oct.  20,  1865;  Emma  F.,  born 
Nov.  4,  1862,  died  Oct.  7,  1865;  Effie, 
born  Nov.  7,  1877,  died  July  14,  1878. 
Mr.  Griswold  is  a  member  of  the  grange 
lodge,  and  in  his  political  views  is  with 
the  republicans.  He  is  one  of  our  most 
substantial  farmers  and  stands  high  in 
the  estimation  of  all  who  know  him. 

Henry  Tunison  was  born  in  Somerset 
county,  N.  J.,  March  2,  1828,  and  is  a 
son  of  Henry  and  Sarah  (Castner)  Tun- 
ison, natives  of  New  Jersey.  They  re- 
moved from  that  state  to  Illinois,  arriv- 
ing in  Greene  county  July  28,  1838,  and 
locating  first  on  what  is  known  as  the 
Kendall  farm,  one  mile  south  of  White 
Hall.  They  remained  there  that  win- 
ter, and  then  his  father  rented  another 
farm  for  one  year.  In  the  spring  of 
1840,  he  purchased  180  acres  of  land  on 
section  15,  in  this  township,  moved  his 
family  there  and  remained  until  the 
winter  of  1845.  His  wife  died  July  28, 
1844,  and  he  was  again  married  in  the 
spring  of  1845.  He  then  removed 
northwest  of  the  homestead,  about  four 
miles,  and  resided  there  until  his  death 
Oct.  12,  1864,  in  the  Slst  year  of  his 
age,  he  having  been  born  Jan.  13,  1783. 
He  was  a  successful  farmer  and  stood 
high  in  the  estimation  of  all  his  ac- 
quaintances. He  left  a  family  of  six 
sons  and  two  daughters.  Henry  re- 
mained at  home  until  he  was  20  years 
of  age,  assisting  his  parents  with  the 
duties  pertaining  to  the  farm,  and  then 
started  out  to  do  for  himself.  He  and 
his  brother,  Jacob,  bought  a  separator 
and  engaged  in  threshing  for  about  five 
years.     It  was   the  third  machine  that 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


1067 


was  ever  run  in  the  county,  hence  it  was 
quite  a  remunerative  occupation.    After 
being  thus  engaged   for  five   years,  he 
abandoned  that  and  turned  his  atten- 
tion to  farming.      He  and   Jacob   took 
the  homestead  in   1846,   having  bought 
the  other  heirs  out,  and  they  farmed   it 
for  one  year.     Henry   then  bought  his 
brother's  interest  and   it  has  since  been 
his  place  of  residence.     He  was  united 
in  marriage  June  14,  1S48,  with  Rosetta 
Griswold,  daughter  of  Cyrus  and   Abby 
(Post)  Griswold,  a  sketch  of  whom  ap- 
pears in  this  volume.     This  union  has 
been  blessed  with  a  family  of  six  chil. 
dren,  three  of  whom  are  living — George 
C,  Abbie  L.  and  Harry   0.     The   ones 
deceased  are  an  infant;   Addie  E.,  who 
died  at  the  age  of  11  years;  and  Laura, 
who    was    married    Sept.    19,    LS70,    to 
James  H.  Kirby,  of  Jersey  county,  111., 
died   Sept.   4,  1883,  in   her  29th    year. 
All  his  children  received  a  liberal  edu- 
cation, George  C,  at  the  State  Univer- 
sity, at  Champaign,   111.;  Laura   A.,  at 
Greenville,  111.;  and  Abbie   L.,   at  the 
M.  E.  College,  of  Jacksonville,  111.     In 
1870,  Mr.  Tunison  went  to  Kansas  and 
southwest  Missouri,  and  while  in  Kan- 
sas  be   purchased   a    tract   of   land,  in 
Cherokee  county,  which  he   still  owns. 
In  a  short  time,  after  purchasing  there, 
he  returned  home  and  resumed  farming. 
He  has  traveled  all  through  Nebraska 
and    Iowa,    and  through     most   all   the 
southern  and  eastern    states.     Previous 
to    going  to    Kansas,   or    in   the   fall   of 
1866,   he  purchased  a   half   interest    in 
the  flouring  mill  known  as  Bell's   mill, 
and  continued  in  partnership  until  1870, 
afterward  trading   it  for  land    in    Mis- 
souri.      Mr.   Tunison    now  owns  1,435 
acres  of  land  and  valuable  town   prop- 


erty in  White  Hall.  He  deals  in  stock 
of  all  grades,  but  principally  in  the 
short-horn.  He  is  one  of  the  substan- 
tial farmers  of  this  county,  and  stands 
high  in  the  estimation  of  all,  being  es- 
teemed for  his  enterprise,  honesty  and 
sociability.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
Masonic  fraternity  of  White  Hall,  and 
is  supervisor  of  White  Hall  township. 
Jacob  I).  Tunison,  a  prominent  resi- 
dent of  Greene  county,  is  a  native  of 
Somerset  county,  N.  J.,  born  Oct.  4, 
1825, his  parents  being  Henry  and  Sarah 
(Castner)  Tunison,  natives  of  New  Jer- 
sey. They  came  to  Greene  county, 111., 
in  1838, locating  one  mile  south  of  White 
Hall.  They  remained  there  until  the 
spring  of  1840, when  they  purchased  180 
acres  of  land,  moved  on  to  it, and  resided 
there  until  1845.  Henry,  the  father, 
died  Oct.  12,  1864.  Jacob  D.  was  reared 
on  a  farm,  assisting  his  parents  until  he 
was  21  years  of  age.  He  and  his  brother 
Henry,  then  took  charge  of  the  home- 
stead, and  farmed  there  one  year,  when 
be  sold  out  his  interest  to  his  brother 
Henry.  He  then  purchased  a  tract  of 
land  on  Parmer's  prairie,  in  Jersey 
county,  and  went  there  to  improve  the 
farm.  At  the  expiration  of  one  year  he 
sold  it  and  bought  220  acres  on  Sec.  11, 
T.  11,  R.  12,  on  which  he  moved,  and 
where  he  still  resides.  In  1870  he  went 
to  Kansas,  and  while  there  purchased  a 
tract  of  land.  He  now  owns  900  acres 
of  fine  land,  600  of  which  is  under  cul- 
tivation and  lies  in  Greene  county,  111. 
Mr.  Tunison  has  been  married  twice. 
Sept.  3,  1847,  he  was  married  to  Ann  E. 
Schuyler,  a  daughter  of  Joseph  and 
Maria  (Woodman)  Schuyler.  She  died 
on  the  12th  of  May,  1S48.  He  was  again 
married  Oct  10,  1852,  to  Lucy  Griswold, 


IOCS 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


daughter  of  Cyrus  and  Abby  (Post)  Gris- 
wold.  This  union  has  been  blessed  with 
a  family  of  10  children,  eight  of  whom 
are  living — Mary,  wife  of  Dr.  J.W.  Red- 
wine,  of  "White  Hall;  Ella,  Lucius, 
Alice,  Carrie,  Ward  C,  Ada  and  Nita. 
Those  deceased  are  Albert  B.,  who  died 
Dec.  6.  1877,  aged  17  years;  Frank  D., 
died  Dec.  11,  1877,  aged  15  years.  In 
connection  with  farming,  Mr.  Tunison 
deals  in  stock,  especially  in  thorough- 
bred short  horn  cattle.  He  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Masonic  fraternity,  of  White 
Hall.  He  stands  high  in  business  and 
social  circles,  being  highly  esteemed  for 
his  enterprise  and  fair  dealing. 

Charles  Gregory  came  to  this  county 
in  1821,  and  entering  land  on  Sec.  11, 
T.  11,  R.  12,  resided  there  until  his 
death,  in  May,  1845.  He  was  largely 
identified  with  the  official  life  of  this 
county,  and  a  sketch  of  him  is  given  in 
detail  in  the  chapter  devoted  to  repre- 
sentation. 

Absalom  Frame  and  William  Hudson 
made  settlements  on  section  35,  in  1821, 
where  they  lived  for  many  years. 

Redmond  Strickland,  with  his  family, 
came  to  Greene  county  in  1821,  and  set- 
tled on  Sec.  32,  T.  12,  R.  11.  He  re- 
sided in  T.  11,  R.  11,  on  Sec.  6,  at  the 
time  of  his  death,  April  19,  1849.  He 
was  from  Tennessee,  and  moved  to  San- 
gamon county, .111.,  where  he  wasunited 
in  marriage  with  Phoebe  Lakin.  His 
wife  died  Jan.  12,  1849.  They  had  10 
children.  He  was  a  soldier  in  the  war 
of  1812-15,  and  in  the  Black  Hawk  war. 

James  H.  Whiteside  came  into  what 
is  now  Greene  county,  about  1821,  and 
settled  on  Apple  Creek  Prairie,  in  this 
township,  although  he  had  settled  in 
Jersey  county,  which  was  then  a  part  of 


Greene,  in  1817.'  He  was  a  native  of 
Rutherford  county,  N.  C,  born  in  1782. 
While  yet  in  infancy  his  parents  moved 
to  the  small  French  settlement  at  St. 
Louis,  Mo.,  wheie  his  father,  Thomas 
S.,  built  what  was  known  as  Whiteside's 
Station,  which  was  used  as  a  protection 
against  the  Indians.  On  the  breaking 
out  of  the  war  of  1812,  James  White- 
side enlisted  and  was  made  major  of  one 
of  the  Missouri  regiments.  He  re- 
mained a  citizen  of  St.  Louis  until  June 
10,  1817,  when  he  located  in  Jersey 
county  as  above  mentioned,  and  after- 
ward removed  to  this  county.  He  died 
here  in  March,  1862. 

In  1821,  Sec.  8,  of  T.  11,  R.  12,  re- 
ceived a  family  of  settlers  in  the  persons 
of  Asahel  North,  his  wife,  Prudence 
(Swallow)  North,  and  the  children  of 
their  union.  He  was  a  native  of  Con- 
necticut, and  his  wife  of  Vermont.  He 
entered  600  acres  of  land  on  coming 
here,  and  built  a  rough,  log  cabin,  in 
which  they  dwelt  several  years,  and 
then  erected  a  large,  two  story  frame 
building  into  which  they  moved.  Here, 
in  1846,  Mr.  North  peacefully  breathed 
his  last.  He  was  one  of  the  greatest 
financiers  of  his  day,  and  was  noted  for 
his  financial  sagacity. 

Benjamin  Smith  came  to  Greene 
county  in  1822,  and  settled  about  one 
mile  and  a  quarter  southeast  of  where 
White  Hall  now  stands. 

Alfred  Hinton  made  a  settlement  on 
Apple  Creek  Prairie,  in  1822.  A  sketch 
of  him  is  given  elsewhere. 

James  Morrow,  a  native  of  North 
Carolina,  came  to  Greene  county  in  the 
fall  of  1824,  and  crossing  Apple  creek, 
journeyed  until  he  had  reached  a  point 
north  of  the  site  of  White  Hall,  where 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


1069 


he  made  a  settlement,  and  resided  until 
18-18,  then  moved  to  the  suburbs  of  that 
city,  and  in  1850  to  Roodhouse  town- 
ship, where  he  <died  some  six  years 
later. 

Lemuel  Stuhblefield  and  family  came 
to  what  is  now  known  as  White  Hall 
township,  in  the  spring  of  18-27,  and 
after  renting  several  pieces  of  land,  in 
1830,  located  on  some  land  in  that  pre- 
cinct, where  they  lived  for  some  years. 
Lemuel  died  at  Greenfield,  at  the  resi- 
dence of  his  son,  in  1859,  his  widow  in 
1863. 

Adonijah  Griswold  made  a  settle- 
ment in  this  township,  on  Apple  Creek 
Prairie,  in  1828,  being  induced  to  re- 
move here  from  his  native  state,  Ver- 
mont, by  some  of  his  children,  who 
had  already  located  in  this  region.  Mr. 
Griswold  was  reared  in  Vermont,  where 
he  was  also  married  to  Mary  Barton. 
He  served  in  the  war  1812,  and  during 
that  struggle  was  taken  prisoner  by  the 
British  troops  and  placed  in  prison. 
After  an  incarceration  of  some  time,  he 
succeeded  in  effecting  an  escape,  by 
scaling  the  prison  walls,  only  to  be  re- 
captured and  returned  to  his  place  of 
confinement,  receiving  20  lashes  as  a 
penalty  for  seeking  freedom.  At  the 
expiration  of  three  years,  however,  lie 
was  released.  He  remained  a  resident 
of  this  township  until  his  death,  Sept. 
1,  1841.  The  widowed  wife  and  mother 
survived  him  until  1814. 

Among  the  early  settlers  of  this  part 
of  the  county  was  Samuel  Doyle,  who 
came  here  in  1829,  settling  upon  section 
36.  A  sketch  of  this  pioneer  is  given 
elsewhere. 

John  Martin  made  a  settlement  on 
what  was  afterward  known  as  Martin's 


Prairie,  in  1829,  where  he  lived  until 
1864,  when  he  died. 

James  Fears  came  to  this  county  from 
Tennessee,  in  March,  1829,  and  settled 
upon  section  6,  of  this  township,  where 
he  remained  until  1830,  when  he  re- 
moved to  Walkerville  township,  where 
he  afterward  died. 

Hezekiah  Boring  and  his  family  came 
to  this  state  in  1829,  and  liking  the  looks 
of  this  county  stuck  his  stakes  in  what 
is  now  White  Hall  township.  He 
passeil  the  winter  of  the  deep  snow,  in 
1830-31,  in  the  old  orchard  on  what  is 
now  Harry  Roodhouse's  farm.  He  af- 
terward removed  to  Rubicon  township, 
where  he  died. 

The  Ballard  family,  consisting  of  the 
father,  mother  and  three  children,  came 
to  ( Ireene  county,  in  the  fall  of  1829,  in 
a  covered  wagon.  They  located  near 
the  present  site  of  Berdan,  and  spent 
the  first  winter  in  a  rude  log  shanty, 
which  was  open  at  one  end,  but  which 
opening  was  closed  during  very  severe 
weather,  with  a  blanket.  A  large  open 
fire-place  in  the  other  end  of  the  house, 
or  room,  for  there  was  only  one  room, 
with  ample  space  to  receive  huge  back 
logs  and  plenty  of  fuel,  that  when  fairly 
ablaze  warmed  up  the  atmosphere  con- 
siderably, and  made  it  endurable,  even 
when  the  keen,  cutting  blasts  of  a  cold 
winter  swept  the  prairie,  and  among  the 
leafless  branches  of  the  trees.  The 
next  spring  he  built  a  more  comfortable 
cabin. 

Benjamin  Roodhouse,  a  native  of 
Yorkshire,  Eng.,  came  to  the  "Land  of 
the  Free,"  in  Dec,  1830,  locating  in 
White  Hall  township,  Greene  county, 
on  section  14.  He  was  married  twice. 
He  died   Aug.  3,    1831.     His    wife  sur- 


1070 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


vived  him  until  I860,  rearing  a  large 
family. 

Ezekiel  Edwards,  who  died  here  in 
1853,  settled  near  the  town  of  New 
Providence  in  1830.  Later  he  removed 
to  a  place  near  Berdan,  where  he  passed 
the  remainder  of  bis  days.  His  wife 
Polly  (Rucker)  Edwards,  died  in  1859. 

William  Driver  made  a  settlement  on 
Apple  Creek  Prairie  in  1830.  He  was  a 
native  of  North  Carolina,  He  died  in 
this  county,  in  an  early  day. 

Edgar  Griswold,  a  native  of  Addison 
county,  Vt.,  was  born  Jan.  2,  1820,  his 
parents  being  David  E.  and  Lydia 
(Twitchell)  Griswold,  natives  of  Ver- 
mont. His  father  came  to  Illinois  in 
1829,  and  spent  that  winter  in  Greene 
county,  returning  to  Vermont  in  the 
summer  of  1830,  where  he  remained 
mained  until  Aug.  24,  1831.  Then,  witli 
his  family  of  five  children — Melissa, 
Sophia,  Damon,  Edgar  and  Edwin,  he 
started  back  to  Illinois,  coming  all  the 
way  in  wagons.  There  were  seven 
wagons  in  the  excursion  and  they  were 
seven  weeks  in  making  the  trip.  On 
his  arrival  here,  David  Griswold  located 
on  160  acres  of  land  on  section  9,  in 
what  is  nowCarrollton  township.  This 
was  partially  improved,  there  being  a 
small  log  cabin,  a  corn  crib,  and  a  smoke 
house  thereon,  and  it  was  what  was 
then  called  second-hand  land.  There 
he  resided  until  he  was  called  hence  by 
the  grim  hand  of  death,  Aug.  24,  1875. 
A  remarkable  coincidence  is  noticeable 
in  connection  with  that  date.  He  left 
Vermont  on  August  24,  his  eldest  son 
died  Aug.  24,  and  his  death  occurred 
Aug.  24.  Edgar,  the  subject  of  this 
sketch,  was  reared  on  a  farm,  and  re- 
mained at  home  until  he  had  reached  the 


age  of  20  years.  He  was  then  married 
ami  started  out  in  life  for  himself,  locat- 
ing at  first  near  Greenfield,  where  he 
owned  160  acres  of  land,  on  to  which  he 
moved  and  remained  there  five  years. 
He  then  exchanged  farms  with  his 
brother  Edwin,  and  moved  back  to  the 
homestead,  where  he  resided  several 
years.  From  there  he  removed  to  Ma- 
coupin county,  where  he  purchased  320 
acres  of  land,  on  which  he  remained 
two  years,  then  sold  out  and  again  re- 
turned to  the  homestead  where  he  has 
since  resided.  In  1868  he  took  a  trip  to 
California,  going  by  way  of  New  York, 
and  down  across  the  Isthmus  of  Panama, 
and  was  accompanied  by  his  brother-in- 
law,  John  North.  They  visited  the 
cities  of  San  Francisco  and  Sacramento, 
and  on  their  return  traveled  800  miles 
by  stage.  Mr.  Griswold  has  accumu- 
lated a  great  deal  of  property,  and  now 
owns  725  acres  of  rich  land,  480  of  which 
lies  in  Christian  county.  On  the  12th 
of  March,  1810,  he  was  married  to  Lucy 
North,  daughter  of  Asa  and  Prudence 
North.  They  are  the  parents  of  11 
children,  seven  of  whom  are  living — 
Perry,  married  Olive  Stone,  resides  in 
Kansas;  Seth,  married  Etta  Whiteside, 
resides  in  White  Hall  township;  Ellen, 
wife  of  Edward  Boulton,  residing  in 
Greenfield;  Sylvia,  wife  of  George  W. 
Whitaker,  residing  at  Kearney,  Neb.; 
Damon,  married  Etna  Baldwin,  resides 
in  Christian  county;  Carrie,  wrife  of  T. 
M.  Meek,  residing  near  Rockbridge,  and 
Edward  at  home.  Mr.  Griswold  is  a 
member  of  the  Masonic  fraternity  of 
White  Hall,  and  also  of  the  grange 
lodge.  He  is  one  of  the  substantial 
farmers,  and  enterprising  citizens  of  this 
township.     Mr.  Griswold   now    has   in 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


11)71 


his  possession  two  sickles  50  years  old, 
which  he  brought  to  this  county  with 
him,  and  which  he  used  to  cut  his  first 
wheat  with. 

George  Kendall  located  on  Apple 
Creek  Prairie,  in  1831,  and  lived  there 
for  some  years. 

Nathaniel  Kendall,  a  native  of  Waldo 
county,  Me.,  was  born  June  15,  1815, 
his  parents  being  George  and  Sarah 
(McLean)  Kendall,  natives  of  Maine. 
He  came  with  his  parents  to  Greene 
county,  111.,  in  1831,  they  locating  on 
Apple  Creek  Prairie,  where  his  father 
purchased  200  acres  of  land,  second- 
handed,  on  whichhebuilt  a  small  frame 
house,  where  they  lived  some  10  or  15 
years.  He  then  moved  to  White  Hall, 
where  he  passed  the  balance  of  his  days 
in  rest  and  contentment.  He  died  Dec. 
24,  1839,  and  his  wife  died  July  26, 
1838,  both  being  buried  in  White  Hall 
cemetery.  Nathaniel  remained  with  his 
parents  while  they  lived,  and  had  been 
reared  to  the  duties  of  farm  life.  At 
their  death  he  took  charge  of  the  home- 
stead, and  resided  on  it  until  1880,  when 
he  sold  out  and  purchased  466  acres  on 
Sees.  1  and  2,  T.  11,  R.  12,  and  has 
since  resided  on  it.  Mr.  Kendall  was 
married  Oct.  13, 1842,  to  Minerva  Smith, 
daughter  of  Benj.  and  Marilla  (Bacon) 
Smith.  This  union  has  been  blessed 
with  13  children,  11  of  whom  are  liv- 
ing— Marilla,  wife  of  L.  Barney,  resid- 
ing in  Denver,  Col.;  Frank,  resides  in 
Texas  county,  Mo.;  Sarah;  Nellie,  wife 
of  David  Milnes,  who  resides  on  the 
farm;  Thursa,  wife  of  George  Baldwin, 
residing  in  Reno  county,  Kan.;  Ira,  Ida, 
Allen;  Mamie,  wife  of  William  Cronan, 
living  in  Texas  county,  Mo.;  Bentley 
and  Norma.  Those  deceased  are:  Mabel, 


and  one  who  died  in  infancy.  Mr. 
Kendall  is  a  member  of  the  Masonic 
lodge,  No.  80,  of  White  Hall.  He  is 
one  of  our  most  enterprising  farmers 
and  highly  respected  citizens,  and  is 
one  of  the  old  pioneers  of  the  county, 
both  he  and  his  wife's  parents  being 
among  the  first  to  locate  here,  and  they 
will  be  mentioned  in  that  part  of  the 
volume  which  relates  to  the  early  set- 
tlers. Marilla  Smith,  Mrs.  Kendall's 
mother,  came  to  Greene  county,  from 
Ohio,  in  1820,  and  located  on  the  farm 
that  Mr.  Kendall  now  lives  on,  where 
she  resided  until  the  death  of  her  hus- 
band, in  1879.  She  is  now  living  in 
Kansas  City,  Mo. 

Dr.  S.  H.  Culver  settled  just  west  of 
White  Hall  in  1831,  and  since  that  time 
has  been  prominently  identified  with 
the  religious  history  of  the  county. 

Among  the  settlers  of  the  year  1832, 
was  Joshua  Jones,  of  Virginia,  who, 
with  his  wife  and  children,  settled  on 
See.  33,  T.  12,  R.  11.  where  he  resided 
until  overtaken  by  death. 

David  B.  Jones  was  born  in  Pulaski 
county,  Ky.,  Nov.  9,  1815,  his  parents 
being  Joshua  and  Elizabeth  (Barrow) 
Jones,  his  father  a  native  of  Virginia. 
his  mother  a  native  of  North  Carolina. 
They  came  from  Kentucky  to  Greene 
county.  111.,  in  1832.  and  were  several 
weeks  on  the  road,  having  come  in  a 
wagon,  which  was  drawn  by  four  yoke 
of  oxen.  They  settled  on  what  is  called 
Lorton's  prairie,  where  they  bought  80 
acres  of  land  and  also  entered  a  large 
tract,  and  built  a  little  log  cabin,  the 
location  being  on  Sec.  33.  T.  12,  R.  11. 
They  lived  in  this  cabin  about  three 
years,  when  his  son  David  B.  built  a 
frame  house,  this  being  the  first  one  he 


1072 


HISTORY  OP  GREENE  COUNTY. 


had  ever  built,  and  it  is  still  standing, 
being  now  about  50  years  old.  Here 
Joshua  lived  until  his  death,  Feb.  14, 
18G8,  having  survived  his  wife  over  30 
years,  her  death  occurring  March  3, 
1835.  David  B.  remained  at  home  until 
he  was  25  years  of  age,  assisting  in  the 
labors  of  the  farm.  He  was  then  mar- 
ried, Sept.  24,  1840,  to  Elvira  Davis, 
daughter  of  Daniel  and  Rebecca  (Beale) 
Davis.  He  purchased  80  acres  of  land 
on  Sec.  32,  T.  12  R.  11,  and  with  some 
assistance  erected  a  frame  house,  where 
they  lived  until  1870,  when  they  moved 
to  Montgomery  county,  Kan.,  and  there 
bought  town  property.  While  there, 
his  son-in-law  started  in  the  mercan- 
tile business,  but  Mr.  Jones  returned 
to  the  old  homestead  here,  and  it  has 
since  been  his  home  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Jones  were  the  parents  of  two  children 
— Rebecca  A.,  who  died  Sept.  25  1871. 
and  Asbury  W.,  who  died  in  1847.  Mr. 
Jones  has  a  nice  farm  of  200  acres,  and 
is  very  successful  in  his  business  opera- 
tions Mrs.  Jones  died  Sept.  13,  1879. 
Mr.  Jones  is  a  member  of  the  M.  E. 
church,  as  was  also  his  wife  during  her 
lifetime. 

William  H.  Nash  settled  on  Apple 
Creek  Prairie  in  1832,  where  he  died  in 
1872.  He  was  a  Virginian,  but  came 
here  from  Kentucky,  where  he  had  re- 
sided a  few  years. 

David  Crist  made  a  settlement  near 
White  Hall  in  1833,  He  was  a  native 
of  Ohio,  and  at  that  time  in  his  24th 
year.  In  the  village,  which  then  boas- 
ted of  two  buildings,  both  of  the  rudest 
description,  one  answering  for  a  stoic, 
Mr.  Crist,  in  partnership  with  Joshua 
Simonds,  opened  the  first  general  mer- 
chandise    store,    which    they   operated 


until  a  year  had  rolled  by,  when  Mr. 
Simonds  dying,  Mr.  Crist  closed  out  the 
concern  at  auction,  and  engaged  in  other 
callings,  at  Belltown  and  elsewhere, 
where  he  grew  to  be  a  wealthy  man. 

James  Davis  during  the  year  1835, 
located  on  section  33,  west  of  the  town 
of  White  Hall.  He  was  a  native  of 
North  Carolina,  born  in  1780.  In  1803, 
he  married  Jane  Morrow,  a  native  of 
the  same  state.  During  his  lifetime  he 
followed  farming,  and  came  here  as 
above  stated,  to  better  his  fortune.  He 
afterwards  removed  to  another  farm  on 
Apple  Creek  Prairie,  where  he  lived 
until  called  on  to  pass  to  another  world. 
He  died  near  Springfield,  111.,  Aug.  18, 
1858.  His  wife  had  "gone  before" 
Nov.  18,  1855. 

T.  11,  R.  12,  was  the  pioneer  town- 
ship in  manufactures.  On  section  13, 
was  built  the  first  potter's  kiln,  by  Wm. 
Heath,  in  about  the  year  1826,  and  was 
abandoned  in  1828,  on  account  of  his 
being  on  government  land,  and  subject 
to  entry  by  any  one,  and  Peter  Fronk 
purchased  the  land  of  the  government. 
A  former  well  known  potter,  Mike 
Baker,  learned  the  trade  of  him.  Heath 
was  a  man  of  some  noble  instincts,  but 
the  demon  inebriation  often  possessed 
him,  to  the  great  detriment  of  himself, 
his  business  and  family.  He  was  the 
father  of  the  celebrated  orator  and 
Methodist  preacher,  the  lamented  Rev. 
Nathaniel  Pinekard  Heath. 

About  1827,  Ephraim  Harper  con- 
structed a  tannery  on  section  11,  which 
was  superintended  by  George  Gordon, 
an  eccentric  old  bachelor  uncle  of  Mrs. 
Harper.  The  bark,  at  first,  was  pre- 
pared in  an  antiquated  method.  It  was 
spread  upon  a  floor,  a  wheel  some  five 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


in;:; 


feet  in  diameter,  and  about  two  and  a 
half  feet  of  grooved,  or  rough  surface, 
at  the  rim,  was  made  to  revolve  on  a 
shaft,  the  one  end  in  the  center  of  the 
track,  and  propelled  by  a  horse  at  the 
other  end.  The  capacity  of  the  tannery, 
we  think,  did  not  exceed  500  hides  per 
year,  at  no  time.  The  manufacture  of 
leather  here,  was  considered  a  great 
convenience,  and  a  decided  improve- 
ment on  the  home  method,  of  pounding 
bark  by  hand,  and  tanning  in  rude 
troughs.  The  writer  has  seen  persons 
as  late  as  1834  and  '35,  carrying  green 
hides  in  front  of  them,  on  horseback, 
from  as  far  off  as  Montgomery  county. 
Mr.  Gordon  died  in  about  the  year 
1837,  or  '38,  and  Mr.  Harper,  in  1844. 
Shortly  afterward,  the  business  was  en- 
tirely abandoned. 

In  about  the  year  1831  or  '32,  on  this 
same  section,  Aaron  Hicks  erected  a 
castor  bean  mill,  which  was  a  financial 
success,  and  a  benefit  to  the  commu- 
nity, for  several  years.  It  was  accident- 
ally burned,  the  writer  thinks,  in  the 
winter  of  1837  or  '38.  Messrs.  Harper 
&'Hicks  were  men  of  staunch  integrity, 
and  promoters  of  education,  temperance 
and  good  morals;  pillars  in  the  Baptist 
church. 

Before  White  Hall  was  laid  out  there 
was  a  cotton  gin  erected  by  "Esq." 
Archer,  in  T.  12,  R.  12.  The  seasons 
proving  too  short  for  cotton-raising,  it 
was  abandoned.  It  was  erected  near 
the  residence  of  the  late  Mrs.  Anthony 
Potts. 

Of  the  first  noted  law  case  it  is  re- 
marked: It  originated  in  this  wise: 
One,  "Judge  Marks,"  lived  on  section 
11.  His  humble  log  house  stood  a  few 
rods  east  of  the  railroad,  on  the  hill  on 


the  property  now  owned  by  J.  D.  Tuni- 
son.  Marks  was  a  man  of  hitherto  un- 
impeached  honor  and  veracity,  and 
justly  prized  his  good  name  and  char- 
acter. He  was  a  candidate  for  the  highest 
office  in  the  county  (senator  we  believe). 
His  competitor  was  Thomas  Rattan,  the 
wealthiest  man  north  of  Apple  creek. 
On  the  east  of  the  road  was  an  ox-mill 
and  a  distillery.  The  voting  place  was 
at  Rattan's  house,  and  on  election  day 
excitement  ran  high,  which  was  in- 
creased by  the  free  use  of  whisky  pur- 
chased, of  course,  by  the  candidates. 
Richard  Rattan,  the  brother  of  Thomas, 
was  making  headway  for  his  brother  by 
arguments,  but  more  by  whisky.  Mr. 
Marks  finally  yielded  to  the  pressure  and 
ordered  whisky  too.  A  few  minutes 
passed,  and  seeing  some  liquor  near, 
supposing  it  to  be  what  he  had  ordered, 
began  dealing  it  out  as  his  treat.  Soon 
Richard  Rattan  discovered  that  Marks 
was  not  using  his  own  whisky  and  said, 
"You  stole  brother  Tom's  whisky  and 
treated  out  of  that."  "I  did  not,"  said 
Marks,  "I  ordered  the  liquor  and  treated 
out  of  it."  "You  did  not,  sir,  you  stole 
my  brother  Tom's  whisky  and  I  can 
prove  it."  I  will  give  you  an  oppor- 
tunity to  do  so,"  replied  Marks,  and 
began  suit  for  slander.  The  case  could 
not  be  decided  in  Carrollton.  A  change 
of  venue  was  taken  to  Madison  county. 
The  trial  came  off  at  Edwardsville. 
Each  party  knew  of  one  witness,  who 
was  duly  and  truly  sober;  and  each 
party  had  him  summoned.  Neither 
party  could  find  out  exactly  what  that 
witness'  testimony  would  he,  before 
trial,  and  after  hearing,  both  were  dis- 
satisfied with  it;  it  was  not  enough,  and 
yet  too  much.     The  testimony  was   as 


Iti7| 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


we  have  narrated.  The  jury's  verdict 
was,  one  cent  damages  for  plaintiff. 
Rattan  sold  his  farm  to  pay  costs. 
Marks'  expenses  and  chagrin  caused 
him  to  dispose  of  his,  and  move  into 
another  county,  where  he  died,  at  an 
advanced  age,  highly  esteemed. 

About  the  year  1821,  there  came  to 
the  Apple  Creek  Settlement,  a  man 
from  Pennsylvania,  by  the  name  of 
David  Clawson.  A  man  of  herculean 
strength  and  energy;  afoot  and  alone, 
swimming  streams, sleeping  on  prairie, or 
woods,  carrying  weapons,  needed  cloth- 
ing, and  provisions,  asking  no  boot  of 
man  or  beast.  He  was  the  match  for 
any  two  stout  men ;  but  genial  and 
affable,  provoking  no  quarrel,  and  none 
would  be  likely  to  invite  one  with  him. 
He  selected  a  home  on  the  edge  of  the 
Illinois  bottom,  where,  in  a  short  time, 
his  iron  frame  succumbed  to  malarial 
fever.     His  remains  lie  buried  near  by. 

James  Henderson  was  the  first  to 
make  a  claim  on  land  north  of  Apple 
Creek,  in  this  county,  which  was  in 
Aug.,  1818.  He  was  born  in  Hunter- 
don county,  N.  J.,  March  9,  1783.  He 
was  the  youngest  of  10  children.  His 
father's  name  was  Edward,  and  of  Prot- 
estant Irish  descent.  At  the  age  of  21, 
he  went  to  Virginia, remained  there  two 
years,  and  then  went  to  Ohio,  where,  in 
1S07,  he  married  Mary  'White,  eldest 
daughter  of  Thomas  and  Amy  W. 
White,  born  Oct.  25,  1787.  Her  father's 
grandfather  was  English.  Her  father's 
mother's  maiden  name  was  Shreve, 
whose  grandfather,  Derick  Arison  im- 
migrated to  New  Amsterdam  in  1680, 
from  Holland.  The  maiden  name  of 
Mrs.  White  was  McGhee,  and  her 
parents  were  Scotch.     The  children  of 


James  and  Mary  Henderson  were 
eleven,  10  of  whom  grew  to  man- 
hood and  womanhood,  three  daughters 
and  seven  sons.  Of  these — Caroline, 
born  in  Oct.,  1808,  married  by  Rev.  Bo- 
garth,  Jan.  1,  1828,  to  Geo.  W.  Allen, 
who  died  in  Jan.,  1864,  and  his  widow 
now  resides  in  Greenfield;  Hope,  mar- 
ried by  John  Allen,  Esq.,  in  Oct.,  1831, 
to  Rev.  Amos  Prentice,  who  died  in 
Shelby ville,  111.,  in  Aug.,  1849,  she 
dying  in  Nov.,  1879;  Nathaniel,  married 
in  Dec,  1833,  by  John  Allen,  Esq.,  to 
Martha  E.  Bacon,  who  died  in  May, 
1850,  her  husband  following  her  in  July, 
1863,  dying  in  Macoupin  county;  Thos., 
who  now  lives  in  Harrison  county,  la., 
married  in  June,  1834,  to  Eliza  Estes, 
by  Rev.  J.  B.  Corrington;  Edwin,  now 
of  Macoupin  county,  married  in  Nov., 
1839,  to  Eliza  J.  Williams,  by  Rev.  J. 
B.  Corrington;  James,  now  of  Harrison 
county,  la.,  married  in  March,  1841,  to 
Elizabeth  Peters;  Perry,  married  to 
Ellen  Williams,  in  Jan.,  1846,  by  Rev. 
H.  Wallace;  his  wife  died  in  March, 
1858,  and  he  was  found  dead  in  his  bed, 
on  his  farm,  on  Rock  river,  Rock  Island 
county,  111.,  June  10,  1882;  Amy  A., 
married  to  T.  J.  Robinson,  in  Jan., 
1846,  by  Rev.  H.  Wallace;  they  now 
reside  in  Rock  Island  county;  Safety 
M.,  married  Hezekiah  J.  Williams, 
March  5,  1854,  Rev.  Rutledge,  officiat- 
ing; Franklin,  married  in  July,  1851, 
by  Rev.  C.  P.  Baldwin,  to  Sarah  A. 
Metcalf;  F.  Henderson  now  resides  in 
Towanda,  111.;  S.  M.  Henderson  now 
lives  on  the  old  homestead,  where  he 
was  born,  three  miles  southeastof  White 
Hall.  He  says,  "Few  and  evil  have 
been  the  days  of  the  years  of  my  pil- 
grimage, and  I  have  not  attained  unto 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


m:.-, 


the  days  of  the  years  of  my  fathers." 
James  H.  Henderson  died  July  25, 1849, 
after  a  long  and  painful  illness.  His 
wife  followed  him  Aug.  9,  of  the  same 
year,  having  been  an  invalid  for  nine 
years.  There  are  more  than  150  de- 
scendants of  James  and  Mary  Hender- 
son now  living. 

RECOLLECTIONS    OF  9.   M .   HENDERSON. 

Many  of  the  foregoing  facts,  which 
precede   the   Bketch  of  the  Henderson 

family,  are  given  by  S.  M.  Henderson, 
and  a  sketch  of  early  times  is  herewith 
given  from  the  pen  of  that  worthy  gen- 
tleman : 

Three  sons  were  born  in  1820,  on 
Henderson  creek,  in  the  order  named — 
William  Speakcs,  W.  B.  Thaxton,  and 
Perry  Henderson. 

One  of  the  first  school  bouses  built  in 
the  township,  stood  about  one-fourth 
mile  east  of  the  state  road,  cm  the  Rood- 
house  farm.  It  was  built  of  large  logs, 
a  fire-place  in  each  end,  with  chimneys 
made  of  sticks  ami  mud,  with  puncheon 
floor,  a  clapboard  door,  and  for  light, 
oiled  paper  was  used  instead  of  glass. 

The  second  teacher  in  the  settlement 
was  a  plucky  little  Yankee  by  the  name 
of  Augustus  Barbour.  One  morning 
about  Christmas  time,  the  young  men 
met  at  the  school  house  just  at  day- 
break, built  a  good  tire,  barred  the  door, 
and  waited  for  the  teacher.  He  was 
somewhat  earlier  that  morning  than 
usual,  hoping  to  be  in  time  to  enter  the 
house  before  the  crowd  arrived,  for 
there  were  a  number  of  neighbors  and 
married  men  ready  for  the  fun,  but  they 
were  in  readiness  for  the  attack  or  to 
repel  one.  Mr.  Barbour  pretended  to 
be  very  wrathy,  and  after   a   few    feints 


to  get  in,  started  for  his  boarding  place, 
which  was  at  Thomas  Rattan's.  The 
bolters  saw  their  opportunity,  and  soon 
pursued.  He  was  caught  by  Ilamp. 
Rattan,  just  as  be  stepped  on  his  father's 
porch;  and  they  soon  had  him  witli  bis 
feet  in  the  air  over  the  spring.  •Treat, 
or  we'll  duck  you  till  you  do!"  were  the 
stern  words.  "One,  two,  three!"  "I'll 
treat,"  said  the  convinced  teacher:  and 
whiskey  and  sugar  flowed  so  freely  thai 
many  small  children  reeled  and  stag- 
gered as  they  returned  home,  which  in- 
censed a  number  of  the  patrons  of  the 
school,  and  the  tide  began  to  set  against 
the  practice,  until  it  was  abandoned, 
more  than  forty  years  ago. 

Not  quite  60  years  ago  (wouldn't  do 
to  give  names),  a  young  lady  was  pre- 
paring for  her  wedding  day,  and  thought 
she  could  not  obtain  her  outfit  nearer 
than  St.  Louis,  proposed  to  her  father 
to  help  him  drive  cattle  to  that  city, 
where  she  could  purchase  articles  de- 
sirable. The  offer  was  accepted,  and 
she  rode  on  horseback  there  and  back, 
bringing  some  things  of  which  the 
queen  of  Sheba  never  saw. 

OTHER  PROMINENT  CITIZENS. 

Judge  Benjamin  Baldwin,  deceased, 
who  was  one  of  Greene  county's  most 
prominent  and  wealthy  citizens,  and 
whose  portrait  will  be  found  in  this  vol- 
ume, was  a  native  of  Virginia,  born  in 
1792.  He  was  reared  to  the  duties  of 
farm  life,  in  bis  native  state,  and  when 
quite  a  young  man,  removed  to  Ohio. 
Having  almost  no  education,  and  with  a 
capital  of  but  50  cents,  he  arrived  in 
Cincinnati  previous  to  the  war  of  1812. 
He  volunteered  and  served  under  Har- 
rison, being  lieutenant  at  the  time,  and 


1076 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


his  widow  is  now  receiving  a  pension 
for  his  services.  He  helped  to  build 
Fort  Meigs,  during  a  most  inclement 
winter,  but  never  received  any  compen- 
sation for  his  service,  nor  did  his  widow, 
until  since  1878.  After  the  war,  he  pro- 
ceeded to  Warren  county,  0.,  and  there 
became  self-educated  by  reading  and 
taking  part  in  debates,  and  subsequently 
worked  his  way  up  until  he  bad  finally 
filled  every  office  in  the  county.  He 
was  also  made  brigadier-general  of  the 
Ohio  militia.  The  last  time  he  was  a 
candidate  for  office  in  that  state,  was  for 
the  state  senate,  on  the  democratic 
ticket,  but  that  time  the  opposition  was 
successful.  This  defeat  being  the  first 
and  last  he  had  ever  metwith.  He  was 
married  in  Ohio,  in  1814,  to  Martha 
Varner,  who  was  born  near  Newtown, 
Hamilton  county,  O.,  in  1796.  By  this 
union  there  were  13  children — Mar- 
tin V.,  Joshua  C,  Mary  B.,  Franklin, 
Jesse  H.,  Elizabeth,  Elias  V.,  Andrew 
J.,  Francis  M.,  Thomas  J.,  Joseph  W., 
Maitha  J.,  and  Evaline.  In  the  fall  of 
1849,  Judge  Baldwin  came  to  Greene 
county  and  selected  and  purchased  land 
in  White  Hall  township,  He  then  re- 
turned to  Ohio  to  dispose  of  his  prop- 
erty there,  after  which,  in  1851,  he 
returned  to  this  county,  bringing  with 
him  his  family.  The  land  on  which  he 
located  is  what  is  known  as  the  Henry 
Robley  farm,  and  on  it  he  remained 
until  1860,  when  he  moved  to  White 
Hall.  He  purchased  property  there  and 
resided  in  that  city  the  remainder  of  his 
days,  his  death  occurring  Feb.  13,  1865. 
He  was  truly  a  self-made  man,  having 
started  in  life  with  merely  nothing,  but 
with  enterprise,  activity,  and  shrewd- 
ness, had  acquired  during  life,    several 


thousand  acres  of  land,  a  great  part  of 
which  he  gave  to  his  children,  as  they 
became  of  age.  In  1860  he  was  elected 
to  a  seat  in  the  state  legislature,  having 
also  filled  that  office  during  two  terms 
in  Ohio,  his  first  election  being  in  1829. 
He  won  the  esteem  of  all,  by  his  candor, 
uprightness  and  affable  manners.  The 
judge  was  a  lifelong  democrat  and  was 
heartily  in  accord  with  his  party  on  all 
issues.  In  religmus  belief  he  assimilated 
with  those  of  the  Universalist  faith.  In 
these  two  matters  he  was  always  firm 
and  steadfast,  Mrs.  Baldwin  still  sur- 
vives at  the  ripe  old  age  of  90  years, 
and  makes  her  home  with  her  daughter, 
Mrs.  John  P.  Hunt.  She  is  an  amiable 
lady,  in  full  possession  of  all  her  facul- 
ties, and  quite  active  still,  for  one  who 
has  seen  so  many  summers  come  and  go. 
Benjamin  F.  Baldwin,  deceased  was 
horn  in  Warren  count}',  Ohio,  Feb.  28, 
1821,  his  parents  being  Judge  Benja- 
min and  Martha  (Varner)  Baldwin. 
Benjamin  F.  was  reared  to  manhood  at 
the  family  homestead,  30  miles  from 
Cincinnati,  and  was  educated  in  the 
schools  of  his  native  county.  On  ar- 
riving at  a  suitable  age,  he  adopted 
farming  as  his  business.  April  3,  1843, 
he  married  Hannah  Sever,  a  native  of 
the  same  county,  born  April  3,  1823. 
Her  parents  were  Lewis  and  Mary  (Pea- 
cock) Sever,  both  natives  of  New  Jer- 
sey, although  they  were  of  German 
descent.  In  the  fall  of  1819,  his  father, 
having  come  out  to  Illinois  and  selected 
and  purchased  land  in  White  Hall 
township,  was  so  well  pleased  with  the 
country,  that  in  the  spring  of  1850  Benj. 
F.  also  came  out  to  this  county,  and 
located  on  section  16,  in  White  Hall 
township,    where   he  had   purchased  a 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


107' 


tract  of  land.  On  this  he  resided  until 
1858,  when  he  bought  another  tract 
south  of  his  first  location,  on  to  which 
he  moved,  having  erected  a  fine,  two 
and  one-half  story,  frame  house,  cele- 
brating the  4th  of  July,  that  year,  by 
raising  the  frame  thereof.  The  children 
of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Benjamin  P.  Baldwin 
were  seven  in  number,  of  whom  six  are 
living — Lewis  S.,  of  Roodhouse  Tp.; 
Martha  Marilla,  who  died  at  the  age  of 
21  years;  Mary  Amanda,  married 
Henry  M.  Hunt,  now  living  in  Kansas 
City;  George  E.,  married  Theresa  Ken- 
dall, lives  near  Nickerson,  Kan.;  John 
A.,  residing  at  the  old  homestead; 
Alice  C,  widow  of  Marcus  R.  Cil- 
ler, of  White  Hall;  Alva  C,  liv- 
ing at  the  old  homestead.  In 
this  county  Benj.  Baldwin  not  only 
followed  farming  and  stock  raising,  but 
also  engaged  in  other  kinds  of  business. 
He  established  a  store  at  New  Provi- 
dence and  carried  on  a  general  merchan- 
dise trade  there,  conducting  it  while  act- 
ing as  postmaster  for  some  five  or  six 
years.  His  term  of  service  as  postmas- 
ter was  under  Lincoln's  administration, 
though  he,  himself,  was  a  democrat. 
From  New  Providence,  Mr.  Baldwin  re- 
moved to  White  Hall  and  carried  on  the 
general  merchandise  business  about  10 
years,  having  in  stock  about  $20,000 
worth  of  goods.  He  built  an  elevator 
there  at  a  cost  of  $14,000,  which  was 
burned  down  in  the  summer  of  1885, 
while  in  the  possession  of  his  son-in- 
law,  H.  M.  Hunt,  Mr.  Baldwin  had 
also  operated  for  some  time,  a  large 
grist  mill  on  Apple  Creek  Prairie,  which 
had  been  constructed  by  Jesse  and  E.V. 
Baldwin,  and  which  had  a  capacity  of 
60  barrels  per  day.      He  was  carrying 


on  all  these  enterprises  at  the  time  of 
his  death.  On  the  morning  of  Pel).  5, 
1875,  what  is  known  as  a  "mock  senate" 
was  holding  a  session  in  the  Universalist 
church,  on  Apple  Creek  Prairie.  Mr. 
Baldwin  was  personating  the  senator 
from  Arkansas  and  had  just  finished  a 
speech  to  the  senate,  when,  in  less  than 
five  minutes,  or  just  as  the  next  speaker 
had  risen  to  his  feet,  Mr.  Baldwin  was 
dead  in  his  chair.  His  death  cast  a 
gloom  over  the  neighborhood,  as  he  was 
a  man  full  of  life,  ambition,  and  enter- 
prise, and  was  of  that  class  who  are  a 
power  in  the  community.  He  had  never 
entered  political  life  in  earnest.  He 
had,  however,  held  the  office  of  justice 
of  the  peace.  He  had  been  grand  mar- 
shal of  the  Greene  county  fair  for  15 
years  and  was  presented,  by  the  board 
of  directors,  with  a  saddle,  whip,  and 
spurs,  valued  at  $100.  Mrs.  Baldwin 
followed  him  to  the  long  rest,  Fib.  1. 
1883,  and  both  now  sleep  side  by  side  in 
the  White  Hall  cemetery,  their  resting 
place  being  marked  by  the  handsome 
Baldwin  monument.  It  is  said  to  be 
the  finest  in  the  county  and  was  erected 
by  the  sons.  Lewis,  George,  John,  and 
Curtis,  as  their  last  tribute  of  respect. 
Mr.  Baldwin  left  2,000  acres  of  land  to 
his  children.  John  A.  and  Alva  C.  re- 
side on  the  home  tract  of  1,500  acres 
and  are  extensive  stock  farmers.  They 
deal  in  all  grades  of  stock  and  generally 
feed  about  SOU  head  of  cattle  every  win- 
ter. They  are  very  enterprising  young 
men  who  have  an  eye  to  business  and 
are  bound  to  meet  with  success  in  all 
their  undertakings. 

Elias  Y.  Baldwin  was  born  in  Warren 
county,  0.,  July  15,  1827,  his  parents 
being   Benjamin   and    Martha    ( Yarner 


1078 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


Baldwin.  Elias  came  to  Greene  county 
in  1848,  being  then  21  years  of  age,  and 
in  the  fall,  he  hired  out  to  husk  corn, 
receiving  therefor  50  cents  per  day. 
During  that  fall,  he  went  north  to  look 
at  the  country,  hut  not  finding  any 
place  more  desirable  than  Greene 
county,  he  returned,  took  the  stage  to 
Alton,  from  there  went  to  St.  Louis, 
where  he  remained  over  night,  and  next 
day,  in  the  morning,  took  the  boat  for 
Cincinnati,  arriving  at  his  home  in 
Ohio,  the  day  before  Christmas.  He  was 
engaged  that  winter  in  driving  a  team 
on  the  Cincinnati,  Goshen  and  Wil- 
mington turnpike,  hauling  produce.  He 
remained  there  until  the  next  spring, 
and  then  returned  to  Greene  county  and 
went  to  farming,  on  130  acres  of  land, 
which  his  father  bad  bought  for  him. 
Previous  to  that  time,  his  father  had 
been  there,  and  contracted  for  the  same 
farm.  With  a  willing  hand,  Elias  com- 
menced buying  hogs  and  cattle,  which 
lie  drove  to  Alton  to  dispose  of,  and 
when  lie  could  not  get  his  price  there, 
would  drive  them  on  to  St.  Louis.  Feb. 
11.  1850,  he  was  married  to  Mary 
Pankey,  daughter  of  William  B.  and 
Samantha  (Lorton)  Pankey.  After  mar- 
riage, he  began  farming  a  little  more 
extensively,  locating  on  section  21,  on 
which  land  there  was  an  old  log  cabin, 
and  into  this  he  moved,  and  lived  six 
years  in  it.  He  had,  by  that  time,  laid 
by  enough  to  build  a  more  corftmodious 
residence,  and  in  1856  erected  a  fine 
two-story  dwelling,  costing  something 
like  $4,000.  His  improvements,  in  the 
si i ape  of  buildings,  will  now  amount  to 
$10,000,  and  the  surroundings  show  him 
to  be  a  man  of  enterprise  and  intelli- 
gence.     Mr.  Baldwin  raises  considerable 


stock,  and  also  buys  and  sells  hogs, 
horses  and  cattle,  of  all  grades.  About 
one-half  of  his  land  is  in  grass,  and  the 
balance  in  grain,  all  of  which  is  used  in 
feeding  stock.  In  all  bis  undertakings 
he  has  been  very  successful.  He  has 
been  president  of  the  Greene  County 
Agricultural  Society,  for  two  years,  and 
stands  high  in  the  estimation  of  his 
many  acquaintances. 

F.  M.  Baldwin,  one  of  the  prominent 
retired  men  of  Greene  county,  was  born 
in  Warren  county,  O.,  May  20,  1831, 
being  a  son  of  Benjamin  and  Martha 
(Varner)  Baldwin.  F.  M.  came  to  this 
state  with  his  parents  in  the  fall  of 
1850,  and  located  on  Apple  Creek 
Prairie,  remaining  with  them  until  his 
marriage,  April  5,  1855,  with  Mary 
Agnes  Bowman,  daughter  of  Abram  and 
Agnes(Turley)  Bowman.  After  marriage 
he  removed  to  String  Prairie,  where  his 
father  had  given  him  240  acres  of  land. 
He  resided  there  until  Aug.,  1869,  when 
he  moved  to  a  place  called  Baldwin's 
Mill,  and  engaged  in  the  milling  busi- 
ness with  B.  F.  Baldwin,  bis  brother, 
for  two  years.  He  then  sold  bis  interest 
in  the  mill  to  his  brother,  and  engaged 
in  farming,  which  he  followed  until  the 
fall  of  1883,  when  he  retired  from  busi- 
ness life  and  moved  to  White  Hall, 
where  he  built  a  fine  two-story  residence 
opposite  Mr,  Wilkenson's  nursery,  on 
Franklin  street.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Baldwin 
are  the  parents  of  nine  children,  four  of 
whom  are  living — Etna,  wife  of  Damon 
Griswold  ;  Martha,  wife  of  Marcus 
North;  Mary,  wife  of  P..  W.  Greer, 
and  Agnes,  at  home.  Those  deceased 
are— Lewis  E.,  born  April  26, 1862,  died 
Nov.  20,  1875;  Harry  C,  born  Dec.  5, 
1863,  was  killed  by  the  explosion  of  a 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY 


1079 


boiler.May  10,  1881  ;  Elias  V.,  born  May 
15,  1865,  died  Sept.  2,  1876 ;  Frances,  a 
twin  sister  of  Mary,  born  May  7,  1860, 
died  Sept.  9,  1862 ;  Emma,  born  March 
28,  1869,  died  Aug.  18,  1869.  During 
active  life,  Mr.  Baldwin  was  one  of  the 
most  prominent  stock  raisers  of  the 
county,  as  was  also  his  father.  Mrs. 
Baldwin  died  Jan  25, 1885,  and  is  buried 
at  the  White  Hall  cemetery.  Mr.  Bald- 
win has  made  a  success  of  life,  and 
secured  for  himself  a  reputation  for  hon- 
esty and  fair  dealings,  of  which  his  fam- 
ily may  well  feel  proud. 

John  P.  Hunt,  a  prosperous  and 
highly  esteemed  citizen  of  this  county, 
is  a  native  of  Gilford,  Belknap  county, 
New  Hampshire,  born  Sept.  8,  1839,  his 
parents  being  Joseph  and  Martha 
(Dame)  Hunt.  He  received  his  educa- 
tion in  the  common  schools,  until  he 
was  13  years  of  age,  and  was  then  sent 
to  Gilford  Academy,  New  London,  a 
scientific  and  literary  institution,  from 
which  he  graduated  in  the  summer  of 
1857.  He  was  a  post-graduate  for  some 
months  thereafter.  In  the  fall  of  1857, 
having  made  up  his  mind  to  come  west, 
he  proceeded  to  Greene  county,  111., 
where  he  engaged  in  teaching,  at  what 
is  known  as  the  Maple  Grove  school. 
He  filled  that  position  with  satisfaction 
for  six  years,  at  the  expiration  of  which 
time  he  took  a  trip  to  California,  where 
he  was  employed  in  teaching  school 
and  in  mining,  at  different  places  on 
the  Pacific  coast.  In  1868  he  returned 
to  Illinois,  and  Aug.  13,  same  year,  was 
joined  in  marriage  with  Eveline  Bald- 
win, daughter  of  Judge  Benjamin  and 
Martha  (Varner)  Baldwin.  Mr.  Hunt 
moved  to  what  is  now  Roodhouse  town- 
ship and  there  engaged  in  farming,  at 


which  he  has  since  been  occupied.  He 
is  the  possessor  of  363  acres  of  land,  -I'1 
of  which  is  on  section  20,  263  on  section 
19,  and  60  in  White  Hall  township. 
He  has  a  fine  two-story  frame  house,  a 
commodious  barn,  and  everything  to 
make  home  pleasant  and  comfortable, 
all  of  which  show  his  industry  and 
prosperity.  He  is  not  only  engaged  at 
farming,  but  at  other  business  enter- 
prises. He  has  two  coal  mines,  one  lo- 
cated in  Roodhouse  township,  where  he 
employs  10  men,  and  the  other  in  White 
Hall  township,  which  turns  out  250 
bushels  per  da}',  five  men  being  there 
employed.  The  latter  is  leased  to  Geo. 
Newton,  and  the  former  to  Thomas 
Cotter  &  Son.  Mr.  Hunt  also  carries 
on  a  rendering  business,  which  is  man- 
aged by  Fabian  Toutant,  receiving  the 
dead  stock  from  the  C.  #  A.  R.  R.  Co. 
In  politics,  Mr.  Hunt  is  a  staunch  dem- 
crat. 

Edward  A.  Giller,  a  prominent  citizen 
of  this  county,  is  a  native  of  Manches- 
ter, England,  born  Sept.  11,  1821,  his 
parents  being  Thomas  and  Hannah 
( Bagley)  Giller,  natives  of  England. 
His  father  was  a  carriage  manufacturer, 
and  was  thus  engaged  until  his  death, 
which  occurred  in  his  native  country  in 
1839,  having  survived  his  wife  several 
years,  she  dying  in  1823.  Edward  was 
reared  in  Manchester,  and  there  learned 
the  trade  of  carriage  painter  in  his 
father's  manufactory,  besides  learning 
to  be  a  very  good  worker  in  wood  at  the 
same  business.  His  education  was  lim- 
ited to  a  knowledge  of  reading,  writing 
and  some  arithmetic.  At  the  age  of  20 
years,  he  left  England,  to  seek  a  home 
in  the  new  world,  being  accompanied 
by  his  cousin,  Robert  Frost.     They  set 


1080 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


sail  May    14,    1842,    on   the    Roscius,    a 

large  sailing  vessel,  bound  for  New 
York.  On  arriving  there  they  traveled 
west  as  far  as  St.  Louis,  and  then  came 
up  to  Greene  county.  Here  Edward 
was  employed  by  a  man  named  King, 
and  received  $5  per  month  for  his  ser- 
vices, having  to  do  his  own  washing  and 
mending.  He  continued  there  one  win- 
ter, when,  thinking  that  he  was  not 
receiving  enough  wages,  he  started  out 
to  hunt  another  place,  and  was  engaged 
by  F.  P.  Vedder,  doing  painting  in  con- 
nection with  farming.  He  thus  contin- 
ued to  work  around  until  the  spring  of 
1844,  when  he  and  his  cousin,  Robert 
Frost,  went  to  the  Galena  lead  mines, 
with  the  intention  of  getting  some 
wealth.  They  spent  one  summer  there, 
hut  not  meeting  with  much  success, 
returned  to  Greene  county,  and  for  the 
first  time  since  coming  to  this  country, 
he  and  his  cousin  parted,  he  going  south 
and  his  cousin  cast.  Edward  proceeded 
to  New  Orleans,  but  not  finding  employ- 
ment, returned  as  far  as  Natchez,  where 
lie  spent  the  winter,  taking  a  job  of  cut- 
ting cord-wood  at  75  cents  a  cord.  In 
the  spring  of  1845  he  returned  to  White 
Hall  and  resumed  his  trade  of  painting, 
ami  also  working  at  wagon  and  carriage 
making,  until  May,  1846,  when  the  Mex- 
ican war  having  broken  out,  he,  with 
ardent  patriotism,  enlisted  in  Co.  C,  1st 
111.  regiment,  and  was  elected  sergeant- 
major,  the  regiment  being  commanded 
by  the  gallant  John  J.  Hardin.  Maj. 
Ciller  participated  in  the  hardships  of 
the  voyage  down  the  Mississippi  to  New 
( Orleans,  thence  across  the  Gulf,  to  Camp 
Erwin,  Tex.,  continuing  the  march, 
on  Dec.  21,  the  troops  occupied  Agua 
Nueva,  having  completed  a  six    weeks' 


march  of  1,000  miles.  The  march  con- 
tinued until  the  battle  of  fiuena  Vista, 
in  which  severe  fight  Maj.  "Ciller  was 
engaged,  his  duties  calling  him  to  the 
the  side  of  Col.  Hardin.  From  there 
he  went  to  Camargo,  where  he  was  mus- 
tered out,  June  17,  1847,  when  he 
returned  to  White  Hall,  where,  March 
1,  1849,  Major  Giller  was  married  to 
Augusta  Ladd,  daughter  of  Timothy  and 
Deidamia  (Swallow)  Ladd.  He  bought 
120  acres  of  land  on  sections  5  and  6, 
where  he  settled  down,  building  a  little 
shop  in  which  he  worked  at  his  trade  at 
night,  and  improved  his  farm  by  day. 
This  shop  is  still  standing  on  the  old 
farm.  By  the  frugal  and  energetic 
efforts  of  the  major  and  his  wife,  they 
continued  adding  to  their  original  tract, 
from  time  to  time,  until  they  now  own 
two  of  the  finest  farms  in  the  county, 
comprising  985  acres  of  land,  in  a  good 
state  of  cultivation.  Major  and  Mrs. 
Giller  have  been  blessed  with  a  family 
of  11  children,  seven  of  whom  are  liv- 
ing— George  A.,  married  Emily  C.  Rob- 
ley,  resides  in  Missouri;  Charles  H., 
married  Hattie  Bonfoy,  and  resides  in 
Roodhouse  township;  Sophronia  J., 
wife  of  Jacob  Rickert,  residing  in  Kan- 
sas; William  M.,  now  attending  school 
at  Ann  Arbor,  Mich.;  Ella  A.,  Lora  B., 
and  Edward  A.,  at  home.  Those  deceased 
are  Marcus  R.,  Walter,  Emma,  an  infant 
and  Alice  M.  Major  Ciller  is  a  promi- 
nent and  enterprising  gentleman,  and 
enjoys  the  confidence  of  all.  He  and 
his  family  are  now  enjoying  a  home  of 
case  and  comfort,  the  fruits  of  their 
industry  and  perseverance.  He  has 
served  his  township  as  treasurer  a  great 
many  years,  and  is  a  representative 
member  of  the  grange   lodge. 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


1081 


David  Woolley,  one  of  the  earliest 
settlers  of  Greene  county,  is  a  native  of 
New  York.  Early  in  Feb.,  1822,  he 
started  from  his  home  east  of  the  Hud- 
son, with  a  span  of  horses  and  a  wagon, 
his  wife  and  three  children,  to  move  to 
the  great  west.  Coming  as  far  as  Olean, 
on  the  Allegheny  river,  he.  with  two 
other  families,  stopped,  ami  built  two 
flat-boats.  On  one  they  put  their  fami- 
lies and  better  class  of  goods,  while  on 
the  other,  they  freighted  their  teams, 
wagons,  and  other  goods.  The  two 
boats  having  been  lashed  together,  were 
set  adrift,  and  floated  down  the  Alle- 
gheny into  the  Ohio,  and  down  that 
river,  until  reaching  Shawneetown, 
where  they  landed,  the  latter  part  of 
March.  They  sold  their  boats  for  what 
they  could  get,  and  struck  out  into  the 
country.  The  principal  of  this  sketch 
went  as  far  north  as  Hamilton  county, 
where  he  stopped  and  remained  through 
the  summer  and  fall.  Not  liking  that 
part  of  the  country,  he  again  hitched 
up  his  team,  and  started  for  Morgan 
county,  and,  on  looking  around  for  a 
situation,  found  one  more  to  his  liking 
in  Greene  county,  where  he  settled,  in 
Dec.,  1822,  on  what  is  known  as  Apple 
Creek  Prairie.  There  he  remained  till 
March,  1826,  when  lie  moved  to  his  farm 
in  Bluffdale,  where  he  remained  until 
he  died,  in  18G0.  regretted  by  all  who 
knew  him.  In  common  with  other  en- 
terprising, early  settlers,  he  acquired  a 
reasonable  share  of  this  world's  goods, 
and  raised  a  family  of  nine  children,  all 
of  whom  occupy  respectable  positions 
in  the  communities  in  which  they  re- 
side. 

Benj.    Smith,    deceased,  was  born    in 
New  Haven,  Conn.,  Sept.  25,  1796,  and 


was  a  son  of  Benj.,  Sr.,  and  Sarah  (  Kim- 
berly)    Smith.     His    father  was   a    sea 

captain  and  was  lost  in  a  storm,  two 
weeks  before  our  subject's  birth,  and  a 
wharf  which  he  owned  on  the  coast  of 
New  Haven  was  destroyed  by  fire  soon 
afterwards.  Benj.,  Jr.,  came  to  Illinois 
in  1818,  locating  in  Madison  county, 
where  Alton  now  stands,  and  where  he 
helped  build  the  first  frame  house. 
Jan.  4,  1820,  he  married  Marilla  E. 
Bacon,  of  Madison  county.  In  1822  he 
moved  to  Greene  county  and  entered  80 
acres  of  land  near  White  Hall.  Here 
he  lived  until  his  death,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  the  years  '54  and  '56  spent  in 
California.  He  died  Aug.  7,  1879,  and 
was  buried  in  White  Hall  cemetery. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Smith  were  the  parents  of 
nine  children,  the  three  eldest  dying  in 
infancy.  Those  living  are — Sarah  A., 
Minerva,  Harvey  A.,  Theresa  0.,  Ange- 
line  M.  and  Ira  B.  Mrs.  Smith  was 
born  in  Massachusetts,  March  17,  1799, 
her  parents  being  Joel  and  Polly 
(Wheaton)  Bacon,  natives  of  Massachu- 
setts and  Connecticut.  They  moved  to 
Ohio  in  1803,  and,  in  1818,  to  Madison 
county,  111.  After  Mr.  Smith's  death 
she  staid  one  year  at  the  homestead, 
then  moved  to  White  Hall,  where  she 
lived  two  years,  and  then  moved  to 
Iowa.  In  1884,  she  moved  to  Kansas 
City,  and  is  now  residing  there  with 
her  daughter.  She  sent  what  is  now 
called  "the  Edmunds  polygamy  bill" 
to  Senator  Logan,  who  presented  it  to 
congress. 

CEMETERIES. 

In  1835,  Joshua  Jones  laid  out  a 
burial  ground  on  about  an  acre  and  a 
half,  on  his  farm,  which  is  now  known 
as    .1  ones'  cemetery,  which  he   donated 


1082 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


to  the  public  for  their  use  and  benefit. 
The  first  interment  was  that  of  Eliza- 
beth .bmes,  who  was  buried  the  same 
year  of  the  laying  out  of  the  cemetery. 
There  are  over  '200  bodies  now  at  rest 
in  this  "God's  acre." 

North  cemetery  was  opened  as  a  pri- 
vate burial  place,  but  was  afterward 
thrown  open  to  the  public.  The  ground 
was  given  by  Asahel  North,  whose  child 
was  the  first  to  be  buried  there. 

Rodgers'  cemetery  consists  of  one  acre 
of  ground,  donated  by  W.  H.  Rodgers. 

NEW  PROVIDENCE. 

This  village,  better  known  to  the  res- 
idents of  the  county  as  Belltown,  was 
laid  out  in  1866,  the  plat  of  the  same 
being  filed  for  record  on  the  20th  of 
Feb.,  of  that  year,  by  John  Bell,  F.  M. 
Bell  and  Jesse  S.  Allen.  Prior  to  the 
inception  of  the  town,  however,  these 
parties  resided  here  as  is  noticed  else- 
where. About  the  earliest  attempt  at 
any  business  at  this  point  was  a  store 
started  by  a  man  by  the  name  of  King, 
who  kept  a  few   groceries. 

Shortly  after  this  T.  L.  Miller  opened 
a  store  for  the  sale  of  general  merchan- 
dise, who  was  followed  shortly  after  by 
B.  F.  Baldwin.  The  latter  carried  a 
good  stock  and  did  a  large  trade.  He 
removed  to  White  Hall  at  a  later  day. 

The  village  of  New  Providence  lies 
upon  the  southwest  quarter  of  Sec. 
23,  of  T.  11,  R,  12,  and  contains  about 
100  inhabitants.  At  one  time  this  was 
quite  an  ambitious  little  village,  but  on 
the  railroad  passing  it  by,  and  the  foun- 
dation tbi  the  town  of  Berdan,  its  hopes 
departed. 

One  of  the  first  mills  in  the  county  was 
built  in  1820,   at  this  place  by  Thomas 


and  Samuel  Allen.  In  those  days,  all 
felt  the  inconvenience  of  going  nearly  to 
St.  Louis  to  have  their  grain  ground, 
and  the  idea  of  having  a  mill  in  their 
midst  pleased  everybody,  so  when  Mr. 
Allen  asked  for  help,  they  gladly  hast- 
ened to  his  assistance,  remaining  faith- 
fully until  the  whole  thing  was  com- 
pleted. But  no  sooner  had  it  com- 
menced work,  than  a  freshet  in  the 
stream  washed  away  the  abutment,  and 
left  the  mill  without  any  water.  The 
settlers  gathered  again,  filling  the  crev- 
asse with  logs,  stone,  brush,  straw, 
clay,  sand,  in  fact  any  and  everything 
that  was  at  hand,  effectually  closing  the 
breech.  Soon  after,  another  flood  in 
the  stream  made  an  excavation  under 
the  building  to  the  depth  of  about  20 
feet,  and  the  mill  was  again  silenced. 
But  willing  hands  once  more  were  in 
attendance,  and  soon  the  hole  was  filled 
up,  and  the  danger  of  its  recurring  was 
guarded  against.  The  mill  now  com- 
menced an  active  life,  and  was  a  great 
convenience  to  the  people  of  this  section 
of  this  state.  It  is  to  the  honor  of  Mr. 
Allen,  that,  remembering  the  timely 
assistance  of  his  neighbors  in  time  of 
need,  he  ground  their  grain  for  years 
without  any  charge.  There  was  a  saw- 
mill run  in  connection  with  the  mill. 
This  mill  they  ran  for  many  years, 
when  they  tore  it  down,  and  built  an- 
other, which  they  ran  three  or  four 
years,  when  they  sold  it  to  F.  M.  Bell 
&  Bro. 

About  the  year  1857,  the  old  mill  hav- 
ing long  outlived  its  usefulness,  Fran- 
cis M.  and  John  Bell  and  Arthur  Davis 
tore  it  down,  and  built  what  is  known 
as  the  new  mill,  which  they  ran  for  sev- 
eral years,   when  it  was  purchased   by 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


1083 


.1. —  Allen.  In  1869,  Henry  Tunison 
became  a  half  owner  with  Mr.  Bell, 
forming  the  firm  of  Bell  &  Tunison,  who 
ran  it  for  four  years.  F.  M.  Bell  &  Son 
were  the  next  proprietors,  operating  it 
for  three  or  four  years,  when  it  was  sold 
to  Peter  Roodhouse,  who  was  followed 
by  Thomas  Johnson  in  1876,  who  oper- 
ated it  for  three  or  four  years.  It  next 
passed  into  the  hands  of  the  present 
proprietors,  Roodhouse  &  Strang,  in 
1SS2. 

When  this  mill  was  first  built,  by  the 
Bell  Bros.,  it  cost  about  $10,000.  It  was 
run  by  water  power  for  a  time,  but  they 
finally  purchased  an  engine,  at  a  cost  of 
about  83,000.  It  is  three  stories  in 
height,  well  constructed,  is  equipped 
with  three  run  of  buhrs,  ami  all  the 
necessary  machinery. 

REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS. 

J.  D.  Pinkerton  was  horn  in  Greene 
county,  111.,  Jan.  28.  1S47,  and  is  a  son 
of  John  F.  F.  and  Margaret  E.  (Mc- 
Donald)  Pinkerton,  his  father  a  native 
of  Tennessee,  his  mother  of  Kentucky. 
His  father  came  to  Greene  county  at  an 
early  day.  and  located  near  Berdan, 
where  he  lived  several  years,  and  then 
moved  to  New  Providence,  where  he  has 
since  resided.  J.  I),  was  brought  up 
on  a  farm  where  he  has  spent  most  of 
his  life.  In  1881  he  commenced  engi- 
neering, running  the  engine  of  the  flour- 
ing mill  nf  Thomas  Johnson,  fur  some 
time,  in  New  Providence.  He  has  for 
the  last  two  years  turned  his  attention 
tu  farming,  and  is  now  thus  engagi  d. 
He  cultivates  about  ,><>  acres  of  land  and 
owns  11  lots,  in  partnership  with  his 
brother,  Wiley  B.,  in  the  village  where 
he  resides.     He  was  united  in  marriage, 


Nov.  23,  1884,  with  Sarah  1.  (Crump  l 
Lynn,  daughter  of  Eli  Crump.  She  has 
a  family  of  four  children  by  her  first 
husband — Etta.  Ada,  Harry  and  Myrtle. 
Mr.  Pinkerton  is  an  intelligent,  indus- 
trious citizen,  and  well  respected  in  this 
community. 

Ahirah  and  Rosanna  (Hall)  Clifford, 
are  natives  of  North  Carolina.  Ahirah 
was  born  July  15,lSll,andRosanna  Aug. 
12,  1816.  They  remained  in  their  na- 
tive state  until  the  spring  of  1866, 
when  they  removed  to  Cannon  county, 
Tenn..  where  they  lived  until  the  tall 
of  1868.  From  there  they  removed  to 
Caldwell  county,  Ky.,  only  remaining 
therr  a  short  time,  when  in  1869  they 
came  with  their  family  to  Greene  county, 
111.,  locating  near  Wilmington,  where 
they  lived  about  three  years.  Their 
next  move  was  to  Crawford  county, 
Kan.,  where  they  staid  three  years, 
then  moved  to  Montgomery  county  in 
the  same  state,  remaining  there  six 
months,  and  then  returned  to  Illinois, 
locating  in  Jersey  county,  where  they 
bought  a  small  tract  of  land,  and  farmed 
there  until  1882,  when  they  moved  to 
New  Providence,  bought  property  there 
ami  have  since  made  it  their  home.  He 
was  married  Feb.  5,  1835,  to  Rosanna 
Hall,  daughter  of  Moses  and  Lydia 
(Hunter)  Hall.  By  this  union  there 
were  eight  children,  seven  of  whom  are 
living — Lydia  S.,  wife  of  John  Henklc, 
living  in  Kansas;  Samantha  M.,  wife  of 
Zadoc  L.  Gaither,  residing  in  Jersey 
county:  John  11.  married  Mary  Hayes, 
resides  in  New  Providence:  Rachel 
Emcline,  wife  of  Milton  Williams,  re- 
sides in  Jersey  county;  William  M.. 
married  Susan  <  >gle,  and  resides  in  New 
Providence;   James  W.  and  Joseph  G., 


■  ■  -  -    I-  ■  ■  — 


IDS  I 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


remaining  at  home  with  their  parents; 
Elizabeth  J.,  departed  this  life  April 
24,  1845.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Clifford  are 
members  of  the  United  Baptist  church, 
together  with  their  entire  family  of  chil- 
dren, and  also  some  of  their  grand- 
children. 

John  H.  Clifford,  son  of  Ahirah  and 
Rosanna  Clifford,  was  born  in  Davie 
county,  N.  C,  Dec.  16,  1839,  and  was 
brought  up  to  a  farm  life  with  his  par- 
ents, until  the  commencement  of  the 
war,  when  he  enlisted  as  a  musician 
under  Capt.  W.  A.  Clement,  Co.  F, 
42d  North  Carolina  regiment,  eastern 
division  of  the  Confederate  army,  under 
Gen.  Lee.  He  was  wounded  in  the  left 
arm  at  Murry  Hill,  N.  C,  in  February, 
1863.  He  was  afterwards  on  post  duty 
in  Salisbury,  N.  C,  until  the  close  of 
the  war.  In  1866  Mr.  Clifford  moved 
with  his  family  to  Cannon  county, 
Tenn.,  and  engaged  in  the  milling  busi- 
ness at  Woodbury.  He  married  Mary 
M.  Hays,  daughter  of  Sampson  Hays, 
Sept.  12,  1867,  remaining  in  Tennessee 
until  1872,  when  the  family  moved  to 
Caldwell  county,  Ky.,  and  there  en- 
gaged in  the  milling  business,  near 
Princeton,  where  he  resided  until  April, 
1880,  when  he  moved  to  New  Provi- 
dence, Greene  county,  111.,  where  he 
has  ever  since,  been  engaged  in  the  mill- 
ing business.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Clifford 
are  the  parents  of  seven  children — 
Fannie  B.,  married  D.  E.  Gaither,  re- 
siding in  New  Providence;  Addie, 
Robert  James,  Ada,  Suda  and  Lula. 
Mr.  Clifford  is  a  member  of  the  Masonic 
fraternity,  being  made  a  mason  in 
Princeton,  Ky.,  lodge  No.  82,  and  is 
now  a  member  of  White  Hall  lodge  No. 
80.     Himself  and   wife    and  two   oldest 


daughters,  are  also  members  of  the 
United  Baptist  church  at  New  Provi- 
dence, Greene  county,  111. 

WHITE  HALL. 

One  of  the  most  flourishing  and  enter- 
prising towns  in  this  section  of  the 
state,  is  White  Hall.  It  is  located  upon 
the  south  part  of  Sec.  35,  T.  12,  R.  12, 
and  upon  Sec.  2,  T.  11,  R.  12,  and  cov- 
ers more  than  half  a  section.  It  was 
originally  laid  out  by  David  Barrow, 
upon  the  southeast  quarter  of  section 
35,  on  the  12th  of  Jan.,  1832,  and  the 
plat  filed  for  record,  March  9,  1832.  It 
was  surveyed  and  platted  by  Jeremiah 
Smith,  who  was,  at  the  time,  deputy 
county  surveyor,  and  originally  con- 
tained 48  lots  and  four  streets,  called, 
respectively,  East,  West,  Main  and 
Church  streets.  There  have  since  been 
added  several  additions,  chief  among 
which  are  those  laid  out  by  Linus  E. 
Worcester,  first  in  1860,  and  the  second, 
in  1863;  I.  D.  Vedder,  in  1864;  Bates, 
in  1873;  A.  F.  Yedder,  in  1873,  and  the 
three  additions  of  Ayres',  two  of  Davis' 
and  Carr's,  and  one  each  of  Culver, 
Milne,  Israel,  Drummond,  and  Potts. 

James  M.  Allen,  as  has  been  already 
mentioned,  was  the  first  settler  upon  the 
site  of  the  city  of  White  Hall,  locating 
here  in  1820,  and  erecting  a  log  cabin, 
where  he  lived  for  some  12  years.  When 
Mr!  Barrow  laid  out  the  town  in  1832, 
Mr.  Allen  removed  to  a  farm  on  Loft- 
on's prairie.  James  Allen  kept  a  tavern 
at  his  place,  the  only  place  of  the  kind 
between  Jacksonville  and  Carrollton. 

In  1830,  Beverly  Holliday  made  a 
settlement  on  the  site  of  the  town.  He 
was  afterward  the  first  postmaster  of 
the    town,  and  the  stoiy  goes  that   he, 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


1085 


like  nearly  all  of  the  pioneer  postmas- 
ters, carried  the  office  in  his  hat,  and 
when  accosted  and  asked  for  a  letter,  he 
would  take  it  off,  and,  searching  around 
in  its  depths,  fish  out  the  missive  and 
hand  it  to  the  recipient,  and  walk  off 
with  the  balance  of  the  office  on  his 
head.  He  also  had  a  carding  machine, 
which  was  the  only  one  ever  in  the 
place. 

Widow  Holliday  was  the  other  inhab- 
itant on  the  town  site,  in  1S30.  She 
came  here  from  Virginia  and  occupied  a 
small  log  cabin.     She  had  five  sons. 

In  1830,  David  Barrow  built  a  brick 
residence  here,  owning  considerable 
land  in  this  neighborhood. 

Next  came  Elijah  Lot.  who  built  a 
cabin,  in  1831,  just  north  of  where  the 
Baptist  church  now  stands.  He  was  af- 
terward the  second  postmaster  in  the 
town,  and  was  quite  an  important  man 
in  the  settlement. 

In  1832,  Mr.  Barrow  determined  to 
lay  out  the  town,  and  on  doing  so,  peo- 
ple began  slowly  to  settle  in  the  place, 
and  it  began  to  assume  the  appearance 
of  a  village. 

About  this  time  David  Hodge,  who 
had  been  keeping  a  small  store  on  Apple 
Creek  Prairie,  two  miles  west,  moved 
into  town  with  his  stock,  and  opened 
the  first  store  in  the  town.  He  moved 
building  and  all,  and  took  his  sons  into 
partnership,  the  firm  name  and  style 
being  Hodge  &  Sons.  The  store  was  a 
small  frame  building,  and  the  stock  but 
scant,  but  contained  a  fair  assortment  of 
most  everything  necessary  in  the  new 
settlement.  Mr.  Hodge  was  a  progres- 
sive business  man,  and  quite  public- 
spirited  and  enterprising. 

Joshua  Simonds  was  the  next  repre- 


sentative of  the  business  of  the  rising 
village,  who  opened  a  general  store. 

About  1833,  Beverly  Holliday  erected 
a  carding  mill,  which,  at  first,  ran  with 
foot  power,  but  into  which  steam  power 
was  afterward  introduced. 

Jarboe  &  Hodge  were  the  next  mer- 
chants to  locate  in  White  Hall.  They 
rented  the  first  commodious  store  room 
ever  built  in  the  town.  This  firm  car- 
ried on  business  for  some  years,  but 
hard  times  setting  in,  consequent  upon 
the  panic  of  1887,  they  were  forced  to 
the  wall  and  failed. 

Nathan  Kendall,  who  owned  a  saw 
and  grist  mill  several  miles  east  of  the 
town,  about  this  time  built  the  first 
dwelling  in  the  village,  which  bad  any 
pretentions  to  elegance  and  comfort. 

In  1834,  Dr.  William  Holliday  came 
to  the  town  of  White  Hall  and  hung 
out  bis  shingle  as  a  physician,  the  first 
in  the  embryo  metropolis.  The  next 
was  Dr.  S.  H.  Culver,  who  had  moved 
to  this  vicinity  in  1831,  but  did  not 
begin  practice  here  until  1835  or  6. 

In  1835,  Samuel  Higbee,  a  Kentuck- 
ian,  opened  a  wngon  shop,  and  shortly 
after  entered  into  a  partnership  with 
William  Carr,  a  blacksmith,  who  at- 
tended to  the  iron  work  of  the  wagons, 
carried  on  the  business  of  manufactur- 
ing those  necessary  articles. 

Vincent  Higbee  came  from  Kentucky, 
in  1837,  where  he  had  been  engaged  in 
the  trade  of  a  blacksmith,  and  opened 
a  hotel.  This  business  he  continued 
some  years. 

Calvin  Hagar  was  the  next  merchant 
of  the  place,  coming  from  the  granite 
hills  of  his  native  Vermont,  in  1835, 
and  opening  up  a  small  general  stock, 
in   a   small    building  just  north   of  the 


1086 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


place  occupied  by  the  old  Baptist 
church.  Asbury  Davis,  afterward  prom- 
inently identified  with  the  business  life 
of  the  town,  and  one  of  its  influential 
merchants  was  a  clerk  in  the  store  of 
Mr.  Hagar.  The  latter  gentleman  car- 
ried on  business  here  for  some  years, 
when  he  died,  and  was  succeeded  by  his 
son-in-law,  Mr.  Davis,  who  soon  built 
up  a  good  business. 

In  the  year  1835,  the  first  pottery 
was  made  in  White  Hall,  as  detailed 
further  on,  by  Michael  Baker.  This  is 
now  one  of  the  leading  industries  of  the 
town,  and  of  Greene  county. 

In  1835,  Joseph  Akins  and  Blackwell 
Holliday  were  added  to  the  list  of  mer- 
chants, as  were  Hoaglan  &  Goodcup,  in 
1836.  The  following  year  the  latter 
firm  became  Ayres  &  Hoaglan. 

In  1836  Chester  .Swallow  was  a  promi- 
nent merchant,  who  had  come  here  from 
Vermont,  and  in  his  store,  acting  as 
clerk  was  Linus  E.  Worcester,  since  one 
of  Greene  county's  most  prominent  men. 

About  this  time  Aaron  Reno  settled 
in  White  Hall,  engaging  in  mercantile 
business,  in  the  dry  goods  line,  on  Main 
street,  which  was  afterwards  destroyed 
by  fire.  Mr.  Reno  was  one  of  the  lead- 
ing merchants  of  the  town  for  many 
years;  was  a  man  of  excellent  judge- 
ment, and  quite  popular. 

Ahout  this  time,  also,  came  Josiah 
Lamborn,  the  pioneer  attorney  of  the 
place.     He  came  from  Jacksonville. 

About  the  year  1840,  Henry  Fitch  had 
a  small  store  in  this  town.  He  after- 
wards sold  out  to  Dr.  Drish.  He  is 
now  a  resident  of  San  Francisco,  Cal., 
quite  a  wealthy  man.  He  was  one  of 
the  projectors  and  stockholders  in  the 
U.  P.  railroad. 


Goodcup  &  Mallard  were,  also,  mer- 
chants about  this  time.  A  man  by  the 
name  of  Hall  opened  a  harness  shop 
near  where  the  Masonic  hall  is  now  lo- 
cated, about  the  same  time,  where  lie 
carried  on  business  for  several  years. 

By  the  census  of  the  general  govern- 
men,  taken  in  1840,  the  town  contained 
between  3  and  400  inhabitants,  and 
about  50  houses,  mostly  frame.  At  that 
time,  Ross  B.  Hughes  was  running  the 
house  so  well  known  as  the  White  Hall 
house,  since  and  still  run  by  Mrs.  Mary 
Amos. 

From  this  time  on  the  town  increased 
rapidly,  until  it  is  now  one  of  the  most 
enterprising,  go-ahead,  flourishing  com- 
munities in  this  section  of  country.  A 
history  of  the  mills,  potteries,  business 
houses,  churches  and  other  institutions 
is  given  elsewhere,  so  that  a  repetition 
would  be  needless,  suffice  it  to  say  that 
in  1880,  the  town  had  a  population  of 
2,147  people,  and  more  business  places 
than  any  town,  in  proportion  to  inhabi- 
tants, in  any  other  place.  It  has 
now  several  church  organizations,  two 
weekly  and  one  daily  paper,  a  number 
of  potteries,  mills,  and  all  the  other 
concomitants  of  a  thriving  town. 

PRESENT    ASPECT  OF  THE  CITY. 

A  short  review  of  the  present  busi- 
ness and  other  interests  of  White  Hall, 
will  hetter  show  the  development  of 
this  enterprising  town  from  an  almost 
insignificant  village  of  log  and  frame 
shanties  to  its  present  solidly  built 
form,  than  columns  of  grandiloquent 
encomiums. 

POTTERIES    AND    TILE    WoKks. 

The  most  important  business  inter- 
ests of  White  Hall  centers  in  the  vari- 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


1087 


one  institutions  manufacturing  drain 
tile,  fire  brick,  sewer  pipe,  terra  cotta 
ware,  pottery,  and  various  other  forms 
of  clay.  Of  this  industry,  the  Republi- 
can, in  its  issue  of  Jan.  4,  1879,  says: 

"  Their  proximity  to  two  great  rail- 
road lines  crossing  each  other  at  White 
Hall,  and  their  superiority  to  all 
others  known  in  this  country  or  in  Eu- 
rope, as  shown  by  analysis  of  chemists, 
and  render  the  tire  clay  deposits  of  this 
neighborhood  a  source  of  wealth,  the 
extent  of  which  is  limited  only  by  man- 
ufacturing facilities.  The  deposit  near- 
est to  town  is  owned  by  Chapin  Bros., 
and  is  located  three-fourths  id'  a  mile 
east  of  the  corporation  line.  Other 
deposits  belong  to  A.  I).  Ruckel,  Cul- 
berson &  Smith,  Felix  Brown,  and  to 
the  White  Hall  Fire  Clay  Works,  who 
own  an  extensive  and  exceedingly  valu- 
able tract  of  clay  and  coal  land.  M.  C. 
Purdy  owned  the  first  clay  hank  ever 
opened  here.  White  Hall  is  rapidly 
taking  the  lead  in  the  manufacture  of 
stoneware,  drain  tile,  sewer  pipe,  fire 
brick  and  terra  cotta  ware,  and  these  in- 
dustries must  continue  to  grow  and  pros- 
per. No  other  place  in  the  Union  can 
compete  with  the  quality  of  the  clay 
found  here." 

The  following  article  is  clipped  from 
the  Republican,  under  date  of  Jan.  7, 
1882: 

"From  the  veteran  potter,  J.  N.  Ebey, 
we  learn  some  hitherto  unpublished 
facts,  relatingto  the  early  history  of  the 
pottery  business  in  the  vicinity  of  White 
Hall.  He  writes  substantially  as  fol- 
lows: In  the  fall  of  1827,  I  first  passed 
over  the  ground  where  White  Hall  now 
stands.  I  was  then  manufacturing  earth- 
enware in   Sangamon  county.     Michael 


Baker,  formerly  and  since  a  citizen  of 
White  Hall,  who  was  working  for  me 
and  learning  to  turn  ware,  informed  me 
that  there  was  fine  white  clay  in  that 
vicinity.  I  loaded  an  ox  wagon  with 
ware. drove  over  tin1  beautiful, but  unim- 
proved intervening  prairies  to  Kinkead's 
Point,  some  10  miles  east  of  Carrollton. 
1  sold  the  ware  to  A.  M.  Kennett,  father 
of  Mortimer  Kennett,  since  mayor  of 
St.  Louis.  Thence  I  went  to  the  little 
pottery  run  by  William  Heath,  father 
of  N.  I'.  Heath,  since  deceased,  on  the 
land  now  owned  by  Nancy  Evans,  smith 
oi'  S.  M.  Henderson's  present  residence. 
Heath  built  the  first  kiln,  and  made  the 
first  ware  ever  manufactured  in  Greene 
county.  The  second  kiln  was  built  west 
of  Simeon  Rus>'  present  residence. 

Heath  was  using  what  was  known  as 
the  Ross  clay.  I  took  a  part  of  a  load 
of  the  clay  home  with  me  for  painting 
purposes  on  common  pottery.  In  1832, 
while  yet  in  Springfield,  I  became  very 
anxious  to  manufacture  stoneware.  I 
tested  all  the  clay  in  the  vicinity,  with 
a  proportion  of  the  Greene  county  clay, 
and  all  except  the  latter  was  a  failure. 
That  proved  so  encouraging,  that  in 
1833,  I  went  to  the  little  village  of  White 
Hall,  got  the  numbers  of  the  clay  land, 
and  went  to  Edwardsville  and  entered 
it,  and  in  April  moved  into  the  front 
room  of  a  little  house  near  where  the 
oldM.  E.  church  stands.  Dr.  William 
Holliday  occupied  the  front  room.  I 
bought  an  old  log  cabin,  moved  it  to  the 
lot  now  owned  by  Dr.  Chapman,  and 
there  turned  the  first  stoneware  made 
in  Greene  county.  I  had  no  kiln,  but 
I  hauled  the  green  ware  to  Edward 
Heath's  redware  kiln,  then  used  by 
Michael  Baker,  and  there   burned  the 


loss 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


first  stoneware  ever  burned  in  the  county. 
It  was  a  very  good,  common  article.  I 
sold  part  of  it  to  Joshua  Simonds,  who 
sold  dry  goods  in  a  small  tenant  house, 
mar  the  present  site  of  the  postoflice. 
From  this  time  until  1864,  a  period  of 
31  years,  but  little  was  done  in  the  way 
of  manufacturing  stoneware,  and  from 
that  date  the  history  of  the  business  is 
familiar  to  the  people  of  White  Hall, 
and  the  state  at  large." 

In  1865  the  subject  of  drain  tile  was 
agitated,  and  David  Culbertson  think- 
ing that  it  could  be  made  a  success 
from  the  excellent  fire  clay  in  this 
vicinity  put  in  a  small  machine  for  the 
manufacture  of  tile,  in  the  pottery  of 
A.  Pierce,  during  the  winter  of  that 
year.  At  that  time  the  capacity  of  the 
institution  would  average  about  500  tile 
per  day, the  machine  being  run  by  hand. 
When  the  enterprise  was  established, 
or  machinery  for  the  same  arrived,  a 
partnership  was  formed  with  A.  Pierce, 
which  existed  for  five  years.  At  that 
time,  in  the  spring  of  1870,  Mr.  Cul- 
bertson, retired  from  the  present  suc- 
cessful tile  works  of  Culbertson,  Smith 
&  Co.  At  that  time  he  purchased  the 
present  site,  then  covered  with  corn, 
and  began  the  erection  of  a  frame  struc- 
ture or  shed,  18x100  feet  in  size,  put- 
ting in  a  machine  operated  by  horse 
power,  and  which  had  a  capacity  of 
about  4,000  tile  per  day.  It  was  gener- 
ally conceded  that  Mr.  Culbertson  had 
gone  too  far,  and  that  it  would  be  im- 
possible for  him  to  make  it  pay  on  such 
a  large  scale,  as  drainage  was  not  con- 
sidered a  success,  anyway.  Conse- 
quently, he  was  subjected  to  considera- 
ble ridicule.  But  the  success  which  has 
crowned  those  first  efforts  is    abundant 


evidence  to  the  contrary.  He  operated 
the  business  on  this  scale  until  1876. 
The  year  previous,  Thomas  A.  Smith 
became  a  partner  in  the  concern,  and  in 
1876,  a  brick  structure,  20x40  feet  in 
size,  and  a  30-horse  power  engine  was 
added,  besides  new  machinery  through- 
out, at  an  additional  expense  of  $3,500, 
which  increased  the  capacity  to  about 
7,000.  In  Jan.,  1882.  the  firm  became 
Culbertson,  Smith  &  Co.,  John  Arm- 
strong entering  the  firm.  During  that 
summer  was  erected  the  present  large 
main  building,  which  is  a  two-story 
brick,  40x100  feet  in  dimensions,  in 
addition  to  a  one-story  structure,  which 
is  40x75  feet  in  size.  These  additional 
improvements  of  1882  amounted  to 
Sl(i,()()(),  including  $2,000  worth  of  new 
machinery  added.  The  works  now  have 
a  capacity  of  2,000,000  per  year.  It  has 
grown  from  a  diminutive  concern  to  its 
present  dimensions  during  the  past  20 
years,  thus  demonstrating  what  can  be 
accomplished  by  pluck,  energy  and  en- 
terprise, such  as  its  founder  and  present 
owners  possess.  The  institution  is  now 
valued  at  $30,000. 

Augustus  Pierce  &  Co.'s  pottery  is  lo- 
cated in  the  northeastern  part  of  the 
town.  This  was  established  in  1864, 
and  is  the  oldest  one  in  the  county.  Mr. 
Pierce  learned  the  trade  of  potter,  at 
Akron,  O.,  and  afterward  came  west.  In 
1863,  while  working  on  a  farm  near 
White  Hall,  then  a  mere  hamlet,  he 
procured  a  strong  bag,  went  prospect- 
ing in  the  clay  fields,  and  selecting  a 
bagful  of  the  best,  and  carried  it  to 
Winchester.  B.  G.  Culver,  engaged  in 
the  dry  goods  business,  became  inter- 
ested in  the  enterprise,  put  up  the  nec- 
cessary  funds,  and  the  first  pottery  in 


White  Hall  was  established,  just  east  of 
the  place  where  the  C,  B.  &  Q.  depot 
now  stands,  and  near  the  site  of  the 
works  now  owned  by  the  firm  of  which 
he  is  the  senior  member.  From  this 
humble  beginning  has  sprung  the  fine 
works  now  operated.  The  main  build- 
ing is  24x90  feet  in  size,  with  an  L 
24x60,  all  well  and  substantially  built. 
It  has  a  capacity  of  turning  out  some 
40,000  gallons  of  ware  per  month,  all  of 
the  finest  description.  Mr.  Pierce 
operated  this  pottery  for  some  four 
years,  in  company  with  Mr.  Culver, 
when  David  Culbertson  became  a  part- 
ner. The  latter  was  succeeded  by  F.  I. 
Vedder.  In  1881,  Isaac  Powell  became 
tlic  junior  of  this  firm. 

Hill  and  Prindle  are  the  present  rep- 
resentatives of  the  old  pottery,  insti- 
tuted in  White  Hall,  in  the  fall  or  win- 
ter of  1864,  by  that  pioneer  of  the  pot- 
teries of  this  section  of  the  state,  J.  N. 
Ebey.  At  the  time  he  was  running  it, 
it  was  but  a  small  affair.  He  continued 
at  this  some  five  years,  when  he  dis- 
posed of  it  to  Hubbs,  Moore  &  Boone, 
who  ran  it  about  a  year,  wdien  W.  W. 
Hubbs  became  sole  proprietor.  In  1873, 
George  Hill  succeeded  Mr.  Hubbs,  oper- 
ating the  same  until  1879,  when  L.  T. 
Prindle  purchased  a  half  interest  in  the 
concern.  On  the  formation  of  this  part- 
nership, they  increased  the  number  of 
kilns  to  three,  and  added  steam,  for  dry- 
ing the  ware  and  crushing  the  clay. 
This  firm  was  the  first  to  make  pans  by 
steam,  and  is  the  only  one  at  present. 
They  have  increased  the  original  capac- 
ity of  the  works  from  25,000  to  500,000, 
per  year.  This  is  considered  the  larg- 
est pottery  here.  Their  ware  has  a  sale 
as  far  south  as  San  Antonio,  Tex.,   and 


west,  as  far  as  Los  Angelos,  Cal., 
besides  extending  a  proportionate  dis- 
tance north.  They  use  25,000  bushels 
of  coal,  and400  cords  of  wood,  annually, 
and  1,600  tons  of  potter's  clay.  During 
(he  year  1885,  they  started  a  store  in 
connection  with  their  business,  for  the 
sale  of  their  ware.  They  have  invested 
a  capital  of  about  $15,000,  and  do  an 
annual  business  of  about  $30,000.  They 
give  employment  to  between  40  and  50 
men  and  boys,  in  the  various  branches 
of  their  business. 

Lyman  T.  Prindle  is  a  partner  of  Geo. 
Hill,  in  the  pottery  of  Hill  &  Prindle, 
White  Hall.  He  was  born  in  Virden, 
111.,  on  Feb.  11,  1858,  and  is  a  son  of 
Remsen  M.  and  Cynthia  J.  (Twitchell) 
Prindle,  natives  of  Vermont.  His 
father  was  an  architect  and  builder.  He 
died  in  1863,  in  Waitsfield,  Vt.  His 
widow  now  lives  in  Prattsburgh,  N.  Y., 
and  is  now  the  wife  of  S.  M.  Ostrandcr. 
Lyman  T.  was  educated  in  the  high 
school  of  Bloomington,  and  at  the  Nor- 
mal University.  He  began  life  as  a 
teacher,  and  followed  that  profession 
three  years.  He  then  commenced  deal- 
ing in  stoneware,  which  he  followedjfor  3 
years.  In  1880  he  entered  into  a  part- 
nership with  Mr.  George  Hill  in  the 
manufacture  of  stoneware  in  this  city, 
in  which  he  is  still  engaged.  In  1881  he 
was  married  to  Susan  E.,  daughter  of 
George  and  Sarah  (Rix)  Hill.  She  was 
born  at  Gloverville,  N.  Y.,  Sept.  1859. 
Her  parents  were  natives  of  England, 
but  removed  to  this  country  before  mar- 
riage. Mr.  and  Mrs.  Prindle  are  the 
parents  of  three  children — Remsen  G., 
born  Feb.  17,  1882;  Frank  E.,born  Dec. 
8,  1883,  and  Lyman  W.,  born  Oct.  in. 
1885.     Mrs.  Prindle  is  a  member  of  the 


1090 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


M.  E.  church.  Mr.  Prindle  belongs  to 
White  Hall  lodge,  No.  80,  A.  F.  &  A.  M„ 
Bnd  has  been  one  of  its  officers  for 
years.  Mr.  Prindle  has  a  brother,  E. 
M.,  living  in  Greenfield,  Kan.,  in  the 
stock  business.  The  family  name  was 
formerly  spelled  Pringle,  and  is  a  Scotch 
name.  His  ancestors  came  to  this 
country  from  Scotland  and  England  in 
the  17th  century. 

A.  King  is  operating  the  most  north- 
ern pottery  in  the  town.  It  was  estab- 
lished in  1S70,  by  John  King,  who  ran 
it  for  about  nine  years,  when  he  dis- 
posed of  it,  but  in  a  short  time  had  to 
foreclose  the  mortgage  and  bid  it  in. 
The  property  is  valued  at  about  $2,000 
and  lias  a  capacity  of  turning  out  about 
15,000  gallons  of  ware.  Owing  to  the 
depression  of  the  times  at  this  writing, 
these  works  are  doing  but  a  minimum 
business,  but  in  the  bright  future  that 
awaits  all  that  have  learned  "to  labor 
and  to  wait,"  they  no  doubt  will  reap  a 
rich  harvest,  for  the  merits  of  White 
Hall  ware  needs  no  praise. 

The  pottery  of  P.  J.  McGowan  was 
established  in  1880  by  the  present  pro- 
prietor, in  company  with  T.  O'Gorman 
and  M.  Golula,  but  this  partnership  did 
not  last  long,  since  which  time  Mr. 
McGowan  has  operated  alone.  He  now 
has  about  three  acres  of  land  in  the 
city,  connected  with  the  works.  The 
building  he  occupies  is  60x30  feet  in 
size,  with  an  L  30x50.  The  entire  plant 
is  valued  at  about  $3,000.  He  employs 
about  15  hands.  The  works  have  a  ca- 
pacity of  turning  out  16,000  gallons  of 
stoneware,  and  about  $500  per  month  of 
terra  cotta  ware. 

P.  J.  McGowan  was  born  in  the  city 
of  New  York,.  March   12,  1855,  and  is  a 


son  of  Charles  and  Mary  (Murphy) 
McGowan,  natives  of  Ireland.  They 
removed  from  New  York  to  Akron,  0., 
in  1865,  where  they  still  reside.  The 
subject  of  this  sketch  was  educated  at 
Akron,  where  he  also  learned  the  trade 
of  a  painter,  and  has  since  followed 
that  business.  He  came  to  Illinois  in 
1872,  and  worked  as  a  "jour"  some  four 
years,  when  he  engaged  in  the  business 
near  Quincy.  In  1880  he  was  married 
to  Addie  Brickart,  a  native  of  Greene 
county.  By  this  union  there  was  one 
child — Mollie.  Mrs.  McGowan's  death 
occurred  in  1883.  Mr.  McGowan  is  a 
member  of  the  Benevolent  lodge,  No. 
227,  I.  O.  O.  F.  He  is  a  successful 
business  man,  and  has  won  many  friends 
by  his  genial  manner,  his  honesty  and 
fair  dealings. 

Ruckel's  pottery  was  established  by 
Charles  Ebey,  the  son  of  the  veteran 
potter  of  White  Hall,  John  Ebey.  He 
was  succeeded  by  Murphy  &  Bates,  but 
the  latter  retiring,  L.C.  Murphy  carried 
on  the  business  until  Oct.,  1878,  when 
D.  C.  Banta  became  the  proprietor.  On 
Jan.  1,  1883,  A.  D.  Ruckel,  the  present 
owner,  came  into  possession,  and  has 
continued  therein  ever  since.  The  in- 
stitution has  a  capacity  of  turning  out 
200,000  gallons  of  ware  a  year,  but  is 
not  driven  to  its  extreme  limit  now. 
The  plant  is  worth  about  $2,000. 

The  Purdy  pottery  was  instituted  in 
1865,  by  F.  C.  Garbitt,  who  built  the 
edifice  at  this  place.  This  is  north  of 
the  depots.  He  used  horse  power  for 
the  propulsion  of  the  machinery.  He 
was  succeeded  by  Brown,  Cogdell  & 
Sax,  but  it  finally  came  into  the  hands  of 
Purdy  &  Ruckel.  On  the  retirement  of 
the  latter,  M.  C.  Purdy  became  sole  pro- 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


1091 


prietor,  and  is  to-day.  The  works  have 
a  capacity  of  making  over  250,000  gal- 
lons of  ware  per  year,  besides  a  large 
amount  of  potter's  clay  is  shipped  to 
other  points.  Mr.  Purdy  owns  about  60 
acres  of  excellent  fire  clay  lands. 

WHITE  HALT.  .MACHINE    WORKS. 

This  enterprise  was  established  in 
1877,  by  Winn  Bros.  &  Co.  At  that 
time  they  erected  the  present  brick 
building,  which  is  40x70  feet  in  size, 
and  which  was  built  at  a  cost  of  $2,500. 
In  1880  the  firm  became  Winn  Bros., 
composed  of  George  W.  and  Richard  B. 
Winn.  They  have  the  institution  fully 
equipped  with  all  necessary  machinery, 
run  by  a  12-horse  power  engine.  The 
enterprise  includes  foundry,  wagon  and 
blacksmith  shops,  etc.,  and  brings  into 
requisition  a  capital  invested  of  about 
$8,000.  During  good  seasons  they  give 
employment  to  about  15 men. 

William  Winn,  son  of  William  and 
Elizabeth  (Ford)  Winn,  was  born  in 
Richmond,  Va.,  May  17,  1803.  His 
father  was  a  native  born  Welshman, 
and  his  mother  of  Scotch  descent. 
They  immigrated  to  this  country,  lot  at- 
ing  near  Richmond,  Va.,  where  they  re- 
sided until  their  death.  William,  the 
subject,  immigrated  to  Lexington,  Ky., 
where  he  remained  but  a  short  time, 
when  he  removed  to  near  Cincinnati, 
0.,  where  he  was  married  to  Phoebe 
Osborne,  March  3,  1825,  who  was  a  na- 
tive of  that  state  and  a  daughter  of 
Aaron  and  Eleanor  (Frazier)  Osborne, 
natives  of  N.  J.  The  former  died  at 
Grandview,  Ind.,  at  the  very  advanced 
age  of  104  years.  The  latter's  death 
occurred  in  Ohio.  After  the  marriage 
of  Mr.  and   Mrs.  Winn,  they    removed 


to  Indiana,  and  located  near  Rising 
Sun,  where  they  remained  until  coming 
to  this  county  in  1829.  They  lived 
upon  the  old  homestead  until  their 
death.  Mrs.  Winn  died  April  22,  1858, 
and  her  husband  survived  her  death 
until  Nov,  27,  1866.  They  are  both  in- 
terred in  the  Richwoods  cemetery, 
within  50  yards  of  where  these  pioneers 
first  settled,  and  where  they  erected 
their  first  rude  log  cabin  to  shelter  them 
from  the  stormy  blasts  of  the  then  new 
western  wilds. 

George  W.  Winn,  a  son  of  William 
and  Phoebe  (Osborne)  Winn,  was  born 
near  Rising  Sun,  Ind.,  May  3,  1827, 
coming  with  his  parents  to  this  county, 
when  about  two  years  of  age.  His  ed- 
ucation was  derived,  sitting  on  an  oak- 
wood  seat,  principally  from  a  Webster's 
spelling  book.  Young  Winn  became 
apprenticed  to  the  trade  of  a  black- 
smith, and  became  a  superior  workman. 
When  the  war  of  the  rebellion  came  on 
he  enlisted  in  Co.  I,  91st  111.  Inf..  and 
was  afterward  detailed  to  hospital  ser- 
vice at  St.  Louis,  being  general  ward- 
master  of  Post  Hospital.  While  in  tin- 
service,  two  little  children  of  Mr. 
Winn  died.  The  bereaved  mother, 
now  left  entirely  alone,  decided  to  enter 
the  service  of  the  United  States,  for  the 
relief  of  the  boys  in  blue.  For  19 
months  she  administered  to  the  sick 
and  dying  with  a  solicitude  that  gained 
for  her  the  esteem  of  all.  The  heroine 
of  the  hospital  wards  at  St.  Louis,  and 
the  wife  of  G.  W.  Winn,  who  were  mar- 
ried Oct.  20,  1859,  was  Mary  C.  Bog- 
gess,  a  daughter  of  Madison  and  Eliza- 
beth (Reddin)  Boggess,  who  settled  in 
Carrollton,  or  on  the  site  of  that  place, 
in  the  summer  of    1818.     Mr.  Boggess 


1092 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


was  a  wagon-maker  by  trade,  and  fought 
in  the  Black  Hawk  war.  He  was  a 
young  man  when  he  came  from  his  na- 
tive state.  Kentucky,  to  this  county,  be- 
ing a  member  of  a  party  of  surveyors 
and  "carrying  the  chain."  His  wife  died 
in  Jan.,  1854,  and  he  followed  her  June. 
7,  1877.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Winn  are  the 
parents  of  eight  children — James  M., 
born  Dec.  7,  1860,  died  Aug.  18,  1862; 
Charles  D.,  born  June  4,  1862,  died 
Aug.  27,  1863;  Mary  E.,  born  Oct.  10, 
1869;  Julia  A.  born  March  23,  1871; 
Craig,  born  Nov.  28,  1873,  and  died 
Aug.  17,  1879;  Walter,  born  June  3, 
1879  ;  and  one  child  that  died  in  in- 
fancy, not  christened.  Mr.  Winn  was 
previously  twice  married.  The  first 
time  to  Mary  A.  Tucker,  April  30, 1849. 
They  were  the  parents  of  one  child — 
John  A.,  born  March  29,  1850.  His 
first  wife  died  Aug.  3,  1852.  He  was 
again  married  Nov.  3,  1852,  to  Sarah 
Tucker,  and  were  blessed  with  one 
child— William,  born  Nov.  9,  1856. 
Mrs.  Winn's  death  occurred  Feb.  7, 
1S59.  In  company  with  his  brother, 
Richard  B,  Mr.  Winn  established 
the  Carrollton  machine  shops,  which  he 
operated  successfully  until  coming  to 
White  Hall,  in  1877.  In  conclusion  it 
may  be  stated  that  Mr.  Winn's  life  has 
been  a  success,  owning  a  half  interest 
in  the  foundry  and  machine  shops  at 
White  Hall,  besides  other  valuable 
property.  What  is  somewhat  remark- 
able, he  has  never  uttered  an  oath, 
never  drank  any  liquor,  and  has  never 
used  tobacco.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
M.  E.  church,  the  Masonic  fraternity 
and  the  G.  A.  R.  He  is  a  republican. 
Richard  B.  Winn,  son  of  William  and 
Phoebe  (Osborne)  Winn,  was  born  Dec. 


8,  1843,  at  the  old  homestead,  four  miles 
west  of  Carrollton.  His  early  years 
were  spent  upon  the  old  homestead  with 
his  parents,  obtaining  his  education  in 
the  public  schools  of  Carrollton.  From 
the  time  he  was  17  years  of  age  until  he 
attained  his  20th  birthday,  he  labored 
the  majority  of  the  time  as  an  appren- 
tice at  gunsmithing  and  as  a  machinist. 
He  also  taught  school  during  the  winter 
of  1861  and  1862.  At  the  age  of  20  he 
enlisted  Aug.  22,  1864,  in  company  H, 
40th  Mo.  Inf.,  serving  until  the  close  of 
the  war,  and  being  honorably  dis- 
charged, Aug.  11.  1865.  During  the 
struggle  he  served  in  the  engagements 
of  Columbia,  Spring  Hill,  Franklin  and 
Nashville,  Tenn.,  besides  fourteen  days' 
fighting  at  Spanish  Fort,  Mobile,  and 
one  day  at  Fort  Blakeley,  Ala.  While 
marching  from  Fort  Blakeley  to  Mont- 
gomery, Ala.,  Mr.  W.  was  so  unfortu- 
nate as  to  have  his  right  arm  broken  and 
crushed  by  falling  over  a  log,  April  11, 
1865,  the  result  of  which  has  rendered 
it  almost  entirely  useless.  Returning 
from  the  army,  Mr.  W.  engaged  in  farm- 
ing for  about  a  year,  when  he  entered 
the  foundry  an  I  machine  shops  with  his 
brother,  George.  W.,  at  Carrollton. 
Here  he  remained  until  1877,  when  they 
established  their  present  successful  en- 
terprise in  White  Hall.  He  was  mar- 
ried Nov.  19,  1868,  to  Mary  Luther,  who 
was  Vtorn  Sept.  17,  1850,  in  Grundy 
county,  111.  She  was  a  daughter  of 
Martin  and  Ursula  (Cosgrove)  Luther, 
the  former  of  Pennsylvania  and  the  lat- 
ter of  New  York.  In  1858,  they  emi- 
grated to  Illinois,  locating  at  Pioneer, 
now  known  as  Palmer,  about  eight 
miles  west  of  Carrollton.  Mrs.  Luther 
died  in  March,  1859,  and  was   buried  in 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


1093 


Eldred's  cemetery,  under  the  bluffs. 
Mr.  Luther  was  again  married  to  Mrs. 
Caroline  Briscoe,  in  May,  1866.  Mrs. 
Briscoe  was  the  widow  of  W'm.  Briscoe, 
and  a  daughter  of  Selden  and  Fidelia 
Beebe.  They  remained  here  until  1869, 
when  they  removed  to  Christian  county, 
where  they  now  reside.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  W . 
have  two  children — Win.  L.,  born  July 
9,  1870;  Harry  L.,  born  Feb.  21,  1883. 
Mr.  Winn  is  among  the  prominent  busi- 
ness men  of  White  Hall,  having  in  com- 
pany with  his  brother,  a  large  foundry 
machine  ship,  etc.,  as  already  described, 
besides  residence  property  in  the  city. 
He  is  a  member  of  the  K.  of  H.,  G.  A. 
R.  and  the  city  council  from  the  Third 
ward.  He  was  at  one  time  correspon- 
dent of  the  Carrollton  Gazette  from  this 
place,  and  attained  considerable  promi- 
nence and  notoriety  as  a  decidedly  spicy 
and  racy  local  writer.  He  is  al~o  a 
member  of  the  Methodist  church,  and 
in  politics  affiliates  with  the  republican 
party. 

WHITE  HALL  CHAIR  FACTORY. 

During  the  month  of  July,  1882,  J.  G. 
Kinder  erected  a  building  here  and  com- 
menced the  business  of  cutting  out  chair 
and  other  furniture  frame  stuff,  and 
shipping  it,  in  the  rough,  to  various 
points.  In  Oct.,  1883,  the  firm  of  Kin- 
der &  Moore  was  formed,  and  erecting 
large  additions  to  their  building,  they 
commenced  the  manufacture  of -chairs. 
This  they  carried  on  until  March,  1885, 
when  the  present  company  was  formed. 
It  is  incorporated  under  the  general 
laws  of  the  state,  and  the  present  offi- 
cers are— S.  D.  Chapin,  Pies.:  Francis 
Fowler,  Sec,  and  Isaac  Fowler,  Treas. 
J.  G.  Kinder  is  the  general  manager  of 
the  factory.     They    turn  out    no    low- 


priced  goods,  but  make  Rome  14  differ- 
ent styles  of  chairs,  that  can  be  sold  fol- 
lower prices  that  can  be  had  elsewhere. 
They  employ  about  40  hands,  with  con- 
stantly increasing  business. 

FLOURING    MILL. 

The  steam  grist-mill  at  White  Hall 
was  built  by  Kendall  and  Smith,  about 
the  year  1860.  They  continued  to  run 
it  for  some  years,  and  were  succeeded 
by  several  parties.  Finally  it  became 
the  property  of  Welch  &  Rector,  who 
ran  it  for  several  years,  and  in  1878,  A. 
D.  Ruckel  purchased  the  interest  of  Mr. 
Rector,  and  the  firm  became  Welch  & 
Ruckel.  In  June,  1879,  0.  F.  Grant 
purchased  the  interest  of  J.  E.  Welch, 
and  under  the  firm  name  and  style,  con- 
tinued the  business  until  1882,  when  0. 
F.  Grant  became  the  sole  owner,  and  is 
running  it  now.  The  building  is  50x80 
feet  in  size  on  the  ground,  three  stories 
high,  built  of  frame  and  equipped  with 
three  run  of  buhrs,  two  purifiers,  corn 
sheller,  etc.  The  motive  power  is  de- 
rived from  a  40-horse  power  engine. 
This  mill  has  a  capacity  of  100  barrel 
per  day,  and  has  a  large  local  trade. 

Oscar  F.  Grant,  representative  of  the 
milling  business  of  White  Hall,  was 
born  in  Newbury,  Orange  county,  Vt., 
on  Dec.  30,  1832,  and  is  a  son  of  Wil- 
liam and  Finetta  (Nelson)  Grant.  His 
father  was  born  in  Scotland,  and  came 
to  the  United  States  with  his  parents 
when  a  child.  He  learned  the  carriage- 
making  trade,  and  followed  it  most  of 
the  time  until  his  death,  which  occurred 
in  Corinth,  Vt.,  in  1867.  His  widow 
died  ten  years  later.  Oscar  F.  was  ed- 
ucated in  the  common  schools  of  his 
native  state,  and  afterward  learned  the 


1094 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


trade  of  carriage-maker,  with  his  father. 
He  did  not  follow  the  trade,  however, 
but  went  to  Ohio  and  began  the  milling 
business.  After  becoming  acquainted 
with  its  details,  he  remained  in  the  em- 
ploy of  the  firm  he  had  learned  with, 
and  was  with  them  in  all  15  years. 
After  this  he  worked  for  another  firm 
for  eight  years,  and  then  engaged  in 
buying  grain.  In  1879  he  came  to 
Greene  county,  and  bought  the  flouring 
mill  in  White  Hall,  which  he  has  con- 
ducted ever  since  with  success.  In 
1859  he  was  married  to  Anna  E.,  daugh- 
ter of  Theophilus  and  Anna  (Clark) 
Potter,  natives,  respectively,  of  Ver- 
mont and  Ohio.  She  was  born  in  Ohio, 
May  24,  1841.  Mr.  Grant  is  a  member 
of  Akron  lodge,  No.  83,  A.  F.  &  A.  M.; 
and  of  the  chapter  in  Akron,  No.  25. 

Among  the  leading  representatives  of 
the  general  merchandise  trade  in  White 
Hall  are  the  following  firms:  T.  Abrams, 
W.  \V.  Arnold  &  Co.,  and  Vosseller, 
Cochran  &  Co. 

The  dry  goods  trade  is  represented  by 
John  II.  Graves. 

There  are  two  first-class  drug  estab- 
lishments in  White  Hall,  those  of  A.  F. 
Vedder  and  0.  J.  Husted. 

A.  F.  Vedder,  dealer  in  drugs  and 
groceries,  is  the  representative  of  a  bus- 
iness established  in  1861,  by  Worcester 
&  Vedder,  who  operated  it  for  about  a 
year,  when  the  firm  was  changed  to  A. 
F.  Vedder  &  Bro.  For  about  two  years 
this  continued,  when  the  latter  disposed 
of  his  interest  to  A.  J.  Worcester, 
and  under  the  firm  name  of  Vedder  & 
Worcester,  it  ran  for  some  two  years, 
when  A.  F.  Vedder  assumed  the  sole 
proprietorship.  About  two  years  after 
ibis,    he    took    in,    as   partner,   A.   D. 


Ruckel.  Continuing  thus  until  1880,  it 
did  a  large  business,  but  in  that  year, 
Mr.  Vedder  became  sole  proprietor,  and 
so  continues  to  this  date.  He  carries  a 
stock  of  about  $7,000,  in  his  store, which 
is  23x75  feet  in  size. 

Aaron  F.  Vedder,  the  popular  drug- 
gist and  grocer,  of  White  Hall,  was 
born  in  the  state  of  New  York,  Dec.  30, 
1834,  his  parents  being  Albert  and  Susan 
(Lusk)  Vedder,  natives  of  New  York. 
They  came  to  Illinois  in  1865,  and 
located  on  a  farm,  where  Mrs.  Vedder 
died  in  1870.  Aaron  received  his  edu- 
cation at  Fulton  Seminary,  Fulton,  N. 
Y.,  and  at  the  age  of  19  years,  came  to 
Illinois;  here  he  engaged  as  clerk  in  a  dry 
goods  store  at  White  Hall,  and  remained 
in  that  position  two  years.  He  then 
became  mail  agent  between  Chicago  and 
St.  Louis,  and  was  thus  employed  two 
years  more,  at  the  end  of  which  time 
he  embarked  in  the  drug  businees  in 
this  city,  and  in  two  years  afterward 
added  to  his  business  a  stock,  of  hard- 
ware, and  conducted  it  successfully  for 
10  years.  He  then  sold  out  the  hard- 
ware stock,  and  added  a  stock  of  grocer- 
ies, and  still  conducts  the  drug  and  gro- 
cery business,  in  which  he  has  a  large 
trade.  Mr.  Vedder  is  the  oldest  drug- 
gist in  the  city,  and  one  of  the  most 
prosperous.  In  1861  he  was  married  to 
Jennie  Drisch,  daughter  of  Dr.  and 
Martha  Drisch,  of  White  Hall.  They 
were  natives  of  Virginia,  and  both  are 
now  deceased.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Vedder 
were  the  parents  of  two  children,  one  of 
whom,  Lena,  is  living.  The  one  de- 
ceased is  Virginia.  Mrs.  Vedder  died 
in  1866.  Mr.  Vedder  again  married,  in 
1868,  to  Mrs.  Nellie  Bullock,  widow  of 
Joseph  Bullock,  and  daughter  of  Nathan 


and  Almira  (Goodhouse)  Winters.  By 
this  union  there  is  one  child — Florence. 
Mrs.  Vedder  is  a  member  of  the  Pres- 
byterian church.  Mr.  Vedder  is  a  mem- 
ber of  White  Hall  lodge,  No.  SO,  A.,  F. 
and  A.  M.,  and  is  a  liberal,  enterprising 
gentleman. 

0.  J.  Hosted,  deals  in  drugs  and 
groceries.  This  business  stand  was 
established  by  this  gentleman  in  Sep- 
tember, 1882.  His  salesroom  is  19xli5 
feet  in  floor  area,  with  a  storage-room  in 
the  rear,  of  16x30  feet  in  size.  He  car- 
ries a  well  assorted  stock,  which  will 
invoice  about  (5,000. 

O.  J.  Husted,  the  enterprising  drug- 
gist and  grocer,  on  Main  street,  was 
born  in  Greene  county,  July  10,  1851, 
and  is  a  son  of  Henry  L.  and  Lucetta 
E.  (Post)  Husted,  natives  of  Vermont 
and  Missouri,  respectively.  They  came 
to  Illinois  many  years  ago,  while  the 
country  was  yet  new  and  almost  a 
wilderness.  O.  J.  was  educated  in 
Platteville,  Wis.,  and  commenced  life 
as  a  farm  hand,  being  thus  employed 
three  years.  He  then  secured  a  situa- 
tion as  book-keeper  in  a  bank,  in  which 
position  he  remained  two  years,  after 
which  time  he  commenced  in  the  drug 
business,  being  engaged  as  clerk  for  six 
years.  He  then  opened  up  in  business 
for  himself  in  this  city,  which  he  has 
been  conducting  for  the  past  eight  years, 
and  through  steady  attention  to  the 
wants  of  his  customers,  courteousness 
and  untiring  energy,  he  has  secured  the 
best  trade  in  the  city.  Mr.  Husted  was 
joined  in  marriage,  June  27,  1877,  at 
Potosi,  Wis.,  with  Mary  A.  Seaton,  a 
daughter  of  Hon.  James  W .  and  Amanda 
(Buscher)  Seaton.  By  this  marriage 
there  is  one  child — Harry  Seaton,   born 


April  9,  1883.  Mr.  Husted  was  berefl 
of  his  wife  on  April  13,  1883.  She 
was  a  prominent  member  in  the  Presby- 
terian church,  ami  had  always  taken  a, 
very  active  part  in  all  work  entered  into 
by  the  different  societies  of  the  church. 
She  was  of  Scotch  descent,  and  was  of 
such  a  disposition  that  she  made  hosts 
of  friends  wherever  she  went.  Her  hus- 
band so  reveres  her  memory  that  he  lias 
erected  a  beautiful  monument  of  Scotch 
granite  over  her  remains,  for  which  he 
sent  to  Aberdeen,  Scotland,  the  home  of 
her  ancestors. 

August  Fischer,  Charles  H.  Higbee, 
and  Charles  Dossel  are  the  enterprising 
dealers  in  the  jewelry  line  in  the  town. 
Mr.  Dossel  has  a  stock  of  jewelry,  etc., 
in  connection  with  0.  J.  Husted's  drug 
store,  and  carries  a  stock  of  about 
$1,500. 

Charles  Dossel,  the  flourishing  jew- 
eler of  White  Hall,  was  born  in  that 
city,  Jan.  3,  1862,  and  is  a  son  of  Geo. 
and  Catherine  (Schremm)  Dossel.  He 
remained  with  his  parents  until  the 
spring  of  1876,  receiving  his  education 
at  the  White  Hall  schools,  at  the  same 
time  assisting  his  brother,  George,  in 
the  confectionery  and  restaurant.  He 
subsequently  proceeded  to  Winchester, 
Ind.,  and  engaged  in  the  jewelry  busi- 
ness with  Lewis  Klamberg,  with  whom 
he  continued  two  years,  at  the  expira- 
tion of  which  time  he  returned  home. 
He  was  again  employed  in  assisting  his 
brother  in  the  confectionery,  until  1880, 
when  he  returned  to  Winchester,  End., 
and  again  engaged  in  the  jewelry  busi- 
ness, where  he  completed  his  trade, 
after  a  term  of  three  years.  He  then 
left  Indiana,  and  came  back  to  Illinois. 
locating   at  Carrollton,    where   he    was 


[096 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


employed  by  Loomia  &  Villinger  for 
one  year,  after  which  lie  came  to  White 
Hall,  and  started  in  business  for  him- 
self. He  is  a  young  enterprising  gen- 
tlemen, to  whom  we  can  wish  nothing 
but  success. 

The  first  dealer  in  lumber  in  the  town 
of  White  Hall  was  L.  E.  Worcester, 
who  established  a  yard  here  about  the 
year  1854.  He  operated  for  some  time, 
sometimes  alone,  sometimes  with  a 
partner,  until  the  firm  became  Cochrane 
A:  Worcester.  These  parties  were  suc- 
ceeded by  L.  E.  Worcester  &  Co.,  in 
1873.  In  1885,  the  present  proprietor, 
F.  F.Worcester,  became  the  sole  owner. 
He  carries  a  stock  of  about  $4,000,  in- 
cluding lumber,  salt,  paint,  etc.,  and  is 
doing  a  handsome  business. 

Fulton  F.  Worcester,  a  prosperous 
lumber  merchant  of  this  city,  whose 
business  is  located  near  the  C.  &  A.  de- 
pot, was  born  at  West  Windsor,  Vt., 
Aug.  22,  1847.  He  is  a  son  of  Alfred 
and  Mary  (Farwell)  Worcester,  natives 
of  Vermont.  In  1865,  they  removed 
from  that  state  to  Illinois,  locating  in 
White  Hall,  wdiere  they  spent  the  re- 
mainder of  their  days.  Mr.  Worcester 
dying.July  4,  1885,  and  Mrs.  Worcester 
in  1880.  Fulton  F.  was  educated  in  the 
common  schools  of  Vermont,  and  after 
removing  to  Illinois,  learned  the  trade 
of  a  carpenter.  He  was  engaged  at  that 
trade  about  seven  years,  and  then  en- 
tered into  partnership  with  L.  E.  Wor- 
cester, in  the  lumber  business.  This 
linn  continued  until  Jan.  1,  1885,  when 
I..  E.  sold  out  his  interest  to  F.F.,  who 
has  since  conducted  it  alone.  In  Feb., 
1872,  Mr.  Worcester  was  united  in  mar- 
riage with  Amanda  White,  daughter  of 
Alfred  and  Elizabeth  (Hubbard)  White, 


the  former  a  native  of  Ohio,  the  latter 
of  Kentucky.  They  are  now  residents 
of  White  Hall.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Worces- 
ter are  the  parents  of  two  bright  children 
—Alfred  W.  and  Mary  Elizabeth.  Mrs. 
Worcester  is  a  member  of  the  M.  E. 
church.  Mr.  Worcester  is  a  member  of 
White  Hall  lodge  No.  80,  A.  F.  *  A.  M. 
He  is  a  live,  honorable  business  gentle- 
man, and  well  deserves  the  success 
with  which  he  has  met,  thus  far  in  life. 

Zeno  Stocks,  dealer  in  lumber,  lime, 
cement,  paint,  etc.,  has  been  engaged 
in  this  line  of  trade  since  June  1,  1879. 
He  has,  also,  a  sack  depot,  in  connection 
with  this  business,  and  has  about  6,000 
sacks  on  hand.  His  entire  stock  will 
invoice  about  $5,000. 

Zeno  Stocks  was  born  in  Pitt  county, 
North  Carolina,  May  13,  1846,  and  is  a 
son  of  John  andSusan(Gwaltney)Stocks, 
also  natives  of  North  Carolina.  In 
Pitt  count)'  lie  buried  the  father,  grand- 
father and  great-grandfather  of  Mr. 
Zeno  Stocks,  in  a  family  burying  ground 
on  the  old  homestead,  which  was  orig- 
inally entered  by  the  great-grandfather, 
whose  name  was  also  John.  This 
land  was  entered  on  a  permit  from 
the  British  Crown,  long  before  the 
Revolutionary  war.  In  the  adjoining 
county  of  Craven,  in  one  cemetery,  lie 
the  bodies  of  Mr.  Gwaltney,  the  father 
of  Mrs.  Stocks,  and  her  grandfather. 
Zeno  was  educated  in  North  Carolina, 
and  began  business  as  a  school  teacher 
in  his  native  county,  which  he  continued 
for  about  a  year,  when  he  came  to 
Greene  county,  in  1870.  He  again  en- 
gaged in  teaching  school,  which  be  fol- 
lowed for  10  years,  and  then  entered 
the  lumber  business,  which  he  still 
continues,  enjoying  a  good  trade.       He 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


1007 


was  married,  Dec.  15,  1880,  to  Louisa,  a 
daughter  of  Adam  and  Margaret  Koehm, 
natives  of  Germany,  who  now  reside 
near  Greenfield,  this  county,  engaged  in 
farming.  By  the  above  marriage  there 
was  one  child  —  A.  L.,  born  June  9, 
1882.  The  death  of  Mrs.  Stocks  oc- 
curred Aug.  IS,  1883.  Mr..  Stocks  was 
again  married  Oct.  7,  1885,  to  Amy  A., 
daughter  of  T.  J.  and  M.  F.  Baldwin, 
who  reside  near  White  Hall. 

David  Hutchinson,  dealer  in  agricul- 
tural implements,  farm  machinery,  bug- 
gies, wagons,  etc.,  established  his  busi- 
ness here  in  1865.  He  generally  car- 
ries a  stock  of  about  $8,000. 

David  Hutchinson,  dealer  in  agricul- 
tural implements,  etc.,  was  born  in 
Bristol,  Bucks  county,  Penn.,  Nov.  12, 
1818,  and  is  a  son  of  Edward  Church 
and  Rebecca  (Broodnix)  Hutchinson, 
natives  of  Pennsylvania.  David  re- 
ceived his  education  in  his  native  town, 
and  afterward  went  to  Philadelphia, 
where  he  learned  the  trade  of  a  black- 
smith. He  has  worked  at  the  trade  for 
about  35  years.  He  came  to  this  county 
in  1842,  and  has  resided  in  White  Hall 
since  that  time.  On  his  arrival,  he  en- 
gaged in  his  present  business,  which 
has  since  increased  to  its  present  pro- 
portions. Dec.  25,  1848,  he  was  mar- 
ried to  Mary  Jane  Boomer,  a  native  of 
Kentucky.  By  this  marriage,  there 
were  two  children,  both  deceased.  Mrs. 
Hutchinson  died  Aug.  5,  1880.  March 
26,  1883,  Mr.  Hutchinson  was  again 
married  to  Amy  C,  daughter  of  Thos. 
and  Althea  (Linn)  McGuire.  Her  par- 
ents were  both  natives  of  Pennsylvania. 
They  came  to  White  Hall  many  years 
ago,  and  are  now  deceased.  Mr.  Hutch- 
inson is  a  member  of  White  Hall  lodge, 


No.  80,  A.  F.  &  A.  M.  Several  times 
he  has  been  chosen  by  his  fellow-citi- 
zens as  a  member  of  the  council  of  the 
city,  each  time  serving  with  credit  to 
himself,  and  satisfaction  to  them. 

A.  Nesbit  is  engaged  in  the  bakery 
and  confectionery  business,  which  was 
established  by  himself  in  March,  1867. 
He  carries  everything  that  properly  be- 
longs in  his  line,  and,  with  a  stock  of 
about  $1,000,  does  a  nice  business. 

Archibald  Nesbit  was  born  in  the 
northern  part  of  Ireland,  but  was  of 
Scotch  and  English  parentage.  He  left 
his  native  country  when  a  child,  coming 
to  America,  where  he  landed  at  New 
York  City.  At  the  age  of  14,  he  there 
commenced  to  learn  the  baker's  trade, 
at  which  he  was  engaged  for  several 
years,  when  he  proceeded  to  a  location 
in  Connecticut,  where  he  had  charge  of 
bakery  for  three  years,  after  which  he 
came  to  Illinois,  where  he  continued 
his  business,  in  Chicago,  for  two  years. 
He  then  removed  to  Bloomington, 
where  he  afterward  commenced  busi- 
ness for  himself,  meeting  with  splendid 
success  for  two  years,  when  he  was  un- 
fortunately burned  out,  and  from  there 
he  went  to  Knoxville,  Knox  county, 
and  carried  on  business  eight  years, 
feeding  the  soldiers.  In  1862,  he  went 
to  the  mountains,  crossed  over  to  Port- 
land, Ore.,  and  again  engaged  in  busi- 
ness for  two  years,  when  he  sold  out 
and  returned  to  Illinois.  He  subse- 
quently settled  in  White  Hall,  engaged 
in  business,  and  has  since  remained 
here,  having  been  quite  successful  in 
securing  a  good  trade,  which  fact  is 
doubtless  attributable  to  his  skill  and 
ability.  In  I860,  Mr.  Nesbit  married 
Annie    M.    Andrews,  a    native    of  Nor- 


1098 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


way,  but  who  was  roared  in  the  United 
States.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Nesbit  are  mem- 
bers of  the  Presbyterian  church,  and 
are  well  respected  citizens  of  this  com- 
munity. 

Christopher  Weitzel  is  the  only  dealer 
in  clothing. 

The  grocery  trade  is  in  the  hands  of 
W.  C.  Chapin,  Fowler  &  Porter,  Chas. 
Laurig,  Lowenstein  &  Son,  Mrs.  E.  J. 
Saxe,   A.  F.  Vedder  and  L.  C.  Wright. 

The  hardware  business  is  in  the  hands 
of  the  following  well  known  firms: 
Brantzel  Bros,  and  Gooding  &  Co. 

Meat  markets  are  run  by  E.  C. 
Clement  and  Simonds  &  Wentworth. 

The  furniture  business  is  in  the  able 
hands  of  Augustus  F.  Lange  and  Robert 
Dixon. 

Hutchinson  &  Munger  established  the 
livery  business  in  1859  or  1860,  in  a 
building  built  for  that  purpose  by 
Hutchinson  &  Munger.  They  were  suc- 
ceeded by  Perry  &  Munger,  and  Potts  & 
Grimes.  They  were  followed  by  A.  J. 
Baldwin,  and  he  by  Samuel  Potts.  W. 
B.  Grimes  &  Co.  were  the  successors  of 
the  latter  gentleman,  and  after  operat- 
ing for  a  time  the  firm  became  W.  B. 
Grimes  &  Co.,  then  Grimes  A-  Edwards. 
The  latter  firm  came  into  existence  in 
March,  1884.  In  October,  of  the  same 
year,  H.  S.  Edwards,  the  present  pro- 
prietor, assumed  sole  charge.  He  keeps 
some  10  head  of  stock,  and  buggies, 
etc.,  in  proportion,  and  does  a  good 
business. 

Hale  S.  Edwards,  proprietor  of  the 
White  Hall  livery  stable,  was  horn  in 
Hickory  county,  Mo.,  on  the  14th  day 
of  June,  1843.  His  father,  L.  B.  Ed- 
wards, was  bom  in  Virginia,  and  her 
mother,  whose  maiden  name  was  Annie 


Strainer,  was  born  in  Kentucky.  They 
located  in  this  county  in  1839,  and  after 
residing  here  some  years,  they  removed 
to  Missouri.  There  the  father  of  our 
subject  died,  in  1876,  his  widow  still 
residing  in  that  state.  Hale  S.  was  edu- 
cated in  western  Missouri,  and  after 
finishing  his  schooling,  followed  farm- 
ing there  until  1883.  He  then  came  to 
White  Hall,  and  engaged  in  the  livery 
business,  which  he  has  since  continued. 
In  1S74,  he  was  united  in  marriage  with 
Annie  Dowdall,  a  native  of  this  county. 
They  are  the  parents  of  three  children 
— James  L.,  Erith  and  Blanche.  Mr. 
Edwards  is  a  native  of  the  Masonic  fra- 
ternity. Mrs.  Edwards  belongs  to  the 
Baptist  church. 

Hiram  Watson  established  a  marble 
yard  in  White  Hall,  in  1850,  and  still 
continues  at  the  head  of  the  establish- 
ment. He  has  a  frame  building,  20x40 
in  which  work  is  carried  on.  He  man- 
ufactures all  kinds  of  monuments, 
tombstones,  and  carried  a  stock  that  is 
valued  at  about  $3,000. 

Hiram  Watson  the  enterprising  vet- 
eran marble  and  granite  dealer,  of 
White  Hall,  111.,  is  a  native  of  Ken- 
tucky. He  was  born  March  15,  1825, 
and  is  a  son  of  John  and  Mary  (John- 
son) Watson.  His  father  was  a  native 
of  Virginia,  his  mother,  of  Kentucky. 
When  Hiram  was  a  babe,  his  parents 
moved  to  Morgan  county,  111.  When 
he  was  but  five  years  of  age,  his  mother 
died  and  his  father  broke  up  house- 
keeping, and  Hiram  and  his  youngest 
brother,  William,  were  taken  by  A.  0. 
Lindsey,  who  eared  for  them  as  his  own, 
until  they  grew  to  manhood.  Alter  the 
death  of  Hiram's  mother,  his  father 
married  again,  and  afterwards  moved  to 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


1099 


Missouri,  locating  on,  and  clearing 
some  of  the  land  on  which  Kansas  City 
now  stands.  He  died  en  route  to  Santa 
Fe.  Hiram  spent  his  early  life  in  Mor- 
gan county,  and  there  received  his  ed- 
ucation. He  then  came  to  White  Hall  in 
1842, where  learned  he  the  mason's  trade, 
which  he  followed  for  several  years.  In 
1846  he  enlisted  and  took  part  in  the 
Mexican  war,  in  the  regiment  com- 
manded by  Col.  J.  J.  Hardin,  in  ('apt. 
Fry's  company.  He  was  in  the  battle 
of  Buena  Vista.  After  the  war  he  re- 
turned to  White  Hall,  where  he  en- 
gaged in  the  marble  business.  In  1850, 
he  started  into  the  marble  business 
for  himself  and  has  ever  since  con- 
tinued at  it,  having  quite  a  large  and 
remunerative  trade,  the  result  of  his 
industry  and  ability.  In  1860,  he  was 
joined  in  marriage  with  Mary  E.  Milne, 
a  native  of  Maryland,  and  a  daughter 
of  William  and  Annie  (Grant)  Milne, 
both  of  whom  are  now  deceased.  By 
this  marriage  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Watson  are 
the  parents  of  two  children — Edwin  D. 
and  Mary  E.  Mr.  Watson,  has  by  thrift 
and  good  management,  placed  himself 
and  family  in  very  comfortable  circum- 
stances. 

And  many  other  of  the  usual  lines  of 
business  have  their  full  representation 
in  the  town,  most  of  whom  arc  spoken 
of  elsewhere. 

Oliver  A.  Morrow,  the  photographic 
artist  of  White  Hall,  was  born  near 
Athensville,  this  county  on  April  29, 
1863.  His  father,  Jesse  Morrow,  was 
born  in  North  Carolina.  His  mother, 
whose  maiden  name  was  Elvira  Brad- 
shaw,  was  born  in  this  state.  Oliver 
A.  was  educated  in  Athensville,  finish- 
ing  at  the    high  school    in   Carrollton, 


111.  He  then  commenced  life  as  a 
teacher,  and  after  one  year  in  that  pro- 
fession, he  was  connected  with  a  flour- 
ing mill  for  two  years  with  his  brothers. 
He  then  commenced  the  photographic 
business,  which  he  has  since  followed. 
In  connection  with  it  he  also  does 
crayon  work,  and  in  both  lines  he  has 
turned  out  excellent  work,  and  met 
with  good  success.  He  is  a  member  of 
the  Christian  church. 

Dr.  Thomas  W.  Pritchett,  the  popular 
dentist  of  White  Hall,  was  born  in 
Greene  county,  111.,  May  7,  1841,  his 
parents  being  Isaac  and  Sarah  (  Holmes) 
Pritchett,  the  former  a  native  of  Ohio, 
the  latter  of  Virginia.  Isaac  was  a 
farmer;  and  also  a  manufacturer  of  mill 
buhrs.  He  died  in  this  county  in  the 
year  1855,  Mrs.  Pritchett  surviving  him 
until  1862.  Thomas  W.  was  educated 
in  the  common  schools  of  Greene 
county.  In  1862,  he  enlisted  in  Co.  (I, 
91st  111.  Inf.,  and  served  with  that  regi- 
ment until  its  term  of  enlistment  ex- 
pired, that  being  nearly  three  years. 
He  was  discharged  at  Springfield,  111. 
In  1866,  he  began  the  study  of  dentistry, 
with  Dr.  James  M.  Ball,  of  Indiana. 
In  1868,  he  proceeded  to  St  Louis, 
where  he  practiced  with  Dr.  George  H. 
Silvers,  one  year,  and  in  1869,  came  to 
White  Hall,  where  he  has  since  re- 
mained, ami  through  skill,  ability,  and 
attention  to  business,  has  met  with  de- 
served success  in  the  practice  of  his 
profession.  In  1869,  Dr.  Pritchett  was 
united  in  marriage  with  Naomi  Allen,  a 
daughter  of  Samuel  and  Ann  i  Clark) 
Allen,  natives  of  Tennessee  and  Vir- 
ginia, respectively.  They  came  to  Illi- 
nois at  a  very  early  day,  and  Mr.  Allen 
was   extensively    engaged    in    farming. 


1100 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


He  was  the  father  of  12  children.  He 
died  in  the  year  1861,  his  wife  surviv- 
ing him  one  year,  she  dying  in  1862. 
Dr.  and  Mrs.  1'ritehett  are  the  parents 
of  two  children — Charles  and  Ross. 
Dr.  Pritchett  is  a  member  of  White 
Hall  lodge,  No.  80,  A.  F.  &  A.  M. 


The  White  Hall  Banking  Association, 
transacting  business  in  this  city,  was 
established  Jan.  1,  1877,  as  a  private 
bank,  in  a  frame  building  now  occupied 
by  Abrams'  dry  goods  store,  with  the 
following  officers:  James  Dowdall, 
Pres.;  Isaac  Powell,  cashier;  Jas.  Dow- 
dall, L.  E.  Carter,  A.  S.  Seely  and 
Isaac  Powell,  directors.  They  removed 
to  their  present  location  in  Sept.,  1883. 
This  building  is  a  fine  one  20x65  feet  in 
size,  and  well  fitted  up.  On  its  incep- 
tion it  had  a  capital  of  only  $10,000,  but 
it  has  increased  to  $100,000,  making  it 
one  of  the  strongest  monetary  institu- 
tions in  the  county.  The  present  offi- 
cers are:  Linus  E.  Worcester,  Pres.; 
Isaac  Powell,  cashier,  W.  P.  Worcester, 
assistant  cashier;  James  Dowdall  and  L. 
E.  Carter  and  the  above  officers,  direc- 
tors. The  late  A.  S.  Seely  was  one  of 
the  board  of  direction  at  the  time  of  his 
death . 

The  People's  Bank  was  established 
in  1867,  by  David  Pierson,  James  and 
Albert  Gregory,  under  the  title  of  Pier- 
son,  Gregory  &  Co.  They  conducted 
the  business  until  April  1,  1875,  when 
they  were  succeeded  by  John  North,  C. 
E.  Wales  and  E.  North,  under  the  name 
of  North,  Wales  it  Co.,  until  thetitleof 
People's  Bank  was  assumed,  Jan.  1, 
1877.  The  company  owns  the  building 
they  occupy,  which  is  20x70  feet  in  size. 


The  first  officers  were:  Peter  Rood- 
house,  Pres.;  Ed.  North,  Cash.;  John 
North,  C.  E.  Wales,  Edgar  (iriswold, 
Peter  Roodhouse  and  Ed.  North,  direct- 
ors. A.  Davis  succeeded  Mr.  Roodhouse 
as  president.  Since  the  death  of  Mr. 
Davis,  in  1881,  there  has  been  no  presi- 
dent. The  present  officers  are :  Ed. 
North,  Cash.;  James  Porter,  Ass'tCash.; 
John  North,  Ed.  North,  C.  E.  Wales 
and  James  Porter,  directors.  The 
bank's  capital  is  $50,000. 

OPERA    HOUSE. 

This  beautiful  edifice  was  erected  in 
1867,  at  a  cost  of  upwards  of  $20,000. 
It  owed  its  inception  and  completion  to 
a  stock  company,  that  was  incorporated, 
however,  but  all  were  residents  of  the 
town  of  White  Hall.  It  remained  in 
the  hands  of  this  company  for  a  number 
of  years,  probably  seven  or  eight,  when 
by  mutual  agreement  it  was  sold  at  pub- 
lic venue,  Simeon  Ross  being  the  pur- 
chaser. It  is  a  handsome  brick  struc- 
ture, 45x87  feet  in  size,  two-stories  in 
height.  The  lower  floor  is  divided  into 
two-store  rooms,  each  being  22x87  feet 
in  size,  with  14  foot  ceiling.  The  opera 
house  proper  is  in  the  second  story  has 
a  very  fine  auditorium,  with  a  capacity  of 
about  500.  The  stage  is  28x34  feet  in  size. 
There  are  about  300  chairs  in  the  hall 
besides  the  seats  in  the  gallery,  and 
more  can  be  added  if  necessary.  When 
the  building  was  put  up,  a  shingle  roof 
was  put  on,  but  Mr.  Ross  has  replaced 
it  with  a  more  durable  one  of  iron. 
The  first  lessee  was  A.  F.  Vedder.  It 
is  now  under  the  management  of  Fowler 
&  Martin,  F.  Fowler  having  personal 
supervision. 

LIBRARY. 

The  White  Hall   Library   Association 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


1101 


was  organized  Jan.  17,  1876,  as  a  stock 
company,  with  52  stockholders,  a  great 
many  subscribing  for  more  than  one 
share.  The  first  officers  were:  Hugh 
Laniont,  Pres.;  E.  J.  Pearce,  1st  Vice- 
Pres.;  A.  W.  Foreman,  2d  Vice-Pres.; 
Isaac  Powell,  Treas.;  F.  W.  Pritch»tt, 
Secy.;  G.  1'..  Danforth,  Geo.  Hill,  E. 
A.  Giller  and  J.  S.  Judd,  directors.  In 
the  purchase  of  books,  and  fitting  up  of 
library  room,  about  $800  was  invested. 
Shares  are  $10  each,  and  shareholders 
have  access  to  the  library.  Those  not 
having  stuck  arc  entitled  to  the  use  of 
the  library  at  the  following  rates:  one 
month.  50  cents;  three  months,  $1;  six 
months,  $1.50;  one  year,  $2.50.  The 
room  used  is  on  the  second  floor  oppo- 
site the  People's  Bank,  on  Main  street. 
There  were,  originally,  1,200  volumes 
on  the  shelves,  but  the  income  has  not 
been  sufficient  to  keep  it  in  good  condi- 
tion. The  works  owned  by  the  associa- 
tion, however,  is  a  very  good  collection, 
having  been  selected  by  good  judges. 

POSTOFFICE 

The  postoffice  at  this  point  was  estab- 
lished with  Beverly  Holliday  as  post- 
master. He  carried  the  mail  in  his  hat, 
continuing  this  method  about  three 
years.  At  first  he  received  mail  once  in 
two  weeks.  Elijah  Lotts  succeeded 
him,  and  held  the  position  about  four 
years,  when  L.  E.  Worcester  succeeded 
him.  His  commission  was  dated  Nov. 
11.1843.  He  held  the  post  until  1855, 
when  he  was  succeeded  by  John  N. 
Israel.  Afterhim  came  Aaron  Reno,  who 
was  postmaster  for  a  few  months  be- 
ing succeeded  by  Marcus  Worcester,  in 
April,  1861.  He  was  succeeded  by  S. 
D.  Chapin,  in  Aug.,  1871.     The  present 


incumbent  of  the  office,  Rev.  B.  B. 
Hamilton,  was  commissioned  April  1, 
1883.  It  was  made  a  money  order  office 
July  1,  1873,  and  became  a  presidential 
office  Jan.  1,  1879. 

B.  B.  Hamilton,  born  at  Yankee 
Prairie.  New  Design,  Monroe  county, 
111..  Feb.  4.  1822,  is  the  third  son  of 
Thomas  McClure  Hamilton,  born,  in 
Rutland  county,  Vt.,  Jan  •">,  17S.i,  and 
Apphia  (Brown)  Hamilton,  born  at 
Hartford,  Washington  county,  N.  Y., 
June  7.  1788.  They  were  married  in 
Athens  county,  <>.,  in  Nov.,  1805,  and 
moved  to  Illinois  in  the  spring  of 
1818,  under  the  territorial  government. 
Thomas  M.  was  quite  a  prominent  man 
in  his  community,  but  moved  to  the 
south  part  of  Greene  county  I  now  Jer- 
sey) in  May.  1831.  He  died  Dec.  9, 
1844,  his  wii.low  surviving  by  nearly 
2")  years,  dying  in  September  of  the  year 
1869.  B,  B.  received  in  his  childhood 
only  such  advantages  as  the  common 
school  of  the  pioneers  afforded,  having 
an  excellent  memory,  and  a  great  thirst 
for  knowledge,  he  was  the  champion 
in  the  spelling  school,  and  an  earnest 
debater,  before  he  was  16  years  old.  He 
taught  his  first  school  at  Pea  Ridge, 
in  Jersey  county,  in  the  winter  of  1839- 
40.  After  this  he  taught  at  various 
places  in  Jersey  county,  and  in  Monroe 
county,  dividing  his  time  between  the 
school  room  and  work  oil  the  farm  until 
the  spring  of  1848,  when  he  entered 
into  partnership  with  his  brother, 
Nathaniel,  in  merchandisingat  Grafton. 
In  the  fall  of  1849  he  returned  to  Otter- 
ville,  and  commenced  business  on  his 
own  account,  which  was  continued  with 
various  degrees  of  success,  until  Nov., 
1856.     He  had  been  elected  school  com- 


1102 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


missioner  of  Jersey  county,  in  1847, 
and  appointed  postmaster,  and  elected 
justice  of  the  peace  in  1849, holding  these 
latter  offices  until  1856.  He  was  married 
Dec.  21,  1844,  to  Mary  Ann  Chandler, 
eldest  daughter  of  Hiram  and  Julania 
Chandler,  born  in  Ohio,  Sept.  14, 
1825.  Mr.  Hamilton  made  profession 
of  faith  in  Christ,  in  July,  1830,  and 
was  baptized  into  the  Salem  Baptist 
church,  constituted  Feb.,  182S,  by 
which  body  he  was  licensed  to  preach 
in  May,  1839  He  was  ordained  in  the 
Union  Baptist  church,  in  May  1853. 
His  business  arrangements  would  nit 
permit  his  taking  charge  of  any  church, 
although  he  preached  with  a  good  de- 
gree of  acceptance,  as  he  found  oppor- 
tunity, until  he  closed  out  his  business 
and  moved  from  Jersey  county,  in  1856, 
into  Marion  county,  111.,  where  he  re- 
sided for  about  two  years.  In  Sept., 
1858,  he  came  to  White  Hall,  111., 
where  he  has  made  his  home  ever 
since.  He  has  been  pastor  of  the 
churches  following,  ever  since  that  dati; 
White  Hall,  "Manchester,  Big  Spring. 
Winchester,  Otterville,  Kane  and  Car- 
linville,  in  Scott,  Greene,  Jersey  and 
Macoupin  counties.  He  was  agent  for 
Shurtleff  College,  for  about  one  year. 
He  taught  school  at  Grafton  in  1860-61; 
at  White  Hall,  in  1861-62;  at  Win- 
chester, 1865-66,  and  1S66-67;  at  Green- 
field, in  1867-68,  and  southwest  Man- 
chester, in  the  winter  of  1872-73.  He 
joined  the  61st  111.  Inf.,  in  the  field, 
Oct.  30,  1862,  receiving  the  appoint- 
ment of  chaplain,  from  that  date.  He 
was  with  his  regiment  at  Bolivar,  in 
West  Tennessee,  at  the  siege  of  Vicks- 
burg,  at  the  capture  of  Little  Rock, 
Sept.  10,   1863;    and  resigned  at  Mur- 


freesboro,  Tenn.,  March,  1865.  In  Feb., 
18S3,  he  was  appointed  postmaster  at 
Wrhite  Hall,  111.,  which  office  be  now 
holds.  There  have  been  born  unto  him- 
self and  wife,  nine  children,  of  whom 
five  are  surviving— John  Brown,  now 
surgeon  general  United  States  Marine 
Hospital  service,  born  Dec.  1,  1847; 
Flora  Eva,  born  Aug.  21,  1852,  married 
Dr.  E.  T.  Cassell,  now  of  Edgar,  Neb.; 
Amy  Eliza,  born  July  9,  1855,  married 
John  Leverctt,  of  Upper  Alton,  111.; 
Henry  DeWitt,  born  Feb.  26,  1S63,  now 
a  lawyer  of  New  York  city;  Frank 
Chandler,  born  Feb.  23,  1868,  now  a 
junior  in  Shurtleff  College.  Those 
dying  were — Arthur  Lee,  Apphia  Ma- 
rie, Laura  Adaline,  and  Ellen  U.  Mr. 
Hamilton  joined  the  I.  O.O.  F.  lodge, 
No.  53,  of  Jerseyville,  in  Feb.,  1850, 
and  was  initiated  into  the  encampment, 
No.  20,  at  its  institution  in  June,  1853; 
was  made  a  Mason,  by  Morning  Sun 
lodge,  at  Jerseyville,  in  1S53,  and  was 
initiated  into  the  Carrollton  chapter, 
where  he  received  the  council  degrees. 
His  studies  and  familiarity  with  the 
history  of  current  events  are  too  well 
understood  to  need  special  mention  in 
this  connection.  His  first  presidential 
vote  was  given  to  Binney,  in  1844,  and 
he  has  voted  consecutively  for  each  can- 
didate on  the  Republican  ticket  since 
1856,  except  when  Lincoln  was  a  can- 
didate, in  1864,  his  duties  in  the  field 
precluding  him  from  the  exercise  of  his 
right  in  that  regard. 

EDUCATIONAL. 

It  is  currently  believed  that  the  first 
school  in  the  town  of  White  Hall  was 
opened  about  1835,  and  taught  by  a  man 
by    the   name    of  Barton.      Some   have 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


1103 


thought  that  the  date  of  this  should  I  e 
1836,  which  may  be  the  proper  one. 
This  was  in  a  small  frame  school  house 
erected  on  Oarrollton  street.  Some 
time  afterward,  the  school  was  held  in 
the  unfinished  church  edifice  started  by 
the  Methodists  but  never  completed. 
Various  other  school  houses  were  used, 
but  in  1867  the  present  elegant  school 
house  was  erected  at  a  cost  of  $22,000. 
It  is  well  ventilated  and  heated,  and 
constructed  according  to  scientific  prin- 
ciples, and  is  a  credit  to  the  city  and 
the  board  of  education.  The  grades 
are — primary,  second  intermediate,  in- 
termediate, grammar  and  high  school. 
The  present  efficient  corps  of  teachers 
having  charge  of  this  school,  in  1885, 
are  the  following  well  known  educators: 
High  school — George  M.  Herrick.  prin- 
cipal, and  George  W.  Smith,  assistant  ; 
grammer  department — Dwight  Purdy 
andMattie  J.  Black;  intermediate  grade 
— Laura  Lowenstein  and  Emma,  Pritch- 
ard;  2nd  intermediate — Fannie  Adam 
and  Mollie  (i.  Ream;  primary — Sarah 
Craig  and  Vinnie  A.  Yedder. 

George  M.  Herrick  holds  the  posi- 
tion of  principal  of  the  schools  of 
White  Hall.  He  is  a  native  of  Essex, 
Chittenden  county,  Vt.,  born  March  21, 
1856.  His  parents,  Leonard  E.  and 
Susan  B.(Coffren)  Herrick, were  natives 
respectively  of  Vermont  and  New 
Hampshire.  They  removed  to  Wis- 
consin, in  1857,  and  to  Winnebago 
county,  this  state,  in  1858.  There  they 
still  reside,  in  Rockford,  his  father,  who 
was  formerly  a  farmer,  now  being  re- 
tired from  active  pursuits.  George  M., 
the  subject  of  this  sketch,  attended  the 
West  Rockford  high  school  from  1869 
until  his   graduation,   in    187l!,   and  in 


1874  commenced  attendance  at  college  in 
Beloit,  Wis.,  from  which  he  graduated 
in  the  classical  course,  in  1878.  After 
leaving  college  he  was  chosen  principal 
of  the  Durand  graded  school,  and  held 
that  position  one  year,  when  he  gave  it 
up  to  accept  a  similar  one  at  Lena, 
Stephenson  county,  111.  He  remained 
in  charge  there  three  years,  and  then 
went  to  Chicago,  where  he  accepted  a 
position  in  the  employ  of  Cowperthwait 
&  Co.,  of  that  city.  This  he  held  one 
year,  until  he  was  chosen  principal  of 
the  White  Hall  public  schools.  He 
then  came  to  this  city  and  has  ever 
since  held  that  position,  this  being  his 
third  year  here.  On  Sept.  3,  1883,  he 
was  mar-ried  to  Julia  A.,  daughter  of 
Nicholas  and  Hannah  (  Wilson  )  Pickard. 
Miss  Pickard  was  a  graduate  of  the 
Lena  high  school,  and  had  been  a  suc- 
cessful teacher  in  the  public  schools 
there  for  several  years.  Both  her  pa- 
rents were  natives  of  New  York.  They 
came  to  Illinois  in  1850.  Mr.  Pickard, 
now  deceased,  was  a  physician.  His 
widow  now  makes  her  home  with  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Herrick,  in  this  city.  They 
are  the  parents  of  one  child — Laura 
Hannah,  born  Feb.  «8,  1885.  Mr.  Her- 
riek  and  wife  are  members  of  the  White 
Hall  Presbyterian  church.  The  pro- 
fessor is  the  possessor  of  a  state  certifi- 
cate, granted  in  1881.  He  also  received 
the  degree  of  A.  M.  in  course,  from 
Beloit  College,  in  1881,  at  which  timehe 
was  chosen  from  his  class  to  deliver  the 
master's  oration. 

THE    WHITE    HALL    NURSERY 

Was  established  in  1871,  by  the  present 
proprietor,  Henley  Wilkinson,  it  being 
located    at   the   west   end   of    Franklin 


11(14 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


street.  While  the  local  patronage  has 
been  very  liberal,  90  per  cent,  of  the 
stock  grown  for  years  past  has  found  a 
market  in  other  counties  and  states,  he 
often  shipping  more  stock  in  one  day 
than  Greene  county  would  use  in  a 
year.  This  establishment  is  one  of  the 
permanent  institutions  of  the  county. 
Special  attention  is  given  to  all  new 
fruits  of  merit. 

The  White  Hall  green  houses  were 
established  in  1881,  on  the  grounds  of, 
and  in  connection  with  the  nursery. 
Business  in  this  branch  increased  so 
rapidly  that  it  was  impossible  for  the 
management  to  anticipate  the  proper 
amount  of  extension,  from  year  to  year, 
until  to-day  it  is  the  largest  establish- 
ment west  of  the  Alleghany  mountains, 
in  any  city  the  size  of  White  Hall,  and, 
for  age,  individual  enterprise  and  per- 
manent structure,  it  has  no  rival  in 
America.  Glass  and  putty  have  been 
purchased  by  the  ton,  200  perches  of 
stone  has  been  used  in  the  foundations, 
and  40,000  brick  in  the  furnaces  and 
cisterns.  The  reserve  capacity  for  water- 
ing plants  is  2,000  barrels.  Pots  from 
the  factory  are  bought  by  the  100,000  at 
a  single  purchase.  ■ 

The  present  capacity  for  table  plants 
is  over  half  a  million,  bulbs  and  choice 
new  plants  being  imported  direct  from 
England,  France  and  Germany.  The 
trade  in  this  department  is  fast  as- 
suming a  national  character.  Plants 
are  sent  out  from  this  place  by  freight 
and  express,  and  by  mail,  from  Ne 
braska  to  Florida,  from  Baltimore  to 
Oregon.  Special  care  is  given  to  grow- 
ing Sowers  for  funerals,  parties,  wed- 
dings and  school  commencements;  bo- 
quets,  wreaths,  crowns,  crosses  and  all- 


manner  of  designs,  filled  with  the  finest 
roses,  carnations,  etc.,  in  the  best  and 
latest  styles. 

The  catalogues  issued  by  this  estab- 
lishment are  equal  to  those  sent  out  by 
the  best  eastern  growers.  Parties  visit- 
ing White  Hall  from  midwinter  to 
spring  should  see  these  green  houses; 
in  the  summer,  the  flower  garden  is 
only  excelled  by  the  city  parks. 

Richard  H.  Wilkinson,  the  father  of 
Henley  Wilkinson,  was  born  and  raised 
in  the  state  of  Virginia,  and  graduated 
at  Winchester  College.  He  came  to 
southern  Indiana  in  1832,  and  was  one 
of  the  pioneer  Methodist  ministers  and 
was  an  active  assistant  in  establishing 
the  Greencastle  University.  In  1835, 
he  married  Julia  A.  Henley,  who  was 
born  and  raised  in  Clark  county,  Ind., 
and  was  a  sister  of  Thomas  J.  Henley, 
who  figured  conspicuously  in  state  and 
national  politics,  until  the  gold  excite- 
ment in  California,  when  he  was  ap- 
pointed by  the  U.  S.  congress  to  fill  the 
position  of  postmaster  at  San  Francisco. 
Later  on  he  resigned  this  position  to 
accept  an  Indian  agency,  which  posi- 
tion he  held  at  the  time  of  his  death. 
His  son,  Barkley  Henley,  is  the  young- 
est member  of  our  present  congress. 
Richard  H.  Wilkinson  and  wife  moved 
from  Clark  county  to  LaPorte  county, 
in  the  fall  of  1835,  and  located  on  a 
farm,  where  they  have  remained  for 
over  50  years,  and  are  still  in  good 
health. 

Henley  Wilkinson  was  born  Feb.  2, 
1840,  in  Durham,  Laporte  county,  Ind., 
and  was  the  second  son  of  Richard  H. 
and  Julia  A.  Wilkinson.  He  was  edu- 
cated at  Laporte,  and  remained  on  the 
farm  with  his  parents  until  he  was  21 


Propr.  Whit^/Hau  Nurseries  &  Green  Houses 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


L107 


years  of  age,  when  he  associated  him- 
self with  Irvin  L.  Jessup,  the  leading 
nurseyman  and  florist  of  Laporte.  In 
the  fall  of  1864,  he  came  to  Illinois  and 
temporarily  settled  in  Bureau  county. 
April  25,  1865,  he  was  married  to  Ella 
M.  Owen.  In  1867,  he  moved  to  Beards- 
town,  111.,  where  he  established  and 
operated  a  nursery  of  fruits  and  flow- 
ers. In  1871,  he  established  a  branch  of 
the  fruit  tree  department  at  White  Hall 
and,  in  the  spring  of  1873,  he  moved 
with  his  family  and  permanently  lo- 
cated in  Worcester's  west  addition  to 
the  city  of  White  Hall.  He  is  a  posi- 
tive actor  on  the  stage  of  life,  demo- 
cratic in  politics  and  makes  no  profes- 
sion of  religion,  but  aids  all  of  the 
churches  to  the  extent  of  his  ability, 
advocating  that  morals  are  best  pro- 
moted in  the  rising  generation  by  the 
independence  of  the  various  churches, 
each  on  its  own  adherents  or  followers. 
Ella  M.  Owen,  to  whom  he  was  married, 
was  a  daughter  of  Allen  and  Margaret 
Owen,  and  a  niece  of  Robert  Dale 
Owen,  of  Indiana.  She  was  born  near 
Richmond,  Ind.,  April  2,  1844.  In 
1853,  she  came  with  her  parents  to  Il- 
linois, they  permanently  locating  in 
Bureau  county,  where  she  was  living  at 
the  time  of  her  marriage  with  Henley 
Wilkinson,  April  25,  1865.  Nine  chil- 
have  been  the  result  of  this  union — 
Allen  H.,  born  April  2,  1S67;  William 
G.,  born  Aug.  14,  1869,  died  Nov.  18, 
1869;  Stella  A.,  born  Feb.  10,  1871;  By- 
ron 0.,  born  April  26,  1873;  Lloyd  H., 
born  Nov.  28,  1875;  Ralph  W.,  born 
Dec.  3,  1877;  Tillie  M.,  born  Nov.  14, 
1879;  Leon  Earl,  born  Jan.  26,  1882; 
Pansy  May,  born  Jan.  2,  1884,  died  Jan. 
8,  1884. 

m 


HOTELS. 

The  Commercial  hotel  was  built  in 
1869,  and  was  first  kept  by  John  Can-. 
proprietor  of  the  building.  He  kept  it 
several  years,  and  then  let  it  to  others. 
Since  that  time  it  has  had  a  varied  his- 
tory. The  present  landlord,  Thomas 
Duncan,  took  the  house  in  Aug.,  1882, 
and  it  has  met  with  its  first  success  un- 
der his  management.  This  success  has 
been  well  deserved,  as  Mr.  Duncan  is  a 
boniface  who  spares  no  pains  to  make 
his  guests  comfortable.  He  and  his 
estimable  family  are  a  welcome  addition 
to  the  city  of  White  Hall.  The  house 
contains  20  sleeping  rooms,  besides  the 
other  appurtenances  of  a  good  hotel, 
and  has  a  liberal  patronage. 

Thomas  Duncan,  the  present  propri- 
etor of  the  Commercial,  was  born  at 
Jonesboro,  Eastern  Term.,  March  1, 
1821.  He  is  a  son  of  James  and  Sarah 
(Hunt)  Duncan,  both  natives  of  Tennes- 
see. He  lived  with  his  parents  until 
he  had  reached  the  age  of  25,  being  en- 
gaged in  farming  with  his  father.  In 
1856  he  moved  to  this  state,  and  bought 
land  near  Girard,  Macoupin  county, 
where  he  was  engaged  in  farming  nine 
years.  He  then  sold  bis  farm,  and  en- 
gaged in  the  grocery  business  at  Girard, 
in  which  enterprise  he  was  engaged  for 
11  years.  He  then  embarked  in  the 
hotel  business  in  the  same  plaee,  taking 
charge  of  the  Enterprise  hotel,  which 
he  conducted  for  about  three  years. 
From  there  he  removed  to  White  Hall, 
and  took  charge  of  the  Commercial  ho- 
tel. He  was  married,  Aug.  7,  1856,  to 
Elizabeth  B.  Kitzmiller,  daughter  of 
Henry  and  Elizabeth  (Carrj  Kitzmiller. 
They  are  the  parents  of  nine  children, 
eight  of  whom  are  living — Martha  M., 


11  OS 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


married  to  L.  P.  Smith,  living  at  Pal- 
myra, Macoupin  county;  Mary  E., 
SarahE.,  Ella  B.,  Laura  A.,  Katie  J., 
Birdie  Irene  and  Ethel  V.  All  of  these, 
with  one  exception,  have  been  endowed 
with  a  marked  talent  for  vocal  music. 
The  one  deceased  was  an  infant,  not 
named.  The  family  are  devout  mem- 
bers of  the  Baptist  church,  the  young 
ladies  being  leading  singers  in  the  choir. 
Mr.  Duncan  is  a  man  honest  and  upright 
in  the  fullest  sense  of  the  words.  He  is 
a  republican,  politically. 

The  leading  down  town  hotel  of  White 
Hall,  is  the  Brunswick,  which  is  cen- 
trally located  on  the  southeast  corner  of 
Main  and  Sherman  streets.  The  build- 
ing was  erected  by  George  Dossel  and 
Charles  Gropp,  in  partnership,  in  1882, 
at  a  cost  of  $10,000.  The  hotel  business 
was  carried  on  in  this  structure  by  its 
builders  for  two  years,  when  Charles 
Naught  purchased  the  interest  of  Mr. 
Gropp,  in  the  business,  in  April,  1885. 
The  building  is  handsome,  both  in  archi- 
tectural appearance,  and  in  its  furnish- 
ing. It  is  two  stories  in  height,  and 
covers  an  area  of  26x80  feet  on  the 
ground.  In  this  building  are  six  large 
and  handsome  sleeping  rooms,  and  12 
other  rooms,  over  Weitzel's  clothing 
store,  are  also  used  for  this  purpose. 
They  have  a  well  fitted  office,  dining 
and  sample  rooms.  In  front  of  the 
office  is  a  room  in  which  they  handle 
confectionery,  cigars,  etc.  The  proprie- 
tors of  the  buildingare  Dossel  &  Gropp. 
The  Amos  House  is  one  of  the  old 
landmarks  of  White  Hall.  It  was  built 
in  1835,  by  Enos  Ayers,  who  ran  it  for 
five  or  six  years,  and  was  succeeded  by 
Ross  B.  Hughes.  He  ran  it  about  four 
years.     It  has  since  changed   landlords 


a  great  many  times.  It  is  now  owned 
by  Mrs.  Amos,  who  still  accommodates 
guests.  It  is  the  oldest  hotel  in  White 
Hall. 

NURSERY. 

In  1877  W.  P.  Bates  &  Co.  established 
a  nursery  at  White  Hall,  which  was  op- 
erated by  them  successfully.  The  firm 
was  composed  of  the  above  gentleman 
and  his  father,  P.  J.  Bates.  The  former 
removed  to  Arkansas  in  1881,  where  he 
now  operates  a  large  nursery  and  fruit 
farm .  They  still  carry  on  the  fruit  busi- 
ness on  a  somewhat  extended  scale  in 
White  Hall,  dealing,  principally,  in 
strawberries  and  grapes,  although  all 
small  fruits   receive  their  attention. 

James  Brown  established  the  city 
green  house  in  1884,  and  already  it  has 
become  one  of  the  institutions  of  this 
busy  little  city.  It  has  a  conservatory 
18x70  feet  in  size,  and  nice  grounds  in 
which  to  bed  his  plants.  He  makes  a 
specialty  of  roses,  being  an  adept  in 
handling  that  queen  of  flowers,  although 
he  keeps  on  hand  nearly  all  the  annual 
and  perennial  plants. 

James  Brown,  Jr.,  was  born  Dec.  20, 
1857,  in  Chester  county,  Penn.  He  is  a 
son  of  James  and  Catharine  (McKelvey) 
Brown,  the  latter  a  native  of  Ireland. 
The  subject  was  educated  in  Chester 
county,  Penn.,  and  there  began  the  busi- 
ness of  life,  at  the  early  age  of  nine 
years,  as  a  florist.  He  came  to  Illinois 
in  1883,  and  established  the  greenhouse 
which  he  now  conducts  witth  success. 
June  8,  1882,  he  was  united  in  mar- 
riage with  Catharine  Keenan,  a  native 
of  Pennsylvania.  Mr.  Brown  and  wife 
are  members  of  the  Catholic  church. 

DEPOTS. 

The  C.  &  A.  R.  R.  has  had  two  depots 


in  this  city.  The  first  one  was  erected 
in  1863,  and  was  20x40  feet  in  size.  It 
gave  place  to  the  present  structure, 
which  is  30x100  feet,  in  the  fall  of  1870. 
The  first  agent  in  the  old  building  was 
Mell  Leighton,  and  Geo.  McFadden,  in 
the  new  one.  He  was  succeeded  by  W. 
K.  Morlcy,  and  he  by  G.  W.  Secor,  the 
present  agent,  who  took  the  post  in 
1871. 

The  first  depot  of  the  C..B.&  Q.  R.R. 
at  White  Hall  was  built  in  the  winter 
of  1870.  It  was  destroyed  by  fire,  Oct. 
9,  1884.  The  work  of  rebuilding  soon 
commenced,  and  the  present  structure 
was  ready  for  occupancy  in  Dec,  1884. 
The  old  depot  was  24x60  feet  in  size; 
the  new  one  is  10  feet  longer.  The  first 
agent  was  named  Hesser.  Thomas  P. 
Raferty  now  manages  the  business  of 
the  company  at  this  point  in  a  gentle- 
manly and  obliging  manner.  He  suc- 
ceeded John  Beaty  in  this  position. 

Thomas  P.  Raferty  was  born  at  .^ing 
Sing.  N.  Y.,  Nov.  13,  1855,  and  is  a  son 
of  Patrick  and  Mary  (McNawall)  Raf- 
erty, natives  of  Ireland.  They  emi- 
grated from  New  York  to  Illinois,  and 
located  at  Rock  Island,  where  Thomas 
began  the  study  of  telegraphy,  remain- 
ing with  his  parents  until  he  had  arrived 
at  the  age  of  17  years.  He  then  came 
to  Greene  county,  and  took  the  position 
of  night  operator  at  Rockbridge,  where 
he  remained  nine  months.  He  then 
came  to  White  Hall  as  day  operator  and 
assistant  agent  to  H.  L.  Pierce  and  J.T. 
Crapsey,  which  situation  he  held  four 
years.  He  then  took  charge  of  the  office 
at  Medora,  as  agent  and  operator, where 
he  was  located  one  year,  and  at  the  ex- 
piration of  that  time  returned  to  White 
Hall,  where  he  entered  the  office  of  the 


C,  B.  &  Q.  as  agent,  on  Dec.  29,  since 
which  time  he  has  ably  performed  the 
duties  pertaining  thereto.  Mr.  Raferty 
was  married,  June  19,  1878, to  Henrietta 
Ayres,  daughter  of  Alfred  and  Ann 
(Eoff)  Ayres.  By  this  marriage  there 
are  two  interesting  children — Leroy  M. 
and  Katie.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Raferty  are 
members  of  the  Catholic  church.  Mr. 
Raferty  is  an  energetic,  careful  mana- 
ger, well  qualified  to  fill  with  credit  the 
position  he  holds. 

CORNET  BAM). 

The  White  Hall  Silver  Cornet  Band 
was  organized  in  the  winter  of  1865-6, 
and  is  the  first  band  ever  organized  at 
this  place.  It  was  made  up  as  follows: 
F.  F.  Worcester,  leader  and  Eb  cornet; 

J.   A.    Boehm,    Bb  cornet;  Geery, 

alto;  Bruce  Atwood,  tenor;  John  Mills, 
Bb  bass;  M.  H.  Watt,  tuba;  Geo.  Daw- 
son, bass  drum.  At  present  the  band  is 
made  up  as  follows:  T.  J.  Grant,  leader 
and  Eb  cornet;  M.  J.  Galhuley,  Eb  cor- 
net; Luther  Markellie,  Bb  clarionet; 
Richard  White,  Bb  cornet;  George  Hal- 
pin,  solo  alto;  Melvin  Black,  1st  alto; 
John  Fahey,  1st  tenor;  J.  E.  Adams, 
2d  tenor;  F.  F.  Worcester,  baritone; 
H.  L.  McFarland,  Bb  bass;  Charles 
Black,  tuba;  William  Dawson,  bass 
drum;  Greeley  Vermillion,  snare  drum; 
Geo.  Adams,  drum  major.  The  officers 
for  1885  are:  M.  J.  Galhuley,  pres.; 
F.  F.  Worcester,  sec.  and  treas.;  M.  J. 
Galhuley,  T.  J.  Grant  and  F.  F.  Wor- 
cester, trustees.  The  organization  is  out 
of  debt,  and  has  some  money  in  the 
treasury.  They  have  paid  out  about 
$1,000  in  the  last  five  years  for  instru- 
ments and  uniforms.  Their  hall  and 
practice    room    is    over     the    People's 


1110 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


bank.  They  have  played  for  the  trades' 
procession  at  St.  Louis,  two  years,  and 
for  the  Veiled   Prophets  parade,  once. 

SOCIETIES. 

White  Hall  lodge,  No.  80,  A.  F.  &  A. 
M.,  was  duly  organized  June  19,  1850, 
under  a  dispensation,  receiving  a  char- 
ter Oct.  8,  1850.  The  list  of  the  origi- 
nal members  is  here  given  :  J.  C. 
Winters,  Henry  Griswold,  John  B. 
Mcintosh,  Joseph  Richert,  N.  Kendall, 
Asbury  Davis,  John  Grant,  Jas.  Kelley 
and  Arthur  Axley.  The  first  officers 
wire  as  follows:  J.  C.  Winters,  W.  M.; 
Henry  Griswold,  S.  W.;  J.  B.  Mcin- 
tosh,'J.  W.;  J.  C.  VanOstrand,  T.; 
Asbury  Davis,  S.;  Joseph  Richert,  S. 
D.;  Nath'l  Kendall,  J.  D.;  Arthur  Ax- 
ley, tyler.  There  is  a  present  member- 
ship of  96  brothers.  The  hall  in  which 
they  meet  was  erected  by  them  in  1873, 
and  embraces  the  upper  story  of  S.  D. 
Chapin's  building.  It  is  constructed  of 
brick,  and  is  24x65  feet  in  size,  and  was 
completed  at  a  cost  of  about  $2,500. 
The  furniture,  which  is  very  handsome 
and  complete,  cost  some  $700,  in  addi- 
tion. The  following  have  filled  the 
office  of  W.  M.  of  this  lodge:  J.  C. 
Winters,  J.  B.  Mcintosh,  E.  M.  Husted, 
J.  W.  Gregory,  F.  H.  Clark,  J.  M. 
Perry,  S.  D.  Chapin,  W.  P.  Worcester, 
J.  E"  Higby,  T.  A.  Smith,  Isaac  McCol- 
lister.  The  present  officers  are  :  Isaac 
McCollister,  W.  M.;  H.  W.  Chapman, 
S.  D.;  L.  T.  Prindle,  J.  W.;  Charles 
Quigley,  T.;  C.  W.  Pritchett,  S.;  Wm. 
Winn,  S.  D.;  Robert  Dixon,  J.  D.;  L. 
0.  Pates  and  Charles  Richert,  stewards; 
S.  M.  Henderson,  C;  and  Edward  Rix, 
tyler. 
'  Benevolent  lodge,  No.  227,  I.   O.  O. 


F.,  was  instituted  under  a  dispensation 
granted  April  3,  1857,  upon  which  ap- 
pears the  following  list  of  petitioners: 
J.  W.  Adgate,  Peter  Parker,  D.  C. 
Banta,  Thomas  Lakin  and  Joseph  B. 
Cook,  The  first  meeting  of  the  lodge 
which  met  for  institution  by  D.  D.  G. 
M.,  W.  L.  Graham,  was  held  May  14, 
1857.  The  charter  bears  the  names  of 
the  above  petitioners.  The  first  officers 
were:  Peter  Parker,  N.  G.;  D.  C.  Banta, 
V.  G.;  J.  W.  Adgate,  R.  S.;  Thomas 
Lakin,  T.;  J.  R.  Austin,  W.;  H.  D. 
Moreland,  C;  J.  B.  Cook,  O.  G.;  W. 
M.  Allen,  I.  G.  Since  the  organization 
of  this  lodge  they  have  initiated  264 
members.  The  present  membership  is 
about  45,  and  much  interest  is  taken  in 
the  work  of  the  order.  The  hall  in 
which  they  meet  was  built  by  the  lodge 
in  1873,  embracing  the  second  story  of 
the  building  only.  It  is  22x65  feet  in 
size,  and  was  completed  at  a  cost  of 
$2,500.  The  following  is  a  roster  of  the 
officers  in  1885:  J.  W.  Turner,  N.  G 
M.  M.  Fuller,  V.  G.;  Zeno  Stocks,  R 
S.;  T.  A.  Smith,  P.  S.;  J.  D.  Adams,  T 
S.  B.  Silkwood,  W.;  J.  W.  Bernthistle 
C;  D.  E.  Culbertson,  R.  S.  N.  G. 
Charles  Quigley,  L.  S.  N.  G.;  D.  Cul- 
bertson, R.  to  G.  L.;  W.  B.  Beadnal,  I. 
G.;  and  J.  W.  Scott,  O.  G. 

Culver  post,  No.  512,  G.  A.  R.,  was 
organized  June  18,  1885,  by  T.  G. 
Capps,  D.  S.  M.  O.,  with  the  following 
charter  members — B.  B.  Hamilton,  J. 
C.  Winters,  J.  F.  Potts,  W.  xM.  Potts, 
G.  W.  Burns,  T.  E.  Smith,  E.J.  Pearce, 
G.  W.  Winn,  S.  Culbertson,  Levi  Cul- 
bertson, J.  S.  Baker,  M.  H.  Walker,  D. 
W.  Trask,  Joseph  Westnedge,  G.  W. 
Brown,  Thomas  Martin,  W.  H.  Hender- 
son, J.    F.    Allen,   George    Strickland, 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


mi 


V.  C.  Wright,  L.  N.  Ballard,  M.  C.  Wil- 
liamson, W.  H.  Dix,  R.  B.  Winn  and 
Squire  Remer.  The  post,  although  anew 
one,  is  in  fine  working  order,  and  now 
has  a  membership  of  38.  They  meet 
once  a  month  in  the  I.  O.  0.  F.  hall. 
The  first  and  present  officers  are — T.  E. 
Smith,  ('.;  G.  W.  Trask,  S.  V.  C;  Sam- 
uel Culbertson,  J.  V.  C;  G.  W.  Winn, 
Q.  M.;  J.  F.  Potts,  S.;  B.  B.  Hamilton, 
Chap.;  M.  H.  Walker,  0.  D.;  G.  R. 
Strickland,  O.  G.;  R.  B.  Winn,  Adj't, 
G.  W.  Brown,  S.  M.;  Levi  Culbertson, 
Q.  M.  S. 

Orphans'  Hope  lodge,  No.  1431,  K.  of 
H.,  was  organized  March  5,  1879,  by  J. 
H.  Vinson,  D.  G.  D.,  with  the  follow- 
ing charter  members:  G.  W.  Trask, 
R.  B.  Winn,  A.  W.  Foreman,  F.  E. 
Huddle,  J.  S.  Brooks,  A.  F.  Vedder, 
L.  H.  Wagner,  J.  E.Welch,  R.  F.Clark, 
W.  C.  Baker,  Charles  Richert,  E.  L. 
Brown,  J.  Culbertson,  M.  H.  Walker, 
J.  S.  Brown,  C.  W.  Henry,  G.  R.  Fan. 
ning,  J.  W.  Henry,  F.  M.  Frost,  H.  J. 
Wells,  John  King,  Wm.  Sykes,  Conrad 
Weis,  W.  J.  Goodall,  S.  Culbertson, 
E.  L.  Simonds  and  J.  F.  Walker.  The 
following  were  the  first  officers  of  the 
society:  E.  W.  Foreman,  D.;  J.  Cul- 
bertson, J.  D.;  E.  L.  Brown,  A.  D.;  J. 
E.  Welch,  R.;  A.  F.  Vedder,  F.  R.;  W. 
C.  Baker,  T.;  G.  W.  Trask,  C.j  C.  W. 
Henry,  G.;  R.  B.  Winn,  (in.;  E.  L.  Si- 
monds,  S.;  A.  W.  Foreman,  M.  E.;  F. 
E.  Huddle,  P.  D.  There  is  a  present 
membership  of  33,  and  the  lodge  is 
highly  prosperous.  The  present  officers 
are:  C.  W.  Henry,  D.;  J.W.Turner, 
V.  I>.;  W.  M.  Ballard,  A.  D.;  R.  B. 
Winn,  R.;  E.  W.  Foreman,  F.  R.;  B.W. 
Greer.C;  C.  Richert,  T.;  S.  Culbertson, 
G,;  J.  S.  Baker,  Gn.;  Chas.  Handler,  S.; 


A.  W.  Foreman,  M.  E.;  and  C.  Richert, 
P.  D. 

MUNICIPAL. 

The  city  of  White  Hall  was  incorpor- 
ated, by  an  act  of  the  general  assembly, 
as  :i  town,  in  1836.  No  record  exists, 
or  is  accessible,  of  the  early  officers, 
and  the  names  of  but  two  are  remem- 
bered— Archibald  Clark  and  Chester 
Swallow.  In  1838  another  charter  was 
obtained  containing  greater  powers,  and 
this  answered  until  1869,  when  a  new 
charter  was  obtained  from  the  same 
source.  At  that  time,  Samuel  Higbee 
was  elected  president,  and  P.  Brantzel, 
W.  B.  Harper,  S.  V.  Villinger,  J.  Smith 
and  G.  S.  Vosseller,  trustees.  In  1884, 
the  place  was  duly  incorporated  as  a 
city,  and  the  following  officers  were 
elected — Seneca  D.  Chapin,  mayor;  B. 
S.  Worcester,  clerk;  Isaac  Powell,  treas- 
urer; Thomas  Henshaw,  attorney;  F.I. 
Vedder,  marshal;  T.  P.  Hackney,  super- 
intendent of  streets;  Robert  Neece, 
superintendent  of  lamps;  aldermen,  1st 
ward — Nulton  F.  Worcester  and  Alfred 
White;  2d  ward — 1>.  Culbertson  and  A. 
0.  Vosseler;  3d  ward — M.  C.  Purdy,and 
Michael  Brantzel. 

The  present  officers  of  the  city  are 
Seneca  D.  Chapin,  mayor;  R.  S.  Wor- 
cester, clerk;  Isaac  Powell,  treasurer; 
Thomas  Henshaw,  attorney;  M.  11. 
Walker,  marshal;  A.  B.  Harrison, 
superintendent  of  streets:  Robert  Xeeee, 
superintendent  of  lamps.  The  city 
council  is  composed  of  the  following 
alderman — N.  E.  Perkins,  Allied  White, 
David  Culbertson.  T.  J.  Grant,  Jr.,  M. 
C.  Purdy,  and  R.  P..   Winn. 

PROMINENT  CITIZENS. 

James  T.  Henley,  a  prominenl  citi- 
zen of    White  Hall,  was    born  in   Albe- 


1112 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


marie  county,  Va.,  Oct.  31,  1833.     He 

18  a  son  of  Samuel  and  Frances  (Davis) 
Henley,  also  natives  of  Virginia,  where 
they  were  married.  His  father  was  of 
English  extraction,  his  mother  of  Eng- 
lish and  French.  Samuel  learned  the 
miller's  trade  in  Virginia,  which  busi- 
ness he  followed  until  about  1836,  when 
they  immigrated  to  St.  Louis,  where  he 
purchased  property  and  engaged  in 
milling  for  Cathcart  &  Walsh,  a  promi- 
nent milling  firm  of  that  day.  He  then 
sold  his  property  in  St.  Louis  and  pur- 
chased a  farm  in  St.  Charles  county  and 
turned  his  attention  to  farming.  Mrs. 
Henley  died  there,  and  after  remaining 
a  few  years,  Mr.  Henley  sold  his  farm 
and  removed  to  St.  Louis.  He  died 
there  in  1S83,  at  the  advanced  age  of  86 
years.  They  had  a  family  of  six  chil- 
dren, James  T.  being  the  fourth.  After 
his  first  wife's  death,  Mr.  Henley  was 
again  married  to  Mrs.  Williams,  who  is 
also  deceased.  James  T.  was  reared  on 
the  farm  and  received  but  a  limited  ed- 
ucation, such  as  was  afforded  in  the  log 
school  house  of  that  day,  when  they 
had  slab  benches  for  seats,  but  by  study 
has  acquired  a  good,  practical  educa- 
tion. He  is  quite  a  reader  and  has  a  li- 
brary containing  many  standard  works. 
He  was  married  Feb.  18,  1862,  to  Julia 
A.  Hume,  a  native  of  Missouri,  born 
March  11,  1841.  She  is  a  daughter 
of  Stanton  and  Sarah  (Breckenridge) 
Hume,  an  own  cousin  of  Hon.  John  C. 
Breckenridge,  vice  president  during 
President  Buchanan's  term  of  office. 
Her  parents  went  from  Kentucky  to  Mis- 
souri, where  her  father  died.  Her 
mother  is  still  living.  Mrs.  Henley 
was  the  10th  of  a  family  of  12  children. 
Mr.  Henley  resided  in   Missouri   until 


April  3,  1863,  when  he  came  to  Greene 
county,  111.,  and  settled  on  his  farm 
near  Wilmington,  now  called  Patterson, 
which  he  had  previously  purchased, 
and  there  engaged  in  agricultural  pur- 
suits, which  he  still  follows.  May  9, 
1874,  he  purchased  the  residence  prop- 
erty, built  and  occupied  by  Judge  Bald- 
win, in  White  Hall,  and  still  resides 
there.  Mr.  Henley  has  been  quite  suc- 
cessful, financially,  and  has  accumu- 
lated until  he  now  owns  845  acres  of 
land,  45  acres  of  which  are  within  the 
city  limits  of  White  Hall.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Henley  are  the  parents  of  three 
children — Fannie  D.,  Cora  M.  and  Sallie 
B.  Mr.  Henley's  political  views  are 
democratic.  He  is  a  materialist  in  re- 
ligion. 

John  W.  Vinyard,  one  of  White  Hall's 
prominent  citizens,  is  a  native  of  this 
county,  having  been  born  within  its 
limits,  Jan.  11,  1844.  He  is  a  son  of 
Squire  and  Jane  (Manley)  Vinyard, 
who  are  noticed  in  other  places  in  this 
work.  John  W.  was  reared  in  this 
county,  and  here  received  his  educa- 
tion, principally  at  the  Giller  school 
house.  For  12  years  after  leaving  school 
he  was  engaged  in  the  general  merchan- 
dise business,  as  a  partner  with  his 
father.  During  that  time  he  managed 
the  business.  He  then  went  to  reside 
on  a  farm,  and  engaged  in  the  stock 
business.  In  1873,  he  was  united  in 
marriage  with  Ann  Doyle,  a  daughter  of 
Gregory  and  Elizabeth  (Wood)  Doyle. 
By  this  marriage  there  are  five  children 
—Frances,  Lizzie,  Stanley,  Lloyd,  de- 
ceased, and  Earl. 

Albert  H.  0  wings  was  born  near  Win- 
chester, Scott  county,  111.,  May  25,1853, 
and  is  a   son    of  Mordecai   and  Cynthia 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


m: 


(Adkinson)  Owings.  His  father  is  a  na- 
tive of  Kentucky,  his  mother  of  Ten- 
nessee, and  they  have  been  engaged 
through  life  in  the  pursuit  of  agricul- 
ture. Albert  received  his  education  in 
the  district  schools  near  Winchester, 
and  followed  farming  until  1881,  when 
he  engaged  in  the  dry  goods  business  at 
Winchester,  where  he  continued  two 
years.  He  then  came  to  White  Hall, 
and  in  partnership  with  his  brother 
Milton,  opened  up  in  the  same  business 
here,  which  they  carried  on  until  the 
latter  part  of  Oct.,  1885.  In  the  spring 
of  1874,  Mr.  Owings  was  married  to 
Mary  J.  Oleameyer,  a  daughter  of  Peter 
and  Lucinda  (Beasley)  Oleameyer,  na- 
tives of  Germany,  and  of  Scott  county, 
111.,  respectively.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Ow- 
ings are  the  parents  of  four  children, 
only  two  of  whom  are  now  living — Ber- 
tie and  Etta  Belle.  Those  deceased  are 
— Percy  and  Robert.  Mrs.  Owings  is  a 
member  of  the  Baptist  church,  and  Mr. 
Owings,  of  the  M.  E.  church.  He  is 
also  a  member  of  the  K.  of  H.  lodge  of 
White  Hall.  Mr.  Owings  is  an  ener- 
getic business  man,  and  any  failure  to 
make  a  success  of  any  business  he  may 
undertake  during  life  can  never  be  at- 
tributed to  a  lack  of  industry  on  his 
part. 

Absalom  Mitchell,  one  of  White  Hall's 
residents,  belongs  to  that  class  of  citi- 
zens who,  having  accumulated  a  compe- 
tency by  application  to  agricultural  life, 
have  retired  from  active  pursuits,  and 
come  to  the  city  to  live  in  comfort  upon 
the  fruits  of  early  labors.  He  was  born 
in  Indiana,  Feb.  i),  1835,  and  is  a  son  of 
Amos  and  Nancy  (Fulford)  Mitchell, 
natives  of  Ohio  and  Kentucky,  respect- 
ively.     His  father,  who  was  a  farmer, 


died  in  1837  ;  his  mother  died  in  1868. 
Absalom  was  educated  in  the  common 
schools  in  Indiana,  and  then  adopted 
farming  as  his  future  work.  In  1864, 
lie  removed  to  this  state  and  county  and 
purchased  a  large  farm,  which  he  culti- 
vated until  1882.  when  he  sold  out  and 
removed  to  White  Hall,  which  is  now 
his  residence.  In  1859,  he  was  united 
in  marriage  with  Jennie  Deviney,  a 
daughter  of  George  Washington  and 
Rebecca  (Hill)  Deviney,  who  were, 
respectively,  natives  of  Tennessee  and 
Missouri.  Her  father,  who  followed 
farming,  died  many  years  ago.  Her 
mother  died  in  1S7'.).  Mrs.  Mitchell 
was  born  Aug.  G,  1841.  By  this  mar- 
riage there  have  been  11  children,  of 
whom  only  one,  Myrtie  Elizabeth,  is 
now  living.  Of  the  others,  all  died 
young,  save  Rosetta,  who  was  the  first 
child;  she  was  married  at  the  time  of 
her  death. 

William  M.  Vinyard,  a  well  known 
known  farmer  and  and  land  owner,  of 
Greene  county,  residing  in  the  south- 
west quarter  of  White  Hall  city,  is  a 
native  of  Greene  county.  He  was  horn 
near  Walkerville  on  Aug.  6,  1837.  His 
parents  are  both  natives  of  Kentucky, 
and  came  to  Illinois  aboul  1823.  His 
father,  Squire  Vinyard,  followed  farm- 
ing and  money  loaning  until  his  death, 
Dec.  2G,  1880,  having  outlived  his  wife 
by  some  25  years.  William  M.  Vinyard 
was  reared  in  this  county,  receiving  his 
education  in  its  common  schools,  lie 
was  brought  up  to  farm  life,  and  has 
made  agriculture  his  business.  In  1860 
he  purchased  his  lir.-t  farm  of  233  acres, 
which  lies  on  Sec.  7,  4".  11,  I!.  12,  which 
is  still  owned  by  him,  together  with  160 
acres  on  section  6  of  the  same  township. 


1114 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


He  then  bought  40  acres  on  section  13, 
and  next  120  acres  on  sections  9  and  10, 
all  in  T.  11,  R.  13.  After  this  he  added 
120  acres  more  on  Sec.  3,  T.  11,  R.  12, 
and  on  the  latter  tract  he  now  resides. 
On  Feb.  2.  I860,  he  married  Sophia 
Bains,  a  native  of  this  county,  and  of 
English  descent.  By  this  marriage 
there  were  three  children — Etna  A., 
wife  of  E.  C.  Hudson,  living  near  Walk- 
erville;  Lillie  B.;  and  Caroline,  who  is 
deceased.  June  14,  1864,  William  M. 
Yinyard  was  united  in  matrimony  with 
Mary  J.  Murray,  also  a  native  of  this 
county.  By  this  marriage  there  are 
four  children,  two  of  whom  are  living — 
William  L.,  and  Lee  C.  Squire  C.  and 
Martha  J.  are  deceased.  Mr.  Vinyard 
has  some  very  fine  tracts  of  land,  and 
they  lie  in  a  fine  part  of  the  country, 
lie  has  accumulated  considerable  wealth 
in  the  last  25  years,  owing  to  his  ener- 
getic and  enterprising  efforts. 

Judge  Isaac  D.  Yedder  was  born  in 
Onondaga  county,  N.  Y.,  June  5,  1820, 
his  parents  being  Aaron  F.  and  Nancy 
(Allen)  Yedder,  his  father  a  native  of 
New  York,  his  mother  of  Canada.  They 
removed  to  Illinois  in  1S47,  but  in  1851, 
they  returned  to  New  York,  and  there 
spent  the  balance  of  their  days,  dying 
in  the  town  of  Lysander.  His  father's 
business  was  that  of  a  carpenter  and 
joiner.  Isaac  D.  received  his  education 
in  the  common  schools  of  Lysander, 
after  which  he  was  employed  as  clerk 
for  one  year,  at  Fulton,  Oswego  county, 
N.  V.  In  May,  1840,  he  came  to  his 
present  location,  in  White  Hall,  where 
he  has  ever  since  resided,  except  three 
years,  which  he  spent  in  Washington 
City.  On  coming  to  this  city  he  sold 
goods    for   about    five   years,  and    then 


worked  at  the  carpenter's  trade  for  two 
years.  In  1847,  he  received  an  appoint- 
ment in  the  national  land-office,  at 
Washington.  D.  C,  which  position  he 
retained  until  1850.  He  then  returned 
to  White  Hall,  and  formed  a  partner- 
ship with  A.  Davis,  in  the  dry  goods 
business,  which  continued  for  six  years, 
when  the  firm  sold  out.  Mr.  Yedder 
was  elected  justice  of  the  peace  then, 
but  in  1861,  he  resigned  that  office,  and, 
forming  a  partnership  with  A.  Davis 
and  G.  S.  Vosseller,  again  embarked  in 
the  dry  goods  business.  In  the  fall  of 
1864,  Mr.  Yedder  retired  from  this  firm, 
and  in  1866,  was  appointed  a  notary 
public,  which  office  he  still  holds.  In 
1872,  he  purchased  Judge  Worcester's 
interest  in  the  wagon  and  carriage  man- 
ufactory, and  engaged  in  that  business 
five  years.  He  then  sold  out,  and  since 
that  he  has  been  doing  an  agency  busi- 
ness, that  of  a  notary  public,  and  for 
four  years  that  of  police  magistrate. 
Feb.  15,  1849,  he  married  Sarah  E. 
Pretty  man,  daughter  of  Thomas  and 
Mary  (Pelton)  Prettyman,  natives  of 
Delaware,  and  Alexandria,  Ya.,  respect- 
ively. Mrs.  Prettyman  is  now  a  resi- 
dent of  Washington,  D.  C.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Yedder  are  the  parents  of  nine 
children,  eight  of  whom  are  living — 
Nannie,  deceased;  Ada,  wife  of  Dr.  Geo. 
F.  B.  Willard,  of  Yergennes,  Yt.;  Min- 
nie; Thomas  A.,  married;  Francis  L., 
married;  Isaac  D.,  Jr.;  Richard  P.;  Nel- 
lie and  Charles.  Mrs.  Yedder  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  M.  E.  church,  of  Washington 
city.  Mr.  Yedder  is  a  member  of 
White  Hall  lodge,  No.  80.  He  is  highly 
esteemed  for  his  good  qualities,  his  hon- 
esty and  integrity. 

William  J.   Roberts,  county  superin- 


tendent  of  schools,  and  editor  and  pro- 
prietor of  the  White  Hall  Register,  was 
born  at  Litchfield,  Montgomery  county, 
111.,  Jan.  9,  1852.  His  parents  were 
Wm.  H.  and  Charity  (Martin)  Roberts, 
natives  of  Illinois  and  Indiana,  respect- 
ively. His  father  died  Aug.  30,  1851, 
and  his  widow  Nov.  18,  1875-  Wil- 
liam J.  was  educated  in  the  common 
schools,  and  in  the  high  school  at  Jer- 
seyville.  He  has  also  attended  several 
normal  schools.  He  began  business  on 
a  farm,  which  he  followed  until  he  was 
22  years  of  age.  After  finishing  his 
education,  he  followed  school  teaching 
for  eight  consecutive  years.  In  June, 
1881,  he  was  appointed  to  fill  a  vacancy 
in  the  office  of  county  superintendent. 
In  December  of  the  same  year,  he  was 
re-appointed  for  one  year.  In  Novem- 
ber, 1882,  he  was  elected  to  hold  the 
office  for  a  term  of  four  years.  He  is 
well  fitted  for  the  office,  both  by  educa- 
tion and  experience.  His  early  educa- 
tion was  not  obtained,  however,  with- 
out considerable  exertion  on  his  own 
part.  His  father  having  died  before 
our  subject  was  born,  his  mother  was 
again  married  to  George  E.  Smith. 
William  J.  was  not  favored  with  the 
educational  advantages  he  craved,  and 
at  the  age  of  14  years,  he  left  home  to 
educate  himself,  his  stepfather  not  tak- 
ing much  stock  in  such  matters.  The 
last  year  of  his  teaching  experience,  he 
acted  as  principal  of  the  Roodhouse 
schools.  June  1,  1883,  he  bought  a 
half  interest  in  the  Roodhouse  Journal, 
and  in  August  purchased  a  half  interest 
in  the  White  Hall  Register.  July  1, 
1884,  he  purchased  the  above  papers, 
entire.  July  7,  1885,  he  sold  a  half  in- 
terest  to    Milton  Owings,    and    re-pur- 


chased the  same  Oct.  23,  1885,  as  related 
elsewhere. 

George  Hill  is  a  native  of  England, 
born  in  Brighton,  Sussex  county,  in 
1836.  At  the  early  age  of  18  he  crossed 
the  ocean,  and  arriving  in  New  York 
City,  he  subsequently  made  his  way  to 
Albany,  where  he  became  apprenticed 
to  an  architect  and  builder.  On  com- 
pleting his  trade  he  went  to  Glovers- 
ville.  where  he  married  Sarah  Kicks,  a 
daughter  of  Joseph  Ricks,  of  McHenry 
county,  111.  Taking  up  his  residence 
once  more  at  Albany,  he  became  actively 
employed  at  his  calling  until  1852,  when 
he  moved  to  Fort  Plain,  where  he 
erected  many  notable  buildings,  for  by 
this  time  he  had  gained  an  extensive 
reputation  as  an  architect  and  builder. 
During  the  war  he  was  a  soldier  in  Co. 
H,  lUth  N.  Y.  Zouaves.  In  186G  he 
settled  in  White  Hall,  Greene  county, 
and  it  was  not  long  before  his  talents 
and  energy  as  a  contractor  and  builder 
became  manifest  and  he  soon  received 
orders  from  wealthy  parties  contem- 
plating building.  He  it  was  who  be- 
came the  architect  and  builder  of  some 
of  the  more  noted  business  blocks  and 
private  residences  of  White  Hall,  Rood- 
house,  Greenfield  and  other  points.  In 
1873,  owing  to  ill  health,  he  abandoned 
this  calling,  in  which  he  won  the  admi- 
ration of  many,  and  the  following  year 
purchased  the  pottery  of  W.  W.  Hubbs; 
in  this,  owing  to  liberality,  honesty  and 
industry  he  transacts  a  very  large  trade, 
having  all  modern  facilities  for  it. 

E.  J.  Pearce  was  born  in  Evansburg, 
Crawford  county,  Penn,,  Oct.  6,  1839. 
He  worked  on  a  farm  in  the  summer, 
and  cut  cordwoml  in  the  winter,  until 
his   19th    year.       He    attended    district 


schools  a  few  three-months'  terms,  dur- 
ing the  winter,  and  in  1858  entered  the 
academy  at  New  Lebanon,  Penn., where 
he  remained  until  the  close  of  the  school 
year,  except  during  three  months  of 
the  winter  of  1858-9,  when  he  taught 
school  near  that  place.  He  also  taught 
a  couple  of  terms  of  writing  school  that 
winter  and  spring.  In  the  summer  of 
1858  he  engaged  to  teach  a  graded  school 
at  Cooperstown,  Penn.,  but  this  term 
only  lasted  one  week,  as  the  great  frost 
of  June  5,  destroyed  the  growing  crops. 
Desiring  to  seek  a  warmer  climate,  he 
started  southward,  and  after  a  varied 
experience,  reached  Cairo,  Va.,  and  set 
out  to  find  employment.  He  soon  se- 
cured a  school,  which  he  taught  until 
about  the  first  of  March,  1860,  when, 
having  decided  to  immigrate  to  Illinois, 
he  started,  and  soon  arrived  at  White 
Hall.  The  first  man  he  met  in  White 
Hall  was  Marcus  Worcester,  since 
deceased.  He  walked  two  and  a  half 
miles  to  the  residence  of  his  uncle, 
Israel  Pierce,  that  evening,  and  before 
night  next  day  had  engaged  to  teach 
the  Floyd  school.  He  taught  13  months 
in  this  county  at  that  time.  When 
school  closed,  in  1862,  he  engaged  in 
enlisting  soldiers  for  the  war.  On  Aug. 
8,  1862,  he  enlisted  as  a  private  in  Co. 
G,  91st  111.  Inft.  He  was  soon  after 
made  1st  sergeant,  then  2d  lieutenant, 
1st  lieutenant  and  captain,  in  succes- 
sion. He  was  captured  with  his  regi- 
ment at  Elizabethtown,   Ky.,    Dec.  27, 

1862,  by  John  Morgan's  forces,  and  pa- 
roled.      He    was    exchanged   in    June, 

1863,  at  St.  Louis.  On  the  21st  of  July 
he  arrived  at  Vicksburg,  Miss.,  in  com- 
mand of  40  men,  guarding  200  desert- 
ers.    Gen.  Logan  immediately  assigned 


him  to  duty  at  the  court  house,  as  as- 
sistant provost  marshal.  He  remained 
there  eight  months  and  during  the  time 
issued  all  the  passes  to  persons  going 
up  and  down  the  river,  or  through  the 
lines;  paroled  3,000  to  4,000  rebel  pris- 
oners; assisted  in  organizing  two  negro 
regiments,  and  issued  orders  for  rations 
twice  each  week  for  more  than  20,000 
people.  In  March,  1864,  having  re- 
ceived a  promotion,  he  was  ordered  to 
join  the  regiment  at  Brownsville,  Tex. 
At  the  end  of  the  week  he  embarked  on 
board  a  propeller,  and  was  soon  after 
placed  in  charge  of  a  steamboat  on  the 
Rio  Grande,  and  at  the  end  of  about  six 
weeks  detailed  as  adjutant  of  the  regi- 
ment, which  position  he  held  until  he 
was  promoted  to  captain  and  was  made 
acting  assistant  adjutant  general  of  the 
2d  brigade,  3d  division,  13th  army 
corps,  in  March,  1865.  He  retained 
this  position  all  through  the  Mo- 
bile campaign,  and  until  his  regi- 
ment was  mustered  out,  at  Mobile,  July 
12,  1865.  After  his  return  to  White 
Hall,  he  taught  school  in  town,  and  at 
Ciller's  school  house,  until  -July,  1867, 
when  he  was  employed  to  superintend 
the  only  elevator  in  the  place.  While 
at  work  at  the  elevator,  in  Feb.,  1868, 
he  was  surprised  by  the  information 
that  he  had  been  appointed  assistant 
assessor  of  internal  revenue.  This  po- 
sition lie  held  until  the  office  was  abol- 
ished. He  was  then  appointed  to  other 
revenue  positions,  and  remained  in  the 
service  until  1876,  when,  not  wishing  to 
he  transferred  to  Chicago,  he  resigned. 
He  taught  school  at  the  Hicks  school 
house,  east  of  White  Hall,  in  1870-7, 
and  in  Feb.,  1877,  started  the  White 
Hall  Republican,  and  entered  upon  edi- 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


1117 


torial  work,  as  related  in  the  Press 
chapter.  He  was  a  member  of  the  re- 
publican state  central  committee  from 
1878  to  1882,  and  has  always  taken  an 
active  part  in  politics,  as  a  speaker  and 
a  writer.  In  1867,  he  married  Maggie 
A.  Carr,  in  White  Hall.  They  have 
five  children  living — three  buys  and  two 
girls.  Three  of  their  children  died  in 
intancy.  Mr.  Pearce  is  a  ready  and 
forcible  writer. 


CEMETERY. 

The  White  Hall  Cemetery  Association 
was  formed  Feb.  16,  1865,  with  L.  E. 
Worcester,  Simeon  Ross,  J.  B.  Greg- 
ory, I.  D.  Vedder  and  B.  G.  Culver,  in- 
corporators. They  selected  and  pur- 
chased their  present  beautiful  location 
for  a  burial  ground,  on  section  2,  south 
of  the  town,  and  laid  it  out  and  orna- 
mented it.  Many  handsome  monuments 
grace  the  place. 


GHAPTRR    XXVII. 


ROODHOCSE 

The  sub-division  of  Greene  county 
known  as  Roodhouse  township,  is  loca- 
ted in  the  northern  part  of  the  county, 
and  is  bounded  on  the  north  by  Scott 
county,  on  the  east  by  Athensville  town- 
ship, on  the  south  by  White  Hall  town- 
sbip,  and  on  the  west  by  Patterson  town- 
ship. The  land  is  nearly  all  prairie  land, 
and  is  most  excellently  adapted  to  ag- 
ricultural purposes,  and  for  stock-rais- 
ing. The  center  of  three  lines  of  rail- 
road, it  has  the  best  facilities  for  the 
shipment  of  the  products  of  the  soil,  of 
any  township  in  the  county.  The  thriv- 
ing town  of  Roodhouse  is  located  in  the 
southeastern  part  of  the  township  and  is 
one  of  the  largest  business  centers  of  the 
county. 

EARL'S    SETTLEMENT. 

Benjamin  Diummond  was  probably 
the  first  settler  in  this  partof  the  county. 
He  came  from  Madison  county  in  1819, 
and    located   near  where    the   town    of 


TOWNSHIP. 

Roodhouse  is  now  situated  and  resided 
there  for  many  years. 

John  Taylor  was  the  next  settler  in 
this  township,  settling  in  1820.  He  lo- 
cated on  section  3,  where  he  entered  a 
large  tract  of  land  and  where  he  lived 
until  his  death.  The  same  year  there 
was  quite  a  settlement  in  this  section. 

Isaac  Hill  made  his  settlement  in  this 
township,  also,  in  the  year  1820.  He 
made  this  his  home,  and  became  identi- 
fied with  the  early  development  of  the 
county. 

Jobn,  Robert  and  Thomas  Lorton, 
made  settlements  within  the  limits  of 
what  is  now  Roodhouse  township,  in 
1820,  on  what  was  afterward  called  Lor- 
ton's  prairie.  Descendents  of  these  old 
pioneers  are  still  residents  of  the 
county. 

Elisha  Spencer  came  to  Greene  county 
in  1820,  and  located  in  what  is  now 
Roodhouse  township.  He  remained 
here  until  called  to  cross  the  dark   gulf 


that  divides  life  from  death,  in  1864.  A 
Bketch  of  him  is  given  in  connection 
with  that  of  his  son,  James  R.,  who  is  a 
resident  of  the  county. 

LEADINfi  CITIZENS. 

Below  will  be  found  sketches  of  those 
who  have  been  active  and  prominent 
in  the  affairs  of  this  township. 

Abram  J.  R.  Field,  was  born  in  Gib- 
son count}',  Ind.,  Dec.  11,  1825,  his  par- 
ents being  Joseph  and  Jane  (Kell)  Field, 
his  father  a  native  of  Kentucky,  andhis 
mother  of  Warwick  county,  Indiana. 
Joseph,  with  his  parents,  immigrated 
from  Kentucky  to  Gibson  county,  Ind., 
when  lie  was  quite  small,  and  there  they 
remained  until  he  was  20  years  of  age. 
In  1831,  he  came  with  his  parents  to 
Illinois,  and  located  at  Alton,  where 
they  remained  about  one  year.  There 
his  lather  hauled  and  put  up  the  first 
bricks  in  Lower  Alton.  His  father 
removed  to  what  is  now  Patterson  town- 
ship, in  1832,  and  entered  and  bought 
2,100  acres  of  land,  all  in  one  tract.  He, 
with  his  family,  moved  into  a  small  log 
cabin,  where  he  lived  several  years,  and 
then  erected  a  large  two-story  brick 
house  and  made  improvements  at  a  cost 
of  several  thousand  dollars.  The  im- 
provements are  all  good,  and  at  the  time 
of  its  completion  his  residence  was  said 
to  be  the  finest  in  the  county.  Here  he 
lived  until  his  death,  which  occurred  in 
1880.  His  mother  died  in  1849.  Our 
subject  was  reared  on  a  farm,  remaining 
at  home  until  21  years  of  age,  when  he 
was  married  and  started  in  life  for  him- 
self, locating  on  the  homestead,  where 
he  remained  and  farmed  three  years, 
when  he  removed  to  the  town  of  Patter- 
son.    There  he  engaged   in  the  mercan- 


tile business,  which  he  followed  for 
three  years,  when  he  sold  out  and  bought 
160  acres  of  land  on  Sec.  6,  T.  12,  R.  12, 
and  a  short  time  after  bought  another 
160,  but  sold  again  and  bought  141  acres 
on  section  2,  and  then  built  a  large 
frame  house,  two  stories  in  height,  at  a 
cost  of  $5,000.  This  building  burned 
down,  and  having  no  insurance  thereon, 
it  was  a  great  loss  to  Mr.  Field.  He 
then  removed  into  his  old  residence, 
where  he  now  lives,  but  only  remained 
there  one  year,  when  he  bought  175 
acres  of  land  on  section  5  and  removed 
on  to  it,  where  he  lived  nine  years,  and 
then  sold  out  and  moved  again  to  his 
old  house,  where  he  has  since  resided. 
Mr.  Field  now  owns  1,300  acres  of  land 
in  Patterson  township,  100  acres  in  Clay 
county  and  160  acres  on  his  homestead. 
He  was  married  May  10,  1846,  to  Eliza- 
beth Stone,  daughter  of  Micajah  and 
Elizabeth  (Weaver)  Stone.  They  are 
the  parents  of  10  children,  six  of  whom 
are  living — Lewis  R.,  married  Mary 
Campbell  and  resides  in  Patterson  town- 
ship; Jasper  N.,  married  Emma  Mann; 
Doctor  C.  and  Winfield  Scott,  at  home; 
George  W.  and  Matilda  J.  The  ones 
deceased  are:  William,  Joseph,  Lusetta 
and  Katie,  and  two  who  died  in  infancy. 
Mr.  Field  is  a  member  of  the  I.  O.  O. 
F.  lodge,  and  also  a  member  of  the  K. 
of  P.  He  has  been  an  extensive  stock- 
dealer  until  recently,  and  has  now 
turned  his  attention  to  farming  entirely. 
Mr.  Field  is  conservative  both  in  poli- 
tics and  religion,  and  during  the  war  of 
the  Rebellion,  took  a  decided  stand  for 
the  welfare  of  the  Union. 

John  Spencer  was  born  in  Greene 
county,  111.,  April  17,  1837,  his  parents 
being  William  and  Parthenia  (Tatten) 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


1119 


Spencer,  natives  of  Indiana.  His  par- 
ents came  to  Greene  county  at  an  early 
day,  and  were  among  the  pioneers. 
His  father  entered  40  acres  of  land  on 
section  14,  and  also  entered  land  at 
other  places.  He  remained  in  Greene 
county  until  1845,  when  he  removed  to 
Morgan  county,  where  he  died,  Jan.  24, 
lNSo.  His  mother  is  yet  living,  at  the 
advanced  age  of  80  years,  and  resides 
in  Morgan  county.  Our  subject  was 
brought  up  on  a  farm,  remaining  at 
home  until  17  years  of  age,  when  he 
started  in  life  for  himself,  he  and  his 
brother,  Elisha,  renting  a  farm  to- 
gether, on  which  they  lived  and  farmed 
about  four  years.  He  and  his  two 
brothers  then  bought  a  threshing  ma- 
chine, which  they  ran  for  several 
years,  and  also  had  ox  teams  and  broke 
rough  ground.  Alter  he  was  married, 
he  and  his  elder  brother,  Jonas,  bought 
60  acres  of  land  in  Morgan  county,  and 
moved  on  to  it,  living  there  four  years, 
when  he  sold  OUl  and  bought  17"  acres 
of  land,  his  present  homestead,  on  Sees. 
11  and  14,  T.  12,  R.  11.  and  mused  upon 
it,  where  he  has  since  resided.  In 
1869,  he  built  a  large,  two-story,  frame 
house,  at  a  cost  of  SI, 5<  Kl,  and  also  made 
other  costly  improvements.  He  was 
married  March  10,  1858,  to  Margaret  A. 
Haines,  daughter  of  Solomon  and  Caro- 
line S.  Baines.  They  are  the  parents 
of  11  children,  eight  of  whom  are  liv- 
ing— Franklin  P.,  married  to  Ella  Kel- 
ler, resides  in  Morgan  county;  Mary  J  , 
Debbie  A.,  Charlotte,  Nancy  E.,  Jennie, 
Frederick  L.,  and  Norman  R.  The 
ones  deceased  are  — George  S.,  Alvin 
E.,  and  one  who  died  in  infancy.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Spencer  and  four  daughters 
are  members  of  the  M.  E.  church.     Mr. 


Spencer  now  owns  340  acres  of  land. 
He  has  held  the  office  of  township 
treasurer,  and  several  other  offices,  and 
is  a  highly  esteemed  citizen  of  this  com- 
munity. 

Alfred  \V.  Taylor  was  born  in  Greene 
county,  Nov.  28,  1848,  his  parents  being 
John  A.  and  Jane  E.  ( Thompson)  Tay- 
lor, natives  of  Illinois.  His  father  was 
born  in  1822,  and  was  brought  up  in 
Greene  county  as  a  farmer.  His  first 
permanent  settlement  was  on  the  farm 
now  owned  by  Alfred  \V.  He  first 
bought  160  acres  of  land  on  section  1, 
Roodhouse  township,  wherehc  moved, 
and  lived  until  1877,  when  he  moved  to 
Roodhouse,  and  lived  until  July,  1884. 
He  then  moved  back  to  the  farm  and 
lived  there  until  his  death,  Nov.  6,  1884. 
There  were  only  two  children  in  the 
family — Catherine  M.,  who  died  in  1860, 
and  Alfred  \V.  Mrs.  Taylor  is  yet  liv- 
ing, and  resides  at  the  residence  of 
her  son,  Alfred.  Our  subject  was  reared 
on  a  farm,  remaining  at  home  until  22 
years  of  age,  when  his  parents  remov- 
ing to  Roodhouse,  he  took  charge  of  the 
homestead,  and  there  he  has  since  re- 
sided. In  1877  he  and  his  father  bought 
Kid  acres  of  land  near  Roodhouse,  and 
subsequently  purchased  120  acres  on 
Sec.  1,  T.  12,  R.  12.  Allied  now  owns 
520  acres  of  land.  He  was  married 
April  5,  1869,  to  Terusa  Edwards, 
daughter  of  Presley  and  Terusa  Ed- 
wards. They  are  the  parents  of  four 
children — John  L.,  Charles  L.,  Albert 
L.  and  Clarence  E.  In  the  summer  of 
1884  Mr.  Taylor  erected  on  his  farm  a 
large  two-story  frame  house,  at  a  cost  of 
$2,300.  The  main  building  is  24x32 
feet,  with  an  L  18x28  feet  in  dimensions, 
and    it   is    one    of  the  best    and   finest 


1120 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


buildings  in  his  vicinity.  Mr.  Taylor 
is  an  industrious  and  enterprising  citi- 
zen, and  has,  by  his  energy,  placed 
himself  and  family  in  a  most  comforta- 
ble position. 

James  Rawlins  was  born  in  Warren 
county,  Ky.,  April  16,  1798,  his  parents 
being  James  and  Lydia  (Green)  Rawlins, 
natives  of  North  Carolina.     His  pater- 
nal grandfather  was  born  and  raised  in 
London,  Eng.     James  was  reared  in  his 
native    state,    until,    in   his    12th    year, 
when  the    family   removed   to   Bedford 
county,  Tenn.,    where    they   remained 
about    three    years,    then    removed    to 
Orange   county,    Ind.,    where   they    re- 
mained about  five  years,  when  they  re- 
moved to  Illinois,   in   1819,  locating  in 
what  is  now  Lawrence   county,    where 
they  remained  until    1826,    when   they 
came    to    Greene    county,    arriving  in 
April  of  that  year.    They  settled  on  the 
southeast  quarter  of  Sec.  18,  T.   12,  R. 
11.      There   the    parents   resided   some 
three  or  four  years,  when  they  removed 
to  a  point  about   a    half-mile   north  of 
where   Wilmington  now  stands,   where 
they  resided  until  their  deaths.     James 
was  married  Jan.  18,   1827,  to   Rebecca 
Taylor,  a  native  of  East  Tennessee,  and 
daughter  of  John  and  Nancy  (Burgess) 
Taylor,  and  afterward  settled  on    Sec. 
17,  T.  12,  R.  11.     They  are  the  parents 
of  14  children,  seven  of  whom   are  liv- 
ing— Nancy,     deceased;     Lydia     Jane; 
Elizabeth;      Sarah;      Peggy,    deceased; 
Melissa  C;  William  A.,  deceased;  John 
T.;  Catherine,  deceased;  Millie  L;  Jas. 
A.,  deceased;   Walter,   deceased;  Pleas- 
ant A.,  and  Julia  A.,   deceased.     Mrs. 
Rawlins  died  June  4,  1885,  and  is  buried 
in  Jones'  cemetery.     Mr.   Rawlins  has 
been  identified  with   Greene  county  for 


a  half  century.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
regular  Baptist  church,  of  Barrow  sta- 
tion. 

Pleasant    A.    Rawlins    was    born    in 
Greene  county,  July  1, 1848,  his  parents 
bing  James  and  Rebecca  (Taylor)  Raw- 
lins, his  father  a  native  of  Kentucky, 
and  his  mother  of  Tennessee.      His  pa- 
rents came  to  Greene    county  in  1822. 
His  father  was  a  blacksmith   by  trade, 
and  worked  around  for  several  years  at 
his  trade.     His  first  permanent  location 
was  on  Sec.  17,  T.  12,   R,   11,  where  he 
entered  80  acres  of  land.      Our   subject 
was  reared  on    a    farm,  remaining  with 
his  parents  until  22  years  of  age,  when 
he  was  married,  and  located  on   section 
17,  where  he   owns    160    acres  of  land. 
He  afterward   built   a    large   two-story 
frame  house  on   section  20,  and  moved 
into  it,  where  he  has  since  resided.     He 
was  married,  March  1,  1870,  to  Mary  E. 
Vanderheyden,  daughter  of  Derrick  L. 
and    Elmira    (Greene)    Yanderheyden. 
They  are  the  parents  of  six  children — 
Leonora,   Adelaide,   Elbert  V.,   Ira  E., 
Ben.  W.  and  Leon  A.  Mr.  Rawlins  now 
owns  200  acres  of  land   on    sections  17 
and  20.       He  is  a  member  of  the  I.  O. 
O.  F.  and  A.  O.  U.  W.  lodges  of  Rood- 
house,  and  the  order  of  P.  of  H.     He  is 
an  intelligent  and  enterprising  citizen  of 
his  county. 

Isaac  R.  Smith,  a  prominent  agricul- 
turist of  Roodhouse  township,  was 
born  near  Winchester,  Scott  county, 111., 
June  18,  1835,  his  parents  being  Ab- 
salom and  Lydia  (Baird)  Smith.  They 
were  both  natives  of  Tennessee,  and 
were  married  in  Wilson  county,  of  that 
state,  from  which  they  removed  to  the 
vicinity  of  Meredosia,  Morgan  county, 
111., over  60  years  ago, being  some  of  the 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


1121 


early  settlers  in  that  part  of  the  state, 
and,  consequently,  having  had  to  en- 
dure the  severe  hardships  of  the  winter 
of  the  deep  snow.  From  there  they  re- 
moved to  Scott  county,  where  Isaac  R. 
was  horn.  They  resided  near  Win- 
chester until  they  passed  to  that  better 
world,  the  father  dying  about  1856,  and 
the  mother  in  Aug.,  1880.  They  were 
both  interred  in  the  Moore  graveyard, 
near  Bloomfield.  Mr.  Smith  was  a 
soldier  in  the  Black  Hawk  war,  and  was 
personally  acquainted  with  Gen.  .lark- 
son.  Isaac  R.  was  reared  to  farm  life 
in  Scott  county,  where  he  resided  up  to 
the  time  of  his  coming  to  Greene 
county,  in  March,  1888.  He  is  now  the 
owner  of  a  nice  little  farm  of  53  acres, 
in  Roodhouse  township,  on  which  he 
carries  on  general  fanning.  Isaac  R. 
Smith  and  Mrs.  Huldah  Cox,  a  native 
of  this  county,  and  daughter  of  James 
Moore,  were  married  Aug.  4,  1S77.  She 
died  in  Aug.,  1879,  and  was  the  mother 
of  one  child,  who  died  in  infancy.  Mr. 
Smith  was  again  married,  March  4,  1881, 
to  Ktlie  Jane  Smith,  a  native  of  Scott 
county,  and  daughter  of  Coleman  Smith, 
Mrs.  Smith  is  a  member  of  the  regular 
Baptist  church,  at  Barrow  Station.  Our 
subject  belongs  to  a  family  of  11  children, 
of  whom  nine  are  living,  the  youngest 
being  now  40  years  old,  while  Mrs. 
Smith  is  one  of  a  family  of  12  children, 
only  three  of  whom  are  now  living,  the 
youngest  being  52  years  old. 

John  Hoots,  a  representative  farmer 
of  Roodhouse  township,  was  born  in 
Chattanooga,  Bledsoe  county,  Tenn., 
Oct.  13,  1824,  his  parents  being  David 
and  Hannah  (Welch)  Hoots.  In  1829, 
John's  parents  came  to  Illinois  in  a 
wagon   drawn  by   a  yoke  of  oxen,  the 


usual  mode  of  transportation  at  that 
early  day.  (Incoming  to  Illinois  they 
located  in  Scott  county,  on  Indian  creek. 
There  the  parents  of  John  resided  until 
their  death,  the  father  dying  March  31, 
1871,  aged  66  years,  and  the  mother 
June  6,  1859,  aged  55  years.  The  father 
was  buried  in  Burns'  graveyard,  Scott 
county,  and  the  mother  in  the  Epeth 
graveyard.  David  Hoots  was  born  in 
Lincoln  county,  Tenn.,  while  his  wife 
was  born  in  Louisville,  Ky.,  where  she 
resided  until  12  years  of  age,  when  her 
parents  removed  to  Tennessee,  where 
she  was  united  in  marriage  with  Mr. 
Hoots.  Coming  to  Illinois,  as  they  did, 
in  1829,  the  family  were  here  to  endure 
the  hardships  of  the  deep  snow,  which 
followed  so  soon  after  their  arrival  in 
Scott  county.  John  was  reared  mostly 
in  Scott  county,  and  he  remembers  well 
the  first  time  he  saw  the  site  of  the  town 
of  Winchester,  there  being  only  one  log 
house  where  the  town  now  stands,  and 
there  he  has  often  hunted  squirrel,  and 
also  killed  rattlesnakes.  John  Hoots 
and  Sarah  Ann  Haney,  a  native  of 
Bledsoe  county,  Tenn.,  were  united  in 
marriage,  in  Scott  county,  Feb.  3,  1S44. 
She  departed  this  life  June  10,  1871. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hoots  were  the  parents  of 
eight  children,  four  of  whom  are  now 
living.  The  children  were  as  follows — 
Ella  Jane,  deceased;  David  M.,  married 
Ollie  Dewees,  and  now  resides  near 
Nevada,  Vernon  county,  Mo.;  Hannah, 
deceased;  Julia  Ann,  deceased  wife  of 
George  Crane;  Sophronia  E.,  deceased 
wife  of  Robert  Selby;  Ephraim.  married 
Ilattie  Henry,  and  lives  in  this  town- 
ship: Douglas  lives  near  Walkerville, 
and  Jasper,  of  this  county.  Mr.  Hoots 
was  again  married,    Sept.   3,    1873,    to 


1122 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


Mary  Eliza  Young,  a  native  of  Spencer 
county,  Ind.,  and  daughter  of  Sanford 
and  Matilda  Young.  Her  parents  re- 
moved to  Scott  couniy.  111.,  where  she 
was  mostly  reared.  Her  father  after- 
ward removed  to  Mexico,  Audrain 
county,  Mo.,  where  he  died  in  March, 
1875.  Her  mother  died  at  the  residence 
of  Mr.  Hoots,  in  Jan.,  1880.  Mr.  Hoots 
is  now  the  possessor  of  80  acres  of  land 
on  sections  3  and  10,  Roodhouse  town- 
ship. On  his  farm  are  two  springs, 
possessing  medicinal  properties,  which 
are  attracting  general  attention,  and  are 
known  as  Hoots'  Golden  Mineral 
Springs.  The  water  contains  soda,  mag- 
nesia, carbonate  of  lime,  sulphur  and 
iron,  with  hydrogen  gas  arising  from  the 
bottom  of  the  springs.  Religiously, 
Mr.  Hoots  is  a  Christian,  while  his  wife 
is  a  Baptist.  Mr.  Hoots'  brother  Wil- 
liam was  a  member  of  Co.  G,  28th  111. 
Inf.,  and  served  through  the  war,  being 
wounded  at  Pea  Ridge.  He  was  in  28 
battles  and  skirmishes.  Of  his  company 
of  100  men,  only  six  returned  to  their 
homes,  and,  on  their  arrival  in  Win- 
chester, there  was  quite  an  affecting 
scene,  while  sitting  around  the  dinner 
table,  thinking  of  the  many  who  went 
out  with  them  and  the  few  who  returned. 
Robert  Vantuyle,  was  born  in  Somer- 
set county,  N.  J.,  on  Nov.  26,  1832,  his 
parents  being  Otto  and  Charlotte  (Bul- 
mer)  Vantuyle,  natives  of  New  Jersey. 
When  our  subject  was  about  four  years 
of  age,  his  parents  immigrated  to  Greene 
county,  in  1837  and  wintered  near  White 
Hall.  In  the  spring  of  1838,  they  moved 
north  of  Roodhouse  about  two  miles, 
where  his  father  entered  100  acres 
of  land,  and  moved  into  a  little  log  cabin 
where  he  lived  several    years    making 


improvements,  and  building  a  nice 
frame  house  and  barn.  He  lived  here 
until  the  spring  of  1851,  when  he  sold 
out  and  bought  100  acres  of  land,  just 
over  the  line  of  Greene, in  Scott  county, 
and  removed  on  to  it,  wherehe  remained 
until  his  death,  which  occurred  in  1852. 
Our  subject  remained  on  this  farm  until 
1882,  when  he  moved  back  to  Greene 
county.  His  mother  is  yet  living  and 
resides  in  Manchester.  Our  subject  was 
reared  on  a  farm,  remaining  at  home 
and  on  the  homestead  from  boyhood. 
After  his  father's  death,  he  purchased 
the  homestead  from  his  mother,  in  Scott 
county,  and  remained  there  until  1882, 
when  he  bought  130  acres  of  land  on 
Sec.  7,  T.  12,  R.  11,  and  removed  on  to 
the  place,  where  he  has  since  resided. 
He  now  owns  400  acres  of  land  in  Scott 
county,  and  290  in  Greene  county.  He 
was  married  May  3,  1859,  to  Margaret 
A  Clark,  a  daughter  of  Edward  J.  and 
Sarah  (Smith)  Clark.  They  are  the  pa- 
rents of  three  children — Frederick  0., 
married  to  Sulie  Rawlins,  lives  on  the 
homestead  in  Scott  county;  Edward  J. 
and  Lottie  A.  Mr.  Vantuyle  is  an  in- 
dustrious and  enterprising  citizen  of 
his  county  and  is  now  the  supervisor  of 
Roodhouse  township.  While  a  resident 
of  Scott  county  he  was  elected  a  member 
of  the  boaid  of  county  commissioners 
and  served  in  that  capacity  with  great 
credit.  In  politics  he  is  a  strong  dem- 
ocrat. He  now  devotes  his  attention 
almost  exclusively  to  stock-raising. 

Charles  K.  Smead,  was  born  in  Addi- 
son county,  Vermont,  on  August  30, 
1826,  his  parents  being  Elisha  and 
Filena  (Kellogg)  Smead,  natives  of  New 
Hampshire.  His  parents  immigrated 
from  Vermont  to  Greene  county  in  1837, 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


1123 


and  located  on  Apple  Creek  Prairie. 
They  came  over  in  a  two-horse  wagon, 
starting  all  alone,  but  overtook  a  com- 
pany, which  they  followed  to  this  county. 
There  were  four  children  that  came — 
Harriet,  Charles  K.,  Mary  F.  and 
Laura.  His  mother  died  when  he  was 
an  infant,  and  his  father  again  married. 
His  father  died  in  July,  1840,  and  his 
stepmother  in  lS39,when  our  subject  was 
only  14  years  of  age.  After  the  death 
of  his  parents  he  worked  for  James 
Simmons  for  five  years,  going  to  school 
30  days  out  of  a  year.  He  was  to  have 
a  suit  of  clothes,  horse,  saddle  and 
bridle,  to  stay  until  21  years  of  age,  but 
becoming  dissatisfied  before  he  was  21, 
he  left  and  went  to  Jacksonville,  111., 
and  worked  one  year  on  a  farm,  then 
came  back  to  Greene  county,  and  worked 
out  on  a  farm  during  the  summer,  and 
went  to  school  during  the  winter,  for  two 
years.  In  1847  he  had  gained  a  fair 
education,  and  came  into  the  vicinity 
where  he  now  lives,  and  began  teaching 
school.  He  taught  school  for  about 
three  years,  when  he  was  married,  and 
bought  40  acres  of  land  on  section  24,  and 
moved  into  a  log  cabin,  and  commenced 
in  earnest  to  earn  an  honest  living,  which 
he  has  accomplished  by  hard  work.  He 
was  married  January  30,  1851,  to  Sarah 
Alverson.  By  this  union  they  had  two 
children — Darius  C,  married  to  Huldy 
Hunt,  of  Vermont,  and  Barclay.  His 
wife  died  Jan.  5,  1854,  and  he  was  again 
married,  May  23,  1855,  to  Mary  (Wheel- 
er) Stowall,  daughter  of  Sylvenas  and 
Eunice  Wheeler.  By  this  union  they 
have  three  children — Laura  J.,  Herbert 
N.  and  Edgar.  His  wife  had  two  chil- 
dren by  her  first  husband — Ellen,  mar- 
ried to  Thomas  O'Connoll,   and  Adelia, 


who  is  dead.  Mr.  Smead  now  owns  140 
acres  of  land  on  sections  23  and  24.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Smead  are  members  of  the 
Baptist  church. 

John  A.  Morrow,  a  prosperous  far- 
mer and  stock-raiser,  living  west  of 
Roodhouse,  was  born  in  Greene  county, 
111.,  April  18,  1849,  and  is  a  son  of  Ab- 
ner  and  Mary  A.  (Wood)  Morrow.  His 
father  was  a  natiye  of  Tennessee,  and 
farming  was  his  occupation.  His 
mother  was  a  native  of  Alabama.  Both 
died  in  this  county  during  the  year  1853. 
John  A.  was  educated  in  the  schools  of 
this  county  and  began  life  as  a  farmer, 
thus  continuing  until  he  was  20  years  of 
age.  He  then  engaged  in  the  butcher 
business  for  one  year,  and  then  became 
proprietor  of  a  grocery  and  hardware 
store  in  Roodhouse,  which  business  he 
conducted  one  year,  when  he  sold  out 
and  again  returned  to  the  pursuits  of 
agriculture.  He  has  since  been  engaged 
in  farming  and  raising  stock.  In  the 
spring  of  1872,  Mr.  Morrow  was  united 
in  marriage  with  Ella  J.  Thaxton,  a 
daughter  of  William  B.  and  Ellen  (Mc- 
Gaffey)  Thaxton,  natives  of  this  county, 
and  of  Vermont,  respectively.  Her 
mother  is  dead  and  her  father  has  since 
married  again  and  is  now  a  resident  of 
White  Hall.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Morrow  are 
the  parents  of  two  children — -Willie  A. 
and  George  B.  Mr.  Morrow  is  a  mem- 
ber of  Roodhouse  lodge,  No.  681,  I.  0. 
O.  F.,  and  of  the  K.  of  P.  and  A.  O.  U. 
W.  lodges,  of  the  same  city.  He  is  a 
gentleman  of  good  business  qualities 
and  has  the  reputation  of  being  one  of 
our  most  reliable  and  enterprising  citi- 
zens. 

Amburgh  Campbell  was  born  in  Des 
Moines  countv,  la.,   Aug.  1840,  his  par- 


1124 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


ents  being  Daniel  A.  and  Sarah  C.  (Lor- 
fcon)  Campbell.  His  father  was  a  native 
of  Pennsylvania,  and  his  mother  of 
Kentucky.  His  parents  came  to  Greene 
county  in  1833,  and  lived  here  several 
years,  when  they  moved  to  Iowa,  where 
they  lived  a  few  years,  when  they  moved 
back  to  Greene  county,  but  only  staid 
here  a  short  time,  when,  loading  up 
the  family,  they  went  to  Fannin 
county,  Tex.,  and  bought  a  tract  of 
land,  and  remained  there  five  years, 
when  his  fathers'  eyes  began  to  fail,  and 
he  removed  to  St.  Louis,  Mo.,  where  he 
had  his  eyes  doctored.  In  1855  he,  with 
his  family,  removed  to  Greene  county, 
and  located  about  three  miles  southeast 
of  White  Hall,  where  he  bought  a  tract 
of  land,  and  remained  there  until  his 
death,  which  occurred  in  1857.  The 
mother  died  in  1879.  Our  subject  was 
brought  up  on  a  farm,  remaining  at 
home  until  17  years  of  age.  He  then 
worked  out  until  the  breaking  out  of 
the  war.  In  Feb.,  1862,  he  enlisted  in 
Co.  A,  61st  111.  Inf.,  and  served  until 
the  close  of  the  war.  He  was  in  the 
battles  of  Shiloh,  Corinth,  Yicksburg, 
Nashville,  and  several  small  skirmishes. 
After  he  was  discharged,  he  went  to 
Macoupin  county,  where  he  farmed  one 
year,  then  came  to  Greene  county,  and 
bought  40  acres  of  land  on  section  21, 
where  he  lived  a  short  time,  when  he 
bought  180  acres  of  land,  on  Sees.  16  and 
21,  T.  12,  R.  11,  andmovedon  to  it, where 
he  has  since  resided.  He  was  married 
March  28,  1866,  to  Sarah  A.  Crist, 
(laughter  of  David  Crist.  They  are  the 
parents  of  eight  children — Flora,  Mor- 
ton, Robert^ Clara,  'Kittle,  Pearl,  Emma, 
and  an  infant.  Mr.  Campbell  and  son 
are  members  of  the  Grange. 


John  A.  McNail  was  born  in  St. 
Clair  county,  111.,  Jan.  18,  1817,  his 
parents  being  Abel  and  Nancy  (Thomp- 
son) McNail,  his  father  a  native  of 
South  Carolina,  and  his  mother  of  Ken- 
tucky. His  father  came  to  Illinois 
when  a  territory,  and  settled  in  St. 
Clair  county,  where  he  remained  until 
1825,  when  he  came  to  Greene  county, 
and  located  under  the  bluff,  in  what  is 
now  Walkerville  township,  where  he 
remained  about  two  years.  He  then 
removed  one  mile  north  of  Roodhouse, 
where  he  lived  until  his  death,  which 
occurred  in  1828.  His  parents  were 
among  the  early  settlers  of  Greene 
county,  and  went  through  the  hardships 
of  an  early  settler's  life,  which  was  in- 
deed very  hard  in  those  days.  The 
subject  of  this  sketch  was  brought  up 
on  a  farm,  remaining  at  home  until  in 
his  21st  year,  when  he  started  out  to  do 
for  himself,  without  a  penny.  He  hired 
out  by  the  month  for  two  years,  work- 
ing on  a  farm  and  in  a  distillery  at 
Alton.  He  also  drove  a  team  at  Alton 
for  six  months;  then  he  hired  out  to 
drive  stock,  for  different  parties.  He 
was  engaged  in  this  business  for  five 
years  and  by  industry  and  being  saving 
commenced  .trading  for  himself,  and 
working  on  a  farm  in  the  summer  sea- 
son. He  continued  trading  and  farming 
until  1846,  when  the  Mexican  war  broke 
out.  and  he  enlisted  in  Co.  C,  1st  111. 
Reg.,  under  Colonel  Hardin.  He  had 
served  about  five  months,  wdien  he  was 
discharged  on  account  of  his  having  the 
yellow  fever.  After  recovering,  he  came 
back  to  Greene  county,  and  bought  80 
acres  of  land  on  Sec.  9,  T.-12,  R,  12, 
and  moved  on  to  it,  and  where  he  has 
since  resided,  with  the  exception  of  about 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


1125 


five  years,  when  he  was  traveling  around 
to  different  states  trying  to  bury  his 
deep  troubles  and  sorrow,  which  were 
occasioned  by  the  death  of  his  wife.  He 
has  been  twice  married,  first  on  June  7, 
1846,  to  Hopey  Lemons,  who  died  in 
1851.  By  this  union  they  had  two  chil- 
dren, one  of  whom  is  living — Edward 
C.  He  was  again  married  April  5,  1854, 
to  Amanda  Cranfill,  daughter  of  Isham 
and  Nancy  (Groce)  Cranfill.  By  this 
union  they  had  five  children,  four  of 
whom  are  living — Lou  J.,  married  to 
Thomas  Hickman,  resides  in  Montgom- 
ery county;  Isham  P.,  married  to 
Amanda  McGown, resides  in  Roodhouse. 
William  G.  and  Alta  L.  The  one  de- 
ceased was  one  who  died  in  infancy. 
Mrs  McNail  is  a  member  of  the  Regular 
Baptist  church  of  Barrow.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  McNail  own  250  acres  of  land.  In 
1868,  he  built  a  large  two-story  frame 
house  at  a  cost  of  $3,000.  Mr.  McNail 
has  been  a  man  of  strong  mind,  having 
borne  up  under  a  great  many  serious 
troubles,  and  has  been  a  hard  worker 
in  his  life,  being  industrious,  intelligent 
and  enterprising. 

James  Ballard  was  born  in  Greene 
county,  May  2,  1854,  his  parents  being 
William  and  Armelia  (Smith)  Ballard, 
natives  of  Illinois.  There  was  a  fam- 
ily of  nine  children,  all  of  whom  are  liv- 
ing— James,  married  to  Amanda  J.  Ed- 
wards; David,  Charles,  William,  Mar- 
tha, Emma,  Fannie,  Sarah  E.  and  Ella. 
Our  subject  was  reared  on  a  farm,  re- 
maining with  his  parents  until  26  years 
of  age,  when  he  was  married  and  pur- 
chased 80  acres  of  land  on  Sec.  8,  T.  12, 
R.  12,  and  moved  on  to  it,  where  he  has 
since  resided.  He  was  married  Jan.  1, 
1880,  to  Amanda  J.  Edwards,  daughter 


of  Isham  and  Sarah  Edwards.  They 
are  members  of  the  Baptist  church  of 
Oakley.  Mr.  Ballard  now  owns  80 
acres  of  land  and  is  an  industrious  and 
intelligent  citizen. 

EDUCATIONAL. 

The  first  school  house  in  district  No. 
1  was  erected  about  1855,  and  it  was 
used  for  school  purposes  until  1877.  In 
that  year  it  was  torn  down,  and  a  new 
one  erected,  at  a  cost  of  $600.  Rosa 
Moore  was  the  first  teacher  in  this 
structure.  In  1883,  this  building  was 
blown  down  by  a  cyclone,  and  a  new 
one,  21x30,  erected,  which  also  cost 
$600.  The  first  teacher  in  the  last 
edifice  was  Mary  S.  Craig.  The  present 
teacher  is  Lowell  Call.  The  enroll- 
ment is  65;  average  attendance  58. 

District  No.  2,  T.  12,  R.  12.— The 
present  school  house  was  erected  in 
1872,  at  a  cost  of  about  $900.  William 
Cooksie  taught  the  first  term  of  school 
therein.  The  present  teacher  is  J.  S. 
Hess,  of  Macoupin  county.  The  en- 
rollment is  40,  and  the  average  attend- 
ance about  35  scholars.  The  building 
now  used  took  the  place  of  one  erected 
about  1854.  The  first  teacher  then  was 
Joshua  Bigham. 

District  No.  5,  T.  12,  R.  11.— This 
building  was  put  up  about  the  year  1S7">, 
at  a  cost  of  about  $800.  The  present 
teacher  is  Charles  Crist. 

District  No.  6,  T.  12,  R.  11.— This 
school  house  was  built  in  1882,  at  a  cost 
of  about  $900.  The  first  teacher  was 
James  C.  Smith.  The  present  teacher 
is  John  Hawkins. 

The  present  school  house  in  Dist.  No. 
10,  T.  12,  R.  12,  was  erected  in  1860. 
At  that  time  it  stood  on  section  12,  but 


1126 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


about  1873  it  was  removed  about  one- 
half  mile  north,  to  its  present  location, 
on  section  1.  In  size,  it  is  18x24  feet, 
and  is  fitted  with  single  desks.  The 
present  directors  are,  David  Thompson, 
A.  W.  Taylor,  and  Z.  Baird.  Mary  J. 
Thompson  is  the  teacher. 

BARROW. 

Barrow  is  a  small  village  of  about  100 
inhabitants,  situated  on  the  St.  Louis 
branch  of  the  C,  B.  &  Q.  R.  R.,  in  the 
north  part  of  Greene  county.  The  place 
was  originally  laid  out  by  Robt.  Thomp- 
son, in  1869,  as  a  result  of  a  contract, 
whereby  the  railroad  company  built  a 
side  track  at  this  point,  and  agreed  to 
maintain  it,  in  return  for  the  right  of 
way,  freely  granted,  through  his  land. 
The  next  year,  the  first  dwelling  and 
first  blacksmith  shop  were  built,  by 
James  Ashlock.  John  Williams  erected 
the  first  store  building,  and  the  residents 
in  the  vicinity,  put  up  a  depot,  costing 
about  8500. 

In  1871,  Mr.  Thomas  sold  out  his 
farm  and  his  entire  interest  in  the  town, 
to  Mr.  Alfred  Barrow,  by  whom  it  was 
again  laid  out,  platted,  and  for  whom  it 
was  named.  Mr.  Barrow  donated  one 
acre  for  stock  pens,  and  two  acres  for 
other  depot  grounds.  Very  soon,  Mr. 
Barrow  erected  a  fine  residence  in  the 
town  for  himself,  and  several  other  small 
buildings,  for  rent.  The  people  united 
in  the  erection  of  a  neat  and  commodi- 
ous church,  which  is  used  by  the  Meth- 
odists and  two  Baptist  churches.  There 
is  also  a  good  church  building  about 
half  a  mile  south  of  the  village.  It  was 
during  1871,  that  the  first  warehouse 
was  erected,  by  Smith,  Edwards  &  Bar- 
row. 


The  growth  of  the  town  has  been  very 
slow,  although  the  richness  of  the  soil 
about  it  is  a  guarantee  of  steady  in- 
crease. 70,000  bushels  of  wheat  have 
been  shipped  from  Barrow  during  one 
season.  Its  business  history  is  summed 
up  as  follows: 

The  village  now  contains  about  25 
dwelling  houses,  one  store,  two  church 
buildings  and  three  church  organiza- 
tions, one  saw-mill,  grist-mill  for  corn 
only, one  elevator,  one  warehouse,  one 
blacksmith  and  wagon  shop,  one  broom 
factory  and  one  or  two  boarding  houses. 

The  first  Store  was  built  by  John 
Williams,  in  the  fall  of  1870.  He  put 
in  a  stock  of  merchandise  and  ran  it 
about  one  year,  when  he  took  in  as  a 
partner  J.  J.  Short,  the  firm  being 
known  as  Williams  &  Short.  About  a 
year  afterward,  W.  A.  Thompson  suc- 
ceeded Short,  and  the  firm  became  Wil- 
liams &  Thompson.  Williams  died 
about  a  year  afterward,  when  Thomp- 
son became  sole  proprietor  and  so  con- 
tinued about  one  year,  when  he  asso- 
ciated with  him  J.  F.  Doyel.  This 
partnership  existed  some  three  years. 
About  the  year  1877,  George  W.  Man- 
ley  succeeded  this  firm,  operating  the 
business  about  a  year.  Short  periods 
intervened  the  successions  of  A.  D. 
Cochran  and  J.  B.  Edwards  &  Son,  who 
were  successors  of  Mr.  Manley.  In 
1883,  David  Hubbard  and  Henry  Hanks 
became  owners  of  the  business,  which 
they  continue  to  operate.  It  is  a  gen- 
eral store,  with  a  small  stock  of  goods. 

The  next  man  to  commence  business 
here  was  J.  J.  Short,  who  built  a  two- 
story  building  in  1874.  The  second 
floor  was  used  as  a  town  hall.  He  put 
in  a  stock  of  groceries,  and  ran  it  about 


HISTORY'OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


1127 


one  and  a  half  years,  when  he  sold  out 
to  Thompson  &  Doyel,  who  consoli- 
dated their  store  with  the  one  they  had 
just  bought,  and  moved  into  the  new 
building. 

In  1877,  J.  W.  Campbell  started  a 
general  merchandise  store,  and  ran  it 
about  one  year,  when  he  sold  out  to  A. 
D.  Cochran,  who  ran  it  about  IS  months, 
when  he  sold  out  to  David  Hubbard, 
who  ran  it  about  two  years.  He  and 
Henry  Hanks  then  bought  out  Edwards 
&  Son,  and  consolidated  the  two  stores. 
J.  B.  Edwards  brought  on  a  new  stock  of 
goods,  and  started  a  new  store,  conduct- 
ing it  until  the  spring  of  1885,  when  he 
moved  his  stock  to  Alsey. 

ELEVATOR. 

This  was  built  in  1873,  at  a  cost  of 
about  $1,000,  by  C.  F.  Bruce,  who  left 
it  uncompleted.  He  built  it  for  a  mill, 
but  sold  it  to  J.  N.  Israel,  who  finished 
the  building  at  a  cost  of  $2,000, and  con- 
verted it  into  an  elevator.  It  is  30x40 
feet  in  dimensions,  and  three  stories  in 
height.  This  elevator  has  done  a  great 
deal  of  business,  but  owing  to  the 
scarcity  of  grain,  is  now  idle. 

A  SAW  AND  GRIST    MILL 

Was  erected  in  1875,  at  a  cost  of  about 
$1,000.  It  was  built  by  C.  F.  Bruce,  its 
present  owner.  One  set  of  machinery 
runs  both  departments. 

TILE    FACTORY. 

About  1876  the  tile  factory  was  erected 
by  C.  F.  Bruce  and  A.  J.  Ashley,  who, 
after  running  it  about  three  years,  sold 
out  to  J.  W.  Smith,  who  operated  it 
about  two  years,  and  then  sold  to  parties 
at  Roodhouse,when  it  was  moved  there. 


A  blacksmith  shop  was  built  in  the 
spring  of  1870.  The  first  was  James  M. 
Ashlock,  who  ran  it  until  1883,  when  A. 
Haney  bought  it.  He  now  carries  on 
the  business. 

Albert  Haney  was  born  in  Scott 
county,  111.,  Oct.  19,  1S57,  his  parents 
being  James  and  Mary  (Hoots)  Haney, 
natives  of  Tennessee.  His  father  is 
now  dead;  his  mother  is  yet  living,  and 
resides  in  Schuyler  county,  111.  Albert 
was  reared  una  farm, remaining  at  home 
until  12  years  of  age,  when  he  started  in 
life  for  himself,  and  being  homeless  and 
friendless,  worked  around  from  one 
place  to  another  until  22  years  of  age, 
He  was  then  married,  and  located  about 
a  mile  and  a  half  west  of  Barrow,  on  a 
farm,  where  he  remained  three  years. 
In  1883,  he  removed  to  Barrow,  and 
purchased  a  house  and  six  lots,  having 
accumulated  enough  money*  to  buy  a 
homestead.  He  also  bought  a  black- 
smith shop,  and  commenced  to  learn  the 
trade,  acquiring  most  of  what  he  knows 
about  the  business  himself,  he  being 
very  apt  at  almost  any  trade.  He 
does  all  kinds  of  repairing  and  wood- 
work. He  was  married,  Sept.  2,  1880, 
to  Lillie  J.  Thomson,  daughter  of  Wil- 
liam and  Lockey  (Bandy)  Thompson. 
They  are  the  parents  of  two  children, 
both  of  whom  are  dead.  His  simp 
building  is  30x42  feet  in  dimensions. 
Mr.  Haney  receives  a  liberal  patronage, 
and  is  a  good  workman,  both  in  black- 
smithing  and  wood-working. 

A  boot  and  shoe  shop  was  established 
about  1875.  G.  B.  Dunn  then  came 
here,  and  conducted  a  shop  of  this  char- 
acter for  three  or  four  years.  Several 
others  have  run  it  fora  short  time,  since 
then. 


1128 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


J.  B.  Hayes  was  the  first  physician  to 
locate  here.  He  came  in  1876,  and  re- 
mained about  three  years,  then  moved 
away. 

Next  came  Dr.  J.  B.  Bowman,  in  1879. 
He  remained  a  short  time. 

Dr.  Lynfoot,  another  physician  who 
located  here,  died  about  two  years  after 
his  arrival. 

A  broom  factory  was  started  in  1885, 
by  E.  A.  Cotter  &  Co.,  who  do  a  good 
business. 

EDUCATIONAL. 

In  1877,  district  No.  1  was  divided, 
and  a  new  building  erected  at  Barrow, 
at  a  cost  of  about  $1,000.  Its  size  is 
about  24x36  feet.  It  is  a  very  neat 
building,  and  comfortably  arranged.  Its 
average  attendance  is  about  30  pupils. 
The  present  teacher  is  J.  W.  Chapman. 

Alfred  Barrow,  the  enterprising  gen- 
tleman after  whom  Barrow  Station  was 
named,  was  born  in  Greene  county,  111., 
Aug.  16,  1834,  his  parents  being  Joseph 
and  Elizabeth  (Taylor)  Barrow,  his 
father  a  native  of  Kentucky,  his  mother 
of  Anderson  county,  Tenn.  His  parents 
had  come  to  this  county  several  years 
previous  to  their  marriage,  on  July 
IB,  1826,  and  his  father,  who  had  come 
to  Greene  county  about  1820,  had  en- 
tered SO  acres  of  land  on  Sec.  11,  T,  12, 
R.  12.  Here  he  built  a  little  log  cabin 
in  which  he  lived  until  the  time  of  his 
death  in  1839.  Being  among  the  early 
settlers  of  the  then  almost  wild  country, 
bis  mother,  having  been  left  with  six 
small  children,  had  to  endure  many 
hardships,  but  by  industry  and  good 
management  she  succeeded  in  keeping 
her  children  together,  and  also  in  giving 
them  a  good  education  for  these  times. 
In  1869  she    was    called  hence   by   the 


hand  of  death.  At  the  age  of  18  years, 
Alfred  was  employed  as  clerk  in  the 
store  of  A.  Reno,  at  White  Hall,  and  his 
successin  this  position  may  be  judged 
by  the  fact  that  one  year  later  he  was 
admitted  as  a  partner.  During  the 
money  panic  of  1857-8,  this  firm  sold 
out,  and  paid  up,  and  thus  Alfred  was 
left  with  nothing  but  his  credit.  For 
about  10  years  afterward  he  was  en- 
gaged in  various  ways  and  places,  trad- 
ing in  stock  and  grain,  merchandise,  etc., 
generally  succeeding  very  well,  and 
keeping  up  through  all  the  convulsions 
of  the  country,  and  the  ups  and  downs 
of  business  life.  In  1868  Mr.  Barrow 
purchased  and  improved  a  half  section 
of  land  near  Cameron,  Mo.,  afterward 
trading  it  for  the  farm  where  he  now 
lives,  and  on  which  he  has  erected  a 
fine,  commodious  residence,  at  a  cost 
of  $3,000.  In  1870  he  laid  out  and  platted 
the  town  of  Barrow,  erecting  several 
dwellings,  etc.,  besides  assisting  his 
neighbors  in  building  two  houses  of 
worship,  a  warehouse,  and  some  other 
public  buildings.  Some  years  later  he 
erected  several  good  business  buildings 
in  Roodhouse,  which  he  still  owns,  be- 
sides his  snug  little  farm  of  400  acres, 
thus  being  insured  of  a  comfortable 
living  the  balance  of  his  days.  Mr. 
Barrow  has  gone  through  a  good  many 
severe  struggles,  and  hard  times,  but  he 
manages  to  keep  clear  of  debt,  and  ex- 
pects to  remain  content,  where  he  now 
resides,  during  the  rest  of  his  days. 

POSTOFFIi'E. 

The  postoffice  at  Barrow  Station  is 
kept  in  the  store  of  Hubbard  &  Hanks. 
It  was  established  at  this  point  in  1873, 
when    John    Williams    was    appointed 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


1129 


postmaster.  He  was  succeeded  by  W. 
A.  Thompson,  and  he,  by  G.  W.  Man- 
ley.  J.  J.  Short  is  the  present  post- 
master. He  was  appointed  in  1882. 
Henry  Hanks  is  his  deputy,  and  trans- 
acts the  business  of  the  office  in  the 
store,  in  which  he  is  a  partner. 

James  Jimison  Short,  of  Barrow, 
Greene  county,  was  horn  in  Morgan 
county,  111.,  March 26,  1829,  his  parents 
being  James  and  Mary  Ann  (Burnett) 
Short,  natives  of  Virginia.  James  and 
Mary  Ann,  his  parents,  emigrated  from 
the  state  of  Virginia  to  Kentucky,  at  an 
early  day,  thence  to  Indiana,  where 
they  remained  only  a  short  time.  In 
1824,  they  immigrated  to  Illinois,  and 
settled  on  the  head  of  Indian  creek,  in 
Morgan  county,  where  his  father,  James, 
entered  120  acres  of  land,  and,  as  was 
customary  those  days,  built  a  small  log 
cabin,  and  commenced  improvements. 
He  remained  here  until  his  death, 
about  1834,  which  was  caused  by  being 
thrown  from  a  horse,  being  found  un- 
conscious, alongside  the  road,  and  died 
shortly  after.  His  mother  is  yet  living, 
and  resides  in  Springfield,  111.  Our 
subject  was  reared  on  a  farm,  until  the 
dearth  of  his  father,  after  which  he  went 
to  live  with  his  uncle,  Rev.  Levy 
Springer,  also  a  farmer,  of  Virginia, 
Cass  county.  He  remained  with  him 
until  18  years  of  age,  when  lie  went 
to  Sangamon  county,  111.,  where  he 
worked  around  from  one  place  to  an- 
other by  the  month,  for  two  years,  re- 
ceiving  from  $6  to  $9  per  month  for  his 
set  vices.  He  made  rails  there  for  40 
cents  per  100,  and  cut  cord-wood  for  40 
cents  per  cord.  After  the  expiration 
of  two  years  hard  labor  there,  he  went 
back  to  Virginia,  Cass  county,  111.,  and 


rigged  out  two  teamsof  oxen,  consisting 
of  eight  yoke,  bought  plows  and  fol- 
lowed breaking  tough  prairie  in  Sanga- 
mon, Cass  and  Morgan  counties  for 
about  five  years.  He  was  then  married 
and  engaged  in  farming,  in  Cass  county, 
tor  himself,  renting  land  for  two  years. 
He  then  bought  a  small  tract  of  laud 
there,  and  remained  on  it  until  1868, 
when  he  removed  to  Scott  county,  111., 
ami  purchased  120  acres  of  land,  and 
remained  thereuntil  1873.  At  this  date 
he  removed  to  Barrow  Station.  Greene 
county,  purchased  town  property,  and 
engaged  in  merchandising  with  John 
Williams,  they  continuing  as  partners 
for  two  years.  In  1875  he  sold  out  his 
interest  to  his  partner,  and  built  a  large, 
two-story  frame  business  house,  18x40 
feet  in  dimensions,  with  a  large  hall 
which  was  used  for  some  time  as  the 
town  hall.  He  put  in  a  stock  of  family 
groceries  and  continued  the  business 
until  ls~7,  when  he  sold  out  ami  re- 
sumed farming  and  buying  stock,  which 
is  his  present  occupation,  principally. 
He  was  married  Aug.  31,  1854,  to  Nancy 
McDonald,  daughter  of  Jonas  and 
Martha  McDonald,  of  Cass  county.  Mr. 
Short  owns  seven  lot-  and  three  build- 
ings in  Barrow.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Short  are 
members  of  the  M.  1-;.  church.  He  was 
ordained  a  local  minister  in  Danville, 
111.,  and  is  the  present  local  preacher  of 
the  M.  E.  church  of  Barrow.  He  is  the 
president  of  the  Greene  County  Sunday 
School  Association,  and  is  now  serving 
his  second  term  as  such.  He  ha-  held 
the   office   of  constable   four  year-,  and 

township  trustee  four  years,  and  scl 1 

director  In   years,    all   in    Cass    county, 
and  is  now  serving  a  four   years  ti  i 
notary  public.     He  is  also  postmaster  at 


1130 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


Barrow, and  reporter  fortwo  newspapers. 
Mr.  Short  is  a  man  who  lends  a  helping 
hand  to  all  public  enterprises  and  takes 
a  great  pride  in  the  welfare  of  his  county 
and  its  people. 

RELIGIOUS. 

The  United  Baptist  church  at  Barrow 
Station  was  organized  in  June,  1874,  at 
a  meeting  held  for  that  purpose.  At 
this  meeting,  James  Doss  was  elected 
clerk,  and  Elder  S.  B.  Culp  was  chosen 
as  pastor.  The  constituent  members 
were  ;  L.J.  Patterson,  Charlotte  Bent- 
ley,  S.  H.  Patterson,  Henrietta  Ed- 
wards, J.  T.  Doss,  James  Doyel,  Henri- 
etta Doyel,  H.  T.  Hubbard,  Elizabeth 
Hubbard,  Laura  Smith,  John  Smith, 
James  Smith,  Lucy  Edwards,  Louis 
Doyel,  Thomas  Edwards,  Serena  A. 
Edwards,  William  Smith,  Harriet 
A.  Smith,  J.  F.  Doyel,  Nathan- 
iel Robinson,  Malinda  Robinson,  Ma- 
linda  Williams,  A.  J.  Ballard,  Philemon 
Reno,  Matilda  Reno,  Jane  Edwards, 
Win.  Ballard  and  Lucretia  Ballard. 
The  society  is  in  a  prosperous  condi- 
tion. 

The  Union  Regular  Baptist  church 
of  Barrow  was  organized  Sept.  1,  1830, 
in  a  school  house,  by  Aaron  Smith, 
James  Smith,  and  Charles  Kitchens, 
with  the  following  members  :  R. 
Asher,  John  Rose,  James  Megeehe, 
Elizabeth  Penalton,  Jane  Megeehe, 
Win.  Thompson,  Elizabeth  Thompson, 
Peter  Barrow,  John  Thompson,  Winna 
Thompson,  Walter  Taylor  and  Susanna 
Taylor.  The  first  deacon  chosen  was 
Walter  Taylor,  and  the  first  minister 
ordained  was  James  McBride.  They 
held  meetings  at  the  different  houses 
until  June,  1845,  when  service  was  held 
in   a  church,  which  they  had  just  built 


on  land  given  by  John  Taylor.  In  1878, 
a  new  church,  28x40  feet  in  dimensions, 
was  erected  at  Barrow  Station,  into 
which  the  congregation  moved  and  have 
since  worshiped.  The  present  clerk  is 
Samuel  Baird,  and  the  membership  is 
about  75.  The  name  of  Regular  Baptist 
church  was  assumed  in  1840. 

COAL     BANKS. 

Campbell's  coal  bank  was  first  opened 
in  1867,  but  very  little  attention  was 
paid  to  it  at  that  time.  In  1884,  they 
sunk  a  shaft,  and  have  been  working  it 
ever  since.  They  are  now  engaged  in 
sinking  a  new  shaft.  They  employ  six 
miners,  and  take  out  about  200  bushels 
daily,  and,  with  the  aid  of  an  engine, 
which  they  are  now  preparing  to  put  in, 
they  hope  it  may  prove  a  valuable  mine. 
It  is  said  to  be  excellent  steaming  coal. 
The  state  geologists  have  asked  for  a 
specimen. 

SOCIETY. 

Star  grange  No.  1581,  was  organized 
May  12,  1875  with  the  following  charter 
members:  J.  V.  Staats,  Luke  Chap- 
man, Amburgh  Campbell,  J.  P.  Hunt, 
P.  A.  Rawlins,  J.  T.  Rawlins,  Wm.  H. 
Davis,  Albert  Stewart,  Preston  Taylor, 
S.  J.  Hopkins,  Noah  M.  Stone,  William 
Smith,  P.  G.  Edwards,  Chester  Coates, 
Sarah  Campbell,  Eva  Hunt,  Mrs.  A.  M. 
Davis,  Mrs.  Sarah  E.  Davis,  Mrs.  May 
C  Davis,  Mrs.  Sarah  C.  Crist,  Lizzie 
Stewart,  Thonuda  Chapman,  Angeline 
Stone,  Henrietta  J.  Smith,  Mrs.  Nancy 
Edwards,  and  Mrs.  E.  J.  Coates.  The 
first  officers  were:  Amburgh  Campbell, 
M.;  J.  V.  Staats,  O.;  S.  J.  Hopkins,  L.; 
Albert  Stewart,  S.;  P.  A.  Rawlins,  A.  S.; 
N.  M.  Stone,  chaplain;  Luke  Chapman, 
treasurer;  J.  P.  Hunt,  secretary:  Wil- 
liam   Davis,    J.    K.;  May  Rawlins,   C; 


HISTORY  OF  GREEXE  COUNTY. 


1131 


Sarah  Campbell,  P.;  Lizzie  Stewart,  P.; 
Eva  Hunt,  L.  A.  The  present  officers 
are:  P.  A.  Rawlins,  M.;  J.  R.  Baker,  O.; 
C.  J  Crist,  L.;  George  Hopkins,  S.; 
Anderson  Everett,  A.  S.;  Zach  Everett, 
C;  Luke  Chapman,  treasurer;  Thomas 
Bandy,  G.  K.;  Lula  Harp,  C:  Emma 
Bandy,  P.;  Flora  Campbell,  L.  A.  S.; 
Morton  Campbell,  secretary.  The  mem- 
bership is  now  about  34,  and  is  in  a 
prosperous  condition. 

ROODHOUSE. 

This,  the  most  northerly  of  the  cities 
of  Greene  county,  is  certainly  entitled  to 
rank  as  one  of  the  most  flourishing  and 
enterprising  of  its  towns,  or  for  that  mat- 
ter, in  this  portion  of  the  state,  as  none 
have  shown  a  greater  growth  in  so  short 
a  length  of  time.  Some  points  in  its 
early  history  have  been  so  well  compiled 
and  written  by  other  hands,  that  they 
are  given  here  as  an  introduction  to  the 
history  of  the  town: 

When  the  Jacksonville  branch  of  the 
C.  &  A.  R.  R.  was  extended  as  far  as 
White  Hall,  in  1862,  a  small  depot  was 
built,  around  which  Roodhouse  after- 
ward grew  up.  John  T.  Rawlings,  who 
took  a  prominent  part  in  building  up 
the  town,  thought  there  should  be  a 
depot  near  its  present  location,  and, 
after  some  trouble,  succeeded  in  obtain- 
ing the  permission  of  the  railroad  com- 
pany to  erect  a  building  on  its  land. 
George  Wildeborn  was  the  carpenter. 
In  this,  the  first  depot,  James  Arm- 
strong served  as  agent  and  telegraph 
operator,  furnishing  his  own  instru- 
ments. The  trains  stopped  only  when 
flagged.  Mr.  Armstrongalso  conducted 
a  small  trade  in  lumber,  tinware,  and 
family    supplies.      Subsequently,    citi- 


zens of  the  place,  being  in  danger  of 
losing  the  telegraph  office,  built  a  depot, 
which  was  afterward  used  as  a  school 
house,  and  now  serves  as  a  dwelling 
house.  One  of  the  first  residences 
erected  in  the  town  was  put  up  by  Adam 
Shearer,  who  was  also  the  first  black- 
smith of  the  town.  He  sold  liquors  at 
his  residence  for  some  time.  Soon  after 
James  Thompson  obtained  a  barrel  or 
two  of  sugar  and  some  coffee,  with 
which  he  opened  a  grocery  store,  in  an 
old  log  hut.  He  afterwards  sold  out 
and  butchered  a  few  beeves.  The  lay- 
ing out  of  a  town  was  already  talked 
of,  and  some  surveys  made,  but  nothing 
definite  was  as  yet  done.  A  meeting 
was  held  about  this  time,  in  Rawlings' 
warehouse,  to  consider  the  propriety  of 
building  a  church  or  lecture  room.  A 
small  school  house,  or  public  building, 
was  erected  in  consequence.  A  Sunday 
school  was  at  once  organized,  the  teach- 
ers and  superintendent  coming  from 
White  Hall. 

Among  those  who  settled  in  the  vil- 
lage during  its  infancy,  the  following 
may  be  mentioned:  Charles  Adler,  now 
deceased,  built  a  small  edifice  in  which 
he  kept  a  boot  and  shoe  shop.  Sim- 
mons &  Thompson  erected  a  storehouse 
and  transacted  a  general  merchandising 
business.  Each  member  of  this  firm 
built  a  comfortable  residence.  Adam 
Shearer  built  an  addition  to  his  house,  in 
which  he  sold  groceries.  Mr.  Shearer 
was  also  the  postmaster  for  some  time. 
John  and  William  Sitton  also  arrived 
and  built  residences.  They  were  both 
contractors  and  carpenters,  and  put  up 
a  number  of  buildings.  John  B.  Mc- 
intosh was  the  first  tailor  in  the  town. 
He   purchased   the    school    house    and 


1132 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


moved  his  family  into  it.  When  the 
Peter  Thompson  property  was  burned 
down,  Norman  Lange  bought  the  site 
and  built  upon  it.  John  T.  Rawlings 
was  the  second  postmaster,  and  was  at 
the  same  time  proprietor  of  a  pros- 
perous general  business. 

In  April,  1866,  John  Roodhouse,  the 
original  owner  of  the  land  upon  which 
the  greater  part  of  the  little  settlement 
was  built,  laid  out  the  town  named  for 
him.  The  original  plat  contained  40 
lots  66x130  feet,,  and  75x150  feet.  Ad- 
ditions have  since  been  made  to  the 
town  as  follows:  John  Roodhouse, 
three;  William  Cobb,  three;  Cobb  & 
Mitchell,  one;  J.  C.  Cobb,  two;  P.  J. 
Sharp,  one;  L.  E.  Worcester,  two.  Its 
growth  for  a  number  of  years  was  very 
slow.  White  Hall  was  but  four  miles 
distant  on  the  south,  and  Manchester 
equally  near  on  the  north,  and  being 
much  older  towns  had  every  advantage. 
Still,  new  comers  continued  to  be  attrac- 
ted to  the  young  village.  Dr.  D.  B. 
Moore  opened  the  first  drug  store. 
Harmon  Wales  kept  the  first  hotel,  in 
a  building  which  now  constitutes  a  part 
of  the  St.  James  Hotel, owned  by  Patknck 
Lennon.  The  Kirkland  House  was 
put  up  soon  after,  just  opposite  the 
depot,  by  David  Kirkland.  This  build- 
ing was  burned  in  1877,  whereupon  Mr. 
Kirkland  at  once  erected  the  commo- 
dious and  substantial  brick  structure 
which  now  occupies  the  site. 

Besides  those  mentioned  Humphrey 
Armstrong,  Frank  Armstrong,  Charles 
Savage,  William  Lorton,  John  Cole, 
Mrs.  Martha  Wallace,  L.  E.  Cobb,  Wil- 
liam H.  Barrow,  Adam  Chapman,  Thos. 
McMahon,  James  Long,  Hot!'  Bridges, 
and  Dr.  Yeatch  were  early  settlers. 


In  1871,  the  Louisiana  branch  of  the 
C.  A  A.  R.  R.,  which  was  built  to  con- 
nect the  Jacksonville  branch  of  that 
road,  with  Louisana,  Missouri,  and 
so  furnish  an  outlet  to  the  far  west,  was 
approaching  completion,  and  the  ques- 
tion where  a  connection  should  be  made 
with  the  Jacksonville  branch  must  be 
settled.  A  strong  influence  with  the 
officers  of  the  road  was  brought  to  bear 
in  favor  of  Jacksonville  as  the  place  for 
the  junction.  White  Hall,  however, 
was  nearer  the  natural  point,  and  since 
she  had  secured  the  crossing  of  the  C. 
&  A.  with  the  Rock  Island  road,  now 
began  to  consider  herself  foreordained 
for  a  railroad  center.  Meanwhile  some 
of  the  more  enterprising  spirits  at  Rood- 
house  conceived  the  idea  that  it  would 
be  a  very  nice  thing  if  the  junction 
could  be  secured  for  that  town.  The 
'leading  men  of  White  Hall  laughed  at 
their  presumption,  and  ridiculed  the 
idea  of  an  effort  to  build  up  a  town  out 
on  the  prairie.  They  considered  it  a 
foregone  conclusion  that  White  Hall 
was  to  swallow  up  all  the  surrounding 
villages,  and  laughed  at  the  idea  of  lit- 
tle Roodhouse  overcoming  the  wealth 
and  influence  of  White  Hall.  But  at  a 
point  then  known  as  Dutch  Mills,  a  few 
miles  west  of  White  Hall,  the  work 
came  to  a  stand  still  until  the  location 
of  the  junction  should  be  decided.  The 
matter  was  earnestly  discussed  by  lead- 
ing men  of  the  new  town,  and  finally  a 
letter  was  sent  to  T.  B.  Blackstone, 
president  of  the  road,  asking  what  would 
be  required  to  secure  the  junction  at 
Roodhouse,  and  signed  by  John  Rood- 
house,  John  T.  Rawlings,  J.  M.  Arm- 
strong, and  Simmons  A'  Thompson. 
The  following  reply  was  received: 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


1133 


"John  Roodhou.se  and  others — Gen- 
tlemen  :     I  have   received  your  letter  of 

the  ■ ,  and   carefully    considered  its 

contents,  and  ordered  a  survey  to  be 
made  of  the  route  which  you  have  men- 
tioned, and  if  found  as  favorable  as  you 
seem  to  think,  I  will  then  give  what  in- 
formation you  desire. 

Respectfully  yours, 

T.  B.  Blackstone." 

As  soon  as  the  survey  commenced, 
White  Hall  became  alarmed,  and  sent  a 
delegation  to  Chicago  to  turn  the  current 
in  her  favor.  Meantime  a  meeting  was 
held  in  Mr.  Rawlings'  store  at  Rood- 
house,  and  a  committee,  consisting  of 
John  Roodhouse,  John  T.  Rawlings, 
and  E.  M.  Husted,  was  appointed  to  go 
to  Chicago  to  see  President  Blackstone. 
In  order  to  hasten  their  arrival  they 
took  a  hand-car  as  far  as  Jacksonville, 
that  they  might  catch  an  early  train 
from  that  city.  Here  they  were  met  by 
the  assurance  that  White  Hall  had 
secured  the  prize,  hut  determined  never- 
theless to  hasten  on  to  Chicago,  in  the 
hope  it  was  not  too  late.  An  interview 
with  President  Blackstone  developed 
the  cheering  fact  that  if  the  citizens  of 
Roodhouse  would  secure  for  the  road 
the  right  of  way  from  the  Illinois  river 
to  that  town,  and  deed  to  the  company 
K)  acres  for  depot  grounds,  within  a 
week,  the  junction  would  be  made  at 
that  point.  On  the  return  of  these  gen- 
tlemen, a  subscription  paper  to  secure 
funds  for  purchasing  the  right  of  way 
was  at  once  drawn  up.  Messrs.  Rood- 
house,  Cobb,  and  J.  T.  Rawlings,  each 
subscribed  §1,000.  Messrs.  Simmons, 
Husted,  Armstrong,  and  P.  A.  Rawlings 
each  $500,  G.  W.  Thompson,  $250,  and 
others    like    sums.     Many    persons    of 


very  small  property  gave  liberally,  and 
the  result  was,  that  the  road  was  secur- 
ed. E.  M.  Husted  was  president  and 
treasurer  of  the  committee  to  secure  the 
right  of  way,  and  conducted  this  part  of 
the  enterprise  with  great  skill. 

After  the  road  was  secured,  the  growth 
of  the  town  became  very  rapid,  and  one 
brick  block  after  another  was  added,  in 
the  business  portion  of  the  town.  Live 
business  men  came  here  to  locate  and 
engage  in  trade.  So  fast  were  the  arri- 
vals, that  it  would  be  tedious  and  unnec- 
essary to  follow  each  in  the  order  of  its 
succession;  so  we  will  let  the  history 
of  the  past  give  way  to  that  of 

THE    PRESENT. 

The  dry  goods  store  of  Wm.  H.  Ains- 
worth,  is  located  on  the  northwest  cor- 
ner of  the  public  square.  He  com- 
menced business  here  in  1881. 

Strang  &  Murray,  dealers  in  dry 
goods,  etc.,  are  situated  at  the  north- 
west corner  of  the  square.  The  busi- 
ness was  established  by  Strang,  Murray 
&  Co.,  Oct.  8,  1883.  In  July,  1S84,  T. 
F.  Williams  entered  the  firm  as  partner, 
but,  in  two  months,  sold  to  Mr.  Strang. 
Tho  firm  then  took  its  present  title. 

J.  W.  Campbell's  dry  goods  and  gro- 
cery store  is  located  on  the  northwest 
corner  of  the  square.  He  began  busi- 
ness in  1882. 

E.  H.  Sawyer,  one  of  the  most  enter- 
prising merchants  of  Roodhouse,  is  the 
proprietor  of  two  groceries.  He  started 
in  the  grocery  business  in  1876,  and  has 
met  with  such  liberal  patronage  that  he 
found  it  necessary  to  add  store  after 
store  to  his  business,  now  having  the 
largest  trade  in  the  city.  One  store  is 
located  on  the  south   side  of  Palm,  be- 


1134 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


tween  Morse  and  East  Railroad  streets, 
the  building  being  22x54  feet.  Here 
may  be  found  a  line  of  staple  and  fancy 
groceries,  notions,  stationery,  etc.,  and 
also  a  stock  of  hardware,  the  total  value 
being  about  $3,000.  The  other  grocery 
is  situated  on  the  north  side  of  the 
square  and  occupies  two  store  rooms, 
each  22x50.  In  one  room  Mr.  Sawyer 
carries  a  stock  of  flour  and  feed,  and  in 
the  other  groceries  and  queensware, 
invoicing  about  $1,500.  This  grocery 
was  established  in  December,  1884,  by 
E.  H.  and  G.  N.  Sawyer,  who  still  con- 
tinue in  partnership. 

E.  H.  Sawyer  was  born  in  Wolcott, 
N.  Y.,  June  18,  1845,  and  is  a  son  of 
Nathan  and  Loretta  (Moore)  Sawyer, 
the  former  a  native  of  Windsor  county, 
Vt.,  the  latter  of  the  state  of  New  York. 
In  1858,  his  father  came  to  Illinois,  af- 
terward locating  in  Alton,  where  he 
died  in  August  of  the  same  year.  In 
1860,  Mr.  Sawyer  came  west,  and  lo- 
cated at  Godfrey,  where  he  remained 
some  13  years.  He  then  removed  to 
Greene  county,  where  he  was  engaged 
as  a  salesman,  for  some  four  years,  at 
the  expiration  of  which  time  he  engaged 
in  his  present  business.  In  1884,  Mr. 
Sawyer  was  united  in  marriage  with 
Phyllis  Shields,  a  daughter  of  Frank 
and  Maggie  (Miller)  Shields,  natives  of 
Scotland,  who  immigrated  to  America 
many  years  ago  and  are  now  residing  in 
Greene  county.  In  1864,  Mr.  Sawyer 
enlisted  in  Co.  D.  144th  111.  Inf.,  and 
served  his  country  until  the  close  of 
the  war.  He  was  promoted  to  the  posi- 
tion of  corporal  during  that  time.  After 
Lee's  surrender,  he  was  discharged  at 
Springfield,  and  returned  home.  Mr. 
Sawyer  is  a  member  of  the  A.  O.  U.  W. 


and  G.  A.  R.  societies,  and  has  held 
most  of  the  offices  in  the  gift  of  the 
lodges  of  which  he  is  a  member.  He 
has  also  held  the  office  of  mayor  of  the 
city,  and  is  one  of  our  liberal  public 
spirited  citizens. 

George  N.  Sawyer,  the  popular  and 
enterprising  grocer  of  Roodhouse,  is  a 
native  of  Oneida  county,  N.  Y.,  born 
Nov.  18,  1839.  He  is  a  son  of  Nathan 
snd  Loretta  (Moore)  Sawyer,  natives  of 
New  York.  Mrs.  Sawyer's  father  built 
the  first  house  ever  erected  in  Rochester, 
N.  Y.  He  was  born  in  Ireland,  from 
where  he  emigrated  to  America,  locating 
in  New  York  state.  Nathan  Sawyer 
came  from  Vermont,  so  that  from  Puri- 
tan and  Irish  ancestors,  George  N.  has 
descended.  His  parents  came  to  Illi- 
nois some  time  between  the  years  1859 
and  1861,  locating  in  Alton  where  his 
father  practiced  law  for  some  years.  He 
died  there  in  1870,  and  Mrs.  Sawyer's 
death,  which  was  caused  by  a  railroad 
accident,  occurred  in  1872.  George  N. 
received  his  education  in  the  schools  of 
his  native  place,  and  from  there  subse- 
quently came  to  Madison  county,  111., 
where  he  was  employed  at  farm  work 
for  a  time.  In  1861  he  enlisted  in  Co. 
D,  10th  111.  Inf.  under  Col.  James  D. 
Morgan,  and  was  in  the  service  four 
years.  He  was  promoted  to  the  rank 
of  a  corporal  against  his  wishes.  He 
participated  in  all  the  battles  in  which 
hia  regiment  took  part,  that  being  some 
34  severe  engagements.  At  the  close  of 
the  war  he  received  his  discharge  at 
Chicago.  He  then  came  down  to  God- 
frey,where  he  obtained  a  situation  in  the 
store  and  postoffice,  in  which  he  contin- 
ued six  years.  In  January,  1871,  he 
came  to  Roodhouse,  where    he  soon  re- 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


1135 


ceived  an  appointment  as  postmaster, 
which  position  he  held  11  years.  In  the 
meantime  he  purchased  a  half  interest 
in  a  general  merchandise  store,  soon 
after  hecoming  sole  owner  of  the  business 
which  he  conducted  seven  years.  He 
then  sold  out  and  devoted  his  entire 
time  and  attention  to  the  postoffice,  until 
January,  1882,  when  he  engaged  in  the 
insurance  business  for  some  two  years, 
at  the  expiration  of  which  time  he  went 
into  the  mercantile  business  with  his 
brother,  where  he  is  still  to  be  found, 
ever  busy,  and  through  courtesy,  hon- 
esty and  close  attention  the  firm  has  se- 
cured a  liberal  patronage.  In  1871,  Mr. 
Sawyer  was  married  to  Denice  P.  Bre- 
ton, a  native  of  Paris.  She  came  to  the 
United  States  with  her  parents  in  1848. 
They  located  in  St.  Louis  and  there 
spent  the  balance  of  their  days.  By  the 
above  marriage  there  are  five  children — 
Fannie  B.,  Helene  D.,  Clara  C,  Lillie 
May  and  George.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Saw- 
yer are  members  of  the  Congregational 
church.  Mr.  Sawyer  is  a  member  of 
White  Hall  lodge, No.  80,  A.  F.  &  A.  M., 
of  White  Hall  lodge,  No.  227,  I.O.O.F., 
of  the  A.  0.  U.  W.,  and  G.  A.  R.  socie- 
ties. He  held  the  office  of  treasurer  of 
the  A.  0.  U.  W.  for  three  terms  and  of 
Master,  for  two  terms,  and  has  held  most 
of  the  offices  of  the  various  societies  to 
which  he  belongs.  He  has  also  been 
treasurer  of  the  township  board,  of  which 
he  was  a  member.  He  is  a  liberal,  pub- 
lic spirited  man,  and  is  generally  re- 
spected. 

The  grocery  store  of  Cyrus  W.  Shep- 
pard  is  on  Palm  street.  He  commenced 
in  1881. 

Heaton  &  Dill  are  proprietors  of  a 
family  grocery  store,  on  the  north   side 


of  the  square.  The  business  was  estab- 
lished in  1884. 

W.  J.  Ferguson  commenced  the  gro- 
cery trade  in  Roodhouse,  in  1855.  He 
is  located  in  a  building  near  the  north- 
west corner  of  the  public  square. 

Robert  Craig  commenced  the  grocery 
and  queensware  business  here  in  April, 
1885,  and  is  located  on  the  north  side  of 
the  public  square. 

L.  A.  English  is  the  proprietor  of  a 
grocery  store  on  the  west  side  of  the 
square.  .  He  commenced  business  in 
1875. 

The  grocery  store  of  G.  P.  Leighton, 
on  the  west  side  of  the  public  square, 
was  established  in  July,  1885. 

Brickey  &  Watson  carry  a  stock  of 
groceries  in  their  establishment,  on  the 
north  side  of  the  public  square.  They 
began  business  Sept.  1,  1885. 

R.  B.  &  W.  A.  Thompson  carry  on 
the  grocery  trade,  and  are  also  proprie- 
tors of  the  Roodhouse  creamery.  The 
former  business  was  established  by  W. 
A.  Thompson,  in  1880,  and  in  1881,  the 
firm  assumed  its  present  composition. 
In  1884  they  erected  a  creamery. 

John  P.  Slaten  carries  on  the  drug 
business  for  Dr.  A.  J.  Brunei-,  in  his 
store  on  Clay  street.  The  business  was 
established  by  Dr.  Bruner,  in  Jan., 
1881,  and  there  has  been  no  change  in 
ownership  since  that  time.  The  build- 
ing is  of  brick,  two  stories  high,  and 
22x50  feet  in  ground  size.  The  stock 
carried,  consists  of  drugs,  patent  medi- 
cines, cigars,  tobaccos,  druggists'  sun- 
dries, etc.,  etc.,  and  will  invoice  about 
$2,500.  Mr.  Slaten  attends  to  the  busi- 
ness m  a  highly  satisfactory  manner. 

John  P.  Slaten,  Sr..  deceased  was  born 
near  Newbern,    Jersey    county,    at   the 


1136 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


old  Slaten  homestead.  His  parents  were 
George  W.  and  Sementine  Slaten,  who 
are  still  living  in  Jersey  county,  in  the 
same  locality  where  they  were  early 
settlers,  and  where  John, Sr.,  was  raised. 
He  resided  with  his  parents  until  he  was 
married  to  Mary  Spalding,  also  a  native 
of  Jersey  county.  By  this  marriage  he 
had  one  child — John  P.,  who  now  con- 
ducts the  drug  business  in  Roodhouse. 
When  the  war  came  on  Mr.  Slaten  en- 
listed in  Co.  K,  97th  111.  Inf.,  being 
mustered  in  at  Springfield,  and  served 
with  his  regiment  until  reaching  Louis- 
iana, and  while  on  duty  in  that  state,  he 
was  killed  in  a  railroad  collision  between 
Algiers  and  Brashear  city.  His  remains 
were  returned  to  his  family,  and  now 
lie  buried  at  the  Salem  cemetery,  within 
a  half  mile  of  the  place  of  his  birth. 

John  P.  Slaten,  Jr.,  was  born  Dec.  12, 
1862,  at  the  same  place  where  his  father 
was  born — the  old  Slaten  homestead, 
Mississippi  township,  Jersey  county, 
five  miles  from  Grafton.  His  father, 
John  P.,  Sr.,  was  a  member  of  an  early 
settler's  family.  Our  subject  was  reared 
and  received  his  education  in  that 
vicinity.  They  moved  to  Woodville, 
Greene  county,  where  he  clerked  in  a 
store;  after  remaining  there  some  time, 
they  went  to  Carrollton,  and  18  months 
later  came  to  Roodhouse,  where  he  en- 
gaged in  the  drug  business,  carrying 
on  the  trade  for  his  step-father,  Dr. 
Bruner.  At  the  election  for  municipal 
officers,  held  April  21,  1885,  he  was 
elected  treasurer  of  the  city.  He  is  a 
member  of  the  Knights  of  Pythias,  and 
has  been  the  lodge  secretary,  and  is  also 
a  member  of  the  J.  P  Slaten,  Sr.,  Camp, 
No.  27,  Sons  of  Veterans,  which  camp 
was  named  in  honor  of  his  father;  he  is 


one  of  the  charter  members,  and   holds 
the  position  of  first  lieutenant. 

Dr.  James  W.  Hosman,  the  druggist 
on  Palm  street,  also  carries  a  line  of 
school  supplies.  He  began  here  in 
1876. 

William  Gerbing  has  a  meat  market 
on  Palm  street.  He  commenced  busi- 
ness in  1882. 

The  meat  market  of  Edward  Scrubv 
&  Co.,  on  Morse  street,  was  established 
in  1884. 

Smith  &  Epstein,  clothiers,  are  lo- 
cated on  Morse  street.  They  com- 
menced business  in  1883. 

The  clothing  store  of  M.  S.  Good  is 
located  on  the  west  side  of  the  public 
square.  This  business  was  established 
in  1875. 

Wm.  Hyndman  conducts  an  estab- 
lishment on  the  corner  of  Palm  and 
Morse  streets,  for  the  sale  of  clothing 
and  gent's  furnishing  goods,  notions, 
boots,  shoes,  etc.,  in  which  he  carries  a 
stock  that  will  invoice  $5,000.  He  com- 
menced the  business  here  in  1883,  and 
occupies  a  brick  building,  20x60  feet  in 
size. 

William  Hyndman,  the  prosperous 
and  reliable  clothier  of  this  city,  is  a 
native  of  Scotland.  He  was  born  June 
21,  1861.  and  is  the  eldest  son  of  Thomas 
and  Mary  (Hunter)  Hyndman,  natives 
of  Scotland.  In  1863  they  left  their 
native  country,  to  make  their  home  in 
Canada,  where  they  resided  for  some 
years.  Later  on,  they  came  to  Alton, 
111.,  where  they  lived  a  short  time. 
Business  at  this  time  being  brisk  in 
Louisiana,  Mo., they  removed  there,  and 
subsequently,  to  Roodhouse,  in  1879, 
where  they  are"  located  at  the  present 
time.     Thomas  Hyndman  has  charge  of 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


1187 


the   blacksmith    shop    of  the    C.    &   A. 

R.  E.  Co.,  at  this  point.  William  se- 
cured tlic  principal  part  of  his  education 
in  the  Louisiana  schools.  Upon  the  re- 
moval of  his  father's  family  to  Rood- 
house,  he  entered  the  shops,  as  his 
father's  assistant,  and  remained  an  em- 
ploye of  the  mad  long  enough  to  acquire 
a  small  capital,  with  which  he  deter- 
mined to  invest  in  business  speculation. 
Mr.  Hyndman  was  united  in  the  bonds 
of  matrimony,  to  Beena  J.  Rushworth, 
Sept.  25,  1884.  Miss  Rushworth  was 
horn  in  Bloomington.  111.  She  made 
her  home  at  Alton,  with  her  uncle  and 
aunt,  Mr.  Benjamin  Rushworth  and 
wife,  until  her  marriage.  She  received 
her  education  in  the  Alton  high  school, 
and,  at  the  age  of  15,  she  removed  to 
Roodhouse,  witli  her  uncle's  family. 
Being  tendered  a  position  in  the  public 
school,  she  entered,  as  primary  teacher, 
which  position  she  held  live  years.  She 
is  a  member  of  the  C.  P.  church,  of 
Roodhouse.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hyndman 
are  the  parents  of  one  child — Daisy. 
Mr.  Hyndman,  although  young,  has  a 
good  talent  for  business,  and  his  success 
thus  far,  has  been  most  marked.  His 
honest  dealing  and  amiable  manner  are 
well  deserving  of  a  liberal  patronage 
from  our  citizens. 

E.  S.  Bundy,  furniture  dealer,  began 
business  in  1882. 

Freeto  &  Bender,  hardware  dealers, 
are  on  the  west  side  of  the  square.  The 
business  was  established  in  1875,  by 
Freeto  &  Bullard.  The  present  firm 
was  constituted  in  April,  1885. 

Wm.  Simms,  shoemaker,  is  located 
on  the  west  side  of  Railroad  street.  He 
commenced  here  in  1884. 

John  Allen  Kammerer  carries  on  the 


trade  of  boot  and  shoe  making, on  Palm 
street.     He  began  in  1878. 

Samuel  Hendricks,  harness-maker  on 
Morse    street,  began  business  in    1879. 

Carl  Auberer  has  a  bakery  on  Palm 
street.  He  has  been  in  the  business 
since  1875. 

The  millinery  business  is  represented 
by — Mrs.  Craig. who  began  in  1885;  Miss 
M.  A.  Park,  who  commenced  in  April, 
1881;  Miss  Mary  Clark,  who  opened  in 
the  same  year;  and  Mrs.  M.  A.  Wood, 
whose  initial  husiness  was  done  in  1882. 

The  blacksmithing  industry  finds  an 
exponent  in  W.  H.  Taylor. 

James  Madden  is  another  son  of  Vul- 
can.    He  commenced  in  1884. 

A.  D.  Ruyle  has  been  in  the  wagon- 
making  business  since  1880. 

The  news  depot  and  candy  store  at 
the  postoffice  is  conducted  by  W.  C. 
Roodhouse,  who  commenced  the  busi- 
ness in  1882.  He  has  a  neat  stock,  and 
has  a  paying  run  of  business. 

Hal  C.  Worcester,  the  enterprising 
young  lumber  merchant  of  Roodhouse, 
established  this  husiness  here  in  1881. 
He  entered  into  partnership  with  his 
father,  Judge  L.  E.  Worcester,  of  White 
Hall,  under  the  name  of  II .  C.  Wor- 
cester &  Co.,  they  being  the  successors 
of  Worcester  &  Bundy.  The  firm  are 
now  doing  a  heavy  husiness,  which  fact 
is  undoubtedly  due  to  the  energetic,  at- 
tentive efforts  of  the  manager. 

Hal  C.  Worcester  was  born  in  White 
Hall,  111.,  Nov.  26,  185V),  and  is  a  son 
of  Judge  L.  E.  and  Luthera  (Ladd) 
Worcester,  the  former  a  native  of  Ver- 
mont, the  latter  of  Greene  county. 
Hal  C.  received  his  education  in  the 
schools  of  this  count}-,  and  immediately 
engaged    in    the    lumber    business,    in 


1138 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


which  he  has  since  continued.  He  now 
carries  a  stock  of  oils,  paints,  cement, 
lime,  etc.;  also,  pumps  and  agricultural 
implements  of  all  kinds.  Mr.  Wor- 
cester is  a  member  of  the  K.  of  P. 
lodge. 

The  livery  stable  of  Gilmore  &  Ash, 
on  the  south  side  of  the  square,  was 
built  in  1878,  by  Carey  Shaw,  who  con- 
ducted it  about  two  years,  when  G.  \V. 
Colclaugh  purchased  it,  and  ran  it  three 
years.  Jan.  2,  1884,  T.  H.  Buriell  and 
Jesse  Ash  purchased  it,  and  continued 
until  Sept.,  1885,  when  W.  P.  Gilmore 
bought  out  the  interest  of  T.  H.  Buri- 
ell, and  the  firm  is  now  Gilmore  &  Ash. 
This  firm  is  running  a  first-class,  well 
equipped  livery  stable.  They  also  deal 
in  stock,  buying  and  selling. 

William  P.  Gilmore,  one  of  the  genial 
proprietors  of  the  above  livery  stable, 
was  born  in  Greene  county.  111.,  May 
31,  1846.  He  is  a  son  of  John  M.  and 
Rachel  (Stogdon)  Gilmore,  natives  of 
Tennessee.  They  came  to  Greene  county 
as  earl}'  as  1828,  and  were  here  married. 
John  M.  was  engaged  in  farming.  He 
died  in  1883.  His  widow  is  a  resident 
of  this  city.  William  received  his  edu- 
cation in  the  common  schools,  and  sub- 
sequently engaged  in  farming,  until  he 
was  35  years  of  age.  He  then  moved 
to  town,  but  continued  the  handling  of 
stock  and  has  carried  it  on  ever  since, 
part  of  the  time  in  connecticn  with 
other  business.  He  took  stock  in  a 
bank  some  years  since,  and  was  for  a 
year  and  a  half  cashier  of  that  institu- 
tion. In  18S2,  Mr.  Gilmore  was  elected 
and  served  three  years  as  county  com- 
missioner of  Greene  county.  He  now 
owns  two  fine  farms,  one  containing  200 
acres,  the  other  562  acres.    Though  hav- 


ing been  in  several  kinds  of  business 
since  coming  here,  he  has  always  dealt 
considerably  in  stock,  and  but  recently 
purchased  the  livery  stable  which  he 
now  manages.  In  1866,  he  was  married 
to  Cassinda  Barnett,  a  daughter  of  Wil- 
liam and  Cassinda  (Peters)  Barnett,  na- 
tives of  Pennsylvania.  They  came  to 
Greene  county  some  years  ago, and  here 
William  died,  in  1876.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Gilmore  have  had  eight  children  born 
to  them,  four  of  whom  are  now  living — 
Anna  C,  Alma,  Harry  and  Gertie. 
Those  deceased  are — Francis  W.,  Fred- 
die, Maggie  and  Effie.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Gilmore  and  their  daughter  Anna  are 
members  of  the  Baptist  church.  Mr. 
Gilmore  has  been  a  member  of  the 
I.  0.  0.  F.  since  1868. 

The  livery  stable  of  Sawyer  &  Knight 
is  located  on  the  north  side  of  East 
Palm  street.  Mr.  Sawyer  and  M.  Pat- 
terson commenced  the  business  in  1872. 
In  two  years  Mr.  Patterson  sold  out  to 
his  partner,  who  continued  the  business 
alone  until  1880,  when  he  took  James 
M.  Cobb  into  partnership.  They  bought 
out  Wiley  Gilmore,  and  continued  to- 
gether about  two  years,  when  F.  L. 
Knight  purchased  Mr.  Cobb's  interest, 
and  the  present  firm  was  formed. 

Lyman  B.  Fetter  conducts  a  shop  for 
the  repair  of  watches  and  jewelry,  on 
the  east  side  of  Morse  street.  He  com- 
menced business  in  Dec,  1884. 

W.  F.  Huge,  merchant  tailor,  is  lo- 
cated in  a  comfortable  building,  near 
the  postoffice.  He  established  his  bus- 
iness here  in  1883. 

EDUCATIONAL. 

The  first  school  in  Roodhouse  was  a 
private  affair,  taught  by  Lydia  F.  Swal- 
low, who  began  in  1865. 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


1139 


The  first  school  building  was  erected 
in  1868.  It  was  a  frame  building,  26x36, 
and  cost  about  81.000.  It  is  now  used 
as  a  residence.  The  schools  were  not 
then  graded. 

The  building  at  present  used  for  edu- 
cational purposes  is  a  three-story,  brick 
structure,  75x75  feet  in  ground  area.  It 
was  erected  in  1877,  at  a  cost  of  S6,000. 
The  principals  of  the  school  from  that 
time  to  the  present  have  been:  N.  M. 
McCullough,  H.  M.  Anderson,  Miss  A. 
E.  Lemon,  Win.  M.  Berry,  W.  J.  Rob- 
erts, D.  K.  Starkey,  L.  W.  Colwell  and 
H.E. Starkey, thepresent  principal.  The 
first  diploma  was  issued  under  the 
principalship  of  Mr.  Roberts,  to  Jessie 
Shield.  The  school  has  about  500 
scholars,  and  is  in  a  highly  prosperous 
condition.  The  corps  of  teacher  is  as 
follows:  Principal,  H.  E.  Starkey; 
assistants,  Jessie  Shields,  Emma  John- 
son, Mattie  Young,  Eva  Cherry,  Dora 
Johnson  and  Mamie  Wieser.  They 
have  all  done  their  best  to  increase  the 
efficiency  of  the  school. 

The  Oriental  Laundry  was  started  in 
1884,  by  J.  L.  Boggess,  who  sold  to  Mrs. 
Sarah  Gilson,  June,  1885. 


The  Phoenix  hotel,  located  opposite 
the  C.  &  A.  passenger  depot,  is  the 
principal  hostelry  of  Roodhouse.  Its 
erection  was  begun  and  completed  in 
1884,  and  it  was  opened  Oct.  4,  of  that 
year.  Though  of  frame  construction, 
it  is  substantially  built,  and  presents  a 
very  handsome  and  imposing  appear- 
ance. It  is  three  stories  in  height,  and 
covers  an  area  of  55x120  feet.  It  has 
a  billiard  room,  sample  rooms, 1i  fine 
office  and  dining  room,  culinary  rooms, 

B3 


55  sleeping  rooms,  and  can  accommo- 
date, comfortably,  110  guests.  The  cost 
of  the  building  was  $10,000,  and  the 
furniture  added  84,000  more  to  the  ex- 
pense. Nothing  is  lacking  to  add  to  tin 
comfort  of  the  guests  of  the  house. 

F.  M.Bateman,  the  present  proprietor 
of  the  Phoenix  hotel,  was  born  in  Au- 
rora, 111.,  July  18, 1S52.  He  is  a  son  of 
H.  M.  and  Mary  M.  (Warner)  Bateman, 
the  former  a  native  of  New  York,  and 
the  latter  of  Ohio.  His  parents  were 
engaged  in  farming,  at  Aurora,  until 
Mr.  Bateman  was  about  six  years  of  age, 
when  they  moved  to  Decatur.  111.,  where 
they  engaged  in  the  restaurant  business. 
They  remained  there  eight  years,  when 
they  removed  to  Bloomington,  where 
Mr.  Bateman  and  his  father  continued  in 
the  restaurant  business,  at  the  same  time 
running  a  hotel,  until  187S.  He  and  his 
father  then  took  charge  of  the  Phoenix 
hotel  at  that  place,  and  also  bought  the 
dining  room  and  lunch  counter  at  Bloom- 
ington. His  father  still  continues  in 
charge  of  them,  and  also  has  charge  of 
the  Hotel  Madison,  at  Alton,  111.  Mr. 
Bateman  sold  out  his  interest  in  the  bus- 
iness at  Bloomington,  in  1880,  and  came 
to  Roodhouse,  where  he  bought  the  din- 
ing room  and  lunch  counter,  at  the  C.  & 
A.  depot,  from  E.  C.  Swan,  Sr.  He  gave 
his  entire  attention  to  this  business, 
until  1882,  when  he  purchased  the  hotel 
formerly  known  as  the  Dacy  House, 
from  its  owner,  David  Kirkland.  This 
building  was  consumed  by  fire,  in  March, 
1884,  and  Mr.  Bateman  then  erected  the 
present  fine  commodious  building,  since 
known  as  the  Phcenix  hotel.  This  he 
now  conducts,  in  connection  with  the 
business  at  the  C.  &  A.  depot,  previously 
mentioned.     Oct.  9,  1880,  Mr.  Bateman 


11-10 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


was  united  in  marriage,  at  Bloomington, 
with  Helen  L.  Budlong,  a  daughter  of 
Albert  and  Sarah  (Fairbanks)  Budlong. 
This  marriage  has  been  blessed  with  two 
children — Bernice  and  Alice.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Bateman  are  members  of  the  Sec- 
ond Presbyterian  church,  of  Blooming- 
ton,  with  which  they  united  while  they 
were  residents  of  that  city.  Mr.  Bate- 
man is  a  member  of  Worcester  lodge, 
No.  113,  K.  of  P.,  of  Roodhouse.  His 
political  views  are  republican.  By 
close  attention  to  business,  and  by  his 
genial  and  obliging  disposition,  Mr. 
bateman  has  secured  the  liberal  patron- 
age of  the  traveling  public,  who  are  sat- 
isfied  with  nothing  but  the  best,  of  which 
they  are  assured,  by  a  visit  to  this  excel- 
lent and  flourishing  hotel. 

The  Kirkland  House  is  a  brick  struc- 
ture, which  stands  on  the  site  of  one 
destroyed  by  fire.  In  the  fall  of  1871, 
David  Kirkland  commenced  the  con- 
struction of  a  frame  hotel  building,  and 
finished  it  the  following  spring.  It  was 
the  first  hotel  in  the  city.  It  contained 
22  rooms,  and  was  two  and  one-half 
stories  in  height.  It  was  destroyed  by 
fire,  Sept.  6,  1876,  and  soon  the  present 
building  was  commenced.  In  height  it 
lias  two  stories  and  a  mansard,  making 
three  floors  devoted  to  hotel  purposes. 
The  building  is  on  Railroad  street. 

Heuberger's  restaurant  is  finely  lo- 
cated on  Clay  street,  second  door  west 
of  the  postoffice,  in  a  new  brick  build- 
ing, two  stories  in  height,  and  20x60 
feet  in  ground  area.  On  the  first  floor 
is  a  well  lighted  and  pleasant  office,  a 
dining  room  30  feet  long,  and  back  of 
that  the  kitchen,  all  of  which  are  fur- 
nished with  first  class  accommodations. 
The    second    story    has    nine    sleeping 


apartments  in  it.  This  building  was 
erected  by  Mr.  Heuberger  in  1885. 
Previous  to  moving  into  his  present 
commodious  quarters,  Mr.  Heuberger 
had  carried  on  business  on  Palm  street 
for  about  13  years. 

Joseph  Heuberger,  the  well  known 
proprietor  of  the  above  restaurant,  be- 
gan business  here  in  1872,  and  has  been 
feeding  the  hungry  ever  since.  He  is  a 
native  of  Switzerland,  and  was  born 
May  11,  1843.  He  is  a  son  of  Joseph 
Jacob  and  Anna  Marie  (Schupp)  Heu- 
berger, both  of  whom  died  in  their  na- 
tive country,  Switzerland.  Joseph  was 
educated  in  his  native  country,  and 
there  learned  the  trade  of  a  litho- 
grapher. He  was  six  months  in  the 
Papal  army,  and  participated  in  the 
battle  of  Perugia,  where  he  was  taken 
prisoner  and  sent  back  to  Switzerland. 
He  then  learned  the  trade  of  a  barber, 
in  which  business  he  continued  for  four 
years.  In  1863,  he  left  his  home,  sailed 
across  the  ocean,  and  emigrated  as  far 
west  as  Jacksonville,  where  he  worked 
four  weeks  and  then  enlisted  in  Co.  C, 
6th  111.  Cav.,  and  served  during  the 
war.  Mr.  Heuberger  was  in  the  regi- 
mental band,  and,  when  Forrest  made 
his  raid  into  Memphis,  he  took  four  of 
his  men  and  went  out  to  meet  him,  and 
by  so  doing,  checked  the  approach  of 
Forrest  for  some  twenty  minutes,  which 
saved  the  camp  and  kept  Forrest  from 
entering  the  city.  He  lost  only  one 
man  in  his  stand  while  engaged  in  the 
fight.  He  fired  ninety-three  shots,  and 
says  he  took  good  aim.  Capt.  Forrest,  a 
brother  of  Gen.  Forrest,  was  mortally 
wounded  in  the  fight.  Mr.  Heuberger 
was  discharged  in  Alabama,  and  re- 
turned to  Jacksonville,  111.      In   Janu- 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY 


1141 


ary,  1867,  he  went  to  Scott  county,  and 
remained  four  years,  and,  in  1870,  came 
to  Greene  county,  and  in  the  same  year 
wan  married  to  Anna  Charmer,  a  native 
of  Prussia.  By  this  marriage,  there  are 
two  children  living — Sophia  and  Katie. 
Mr.  Heuherger  is  a  member  of  the  I. 
0.  0.  F.  All  his  undertakings  have 
met  with  such  success  that  he  accumu- 
lated enough  to  erect  the  tine  brick 
building  previously  mentioned. 

The  Globe  hotel  was  built  in  1882,  by 
Roodhouse  &  Patterson,  and  was  run  as 
a  hotel  by  Clark  Bros.,  for  one  year, 
when  they  were  succeeded  by  William 
Scott,  the  present  landlord.  The  build- 
ing is  brick,  two  stories  high,  the  main 
portion  being  24x75  feet  in  dimensions, 
to  which  an  addition,  16x24  feet,  was 
built.  There  is  a  basement  under  the 
whole  building.      It  contains  23  rooms. 

The  Delmonico  restaurant,  Mrs.  D.  C. 
Mclver,  proprietress,  is  a  first-class  in- 
stitution. It  is  located  on  the  north 
side  of  the  square. 

The  St.  Elmo  restaurant  is  on  Palm 
street.  It  was  opened  in  June,  1885,  by 
R.  C.  Hastings,  the  present  proprietor. 

ROODHOUSE    BANK. 

The  financial  institution  which  bears 
the  above  name  holds  a  high  rank 
among  the  commercial  enterprises  of 
Greene  county.  Its  history  dates  back 
to  1874, in  which  year  it  was  established 
by  G.  W.  Armstrong.  He  started  it  in 
connection  with  his  store,  and  the  only 
indication  of  a  bank,  at  that  time,  was 
the  safe,  as  Mr.  Armstrong  at  first  trans- 
acted such  business  only  for  the  accom- 
modation of  customers.  His  business 
in  this  line  gradually  increased  until, in 
1876,   a   company  was  organized,  com- 


posed of  G.  W.  Armstrong,  E.  M.  Hus- 
ted  and  W.  H.  Barrow,  with  E.  M. 
Husted  as  president.  No  changes 
were  made  in  the  composition  of  the 
company  until  Aug.,  1883,  when  W.  P. 
Gilmore  was  admitted  to  membership. 
Mr.  Gilmore  had  been  cashier  of  tin1 
Farmers'  &  Drovers'  Bank,  and  his  con- 
nection with  the  Roodhouse  Bank  dates 
from  the  time  this  institution  bought 
out  the  Farmers'  &  Drovers'  Bank.  Mr. 
E.  M.  Husted  was  then  again  chosen 
president,  which  position  he  still  holds. 
The  other  officers  of  the  bank  are:  W. 
H.  Barrow,  cashier;  C.  T.  Bates,  assist- 
ant cashier;  Harrie  G.  Moore,  book- 
keeper. The  capital  stock  of  the  bank 
is  held  in  equal  amounts  by  Messrs. 
Husted,  Armstrong,  Barrow  and  Gil- 
more. These  gentlemen  are  all  solid 
men  of  Greene  county,  and  their  bank 
has  a  high  standing  in  financial  circles. 
The  resources  of  the  bank  consist  of 
the  entire  worth  of  the  stockholders, 
and  the  institution  is  known  as  a  private 
bank. 

When  the  Roodhouse  bank  was  re-or- 
ganized, in  1876,  they  erected  a  building 
on  East  Palm  street,  which  they  occu- 
pied until  August,  1883,  at  which  time 
they  purchased  their  present  building 
from  John  Roodhouse  and  James  L.  Pat- 
terson. Its  size  is  24x60  feet  in  dimen- 
sions, two-stories  in  height.  The  bank 
is  supplied  with  two  time-lock  safes, 
one  of  Diebold,  Norris  &  Co.'s  make, 
and  one  of  McNeal  &  Urban's  make. 
This  building  is  very  neatly  finished  and 
furnished.  The  ceiling  and  walls  are 
papered  with  highly  ornamented  paper, 
being  first  canvased  and  papered  over, 
which  makes  a  very  bright,  flashy  ap- 
pearance.    The  counter  is  highly  orna- 


1142 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COLNTY. 


mented,  and  taking  everything  all  in  all, 
this  is  the  finest  furnished  building  in 
the  city. 

Edward  Manferd  Husted,  among  the 
prominent,  representative  citizens  of 
Roodhouse,  is  a  native  of  Addison 
county,  Yt.  He  was  born  Sept.  9,  1830, 
and  is  a  son  of  Lyman  and  Emily  (Den- 
ison  i  Husted,  natives  of  Vermont.  Ly- 
man was  engaged  in  farming  during  life. 
When  Edward  was  but  four  years  of 
age  his  mother  died,  leaving  four  chil- 
dren, of  whom  he  was  the  third.  His 
father  married  again,  and  in  1836  emi- 
grated west,  coming  by  way  of  Chicago 
on  water,  and  from  there  to  Greene 
county  via  the  Illinois  river.  They  lo- 
cated on  Apple  Creek  Prairie,  arriving 
there  on  the  24th  of  June,  1836.  Ly- 
man then  took  teams  and  returned  to 
Chicago  after  his  freight,  an  action 
which  seems  quite  marvelous  at  the 
present  day.  While  on  the  trip  home 
he  took  the  bilious  fever,  and  in  a  few 
days  after  his  return  to  Apple  Creek, 
was  called  to  his  last  home.  Edward 
M.  was  educated  in  the  common  schools 
of  this  county,  and  was  afterward  en- 
gaged in  farming  for  many  years.  He 
still  owns  some  800  acres  of  land  which 
he  manages  still.  The  farm  lies  adjoin- 
ing the  city  and  it  is  one  of  the  finest 
cultivated  in  the  county,  being  thor- 
oughly hedged  and  also  tile-drained. 
He  has  given  much  attention  to  the 
raising  of  stock  and  grain.  His  resi- 
dence is  situated  in  the  north  part  of 
the  city,  adjoining  the  farm,  and  is  a 
handsome  one,  its  surroundings  show- 
ing the  taste  of  its  owner.  In  1877,  Mr. 
Husted  was  elected  president  of  the 
Roodhouse  Bank,  and  has  since  contin- 
ued in  that  position.     He  has  been  ac- 


tively connected  with  every  important 
interest  in  this  part  of  the  county.  He 
was  for  several  years  justice  of  the 
peace  and  has  held  several  minor  offices. 
To  him  may  be  given  much  credit  in 
getting  the  Kansas  City  branch  of  the 
C.  &  A.  R.  R.  here.  He  has  by  much 
labor  and  good  management  acquired  a 
competency,  and,  being  blessed  with 
good  health,  lives  to  enjoy  his  hard 
earnings.  In  1850,  Mr.  Husted  was 
united  in  marriage  with  Harriet  M. 
Swallow,  a  daughter  of  Guy  and  Kath- 
erine  (Bonnister)  Swallow,  natives  of 
Vermont.  By  this  union  there  was 
three  children,  two  of  whom  are  now 
living — Effie  C,  wife  of  A.  J.  Lee,  of 
Carthage,  111.;  and  Edgar  M.,  now  living 
at  the  old  homestead.  The  one  deceased 
is  Emma.  In  the  summer  of  1864.  Mrs. 
Husted  died  and  Mr.  Husted  was  again 
married,  in  1865,  to  Augusta  C.  Bonnis- 
ter, daughter  of  Elishaand  Olive  (Hale) 
Bonnister,  both  of  whom  are  now  de- 
ceased. Her  father  was  killed  by  a 
train,  June  20, 1882.  Her  mother  died 
in  August,  1885,  and  both  lie  side  by 
side  in  their  long  resting  place.  Mr. 
Husted  is  a  member  of  the  White  Hall 
Hall  lodge,  No.  80,  A.  F.  &  A.  M.,  of 
Carrollton  chapter,  No.  50  and  of  Hugh 
de  Payen  commandery,  No.  29.  He 
is,  altogether,  one  of  our  most  liberal- 
minded  citizens. 

INSURANCE. 

The  Great  Western  Workingmen's 
Mutual  Aid  Association  was  organized 
in  1882,  and  passed  into  the  hands  of 
the  present  strong  management  in  1884. 
As  now  constituted  the  officers  are  as 
follows:  George  W.  Armstrong,  presi- 
dent;   T.  M.  Bates,  vice  president;  W. 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


114: 


H.  Barrow,  general  superintendent;  E. 
M.  Husted,  general  agent;  C.  T.  Bates, 
treasurer;  L.  H.  Clampit,  medical  di- 
rector; C.  C.  VanDoren,  secretary. 
Those  officers  also  constitute  the  board 
of  directors.  Nov.  7,  1885,  occurred  a 
change,  which  will  be  Very  beneficial  to 
the  old  as  well  as  the  new  members.  It 
consists  of  consolidating  the  several 
classes  and  divisions  so  as  to  make  the 
assessments  uniform.  The  plan  has  been 
submitted  to  some  of  the  best  insurance 
companies  of  the  state  and  elsewhere, 
and  has  been  approved  and  commended 
by  all.  In  the  first  year  of  the  present 
company's  management,  the  business 
has  been  very  large  and  showed  great 
increase  over  previous  figures.  The 
general  office  is  in  the  Armstrong  block, 
on  Palm  street,  which  is  well  fitted  up 
for  such  a  purpose.  The  office  room  is 
22x60  feet  in  size.  The  company  is  a 
substantial  one  and  decidedly  a  credit  to 
the  city  of  Roodhouse. 

George  W.  Armstrong,  one  of  the 
representative  citizens  of  this  city,  is  a 
native  of  Ellsworth,  Me.,  and  was  born 
March  29,  1813.  He  is  a  son  of  John 
and  Isabella  (Atwell)  Armstrong,  na- 
tives of  Boy  hill,  county  Fermanaugh, 
Ireland.  They  left  their  native  isle 
and  sailed  for  America,  in  1836,  and 
came  to  Boston.  Mr.  Armstrong  was 
employed  in  a  tannery  there,  where  he 
learned  the  trade.  From  that  city  they 
moved  to  Maine,  and  he  there  was  em- 
ployed in  the  same  occupation  four 
years,  and  then  engaged  in  farming 
until  1868,  when  he  moved  to  Illinois, 
since  which  time  he  has  retired  from 
active  labor.  He  is  now  a  resident  of 
this  city.  George  W.  was  educated  in 
the     public     schools     of    Maine,    and 


in  1864  immigrated  to  Illinois,  locating 
in  Schuyler  county,  where  he  worked 
by  the  month  in  a  saw-mill  for  about 
six  months.  He  then  came  to  Greene 
county,  and  worked  in  a  saw-mill  smith 
of  White  Hall,  about  one  year.  They 
then  went  to  Menard  county,  and  se- 
cured employment  at  the  same  occupa- 
tion— saw-mill  work.  They  were  there 
engaged  nearly  one  year,  and  then  went 
to  Jacksonville,  where  they  obtained 
contract  work  on  the  C.  &  A.  R.  R.,  of 
constructing  fences,  furnishing  wood, 
etc.,  and  also  assisted  in  the  building  of 
the  Louisiana  bridge,  of  that  railroad. 
In  this  work  they  were  engaged  about 
five  years,  with  profit  to  themselves. 
At  the  end  of  this  time  he  began  in  the 
grocery,  hardware,  dry  goods  and  lum- 
ber business,  in  partnership  with  P.  J. 
Sharp  and  J.  M.  Armstrong,  having 
formed  under  the  firm  name  of  Arm- 
strong &  Sharp.  They  continued  for 
two  years  and  a  half,  when  the  business 
was  divided  up,  Mr.  Sharp  taking  the 
dry  goods  and  J.  M.  Armstrong  the 
lumber  trade.  G.  W.  Armstrong  re- 
tained the  grocery  and  hardware  busi- 
ness and  the  real  estate  and  banking 
business,  the  latter  having  been  stalled 
up  after  the  first  year  of  the  partner- 
ship. Mr.  Armstrong  continued  in  the 
grocery  and  hardware  business  until 
Aug.,  1884,  when  he  sold  out,  and  in 
connection  with  Messrs.  Husted,  Bar- 
row and  Gilmore,  has  since  carried  on 
the  banking  business.  In  1S83,  he,  in 
partnership  with  T.  L.  Smith  and  E.  L. 
Prindle,  purchased  a  ranche  in  western 
Kansas,  on  the  Smoky  river,  where 
they  are  raising  and  dealing  in  stock, 
having  a  large  herd  now  mi  the  ranche. 
Mr.  Armstrong  has  large  holding  in  city 


11-14 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


property.  In  1873,  Mr.  Armstrong  was 
united  in  marriage,  at  Dubuque,  la., 
with  Mary  L.  Sharp,  daughter  of  Peter 
L.  and  Jane  (Fowler)  Sharp.  By  the 
above  marriage  there  are  four  children 
—Kate,  George,  Albert  and  Herbert. 
Mr.  Armstrong  has  been  intrusted  with 
several  important  offices,  having  been 
city  mayor  one  term  of  two  years,  and 
president  of  the  Building  and  Loan  As- 
sociation one  term,  giving  entire  sat- 
isfaction herein.  Mr.  Armstrong  is  one 
ofjthe  most  thorough  business  men  in  the 
northwest,  and  has  done  much  toward 
the  building  up  of  Roodhouse.  He  may 
also  be  denominated  a  self-made  man 
in  the  true  sense  of  the  word. 

Charles  C.  VanDoren  was  born  Feb. 
7,  1835,  at  Lesser  Cross  Roads,  near 
Somerset  county,  N.  J.,  his  parents  be- 
ing Stephen  H.  and  Susan  (Nevius)  Van 
Doren,  both  natives  of  New  Jersey. 
Charles  resided  in  his  native  place  until 
he  was  39  years  of  age,  but  remained 
with  his  parents  only  until  he  was  11 
years  old.  He  was  engaged  in  farming 
until  1858,  after  which  time  he  was  em- 
ployed in  teaching  school  for  about  ten 
years,  and  then  entered  a  commission 
house  in  Newark,  N.  J.,  as  bookkeeper, 
and  held  that  position  nearly  four  years. 
He  then  engaged  in  farming  for  about 
three  years.  He  was  united  in  mar- 
riage with  Rebecca  VanDyke,  a  daugh- 
ter of  Jacob  and  Mary  (Gullick)  Van 
Dyke.  By  this  marriage  they  were  the 
parents  of  5  children,  three  of  whom  are 
now  living — Mary,  Stephen  H.  and  Jo- 
seph A.  Mrs. Van  Doren  died  on  April 
14,  1872.  In  1874,  Mr.  Van  Doren  re- 
moved to  Illinois,  locating  at  Raritan, 
Henderson  county,  where  he  was  en- 
gaged in  teaching  a  select  school  three 


years.  At  the  expiration  of  that  time, 
he  moved  to  White  Hall,  Greene  county, 
and  engaged  in  the  lumber  business 
with  Mr.  Trask,  where  he  continued  six 
months,  and  then  took  a  situation  as 
bookkeeper  for  the  firm  of  Hunt  & 
Briggs,  in  the  grain  and  milling  busi- 
ness, until  they  dissolved  partnership, 
July  1,  1882,  when  he  continued  with 
Mr.  Briggs,  in  the  same  position  until 
April  15,  1885.  Mr.  VanDoren  is  now 
engaged  in  the  Great  Western  Working- 
men's  Mutual  Aid  Association,  as  secre- 
tary. September  26,  1874,  he  married 
his  present  wife,  Margaretta  Porter, 
widow  of  the  late  Newton  Porter.  By 
this  union  they  have  one  child — Charles 
Carroll.  Mr.  VanDoren  is  known  as  a 
gentleman  of  energy,  honesty  of  pur- 
pose and  steady  perseverance  in  busi- 
ness. 

POSTOFFICE. 

This  office  was  established  in  about 
1867,  with  Adam  Shearer  as  postmaster, 
in  which  position  he  remained  about 
one  year,  receiving  a  salary  of  $12. 
per  year.  John  Rawlings,  the  leading 
business  man  of  the  village, was  appoint- 
ed postmaster,  and  served  three  years. 
He  also  ran  a  general  store  in  connection 
with  the  office.  He  took  in  George  N. 
Sawyer  and  J.  P.  Drennan,  Sr.,  as 
partners,  resigned  the  office  and  had 
Mr.  Sawyer  appointed  postmaster,  he 
holding  it  until  the  present  postmaster, 
John  Roodhouse,  was  appointed,  in 
1882.  It  was  not  made  a  money  order 
office  until  1883.  . 

ROUNDHOUSE. 

The  roundhouse  at  Roodhouse  was 
built  in  1870.  At  this  time  there  were 
10    stalls    completed,   and  in  1882,    10 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


1145 


m  >re  stalls  were  built  in  addition.  The 
house  holds  19  engines.  Mr.  W.  P. 
Strunk  is  the  present  foreman,  and  em- 
ploys about  30  men  in  the  shops.  He 
took  charge  in  Nov.,  1S84,  and  has  per- 
formed his  duties  with  satisfaction  to 
all. 

Win.  P.  Strunk  was  born  in  Reading, 
Penn.,  April  24,  1840,  his  parents  being 
Perry  and  Elizabeth  (Harmon)  Strunk 
William  was  reared  at  his  native  place, 
and  when  18  years  of  age,  was  employed 
in  the  Pennsylvania  shops  at  Altoona, 
and  after  18  months,  went  on  an  engine 
of  that  road  as  fireman,  where  he  was 
employed  until  July,  1S62.  He  then 
came  to  Will  county,  111.,  and  worked  on 
a  farm,  but  in  two  months  went  to 
Twelve-Mile  Grove,  and  enlisted  in  Co. 
H,  101st  111.  Inf.,  and  was  mustered  in 
at  Joliet.  From  there  he  went  to  Spring- 
field, thence  to  New  Albany,  and  thence 
marched  to  Louisville,  and  was  placed 
in  Wood's  Div.,  Haskell's  Brig.,  T.  L. 
Crittenden's  1st  A.  C.  The  first  service 
was  at  Walnut  Grove,  where  they  skir- 
mished with  Morgan's  cavalry  .and  after 
that,  in  the  engagement  at  Stuart's 
Creek,  Laverne,  Stone  River,  Resaca, 
Tallahoma  and  Chickamauga,  where 
William  was  wounded,  and  captured  by 
the  rebels  of  Longstreet's  corps,  was 
held  13  days,  and  then  paroled.  He 
was  then  taken  back  to  Chattanooga, and 
after  13  days  in  the  hospital  there,  was 
taken  to  Washington,  and  assigned  to 
the  hospital  corps,  in  hospital  No.  19, 
Cherry  street.  After  two  months  he 
received  a  30-day  furlough,  which  he 
spent  at  his  home.  He  then  reported 
at  the  hospital,  still  on  crutch  and  cane. 
In  December,  1863,  he  was  sent  to  the 
convalescent     camp,    at     Chattanooga, 


theregiment  being  at  Strawberry  Plains, 
East  Tennessee.  He  remained  there 
until  the  march  to  Atlanta,  and  was 
then  assigned  to  the  general  field  hos- 
pital, under  Surg.  Gen.  Woodward,  for- 
merly an  engineer.  They  went  on  the 
the  72  days'  march  to  Atlanta,  and  after 
that  battle  encamped  until  Sherman 
marched  to  the  sea,  when  they  followed 
up  Hood  to  Nashville,  remaining  in  that 
vicinity  the  rest  of  that  year.  William 
was  mustered  out  at  Nashville,  and  dis- 
charged at  Camp  Douglas,  Chicago, 
July  1,  18G5,  having  served  three  years, 
lacking  19  days.  He  then  returned  to 
Reading,  and  was  employed  by  the  East 
Pennsylvania  R.  R.Co.,  as  assistant  dis- 
patcher and  general  train  and  road  man, 
until  August,  1808.  He  then  went  to 
Lafayette  and  was  there  employed  as 
fireman  on  the  Wabash  R.  R.,  and  a 
year  later  was  promoted  to  engineer. 
In  Oct.,  1870,  he  went  south,  and  ran 
an  engine  14  months  on  the  Mobile  & 
Ohio  R.  R.,  between  Columbus,  Ky., 
and  Mobile.  He  then  returned  to  Penn- 
sylvania, and  became  conductor  and 
train  despatcher  at  the  Reading  yards, 
on  the  R.  &  C.  R.  R.  By  requesl  of 
the  superintendent,  he,  five  months 
later,  took  a  way  freight  engine,  and  ran 
it  nearly  four  years.  This  road  was 
controlled  by  the  P.  it  li.  R.  R.  Co., 
which  issued  a  circular,  March  27,1877, 
requesting  all  members  of  the  B.  of  L. 
E.  to  leave  the  order,  or  quit  their  em- 
ploy. Mr.  Strunk  went  to  Columbia 
that  day,  and,  got  his  time. and  returned 
home,  he  being  the  first  man  to  quit 
his  position.  If  all  had  quit  thai  day, 
the  strike  would  have  been  successful. 
Mr.  Strunk  went  from  there  to  the  M. 
&  O.  R.  R.,    running    between     Tupelo 


1146 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


and  Macon,  and  was  there  when  the 
yellow  IVver  was  so  bad,  in  1S78.  In 
May,  1879,  at  the  second  breaking  out 
of  the  scourge,  he  went  to  Atchison, 
Kan.,  but  not  getting  a  railroad  situa- 
tion, took  such  work  as  he  could  obtain, 
being  hostler  for  the  Santa  Fe  road  for 
for  three  weeks.  He  then  got  employ- 
ment as  engineer  in  the  Commercial 
mills,  on  the  first  Corliss  engine  in  Kan- 
sas. In  December  they  stopped  night 
running,  and  he  was  again  unemployed. 
He  then  became  engineer  on  No.  122,  of 
the  C.  &  A.  R.  R.  His  first  regular  en- 
gine  was  No.  119.  He  afterward  ran 
other  engines  between  Bloomington, 
St.  Louis  and  Kansas  City.  The  last 
regular  engine  he  ran  was  No.  177  (now 
run  by  William  Dolan), which  he  named 
the  Pride  of  the  West,  as  she  was  so 
good,  neat  and  clean,  and  one  of  the 
best  pullers  on  the  road,  which  reputa- 
tion she  still  holds.  Nov.  1,  1884,  Mr. 
Strunk  was  appointed  foreman  of  the 
('.  &  A.  roundhouse,  at  Roodhouse, hav- 
ing charge  of  17  engines,  besides  having 
to  look  after  56  engines,  which  run 
through  the  city  every  24  hours.  In  the 
fall  of  1863,  while  on  furlough,  he  was 
married  to  Anna  M.  Talbert,  a  native  of 
Pennsylvania,  born  and  reared  in  Wom- 
elsdorf.  Two  children  were  born  to 
them,  both  of  whom  died  in  infancy. 
.Mrs.  Strunk  died  Dec.  22,  1867.  He 
was  again  married,  July  12,  1868,  to 
Emma  L.  Boas,  of  Reading,  Pa.  By 
this  union  there  were  seven  children — 
William  P.,  born  at  Lafayette,  Ind.; 
Eola  May,  born  at  Jackson,  Tenn.;  Oli- 
ver Paul,  born  at  Reading;  Emma  Lou- 
isa, born  at  Jackson,  Tenn.;  James  A. 
Garfield;  Katie  Darling,  deceased;  and 
l'.ertie  Logan — the  last  three  being  born 


at  Roodhouse.  Mr.  Strunk  was  one  of 
the  charter  members  of  the  G.  A.  R., 
and  is  now  commander  of  the  post.  He 
belongs  to  the  Patriotic  Order  of  Sons 
of  America,  at  Reading;  to  the  Met- 
amora  Odd  Fellows'  lodge;  to  Lafayette 
lodge,  A.  F.  &  A.  M;  to  the  B.  of  L.  E.; 
and  also  to  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.,  at  Rood- 
house. 

RELIGIOUS. 

The  M.  E.  church  at  Roodhouse  was 
organized  by  J.  M.  Reynolds,  the  first 
pastor.  The  first  members  were  :  Jno. 
Roodhouse  and  wife,  J.  M.  Armstrong 
and  wife,  Grandmother  Armstrong, 
Mary  Armstrong,  J.  J.  Short  and  wife, 
and  Lizzie  J.  Hickox.  The  second  pas- 
tor was  H.  C.  Wallace,  who  was  suc- 
ceeded by  J.  K.  Maxfield.  The  organi- 
zation took  place  in  the  district  school 
house,  on  west  Palm  street,  where  ser- 
vices were  held  previous  to  the  erection 
of  the  Union  church  building — now 
Presbyterian.  The  remainder  of  the 
history  of  this  church  is  to  be  found  in 
the  ecclesiastical  chapter. 

SOCIETIES. 

Gen.  Jacob  Fry  Post,  No.  193,  G.  A. 
R.,  is  a  leading  organization  of  Rood- 
house.  It  was  organized  at  a  meeting 
held  in  I.  0.  M.  A.  hall,  of  discharged 
soldiers  and  sailors  of  the  civil  war. 
The  meeting  was  called  to  order  by  W. 
L.  Gardner,  John  G.  Mack,  of  Spring- 
field, mustering  officer,  department  of 
Illinois,  being  present.  The  work  of 
organizing  commenced  after  prayer,  by 
Frank  Crane,  son  of  Rev.  Crane,  pastor 
of  Grant's  old  regiment.  The  petition 
for  charter  was  read.  Forty  responded 
to  the  call  of  names,  and  were  mustered 
in  as  charter  members.     They  were:  S. 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


1147 


T.  Carrico,  D.  H.  R.  McNeal,  J.  C. 
Weisner.  Ira  Martin,  John  Gross,  W. 
P.  Sitton,  0.  H.  Cole,  E.  H.  Sawyer,  J. 
H.  Murray,  \Y.  P.  Cobb,  W.  J.  fucker, 
Joseph  Christopher,  A.  D  Ruyle,  E.  A. 
Shibley,  M.Carmean,  J.  W.  Mansfield, 
Samuel  Piper,  R.  A.  Roberts,  N.  H. 
Williams,  T.  J.  Grant,  Tbeo.  Crissin- 
ger,  Jerome  Ives,  W.  H.  Carlton,  J.  F. 
Smith,  Wm.  Eddy,  Andrew  Johnson.  I. 
J.Sanford,  C.  J.  Riddle,  D.  C.  Mclver, 
Thomas  Ruyle,  Roberts.  Gibberson,  H. 
Winser,  W.  P.  Strunk,  Robert  Warren, 
G.  W.  Burge,  A.  Campbell,  V.  Market, 
Jacob  Boas,  A.  J.  Brainer.  The  first 
officers  were:  L.  T.  Carrico,  P.  C;  W. 
P.  Sitton,  S.  Y.  C;  D.  H.  R.  McNeal, 
J.V.  C;  Dr.  A.  J.  Bruner,  Surg.;  W. 
P.  Strunk,  Chap.;  E.  A.Sawyer.  Q.  M.; 
J.  H.  Murray,  0.  D.;  J.  C.  Weisner,  0. 
G.:  Geo.  N.Sawyer, Adjt.j  W.  P.  Cobb, 
S.  M.;  Theo.  Crissinger,  Q.  M.  S.;  T.  J. 
Grant,  G.  The  commanders,  since  the 
organization,  have  been:  S.  T.  Carrico, 
J.  H.  Murray  and  W.  P.  Strunk,  one 
term  each.  Commander  Murray  died 
m  April,  1885.  Besides  him,  there  has 
been  one  other  death,  that  of  Jerome  L. 
Ives.  The  post  now  has  46  members, 
all  in  good  standing.  There  have  been 
as  many  as  82.  The  post  is  in  good 
working  condition,  and  meets  regularly 
on  the  second  and  fourth  Thursday 
evenings  of  each  month,  at  the  opera 
house  hall.  The  present  officers  are: 
W.  P.  Strunk,  P.  C;  Mark  Heaton,  S. 
Y.C.;  George  Lawson,  J.  V.  C;  Frank 
Martin,  Q.  M.;  Ira  Martin,  Chap.;  T. 
J.  Grant, Sr.,  Surg.;  C.  J.  Riddle,  Adjt.; 
Wm.  Eddy,  S.  M.;  J.  C.  Weisner,  Q. 
M.S.;  JohnWhitworth,  0.  G.;  Willis 
Cobb,  O.  D.;  Thos.  Ruyle,  Sergt.  of  G. 
Worcester  lodge,   No.   113,  K.  of  P., 


was  organized  March  16,  1883,  by  W. 
M.  Montgomery,  D.  D.  G.  C,  with  the 
following  charter  members:  Y.  D. 
Scales,  S.  H.  Kyle,  John  H.  English, 
A.  J.  R.  Fields,  E.  S.  Needles,  W.  T. 
Lowry,  S.  M.  Pegram,  E.  Briggs,  D. 
F.  King.  H.  C.  Worcester,  G.  W.  Fisk, 

E.  DeSilva,  J.  F.  Cobaugh,  H.  Wies- 
meyer,  William  A.  Ralston  W.  S. 
Riddle,  H.  H.  Palmer,  J.  L.  Patterson, 
D.  M.  Trusdale,  H.  C.  Bender,  E.  C. 
Peters,  C.  C.  YanDoren,  J.  A.  Morrow, 

F.  M.  Bateman,  S.  T.  Carrico,  J.  A. 
Martin,  F.  Crane,  F.  N.  Lydick,  R.  A. 
Roberts,  Edgar  Husted,  and  James 
Martin.  At  the  first  meeting  the  fol- 
lowing officers  were  installed:  S.  H. 
Kyle,  P.  C;  Y.  D.  Scales,  C.  C;  Ellis 
Briggs,  Y.  C;  David  F.  King,  P.;  Ed- 
gar Husted.  M.  of  E.;  Henry  Wies- 
meyer.  M.  of  F.;  D.  M.  Trusdale,  K.  of 
R.  and  S.;  Geo.  W.  Fisk,  M.  at  A.;  E. 
DeSilva,  I.  G.;  T.  W.  Lowry,  O.  G. 
The  first  representative  to  the  grand 
lodge  was  S.  H.  Kyle.  The  present 
officers  are:  E.  DeSilva,  P.  C;  C.  C. 
YanDoren,  C.  C;  James  A.  Weldon, 
Y.  C;  L.  H.  Clampit,  P.;  J.  J.  Cotter, 
M.  of  E.;  Henry  Carr,  M.  of  F.;  H.  C. 
Bender,  K.  of  R.  and  S.;  Fred  Ep- 
stein, M.  at  A.;  A.  P.  Ferguson,  I.  G.; 
Jos.  Martin.  O.  G.;  E.  S.  Needles,  Rep. 
to  G.  L.;  Jas.  A.  Weldon,  W.;  S.  Mur- 
ray and  T.  Gowling,  trustees;  C.  C. 
YanDoren,  J.  A.  Welden,  and  H.  C. 
Bender,  relief  committee.  The  lodge 
has  a  membership  of  67.  The  hall  is 
20x40  feet,  and  is  over  the  Y.  M.  C.  A. 
chapel  room.  They  are  in  a  good  finan- 
cial condition,  having  money  out  at  in- 
terest. 

Roodhouse  Div.,  No.  220,  B.  of  L.  E., 
was  instituted  June  18,    1883,   with   the 


1148 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


following  charter  members:  William  P. 
Strunk,  J.  W.  Casey,  Win.  Jenness,  W. 
Jones  and  John  Q.  Moran.  The  first 
officers  were:  W.  P.  Strunk,  C.  E.;  W. 
Jenness.  F.  A.  E.;  S.  Moran,  S.  A.  E. 
After  one  year,  tney  were  succeeded  by 
J.  W.  Casey,  C.  E.;  J.  H.  Brown,  F.  A. 
E.,  J.  C.  Updegraff,  S.  A.  E.  The  pres- 
ent officers  are:  Bernhard  Zahn,  C.  E.; 
J.  H.  Brown,  F.  A.  E.;  J.  C.  Updegraff, 
S.  A.  E.  This  division  has  been  very 
prosperous,  having  now  40  members, 
and  has  funds  in  the  treasury. 

J.  P.  Slaten,  Sr.,  camp  No.  27,  S.  of 
V.,  was  organized  in  Aug.,  1885,  with 
the  following  charter  members:  B.  F. 
Booker,  H.  A.  Day,  J.  E.  Day,  T.  C. 
Rearick,  S.  W.  Whitworth,  J.  P.  Slaten, 
Jr.,  W.  H.  Reynolds,  Harrie  G.  Moore, 
J.  M.  Reynolds,  J.  H.  Reynolds,  J. 
Bishop,  George  Carter,  C.  E.  Mclver,  J. 
M.  Potter,  Thomas  Ruyle,  F.  G.  Han- 
naford,  H.  A.  Stoffer.  The  first  officers 
are:  Harrie  G.  Moore,  Capt  ;  J.  P. 
Slaten,  Jr.,  1st  Lieut.;  T.  C.  Rearick, 
2d  Lieut.;  W.  H.  Reynolds,  0.  S.  Meet- 
ings are  held  in  the  same  hall  with  the 
G.  A.  R. 

Roodhouse  lodge  No.  681,  I.  0.  O.F., 
was  granted  a  charter  Aug.  10,  1880, 
and  was  instituted  by  David  Culbertson, 
of  White  Hall,  who  was  D.  G.  M.  of 
No.  227.  The  first  officers  of  the  lodge 
were  as  follows:  James  Gordy,  N.  G.; 
S.  L.  Stone,  V.  G.;  J.  H.  Browne,  Sec; 
S.  Whitaker,  Treas.;  J.  J.  Hatfield. 
C;  Y.  D.  Scales,  W.;  Barney  (linn. 
I.  G.;  G.  W.  Sayer,  0.  G.;  R.  A.  Kel- 
ley,  R.  S.  to  N.  G.;  R.  N.  Ruyle,  L.  S. 
to  N.  G.;  P.  A.  Rawlings,  R.  S.toV.G.; 
G.  R.  Eastham,  L.  S.  to  V.  G.;  A.  D. 
Kuyle,  R.  S.  S.;  A.  S.  Hatfield,  L.  S.S  ; 
Geo.  W.   Sayer,  P.  A.    Rawlings,  A.  S. 


Hatfield,  R.  N.  Ruyle  and  James  Corey, 
trustees.  The  officers  at  present  are: 
C.  C.  VanDoren,  N.  G.;  Chas.  Rogers, 
V.  G.;  J.  H.  English,  R.  S.   and   P.  S.; 

F.  M.  Shields;  Treas.;  E.  DeSilva, 
Cond.;  S.  T.  King,  W.;  Jas.  L.  Briggs, 
I.  G.;  T.  I.  Lemon,  0.  G.;  D.  F.  King, 
R.  S.  to  N.  G.;  B.  Hearnen,  L.  S.  to  N. 
G.;  R.  M.  Hale,  R.  S.  to  V.  G.;  Arthur 
Wylie,  L.  S.  to  V.  G.;  Thoa.  Trainer, 
R.  S.S.;  J.  H.  Richards,  L.  S.  S.;  J.J. 
Hatfield,  Chap.;  Ellis  Briggs,  Chm'n 
board  of  trustees;    E.  DeSilva,   Rep.  to 

G.  L.  Their  hall  is  located  on  Palm 
street,  over  the  R.  R.  Y.  M.  C.  A.  rooms. 
It  is  20x35  feet  in  area,  and  is  nicely 
furnished.  The  lodge  is  in  a  prosper- 
ous condition. 

The  Railway  Y.  M.  C.  A.,  is  one  of 
the  prided  institutionss  of  Roodhouse. 
Its  organization  was  mainly  the  work  of 
officials  of  the  C.  &  A.  railroad  who  saw 
the  need  of  a  place  where  employes  of 
the  road,  when  not  on  duty  could  spend 
their  leisure  time  in  a  manner  at  once 
agreeable  and  profitable,  and  thus  en- 
courage a  feeling  in  favor  of  intellectual 
advancement  and  moral  gain  among 
them.  The  plan  included  not  only  the 
formation  of  a  society  of  the  Y.  M.  C.  A., 
but  also  a  reading  room,  where  members 
and  others  could  have  access  to  stand- 
ard works  as  well  as  the  newspapers  of 
the  day.  The  scheme  was  ably  cham- 
pioned and  successfully  carried  out, 
mainly  through  the  instrumentality  of 
T.  M.  Bates,  E.  S.  Needles,  E.  S.  Nich- 
ols, and  T.  F.  Williams.  The  building 
occupied  for  the  carrying  out  of  this  pur- 
pose is  located  on  the  corner  of  Palm 
and  Railroad  streets.  The  reading  room 
is  20x40  feet  in  floor  area,  and  contains 
about  850  well  selected  volumes.     They 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


1149 


also  have  on  file  11  daily  papers,  60 
weeklies,  and  12  magazines.  There  are 
also  at  hand  two  bath  rooms.  The  aver- 
age daily  attendance  at  the  rooms  is 
about  55.  The  room  set  aside  for  the 
chapel  has  an  area  of  20x50  feet,  and 
besides  being  neatly  fitted  up,  is  sup- 
plied with  an  organ  and  piano.  Meet- 
ings are  held  by  the  association  every 
Sunday,  at  4:30  p.  m.  All  of  these  meet- 
ings are  for  general  attendance,  save 
three,  which  are  fur  men  only.  There 
is  also  in  connection  a  junior  depart- 
ment, ho-  buys  ranging  in  age  from  It) 
to  16  years.  They  hold  meetings  in  the 
chapel  every  Tuesday  evening.  Among 
the  exercises  at  these  meetings  are  bible 
classes,  entertainments,  sociables,  talks 
on  medical  and  other  familiar  topics,  and 
lectures.  The  membership  in  this  de- 
partment is  32.  Its  management  is  in 
the  hands  of  the  boys  themselves,  under 
the  direction  of  the  general  secretary, 
Will.  H.  Worth.  The  present  officers  of 
the  association  are:  T.  M.  Bates,  Pres.; 
S.  D.  Reeve,  V.  P.;  E.  S.  Needles,  Rec. 
Sec;  E.  S.  Nichols,  Treas.;  W.  II. 
Worth,  Gen.  Sec. 

MUNICIPAL. 

The  officers  of  Roodhouse  since  1881, 
have  been  as  follows: 

1881  — Ellis  Briggs,  mayor;  G.  P. 
Leighton,  clerk;  G.  W.  Fisk,  treasurer; 
1>.  ('.  Mclver,  attorney;  E.  F.  Wade, 
marshal. 

1883 — G.  W.  Armstrong,  mayor;  G. 
P.  Leighton,  clerk;  H.  C.  Worcester, 
treas.;  J.  W.  Starkey,  attorney:  W.  T. 
Sitton,  marshal. 

1885— Ellis  Briggs,  mayor;  F.  L.  Mar- 
shall,clerk;  J.  P.  Slaten.Jr.,  treas.;  D.F. 
King,  attorney;   R.  N.  Ruyle,   marshal. 


REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZENS. 

Among  the  prominent  citizens  of 
this  city  is  Ellis  Briggs,  the  present 
mayor.  He  is  a  native  of  Litchfield 
county,  Conn.,  born  April  25,  1839,  and 
is  the  son  of  Ellis  and  Clarissa  A. 
(Lawrence)  Briggs.  His  father  was  a 
[.at tern-maker,  and  died  at  Joliet  in 
1m;  1.  In  1849  be  removed  to  Cuyhoga 
county,  Ohio,  and  six  years  later  to 
Cook  county,  111.,  where  he  lived  until 
removing  to  Joliet.  Mrs.  Clarissa. 
Briggs  died  in  the  same  city  in  1877. 
Ellis  attended  district  school  in  three 
different  states,  and,  after  finishing  his 
education,  commenced  life  as  a  fireman 
on  the  0.  &  M.  R.  R.  in  1S57.  He  was 
next  employed  as  brakeman  on  the  C.  & 
A.  R.  R.,  and  some  time  afterward  as 
section  foreman  on  the  same  road.  He 
next  was  appointed  as  conductor  of  a 
construction  train,  from  that  position  to 
that  of  freight  conductor,  and  then 
to  that  of  a  passenger  conductor. 
Prior  to  this,  however,  Mr.  Briggs  had, 
with  patriotism,  enlisted,  April,  1861,  in 
Co.  F.,  20th  111.  Inf.,  and  served  over 
three  years,  being  mustered  out  at 
Atlanta,  Ga.,  in  July,  1864.  He  par- 
ticipated in  many  engagements  and  was 
wounded  in  the  arm  by  a  ball,  and  the 
thigh  by  a  piece  of  a  shell,  during  the 
battle  ofShiloh.  At  the  battle  of  Thomp- 
son's Hill,  he  was  again  wounded  in  the 
arm,  about  an  inch  from  the  place  where 
hit  before.  Also  received  wounds  in  his 
lower  limbs,  and  still  carries  the  lead 
in  them.  On  returning  he  resumed  his 
place  on  the  C.  &  A.  R.  R.,  remaining 
until  1867,  when  he  engaged  as  con- 
tractor on  the  line  of  that  road,  between 
White  Hall  and  Godfrey ,  and  Alton  and 
St.    Louis,    and    other    branches.     He 


1150 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


then  moved  to  Texas  and  became  road- 
master  on  the  I.  &  G.  N.  R.  R., 
remaining  about  a  year,  when  he 
took  a  contract  to  build  the  viaduct 
andiron  drawbridge  over  Buffalo  bayou, 
at  Houston,  Texas,  and  afterward, 
built  50  miles  of  an  extension  of  the  I. 
iv  (r.  N.  R.  R.  to  Columbia,  on  the 
Brazos  river.  He  returned  to  Illinois 
in  1N74,  and  after  about  a  year's  resi- 
dence in  Petersburg,  came  to  Roodhouse 
in  the  spring  of  1876,  since  being  promi- 
nently identified  with  its  interests. 
About  this  time  he  built  a  large  mill  and 
elevator, which  was  burned  down  in  1877, 
but  he  immediately  rebuilt  the  mill, 
this  time  of  brick,  it  being  known  as 
the  Victor  mill.  He,  in  1876,  bought  a 
farm  of  120  acres,  now  within  the  city 
limits,  upon  which  he  erected  one  of 
finest  residences  in  the  city.  He  also 
owns  considerable  other  property  here. 
He  was  the  first  mayor  of  the  city,  and 
has  held  the  office  over  four  years,  most 
efficiently.  In  1866,  he  was  married  to 
Mattie  E.,  daughter  of  Joel  and  Char- 
lotte S.  (Cory)  Terry.  They  are  the 
parents  of  two  children — George  E., 
born  Nov.  20,  1869;  and  Gertrude  M., 
born  April  29,  1876.  Mr.  Briggs  is  a 
member  of  White  Hall  lodge,  No.  83, 
A.  P.  &  A.  M.,  of  Carrollton  chapter, 
and  of  Hospitaller  commandery,  No.  31, 
of  Jacksonville.  He  is  also  a  member 
of  Roodhouse  lodge,  No.  681,  I.  O.  0. 
F.,  of  the  K.  of  P.  and  A.  O.  1'.  W. 
fraternities,  and  of  the  G.  A.  P.,  and  is 
one  of  the  Democratic  Veterans.  He  is 
quite  an  important  factor  in  the  politi- 
cal life  in  this  section  of  the  state.  He 
was  the  choice  of  the  people  of  Greene 
county  for  the  state  senatorship  made 
vacant  by  the   death  of  F.   M.   Bridges, 


and  was  the  delegate  from  here  to  the 
national  convention  that  nominated  the 
present  president  of  the  United  States. 
In  every  position,  either  public,  politi- 
cal or  private,  he  has  been  governed  by 
motives  that  makes  him  a  favorite  of 
the  people  of  this  county. 

John  P.  Drennan,  Sr.,  police  magis- 
trate, and  justice  of  the  peace,  was  born 
in  Canton,  Stark  county,  O.,  in  1815. 
He  removed  with  his  father  and  family 
to  Mansfield,  Richland  county,  in  1821. 
His  father  and  uncles  were  interested  in 
the  strife  of  politics  that  raged  from 
1824  to  1840— "Coffin  hand  bills,"  the 
Washington  Globe,  theU.  S.  Bank,"Nic. 
Biddle  and  General  Jackson."  Under 
these  influences  he  could  not  fail  to  be  ed- 
ucated a  Jackson  democrat.  In  1833  he 
entered  a  dry  goods  store,  and  has  fol- 
lowed the  business  at  intervals  for  50 
years.  He  was  very  popular,  and  was 
elected  by  his  party  to  fill  various  im- 
portant offices  in  his  county.  At  an 
early  age  he  united  with  the  First  Con- 
gregational church  at  Mansfield,  also 
joined  the  Masons  and  Odd  Fellows, 
and  is  now  a  member  of  Hugh  DePayen 
commandery  and  Carrollton  chapter; 
also  of  the  Congregational  church,  in 
Roodhouse.  He  is  among  the  oldest 
Masons  in  Greene  county.  He  was 
married,  in  1846,  to  Rebecca  Sage  Riley, 
a  daughter  of  Capt.  Calvin  and  Eunice 
(Miller)  Riley ,  and  niece  of  Capt.  James 
Riley,  author  of  "Riley's  Narrative," 
famous  50  years  ago.  Two  children 
were  born  to  them — John  P.,  editor  and 
part  proprietor  of  the  Roodhouse  Eyt ; 
and  Eunice  Riley;  both  live  with  their 
parents.  In  1861,  he  volunteered,  and 
was  commissioned  1st  Lieut,  and  Reg. 
Q.  M.  in  the  82d  O.  Vol.  Inf.     His  reg- 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


1151 


iment  served  in  Virginia,  was  engaged 
in  the  second  battle  of  Bull  Run,  Chan- 
cellorsville,  Gettysburg, Lookout  Moun- 
tain, Atlanta,  etc.,  etc.  During  1864 
and  1865,  he  was  captain  and  Ass't  Q. 
M.,  in  charge  of  clothing,  camp  and 
garrison  equipage  at  Cincinnati,  0. 
This  depot  supplied  the  whole  south- 
west and  south,  requiring  •$■">,< KX), 000  to 
$4,000,000  a  month.  In  1867,  he  and 
family  moved  to  Alton, 111.,  and  thence, 
in  1871,  to  Roodhouse.  During  his  14 
years'  residence  here,  he  has  aided,  to 
the  extent  of  his  ability,  in  the  moral 
and  financial  growth  of  the  city. 

Anderson  Orr,a  successful  gardener  of 
this  city  was  born  in  Harrison  county, 
O.,  October  19,  1833.  He  is  a  son  of 
Harrison  Young  and  Isabella  Orr,  the 
former  a  native  of  Ohio,  the  latter  of 
Pennsylvania.  His  father  was  drowned 
in  the  Ohio  river  in  1833,  while  on  his 
way  to  seek  a  home  in  Illinois.  His 
mother  died  May  5,  1882,  in  Roodhouse. 
He  was  reared  in  Pike  county,  111.,  by 
his  uncle,  Alexander  Taylor.  He  re- 
ceived his  education  in  the  common 
schools  there,  and  finished  in  the  high 
school  at  Griggsville.  •After  that  he 
engaged  in  teaching  school  three  and  a 
half  years,  and  then  entered  the 
ministry  of  the  M.  E.  church,  and  has 
since  labored  in  various  places.  His 
health  failing  him,  he  came  to  Rood- 
house,  and  purchased  ten  acres  of  land 
for  the  purpose  of  engaging  at  something 
that  would  give  him  more  out-door  ex- 
ercise. The  annual  conference  has,  in 
the  meantime,  given  him  such  appoint- 
ments as  he  could  fill,  and  at  the  same 
time  attend  to  his  place.  He  has, by  this 
means,  been  able  to  secure  good  health. 
He  now  has  a  finely  cultivated  farm  of 


some  25  acres,  on  which  he  raises  fruit 
and  vegetables.  Mr.  Orr  was  united  in 
marriage,  Oct.  30,  1853,  with  Nancy  J.,  a 
daughter  of  Henry  and  Eliza  (McMullen) 
Dean,  natives  of  Ohio,  who  came  to  Illi- 
nois, and  now  reside  at  Hardin,  Calhoun 
county.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Orr  were  the  pa- 
rents of  one  child — Jennie,  wife  of  N. 
A.  Reed,  of  Kansas.  Mrs.  Orr  died  in 
the  year  1856,  and  in  1858  Mr.  Orr  was 
again  married  to  Susannah  Dean,  a  sis- 
ter of  his  first  wife.  She  died  18 
months  after  marriage,  being  the  mother 
of  twins,  who  also  died  and  were  buried 
with  her  in  the  same  grave.  In  1865, 
Mr.  Orr  was  joined  in  marriage  with 
Catherine  McCaskill,  a  native  of  Mt. 
Sterling,  111  ,  and  this  union  has  been 
blessed  with  four  children — Laura.  Bell, 
Luella,  James  M.  and  Katie.  Mr.  Orr 
is  an  honorary  member  of  the  Cass 
lodge,  No.  23,  A.  F.  &  A.  M.,  at  Beards- 
town,  111.  He  still  continues  to  preach, 
and  his  efforts  for  the  welfare  of  man- 
kind are  rewarded  with  success. 

Nelson  J.  Ludi,  editor  of  the  Union, 
was  born  in  Rock  Island,  111,  Feb.  26, 
1855,  being  a  son  of  James  and  Eliza- 
beth P.  (Bolles)  Ludi,  his  father  a  na- 
tive of  Switzerland,  and  his  mother  of 
Thompsonville,  Conn.  He  was  reared 
in  Rock  Island,  and  at  the  age  of  16, 
engaged  as  clerk  in  Davenport.  He 
started  to  learn  the  printer's  trade  in  the 
Gazette  office  there.  When  17,  he  went 
to  work  on  a  farm  by  the  month,  but 
soon  went  to  Burlington,  and  finished 
the  printer's  trade.  In  1877,  he  was 
made  book-keeper  in  the  Burlington 
Gazette  office,  and  was  local  editor  when 
he  left,  in  1877,  to  buy  a  half  interest  in 
the  Orion  Gazette.  He  bought  out  his 
partner  and  ran  the  paper  until  March, 


1152 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


1882.  He  fhen  went  to  Dakota,  where 
he  remained  about  six  months.  In  the 
summer  of  1883,  he  went  to  Minneapolis, 
and  worked  at  printing  until  1884,  when 
he  came  to  Greenfield,  this  county,  and 
bought  a  half  interest  in  the  Union.  He 
continued  the  publication  until  the 
spring  of  1885,  when  they  removed  to 
Roodhouse,  and  have  since  remained 
here.  He  was  married  June  26,  1879, 
to  Lilian  M.,  daughter  of  Joshua  and 
Mary  Easton.  They  have  two  children 
living — Myrtle  E.  and  Bessie  M.,  and 
two  deceased — Walter  E.  and  Jessie. 

We  close  the  history  of  Greene  county 
by  giving  a  short  sketeh  of  W.  T.  Mc- 
Iver  and  J.  P.  Drennan,  Jr.,  proprietors 
of  the  office  in  which  this  volume  was 
published.  The  former  was  born  in 
Montgomery  county,  111.,  April  14,  1860, 
and  the  latter  in  Mansfield,  Ohio,  Sept. 
6,  1861.  At  the  age  of  13  years,  W.  T. 
Mclver  entered  a  printing  office,  and 
two  years  later  opened  a  job  office  at 
Roodhouse.       He  soon  associated  John 


P.  Drennan  Jr.,  as  partner,  and  thus  the 
firm  of  Mclver  &  Drennan  sprang  into 
existence.  But  they  were  still  boys,  so 
Mr.  Drennan  again  entered  school,  and 
Mclver,  after  establishing  the  Review, 
and  publishing  it  about  a  year,  followed 
railroading  until  1882.  By  this  time, 
Mr.  D.  had  graduated  from  the  Illinois 
Academy,  at  Jacksonville, and  also  taken 
a  course  at  Ann  Arbor  Law  School.  They 
then  established  the  Roodhouse  Eye, 
with  a  cash  capital  of  about  $0000,  but 
they  had  plenty  of  energy.  Their  hand 
press  was  soon  superseded  by  one  run 
by  steam,  and  new  material  has  been 
added  until,  in  1885,  they  are  found  in 
a  two-story  brick  building,  owned  by 
themselves,  with  three  steam  presses, 
and  fully  equipped  for  any  kind  of  print- 
ing. Mr.  Mclver  was  married,  Oct.  17, 
1882,  to  Elizabeth  N.  Atkinson.  They 
have  one  son — Frank.  These  enterpris- 
ing young  men  deserve  great  credit  for 
their  industry,  and  merit  the  substantial 
support  of  the  citizens  of  these  counties. 


ADDITIONAL  BIOGRAPHIES, 


The  following  sketches  of  well  known 
residents  of  White  Hall  township  were 
unavoidably  omitted  from  their  proper 
places: 

John  Howard  was  born  in  Rutherford 
county,  Tenn.,  Feb.  23,  1819,  his  par- 
ents being  Henry  and  Charlotte  (Bal- 
lard) Howard,  natives  of  North  Carolina. 
His  parents  came  to  Greene  county  in 
1835,  and  located  two  miles  east  of 
White  Hall,  where  his  father  bought  40 
acres  of  land.  There  were  only  two 
stores  in  White  Hall  when  they  came 
here.  His  father  lived  in  this  neighbor- 
hood, about  12  years.  He  then  moved 
to  Scott  county  where  he  lived  four 
years,  then  removed  to  Mason  county, 
where  he  remained  12  years  and  then 
moved  to  Harrison  county,  Iowa,  where 
he  spent  the  remainder  of  his  days,  his 
death  occurring  in  1S66.  There  were  13 
children  in  the  family— Coleman,  Nancy, 
William,  John,  Avery,  Allen,  Sarah, 
Mary,  Francis,  Franklin,  Thomas,  and 
two  who  died  in  infancy.  Six  of  these 
children  are  now  living.  Our  subject 
was  16  years  of  age  when  his  parents 
came  to  Greene  county,  and  he  remain- 
ed with  them  until  he  was  25  years  of 
age.  He  then  began  the  battle  of  life 
for  himself,  and  buying  100  acres  of 
land  on  Apple  Creek  Prairie,  he  moved 
on  to  it  and  engaged  in  farming  there 
for  three  years.  He  then  sold  that 
farm  and  bought  120  acres  on  sections 
22  and  27,  on  which  he  lived  seven 
years,  when  on  account  of  his  wife's 
health,  she  having  the  consumption,  he 


left  the  farm  and  moved  to  White  Hall, 
where  he  resided  two  years.  His  wife 
died  while  there,  and  after  her  death, 
he  moved  back  to  his  farm  and  has  since 
remained  there.  He  has  been  three 
times  married.  June  18,  1844,  he  was 
married  to  Margery  A.  Bell,  and  by  this 
union  there  were  five  children,  three  of 
whom  are  living — Francis  M.,  married 
Melissa  Teeple,  resides  in  Harrison 
county,  Iowa;  William  H.,  married 
Elizabeth  Barrow,  resides  in  Calloway 
county,  Mo.;  John  A.,  married  Martha 
Clark,  resides  in  Harrison  county,  Iowa. 
Mrs.  Howard  died  in  1857,  and  Mr. 
Howard  was  again  married  in  Sept., 
1858,  to  Martha  King,  daughter  of  Sam- 
uel King.  They  were  the  parents  of 
live  children,  three  of  whom  are  living 
— Thomas;  Edgar,  who  married  Winnie 
Stone,  and  resides  at  home,  and  Her- 
bert. In  April,  1872,  Mr.  Howard  was 
again  left  a  widower,  and  in  Aug.,  1873, 
he  was  united  in  marriage  with  Har- 
riet Smith,  daughter  of  David  Smith. 
This  union  has  been  blessed  with  one 
child, — Catherine.  Mr.  Howard  now 
owns  166  1-3  acres  of  land.  He  deals 
in  stock  to  some  extent;  especially  in 
Jersey  and  short-horn  Durham  cattle 
and  Poland-China  hogs  and  is  a  success- 
ful, enterprising  farmer.  He  has  held 
the  offices  of  school  director  and  road 
supervisor,  and  is  a  member  of  the 
Grange  lodge.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Howard 
are  members  of  the  M.  E.  church  of 
White  Hall. 

William   M.    Bradshaw,    a   native    of 


1154 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


White  county,  Term.,  was  born  July  28, 
1S26,  and  is  a  son  of  Charles  and  Mary 
A.  (Baker)  Bradshaw,  the  former  a  na- 
tive of  South  Carolina,  the  latter  of 
North  Carolina.  His  parent  left  Ten- 
nessee in  1828,  and  removed  to  Morgan 
county,  111.,  where  they  lived  two  years 
and  in  the  spring  of  1S31,  moved  to 
Greene  county.  His  father  bought  80 
acres  of  land  in  what  is  now  Wrights 
township,  and  also  entered  80  acres 
there,  and  kept  buying  and  entering  un- 
til he  owned  something  like  500  acres  of 
land.  There  they  lived  in  a  little  log 
cabin  for  several  years,  and  he  then 
built  a  large  two-story  frame  residence 
and  a  barn,  and  at  this  comfortable 
home,  he  spent  the  balance  of  his  days, 
He  departed  this  life  in  1869.  Mrs. 
Bradshaw  is  still  living,  and  resides  on 
the  old  homestead.  William  assisted 
his  parents  on,  the  farm,  until  he  was  21 
years  of  age.  He  was  then  married  to 
Susan  P.  Lorton,  Dec.  30,  1847,  by 
which  union,  there  was  one  child  which 
died  in  infancy.  He  built  a  little  log 
cabin  on  the  home  farm,  and  there  they 
lived  until  her  death,  Dec.  6,  1848, 
which  was  within  a  year  after  their  mar- 
riage. Mr.  Bradshaw  then  went  back 
home  and  remained  there  until  1850, 
when  he  was  again  married  on  Sept.  30, 
tb  Elizabeth  Chipman,  by  which  union 
there  were  three  children,  two  of  whom 
are  living — Mary  E.,  wife  of  John  B. 
Hutton,  residing  in  Topeka,  Kas.,  and 
Lenora,  wife  of  Henry  Hart,  residing  in 
White  Hall  township.  After  marriage, 
Mr.  Bradshaw  moved  back  to  his  cabin 
and  remained  there  until  the  fall  of 
1853,  when  he,  with  his  wife  and  child, 
went  to  Fannin  county,  Texas,  where 
they  staid  that  winter.     In  the  spring, 


they  returned  to  Illinois,  and  again  set- 
tled in  the  log  cabin,  where  he  lived  un- 
til the  death  of  his  wife,  Feb.  25.  1855, 
when  he  returned  home  again.  After 
staying  there  over  a  year,  he  was  again 
married  March  19,  1856,  to  Mary  Baker, 
and  they  moved  into  the  log  cabin, 
where  they  lived  happily  until  April  5, 
1857,  when  his  wife  died,  leaving  one 
child,  Albert,  who  is  now  married  to 
Ellen  R.  Whitehead,  and  resides  in  Lo- 
gan county.  Mr.  Bradshaw  again  re- 
turned home  to  live,  and  remained  four 
years.  Feb.  19,  1861,  Le  was  married 
to  Elizabeth  Steward,  by  which  union 
there  were  eight  children,  seven  of 
whom  are  living — Joel,  married  Liza 
Coats,  resides  in  White  Hall  township; 
Ida  B.,  wife  of  Samuel  Elliott,  residing 
in  White  Hall  township;  Nancy  L., 
Charles,  Clara  A.,  William  H.  and  Ed- 
gar. In  the  spring  of  1861,  Mr.  Brad- 
shaw bought  80  acres  of  land  on  section 
27,  T.  12,  R.  11,  on  which  he  built  a 
nice  frame  house,  into  which  he  moved 
and  has  since  resided  there.  He  now 
owns  260  acres  of  land,  200  acres  of 
which  is  in  this  township,  and  60  acres 
in  Wrights,  all  of  which  he  has  acquired 
by  industry  and  good  management. 
Mrs.  Bradshaw  is  a  member  of  the  M. 
E.  church.  Mr.  Bradshaw  has  seen  a 
great  deal  of  trouble  in  his  lifetime, 
having  lost  three  wives,  each  in  a  com- 
paratively short  time  after  marriage. 
He  stood  bravely,  all  these  trials  and  is 
now  living  in  comfort  and  contentment. 
Elbert  M.  McCracken,  was  born  in 
Greene  county,  on  April  22,  1855,  Ins 
parents  being  Samuel  and  Mary  (Bran- 
yan)  McCracken,  natives  of  Pennsyl- 
vania. His  parents  came  to  Greene 
county  about  the  year  1837,  and  located 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY, 


1155 


on  Sec.  2G,  T.  12,  R.  11,  where  he 
bought  a  tract  of  land,  built  a  little  lug 
cabin  anil  lived  there  for  several  years. 
He  then  bought  about  92  acres  on  Sec. 
25,  T.  12,  R.  11,  and  afterward  moved 
on  to  it,  having  built  a  house  into  which 
lie  moved  and  remained  until  his  death, 
which  occurred  in  Jan.,  1855.  Mrs. 
Mslry  McCracken  is  yet  living  and  re- 
sides with  her  son  Samuel.  Our  sub- 
ject was  reared  on  a  farm,  remaining  at 
home  until  lie  was  about  27  years  of  age 
when  he  bought  14'i  acres  of  land  on 
See.  25,  T.  12,  R.  11,  moved  on  to  it 
and  has  since  resided  there.  He  has 
been  twice  married.  Jan.  7,  1877,  he 
married  Eliza  Vanderver,  who  died  in 
1880.  By  this  union  there  was  one 
child — Harry  E.  Mr.  McCracken  was 
again  married.  Feb.  23,  1^S2,  to  Dicy 
Short,  daughter  of  William  and  Eliza- 
beth Short.  They  are  the  parents  of 
two  children — Elsa  and  Elmer.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  McCracken  are  members  of 
the  church.  Mr.  McCracken  is  an  intel- 
ligent and  enterprising  farmer,  and  his 
enterprises  have  been  very  successful. 

George  Edwards  was  born  in  Greene 
county  on  April  29,  1851,  his  parents 
being  Ezekiel  and  Polly  (Rucker)  Ed- 
wards, natives  of  Knoxville,  Term. 
His  father  came  to  Greene  county  about 
the  year  1830,  and  located  near  Provi- 
dence, where  he  lived  several  years. 
He  died  in  1S53,  while  living  near  Ber- 
dan.  George's  mother  died  in  Dec, 
1859,  and  he  then  went  to  live  with  his 
sister,  Polly  A.  Lee,  remaining  there 
for  six  years,  after  which  time  he  work- 
ed out  for  about  11  years  at  most  any- 
thing he  could  get  to  do.  He  then 
rented  a  farm  for  about  four  years,  when 
by  industry  and  economy,  having  accu- 


mulated enough  money  to  buy  himself  a 
home,  he  purchased  156  acres  of  land, 
on  section  29.  where  he  has  since  re- 
sided. He  was  married  Oct.  13,  1877, 
to  Sarah  J.  Moore,  daughter  of  Alanson 
and  Rebecca  Moore.  They  are  the  par- 
ents of  four  children — Henry,  Ward, 
Walter  and  Louis.  Mrs.  Edwards  is  a 
member  of  the  Baptist  church.  Mr. 
Edwards  is  an  active,  industrious  far- 
mer, and  his  efforts  are  meeting  with 
success. 

George  Painter,  was  born  in  Ross 
county,  Ohio,  Dec.  31,  1829,  his  parents 
being  John  and  Eleanor  (Clark)  Painter 
natives  of  Virginia.  His  parents  re- 
moved from  Virginia  to  Ohio,  where 
they  remained  until  the  fall  of  1848, 
when  they  came  to  Greene  county  and 
located  on  what  is  now  known  as  E.  V. 
Baldwin's  farm,  remaining  one  year. 
They  then  moved  on  to  section  20,  where 
his  father  bought  80  acres  of  land,  built 
a  log  cabin  and  there  lived  until  his 
death,  which  occurred  in  1879.  Mrs. 
Painter  died  in  1857.  George  was  rear- 
ed on  a  farm,  assisting  his  parents  at 
home,  until  he  was  24  years  of  age,  he 
then  started  in  life  for  himself,  renting 
ground  on  which  he  farmed  for  about 
two  years,  when  lie  bought  120  acres  of 
land  on  section  29,  moved  on  to  it  and 
remained  there  until  1876.  He  then 
moved  on  to  the  homestead  and  has 
since  resided  there,  He  was  married  in 
Feb..  1855,  to  Mary  M.  Phillips,  daugh- 
ter of  Baylis  and  Nancy  (  Raines)  Phil- 
lips. They  are  the  parents  of  seven 
children,  four  of  whom  are  living — 
Erastus  W., Edwin  B.,  Irs  E.  and  Jennie. 
The  ones  deceased  are  Walter  and  two 
who  died  in  infancy.  Mr.  Painter  now 
owns  230  acres  of  land.     He  deals  in  all 


1156 


HISTORY  OF  GREENE  COUNTY. 


kinds  of  stock,  making  a  specialty  of 
Clydesdale  horses.  He  is  a  successful 
farmer  and  an  enterprising  and  intelli- 
gent citizen.  He  is  now  holding  the 
office  of  highway  commissioner.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Painter  are  consistent  mem- 
bers of  the  M.  E.  church. 

Henry  Hanson,  deceased,  was  born  in 
Prussia,  on  Nov.  11,  1824,  his  parents 
being  Peter  and  Susan  Hanson,  natives 
of  Germany.  Henry  followed  farming  in 
his  native  country.  In  May,  1852,  he, 
in  company  with  Frank  Schmidt,  took 
passage  at  Antwerp,  on  a  sailing  vessel 
hound  for  New  York.  On  arriving  at 
that  city,  Henry  traveled  westward,  as 
far  as  LaSalle,  where  he  remained  two 
years,  engaged  at  laboring.  In  Dec, 
1855,  he  came  to  Greene  county  and 
located  on  B.  F.  Baldwin's  place,  where 
he  remained  about  six  years.  He  then 
rented  a  place   from    John   Grimes,    on 


section  29,  and  afterward  bought  80 
acres  on  the  same  place  where  he  had 
lived,  and  resided  here  until  his  death, 
which  occurred  Jan.  29,  1884.  His  wife 
died  Feb.  24,  1880.  He  was  married 
Jan.  20,  1859,  to  Rachel  Schouse, 
daughter  of  John  and  Margaret  Schouse. 
They  are  the  parents  of  seven  children 
— Anthony,  married  Frances  Schneider, 
and  resides  in  Walkerville  township; 
John,  married  Sophia  Weible,  and  re- 
sides in  Walkerville  township;  Frank, 
Peter,  Susan,  Margaret  and  Catherine. 
The  family  now  owns  120  acres  of  land, 
which  is  farmed  by  Frank  and  his 
brother,  Frank  being  the  administrator 
and  manager  of  the  place.  These  young 
men  are  enterprising  and  industrious 
and  deserve  credit  for  the  manly  way 
in  which  they  carry  on  the  farm  enter- 
prise. They  stand  high  in  the  estima- 
tion of  all  who  know  them. 


r 


!  Hj 


., 


977  384H62 


UN.VERS,TYOF,LLINO.S-URBANA 


"'STORY  OF  GREEN  AND  &  COUNT.ES.  ,L 


,3  0112  025398380 


